Spotify keeps stopping Android

Popular audio and media streaming platform Spotify has been offering its services to music and podcast lovers all over the world since 2006. Currently, 345 million active monthly users enjoy Spotify for its variety of music and the ability to share music with friends. However, persistent pausing and buffering of content spoils the overall listening experience.

If Spotify keeps pausing for you, keep reading as well take you through the things to look at in solving this. Weve outlined some quick fixes for you to apply from your mobile or computer. Our FAQ section includes how to download Spotify music and what to do when you cant download successfully.

Spotify Keeps Pausing

Here are some simple things to try if youre experiencing a problem while listening to Spotify on your mobile device:

• Try clearing out the temporary data stored that may be causing the problem. Do this by switching off your phone for 15 or so seconds before turning it back on.
• Disable low power mode. Low power mode can cause interference with your Spotify stream. Try turning it off from your Settings under Battery options.
• Disable data saver mode. A reduction in the amount of data Spotify uses can result in pausing issues; therefore, try turning off data saver mode from Settings, Data Saver.
• Try downloading the music to your device for uninterrupted listening when in an area with low cellular coverage. Check out our FAQ section for the instructions on how to do this.

Now for some things to try from your computer:

Sign Out Everywhere

Sometimes signing into your account from other devices can cause the device youre currently listening from to intermittently pause. Force Spotify to sign out of all your devices by:

1. In a new web browser, navigate to Spotify.com.
2. If prompted, sign in to your account.
   
3. From the home page, towards the top-right, select the Menu icon.
   
4. Select Account from the pull-down menu.
   
5. On the left, click on Account Overview.
   
6. Scroll down and click on the Sign Out Everywhere option.
   
7. Youll now be signed out of all your devices including the web browser.

Note: You can only sign out of all your devices via the Spotify website.

Clean Re-Install

Sometimes deleting cache data, deleting the app, then re-installing it typically fixes any problems caused by file corruption. It also ensures that you have the latest version of the app installed:

Clean Android Re-Install

To delete Spotifys cache and app from your Android device:

1. Navigate to and click on Settings.
2. Click on Apps.
   
3. Find Spotify then select it.
   
4. Click on Storage, then Clear Data.
   
5. Click on Uninstall.
   

To re-install Spotify on Android:

• Navigate to the Google Play app to find and re-install Spotify.

Clean iOS Re-Install

To delete Spotifys cache and app via your iOS device:

1. Launch Spotify, then from Home select the Settings gear icon.
   
2. Scroll down to select Storage.
   
3. Click on Delete Cache, then select it again to confirm.
   
4. Select and long-press the Spotify icon.
5. Click on the Delete App from the options that appear, then Delete.
   

To re-install Spotify on iOS:

• Navigate to the App Store to find and re-install Spotify.

Clean Windows Re-Install

To delete Spotifys cache and app via Windows:

1. Navigate to the C drive.
   
2. Click on Users then the Username folder.
   
3. Select AppData then Local.
   
4. Find and click on Spotify.
   
5. Locate the Storage folder then delete it.
   

To delete the Spotify app:

1. Select the Start button from the menu bar, then Settings.
   
2. Click on Apps, then Spotify.
   
3. Select Uninstall.
   

To re-install Spotify on Windows:

• Navigate to the Microsoft Store to find Spotify and re-install it.

Clean macOS Re-Install

To delete Spotifys cache and app via macOS:

1. Launch Finder.
   
2. Then from the menu at the top, select Go then long-press the Alt key and select Library.
   
3. Click on Caches then select and delete the com.spotify.Clientfolder.
   
4. Select Application Support then delete the Spotify folder.
   

To re-install Spotify on macOS:

1. Launch Finder.
   
2. Select Applications from the sidebar menu on the left.
   
3. Locate the Spotify and drag it to the Trash icon.
   
4. Then empty the trash to completely delete the app.
   

To re-install Spotify on macOS:

• Navigate to the app store find the Spotify app to download.

Corrupted SD Card

If your device has an external SD card you may be using it to store your music. Your SD card may have become corrupted or damaged and therefore prevents you from successfully accessing the music stored on it. You could try removing then re-inserting the SD card:

1. Switch off your device.
   
2. Remove the SD card.
   
3. Blow onto it to remove any dust that might be causing an issue, and if possible, clean the area where the SD card resides.
4. Then re-insert the SD card.

