How to Reach Spotify Customer Service With Troubleshooting Tips

Published on 21.05.2024 by TF

With over 600 million monthly users, Spotify is the biggest music streaming platform. Whether on the free or paid plan, you can access a library of over 80 million songs. However, there are times when Spotify may not work as required. This often leads to the question of how to reach Spotify customer service. This article will guide you on how to do that and provide troubleshooting tips to help you solve some of these issues.

Common Spotify Problems and their Troubleshooting Guide

Before reaching out to Spotify customer service, learning the most common issues with Spotify is essential. This can save you the headache of contacting them in an era when Spotify is reducing its workforce. Here are some of the common Spotify issues and how to handle them.

The Spotify Site Is Down

It's essential to begin with the basics, and just like any site or app, the Spotify platform can go down. The result is that all services become unavailable. You can follow the Spotify social media pages to determine if the site is down. If that is the case, there is nothing to do except wait for the service to resume.

The Spotify App Is Not Running

A common way to troubleshoot software and hardware problems is restarting your device. You can also do the same with Spotify by restarting your device. Open force the app switcher menu to force close it. To close it, swipe to the Spotify app. Another way is to tap on the Close All button.

If that fails, you can try to reboot your device, whether it's a PC, smartphone, or tablet. You can do a cold boot if you want to take the restarting to the next level. This will clear the cache and start the app on a clean slate.

Crackling Sound

If you hear a crackling sound when running Spotify, this could result from a slow internet connection. If you want to avoid this issue and get good audio quality, use a fast and reliable audio quality. You can run an internet speed test to determine if your internet is fast enough to stream music.

If you have turned on Data Saver, this could also result in your Spotify app not functioning as well as you would like it to. To turn off the Data Saver on your Android device, go to devices and tap on the profile icon, followed by settings. Scroll down to the Data Saver and select Off. If using an iPhone, you can click Settings, followed by a Data Saver.

If the crackling sound is happening on a desktop device, you can solve the issue by turning on the hardware acceleration function in the app. If you are using a Windows laptop, click on Settings>Compatibility. Toggle on the button. If you use a Mac device, you will see the Spotify menu bar and click on hardware acceleration to turn it on.

Poor Audio Quality

One way to avoid the crackling sound is by ensuring you have the highest audio quality. By default, the streaming quality on Spotify is usually set to auto. That means it keeps on changing depending on the quality of your streaming. To avoid this, you should set the default setting of your Spotify voice to high quality.

However, you must have a Spotify Premium account for the highest audio quality. To enable the highest quality for mobile and Wifi streaming, tap on Settings, followed by Audio Quality. Choose Very High.

Spotify Doesn't Open Or Crash When Opening

If the Spotify app doesn't open or keeps crashing, you must determine if this is only happening on your device. If it works on other devices, there could be some pending updates. Go to the Play Store and update the app. 

Also, try clearing the app cache to see if this will solve the problem. If it doesn't, click on Settings, followed by App and Spotify. You can then tap on the Clear Data and Clear Cache button. Alternatively, you can clear the cache and install the Spotify app from the Play Store. Log into your account.

If the Spotify app fails to open or crashes on Apple devices, you can use the Switcher app to clear it and then relaunch it. Ensure that you are also using the latest app. Long press the App Store icon and tap on Update. If the app has a recent update, you can install it.

If the problem persists, you can try to clear the cache. To do that on an IOS device, tap the gear icon on the Spotify app. Open the storage setting and click on Clear Cache. Finally, uninstall the Spotify app and reboot your phone before reinstalling it.

Only Playing Downloads

Even though Spotify is getting Tik Tok Support, another common issue is that the app only plays downloads, whether songs or podcasts. When this  happens, it could be a result of a loss of internet connection.

When offline, Spotify only allows you to play the downloaded music. If the app is offline, you will see a banner showing that Spotify is offline. You can turn off the offline mode by opening Settings and scrolling until you see the offline mode option. If you use an iPhone, you can tap on the settings, followed by Playback, and turn off the offline toggle.

Error Code 17

When an installation problem occurs on Spotify, the app will show an Error Code 17. The error often results from the system not fully removing the residue of the previous installation. The result is that the new install is usually placed on top of the first one, causing a software conflict. You should manually uninstall the app and delete the installation folder to fix this issue.

