Syncing Local Files to iPhone

[mep12]

Plan

Premium

Country

US

Device

iPhone 11 Pro

Operating System

iOS 14.4

I am suddenly unable to sync new local files to my iPhone. I have done this in the past and encountered no problems, so I'm not sure what's up. The files I synced before still play, but the new ones are greyed out. I have spent several hours reading up on other discussion posts and trying to troubleshoot, but nothing has worked for me. I did notice that when I got to Settings > Local files, I see the message "No devices are currently available for syncing," despite the fact I have already paired my laptop and phone in the devices menu, and there seems to be no problem with that. 

Any help would be much appreciated!

[Mihail]

Hey @mep12,

Thanks for reaching out. 

Could you make sure that bot your pc and phone are connected to the same network? If that's the case, it's a good idea to restart your router or try with a different network altogether. Perhaps a mobile hotspot  could be a convenient solution?

If that doesn't fix things, we recommend performing a clean reinstall on both devices. This step lets you start afresh with the latest app version by removing any corrupted files from previous installations. 

Hope this helps. Keep us posted on how it goes.  

[La54]

I've clean reinstalled the application multiple times across both my desktop and my iPhone and the issue of, "no devices are available for syncing" is still occurring even after trying on my mobile hotspot and a whole different internet network. I also tried resolving the firewall issue and the syncing problem still happens 

[Mihail]

Hey @La54,

Thanks for reaching out to the Community.

Could you share a the make, model, OS version and Spotify version on your desktop and iPhone? We'd also appreciate a screenshot of the error message you see at your end. 

Also, could you please explain what the firewall issue you mention in your post is and the troubleshooting steps you took to resolve it?

Keep us posted. We’ll keep an eye out for your reply.

[La54]

Device

iPhone 11 

Operating System

iOS 14.4.2

Spotify Version on iPhone

8.6.18.833

Spotify Version on Desktop

1.1.57.443.ga029a6c4-a

The error message issue is attached along with a screenshot of the firewall program that was used to prevent Spotify from sharing across the local network that I then disabled to allow it sync all though it still did not work.

YouTube Video Reference I used:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb6q5L4OFI0&t=144s

[Jeremy]

Hi there @La54,

Thank you for your reply and for the screenshot and video.

Another useful step in is to change the source folder of the local files on the pc. The steps are: Uninstall Spotify on both devices > create a new folder somewhere else on the pc and move the local files there > install Spotify again > remove any potential source folders and add the new one > download the playlist again.

If that doesn't do the trick - can you try the following:

• Add some songs from our catalogue to the playlist as well as the local file/s and make sure they have ‘Show unavailable songs in playlists’ turned on in Settings

• Play some music on the device that has the local files to see if it shows via Connect on the other device

• Make sure the router supports the Bonjour protocol. If the router is made after 2005, it will likely have this protocol. The best way to handle this is to check the router make/model and Google it

We'll keep an eye out for your reply.

Take care!

[AeroZ]

On the second screenshot it shows that you've set or are connected to a guest/public network. It might be that the sync doesn't work because of that. Set you connection to private if you're at home using your home connection.

Then of course you have to have Spotify ticked in firewall settings.

[KirbysAirRide4]

I had the same exact problem as OP. I tried everything this thread suggested and nothing worked. Eventually, my songs DID sync to my iPhone. I don't think anything in this thread helped. I really think it just took 25-30 minutes to fully sync and because it didn't happen immediately, I gave up. But, when I just let it sit, it eventually synced! 

A lesson in patience? 

Good luck!

[r0-9rrp2kb_z]

---

@AeroZ wrote:

On the second screenshot it shows that you've set or are connected to a guest/public network. It might be that the sync doesn't work because of that. Set you connection to private if you're at home using your home connection.

Then of course you have to have Spotify ticked in firewall settings.

---

I have two wifi networks and my phone was on a different one than my computer. Your comment prompted me to check that so thanks.

[kylahawkins99]

I just tried everything on this thread and it still won't work. I have the same problem as OP, did your problem ever get solved?

[mep12]

Yes! When I switched WiFi networks it solved the problem.

[Yordan]

Hey @kylahawkins99!

Another thing you can check is if Spotify is allowed to access local network. This can be done under your iPhone's settings > Privacy > Local Network. After that reboot your device and download your tracks again.

Let us know how it goes.

[kylahawkins99]

I checked that originally and it was always on.

[OscarDC]

Hey @kylahawkins99,

Thank you for keeping in contact. 

We appreciate the troubleshooting you've done so far, but to be sure that we're on the same page - did you use these steps for a clean reinstall? They are more thorough than a regular one. That way you can make sure the cache is not causing this issue.

If this doesn't do the trick, could you try connecting both devices to another WiFi network or a mobile data hotspot to see if it makes any difference?

Lastly, remember that the songs must be downloaded from an authorized source to be recognized by the app. Would you mind trying with songs downloaded from a different source?

Keep us updated.