Why Spotify Local Files Not Showing/Playing? Get 10 Fixes!

"I have some local files and want to play them on Spotify. After I synced them, they just don't show up on Spotify, Spotify just shows no files in my Local File playlist."
"I added all my files to Spotify. Some of the songs play fine on my phone, but others just won't play on the phone. I click on them, and I get a pop-up saying Spotify can't play this right now."

Although Spotify lets you import local files to Spotify for playing, sometimes unexpected errors like local files Spotify not showing or not playing still occur. To stream your songs on Spotify, we have collected 10 useful ways to help you fix Spotify not showing or playing. For each solution, we also explain why it happens. Check them below!

Solution 1: Check Whether You've Enabled Local File Setting

If you find your Spotify local files not showing up after importing them to the software, you’d better first check whether you have enabled the Local Files setting on. By disabling the setting, Spotify will not show them to you. The following steps guide you how to turn on the setting to easily fix local files not showing up in Spotify:

STEP 1. Launch Spotify and click your profile image.

STEP 2. Navigate to "Settings" > "Local Files" to turn on the "Show Local Files" option.

STEP 3. Also move to the "Show songs from" section and enable all locations where you preserve the uploaded local files.Once complete, return back to Spotify playlists and you will see the local files showing up now.

Solution 2: Check the Local File Format

Another possible reason causing Spotify local files not showing may probably be format incompatibility. While Spotify supports MP3, M4A, and WAV file types, we recommend MP3 and M4A formats to avoid the issue. If your files are encoded in WAV, FLAC, or others, this may lead to playback failure.

Hence, before uploading any local file to Spotify, double-check whether the format extension of the files is in .mp3 or .m4a. (All letters are in lowercase not uppercase) If not, you should convert them to MP3, or M4A first or the Spotify local files not showing error might occur.

Solution 3: Try to Add Local Files to Spotify Again

Another possible reason leading to Spotify local files not syncing problem may be that you do not upload local files to Spotify correctly. Therefore, you can try to add songs to Spotify again to ensure the complete music uploading, in order to fix the local files not showing up on Spotify error. Commonly, you need to finish 2 steps to add local files to Spotify and even enable the local files showed up across devices:

STEP 1. Upload local files to Spotify.

Go to Spotify desktop > Choose "Settings" > Find the "Local Files" section > toggle on "Show Local Files" > Click the "ADD A SOURCE" button to add the local files.

STEP 2. Add Local Files to A Playlist

Before starting to sync the local music files from computer to your mobile devices, you are required to add them to a playlist (or the music syncing will fail). Simply create a new playlist and import all local files you just uploaded to Spotify to it.

STEP 3. Sync Spotify local files across devices.

On iOS: Tap the "Home" icon > Tap the "Settings" icon > Tap "Local Files" > Switch "Show audio files from this device" on.

On Android: Tap the "Home" icon > Tap "Settings" > Switch "Show audio files from this device" on.

Then, the local music files can show up on more devices for you to stream now!

By uploading the complete local files correctly, you not only fix the Spotify local files not showing errors, but also get them available on more devices! After that, you are available to enjoy the local file playback on different devices within Spotify without hassle!

Solution 4: Relog to Your Spotify Account

Spotify local files uploading feature is available for Spotify premium subscribers. Hence, when local files not show up on Spotify, you should consider whether you are using the account with a valid Spotify premium subscription.

If you have checked. The subscription status is active but Spotify still fails to show the local files for you. You are able to try re-logging the account again. Sometimes Spotify might wrongly detect the account status and cause errors like this. After you log in, the local files may be able to play.

Solution 5: Clear Spotify Cache

When your Spotify software is overwhelmed with cache data, it will get corrupted, leading to some unexpected errors such as the Spotify local files not showing or playing problems. So, the simplest way to fix the issue caused by cache data, you just need to clean it up and try to see if the local files can show up again. On computers and mobile phones, you are able to follow the steps below to do it properly.

