Desktop app (Windows) not working, multiple issues

[modernalt]

Plan

Premium

Country

USA

Device

PC

Operating System

Windows 10

My Question or Issue

Spotify desktop application has been having multiple issues, I have already followed the Help article for a clean reinstall and made sure there were no files/folders on my drive before reinstalling. My PC does not have any issues running any other application, I use it for video editing/gaming and it is more than powerful enough. Note - my Spotify account is having no issues when using on my other devices ( iPhone 13 IOS17, iPad Pro 11th gen IOS17).

I will try to list the issues here and cover all details: 

Playlists are currently taking 30 - 60 seconds to load and 9/10 just saying "Couldn't find that playlist" [see screenshot attached]

App is freezing after booting and menus become unresponsive immediately

Songs are playing at max volume when I am able to press play and only playing once then the app freezes 

If I am able to get a song to start playing, the app interface freezes and even after closing the music continues to play max volume. I even go into task manager and close all Spotify processes there and the audio keeps playing which is extremely frustrating. 

Not finding any help online so turning to community forums. Happy to provide any other information as needed, thank you

[Appliest]

1. Ensure Stable Connection: Check the user's internet connection to ensure it's stable.
2. Restart Spotify: Advise the user to restart the Spotify app to resolve temporary glitches.
3. Update App: If the issue persists, recommend updating the Spotify app to the latest version.

[tominator2804]

Already did all those steps. Lan connection is stable, I restartet and even reinstalled spotify.

[MartinT]

Hey there, 

Thanks for reaching out to the Community! 

We see you've tried some troubleshooting up until now. We're going to step in an suggest for you to perform a clean uninstall, as It's a more thorough removal of the Spotify app from your device and should help out with something like this. 

Let us know how it goes.

[tominator2804]

Actually the problem solved itself yesterday. It seems that the last Windows update somehow crashed up my whole sound system (Sound from Steam games also didnt work). But with the new update everything works fine. 

Still thanks 🙂

[Benny18]

I have been experiencing the same issue for several weeks. However, the web version works perfectly fine on the same machine. I've tried all the recommended solutions, including uninstalling and reinstalling both the Windows Store and the standalone versions, disabling hardware acceleration, and checking local files, but nothing has resolved the problem. The desktop app remains unresponsive, while the web player continues to function without any issues. Any additional help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[Vasil]

Hey @Benny18,

Could you let us know more about your issue? Does the app become completely unresponsive the moment you start it up or dies this happen after some time?

We'd also like to know if it has worked well before and, if yes - if the issues have started occurring after a specific event like an app update or a new OS installation/ update.

If you've only done a regular app reinstall, we can also try going for a complete clean reinstall of the app to ensure there are no leftover files before the new installation. To see how to do so, follow the steps here.

We'll be on the lookout for your reply 🙂

[Benny18]

Hi @AlejaR,

I’ve discovered something surprising regarding the issue. When I connect to the internet using my phone's hotspot, the app works without any issues. This leads me to believe the problem might be related to the large number of Spotify Connect devices on my network—I have about twenty, including TVs, Google Home, Chromecast, and various speakers.

Interestingly, the web version of Spotify, which doesn’t detect these Spotify Connect devices, works flawlessly. On my Android phone (Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro), I also encounter issues, though the app is still very usable. However, the Windows desktop app is practically unusable. It frequently freezes, have very long loader then gives 404 errors, and displays the message "The Spotify application is not responding" when I close the app and try to relaunch it.

It’s worth noting that my partner, who uses an iPhone and a MacBook Air on the same network, doesn’t experience any of these issues, even with the same number of Spotify Connect devices available. Additionally, my Google Assistant(on google home mini) has no lag or issues when changing music, so it might not be the number of Spotify Connect devices causing the problem, but rather how the Windows app handles its list of Spotify Connect devices.

Would it be possible to open a ticket on the development side to investigate this further? Any insights or assistance would be greatly appreciated!

[Dessi]

Hey @Benny18,

Thanks for the info you provided and kudos for all the testing you've done!

It's worth restarting your PC and then disconnecting from the WiFi and reconnecting to it again afterwards, since you mention that you don't encounter any issues when using a hotspot. Can you also make sure that Spotify is excluded from any firewall or antivirus apps? So that we can check if this is device- or account-related, it'd be great if you can ask your partner to log in on your PC and if you could also log in to your account on the MacBook to see if you experience the same.

Let us know how it goes. 

[Sidhant_Pratap]

it can be fixed by re installing your audio output drivers.
it can be done by going to device manager - expanding audio inputs and outputs - then delete whatever your output device is - then replug your device (if it is integrated speakers just wait they will be downloaded automatically) and then your music should play just fine

[Brenquavious]

Plan

Premium

Country

United States

Device

Desktop (Windows)

Operating System

Windows 10

My Question or Issue

I have been trying to get this to work for a week now, but at this point I don't know what to do. My problem is when i open spotify i try to play music but i feel like there is an input delay to everything that im doing. The first 1 or 2 songs arent that bad, but after that skipping songs or pausing, changing does work when i press it. I leave the app running in the background to see if the app will ever see the input and after maybe 2 minutes it will do all the inputs. After that i try to change the song again and again there is that delay. Then when i close it it wont actully close until i go to task manager and shut it down maually, Sometimes (when i press the "X" takes another minute or two of playing music for it to recongonize that it closes). At this Point i have tried everything turning off "Hardware Acceleration" Unistalling and re-installing installing from the website not microsft store, ive tried repairing in the settings, ive tried clearing cashe and restarting. Please Help this is so frustrating