Are you in an environment that does not offer a Wifi connection, wondering how to play Spotify without internet access?

Because Spotify needs to be online, streaming music off the app can eat away at your mobile data in a short period, so, what if we told you, there was a way to be able to access your playlists and podcasts while being offline!

If you are not already a Premium subscriber to Spotify, you will need to upgrade your account to have the ability to sync your Spotify music to your device.

To help you understand how to play Spotify without internet access, we have generated this simple guide for you to follow.

Why can’t I play Spotify offline?

how to play spotify without internet access

Why can’t I play Spotify offline?

You can’t play Spotify offline because you do not have a Premium subscription to the service, or you have not enabled the ‘Offline’ mode on your account.

If you want to listen to your songs off your Spotify account while not being connected to the internet, you will need to upgrade to Spotify Premium.

How do you upgrade to Spotify Premium?

Step 1. Log into your Spotify account

Step 2. Click on your Profile followed by ‘Account’

Step 3. You will be given the option to select ‘Premium’

Note, Spotify Premium costs roughly £8.00 per month, and it can be cancelled at any time.

Being a Premium subscriber to Spotify, you get the added feature of ‘Offline Mode’, which allows you to sync your content to your device so can play them without being connected to the internet.

How do you turn Offline Mode on Spotify?

On mobile:

Step 1. Launch Spotify and click on the ‘Home’ button

Step 2. Select ‘Settings’

Step 3. Press ‘Playback’

Step 4. You can now put ‘Offline’ to on

On Windows PC:

Step 1. Click on ‘File’ 

Step 2. Select ‘Offline Mode’

On Mac PC:

Step 1. Select the ‘Spotify’ button

Step 2. Now choose ‘Offline Mode’

You will now be able to stream your content without being online.

Things to remember when using Offline Mode:

  • You need to download your album, playlists, or podcasts before you can access them offline
  • Individual songs cannot be downloaded
  • Your Spotify account can stay offline for a maximum of 30 days
  • If you do not go online every 30 days, Spotify will not keep your downloads
  • The maximum number of songs you can download per device (maximum is 5) is 10 000
  • Downloading songs require you to be connected to the internet
  • You are unable to search for songs on offline mode

If you would like an in-depth article on how to download on Spotify, we have this guide for you.

(Interesting fact: The reason why you need to go online every 30 days is so Spotify can count the number of plays per song to compensate the artists.)

Why won’t my Spotify songs play offline?

If you have Premium with offline mode enabled, but your songs are still not playing, this could be due to the following;

  • Your songs have not completed syncing
  • Storage space on your device is running low
  • You’ve reached the maximum download number
  • You haven’t logged out and back in after downloading playlists

Tip; Delete your ‘Previously Listened’ to history as this seems to help your songs to download successfully.

Can I listen to Spotify offline without premium?

 You can listen to Spotify offline by downloading your songs to your computer if you do not want to upgrade to their Premium version. 

Spotify protects songs so that they can only be played through their app. The online streaming service does, however, offer a music downloader you can use.

Step 1. Install UkeySoft Spotify Music Converter onto your computer

Step 2. Once it has been installed, click ‘Run’

Step 3. Copy the playlists and/or albums from Spotify into the converter app

Step 4. Once you have added your chosen songs, select ‘Add’ at the bottom

Step 5. To confirm the ‘Output’ settings, click on the ‘Options’ button

Step 6. Now press ‘Convert’

Once all the songs have been converted, they will be downloaded onto your computer.

If you want to copy the songs onto your mobile device, you will need to connect your phone to your computer and move them across.

Note, on iPhone, the music will need to be imported to the iTunes library followed by syncing the songs.

What is the difference between Spotify Free and Premium

how to play spotify without internet access

Photo by David Pupaza on Unsplash

Upgrading from the standard version to Premium is the solution to play Spotify without internet access, so what is the difference between the two, and is it worth it?

Spotify Standard Spotify Premium
No Ads
Download Music
Download Podcasts
Best Sound Quality
Available Abroad Only for 14 days
50 Million + Songs
Play Any Song On Mobile Selected playlists only
Unlimited Skips
Free 
Create Playlists

If you are an avid music listener, Spotify Premium is the better option.  The overall experience with a Premium account on Spotify exceeds its standard version.

The Spotify library may be the same for both versions, but new releases are available sooner for Premium users.

Spotify Premium is definitely worth the monthly subscription, its music even has more detail in the sound (320kbps streaming as opposed to 160kbps on Spotify Free).

Conclusion

Now that you know how to play Spotify without internet access, you can enjoy creating your playlists from browsing Spotify’s extensive library of 15 million tunes.

As a Spotify Premium account holder, making sure you have music to listen to when you do not have internet access is just a click away.

We hope our guide has covered all aspects of playing Spotify offline, however, if you would like further information on this matter, or to query anything else relating to your Spotify account, you can check out their Support Page as well as the Spotify Community page.

You can also speak directly to one of their Customer Service team members by sending them a message.