How to Fix Spotify When It Keeps Randomly Crashing on Windows 11

Spotify is one of the best ways to listen to your favorite music and podcasts. However, while the Windows desktop app provides a seamless and responsive listening experience, it’s not without its problems.

If Spotify keeps crashing on your Windows 11 computer, all hope is not lost. Here are 11 troubleshooting steps to prevent it from randomly crashing on Windows 11.

1. Restart Your Windows PC

After Windows has been running for a while, it can create a lot of temporary files and caches in the background. And it stores many of them in your computer’s RAM. The problem is that once these things pile up, they can affect your computer’s performance and cause apps like Spotify to crash.

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By restarting your PC, you’re clearing up these temporary files and freeing up the system resources they’ve been eating up, which can solve many problems you’re experiencing on your Windows 11 machine. This includes the Spotify crashing issue and even when Spotify has no audio on a Windows PC.

2. Force Quit Spotify and Restart It

When Spotify keeps crashing, try closing the app completely through force-quitting and then launching it again.

Follow the steps below to force quit Spotify:

1. Right-click Start on the Taskbar and select Task Manager.
2. In the Processes tab, find Spotify, right-click on it, and choose End task.
3. Open Spotify and see if it keeps crashing.

Updating the Spotify desktop app can also get rid of random crashes. To update Spotify:

1. Open Spotify and click the down arrow next to your profile name on the top right

2. Select Update available. Restart now. You’ll know an update is ready if there’s a blue dot next to the down arrow.

4. Run Spotify as an Administrator

Sometimes, if an app doesn’t have certain permissions, it can crash during operation. You should give it administrative privileges by running it as an administrator to prevent this from happening.

Here’s how to run Spotify as an administrator:

1. Right-click the Spotify icon on your desktop and select Run as administrator.
2. Click Yes on the UAC prompt to let the app make changes to your Windows 11 computer.

If that solves the issue, perhaps you should make the administrative privileges permanent. Here’s how you do it:

1. Right-click the Spotify icon on your desktop and select Properties.
2. In the Shortcut tab of the pop-up, click the Advanced button.
3. Another pop-up will show. Tick the checkbox for Run as administrator and click OK.
4. Click on OK again to close the Properties pop-up and save the changes.

5. Run Spotify in Compatibility Mode

Running the Spotify app in compatibility mode for a previous Windows version can help resolve the crashing issue. We recommend trying compatibility mode for Windows 7 and 8 only, as those are the most likely to work.

To run Spotify in compatibility mode, follow the below steps:

1. Right-click the Spotify icon on your desktop and select Properties.
2. Select the Compatibility tab in the pop-up.
3. Under Compatibility mode, tick the checkbox and choose Windows 7 from the dropdown (try Windows 8 next if this doesn’t work).
4. Under Settings in the Compatibility tab, tick the checkbox for Run this program as administrator.
5. Click OK to close the pop-up and apply the changes.

6. Try Freeing Up Space on Your Drive

If there’s not enough space on your storage drive, apps can start crashing. You can do many things to free up space on your Windows 11 computer.

For instance, you can:

• Transfer files you’re not using to an external storage device or the cloud and delete any you don’t need.
• Uninstall apps you don’t need and ensure you’ve enabled app archiving.
• Make sure you’ve set up Storage Sense.
• Open the Disk Cleanup utility and select the drive you want to clean. Then, tick the appropriate checkboxes under Files to delete and click OK. On the next pop-up that shows us, click Delete Files to begin the process.

7. Clear Spotify’s Cache

As you use the Spotify app on Windows 11, it can build up a large cache. Clearing it can help improve its performance and even stop it from crashing.

If you downloaded the Spotify app from the website, here’s how you can clear the cache:

1. Press Win + R to open Windows Run.
2. Copy and paste the below command in the text box, and hit Enter:

   %LocalAppData%\Spotify\Storage\

3. Press Ctrl + A to select all the files in the Storage folder.
4. Press Shift + delete.
5. On the pop-up that asks if you want to permanently delete the files in the folder, click Yes.

If you installed Spotify from the Windows Store, you can try deleting the cache:

1. Press Win + R to open Windows Run.
2. Copy and paste the following command in the text box and hit Enter:

   %LocalAppData%\Packages\SpotifyAB.SpotifyMusic_zpdnekdrzrea0\LocalCache\Spotify\Data\

3. Press Ctrl + A to select all the files in the Data folder.
4. Press Shift + delete.
5. Click Yes to delete the files permanently.

8. Run the Apps Troubleshooter

This method only works if you downloaded Spotify from the Windows Store. When you use the apps troubleshooter, Windows 11 will inspect your apps and help you fix any problems it finds.

Here are the steps to run the apps troubleshooter:

1. Right-click Start on the Taskbar and select Settings.
2. Navigate to System >Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters.
3. In the Other section, locate Windows Store Apps and click the Run button next to it.
4. Wait for the troubleshooter to do its thing and then implement any suggested solutions. It will also apply some fixes automatically.

9. Disable Hardware Acceleration

By default, Spotify will use hardware acceleration, which can sometimes cause problems, including the crashing issue.

To disable hardware acceleration in Spotify, follow these steps:

1. Open Spotify, click the down arrow next on the top right, and choose Settings.
2. Scroll down to the Compatibility section in the settings and click on the toggle for Enable hardware acceleration to disable it.

10. Reinstall Spotify From the Windows Store

If Spotify is still randomly crashing after the steps above, it might be time to give it a clean slate by uninstalling and reinstalling it. The best way to do it is from the Windows Store.

Here’s how to uninstall and then reinstall Spotify:

1. Right-click Start on the Taskbar and choose Apps and Features.
2. Under App list, click inside the search box and enter “Spotify” to make Spotify the only app in the list.
3. Click on the three vertical dots on the right and choose Uninstall.
4. Click Uninstall again to remove Spotify from your system.
5. Press the Windows key and enter “store” in the search box at the top.
6. Under Best Match in the search results, click on Microsoft Store to open the app.
7. Click inside the search box at the top, enter “Spotify,” and hit the Enter key.
8. Spotify will show up at the top of the results, and you just have to click Install on its listing.

An Uninterrupted Spotify Experience on Windows 11

When Spotify keeps crashing on Windows 11, it’s extremely difficult to enjoy listening to your favorite artists and podcasters. Luckily, you can fix the issue in many ways and get back to appreciating this great service.

If all the troubleshooting steps outlined in this article don’t work, you can always use Spotify’s web version as an alternative. But if you’re keen on using the desktop app, you can reinstall Windows 11 as a last resort to fix the random crashes.