Fix Spotify Not Working On Roku [Free Online Tool]

If you’re struggling to get Spotify working on your Roku, you’ve come to the right place.

In this article, we list several confirmed fixes, listed in the order that will get you the fastest results.

Once you find the solution that works for you, don’t forget to vote (no registration required), so we can help others with the same issue.

In a rush? Here’s the short answer.

The most common reason for Spotify suddenly not working on Roku is a broken WiFi connection. You can usually fix this by restarting your WiFi router. Other common solutions include restarting your Roku (by unplugging it), checking for software updates, or removing and reinstalling the Spotify app.

We’ve also included some useful information at the bottom of this article, including:

• The most common fixes (according to real data from our users)
• Charts showing any recent spikes in issue activity
• Widespread historical issues

Check your internet connection

There are several internet connection issues that can prevent Spotify from working properly on your Roku.

Even if you’re reading this article on the same internet connection as your Roku, make sure to check these common issues:

• Is your WiFi working (is it connected to the internet)?
• Is the WiFi signal too weak?
• Do you have a slow download speed?
• Is a VPN causing connection issues?

With the first issue, Spotify won’t load at all.

If it’s one of the other three issues, Spotify may load, but be very slow and have buffering issues.

Note: if other internet-requiring apps are working fine, this isn’t your issue and you can skip these steps.

Is your wifi working?

Try to access your WiFi on another device, such as your phone.

Or run a network connectivity test on your Roku via:

settings > network > check connection

If it doesn’t work, you’ve likely found your problem – the WiFi is down.

You can usually fix WiFi issues by restarting your WiFi router and checking all the physical connections are in place. If this doesn’t fix it, you’ll need to contact your provider. 

Is your wifi signal strong enough?

If the WiFi is working, the next thing to check is your signal strength (this is a common issue if you’ve just moved or set up your Roku).

Run a network connectivity test on your Roku via settings > network > check connection.

The results will show you two important metrics.

• Signal strength 
• Internet download speed 

If they’re both fair, good, or excellent, skip the next steps until you reach restart your Roku.

If either of the results are poor, keep reading. 

Signal strength 

If the signal strength is poor, your Roku and Spotify are going to suffer from performance issues.

There are two solutions to poor signal strength:

• Move the TV / Roku
• Buy a WiFi extender

Move the TV / Roku

Your Roku could be too far from the WiFi router, in which case you’ll need to move it (and the TV closer).

Your Roku could also be in a ‘WiFi dead zone’, which is a small area of weak signal, sometimes close to the router. Some surprising things can affect WiFi signals, such as fish tanks or plants.

If this is the case, moving the Roku around slightly can help.

Elevating the Roku or moving it from directly behind the TV are good places to start (a HDMI extender can come in very useful here).

Use a wifi extender

If you can’t (or don’t want to) move the Roku, you can bring the WiFi closer to the TV with an extender.

WiFi extenders boost the signal in areas where it’s a bit patchy.

I have several of these TP-Link RE315 extenders dotted around my house. They’re super reliable little workhorses that barely cost anything. Money well spent if you’re constantly running into weak connection issues.

Internet download speed

Note this is unlikely to be an issue for Spotify, which only requires download speeds of:

• 96kbps for standard quality
• 160kbps for high quality
• 320kbps for extreme quality

But it could be that another device on the internet connection is ‘stealing’ all the power by streaming or downloading massive files, so there’s none left for Spotify.

Or you could just have slow internet.

If you have a compatible Roku device, try using an ethernet connection instead of a wireless connection. This generally results in faster speeds.

If this doesn’t work, contact your ISP (internet service provider) to discuss upgrade options.

Turn off VPN (if you’re using one)

If you’re using a VPN, the internet connection can sometimes be unreliable, causing it to drop in and out.

I personally notice this when using cheaper, less stable VPNs. It can be extremely frustrating, especially as you’re not given any warning that the VPN is facing connection issues.

Simply turn your VPN off and see if this fixes the problem.

If it did, it may be time to consider a new VPN provider.

reset network settings

If you or anyone you live with has tampered with the network settings on your Roku or WiFi router (e.g by adding custom DNS settings), this could be affecting Spotify.

To fix this, reset your network settings to default.

Or you can change to another well know DNS server, and see if this fixes the issue.

Restart your Roku

If the WiFi is working fine, the next thing to do is restart your Roku. Restarting your device can solve a whole host of problems.

There are three ways to restart your Roku.

