Spotify is the market leader in music streaming services nowadays, with more than 100 million users worldwide. You can listen to your favorite tracks, stream radio stations and share what you like with your friends. But… sometimes, you can experience playback issues, such as Spotify Can’t Play This Right Now.
So what’s the reason behind the error? Is it a problem with your device, or is there something else at play? Most of all, how to fix it? In this guide, we will be answering all of these questions in detail. So, hopefully, after reading this article, you will be able to play your favorite songs once again.
Common Reasons Why Spotify Can’t Play This Right Now
First of all, let’s figure out why Spotify can’t play this right now. There are thousands of users reporting this problem, but the most common reasons are:
1 – Your device or Spotify app is outdated.
Make sure that you have updated both your device and the app to the latest software. Spotify also recommends using a wi-fi network for uninterrupted service. If it’s your phone, switch to wi-fi and try again. If you are using an older app, sometimes, you may experience this issue. The newest version of Spotify for Windows can be found here.
2 – The track is locked
The track you’re trying to play is locked. You can unlock it or purchase it in the same application or via a service like iTunes. Just search for the song that isn’t playing correctly in Spotify, click on the “Play” button, go to the “Get” section and choose the unlocking option.
3 – Your Internet Connection is Unstable
If you are connected to wi-fi, it’s most likely that there is no more available bandwidth. That is why, sometimes, spotify can’t play music right now. Make sure that your internet connection has been stable for at least half an hour before playing music. You can also try using cellular data instead of wi-fi or vice versa, see what works best for you.
4 – You are using a problematic device
Your device may be damaged by outdated firmware or malware applications. In order to fix this issue, you should restart your device and check again. Reinstalling the app might help too! If these steps don’t work, try resetting your network settings.
5 – Your free trial period has expired
Are you a free user? Then check that your subscription hasn’t expired. Free users can only play a track 5 times within 6 months of their Spotify sign up. After this period, or if a free user is trying to play a song 6th time, they will get a message that Spotify can’t play their current song.
6 – There is a copyright issue with the song
Another reason might be copyright issues: some tracks are available only in certain countries, and/or they cannot be streamed or downloaded outside those countries (for example, Russia). You can try using a VPN subscription to access those restricted contents and bypass the geo-restrictions.
7 – Spotify is experiencing server problems
You may be probably experiencing Spotify’s service outage. Usually, this issue can also be fixed with an updated application, so you can try updating your Spotify and check if it helps.
8 – There is no apparent reason
It’s also worth noting that some users might experience problems with the app unexpectedly quitting or freezing for no apparent reason. This can be fixed by turning off your phone and restarting it. It’s a good idea to close all applications before restarting, as this will make sure everything works smoothly on the first launch of the Spotify app.
Troubleshooting Tips for Fixing “Spotify Can’t Play This Right Now”
And here’s how you can fix it:
Fix 1 – Check Your Internet Connection
Make sure that your device is connected to a stable wi-fi network or cellular data instead of Bluetooth, AirDrop or USB ports.
If the problem still persists, try restarting your device and then launch the app again. You can do this by pressing the “Home” button twice and swiping up on the application. Force quitting might help too! Just double-tap on the home button, swipe up on the Spotify app, so it jiggles and hit cancel instead of just closing it normally. Then relaunch the app again. If this doesn’t work either, try powering off your phone for about 10 seconds before booting back up again.
Fix 2 – Restart Your Device/App
If the app freezes, force quit it via the multitasking feature and try to launch it again. Sometimes you might need to restart your device as well if you face this problem “Spotify can’t play it right now”. If it still doesn’t work, uninstall the app and download it again from App Store. Make sure that you have a stable internet connection during download.
Fix 3 – Try Spotify Offline Mode
Spotify offline mode is highly recommended as you can listen to music without any internet connection! But keep in mind that this feature only works if you have downloaded the tracks before disconnecting from the Internet. If you don’t already have tracks downloaded, you will not be able to listen to them.
Fix 4: Disable Hardware Acceleration in the app
If you are using the Spotify app, try disabling hardware acceleration in the app. Here’s how you can do it easily:
First of all, find the “Settings” tab in the Spotify app. Next, select the “Streaming Quality” option. Here you can choose between “Normal” and “Extreme” quality. The difference is that in extreme mode, Spotify will use your device’s maximum streaming capabilities. Still, the drawback is that this might cause problems with some devices when not configured properly. So if you have any issues while using this option, try switching from “Extreme” to “Normal” streaming quality in the Spotify app.
Sometimes it might be best to choose a middle ground when solving issues, which applies here as well. If you have a compatible device, Spotify Lite is a lighter version of the app that requires less processing power and memory, which can help with freezing or crashing problems. It’s also worth considering trying Spotify on your computer as it might work better than the mobile version.
Fix 5 – Restoring Your iDevice
If you still haven’t found a solution to your problem, restoring your device’s settings might help too. Just make sure everything is backed up first!
First of all, close the app completely by double-tapping the home button and swiping up on the Spotify app. Then go to the “Settings” menu and choose “General”. Here you can choose between reset settings or reset all content and settings options.
Remember that restoring your device will delete all data, so it’s a good idea to back up your files before going any further.
Fix 6: See if it’s only you who can’t play spotify right now
If you are not sure whether the Spotify app is working correctly, check out http://www.spotifystatus.com/ to see any known issues with the service. This is less common, but it can happen when the whole service is down and not just your app. If this website informs you about some known issues, try waiting for a while and check back again later. If you have noticed, the website gives updates on an hourly basis!
Fix 7: Try a VPN
Sometimes even Spotify’s premium members can’t play a song because of the geo-restrictions. When the service detects that you are not in a supported country, it can block access to certain tracks. The solution is simple – just use Spotify’s VPN feature. With a VPN by your side, you can easily change your virtual location to another country and unlock all the songs available in Spotify! There are plenty of VPN apps out there, so you can choose one according to your needs.
Fix 8: Contact Spotify customer support.
If the problem still persists even after trying all these things, it’s probably best to contact Support directly. You can do this by going on http://support.spotify.com/us_en/contact_us and filling out a ticket about your problem with the track not playing.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, now you know what causes Spotify to Can’t Play This Right Now and how to fix it with minimum effort! It’s a common problem, which can be easily fixed using these tricks. However, understanding Spotify’s regional policy is also important. Sometimes, even if you have a premium account, the music might not play because of licensing issues. In this case, you can go for a VPN, as I mentioned earlier.
Stay tuned to Techsips for more useful information!