When Something Goes Wrong

# When Something Goes Wrong

Each section starts with the words you see in Spotifast or in its log, so you
can search this page for them.

## Spotify refused the audio key {#audio-key}

You may see this banner when you press play:

> **Spotify won't let this computer play this song right now.**

Or you may find lines like these in the log:

```
error audio key 0 1
Unable to load key, continuing without decryption
Spotify refused the audio key. Try again later
```

### What it means

Spotify sends music to your computer locked. To play a song, the player has
to ask Spotify for that song's key and use it to unlock the audio. Spotifast's
built-in player uses [librespot](https://github.com/librespot-org/librespot),
and librespot asks for a key every time a song starts. Here, Spotify said no.
Your sign-in works and your library looks normal, but without the key there
is nothing to turn into sound.

This comes from Spotify, not from your computer. Other apps built on
librespot run into it too.

### Two different cases

It seems to happen in two ways
([librespot issue #1649](https://github.com/librespot-org/librespot/issues/1649),
summed up in
[this comment](https://github.com/librespot-org/librespot/issues/1649#issuecomment-6038311448)):

- **Newer accounts, refused every time.** If your Spotify username is a long
  string of random letters and numbers that Spotify made up for you, Spotify
  may refuse every key. Nothing in Spotifast or librespot can change that
  today.
- **Older accounts, refused in bursts.** Some older accounts play fine for a
  long time, then get a run of refusals. It looks like Spotify limits how fast
  keys can be asked for. It clears up after a while, so trying again later
  usually works.

### What won't help

Changing audio settings, clearing the cache, signing out and in, or
reinstalling won't fix it, because nothing on your computer is wrong. A
[Client ID of your own](/make-it-even-faster/#make-a-spotify-app) doesn't
change it either: that only speeds up library and search requests, not audio
keys.

### What works

Since 0.15, you can choose **Settings → Spotify Soloist** to play through
Spotify's own player on this computer. [Soloist setup](/soloist/#setup) guides
you through getting a personal Soloist key and pairing once in Spotify. It
uses Spotify's playback implementation, so it may avoid the refused-key
problem with the built-in player. This does not fix Spotify's key refusals
for librespot. Spotify Premium and a supported platform are required.

You can also play the music on another Spotify device and keep using Spotifast as the
remote. **Play on another device** in the banner opens the device picker, the
same one as the devices button in the player bar. Pick your phone, a speaker,
or a computer with the official Spotify app open. The music plays there, and
you still choose songs, skip and change the volume from Spotifast. Those
devices get their own keys from Spotify, so they keep playing.

Close the banner with **×** and it stays away until a song plays on this
computer again. If it happens again before that, you just get a short
message.

Spotifast follows this in
[issue #283](https://github.com/crmne/spotifast/issues/283).

## Signing in fails {#sign-in}

If Spotify's page says **redirect_uri: Not matching configuration**, you are
on a version before 0.14.2, which used a shared sign-in that no longer
accepts new sign-ins
([#1057](https://github.com/crmne/spotifast/issues/1057)). Update Spotifast,
then follow the steps on the sign-in screen to register Spotifast.

If Spotify's page says **Invalid redirect URI**, your registration is missing
the address `http://127.0.0.1:8989/login`, or has it with a difference, such as
`localhost` or a slash at the end. Add it exactly, save, and sign in again.
[Getting Started](/getting-started/#sign-in-with-it) covers the other
messages the sign-in screen can show.

## Spotify is being slow (rate limits) {#rate-limits}

You may see this banner at the top of the page:

> **Spotify is being slow on the shared sign-in.**

Or you may find lines like these in the log:

```
Spotify rate limit source=personal wait=8s
Spotify cooldown source=personal duration_ms=8000
```

### What it means

Spotify limits how many requests each Client ID can make, and tells one that
asks too often to wait. Spotifast waits as told, then tries again. In the
log, `source=personal` means your own Client ID is waiting; `source=shared`
means the shared sign-in that versions before 0.14.2 used for everyone is.

While it waits, searches and your library take longer to load, playback
controls can feel slow, and signing in can take a while. The top bar shows a
spinner; point at it to see what Spotifast is waiting for. Your playlists and
Home keep what they showed last time until the update arrives.

### On the shared sign-in

The banner appears only if you are still on the shared sign-in, which
everyone signed in that way shares, so it is often busy. The fix is to register
Spotifast, which you will need anyway once Spotify stops accepting the shared
sign-in. It takes about two minutes, needs no code, and Spotify requires
Premium on the account that registers. **Register Spotifast** in the banner
opens the setup in Settings, and [Getting Started](/getting-started/#make-a-spotify-app)
has the steps. Your searches, library and playback controls then use your
own allowance.

### With your own Client ID

Your Client ID's allowance is yours alone, so it is rarely the cause. Setting
up playback on this computer helps when it is: Spotifast then reads your
playlists, popular songs and related artists through its music connection,
which uses none of it. [How it connects](/how-it-connects/) has the details.

