Many people have experienced Spotify not working on mobile data (cellular) and keeps going offline. It shows, “No internet connection available.” However, on Wi-Fi, it absolutely works fine.
If Spotify isn’t working on mobile data, do these first:
- Make sure Spotify is not blocked from using cellular data.
- Make sure that your cellular data plan is active and has enough data available.
- Check that the Spotify app is updated to the latest version.
- Try clearing the cache and data of the Spotify app on your device.
- Try disabling and re-enabling cellular data for the Spotify app.
- Try disabling and re-enabling cellular data for your device.
- Try restarting your device.
You could also contact Spotify support. They can help you troubleshoot the issue by checking your account, and network settings and help you to understand cellular data issues.
However, I’ve done my fair share of trial and error to create the ultimate troubleshooting guide whenever Spotify is not working on mobile data. Here are a few reasons why.
You don’t have enough mobile data available
It may sound simple, but often, Spotify doesn’t work on mobile data because you don’t have enough data. Make sure that your cellular data plan is active and has enough data available.
If you have enough data, try disabling and re-enabling cellular data for your device, then restart your device. Often, these simple steps are enough to get your mobile data working again.
You could also contact your cellular service provider to see if they can offer any solutions or if there are any known outages in your area that would interfere with your mobile data.
Data saver is turned ON
If Spotify is not working on mobile data and keeps going offline, the data saver feature could be turned on. Make sure any form of data-saving option is disabled on your mobile device.
On Android, this menu is called “Data saver” while on iPhone, it’s called “Low Data Mode”. When any of these features is turned on, your mobile device will limit Spotify’s data usage.
Here’s how to turn off Data saver on your Android phone:
- Open the Settings app.
- Open Connections.
- Tap Data usage.
- Under the Usage column, tap Data saver.
- Make sure it is toggled OFF.
The Data saver feature on Android helps cut down your data usage by preventing apps from using data in the background. When it’s turned ON, it may severely limit the Spotify app.
Here’s how to turn off Low Data Mode on your iPhone:
- Tap the Settings app.
- Tap the Mobile Data icon.
- Navigate to Mobile Data Options.
- Tap Data Mode.
- Choose Standard or Allow More Data on 5G.
On an iPhone, you’ll see three Data Mode options. The first one is “Allow More Data on 5G” which is more suitable for software updates and higher-quality media.
The second one is “Standard” which still allows automatic updates and background tasks on mobile data, but limits video and FaceTime quality. It won’t limit the Spotify app.
And lastly, you’ll see the “Low Data Mode” which helps reduce mobile data usage by pausing automatic updates and background tasks. It severely limits the Spotify app.
Make sure the “Low Data Mode” is not selected if you want Spotify to work on mobile data.
Spotify isn’t allowed background data usage
Apps that play audio, like Spotify, need permission to run in the background. If you have not given the app permission to run in the background, it may not work on mobile data.
On iOS, open the Settings app on your iPhone and navigate to General. Now go to Background App Refresh. Scroll down and enable Spotify by toggling ON the switch next to it.
If you’re on Android, you can hold down the Spotify app icon and then click on “App info”. Next, click on “Mobile data” and toggle the “Allow background data usage” ON.
These steps would enable bandwidth-heavy apps like YouTube and Spotify to use mobile data when running in the background. Plus, it won’t restrict them to Wi-Fi only.
VPN is interfering with your mobile data
If you’re using a VPN, it could be interfering with your mobile data. Spotify doesn’t officially support VPN, which means that issues with the app while using VPN are expected behavior.
Even if you’ve turned it off, your VPN could be set to “always ON”, which means that even on mobile data, your mobile device is always connected to VPN at all times.
You need to turn off the “always ON” VPN.
On Android, open the Settings app. Tap Network & internet and then VPN. Next to the VPN you want to change, tap Settings. Turn Always-on VPN off.
On a Samsung Galaxy phone, open the Settings app. Tap on Connections then More connection settings. Tap VPN, click the gear icon, and then turn Always-on VPN off.
On iOS, open the Settings app and scroll down to tap General, and then scroll to tap VPN & Device Management. Tap VPN at the top of the page.
