Q: "There are some songs on Spotify greyed out and I can't play them. It happens in the Spotify web player and on the Spotify app for mobile and desktop. How can I fix it? Or how to listen to greyed out songs on Spotify?"
Like Spotify Error Code 4, Spotify songs greyed out is also a common problem that most Spotify users would encounter while listening to music on Spotify. Sometimes, you may just notice that the songs are occasionally greyed out in the search result and the amount of those songs seems to be increasing. Then you won't be able to play greyed out songs on Spotify properly.
We listed the reasons why are some songs on Spotify greyed out for your references. But what's the best best way to fix songs greyed out in Spotify? Let's take a look at this article and find out some solutions accordingly to access greyed out songs on Spotify quickly and easily.
- See Also: How to Fix Apple Music Songs Greyed out
- Part 1. Why Are Songs Greyed out on Spotify (Unplayable)?
- Part 2. How to Fix Spotify Songs Greyed out
- Solution 1. Troubleshoot the Internet Connection
- Solution 2. Check the VPN Network
- Solution 3. Delete and Reinstall the Spotify App
- Solution 4. Log out and Log Back in Spotify
- Solution 5. Clear the Listening Cache on Spotify
- Solution 6. Download Offline Spotify Songs Again
- Solution 7. Enable Show Local Files in Spotify
- Part 3. How to Play Greyed out Songs on SPotify
Part 1. Why Are Songs Greyed out on Spotify (Unplayable)?
Whenever there is a song greyed out on Spotify, it simply means that Spotify fails to connect to the resource as it's supposed to. The reason could be one of the following:
1. Country Restriction/Regional Block: Those songs greyed out on Spotify just mean that for whatever reason, they are unavailable in the country or region where you live. It would have something to do with the license or the request of the record label or artist. In this case, Spotify doesn't have the right to control over this as it's up to the individual music companies.
2. Connection Error: The problem would appear if the internet connect ion is down on your computer. Or you have enabled the Offline Mode in the Spotify desktop app.
3. Network Issue: If you meet the issue of Spotify all songs greyed out on your mobile device, you might have improperly turned off the cellular data usage for Spotify.
4. Censorship Issue: Some songs might fail to pass the music audit system in some countries.
No matter what reason prevents you from accessing Spotify songs smoothly, you can try the following solutions to make your Spotify greyed out songs playable again.
Part 2. How to Fix Spotify Songs Greyed out
Now we have known some possible reasons for Spotify greyed out songs. It is time to learn the fixes for this problem. Check out them to know how to fix greyed out songs on Spotify.
Solution 1. Troubleshoot the Internet Connection
As soon as you begin to notice that there are some songs greyed out on Spotify, you'd better check the internet connection on your computer or mobile device firstly.
On Mac & PC:
Step 1. Go to Settings > Network & Internet on PC or Apple menu > System Settings > Network on Mac then clean up the internet barriers.
Step 2. If the network connection works find on PC or Mac, you are suggested to check whether Spotify has been added into the whitelist of firewall. If not, move it to the firewall exception list.
Step 3. Open Spotify on Mac or PC. Under Settings, turn the option Show unavailable songs in playlists on.
On iPhone & Android:
Step 1. On iPhone and Android device, head to Settings > Cellular.
Step 2. Then scroll down and turn the Spotify app on.
Solution 2. Check the VPN Network
In most cases, the Spotify greyed out songs issue can be caused by the country restriction as you live in the place not supported by Spotify. To solve the problem, you may check whether there's something wrong with the VPN connection on your computer or smartphone.
On Mac & PC:
Click the Settings > Network & internet > VPN on PC or Apple menu > System Settings > VPN on Mac.
On iPhone & Android:
Tap on Settings > General > VPN & Device Management on iPhone or Settings > Network & internet > VPN on Android.
Now you need to do the following things:
1. If you are using some paid VPN services, make sure it's not expired yet. Otherwise, you should renew it in order to keep using the network.
2. If the VPN works just fine, make sure it's connected to American or European servers, as Spotify is fully supported in most of America and Europe.
3.If that doesn't help, you may change to another VPN service for a try.
Solution 3. Delete and Reinstall the Spotify App
Sometimes, the bug on Spotify will cause Spotify songs greyed out. In this case, you could try to remove Spotify from your computer or mobile device and then reinstall it to your device again.
Solution 4. Log out and Log Back in Spotify
Sometimes, the abnormal status of your Spotify account will affect the playback of songs on your device. If your Spotify Premium subscription expired, then you cannot enjoy offline Spotify and would find that Spotify Premium greyed out songs. In addition, if your account is banned by Spotify, you also cannot browse your music library and listen to those songs you've added to the playlist. To solve it, you can try to log out your Spotify account and then go to enter your account credentials to log into again.
