Spotify Problems On MacBooks? 6 Known Issues (Solved)

Spotify is the dominant force in the music and podcast streaming sector, and when we consider Apple’s Macbook prominence in desktop technology… hello, seamless streaming!

However, when your Mac device and Spotify aren’t getting along, it can breed frustration and annoyance.

In this article, we take a look at some common problems experienced by Spotify subscribers on their Mac devices and how to troubleshoot them.

Spotify Continuously Pauses in the Middle of Songs

When you have a number of apps open in the background, running at the same time, it can cause Spotify to pause randomly in the middle of the content you’re listening to.

This usually occurs if the apps running in the background also occupy the audio output channel.

These apps usually take over the audio output channel, which results in Spotify pausing:

• Twitter
• Apple Music
• YouTube
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Netflix

It is advised that to prevent Spotify from pausing randomly, make sure you have completely closed applications such as these that hog audio output.

If the random pausing problem persists, you can use these steps to log out of Spotify from all your devices:

1. Launch Spotify on your Mac device.
2. Open the ‘Account Overview’  page.
3. Click on ‘Sign Out Everywhere’
4. You should be signed out of Spotify on all of your devices.
5. Sign in to Spotify again.

You should be back to regular usage now.

Another issue that can cause Spotify to constantly pause randomly, is if the version you’re using is outdated. Usually, when apps release new versions, they resolve prior issues and minor bugs.

Follow the steps below to ensure that you’re using the latest version of Spotify:

1. Launch the Spotify App on your desktop.
2. On the menu bar, select Spotify.
3. A drop-down menu should appear, look for and click on ‘About Spotify’
4. When the window opens, scroll to ‘New Update Available’
5. Click on it to download the latest version of Spotify.
6. Once it is done downloading, install it on your Mac device.

Spotify is not Responding and won’t Connect to the Internet on Mac

Numerous Spotify users have encountered problems when they launch the app, but Spotify alerts them that they are offline and cannot play music. 

This is usually caused by a fault in Spotify’s servers, where unfortunately, you would have to wait for Spotify to resolve this on their end first.

However, there are times when the problem is your MacBook’s firewall denying access to Spotify, making it impossible for the platform to connect.

This is an issue that can be remedied by using the following steps to allow Spotify through the firewall:

• • Restart your router or modem.
  • On your Mac device, click on the ‘Apple’ menu.
  • Scroll down and then click on ‘System Preferences’
  • Select ‘Security & Privacy’ and then click on ‘Firewall’ or ‘Firevault’

• Tap on the padlock icon, it will require your system password to unlock; enter the password.

• Click ‘Firewall Options’
• Select ‘Spotify.app’, then choose ‘Allow Incoming Connections’

The Mac Screen Turns Black then Spotify Closes

When this occurs, the best thing would be to perform a clean reinstall of the app because it is possible that there are some cached files that have been damaged and will continue to cause the app to not function at its optimum.

Here is how to perform a clean reinstall of Spotify on your Macbook:

• Close Spotify.
• Open ‘Finder’, on the menu bar, click ‘Go’
• Select ‘Computer’
• Now select ‘Macintosh HD’
• Next, select ‘Library’
• Look for the ‘Caches’ folder, open it, and then delete the ‘com.spotify.client’ folder inside.
• Hit the back key and under the main Library folder, scroll to the ‘Application Support’ folder and open it.
• Locate the ‘Spotify’ folder and delete it.

When you’re ready, you can install Spotify again.

Spotify Keeps Crashing on Mac Devices

Spotify users hardly have an issue with the app crashing or glitching on the mobile app, but the desktop app is a bit more problematic.

It was discovered that this is caused by the cache being poorly managed and where it compounds through regular streaming and usage of the app.

This results in your device being slow overall and the Spotify app constantly not functioning properly.

Luckily, you can easily remedy this by clearing the cache on your device.

Follow the steps below to clear the cache:

• • Select ‘Go’ then select ‘Utilities’.
  • Look for ‘Activity Monitor’ then double-click on ‘Spotify Processes’
  • Click on ‘Quit Process’, this will close the Spotify App completely.

Next,

• • Go to ‘Finder’ then select ‘Go’
  • Click ‘Go to Folder’ and type in /Library/Caches
  • Right-click on the Spotify file.
  • Select, ‘Move to Trash’

• Hit ‘Back’, and in the Library folder, scroll to ‘Application Support’

• From there, look for and open a folder labeled, ‘Spotify’, then scroll to ‘Prefs’
• Open the file in the text editor and scroll to the end and type ‘storage size=1024’ at the end of the file.

