Top 7 Fixes For Spotify Not Responding on Windows and Mac

Spotify is the world’s biggest online music streaming service with over 300 million active music lovers. Whatever your jam is, Spotify has it all. There are different Spotify clients for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and a few other Operating Systems (OS).

There have been a lot of user reports stating that the Spotify application is not responding on their computers. From one affected music enjoyer to another, we feel you. And that is exactly why this article was made – to help you continue listening to your favorite songs without any trouble again. 

Why is the Spotify application not responding on my computer?

The main reason for the Spotify application not respond on computers is the corruption of the installed Spotify files. This is usually caused by viruses or other malicious files. We recommend running full-system scans to get rid of the malware with the help of antivirus software. You will also face this issue if the application hasn’t been installed properly.

Steps to Fix the “Spotify application is not responding” issue on your PC

These are the different methods that you can use to address the issue when Spotify fails to respond to your computer. 

1. Launch Spotify again
2. Restart the System
3. Turn off the Network Connections
4. Uninstall and Reinstall Spotify
   1. Windows
   2. macOS
5. Turn off Hardware Acceleration
6. Kill the Spotify task
   1. Task Manager
   2. Activity Monitor
7. Take a look at the Windows or Antivirus Firewall

Fixing the “Spotify application is not responding” (Mac and Windows)

Launch Spotify again

The easiest way to listen to music again, on Spotify, is to close the application and open it again. You will have a Spotify shortcut in the system desktop or the Start menu. Use it to launch the client on your computer again. If the application runs without any problem, it means that a temporary bug was causing Spotify to not respond. 

Restart the System

Rebooting the Operating System (OS) is a simple fix to cure application crashes. This is not very complicated and works almost every time. This will reset temporary settings on your computer to the previous ones or to default and make the apps work without any errors. 

If you have a Windows PC, open the Start menu (Windows key or Start button) and click on the Power button. Now, choose Restart to restart your computer.

If you are a Mac user, click on the Apple icon on the top-left corner of the screen and choose Restart. This will restart your computer. 

Turn off the Network Connection

Though Spotify is a free application, users with a Spotify Premium account can access their downloaded playlist, even without an internet connection. There is a little workaround, that requires the network to be disabled, to get this application running.

Pull out the LAN cable or turn off the wi-fi feature on your computer. Now, open Spotify and You’ll see a “no internet connection” error message on the Spotify app window. Connect back to the internet and wait for Spotify to detect it. Once all the accessible features are available to you, check if the application responds normally. 

Uninstall and Perform a Clean Reinstall of Spotify

You may have to erase the Spotify client completely from your computer and then download it again to check if the problem is fixed on your computer. This is a common procedure for both Windows and macOS.

The following are your steps to uninstall and reinstall Spotify on your Windows and macOS PC.

Windows 10

1. Open the Start menu (Windows key or Start button).
2. Locate the Spotify launcher and right-click on it. 
3. Choose the Uninstall option from the context menu. 

You can also uninstall the app in the Windows Control Panel. 

You may see a confirmation window where you will have to select Ok. Then, you have to delete the Spotify folder on your drive. 

4. Now, open the File Explorer (Windows + E) and go to the following folder directory:

C:\ Users\ “YourUsername”\ AppData\ Roaming\

5. Locate the folder named Spotify and delete it. 

The AppData folder could be hidden. So, you will have to go to the folder with your Username and click on the Hidden items checkbox to make this folder visible. You need to delete the Spotify folder to delete the temporary data. 

This will give you a fresh Spotify client that has no access to the previous cache memory. 

Once the application has been deleted and the temporary files removed, you will have to download the Spotify setup from the Spotify website and install it on your computer. Alternatively, you can search for Spotify in the Microsoft Store and download it with an internet connection.

macOS

1. Launch the Finder menu and enter the Applications tab. 
2. Find the Spotify app and right-click on it. 
3. From the Spotify dropdown menu, click on the Move to trash option. 

As for reinstalling Spotify,  you can get it for free from the Apple Mac App Store or the website. A premium membership account requires a certain amount for a subscription. 

Disable the Hardware Acceleration

Hardware Acceleration is a system process that is used by Spotify to produce output with a higher bitrate, by employing system hardware. If there are minor hardware issues, this process can hinder your musical experience. 

Windows 10

1. Open Spotify and click on the three-dots menu on the top-left corner of this window or press Alt. 
2. This will bring a drop-down menu. Here, go into the File menu > View option. 
3. Click on the checked Hardware Acceleration option and close Spotify. 

Open the application again after a few minutes and check, if the problem persists. 

macOS

1. Launch the Spotify application and draw the Spotify menu down from the menu bar. 
2. Turn off the Hardware acceleration feature. 

Now, relaunch the application and the Spotify application is not responding issue should now be gone. 

Kill the Spotify task

Another solution for this issue is to end the Spotify task and launch it again to fix the Spotify application not responding error. This is a common procedure for Mac and Windows 10. We will now be stopping the Spotify app by force, through these procedures. 

Task Manager (Windows)

1. Press Ctrl + Alt + Del on your keyboard and select Task Manager from the Task Termination window. You can also use the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keyboard shortcut.
2. Locate the Spotify task in the Processes tab. 
3. Click Spotify and choose End Task.

You can use the Task Manager to open Spotify again. 

Activity Monitor (macOS)

The Activity Monitor is the tool that manages processes that run on the macOS. This is the utility that will help us end the Spotify application. 

1. Press the Command and Space keys on the keyboard to launch Spotlight. 
2. Type in Activity Monitor and open the relevant search result. 
3. From the list of Mac processes, locate and select Spotify. 
4. Press the Stop button (X in a circle), at the top of the window to end this process. 

Take a look at the Windows or Antivirus Firewall

The Windows Firewall is a built-in filter for threats that can come into the system through the internet. If users have a third-party antivirus, it will take over the firewall responsibilities. Minor changes can be made in the firewall to let certain blocked online content be accessed on your computer. 

There is a chance that this firewall is blocking the Spotify application from gaining network access to buffer music. You can check if it is and then, whitelist the application so that you can listen to your playlist without streaming or responsive errors.

Use these steps to take a look at your system’s network firewall:

1. Open the Antivirus application or the Windows Firewall settings. 
2. Find the firewall settings and open it. 
3. You will be able to whitelist Spotify into the list of blocked items in the firewall here.

The steps given above are not specific because the exact terminology and the UI differ for almost every antivirus program or the Windows Firewall. 

These are the steps you can take to run Spotify on your computer, without having the application crashing or becoming unresponsive on your computer. You can now listen to your favorite artist without any issues. Happy jamming!

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