Spotify Not Downloading Songs? 2025 Quick Fixes & Pro Alternatives
Summary: Spotify won't download your songs? This guide gives you clear, fast fixes for the most common causes-plan limits, low storage, device caps, and shaky networkxs-plus simple paths for iPhone, Android,Windows/Mac, and Apple Watch.
Table of Contents
1. Fast Fix of Spotify Not Downloading
- Premium only: Spotify Music downloads require Premium (podcasts are free to download).
- Free space: Keep ≥ 1 GB free; then Settings - Storage - Clear cache.
- Spotify Download Limits: Stay under 5 devices and 10,000 tracks per device; go online once every 30 days.
If you still fail after 2-3 tries, directly jump to using MusicFab when Spotify keeps failing. (in later section)
Possible Reasons Why Spotify not Downloading Songs
- • You hit the 5‑device / 10,000-tracks-per-device cap. Once full, new downloads pause until you delete old ones.
- • Open Spotify online at least every 30 days to keep downloads.
- • Storage under 1 GB, cache/index corruption, network drop, explicit-content filter, regional rights, battery/optimizer killing background tasks.
- • App cache or version glitch.
2. How to Fix General Spotify Downloading Issues
| Troubleshoot guide | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Action | Why it matters | How to do it （2025 UI） | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Confirm Premium status | Free tier can’t download music | Home › Settings › Account | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Toggle Offline mode off/on | Resets stuck download queue | Tap Settings › Playback › Offline | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Switch networks or enable cellular download | Covers 30 % of failures | Settings › Audio Quality › Download using cellular(iGeeksBlog) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Free storage (≥1 GB) | Spotify halts if cramped |
Delete videos/cache； iOS (iPhone/iPad): Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage. Android: Go to Settings > Storage. Desktop (Windows/Mac): Check your drive's properties (right-click on the drive) or use system tools to see free space. |
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| Remove old offline devices | Bypass 5‑device ceiling | Settings › Manage Downloads › Offline devices (added back 2024‑Q4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Clear cache | Fixes corrupt file index | Settings › Storage › Clear cache | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Update or reinstall the app | Patches known bugs | Latest build 8.9.120+ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Re‑log all sessions | Refreshes licensing tokens | Log out everywhere, then back in | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3. Spotify not Downloading: Device‑Specific Playbooks
iPhone/iPad
- Check iOS Low-Data or Low-Power mode; both pause background downloads
- In Settings> Cellular> Spotify, leave "Data" toggled on if you intend to download over 5G
- Use Downloaded > Remove Downloads to clear space before retrying.
Apple Watch
- Keep watch on the charger and the iPhone unlocked on the same Wi-Fi
- In iPhone Spotify, tap the playlist menu > Download to Apple Watch.
- If stuck at "Waiting...", force-quit Spotify on the watch, reopenand scroll to the bottom-progress should resume.
- Still frozen? Delete Spotify from the watch and reinstall; this solved the issue for 70% of forum posters in May 2025.
Android/Desktop
- Disable battery-optimiser apps that kill Spotify in the background.
- On Windows, verify that corporate firewalls don't block port 4070(Spotify's CDN).
- Kill stale processes in Task Manager and restart the app.
To see where Spotify saves your music, head to this post.
4. Spotify Not Downloading All Songs in Playlist: A Partial Problem
This can be a very frustrating issue. Downloads work on some songs, while they fail on many others.
Let us explore the reasons and fixes that should work for you when you find Spotify Not Downloading All Songs in a Playlist.
| Why & How to fix Spotify not downloading playlists | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Causes |
Symptom | Fix | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Regional rights expired | Track name greyed out | No fix; Spotify removes offline rights | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Explicit filter ON | Clean tracks download, explicit fail | Settings › Content › Allow Explicit Content(Spotify) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hit local 10,000-song limit | Last songs won’t queue | Remove older downloads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Metadata bug | One or two songs loop “Waiting” | Remove and re‑add the track, then redownload (community workaround) (Spotify Community) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5. Bypass Spotify Downloading Issues: Download Easily with MusicFab
Well, you may have tried all those steps and are still facing the downloading issues, or you just get tired of those issues.
This is where MusicFab Spotify Converter comes in, especially when you encounter problems such as:
- Hit the 5-device/10k ceilings
- Download fails before flights/commutes and need dependable files
Here are a few features that make the downloader stand out:
- Universal Compatibility Across All Devices: You can download and convert your Spotify tracks into MP3, WAV, FLAC, or more that offer universal compatibility. You can play your downloaded tracks on any device you prefer.
- Faster downloads: Get your downloads faster. It offers you a download speed of up to 20 times compared to other tools in its genre.
- Retention of metadata: All the details of your downloaded tracks are retained. This helps you organise your downloaded files seamlessly.
- Batch downloads: Download multiple tracks in one go. That should be an excellent way to help you save time and effort.
- High-quality downloads: Get studio-quality audio performance and clear sounds. You can be assured of the downloads in resolutions as high as 320 kbps.
How to use MusicFab to download Spotify tracks?
6. FAQs
Each factory reset or watch OS reinstall may register as a new device. Purge the ghost entries under
Manage Downloads and wait 30 days for tokens to expire if the slot won't clear instantly.
Yes. As of February 2025, Spotify restored per-device removal in the mobile and desktop app under
Settings > Manage Downloads> Offline devices.
Smart Shuffle only affects in-session playback order; it does not block downloads, but users report UI
confusion between the two features. Turning it off resolves mis-taps.
4. Spotify is not downloading songs. How to fix?
You need to fix the plan, storage, limits, and connectivity. These are Spotify's primary download gates. Key numbers: 5 devices. 10k tracks/device. 30-day online≥1 GB.
Steps:
- Confirm Premium in Account.
- Free ≥1 GB; Settings → Storage → Clear cache.
- Turn Offline mode OFF, then ON again.
- Switch Wi-Fi; enable Download using cellular if needed.
- Check 5 devices / 10k per device.
- Update the app to the latest build.
5. It's still waiting to download, stuck at 0-1%
It may be caused by network hiccups, rights-expired tracks, or cache/index issues.
Steps:
- Toggle Download off/on for that playlist/album.
- Remove & re-add greyed-out tracks.
- Swap networks, disable VPN, allow cellular.
- Turn off battery saver/app optimizer.
- Clear cache, then retry.
If it persists, sign out everywhere → sign in.
6. Only some songs won't download
Steps:
- Allow explicit content
- Replace tracks unavailable in your region
- Remove older downloads if the device is near 10k
Spotify does provide a download feature officially. But it will not give you any true ownership of the downloaded tracks. That is where using Spotify Converters becomes handy. With the tool, you can get rid of Spotify's Digital Rights Management (DRM). Convert your tracks into versatile formats like MP3, FLAC, WAV, AAC, and AIFF. One tool that stands out in this connection is TunePat Spotify Converter. Is TunePat safe? Does it actually work well? And how does it compare to other options, especially MusicFab Spotify Converter, in terms of reliability, quality, and overall user experience? This article is an attempt at an authentic TunePat Spotify Converter review. We will also compare it to MusicFab.
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