Some third-party tools can help you clear out the residual data. You can also use most devices' built-in disk cleanup services to remove the residual files. You can then restart your device before reinstalling the app once again. This will help solve the issue. However, if the error persists, you can put Spotify on compatibility mode before running it. You will have a wizard guiding you through the many compatibility issues the app may be having.

Windows Error 18

Error 18 is another major issue that the Spotify app faces. This makes it impossible to use the Spotify app as it's usually running as a background app. At times, it might be Windows that you think is running in the background. There are several steps you can follow to resolve the issue. These are:

  1. Open the Spotify app and click Settings, followed by Advanced Settings. You can go to the Startup section, followed by Window Behavior. 
  2. Ensure that the Spotify app isn't turned on as a startup app. You can do that by selecting No. You can also go to the Windows app/startup section to manage the startup/background app.
  3. Remove the Spotify app, and reboot your PC before installing it again.

Spotify Premium Is Not Working

Nowadays, Spotify has excellent features, such as an AI-driven music curation tool. However, another challenge you may encounter as a Spotify user is the inability to access Spotify Premium. Similarly, you may be unable to use some of the Spotify Premium features, including the ability to download songs. 

A simple solution to the problem is to log out of Spotify and log in again. Be sure you use the correct account. Spotify has the option of logging in using Facebook. If you registered your account using email, ensure you use your email address to log in.

Unable to Download Music

First, you need to note that the ability to download music is a Spotify Premium feature. Even if you are using Spotify Premium, you will only be limited to a maximum of 10k songs. Therefore, if you can access other Spotify features but cannot download music, you could already have reached your 10,000 download limit. 

Also, remember that Spotify only allows you to download songs to a maximum of five devices. So, you may need to check out if you have reached your Spotify device limit.

Inability to Play Local Songs on Spotify

In the past, Spotify users could play local music and playlists by adding the song to the app. While playing local songs is still possible, the drag-and-drop feature that allows you to add local songs is no longer available. Instead, you can only add local songs from the settings feature.

To play your local songs on Spotify, tap the setting icons and turn on the toggle on the Show Local File. You can now tap on the Add a Source button. This will enable you to add local songs and playlists.

Spotify Playlists Are Not Available

If your Spotify playlist is unavailable, it could be that you accidentally deleted it. Fortunately, you don't have to worry if this is the case as you can still recover your playlist. But before you try to recover it, check if this is the issue. To do so, click on the icon of your profile and choose Account. You can then tap on the Recover Playlist. Tap on the Restore Button to restore the playlist.

There is No Sound In the Music

Sometimes, you might play Spotify songs but get no sound when the music is playing. When that happens, you should check if you muted the app or device volume. You should also check the settings to confirm that you haven't set your audio to Bluetooth or any other device.

Check your device volume to see if it has the minimum volume. Ensure you are using the right slider when checking, not phone calls. If you don't see any problem with your connection, you can try other troubleshooting tips, such as clearing the cache or reinstalling the app.

Spotify Features Are Not Working

Sometimes, some of Spotify's features, such as daily mixes, may not work. The easiest way to troubleshoot this is by logging out and in again. If you still don't see the features, you can try deleting the app and installing it again.

Spotify App Is Signing You Out

At times, the Spotify app will keep logging you out. You might think this is a random thing happening, but that is not the case. Instead, it could result from a shared account, meaning someone else has already logged in using your details. While it's understandable, the individual account is intended to be used by one person at a time.

If you are using your Spotify account and someone you shared with also logged in, the app will automatically log both of you out. This is because it doesn't allow simultaneous streaming. One solution to solve the problems is logging one of the devices out.

To ensure that someone else isn't using your login details, reset your password. You can also buy the Spotify family plan to share your Spotify without getting logged out. Alternatively, you can follow someone on Spotify to listen to their playlists.

How to reach Spotify Customer Service

If you have tried the steps above but your Spotify still doesn't work, you may need to contact Spotify customer service. Unfortunately, Spotify doesn't currently offer phone support. Therefore, you may have to send them a message on X @Spotifycare. One of their customer service staff will get back to you.

You should also check for answers to your query on the Spotify community. The streaming platform has a very active community where users share tips and answer each other's questions. You can reach out to the knowledgeable members of the community referred to as stars by tweeting them @Spotifystars.

Conclusion

While Spotify offers an unmatched streaming experience, you may encounter issues requiring resolution. You can use the above steps to solve common problems, including changing your Spotify username. If you cannot solve the issue, contact the Spotify team, and they will help you resolve it. But before you do so, we recommend you read our guide on how Spotify has improved user in-app experience.