Let’s picture something for a moment, imagine you are going on a road trip and you get your phone to get your favorite music for the road, and then something happens, you can’t play anything because Spotify just won’t sync your local files!

Yeah we know, it’s like something out of a horror film, but don’t panic, this often happens due to a bad internet connection, issues with account setup, app requirements, or maybe you just skipped an update. If you find yourself in this situation we can guarantee that there is a solution.

Spotify lets you play any song that you store on your device, this feature is great because it allows you to listen to your music library in one platform, so in order to get it working again let’s take a look at some of the fixes.

Internet Connection

This is the most common problem, and it’s very straightforward, if you don’t have an internet connection then your local music won’t sync with Spotify. You can easily check if you have a wifi connection or mobile data at the moment, if you do, then try other apps to see if they work properly, if they don’t try to reset your router or contact your internet service provider.

If other apps work properly then that’s your confirmation that the internet is not the issue here, so let’s go to the next possible fix.

You can also try using the mobile hotspot and connecting your mobile to your PC, that way you’ll make sure that both of your devices are connected to the same network.

Files Requirements

Spotify won’t let you sync any file, there are some requirements in order to use this feature, so maybe the reason you can’t play the songs is that some of these requirements are not being met.

These are the requirements:

• You need to have Spotify installed on your device
• You can only sync MP3, MP4, and M4P files
• If you don’t have a Spotify premium subscription, this feature won’t be available to you
• You need to add local files from your PC or laptop, only then you can play it on any device that has Spotify

Make sure that you meet all of these requirements in order to sync your music.

You Need to Turn On the Feature

Yes, this is obvious but we do deal with a lot of things in our daily lives so we don’t blame you if you missed the fact that you need to turn the option on from Spotify settings.

1. The first step is to open Spotify, then you just have to tap the home tab.
2. Once you’re there, tap the Settings icon in the corner.
3. Go to local files and then tap.
4. The only thing you have to do there is switch on “Show audio files from this device” and you’re done, it’s that easy.
5. If you want to sync files from your PC or laptop to your iPhone or tablet, click “Yes” when the pop-up that asks permission to access your local network shows up, just in case say yes to everything.

You only have to go to the settings and turn on “Local Files”, but remember that in order for it to work you need to do this on every device.

Using Different Accounts

If you have different accounts available, then make sure that you’re logged in with the same one across devices.

It’s very easy to check what account you’re using from Spotify’s settings or just by looking at the corner of your app and seeing what username is there.

This could be an issue that happens when there are several people using the same computer or things like that, so make sure you check this in order to use the feature on any device.

You Need to Update the App

Spotify has won the spot of one of the best streaming apps in the market thanks to its competitive spirit so that is why the app is being updated constantly to improve every aspect and get the upper hand on the competition. This is something that you need to be aware of because if you don’t update the app, you won’t be able to use the feature.

The outdated cache files will bring trouble to your plans so remember to keep it updated, it’s very easy, you can have your phone automatically download every update that comes out, or you can check manually.

This is how you check for updates on your phone:

• If you want to check on your iPhone, you have to open the app store and find the ‘Updates’ tab which is located in the bottom right of the screen. If you see Spotify there, then it means that you need to update the app, if not then you are already good to go.
• In order to check for updates on Android, just search for Spotify in the Google Play Store. If you need to update the app it will show up below the name and the icon, if not then you already have the latest version.
• If you want to know if you need to update the PC version of Spotify, you’ll see a blue dot that shows up next to the menu button at the top right of your home screen. All you have to do is Click the menu button and choose ‘Update Available. Restart Now.’ option

If for some reason this doesn’t work you can uninstall and install the app, this will give you the most updated version.

Download the App Again

The old reliable trick is if everything else fails, try to uninstall and install the app and see if that fixes the problem, however, we are almost certain that one of these fixes will solve your problem.

We already mentioned this to get the update but hey, this fixes a lot of problems.

Conclusion

This is a great feature that improves the experience for all users and it’s yet another reason to have Spotify, because who doesn’t want to have their streaming and local catalog in the same place?

It’s awesome that Spotify is adding more accessibility updates and while there are always some minor problems that show up on the way, there is always a solution for every problem, and if you can’t find a solution yourself, then you could contact support, but as we said earlier, this is not likely.

Now you can be prepared for anything when you are getting ready for your road trip, so whatever happens, you can solve it before getting behind the wheel.