Cant Play Local Files on My Phone

[connerdehne]

Plan

Premium

Country

Germany

Device

iPhone 11

Operating System

(iOS 13.6

My Question or Issue

Hey,

I can't play my local files on my iPhone. I downloaded some of them like months ago and added some yesterday but can't play any of them.

I tried to reinstall Spotify, add them again to my local files in Spotify, added them again to the playlist, created a new playlist nothing worked ...

I'm also in the same WiFi as my computer.

Please help me guys!!

[Joel-M]

Hi @connerdehne,

Thank you for reaching out to the Community. Would you kindly try a clean reinstall on the App? It is usually better than uninstalling and reinstalling the Spotify app. I would also try restarting the devices that you are using.

Meanwhile, I have found some people in the Community with the same issue as yours, to see them please click here, and here. 

Hope this helps and let me know how it goes.

[MattSuda · Accepted solution]

Hey @connerdehne 

The steps to sync local files from a computer to the iOS Spotify app have recently changed. Sorry for the inconvenience. 

You now need to go into the Spotify iOS app settings and turn on local file sync.

From the help article:

Note: Premium subscription is required

1. On desktop, import your local files (with the "Desktop" steps).
2. Add the files to a new playlist.
3. Log in on your mobile or tablet using the same WiFi as your desktop.
4. Go to Settings --> Local Files and switch on Enable sync from desktop.
   Note: You need to allow Spotify to find devices in the prompt that shows.
5. Download the playlist with your local files.

Didn’t work?

Make sure:

• You're logged in to the same account on both your desktop and mobile
• Your devices are connected to the same WiFi network
• The app is up-to-date on both devices
• Your device is up-to-date

Also, at first the Local Files playlist will show as empty in the iOS app. To be able to see the songs before they are synced over, go to Settings ---> Playback --> and make sure "hide unavailable songs" option is turned off. Now you can still see songs even if they are not available on Spotify or for local files -- not synced over yet.

Let me know how it goes.

[laflamecentral]

Bro, you're an absolute god!!! I've been looking for a solution that worked for so long. Thank you so much for this my g!!

[MattSuda]

@laflamecentral 

You're welcome! 🙂

[kodapopcorn]

Hey Matt, 

I tried the solution you posted and my file is still refusing to sync (for some reason it's selectively not syncing some songs and allowing others, because I have local files on my spotify, just not all the ones I want). 

All my apps (phone and desktop) are up to date, my phone software's up to date, and I've even tried uninstalling the spotify app from my phone. Nothing's worked. 

Tried creating a separate playlist, tried disconnecting and reconnecting to internet, tried connecting both devices to a hotspot instead, and tried toggling the local file enable/disable (it's currently enabled). 

I can see the file I want greyed out, so it knows its on the playlist, it's just refusing to sync it so I can play it.

[kodapopcorn]

Another note, the playlists with my local files are all "downloaded" on my phone, but the local files still aren't synced. The files are definitely compatible files (all mp3) and I definitely haven't reached the limit of local files I'm allowed to have on my device.

[Ivan]

Hey there @kodapopcorn, 

Thanks for reaching out about this here in the Community!

Apologies for the delayed response, we just came across your post.

As we haven’t seen any similar posts about this recently, could you let us know if you’re still having troubles with this? If you do, we’d recommend checking the Solution provided in this thread and try all the steps.  

Let us know how it goes! We’ll be right here if you still need help. 

[lwoodzz]

I'm still having this exact problem, but on an android phone. Any new insights?

[Mario]

Hey there @lwoodzz,

Thank you for your post. We're happy to help.

Can you confirm if you followed the steps that was provided by @MattSuda and @Joel-M?

Also - did you have a look at @Katerina post in this thread?

If you followed the steps and the issue still persists - would you mind sending us a screenshot? It will help us understand more directly what's going on from your end.

Keep us posted. We'll have an eye out for your reply.

Cheers!

[lwoodzz]

Hi! I actually resolved it by uninstalling and reinstalling the app on my
phone and then changing the local files location on my Mac.

[Mario]

Hey @lwoodzz,

Thank you for your reply.

We're really happy to hear that a reinstall of the app helped you out.

We're always one reply away if you need us 🙂

Cheers!

[vballer]

Agreed, worked for me...

[user-removed]

This works. For me, enableing the option Settings ---> Playback --> "hide unavailable songs" did the trick 🙂

[maceoparker]

This is "cute". May work until it´s changed, once again.

I have to do something like this each time I try to play local files, because these changes occur more frequently nowadays than I even use the local files feature. It´s impossible to keep up. I´m thoroughly unimpressed by this development.

If it ain´t broke...don´t "fix" it.

In my experience, every time that I try to play local files from my iOS device, it fails...again. Because of some change or update that has made everything out of date, again. And so I need to start all over...again - searching and reading through spotify forums for half an hour to try to get it to work in order to play a few minutes of local content.

And next time - procedure repeats.

This is all a pathology inherent in the whole paradigm of #alwaysuptodate #fast #beonyourtoes #onlinestreaming 😞 

[Ver]

Hey @maceoparker,

Thanks for posting here.

In case the issue persists, it's also a good idea to try playing the files on another device to check if anything changes.

We'd suggest you also try with another account to see if the issue occurs. 

If you've already tried these steps or some additional troubleshooting steps, let us know. That way we can avoid any repeating steps.

Keep us in the loop! If you have questions, you know where to find us.

[DealingWithIt]

Hello, I'm having issues syncing my files to my iPhone. I have tried EVERYTHING in this thread to no avail. I deleted the app, made sure I was on the same wifi, changed the local file location, checked my firewall, made new playlists AND used existing ones, my devices are all up to date, etc. And now, after changing my local file location and deleting and redownloading the app, my local files that had previously downloaded successfully are now gone 😞 Now nothing shows up but previously I could see the songs greyed out but I couldn't play them on my phone (even though I could play them on my laptop fine). 

[DealingWithIt]

Hello, I'm having issues syncing my files to my iPhone. I have tried EVERYTHING in this thread to no avail. I deleted the app, made sure I was on the same wifi, changed the local file location, checked my firewall, made new playlists AND used existing ones, my devices are all up to date, etc. And now, after changing my local file location and deleting and redownloading the app, my local files that had previously downloaded successfully are now gone 😞 Now nothing shows up but previously I could see the songs greyed out but I couldn't play them on my phone (even though I could play them on my laptop fine).  What now?

[kkieee]

I'm having the same issue over here. Tried everything in every thread but the files are greyed out on my phone, even on the phone's personal hotspot. Been trying for a week now, nothing works.

[MafeG]

Hello folks,

Thank you for posting on this thread!

@DealingWithIt and @kkieee Please keep in mind that files or downloads from illegal sources are not permitted. If your files are from an illegal source, this may be why they aren't working.

Another thing to make sure of is that your files aren't DRM protected. In this article you can find out how. 

If everything is in order with the files, please follow these steps to clear your Hosts file on Windows and Mac. Then try to sync your files again. 

If you need a hand with anything else, the Community is here for you.