Spotify Not Working on iPhone? 9 Ways to Fix

If you’re an iPhone user who loves streaming music, encountering issues with Spotify can be frustrating. The app may refuse to play songs, crash, or not open at all. But don’t worry. This tutorial will show you multiple ways to get Spotify back up and running on your iPhone.

1. Force-Quit and Re-Open Spotify

It’s not unusual for Spotify to encounter unexpected technical errors that cause it to malfunction on the iPhone. A quick way to deal with them is to force-quit and reopen the app. Here’s how:

1. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause to open the App Switcher. On Touch ID-based iPhones, double-click the Home button.
2. Swipe up on the Spotify app to close it.
3. Wait a few seconds, then tap the Spotify icon on the Home Screen or App Library.

2. Check the Spotify Server Status

At times, the problem isn’t on your end but with Spotify’s servers. To check if the Spotify servers are down, visit Downdetector or a similar service and look for reports of outages. You can also look up social media—e.g., X or Reddit—for official statements by Spotify regarding server availability.

If there appears to be a service outage, your best course of action is to wait for Spotify to get its servers back online.

3. Check Your Internet Connection

A stable internet connection is crucial for a seamless experience with Spotify. Ensure your iPhone is connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot nearby or has a strong cellular data signal. Then, conduct a speed test using an online tool like Fast.com, Speedtest.net, or SpeedOf.me. If the results don’t look good, here’s what you can do:

• Open the Settings app and toggle Airplane Mode to reboot the networking hardware inside your iOS device.
• Tap Cellular and ensure that Spotify has permission to use mobile data.
• Tap Wi-Fi, tap the Info icon next to the active network, or go to Cellular > Cellular Data Options and disable Low Data Mode to give Spotify unrestricted access to Wi-Fi and cellular.
• Go to Settings > General > VPN & Device Management and disconnect from any active VPNs (virtual private networks).
• Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone and reset your iPhone’s network settings.

4. Restart Your iPhone or iPad

Restarting your iPhone clears the system cache and solves many randomly-occurring problems with apps like Spotify. To do that:

1. Hold the Side and Up or Down Volume buttons for 3-5 seconds. On Touch ID-based iPhones, hold the Side button only.
2. Drag the Power icon to the right, then wait 30 seconds once the screen darkens.
3. Hold the Side button until you see the Apple logo.

Alternatively, you can reboot both the system software and the device firmware by force-restarting your iPhone.

5. Update the Spotify App

Spotify releases regular updates that address software-related bugs and performance issues with its app. To update Spotify to its latest version, open the App Store and search for Spotify—if an update is available, tap Update.

Enable automatic updates on the App Store so that your iPhone apps always remain up to date.

6. Update the System Software

Updating the system software on the iPhone is essential for app stability and performance. To update iOS to its latest version:

1. Open the Settings app and go to General > Software Update.
2. If an update is available, tap Download and Install.
3. Ensure your device is connected to Wi-Fi and is charged (or plugged into a power source) to complete the update.

7. Clear the Spotify App Cache

Spotify caches various forms of data on the iPhone to speed things up. However, cache corruption can cause the app to run slow, crash, or not behave as expected. That’s why Spotify gives you the option to clear its cache.

If you can open and interact with the Spotify app:

1. Tap your Spotify profile portrait on the top-left corner of the Home, Search, or Your Library tabs.
2. Tap Settings and privacy.
3. Select the Storage option.
4. Select the Clear cache button.
5. Tap Clear cache again on the confirmation pop-up.

If the Spotify app hangs immediately after launch, an alternative method is to offload and re-add the app to your iPhone. Don’t worry—all of your downloads will remain intact. To do that:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to General > iPhone Storage and tap Spotify.
3. Tap Offload App.

4. Tap Reinstall App once the option becomes available.
5. Open the Spotify app and sign in with your Spotify account credentials if prompted.

8. Remove and Reinstall Spotify

If the problem persists, you’re likely dealing with a broken Spotify app installation on your iPhone. The only way to fix that is to delete and reinstall Spotify at the expense of losing your music downloads. If you’d like to go ahead:

1. Press and hold the Spotify app icon on the Home Screen or App Library.
2. Tap Remove App, then Delete App.
3. Visit the App Store, search for Spotify, and tap Download.

9. Reset Your iPhone’s Settings

Resetting your iPhone’s network, privacy, and accessibility settings to factory defaults is a powerful last resort for fixing malfunctioning apps due to corrupt configurations. You won’t lose any of your data except for any saved Wi-Fi networks and passwords, so here’s what you must do:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset.
3. Tap Reset All Settings.
4. Enter your device passcode and Screen Time passcode—learn how to reset a forgotten Screen Time passcode.
5. Tap Reset All Settings again to confirm.

6. Wait until iOS restores all settings to their defaults—the system software should reboot as part of the process.
7. Open Spotify and check if it works normally. If it does, open the Settings app and re-configure your preferences by diving into the relevant categories—General, Accessibility, Privacy & Security, etc.

Spotify Is Working Again on iPhone

Troubleshooting Spotify on an iPhone doesn’t have to be a daunting task. By following the instructions above, you can often resolve issues quickly and get back to enjoying your music. Contact Spotify Support if you continue to encounter problems.