Many people use Spotify on their Windows PC or macOS while sitting at a desk. When Spotify stops working on your Windows PC or MacBook it can spoil the mood. Usually, the reasons why Spotify is not working on your desktop include cache, device limitation, or any other error that can be fixed. Follow the guide below to quickly listen back to your favorite tracks.
before starting
You can try these simple fixes immediately when Spotify refuses to work on your desktop computer.
- Update Spotify using the latest version Microsoft Store (Windows) or app Store (Mac OS). Many users like to use older Spotify versions because of the UI, but over time, they become unresponsive and no longer supported by the OS.
- Spotify may be down, and many other users are experiencing the same problem as you. You can check it here downdetector,
- You can download 50,000 songs on five devices, with a maximum of 10,000 songs per device. Although that's a lot of track, some power users may exceed that limit.
- Check whether the internet is working or not.
- Disable VPN, and also check your firewall and antivirus.
1. Sign out of all devices and change password
Spotify has similar restrictions for premium users as well. For example, the number of devices is limited to five, even for premium users. Additionally, you can only play a song on one of those devices at any time. Perhaps the reason why Spotify is not working on your Windows or macOS computer is that the device limit has been reached. To log out of devices:
1. Log in to your Spotify account in your favorite browser.
2. Click on your profile picture Select More in the upper-right corner Account,
3. Scroll down a bit and click right above the Help section sign out everywhere button.
4. Click again on next page sign out everywhere Button to confirm. As Spotify notes on that page, it will take up to 1 hour to take effect but in our case, it was immediate. You'll need to sign back in on the other device (not the one you used to do this).
This will also help protect your account from hackers and scammers who have gained access to your account. The next step is to change the password of the Spotify account to secure it. to do that:
1. Open a new tab in your browser. go to Reset Spotify Password Page,
2. You must enter your email id First for verification and then click on send link button. This is so that no one except you can reset the password. A verification link will be sent to your email ID. Click on that link to verify. Follow the on-screen instructions to create a new password.
Comment: it's a good time Review the apps associated with your Spotify account, These may include physical speakers and smart devices like Alexa.
2. Disable Hardware Acceleration in Apps
No, we are not talking about your browser's hardware acceleration option. The Spotify desktop app comes with this feature, which may prevent the Spotify app from working properly.
for macos
1. Launch the Spotify app on your desktop.
2. choose spotify Toggle off more from the menu above hardware acceleration Option.
for Windows
1. Open the Spotify app.
2. Click on the three dots menu. choose Like under edit,
3. Under Compatibility, click turn on hardware acceleration To deactivate it.
3. Change streaming quality
Spotify offers some Various streaming quality options And will select the appropriate quality based on internet connectivity and speed. You may have manually changed this setting at some point while setting things up and Spotify is not working on your desktop because there is not enough speed or connectivity to support the chosen sound quality.
on windows
1. Open the Spotify app. Click on your profile picture choose more Adjustment,
2. Under the Audio Quality section, you can choose your preferred streaming quality from the dropdown menu.
on MacOS
1. When the Spotify app is open, click spotify Menu button next to the Apple logo in the upper left corner and select Adjustment From the context menu.
2. You can change the streaming quality under the Audio Quality section from the dropdown menu.
Question: Have you tried the Jam feature of the Spotify app yet? It's great, especially with friends.
4. Select the correct output in Sound Settings (Windows)
Spotify not working as expected due to incorrect sound settings on your Windows PC. Many users reported that the default value for sound output on their PC was set to blank/default instead of their speakers. Let's resolve this quickly.
1. Press windows+i Keyboard shortcut to open Settings.
2. search for sound settings And then open it.
3. Scroll to Advanced section and click volume mixer,
4. You can control sound output options for individual apps. Find Spotify under the Apps section and click on it to expand.
5. Make sure the correct speaker or sound output is selected for the output device here.
6. Turn off sound settings and quit Spotify. Relaunch Spotify and it should work.
5. Enable Spatial Sound for Headphones (Windows)
If you're using headphones that support spatial sound, you'll need to enable it in your PC's sound settings before Spotify will play the sound correctly.