On PC & Mac
Step 1. Open Spotify on your Windows PC or Mac and click the three-dot at the top left corner.
Step 2. Click on the File button then select the Log out option.
On iPhone & Android:
Step 1. Launch Spotify on your iPhone or Android device and tap on Settings.
Step 2. Scroll down to the bottom and tap on Log out.
Solution 5. Clear the Listening Cache on Spotify
When your computer or mobile device is occupied by a large number of caches, Spotify would fail to automatically load the music, which makes songs greyed out in SPotify. For solving this issue, you can try to clear Spotify cache. Or you can delete greyed out songs on Spotify, then collect those greyed out songs and add them to your music library in Spotify again.
Solution 6. Download Offline Spotify Songs Again
You can also try to search those greyed out songs in Spotify and check whether they available. It would be better if you could download Spotify unplayable songs. So, you can listen to Spotify music offline anywhere even without the network connection. Or your Spotify downloaded songs greyed out, you can choose to delete the downloaded songs and download them again.
On PC & Mac
Step 1. When you are online, locate those greyed out songs in Spotify.
Step 2. Tap the Download icon to start saving those greyed out songs again.
On iPhone & Android:
Step 1. Go to your music library in Spotify and find those greyed out songs.
Step 2. Tap on the arrow icon to download them to Your Library.
Solution 7. Enable Show Local Files in Spotify
Some users reflected that Spotify local files greyed out. It would be caused by the feature of Local Files in Spotify. When you add your local files to Spotify for playing, you need to turn the Show Local Files option on. Or you will find local files greyed out in Spotify.
On PC & Mac
Step 1. Open Settings in Spotify on your Windows PC or Mac.
Step 2. Find Local Files and turn it on. Then under Show songs from, enable Downloads and Music Library.
On iPhone & Android:
Step 1. Open Spotify and head to Settings > Local Files.
Step 2. Under Local Files, turn on the option - Show audio files from this device.
Part 3. How to Play Greyed out Songs on SPotify
For Spotify Premium subscribers, you can easily save music from Spotify for listening in Offline Mode. But some users still complain that Spotify downloaded songs greyed out. In this case, you can use a third-party Spotify downloader like ViWizard Spotify Music Converter to extract any song or playlist from Spotify to plain audio formats with the original audio quality kept.
ViWizard Spotify Music Converter can work well for both Free and Premium users as well as let you personalize your Spotify music. After the conversion, the Spotify songs greyed out issue will never influence you. Simply have a try of the trial version of ViWizard Spotify Music Converter. Then start downloading Spotify songs offline with the following steps.
Key Features of ViWizard Spotify Music Downloader
- Download any Spotify song, playlist without premium subscription
- Remove protection from Spotify podcasts, tracks, albums or playlist
- Convert Spotify podcasts, songs, album, and playlists to plain formats
- Work at 5× faster speed and preserve original audio quality and ID3 tags
2,000,000+Downloads
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Simply have a try of the trial version of ViWizard Spotify Music Converter. Then start downloading Spotify songs offline with the following steps.
Step 1Drag Spotify Tracks into Spotify Converter
Run ViWizard Spotify Music Converter on your computer. After it loads the Spotify app, log into your Spotify account and browse the store to find any song or playlist you want to download from Spotify. Then drag and drop it from Spotify to the downloading window of ViWizard.
Step 2Configure the Output Audio Profile
Click the Preferences option under the Menu within ViWizard software to select the output audio formats, including MP3, AAC, WAV, FLAC, M4A, and M4B. You can also adjust other audio parameters like codec, bit rate, and sample rate.
Step 3Extract Music from Spotify Offline
Go back to the main interface of ViWizard software and start to download Spotify unplayable songs by clicking the Convert button. After the conversion, click on the Converted icon to browse the well-downloaded tracks or playlists.
Conclusion
The above are all the solutions to fixing greyed out songs in Spotify. You need to know where your problem is. Then you can choose an appropriate way to fix Spotify songs greyed out immediately. Among them, ViWizard Spotify Music Converter could be a greate helper for fixing this problem.
With its help, you are able to share and transfer those downloaded Spotify songs to any device and player for playing, without worrying about the issues like VPN network, internet connection, or Spotify Premium subscription any more. What's more, you can play greyed out songs on Spotify even though those music tracks are not available in the library of Spotify.
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More Music Tips & Tricks
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Matt Smith is an amateur writer engaged in ViWizard in 2013. He is a movie lover who write a lot of movie reviews for many websites and blogs.
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