This will prevent your cache from compounding as it will be limited in size.

If none of the above solutions work, you can try cleaning up the ‘hosts file’ and seeing if you can open Spotify again. 

The host file is a small but critical component that allows your Mac to function properly.

Clean up these files by following these steps:

• On your desktop, double-click on the host files.
• TextEdit should open, select all by clicking on ‘Command’ + A, and now click on the ‘Delete’ key to delete everything in it.

Spotify’s Web Player keeps Glitching

Spotify’s web player is quite popular, but it still has technical glitches which pop up every now and then.

Hre are some things you can try when Spotify’s web player glitches:

Disable your browser’s extensions and clear the browser’s cache, now open Spotify in a private window.

Chrome and Firefox are known for disabling the playback of protected content, you would need to enable it by:

• Launch Chrome on your desktop.
• Click on the vertical ellipsis at the top right of the browser, then select ‘Settings’ in the drop-down menu.
• Click on ‘Privacy and Security’, followed by ‘Site Settings’
• Select ‘Additional Content Settings’, followed by ‘Protected Content IDs’
• Under ‘Default Behavior’ select ‘Sites can play protected content’.

 

• Launch Firefox on your desktop.
• Click on the ‘Menu’ icon (the three vertical lines).
• Select ‘Settings from the drop-down menu.
• Navigate to the Digital Rights Management (DRM) Content section in the General panel.
• Check the ‘Play DRM-Controlled Content’ box.

 

Also, ensure that the Google Widevine plugin is turned on:

• Click the menu button, then Add-ons and themes, then Plugins.
• Click the ellipsis (3-dot) icon next to Widevine Content Decryption Module provided by Google Inc. in the Add-ons Manager Plugins panel.
• Make sure Always Activate is selected from the drop-down menu.

Read our article about problems with Spotify on Firefox for a more in-depth look at issues that might occur. 

Spotify Media Keys are not working on Macbook

With the Spotify app, you are able to use shortcut keys to play, pause, and skip to the next song.

If the shortcut keys suddenly stop working or have never worked, it could be because of two things:

1. Spotify hasn’t been given permission to access the shortcut keys.
2. Another app is utilizing the keys.

Both of these causes can be resolved by allowing Spotify to control your computer by using these steps:

• Open the Apple Menu.
• Scroll to ‘System Settings’ and select ‘Security & Privacy’ in the drop-down menu.
• Click on ‘Accessibility’, then select ‘Spotify’
• Now, tap on the padlock, and unlock it with your password.
• Under ‘Allow the apps below to control your computer’, check the box next to Spotify.
• Once you’re down, tap on the padlock again to lock in the changes you’ve made.

If the play button is grayed out and you’re unable to play your content, your internet connection could be unstable, or you’re currently in offline mode.

Follow these steps to check your internet connection:

• Open the Apple Menu.
• Scroll to ‘System Settings’ and click on ‘Wi-Fi’
• Next to the currently connected network, select ‘Details’
• Now tap on ‘Forget this network’, then select ‘Remove this network’
• Give it a few minutes, then reconnect to the network again

If you suspect you’re in offline mode, use these steps to turn it off:

• Launch the Spotify App on your Mac device.
• Open ‘Settings’ then go to ‘Offline Mode’
• Uncheck the box next to ‘Offline Mode’

A general tip that applies to most Spotify and Macbook issues: if you have not kept your macOS updated, there will be incompatibility issues with Spotify and other apps as your Mac device is not operating at its optimum.

In such a case, it is imperative for you to update your operating system using these steps:

• Open the Apple Menu.
• Scroll to ‘System Preferences’
• Now click on ‘Software Update’ then ‘Upgrade Now’

General Pros and Cons of Using Spotify on Mac Devices

Pros:

Spotify’s sound quality on the desktop is quite high, even free users can get up to 160 kbps, and premium users have access to approximately 360 kbps.

The interface is not only sleek, but it is also very user-friendly.

Cons:

• Spotify can randomly pause in the middle of songs.
• Spotify may stop responding and have difficulty connecting to the internet.
• The Mac screen turns black then Spotify closes
• The Spotify App can crash on your Mac devices.
• The Web Player has issues with glitching.
• The Media keys will not work if Spotify doesn’t have permission to access them

Some users have complained of a high-pitched “hiss” on Spotify. If you experience this issue, please read our article with troubleshooting tips for white noise on Spotify.

Sources

Spotify not working on Mac: 10 solutions

Spotify Won’t Open On Mac

Spotify Redesigns Mac and Web Players