Is your Spotify not Launching? Try these Proven Fixes

Whether you have a PC, laptop, android, or iOS, it is common for Spotify to stop opening on your device. There are many reasons that could prevent Spotify from opening. Since this issue occurs on different devices and operating systems, for now, we will only talk about the common root cause, which is corrupted cache and data files.

Applications store the data, such as user information and other data in the AppData folder. This data is used by the application every time a user launches it. If the data gets corrupted, the application either won’t open or won’t work properly.

Cache files are the data that the application saves in the device in order to use frequently. The application only saves the data as a cache that the user frequently accesses or the application often requires. So if the Spotify cache data is corrupted, it can prevent Spotify from opening.

1. Delete the Spotify Cache and app data

Our first step to fix Spotify is to clear the cache and app data in order to get Spotify working. This is completely safe and easy to do, it will not delete any of your music and playlist files.

Follow the steps to clear the cache and application data according to your device.

Windows

1. Right-click on the Start Menu icon from the bottom left.
2. Select Run to open Run Program.
   
3. Here enter appdata and press Enter to open the AppData folder.
   
4. Navigate to the Local folder, and delete the Spotify folder.
   
5. Once done, try launching Spotify to see if it is launching.

Android

1. Open Settings, go to Apps > Manage Apps, then search Spotify and tap on it.
   
2. Tap Clear all data from the bottom.
   
3. Then, select Clear Cache and tap OK.
   
4. Once done, again tap Clear data.
5. This time tap Clear all data.
6. Then, tap OK to remove the application data.

iOS

Since Spotify is not launching on your device, you cannot directly clear the Spotify cache, as you need to open Spotify first. However, there is a way to clear the Spotify cache without navigating to the Spotify app. To do so, follow the steps:

1. Go to Settings, then go to General.
   
2. Swipe down to the bottom and tap on iPhone Storage.
   
3. Find Spotify and tap on it to view other options.
4. Here tap on the Offload app.
   
5. Again, tap on the Offload app to remove the application data. This will remove all the cache and application data. But you will have to install Spotify again once you offload the Spotify app
6. Once done, now open the Apps Store, search for Spotify to install it on your device,
   
7. Once done, now it should launch.

2. End Task Spotify App

You may have some tasks related to Spotify already running in the background, Making Windows think that Spotify is already running, which prevents Windows from opening the Spotify.

Hence, make sure that Spotify is not running in the background. You can do this by simply executing the command in the command prompt, which will ensure that if any task related to Spotify is running, it will be automatically terminated. To do so, follow the steps:

1. Click the Start Menu and type Command Prompt.
   
2. Open the Command Prompt and type the following command to end the Spotify task.

   taskkill /im spotify.exe /f

   

3. Reset Spotify App (Windows Store Edition)

Resetting the Spotify app will only work if you have installed Spotify from Microsoft Store. Unfortunately, the reset option is only available for Microsoft apps, so if you have a desktop version, you cannot reset the Spotify app.

1. Right-click the Start Menu and select Settings.
   
2. Then, go to Apps > Installed apps.
3. Search for Spotify and click three dots.
4. Click the three dots, then click Advanced to view more options.
   
5. Scroll down to the bottom and click Reset.
   
6. Once the Spotify application has been reset, try launching it.

4. Reregister Microsoft Apps

Your Spotify app might be unregistered, which is why it is not launching on your Windows. In this case, you can try registering the Microsoft apps, which includes the Spotify application as well. To do so, follow the steps:

1. Press the Windows key and type Windows PowerShell.
2. Hit Enter to open PowerShell.
   
3. Now paste the following script in PowerShell and hit Enter.
   
   You will see a warning message; just click Paste anyway to avoid the message.

   # Get all the provisioned packages
   $Packages = (get-item 'HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Appx\AppxAllUserStore\Applications') | Get-ChildItem
   
   # Filter the list if provided a filter
   $PackageFilter = $args[0]
   if ([string]::IsNullOrEmpty($PackageFilter))
   {
   echo "No filter specified, attempting to re-register all provisioned apps."
   }
   else
   {
   $Packages = $Packages | where {$_.Name -like $PackageFilter}
   
   if ($Packages -eq $null)
   {
   echo "No provisioned apps match the specified filter."
   exit
   }
   else
   {
   echo "Registering the provisioned apps that match $PackageFilter"
   }
   }
   
   ForEach($Package in $Packages)
   {
   # get package name & path
   $PackageName = $Package | Get-ItemProperty | Select-Object -ExpandProperty PSChildName
   $PackagePath = [System.Environment]::ExpandEnvironmentVariables(($Package | Get-ItemProperty | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Path))
   
   # register the package 
   echo "Attempting to register package: $PackageName"
   
   Add-AppxPackage -register $PackagePath -DisableDevelopmentMode}

   

4. Once done, close the PowerShell and try launching Spotify.
   

5. Use the Microsoft Store Spotify version

If you have never tried installing the Microsoft Store Spotify version, try it until your desktop Spotify application starts working again. The good news is you won’t feel any difference while using the Microsoft Store Spotify version, as there is no difference between the Spotify Store version and the Spotify desktop version. To install it, follow the steps:

1. Open Microsoft Store and search Spotify using the search bar.
2. Select Spotify from the search results and click the Get button to download and install it.
   
