Spotify users reported outages on the streaming service beginning at about 1 p.m. ET on Thursday, saying the primary issues are app-related. Users are complaining that the app won’t load or allow them to stream content including music, audiobooks, and podcasts.
Complaints on DownDetector said the desktop version of Spotify was giving them a firewall error message while they received a gateway error message on the mobile app.
The company responded to the complaints, saying in short a Twitter post, “Something’s not quite right, and we’re looking into it. Thanks for your reports!” Nearly three hours after the first reports came in, Spotify announced it is back up and running, although some users are posting on DownDetector that they’re still having trouble accessing the app.
Only 10 minutes after Spotify said the issue was resolved, one user posted, “It’s still giving me the error that Spotify is blocked by a firewall on the Windows app.” Suggestions from other users have flooded the site including restarting the app or logging out of and back into the website.
This is the second outage Spotify has experienced in less than two weeks after it went down for about two hours on January 13, but the company never revealed the reason. A Spotify spokesperson directed Gizmodo to the company’s Twitter profile for updated information in an email but did not respond to follow-up requests about what caused the outage or how it was fixed.
Users who face future problems with the Spotify app can first try contacting the SpotifyCares team who can help detect potential tech problems with the system. The company first suggests restarting the Spotify app and updating it if any technical issues arise, and as a third option, uninstalling and reinstalling the app. Although Spotify advises users that they will need to redownload any music or podcasts after its installed.
Spotify recently laid off about 6% (roughly 600 employees) of its staff in cost-cutting measures “in an effort to drive more efficiency, control costs, and speed up decision-making,” CEO and Spotify co-founder, Daniel Ek, said in a memo to staff. The layoffs have not been stated as a reason for the recent outages.