1. go back to windows settingssearch for sound settings And open it, and click all sound equipment,
2. select your sound source Here. In our case, these will be the speakers. You get two options. we use Nahimik Easy Surround, then we will choose that. If you are using headphones and it is connected to the PC, select that.
3. Make sure audio is set to allowed Under general. Note that if audio is allowed, you will see a 'Don't allow' button and vice versa. Just below that, you can also set it as the default source for audio.
4. Scroll down and select windows sonic for headphones In the spatial sound menu.
Pro Tip: Are you watching videos on your Spotify screen and don't want them to autoplay? Here's how to disable video playback on Spotify.
6. Choose the correct sound source (macOS)
1. click on apple logo Select More in the upper-left corner system arrangement,
2. choose sound From the left sidebar and then scroll down a bit. Under the Output and Input section, select Production Tab. Make sure the correct sound source is selected here. There may be more than a few depending on the devices connected to your Mac such as speakers, headphones, and the MacBook's default speakers.
7. Run Windows Troubleshooter (Windows)
Windows OS comes with built-in troubleshooters that help resolve commonly encountered issues and bugs. There is one for all Microsoft Store installed apps. If you installed Spotify using Microsoft Store then follow the steps below.
1. Press Windows key + I keyboard shortcut to open Adjustment Application, search and open Find and fix problems with Microsoft Store apps,
2. You will see a pop-up. click on next And then follow the on-screen instructions. Windows will try to detect and fix any problems. This may take some time.
8. Delete Cache Files
Corrupted cache files can often be responsible for errors when using apps like Spotify. Delete cache files if Spotify is not working on your Windows or macOS. You'll have to sign back in but all your playlists, podcasts, etc. will resync to the cloud within moments.
For Windows users who have downloaded the app from the Microsoft Store
1. Open C drive or wherever you have installed Windows OS. By default, that is C drive.
2. Let's take an in-depth look at the folder structure below.
Users\[username folder]\AppData\Local\SpotifyIf you can't see the AppData folder, click Look and under showclick on hidden objects,
3. Remove storage Folder inside the Spotify folder.
For Windows users who downloaded the app directly from the Spotify site
1. Go down to the folder structure. open file Explorer And copy-paste the path.
C:\Users\[UserName]\AppData\Local\Packages\SpotifyAB.SpotifyMusic_zpdnekdrzrea0\LocalCache\Spotify\Data2. Delete all files and folders inside the data folder.
For MacOS users
1. click on Go choose more go to folder on the bottom.
2. Copy-paste the path below and press return,
~/Library/Application Support/Spotify/PersistentCache/Storage3. Delete everything in that folder.
9. Delete Spotify folder in App Support (macOS)
1. You need to uninstall Spotify first.
2. click on Go choose more go to folder Like the previous method.
3. Copy-paste the path below and press return,
~/Library/Application Support
4. Delete Spotify folder.
10. Clean reinstall
A clean reinstall involves deleting the cache files first so that when you reinstall the app, the cache files can be recreated. This way, corrupt cache files will not be a recurring problem.
See point 8 above to clear the cache.
To uninstall apps on Windows
open Adjustment again. Go Apps > Installed Apps Find more spotify in the search bar. click on three-dot menu Next to Spotify and select Uninstall,
To uninstall an app on macOS
Simply drag and drop the Spotify app icon to the Recycle Bin using Finder.
11. Edit Host Files (Windows)
This is a slightly advanced method so we've saved it for last. If Spotify is still not working after trying everything, you can try this. many people on Spotify support Claimed that this solved the problem for them.
1. Press windows key Find more notepad, click on run as administrator To open it with administrator rights.
2. click on file choose more open,
3. Copy-paste the below folder path into the address bar. Then select All Files from the dropdown menu below. You will see a list of files. Double-click to open the Hosts file (the Hosts calendar below it).
C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc
4. You will see a few lines with the website name and IP address. If you see any lines that include Spotify or Fastly, remove them. Don't touch anything else. It is a good idea to backup this file in any case.
at the same place
Your Spotify app will run as normal on your Windows. Often, it's a simple bug that needs to be fixed or some setting needs to be changed. Spotify will work on your Windows PC or Mac. After troubleshooting, check out great Spotify tips and tricks to get the best out of it.
