In 2006, Swedish entrepreneurs Daniel Ek and Martin Lorenzon created Spotify. In the years that followed, the company has gone on to become the dominant music streaming platform in the world, and its impact on the industry has been huge.
Why is Spotify not working?
One potential reason that Spotify may not be working is due to server issues. Updates on these problems can be found on Spotify’s Twitter page. Alternatively, you may need to update the Spotify app as older versions may be incompatible with your smartphone or other devices.
Even the best-known tech companies in the world experience problems from time to time, and Spotify are usually very quick to address any issues with their server.
When Spotify stops working, you need to identify whether the problem is being caused by something at your end, or other people are also experiencing it.
In this guide, we’ll go through the potential reasons that Spotify may not be working, and provide some solutions.
Why is Spotify Not Working?
There are several reasons that Spotify may not be working for you, some of which are out of your control, and some of which you can take measures to try and rectify.
Like all internet-based platforms, there is the potential for Spotify to stop working due to problems with its servers. If this happens, it will be down for all users, or at least a large number of users on a specific device, or from a certain location.
Some of the most common issues that cause Spotify not to work, other than server problems, are:
- Other apps interfering with Spotify
- An old version of Spotify is being used
- A lack of memory available on your device
- A firewall is blocking Spotify
The first thing you should attempt is to close all of the other apps that are open in the background of your smartphone, tablet, computer, laptop, or any other device you may be using.
Certain apps can cause problems when they are open simultaneously, due to them competing for your device’s memory and power. If you have many apps open in the background of your device, this may be causing Spotify to stop working suddenly.
It’s easy to forget to close apps when using an iPhone or Android phone because when you minimize them, they are no longer visible until you open the menu that displays all of the apps you have opened. Making it a habit to close these apps will help your device run more smoothly when using apps like Spotify.
You should also check that you are using the latest version of Spotify. If you are using an older version, it may no longer be fully compatible with the version of iOS or Android software that is installed on your smartphone.
Having outdated apps often leads to bugs and problems, which could be the culprit for Spotify not working properly on your device. Check that everything is up to date and then you can rule out this as the cause of the issue.
On a computer or laptop, your firewall or anti-virus software may be interfering with Spotify and blocking it from working. You can make Software exempt from the firewall to see whether this solves the problem.
How Often Does Spotify Crash?
For most users, Spotify crashing is a rare occurrence. The servers are usually pretty reliable, and when there are problems the Spotify team usually gets the platform back to full working status within minutes or at the most, a couple of hours.
It’s quite normal for a smartphone to close apps suddenly from time to time, or for a computer to do the same. However, this shouldn’t be happening regularly, and if it is, then it’s a sign that there is an issue that needs addressing.
If your Spotify app is crashing daily, then you need to troubleshoot the issue. The platform shouldn’t be malfunctioning that regularly, but as we covered earlier in this guide, there may be a simple solution that you can use to solve the problem.
Reinstalling the Spotify app is an effective way to stop it from crashing. I’d recommend doing this and then monitoring whether the app continues to not work properly. If the problem persists, it’s likely something to do with your device rather than the Spotify app.
Spotify crashing can be very annoying, especially if you’re midway through listening to a song, album, playlist, or podcast.
Thankfully, in the vast majority of cases, you can prevent Spotify from crashing by getting to the bottom of what is causing it and following the steps outlined in the previous section.
How Do You Reset Spotify on iPhone?
If Spotify is not working properly on your iPhone, resetting the app may solve the problem. To reset it, you need to remove it from your device and reinstall it from the App Store.
Firstly, locate the Spotify app in your iPhone’s display menu. Tap and hold the app until all of the other apps start to shake, then you should see a small “X” appear. Tap the “X”, and deleted the Spotify app.
After you’ve deleted the Spotify app, you now need to open the App Store, search for Spotify, and re-download it. After a few minutes, Spotify will reappear in your app menu, and you can open it again.
You will need to enter your login details for Spotify again after redownloading the app, so make sure that you have them ready to log back.
Check out this YouTube video that shows how to upgrade Spotify.
Why is Spotify Unresponsive?
One of the most common causes for Spotify or other apps being unresponsive is a lack of available memory on your device. Whether you use an iOS or Android device, having low memory will make it harder for Spotify to work properly.
Spotify works by streaming audio and video from its servers directly to your phone, computer, or tablet device. To do this, there must be at least 250MB of storage space available to cache the data and process it.
A cache is simply a storage space set up specifically for temporary files which help Spotify to run efficiently, quickly, and smoothly., If there is less than 250MB available on your device, it will be unable to store files in the cache.
To free up some space on your smartphone, there are several things you can do. Perhaps the most obvious would be to delete some of the apps that you don’t use regularly or feel that you don’t need anymore.
Alternatively, if you’re an iPhone user, you could upload your photos or videos to iCloud, which will free up a lot of space on your device as these types of media can be very taxing on its storage.
Similarly, Android users can use the Google Drive storage service to free up space by uploading some of their photos and videos.
Where Can I Check if Spotify Servers Are Down?
An easy way to determine whether Spotify is not working due to a server issue is by checking this status page, which provides constant updates for users. Alternatively, you can check the @SpotifyStatus Twitter feed where updates are also posted by the Spotify team.
If there are issues with Spotify’s servers, or they are performing maintenance, you’ll likely see many people talking about it on social media platforms like Twitter.
If no one else is talking about the issue you have, then it’s likely that there’s something on your end that is causing Spotify to not work properly.
You can also check whether Spotify’s servers are down by simply searching it in Google, and looking for any related news articles or tweets that suggest that other people are also experiencing the problem.
Spotify’s Twitter page is the most reliable source for information on any bugs, issues, or maintenance work. They understand that their users need to be kept in the loop when problems occur.
Related Questions
Why is Spotify skipping songs?
If Spotify starts skipping songs, this is usually because there is a problem with your internet connection. When you are streaming songs, it requires a constant internet connection otherwise it may cause the app to suddenly cut out or skip tracks.
What does clearing the cache on Spotify do?
iOS and Android users can now clear the cache of their Spotify app, without losing any of their downloaded tracks. This will help to free up the storage space that is essential to the Spotify app working properly.
Why did Spotify delete my playlist?
There are several reasons that Spotify could have deleted your playlist, but the most likely is that your description or one of the images you used was deemed inappropriate by Spotify.
