Wondering why Spotify is not detecting your internet connection on Windows?
Whether you want to listen to some songs or stream podcasts, Spotify needs internet to work.
Unfortunately, some users have encountered issues with Spotify not detecting the internet.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to troubleshoot this issue on Spotify and get you back to listening to your favorite tunes.
Let’s jump right in!
1. Restart Spotify.
If Spotify isn’t working on your computer, try restarting it. A temporary error may have occurred that prevented Spotify from detecting your connection.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC keys to open Task Manager.
- Now, go to the Processes tab.
- Look for Spotify and select it.
- Click on End Task in the lower right corner.
Go to your desktop and relaunch Spotify to check if the problem is solved.
2. Restart Your Computer.
An error may have occurred on your system that is related to network connectivity. To rule this out, restart your computer to flush its memory and reload its resources.
Flushing your memory should remove unused data from previously opened apps.
See the guide below to restart your PC:
- First, click the Windows icon on your Taskbar to open the Start Menu.
- Access the Power Options tab.
- Choose Restart from the pop-up menu.
Wait for your system to restart and see if you’ll encounter connectivity issues with Spotify.
3. Disable Proxy Settings.
Proxy servers allow you to browse anonymously online. A proxy server acts as an intermediary between you and the internet.
However, routing your traffic through a proxy server can increase data usage and also impact your network performance.
To avoid such problems, disable your proxy settings on Spotify:
- Launch Spotify on your computer.
- Now, click on your Profile in the upper right corner.
- Click on Settings.
- Scroll down and look for Proxy Settings.
- Under Proxy Type, select No Proxy.
Restart Spotify and check if the problem is solved.
4. Disable Offline Mode.
Spotify provides an offline mode that enables you to download playlists and listen to them on the go. However, this restricts you from searching for new songs and podcasts.
If Spotify is not detecting your internet, it’s possible that the desktop app is set to offline mode.
To confirm this, follow the steps below:
- On Spotify, click on the three horizontal dots in the upper left corner of the window.
- Now, hover your cursor over the File tab.
- If Offline Mode is enabled, click on it to turn it off.
Note
You’ll know offline mode is enabled if there’s a checkmark beside it.
After disabling offline mode, you should now be able to connect to the internet.
5. Flush DNS.
A DNS cache is a temporary database that records all websites and domains you visit.
So, when you visit the same website again, your computer already knows the address and can redirect you there faster, without having to look it up again.
However, DNS caches can get corrupted over time and cause issues to online applications.
If Spotify is not detecting your internet, then the DNS cache on your computer may have gotten corrupted.
See the steps below to flush your DNS cache:
- Open the Start Menu by pressing the Windows key on your keyboard.
- Look for Command Prompt.
- Next, click on Run as an Administrator. This should launch the tool with administrative privileges.
- Inside the Command Prompt, type ‘ipconfig /flushdns’ and hit Enter on your keyboard.
- Wait for the message that says “Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache”.
Restart your computer and see if Spotify can now detect your internet connection.
6. Use A Different DNS Server.
DNS or Domain Name System acts like the phonebook of the Internet. Without DNS, we’ll need to memorize the IP address of every website to access them.
For instance, instead of entering a domain name (e.g. Saintlad.com), you’ll need to type a series of numbers to access the site.
If Spotify is not detecting your internet connection on Windows, your default DNS could be experiencing issues.
Follow the steps below to change your DNS server:
- Press the Windows key on your keyboard to open the Start Menu.
- Now, look for ‘View Network Connections’ and open it.
- Right-click on your network and choose Properties.
- Find Internet Protocol Version 4.
- Double-click on it to access its properties.
- Enable the ‘Use the Following DNS Server Addresses’ option.
- Input the following values:
- Click OK to save the changes.
Preferred DNS Server: 8.8.8.8
Alternate DNS Server: 8.8.4.4Restart Spotify to check if the problem is solved.
7. Disable Antivirus.
Antivirus software is great for keeping your system safe from viruses and malware. However, there are some that get too protective at times.
Streaming music on an app like Spotify can consume a lot of bandwidth. When this happens, certain antivirus software gets alerted which resolves by restricting network access to Spotify.
To see if your antivirus software is the culprit, temporarily disable your protection. Go back to Spotify afterward and see if it can now access your network.
If your antivirus software causes the problem, add Spotify to its whitelist if it supports the feature.
This should exclude Spotify from being monitored and restrained by your antivirus.
8. Reinstall Spotify.
The version of Spotify you’re using might have an issue that prevents it from connecting to the internet.
Reinstall the app on your computer to ensure that you have the latest version. This should also ensure that Spotify is properly installed on your computer.
Follow the steps below to delete Spotify:
- Open the Control Panel on your computer.
- Now, click on Uninstall a Program under the Programs tab.
- Find Spotify from the list.
- Right-click on it and choose Uninstall. Follow the prompts to continue.
- Once done, visit Spotify’s website to download the latest version of their desktop app.
That ends our guide on how to fix Spotify if it’s not detecting your internet connection on Windows.
For questions and other concerns, feel free to leave a comment below, and we’ll do our best to answer them.