### "Development Mode quota is exhausted"

Your Client ID has limits of its own. If you see

```
Spotify's Development Mode quota is exhausted; try again after the quota resets
```

your Client ID has used up the allowance Spotify gives it. Requests with it
fail until Spotify resets it, so try again later. If you registered several,
they share one allowance for your account, so another registration doesn't
help.

Each section starts with the words you see in Spotifast or in its log, so you can search this page for them.

Spotify refused the audio key

You may see this banner when you press play:

Spotify won’t let this computer play this song right now.

Or you may find lines like these in the log:

error audio key 0 1
Unable to load key, continuing without decryption
Spotify refused the audio key. Try again later

What it means

Spotify sends music to your computer locked. To play a song, the player has to ask Spotify for that song’s key and use it to unlock the audio. Spotifast’s built-in player uses librespot, and librespot asks for a key every time a song starts. Here, Spotify said no. Your sign-in works and your library looks normal, but without the key there is nothing to turn into sound.

This comes from Spotify, not from your computer. Other apps built on librespot run into it too.

Two different cases

It seems to happen in two ways (librespot issue #1649, summed up in this comment):

Newer accounts, refused every time. If your Spotify username is a long string of random letters and numbers that Spotify made up for you, Spotify may refuse every key. Nothing in Spotifast or librespot can change that today.
Older accounts, refused in bursts. Some older accounts play fine for a long time, then get a run of refusals. It looks like Spotify limits how fast keys can be asked for. It clears up after a while, so trying again later usually works.

What won’t help

Changing audio settings, clearing the cache, signing out and in, or reinstalling won’t fix it, because nothing on your computer is wrong. A Client ID of your own doesn’t change it either: that only speeds up library and search requests, not audio keys.

What works

Since 0.15, you can choose Settings → Spotify Soloist to play through Spotify’s own player on this computer. Soloist setup guides you through getting a personal Soloist key and pairing once in Spotify. It uses Spotify’s playback implementation, so it may avoid the refused-key problem with the built-in player. This does not fix Spotify’s key refusals for librespot. Spotify Premium and a supported platform are required.

You can also play the music on another Spotify device and keep using Spotifast as the remote. Play on another device in the banner opens the device picker, the same one as the devices button in the player bar. Pick your phone, a speaker, or a computer with the official Spotify app open. The music plays there, and you still choose songs, skip and change the volume from Spotifast. Those devices get their own keys from Spotify, so they keep playing.

Close the banner with × and it stays away until a song plays on this computer again. If it happens again before that, you just get a short message.

Spotifast follows this in issue #283.

If Spotify’s page says redirect_uri: Not matching configuration, you are on a version before 0.14.2, which used a shared sign-in that no longer accepts new sign-ins (#1057). Update Spotifast, then follow the steps on the sign-in screen to register Spotifast.

If Spotify’s page says Invalid redirect URI, your registration is missing the address http://127.0.0.1:8989/login, or has it with a difference, such as localhost or a slash at the end. Add it exactly, save, and sign in again. Getting Started covers the other messages the sign-in screen can show.

Spotify is being slow (rate limits)

You may see this banner at the top of the page:

Spotify is being slow on the shared sign-in.

Or you may find lines like these in the log:

Spotify rate limit source=personal wait=8s
Spotify cooldown source=personal duration_ms=8000

What it means

Spotify limits how many requests each Client ID can make, and tells one that asks too often to wait. Spotifast waits as told, then tries again. In the log, source=personal means your own Client ID is waiting; source=shared means the shared sign-in that versions before 0.14.2 used for everyone is.

While it waits, searches and your library take longer to load, playback controls can feel slow, and signing in can take a while. The top bar shows a spinner; point at it to see what Spotifast is waiting for. Your playlists and Home keep what they showed last time until the update arrives.

The banner appears only if you are still on the shared sign-in, which everyone signed in that way shares, so it is often busy. The fix is to register Spotifast, which you will need anyway once Spotify stops accepting the shared sign-in. It takes about two minutes, needs no code, and Spotify requires Premium on the account that registers. Register Spotifast in the banner opens the setup in Settings, and Getting Started has the steps. Your searches, library and playback controls then use your own allowance.

With your own Client ID

Your Client ID’s allowance is yours alone, so it is rarely the cause. Setting up playback on this computer helps when it is: Spotifast then reads your playlists, popular songs and related artists through its music connection, which uses none of it. How it connects has the details.

“Development Mode quota is exhausted”

Your Client ID has limits of its own. If you see

Spotify's Development Mode quota is exhausted; try again after the quota resets

your Client ID has used up the allowance Spotify gives it. Requests with it fail until Spotify resets it, so try again later. If you registered several, they share one allowance for your account, so another registration doesn’t help.