In short: You’ll need to wait for the next software update, where Spotify fixes the bug. However, you can create a temporary playlist that acts as a queue instead of queueing up songs.
When you add songs to a queue, Spotify sometimes clears the whole queue. Additionally, if you play the song you wanted to add, it won’t play anything either. Here are some workarounds.
About the Spotify queue
So I’ve been talking to someone who is taking data structures and algorithm classes.
To understand the Spotify queue, you’ll need to grasp the fundamental idea of a queue. When you view what songs are playing next, you’re viewing a doubly-linked list.
You don’t need to know what that means, but the idea is that a list can go forward and backward. In other words, it can skip to the next song or play the previous song.
A Spotify queue is slightly different. The first thing to enter a queue is always the first thing to exit a queue. But once something exits a queue, it’s gone and forgotten about.
A queue doesn’t hold the memory of what was previously stored in it. The only thing a queue sees is whatever is at the front (the oldest item that’s in the queue).
From a user’s perspective, it’s stupid. But from a programming perspective, it makes perfect logical sense. Closing or restarting the Spotify app will clear up your queued songs.
What to do if Spotify keeps clearing up your queue
After doing hours of research, I’ve found out that this is a Spotify bug. You can wait for Spotify to fix it for you, but I’d rather be proactive and work around the problem. Here are a few fixes:
1. Update Spotify to the latest version
The disappearing queued tracks on Spotify are actually something that has been happening to a lot of users. In fact, the issue has been acknowledged by Spotify developers.
First, you’ll need to make sure that your Spotify app is updated to the latest version. The developers release updates to fix bugs and errors within the app.
As of December 2022, Spotify developers were happy to say that this issue has been fixed for mobile users. Just make sure your app is updated to the latest version.
2. Log out then log back in twice
If you’ve updated Spotify to the latest version, but your queued songs still disappear, the next thing you should do is to log out of your Spotify account and then log back in. Do it twice.
Often, performing a simple logout is enough to fix simple issues, like queues being deleted. Do this first before you do anything else. Maybe, this is all you need to do.
3. Mark songs as favorite
If Spotify keeps clearing your queue whenever you add a song, you’ll need to like it first.
I found this workaround by accident. After marking a song as a favorite, I was able to add it to my queue and Spotify would play it normally without clearing my queue.
Often, a song won’t play after you’ve added it to a queue, but the moment you’ve “liked” it, the song would be added to the queue and Spotify would play the song.
It’s quite frustrating when the whole queue is cleared, and the only thing you can do is mark a random song as a favorite. It’s far from the ideal solution but it works for now.
Remember, you’ll need to like the song first before adding it to a queue.
4. Play a random song before playing queued songs
Another workaround is to open the Spotify app, then play a random song (that isn’t in the queue) before you actually start listening to the songs in your actual queue.
Once you play that random song, go back to your playlist or queue. Spotify should keep your queue intact and you should be able to enjoy songs in your queue.
But don’t touch anything else, otherwise, the queue might get deleted.
5. Turn off Enhance and Shuffle
Two things you can do to make sure Spotify doesn’t clear up your queue is to disable Enhance and Shuffle. Both features may interfere with your current Spotify queue of songs.
When you tap the Enhance button, a number of things happen.
Spotify analyzes the music you’ve already added to the playlist and uses that information to insert its own recommended songs. You’ll see one recommended song after every two tracks.
The Shuffle feature, on the other hand, mixes up your favorite playlists by mixing the song’s play order in the queue. When you shuffle your playlists on Spotify, it randomizes the songs that play.
If you want Spotify to play songs in a specific order, make sure both the Enhance button and Shuffle feature are disabled. Otherwise, they can both clear up your queue.
6. Make a playlist instead of a queue
Instead of making a queue, make a playlist.
The concept is simple. Create a playlist specifically for the purpose of queuing songs. This means you might need to tweak the playlist every time you open the Spotify app.
I know this is a lot more work (compared to simply adding a song to a queue), but you’re not going to waste time and get frustrated over the fact that Spotify may clear up your queue.
The maximum number of songs that you’re allowed to add to a Spotify playlist used to be 10,000. Now, there is no limit. By comparison, the maximum number in a queue is around 80.
I recommend adding songs you like to this “queue” playlist, then sorting them based on your personal preferences. Think of it as more of a permanent queue, if you will.
Until the day Spotify doesn’t clear up your queue, you can create a playlist instead.
7. Clean reinstall the Spotify app
Last but not least, you can perform a clean reinstall of the Spotify app. There might be some corrupt files that are causing problems like Spotify deleting your queued tracks.
If you want to learn how to do it, this helpful post on the Spotify Community will show you how to perform a clean reinstall based on what device you’re using.
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