How to Fix Spotify Error Code 17

Having trouble trying to fix Spotify error code 17?

Logging in to Spotify can be an incredibly annoying experience when it goes wrong. If you’re like us, this usually happens on either a new computer or after logging out temporarily. Getting greeted by Spotify’s error code 17 is not an enjoyable encounter.

In this article, we’ll be going over several methods that you can use to try and fix this issue. Furthermore, we’ll also be calling out and debunking a popular solution that’s often recommended by other articles.

These methods were curated from Spotify’s support board, user tests, and our own personal problems with the program. Here’s what you can do to fix Spotify error code 17.

Let’s get started!

• 1. Whitelist Spotify Within Your Firewall.
• 2. Don’t Install CCleaner.
• 3. Disable Any Active VPNs.
• 4. Turn Off Spotify’s Proxy Settings.
• 5. Change Your Profile’s Country.
• 6. Contact Spotify’s Customer Support.

1. Whitelist Spotify Within Your Firewall.

The Spotify code error 17 explicitly says that ‘a firewall may be blocking Spotify’. Contrary to popular belief, the firewall program doesn’t monitor for viruses and malware. The firewall instead, acts like a security guard that checks incoming and outgoing data for malicious activity.

For streaming programs like Spotify, this can be a big issue. Spotify primarily streams music as its biggest feature, which involves transferring data continuously. By default, this shouldn’t be anything firewall-protection worthy. Despite this, we’ll be whitelisting Spotify to your firewall to give Spotify unrestricted access to your computer.

A whitelist is similarly like a VIP list, where listed programs are free to act however they please. Before you continue, you will need administrative powers or privileges to do this method.

Here’s how you can whitelist Spotify for Windows:

1. First, open up the Start menu and type in ‘firewall’. Click on the first result, which should be Firewall & network protection, that’s returned from your query.
2. Look for and click on Allow an app through firewall. You should be directed to a list of all currently installed applications on your computer.

3. Now, click on Change settings at the top-right corner of the window. You will need administrative powers to proceed.
4. Finally, in the list, look for Spotify so you can whitelist the program. You can either manually look for the app or left-click on any program and type in ‘Spotify’. This should automatically look for and highlight Spotify. Click on the box for both Private and Public.

When you’re done with that, just click on OK and exit the firewall window. Reboot or restart Spotify and then try to log in.

2. Don’t Install CCleaner.

If you’ve never heard of CCleaner, you can either proceed to the next method or continue reading for future reference. A lot of articles will usually claim that there’s a problem with your Registry Editor.

The Registry Editor is a Windows tool that stores all level-one settings that you can configure on your computer. This can be the operating system’s settings or third-party applications. Even if the Registry Editor did have a problem, CCleaner or other Registry cleaners are the last things you want to run.

Not only has CCleaner been a product of a controversial past, but it’s also owned by Avast, another controversial anti-virus company. Furthermore, CCleaner has been notoriously linked to many cases of Windows breaking, especially on Windows 10.

CCleaner is known for aggressively cleaning parts of the Registry that don’t need to be deleted. This can cause a ton of problems in the future, possibly even crashing your computer.

A quick Google search on how CCleaner has become obsolete can easily persuade you to no longer use the program. At the end of the day, Windows does what’s good for itself, and it does a pretty good job at it.

3. Disable Any Active VPNs.

Being secure online is a great asset to have running in the background of your daily life. With the rising cases of data mining, credit card information being stolen, and so on, protecting yourself from these unfortunate events is a rising concern.

VPNs became a commodity due to the high demand and lack of supply for internet security. By connecting to a VPN server, your personal IP and potentially other details are masked from the website you’re visiting. These credentials are also kept safe and secure by your VPN company.

However, VPNs used to be a malicious high-end network configuration that only hackers would employ. Due to this, VPNs are often restricted from entering high-security servers, like Spotify. Try to disable any active VPNs running on your device to mitigate this problem.

Unfortunately, we will not be able to provide a general list of steps, since every VPN is configured differently. If you’re on a family computer, ask your siblings if they installed a VPN and then disable it. You can also locate the VPN and then search for steps online to help you disable the program.

4. Turn Off Spotify’s Proxy Settings.

Proxy servers act somewhat like a firewall, except they don’t monitor for malicious events. There are a lot of benefits to using a proxy server. One is that data transfer is usually quicker. Proxies are kind of like middle-men, which help and smoothen out the transfer of incoming and outgoing data from your computer.

Most users may not know this, but Spotify comes with a built-in proxy server. Yet ironically, turning this off can sometimes alleviate the issue. In this method, we’ll be disabling Spotify’s built-in proxy server so you can try and connect to your account.

Here’s how you can turn off Spotify’s proxy settings:

1. Start by opening up the Spotify app. Now, click on the V icon next to your profile at the top-right corner of your screen.
2. Then, in the drop-down menu,  look for and click on Settings.

3. Next, scroll down and click on Show Advanced Settings.
4. Once you’re there, scroll up and look for the Proxy section above. Select Proxy type and click on the No Proxy option.

When you’re through with all these steps, simply restart Spotify by closing the application and reopening it. You can also try terminating the entire process, just to be sure.

5. Change Your Profile’s Country.

An annoying way to spoil your out-of-country trip is by Spotify refusing to work. Unfortunately, Spotify prevents accounts logged in from other countries except for the one that’s set in your profile settings.

For premium users, this step should be done automatically by switching the setting depending on your GPS location. However, it isn’t uncommon for complications to happen despite that. In this method, we’ll be manually fixing your profile’s country settings.

Here’s how you can change your Spotify country settings:

1. Go ahead and open up the official Spotify website on your browser. We’ll be logging into your account from here to access your settings.
2. On the top-right corner, click on Log in and enter in your Spotify account to proceed.
3. You should be automatically directed to your account’s settings. However, if you aren’t, then just click on your profile at the top-right corner and click on Settings in the drop-down menu.

4. Now, scroll down and select Edit Profile.
5. Finally, on the Country option, click on your location and change it to the country you’re currently residing in.

When you’re done with all of that, just click on Save Profile to save all your changes. Relaunch the Spotify app on your computer, and you should be good to go.

6. Contact Spotify’s Customer Support.

Yes, we know. Spotify’s customer support can be a hit and miss. Sometimes you have a caring person behind the screen who wants to fix your problem, other times it can be like talking to a brick wall.

Unfortunately, some connectivity issues can only be solved by contacting their support team. Although Spotify error code 17 should be fixable by fiddling with these methods on your end, contacting Spotify’s support team did help some users.

Additionally, another popular but more technical fix is installing Spotify in Safe mode. Windows’ Safe mode runs your computer only with the necessary applications and drivers enough for Windows to be able to work. This means that browsers or games will not be loaded in.

You can try checking out the in-depth steps here by Spotify’s official support thread. We don’t necessarily recommend this step, since the fixes above should be more than enough to fix your problem. However, if you’re at the end of the rope, it would be worth your while to give it a shot.

That wraps up this article! Hopefully, you’ve resolved and fixed your Spotify error code 17 issue. If you have any clarifications, feel free to leave a comment down below.

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