On Premium, the Spotify not playing downloaded songs issue might come up on the devices from mobile to desktop to interrupt the offline listening experience. No worries. For Premium subscribers, there're 8 fixes to Spotify not playing downloaded songs issue to make the app or device function well again.
Part 1. Why Are My Downloaded Spotify Songs Not Playing?
Have you ever tried to listen to your downloaded music offline during a flight or in a place with a weak internet connection, only to find that they won't play, even in Offline Mode or Airplane Mode? It can be incredibly frustrating when you're expecting to enjoy your music without any interruptions. Let's explore the main reasons why this might be happening.
Your Premium Subscription Is Inactive: Start by checking if your subscription is still active. One of the main benefits of Spotify Premium is the ability to download songs for offline listening. If your subscription has expired or there's an issue with your payment, you'll lose access to your downloaded tracks and other exclusive features. To check your subscription status, go online and try downloading any track, or open your account page to verify your subscription status.
The Downloaded Music Is Removed: Lastly, it's possible that the content has been removed from Spotify. Sometimes, due to licensing agreements, country restrictions, regional blocks, or censorship issues, artists and record labels decide to pull their music from the platform. Even if you go online at least once every 30 days to keep your downloads, removed content won't be available anymore. If that happens, even your downloaded versions won't play.
The Download Process Is Not Finished: Another reason could be that the download process didn't finish. Sometimes, we start listening before all the songs have completely downloaded. The songs are only ready for offline use if the playlist or album shows a green download icon, indicating they are fully downloaded. If the download gets interrupted – maybe because of a weak internet connection or accidentally closing the app – those songs won't play and may appear greyed out when you're offline. You can check this by ensuring the refresh icon or grey download icon isn't present.
These issues can make you feel disconnected from your favorite music, but understanding why they happen is the first step to fixing them. Now that you know the reasons behind these problems, you can start addressing them. In the next part, we'll explore how to troubleshoot and solve these issues so you can get back to listening to your downloaded music seamlessly.
Part 2. How to Fix Spotify Downloaded Songs Not Playing
There are several steps you can take to troubleshoot and resolve this issue. Let's dive in:
Reboot Offline Mode
Start by toggling Offline Mode off and on again. Sometimes, simply resetting this feature can help refresh your downloads. Go to Settings, find the Offline Mode toggle, turn it off, wait a few seconds, and then turn it back on.
- For Desktop:
- Launch the Spotify app on your desktop.
- On Windows:
- Click on the three-dot menu in the top left corner of the screen.
- Select "File" from the dropdown menu.
- Choose "Offline Mode."
- On Mac:
- Click "Spotify" in the Apple menu at the top of the screen.
- Choose "Offline Mode."
- If "Offline Mode" is checked, click it to uncheck and turn it off.
- Wait for a few seconds to ensure the mode is completely turned off.
- Click "Offline Mode" again to turn it back on.
- For Mobile:
- Launch the Spotify app on your mobile device.
- Tap on the "Home" icon at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap on the gear icon (Settings) in the top right corner.
- Scroll down to find the "Playback" section.
- Look for the "Offline" toggle switch.
- Tap the switch to turn it off.
- Wait for a few seconds to ensure Offline Mode is completely turned off.
- Tap the switch again to turn Offline Mode back on.
Clear App Cache
Clearing the cache can resolve many playback issues. Go to Settings, then Storage, and select Clear Cache. This will remove temporary files that might be causing the problem without deleting your downloads.
- For Desktop:
- Launch the Spotify app on your desktop.
- Click on your profile picture in the top right corner.
- Select "Settings" from the dropdown menu.
- Scroll down to find the "Storage" section.
- Click on the "Clear Cache" button.
- Confirm the action if prompted.
- For Mobile:
- Launch the Spotify app on your mobile device.
- Tap on the "Home" icon at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap on the gear icon (Settings) in the top right corner.
- Scroll down to find the "Storage" section.
- Tap on the "Clear Cache" button.
- Confirm the action if prompted.
Clear Device Storage
Ensure that your device has enough storage space. Spotify needs some free space to function correctly. You can identify and delete large or unnecessary files to free up space. Consider removing old documents, videos, and downloads.
- For Desktop:
- Open "File Explorer."
- Click on "This PC" to see your available storage space.
- Right-click on the Recycle Bin icon and select "Empty Recycle Bin" to permanently delete files.
- For Mobile:
- Open "Settings."
- Tap on "Storage" to see your available storage space.
- Open "Settings."
- Tap on "Apps" or "Applications."
- Select Spotify and tap "Storage."
- Tap on "Clear Cache."
Check SD Card
If you're using an SD card with your mobile device, make sure it's properly inserted and functioning. Sometimes, a faulty SD card can cause downloaded songs to not play. Here's how to check and troubleshoot it:
- For Mobile:
- Power off your device.