Tap the Status toggle switch to turn it off. You should see a Disconnecting… message, and then the switch will flip to the left. Your VPN is now turned off.
Next, you should also disable the “Connect On Demand” feature. You can disable this by tapping the “i” icon next to your VPN’s name and toggling off the Connect On Demand switch.
Now your VPN shouldn’t interfere with your mobile data and the Spotify app. You should be able to listen to music using cellular data even without a Wi-Fi connection.
Network problem
There could be a network problem that stops Spotify from working with mobile data. If so, try with a different network. For example, if you’re using 3G, try 4G and the other way around.
Sometimes a quick reboot or toggling Airplane mode can also fix glitches.
If the problem persists with cellular connectivity, you’ll need to reset the network settings on your phone. A network reset is simple and doesn’t delete all the content on your phone.
Follow the steps below to reset network settings on an iPhone:
- Open Settings on iPhone.
- Scroll to General.
- Select Transfer or Reset iPhone.
- Tap Reset.
- Select Reset Network Settings.
- Enter your device password to confirm the decision.
These steps work on iPhones and iPads running iOS and iPadOS 11 and later. If you use an older version of iOS, type network in the Settings search bar to find it.
Here are the steps to reset network settings on your Android phone:
- Tap the Settings app (the one with a gear icon).
- Scroll down and tap on System.
- Select Reset options.
- Select Reset Wi-Fi, mobile, & Bluetooth
- Tap Reset settings from the following menu.
The steps to reset network settings differ on a Samsung Galaxy phone. Here’s how:
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap General management.
- Select Reset.
- Select Reset network settings.
- Tap the Reset settings button from the following menu.
Don’t worry, a network reset is simple and doesn’t delete all the content on your phone.
Resetting network settings only affect your phone’s connections, like Wi-Fi, mobile data, and Bluetooth. You won’t lose any app data with either of these options.
I’ve heard plenty of Spotify users get the app working again by following these steps. Reset the network settings and you should be able to enjoy your music on cellular data.
Mobile carrier problem
A friend of mine has been dealing with Spotify not working on mobile data. After many hours of trial and error, he found out that it was actually a carrier issue associated with Vodafone.
He made the switch from Vodafone to Airtel and now Spotify is working flawlessly on mobile data, which goes to show that it’s an exclusive carrier problem.
Of course, the best course of action is to switch to another mobile carrier but it’s not practical for everyone. The next best thing is to disable the 4G VoLTE (Voice over LTE).
On Android, open Settings > Connections > Mobile networks. Tap on your Primary SIM. Find the VoLTE toggle button and turn it off. It’s disabled now.
iPhone users can find the option in the Cellular Data options. Note that how you enable or disable VoLTE on your iPhone may vary if your device has two SIM cards installed.
On iOS, open Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Voice & Data, and from there, make sure that the VoLTE toggle is turned OFF. It should be disabled now.
Don’t worry, disabling VoLTE only means your internet speed will be lower as your device switches to the 3G or 2G spectrum whose ranges are lower than their 4G counterpart.
This is a temporary workaround until your mobile carrier provides a good update. For now, this is the only way to trigger Spotify to work using mobile data if you have a mobile carrier problem.
Your carrier’s IPv6 network is misconfigured or has a problem
If your Spotify still isn’t working on mobile data even if you’ve turned off VoLTE, it could be an indication that your carrier’s IPv6 network is misconfigured or has a problem.
You should try changing the APN Roaming Protocol to IPV4 only.
IPv4 is required to access much of the Internet, and should not be disabled. IPv6 is not yet widely used in today’s Internet because many devices and networks still support only IPv4.
IPv6 support will be more useful in the future if and when more sites or other services begin to adopt it, but as of right now, you could switch to IPV4 to make Spotify work on mobile data.
In the Mobile network settings, go to “Access Point Names”, then in your mobile provider’s APN, change the APN and APN Roaming Protocol to IPV4 only. Spotify should work after that.
It’s not possible to disable IPv6 on Apple’s mobile platforms at the system level, so if you’re using an iOS device, you need to contact your mobile device administrator to change your APN.
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