How to Fix Spotify Error Code 13

Having trouble trying to fix Spotify error code 13?

Getting into the Spotify experience can be a rewarding venture. The music-streaming platform overs a plethora of songs in its extensive library. Additionally, with a premium plan, you can also take and listen to your songs offline, even without an internet connection.

However, you’re running into a Spotify error code 13 warning. Why does this happen, and how can you fix it? In this article, we’ll be going over a list of solutions that we’ve compiled from Spotify’s support boards, user submissions, and our own fixes.

With this, you should be able to get back to your songs and stream your favorite playlist in no time! Here’s how you can fix Spotify error code 13.

Let’s get started!

• 1. Overview.
• 2. Terminate Spotify Via Task Manager or Activity Monitor.
• 3. Run in Windows XP Mode.
• 4. Run Spotify As Administrator.
• 5. Update Spotify.
• 6. Reinstall Spotify.
• 7. Move Spotify From AppData to Program Files.
• 8. Download Spotify Through Microsoft Store.

1. Overview.

Before we proceed, Spotify error code 13 occurs on two separate instances. It can be a result of an installation error or a run-time error. Both problems will have their respective solutions below, but they may not be compartmentalized. This list is arranged with consideration to effectiveness where the next method may benefit from the previous entry.

2. Terminate Spotify Via Task Manager or Activity Monitor.

If Spotify at all runs on your computer but errors mid-use, then try this step.  Restarting the music-streaming program is a great first step, if you’ve already done so then, you’ve done about 50 percent of the work already.

Unfortunately, some processes by Spotify may refuse to close completely. These processes can continue to run in the background and affect the next time you run Spotify, right after restarting the program. In this method, we’ll be completely terminating these background processes from your computer’s memory.

Here’s how you can terminate Spotify via Task Manager for Windows:

1. First, open up the Task Manager by pressing CTRL + SHIFT + ESC on your keyboard. Alternatively, you can also just open the Start menu (Windows icon at the bottom-left corner of your screen) and search for ‘Task Manager’.
2. By default, your Task Manager should open in with all the necessary details. If however, you find that you’re lacking all your tabs, click on the More details button at the bottom-left corner of the Task Manager window.

3. Now, go to the Processes tab and look for Spotify. If you don’t feel like manually going through the extensive list, you can left-click on any process and type in ‘Spotify’. This will automatically locate and highlight Spotify.
4. Finally, when Spotify has been highlighted, right-click the process and select End Task.

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These steps will free Spotify from your memory (RAM) entirely, eliminating any running background process. Alternatively, here’s how you can terminate Spotify via Activity Monitor for Mac:

1. Start by pressing both Command + Spacebar keys to bring up the Spotlight search field.
2. Now, search for ‘Activity Monitor’ and open the application.

3. On the Activity Monitor window, look for and left-click Spotify. You can also left-click on any application and type in ‘Spotify’ to quickly locate and highlight the process.
4. Next, click on the X icon at the top-left corner of the window to completely close the app.

You should be asked by the Activity Monitor if you want to confirm the termination, just confirm to terminate. With that, all background-processes by Spotify should now be closed and freed from memory. Before running the program, try the next two methods first.

3. Run in Windows XP Mode.

‘Compatibility mode’ is a setting that opens up a program that’s compatible with whichever Windows version you choose. This can be all previous versions of Windows. Though this might feel like a counter-intuitive method, it has worked for some users.

Additionally, this fix also works for other Spotify problems as well, so it isn’t without merit. We believe that this works by intentionally suppressing features for Windows 10 or the current version of Windows you’re using. In doing so, Spotify eliminates a bunch of code that might be triggering this entire problem.

Here’s how you can run Spotify in Windows XP mode:

1. Go ahead and open up the Start menu by pressing the Windows key button on your keyboard. Alternatively, you can also just click on the Windows icon at the bottom-left corner of your screen.
2. Once that opens, search for ‘Spotify’ and right-click the first search result. In the list of options that appear, select Open file location.
3. This should redirect you to the launch folder that contains the Spotify app. By default, Spotify should already be highlighted. Right-click on the program file and select Properties.

4. A window should pop-up regarding all the technicalities of the program file. Go ahead and navigate to the Compatibility tab and select Run this program in compatibility mode for: and select Windows XP.
5. Once you’ve selected that click on OK and run the Spotify program.

As you continue on, you can go back to this step and try different versions of Windows. However, we found that most users had a better rate of success for the Windows XP version. Additionally, this is the version that’s mentioned frequently across the resources we read through.

Before running Spotify again, it might be in your interest to run this as an administrator. Proceed to the next method to find out how you can do this.

4. Run Spotify As Administrator.

Administrative powers can come in handy for tough situations like this. More often than not, you’ll find that either a default or third-party program can cancel or deny some applications from running on your computer.

This is particularly common with antivirus software, which could be the reason why Spotify is experiencing an error. Running your program, Spotify in this case, as an administrator will give it enough privileges to bypass these security checks. Before we proceed, you will need administrative privileges on your computer.

Here’s how you can run Spotify as an administrator:

1. Begin by bringing out the Start menu and searching for ‘Spotify’. You can skip to the second step if you already have the Spotify application accessible via the desktop or some other folder.