On Computers

STEP 1. Click the profile image > "Settings".

STEP 2. Scroll down to "Storage".

STEP 3. Hit "Clear cache" to clean the data up.

On Mobiles

STEP 1. Launch Spotify app and click the "Settings" icon in the upper-right corner.

STEP 2. Scroll to tap the "Storage" option.

STEP 3. Submit "Clear/Delete cache".

Solution 6: Delete Index.dat in Spotify's Storage Folder

When you have gone through the above methods but still find Spotify not playing local files or even showing them up for you, you should probably look for whether the software has installed the index.dat file on your desktop. This document can cause Spotify data corrupted, so by deleting it, Spotify will rebuild the cache and help you to access local files again. Here is how to process it:

STEP 1. In Spotify software, go to profile > "Settings" > "Offline storage location" to see the storage location and whether Spotify software saves data on your desktop.

STEP 2. Follow the location path and then access the folder in File Explorer to find the Index.dat file.

STEP 3. Stop running Spotify and shut down the software in the background.

STEP 4. Simply delete the index.dat and then reopen Spotify again to check whether the local files can show up now.

Solution 7: Reinstall Spotify to the Latest Version

Apart from corrupted caches, bugs also may cause the local file not showing or playing issue. That's why Spotify keeps fixing bugs and releases regular updates. So just check if your Spotify app is updated so this feature will be well compatible and perform properly for you.

If yes, try to reinstall the newest version. Once the software is updated, the Spotify local files not playing error will automatically be solved.

Solution 8: Sync Local Files from iTunes to Spotify

When you find that Spotify's uploading song feature doesn't work for you, and you still can't find or play your local files on Spotify, try resyncing them to Spotify via iTunes. Here's how to get it done:

STEP 1. Put your local files in a folder that is easy to find. Open iTunes and right-click "All Playlists" > "New Playlist". You can name it "Spotify local files" or others as you like. Note: Make sure all your music files are .mp3 or .m4p formats, which are more compatible with Spotify.

STEP 2. Open the folder that stores your local music files. Choose and drag them all to the folder we just created on iTunes.

STEP 3. Click "Edit" > "Preferences". You may need to wait for a moment before the Preference window pops up.

STEP 4. Click "Advanced". Check "Share iTunes Library XML with other applications" > "OK" to proceed.

STEP 5. Next is to sync the local files from iTunes to Spotify. Go to the Spotify desktop app and head to the "File" section. Find "Import Playlists" >"iTunes". Then the local files should show up on Spotify.

Solution 9: Move Local Files to Another Folder and Resync

After you try reuploading and resyncing local files with Solutions 1, 3, and 8, the "Spotify local files not showing up" issue is not fixed. Here's another new way - move local files to another folder that is not under Spotify, say, a new folder on your desktop, so they leave Spotify. And add that separate folder as a source in your local files. Then, go back to your playlists, and all the missing songs should be fixed. According to some Spotify users, this solution worked!

Solution 10: Download Spotify to MP3 and Play Local Spotify Files on Another Player

When you have tried all the methods above but Spotify local files are still failing to show up and play in the software normally, why not try to download the resources on Spotify? If you want to save them as local files, use Spotify rippers to remove their DRM and keep Spotify songs as local audio files easily.

To download Spotify to MP3 and remove Spotify DRM, we recommend TuneFab Spotify Music Converter The software downloads Spotify songs as local files at 35X faster speed and ensures original music quality. Whether it's a single track, album, playlist, or podcast, TuneFab can batch download them in 6 different formats, letting you play music on any music player easily. No need to struggle with the "Spotify local file not showing or playing" issue any more!

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• Integrated with Spotify web player to download any resources you like.
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Conclusion

Local files not showing or playing on Spotify can be annoying, but solutions are always available for you. And if you don't want to encounter the problem again and again, TuneFab Spotify Music Converter is a good assistant, and we highly recommend you to have a try. Hoping that this passage can be of some help to you!