It could also be that youve run out of data storage space on your SD card or phone. To free up some space on an Android device:

1. Navigate to and click on the Settings.
   
2. Towards the bottom of the page select the Storage option.
   
3. Verify whether you have enough free space on your device.
   
4. If your free space is running low, youll need to go through your phone and delete messages, pictures, and videos, etc.; everything you dont need or use.

To do the same from an iOS device:

1. Navigate to and click on Settings.
   
2. Select General, then iPhone Storage.
   
3. Verify whether you have enough free space on your device.

If youre running low, again, go through your phone and delete any messages, pictures, and videos etc. that you dont need or use.

Remove Host Files

If the problem occurs whilst listening on your computer, try removing Spotify from your host file. To do this via Windows:

1. Navigate to Notepad, right-click then select Open as Administrator.
   
2. Navigate to File > Open > C > Windows > System32 > drivers > etc.
   
3. Beside the File Name box, select All Files.
4. Select and open the Hosts file.
   
5. Once opened, youll see lines of text numbers with a hash # sign at the start of each line.
6. Look for any entries that include Spotify in the address.
   
7. Delete the entries including Spotify.
8. Save the changes then restart Spotify.

To do this via macOS:

1. Launch Finder.
   
2. From the menu, navigate to Go > Go to Folder.
   
3. Enter the following location into the text field: /private/etc/hosts then hit enter.
   
4. Another Finder window displaying your Macs hosts file with be highlighted.
   
5. Click on it then drag and drop it onto your desktop.
   
6. Double-click on the file to open, it will open in TextEdit.
7. Look for entries with Spotify in the address and delete them.
   
8. Now save your changes and restart Spotify.

Check Your AirPods or Bluetooth Headphones

• First, double-check whether the problem is being caused by your wireless ear/headphones. Pair them up with another device and listen to something other than Spotify to see if the problem still occurs.
• Ensure other wireless devices are not connected to Spotify at the same time; if this is the case, disconnect them. You could also remove other wireless headphones paired with your device since theyll try to automatically connect to your device once within range.
• Ensure you have a full battery. A low battery typically causes connection issues.
• Check the supported Bluetooth versions for your device. Your headphones may not be compatible with your device.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some answers to questions you may have about Spotify.

How to Download Spotify Tracks

With Spotify Premium, you can download your music to listen to offline. To download Spotify tracks for offline listening from your iOS or Android device:

1. Launch and sign in to Spotify.

2. At the bottom-right of the screen, click on Your Library.

3. Then click on the playlist you wish to download.

4. From the playlist toggle ON the Download option.

Your song will start to download displaying a green downward-facing arrow once its completed.

To download Spotify tracks for offline listening from your Windows or macOS computer:

1. Sign in to your Spotify account.

2. Locate the playlist you wish to download.

3. Select the playlist then toggle ON the Download option.

Your song will start to download displaying a green downward-facing arrow once its completed.

Why Cant I Download Spotify Tracks?

Ensure you have a Spotify subscription since youll only be able to download tracks that way.

Ensure you have a strong internet connection. If the Wi-Fi icon is showing a full connection but you still cant download tracks, go into your internet settings and check that there arent any error alerts beside it. By default, Spotify will wait until youve connected to Wi-Fi as opposed to cellular data networks before downloading music.

Ensure you have enough storage space on the device you are trying to download to. Check your device since you may need to free up some space. At least one free GB should suffice.

Ensure youre not using more than five devices to download music to. If you attempt to download to a sixth device, Spotify will remove downloads from the device use the least.

An Uninterrupted Spotify Listening Experience

Spotifys music and podcast streaming services are enjoyed by millions worldwide. By subscribing to Spotify you can download its content on up to five devices and enjoy uninterrupted music offline. Listening directly from your device typically resolves the pausing issue when streaming in areas with low Wi-Fi connection and cellular data access.

Now that youve hopefully solved the pausing problem, what method did you use to resolve it? Have you experienced it since? What do you enjoy most about Spotify? Let us know in the comments section below.