2. Right-click the Spotify program and select Run as administrator. You should be asked to confirm or enter in administrative credentials, fill this in and proceed.

With that, Spotify should now be opened in administrator mode, clearing all annoying permission restrictions. However, if you find that you’re having to continually run Spotify this way, you can automatically run it in administrator mode through these steps:

1. First, go back to the third method and repeat Steps 1 to 4. Avoid re-enabling compatibility mode. You should now be in the Compatibility tab in the Properties window.
2. Look for and enable Run this program as an administrator.

From now on, Spotify should automatically open in administrator mode.

5. Update Spotify.

Running an outdated version of Spotify on your computer can cause incompatibility issues. Spotify by default should update automatically. However, we’ll still check for manual updates just in case you’ll have one already pending.

Here’s how you can update Spotify:

1. Go ahead and open up the Spotify app on your computer.

2. Next, look for and navigate to your profile icon at the top-right corner of your window. Click on the V icon to expand the settings.
3. If you have an update pending, there should be an Update available. Restart now option. Click on this to begin updating your Spotify to the latest version.

Once you’ve updated Spotify, most issues should be resolved. Try opening the app and playing a song to check for the error code 13 issue.

6. Reinstall Spotify.

A great alternative to Spotify refusing to work is to reinstall the program. Doing so will clear and remove any files related to the program and replace each folder with the latest authentic version that Spotify has to offer.

Additionally, we’ll also be reinstalling Spotify as an administrator to make sure that all permissions are granted to the installer. Please disable any third-party antivirus software currently open on your computer, as this may hinder the installation.

Before we reinstall Spotify, we’ll have to make sure that the program is properly deleted. Don’t make the mistake of just pressing on the ‘Delete’ key on your keyboard, because that will leave a ton of residual files. Instead, follow these steps to uninstall Spotify properly. After that, here’s how you can reinstall Spotify:

1. Start by going to Spotify’s official website and download their installer.
2. Next, open either your Downloads folder or the destination folder that the installer was downloaded to.
3. Now, look for the Spotify installer and right-click the program. Select Run as administrator to grant the installer administrative privileges.

Go ahead and proceed through the prompts to successfully reinstall Spotify on your computer.

7. Move Spotify From AppData to Program Files.

While going through all these methods, have you noticed if the Spotify launcher was located in a ‘Roaming’ folder? If that’s the case, we may have to transfer this Spotify folder somewhere else. For this method, we’ll be moving it over to your Program Files.

Having Spotify run from the wrong folder can cause a couple of issues, which is primarily rooted in accessing problems. Before we begin, we’ll have to check if your computer is running on a 32 or 64-bit version of Windows. Here’s how you can do that:

1. First, open up the Start menu by clicking on the Windows icon at the bottom-left corner of your screen. Alternatively, you can also press the Windows key for convenience.
2. Next, search for ‘dxdiag’ then open up the first result.
3. Finally, under the System tab, locate Operating System to check whether you’re running a 32 or 64-bit version of Windows.

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Once you’ve found out the bit-version of your Windows operating system, keep that in mind for the next step. We’ll be moving the Spotify file to your Program Files through the command prompt. Here’s how you can move that:

1. Go ahead and bring up the Start menu.
2. Now, type in ‘cmd’ to bring out the command prompt. Right-click the app and select Run as administrator to open the command prompt in administrative mode. Alternatively, you can also press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER. A prompt might ask you for confirmation, just click on Yes to proceed.

3. Lastly, either copy-paste or type in one of the following commands listed below. Use the command appropriate for the bit-version of your operating system.

cmd /k move “%AppData%\Spotify” “%ProgramFiles%” (for 32-bit Windows)

cmd /k move “%AppData%\Spotify” “%ProgramFiles(x86)%” (for 64-bit Windows)

You can close the command prompt after running this process, but that should fully move Spotify from your AppData folder to your Program Files. Run Spotify again through the Start menu and see if the error has been resolved.

8. Download Spotify Through Microsoft Store.

If you’ve exhausted all the methods above, you can always try this method. Although we recommend installing Spotify through their official website, reinstalling the program through the Microsoft Store does occasionally fix this problem.

Before you install Spotify through the Microsoft Store, make sure it’s completely uninstalled first. You shouldn’t just simply press the ‘Delete’ key on your keyboard to uninstall a program, as this can leave residual files.

Moving on, here’s how you can install Spotify through the Microsoft Store:

1. First, open up the Start menu and search for ‘Microsoft Store’.

2. Once Microsoft Store is open, click on the Search icon so we can look for Spotify. This should be at the top-right corner of your screen.
3. Next, you should be redirected to the Spotify page. If not, perhaps a list of music-streaming apps with Spotify listed alongside should be on your screen. Regardless, navigate to the Spotify page.
4. Finally, click on Get after you scroll down a bit, and Spotify should begin downloading.

Once Spotify has completely installed from the Microsoft Store, try and run the program to see if the issue still persists.

That wraps up this entire article. We hope to have helped you fix your ‘Spotify error code 13’ issue. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment down below.

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