- Remove the SD card from its slot.
- Reinsert the SD card securely into the slot.
- Power on your device.
- Navigate to the file manager or storage settings.
- Access the SD card and test it with other files (e.g., photos, videos) to ensure it's working properly.
- Open Spotify and check if downloaded songs are now playable without issues.
Update Device & App
Make sure both your device's operating system and the Spotify app are up to date. Updates often include bug fixes that could resolve your playback issues. Go to your device's settings to check for system updates, and visit the app store to update Spotify.
Adjust Download Settings
Check your download settings in Spotify. Ensure that you're downloading over a stable connection, preferably Wi-Fi. Go to Settings, then Download, and make sure "Download Using Cellular" is off to avoid interruptions due to network issues.
- For Android:
- Launch the Spotify app on your Android device.
- Tap on the "Home" icon at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap on the gear icon (Settings) in the top right corner.
- Scroll down and tap on "Music Quality."
- Choose a lower download quality like "Low" or "Normal" to reduce file size and potentially improve download speed.
- Make sure "Download Using Cellular" is toggled off to avoid interruptions due to network issues.
- Tap on the back arrow to save your settings.
Clean Uninstall Spotify App
If the above steps don't work, try performing a clean uninstall of the Spotify app. This involves uninstalling the app, restarting your device, and then reinstalling Spotify. This can help resolve any underlying app issues.
- For iOS:
- From the Home Screen, find the Spotify app.
- Press and hold the Spotify icon until it starts to jiggle.
- Tap the "X" or the "Delete App" option to remove Spotify from your device.
- Confirm that you want to delete the app.
- Open the App Store.
- Search for "Spotify" and reinstall the app.
- For Android:
- From the Home Screen or applications list, find the Spotify app.
- Press and hold the Spotify icon and select "Uninstall" or drag it to the uninstall area.
- Confirm that you want to uninstall the app.
- Open the Settings app on your device.
- Go to "Apps" or "Applications" and find Spotify.
- Tap on "Spotify" and then tap on "Storage."
- Tap "Clear Data" to remove all app data.
- Navigate to the "Storage" section on your device and go to "Android" > "Data."
- Find and delete the "com.spotify.music" folder.
- Open the Google Play Store.
- Search for "Spotify" and reinstall the app.
- For Windows:
- Go to your computer's "Settings."
- Select "Apps" or "Apps & Features."
- Find and click on "Spotify" from the list of installed apps.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to uninstall Spotify.
- Press "Win + R" to open the Run dialog box.
- Type "%AppData%" and press Enter.
- Locate and delete the "Spotify" folder.
- Open the Run dialog box again using "Win + R."
- Type "%LocalAppData%" and press Enter.
- Delete the "Spotify" folder in this directory.
- Restart your computer to complete the process.
- For Mac:
- Open Finder and go to the "Applications" folder.
- Drag "Spotify" from the list of applications to the Trash to uninstall.
- Click on "Go" in the top menu bar and select "Go to Folder."
- Enter "~/Library/" and press Go.
- Delete the following folders:
- Caches/com.spotify.client
- Caches/com.spotify.client.helper
- Application Support/Spotify
- Empty the Trash to remove all Spotify-related files.
- Restart your Mac to complete the process.
Re-Download All Songs
As a last resort, you might need to delete and re-download all your songs. This can resolve issues with corrupted downloads. Go to your Library, remove the downloads, and then download them again when you have a strong internet connection.
- For Desktop:
- Launch the Spotify app on your desktop.
- Click on "Your Library" in the left sidebar.
- Find the playlist or album with the downloaded songs.
- Right-click on the playlist or album and select "Remove Download" to delete all downloaded songs.
- Ensure you have a strong internet connection.
- Click on the playlist or album again.
- Click the download icon (usually looks like a downward arrow) to re-download all songs.
- For Mobile:
- Launch the Spotify app on your mobile device.
- Tap on "Your Library" at the bottom of the screen.
- Find the playlist or album with the downloaded songs.
- Tap on the three dots (more options) next to the playlist or album name.
- Select "Remove Downloads" to delete all downloaded songs.
- Ensure you have a strong internet connection.
- Tap on the playlist or album again.
- Tap the download icon (usually looks like a downward arrow) to re-download all songs.
We're confident the downloaded Spotify songs not playing should be fixed within one or a few steps above. However, most users will find the steps to remove downloaded songs and clean unstill the app are frustrating. From here to redownload problematic songs can work, but there' a better method to have more control of the downloaded music songs, however free or error - convert downloaded music songs to personal music collection.
Even the problem has been solved, Spotify still requires Premium subscribers to go online at least once a month to keep all the downloads, not to mention there're more subscriptions fee. We'd like to recommend using ViWizard Spotify Music Converter to download and convert the music songs into MP3 music collection. Just as important, it's hard to go wrong with ViWizard!
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