Manual restart

1. Unplug the Roku from the wall
2. Wait for at least 10 seconds (but I’d say 30 to make sure)
3. Plug the Roku back in and turn it on

Menu restart

1. Navigate to the Roku homepage (you can press the home button on the remote)
2. Select Settings
3. Select System
4. Select Power (if you don’t see this option, skip to the next step)
5. Select System restart
6. Wait for the Roku to restart

Remote restart

1. Press the home button 5 times
2. Press the up arrow 1 time
3. Press the rewind button 2 times
4. Press the fast forward button twice
5. This should force a restart

Once the Roku has restarted, check to see if Spotify is working again.

And don’t worry, resetting the Roku won’t do anything to the setup of your device (but a Factory reset does, more on this below).  You’re just clearing the cache.

All your settings and channels will remain (although you may have to log back into certain channels).

Verify that Spotify isn’t the problem

The problem could also lie with the Spotify app itself.

Try to access Spotify via another device. If this works fine you can skip these steps.

If you have a problem on the second device too – you need to troubleshoot Spotify.

Is Spotify down?

This is unlikely to be the issue, but it’s quick and easy to check.

To check if Spotify is down, you can:

• Check for updates via their dedicated Spotify Status Twitter account
• Use a site like Down Detector

If there is indeed a user-wide problem with the app, all you can do is wait.

You could also check with Roku (via Twitter) and see if they are aware of any issues.

Have you reached your account limit?

Each Spotify account can only be played on one device at any one time.

If you’re logged into your account in multiple places, it’s possible someone else is using your account.

If you know who the culprit is, you’ll need to message them and tell them to get off! 

If you’re not sure who it is, you can log out of all devices and then change your password.

Check for updates

Software updates happen all the time. Your Roku should update automatically but for various reasons, this might not have happened. 

And if your software isn’t up to date it can cause issues (like Spotify not working). 

You can manually check for updates by following these steps. You need to check both Roku and Spotify. 

To check for Roku updates

1. Navigate to the Roku Homepage (you can press the home button on the remote)
2. Select Settings
3. Select System
4. Select System update
5. Select Check Now to manually check for updates

To check for Spotify updates

1. Navigate to the Spotify app
2. Press the * button on your remote
3. Select Check for updates

Note: in September 2021 there was a widespread issue with Spotify disappearing from Roku TVs. Roku promptly responded, suggesting that updating the Roku software would solve the issue.

One forum member said:

“Thank you so much for your reply. I have the Spotify app back on both Roku TV’s. I did a System software update as you said and both apps appeared again.”

Francia54 – Roku community forum member

Sign in and out of Spotify

This is a simple solution, but it often works and is less hassle than the next option (which is to completely uninstall the Spotify app.)

In the Spotify app, navigate to the settings menu.

You should then see the option to ‘log out’ at the bottom of the menu.

Sign back in and test if the problem is fixed.

Uninstall and reinstall Spotify

Sometimes apps corrupt for a variety of complicated technical reasons.

To fix this, you can uninstall and reinstall your Spotify app. 

To uninstall the Spotify app

1. Navigate to the Spotify app on your Roku
2. Press the * button on your remote
3. Press Remove app

You will then need to restart the Roku

This is very important – this will clear its memory so all traces of Spotify will be gone.

After restarting the Roku, you can reinstall Spotify: 

1. Press the Home button on your Roku remote
2. Scroll down to ‘Streaming channels’. This will take you to the channel store.
3. Press Okay
4. Scroll down and select Search channels
5. Type in Spotify
6. Scroll to the right and select Spotify
7. Press Add channel (you may be asked to enter your pin)

Spotify will be at the bottom of your channel grid when it reinstalls, but you can move it up if you wish (via the * button on the remote). 

You will have to re-login to Spotify when you open it.

Note: if you have an active subscription to Spotify through Roku, then you will be unable to remove the channel.

Factory reset

This should be the last port of call because doing a factory will completely erase the Roku. 

It will be back to how it was when you bought it. 

But if nothing else has worked, it’s worth trying.

There are two ways to perform a hard reset.

• Press the physical reset button on the Roku device for 10 seconds (you may need something thin like an earring, a straightened paper clip, or a sim opener). Then wait for the device to reset.
• Reset via settings

To Factory reset the Roku via settings

1. Press Home on your Roku remote
2. Select Settings
3. Select System
4. Select Advanced system settings
5. Select Factory reset
6. If you have a Roku TV, select Factory reset everything. Otherwise, move to the next step.
7. Follow the on-screen instructions

Once you have turned the Roku back on you will need to set it up again. You can follow the on-screen instructions to do this.

Contact support

Finally, you can always contact Roku or Spotify customer support.

• Roku customer support: https://support.Roku.com/contactus
• Spotify customer support: https://support.spotify.com/us/article/contact-us/

Let us know what worked