3. Once Spotify is installed, launch the Spotify application.

6. Reset Microsoft Store

If you already have the Microsoft Store Spotify version and facing this issue, you can try resetting the Microsoft Store, which actually has worked for several affected users. Resetting the Microsoft Store is the quickest way to remove the Microsoft Store cache. Clearing the Microsoft Store cache also impacts the store applications.

1. To do so, press the Windows and R keys simultaneously to open Run Program.
2. Here type WSReset in the search box and hit Enter to reset Microsoft Store.
   
3. Once done, try launching Spotify.

7. Run the Spotify app as an administrator

If Spotify is still not launching, you can try running it with administrator privileges. Running with administrator privileges will let Spotify access the required DLL files and also helps bypass the interference from the firewall. Hence, try running Spotify as an administrator by using the following steps:

1. Right-click Spotify and select Run as administrator.
   
2. If Spotify has launched, then configure Spotify to always run with the administrator to avoid this issue for the next, Right-click Spotify and select Properties.
3. Then, go to Compatibility, and tick Run this program as an administrator.
4. Once done, click Apply and click OK.
   

    

8. Configure Compatibility Settings

Compatibility Settings has been introduced to run the old programs that are incompatible or not running properly with the latest version of Windows. Oftentimes, applications don’t work properly with the Windows compatibility settings. In this case, configuring the compatibility settings to run the program with the old versions of Windows works most of the time. To do so, follow the steps.

1. Right-click the Spotify app and go to Its Properties.
   
2. Go to Compatibility and tick Run this program in compatibility mode for and select Windows 8.
3. Additionally, you can tick the Disable fullscreen optimizations option. This will run Spotify without Windows built-in optimizations, which often conflict with the application’s optimizations.
4. Once done, click Apply and click OK.
   
5. Now try launching Spotify to check if it is launching or not. 

9. Disable Your Antivirus Software

If you are using any third-party antivirus application, then we recommend you temporarily disable it because it is possible that Spotify is being blocked by the third-party antivirus, preventing it from opening.

The following steps might be different, depending on your antivirus software.

1. Right-click the antivirus icon from the system tray.
2. Hover over your antivirus name and select Disable for 10 minutes or Disable permanently.
   
3. Once you have disabled it, try launching Spotify to see if it works or not. If it is, then either uninstall the third-party antivirus software and use Windows Defender or change your third-party antivirus software.

10. Reinstall Spotify App

If nothing works for you, the final solution that you are left with is reinstalling the Spotify app properly from the device. This includes clearing Spotify application data and cache files from the file manager to ensure a clean reinstallation.

Follow the steps to reinstall Spotify according to your device.

Windows

1. Click the Start Menu and type Add or remove programs.
2. Open the Add or remove programs settings.
   
3. Search Spotify, click the three dots and click Uninstall.
4. Again, click Uninstall to remove the Spotify application.
   
5. Once you remove Spotify, Open Run Program by pressing Win + R keys.
6. Type appdata and click OK to navigate.
   
7. Go to the Local folder, select the Spotify folder, and press the Delete key.
   
8. Once done, you can download the Spotify installer from the official site.
9. Once the installer is downloaded, run it to install Spotify and check if your problem persists or not. If it is, then try installing Spotify from the Microsoft Store.

Android

1. Open Settings, and go to Apps > Manage Apps.
   
2. Search Spotify and select it from the results.
   
3. Tap Clear data from the bottom.
   
4. Tap Clear Cache, then tap OK.
   
5. Once done, again tap Clear all data.
6. This time tap Clear all data.
   
7. Tap OK to clear the data.
8. Once done, tap Uninstall and tap OK to remove the Spotify application.
   
9. Then, open File Manager, and go to Android > Data.
10. If you can find com.spotify.music, delete it. If you use an SD card to store songs downloaded from Spotify, navigate to the SD card folder, look for com.spotify.music, and delete it.
11. Once done, go to the Google PlayStore and download the Spotify app.
    
12. Then, check if the issue is resolved.

iOS

1. Open Settings, and go to General.
   
2. Tap iPhone Storage.
   
3. Here select Spotify from the listed apps.
   
4. Tap the Offload app and tap OK to confirm. This will remove the app, but its documents won’t remove.
   
5. Then, tap Delete App and tap OK. This will remove the app from the device.
   
6. Once done, open the App Store and install Spotify.
   
7. Once done, now your problem should be gone.