Spotify Not Working On Apple Watch? Try These 10 Fixes!

How Spotify Works On Apple Watch?

In order to use Spotify on your Apple Watch you need to make sure you’re eligible to do so, and the eligibility criteria are pretty simple:

• An Apple Watch Series 3 or later
• iOS 12 or later
• The Spotify app installed on your iPhone and Apple Watch
• A Spotify Premium subscription

As mentioned in the last point if you want to listen to songs without any interruption then it is necessary to have Spotify Premium on your iPhone. Once you’d have everything you needed, you can follow these steps to start listening to Spotify on your Apple Watch:

• On your iPhone, open the Spotify app.
• Tap the “My Watch” tab.
• Make sure that “Spotify” is turned on.
• Tap “Downloads” to see a list of your downloaded music and podcasts.
• Tap a song or podcast to start listening.

Possible Reasons Why Spotify Might Not Be Working!

So there are many reasons why Spotify could malfunction on your Apple Watch (and no they are not similar to why Netflix doesn’t work on Apple Watch). The most likely is that your subscription would’ve ended. Many times people don’t realize it is the case and thus they are unable to make both works.

Another likely cause could also be an un-updated Spotify application or the issue with Bluetooth connection. It is mandatory that Bluetooth is ON on both your smartwatch as well as iPhone. Just the same way it is important for your devices to be on the same Wi-Fi network.

Solutions To Try For Spotify & Apple Watch Issue

Now that you’re aware of how Spotify works and what could be the thorn in your side it is time to look at possible solutions that you could try out for yourself. Keep in mind sometimes the problem is occurring because of some other external issue (something out of your control) in which case it is always vital to contact customer support.

Use The Same Wi-Fi Network

So the easiest fix of all is to make sure your Apple Watch and iPhone (on which Spotify) is installed are working on the same Wi-Fi network. To better understand it, think about this, for example, consider you’re in the library and your iPhone is on the data (3G, 4G, 5G) or something like Google Fi. Whereas your Apple Watch is using the public Wi-Fi available to everyone.

In this case, it is likely that Spotify wouldn’t work on your smartwatch because your devices aren’t using the same network. So what you should do is switch your iPhone to public Wi-fi (Apple Watch doesn’t support Google Fi at this point) and then try to use Spotify.

Make Sure Bluetooth Is On

Another easy solution that you can try is to make sure Bluetooth is turned ON on both of your devices. As you’d be aware that any connection regardless of what it is for is made through Bluetooth between a smartwatch and a smartphone. If either of your device whether Apple Watch or iPhone wouldn’t have their Bluetooth turned On then you can just forget about Spotify.

So this is what you will do, you’d go to settings and then search for Bluetooth, and from there make sure that toggle is switched to ON. If you find out that it isn’t then you’d make it turned ON.

Close The Spotify Application

At times the issue isn’t something grandeur or something that can’t be fixed, but rather like a minor bug that’s caused due to a frozen screen or too many applications running in the background. In either case, to make sure your fix works out, you’d close the Spotify application on your iPhone (forcefully close it if your iPhone won’t be behaving), and then after like 5-10 minutes open it again and try to use it on your Apple Watch.

Update Both Spotify & Apple Watch – If Needed!

Okay, so this fix might take some time but don’t worry you’ll know if it’s working or not within 10 minutes.

Here what you need to do is first check the version of your Spotify Application, watchOS on your Apple Watch, and iOS on your iPhone. If you see that there is an update available that your device or application hasn’t received then it is the perfect time to give it to it.

For those who don’t know how to check for updates, you just need to do this:

• For Spotify: Go to App Store and from there purchased items and search for Spotify and you’ll either see the cloud icon or an update option in blue. If it’s the later then tap on update and leave the phone for a while.
• For Apple Watch: You can check this on both your iPhone and Apple Watch, but in this case, we will try to check for updates using the Apple Watch. So just open the Settings in the smartwatch. Navigate to General and from there tap on the Software Update.
• For iPhone: Just like how you checked for Apple Watch, do the same, but this time on your phone. Go to Settings then General and from there click on Software Update.

Clear Cache

Just like the one above this is pretty simple too, all you need to do is make sure your Spotify application is free from any if rogue data points. So to do that go to Settings in your iPhone. Scroll down to the bottom and you will see all the applications that would be installed on your phone.

Click on Spotify and once inside the Spotify tab you will see an option called ‘clear app data.’ When you will click on it, your iPhone will soft reset the application. Although keep in mind that once your application will be cleared you might need to connect your Apple Watch to it once again.

Delete The Spotify Application

This is a little advanced version of what we have seen above, here we would delete the application and try to install it again. Sometimes as we mentioned above issues with Bluetooth connectivity and playback are arising due to bugs and firmware issues, in which case the best option is always to restart again. By restart, we mean to install it again and hope for the best.

Restart The Apple Watch

Here we mean by restart is to restart your both Apple devices. So first you can start with iPhone if your issue is still persistent. To restart an iPhone all you need to do is hold the power button for 5 seconds and then swipe the toggle when you see it with the following text: Slide to power off.

In order to restart the Apple Watch do the same as you did for iPhone but this time on your smartwatch. Hold the power off button for 5 seconds and then drag the power off the slide to turn off the Apple Watch. In case your smartwatch is stuck and even if after holding the power button for 5-10 seconds you’re not seeing any movements on the screen then you should consider force restarting your Apple Watch.

It is pretty simple just do this: Press and hold both the side button and the Digital Crown at the same time for at least 10 seconds, until you see the Apple logo.

Reset The Apple Watch

While I will never personally reset my Apple Watch just for Spotify I can understand if you’d be willing to do so, in which case you should either refer to our help guide to reset Apple Watches here. Or just do this to put your watch out of misery:

• On your iPhone, open the Watch app.
• Tap the My Watch tab.
• Tap General.
• Tap Reset.
• Tap Erase All Content and Settings.
• When prompted, enter your Apple Watch passcode.
• Tap Erase.

Contact Support

If even after resetting your Apple Watch couldn’t play 5SOS Youngblood from Spotify on your Apple Watch. Then it’s proper time to contact the support at Apple or Spotify. There is no harm in trying both, from where we’re coming it could be of value what you end up hearing from either of them.

Check For Spotify Subscription

As mentioned before many times people forget about Subscriptions and keep trying to use Spotify and Apple Watch way after it has expired. In which case you know what to do, go to the Spotify website, login into your account, and make sure your subscription is up and alive.

Keep iPhone Close To Your Apple Watch

One last thing you should know is that your iPhone should be near the Apple Watch at all times. Don’t make the mistake of having your iPhone in other room while you are with your Apple Watch somewhere else. Not only would it make it difficult to access Spotify, it will create other issues too.

Although this is more important for those who are using the free version of Spotify. Even if you have the active subscription for premium plan keep the phone close to you.