Q: Tidal not playing songs. It either acts like it’s loading songs but doesn’t play them or it looks like it’s playing the song but it won’t. Spotify and other apps and websites sound are working perfectly and I’ve tried restarting and clearing the Tidal cache, but none of them worked. Any device?
Tidal is a popular digital music streaming platform that allows us to stream over 90 million soundtracks. And it is also the first company to provide high-fidelity sound with lower tiers. We have to admit that it is indeed a great app to stream music, but it’s also possible to come across some problems like the case I shared in the article start. Are you in the same boat? If you keep encountering Tidal not playing songs problem, don’t worry, we have your back! In the next parts, I’m going to discuss the potential reasons why Tidal music not playing on your device and walk you through some feasible methods to fix it.
Part 1 Why Is Tidal Not Playing Music?
When you are prompted to play a song on Tidal but find that Tidal music not playing as usual. The reasons can be various, but might be concluded into the following types:
Reason 1. Poor Network Connection. Online music streaming apps like Tidal largely relies on your network. If you’re under a poor or unstable network, the Tidal app won’t stream.
Reason 2. Outdated Apps or Devices. Apps need updates to fix issues and remove bugs or mistakes that might stop you from using the app very well. Don’t miss the updates!
Reason 3. Shortage of Storage Space. When your device is running out of storage space, it is urgent to remove some caches or unnecessary files to free up more storage space.
Reason 4. Output Audio Speaker Failure. Sometimes we use speakers to play Tidal music louder and share music with more people, the connection failure or something related to both apps leads to Tidal not playing songs.
Reason 5. Corrupted Files or Download Error. If you don’t manage to load or download some songs, you may not play them. And files can be corrupted and no longer available.
Part 2. Fix Tidal Desktop Not Playing
If you’re facing Tidal not playing songs on your device, you should first check your Internet connection and make sure that it is stable. Also, the device volume settings should be enabled and set correctly. After that, if you are still unable to play Tidal songs, you can try the fixes below. This part covers several available fixes to solve the problem on your computer.
Tip 1. Re-install the Tidal App from the Microsoft Store
The Tidal app for music streaming is now available on Mac and Windows devices. You can get its app from its official website or from some app stores. Well, some people have complained that they keep meeting issue of Tidal songs not playing and it is said the versions downloaded from Microsoft Store performs much better. You can take the below instructions as references.
Step 1. Search for Microsoft Store from your Quick Start menu to launch the Microsoft Store on your computer.
Step 2. Type in Tidal in the search bar and find the Tidal app in the appearing results.
Step 3. In the detail page, tap Get to install the Tidal desktop on your computer.
Tip 2. Change Streaming Quality
Tidal allows you to adjust the streaming quality within the app. By default, Tidal loads music tracks or video data with the highest quality in order to offer you the best listening service, but that costs a large storage space at the same time. You can change the download settings to avoid this.
Step 1. Open the Tidal app on your Windows PC and click the three-dot icon from the left side menu.
Step 2. Click Settings to enter and select the Streaming section from the window.
Step 3. Here you can adjust the streaming quality on your Tidal desktop app.
Tip 3. Clear Tidal Cache
To make sure the process of using Tidal smoothly, the Tidal app will automatically download and store some cache files on your computer. These files can help to speed up and save your time while opening and using it. However, overwhelming or corrupted cache files may cause glitches and bugs so that your Tidal app can not play songs normally. The easy fix to it is that you should clear Tidal cache regularly.
Step 1. Run the Tidal app on your Windows or Mac. Then click the three horizontal lines icon at the top left corner.
Step 2. Select Help > Troubleshooting > Clear Cache.
Tip 4. Reboot Your Computer
After finishing the methods above, if you still can not use Tidal to play music, then maybe the problem is from your computer instead of the Tidal app itself. The most straightforward method of fixing some errors on your computer is to reboot it. Just click Power – Shut down to close your device. Then, open it again to play Tidal music.
Part 3. Fix Mobile Tidal App Not Playing
When it comes to solving the Tidal app not playing music on mobile devices, cases to meet such issues seem to be much easier. But never mind! We have five efficient methods to troubleshoot.
Tip 1. Update/Reinstall the Tidal App
If you are trapped in Tidal songs not playing issue on mobile devices, the first method available for you is to simply update or reinstall the Tidal mobile app. To check what version your app is, go to the App Store or Google Play Store and search for Tidal, if there is an update option, then you should update your Tidal app first. If this does not help, try to perform a clean reinstall on your mobile phone.
On iOS:
Step 1. Press and long-hold the Tidal icon from your mobile phone’s Home screen.
Step 2. In the drop-down menu, select Remove App and tap Remove to confirm. After that, go to your App Store to download the app again.
On Android:
Step 1. Press and long-hold the Tidal app icon from your Home screen on Android devices and tap the first option to enter the App Info page.
Step 2. Here you can select the Uninstall button to delete the Tidal app. Then go to Google Play Store to download the app again.
Tip 2. Clear Tidal Cache
Tidal does not offer you the option to clear the cache on mobile phones directly, but we can seek approaches to do this manually. Here is how to clean up Tidal cache files on Android:
Step 1. On the Home screen of your Android phone, press and hold the Tidal app icon until a menu appears.
Step 2. Tap the icon with i to enter the app’s settings. Or you can go to Settings > Apps > Tidal to set up, too.
Step 3. On the detail page, tap Storage & cache and then Clear cache.
Tip 3. Free up Device Storage
Clearing the unnecessary files on your current devices is essential to free up more storage space. So that to allow work well. If you’re experiencing a storage shortage on your mobile device, try this method!
On iPhone:
Step 1. Open Settings and navigate to General > iPhone Storage.
Step 2. Here you can see all your downloads and apps as well as how much space you left. Verify if you have enough space for running Spotify. If not, delete some videos, files, etc that you don’t need to free up more space.
On Android:
Step 1. Go to Settings and select Storage.
Step 2. On the next page, you can see your space clearly. Make sure you have enough space to run Spotify app. If not, delete some.
Tip 4. Check Output Audio Speakers
This method is applicable when you’re using an output audio speaker such as Echo or Bluetooth speaker, etc. In cases when something is wrong with your output speakers, issues like Tidal music not playing are easier to happen. Thus, you’d better check and make sure your output device is well enough to stream Tidal music. Please double-check your output device and your Spotify app to figure out the problematic one. You can use another app to stream audio from your smart speaker or connect your phone to another output speaker to test the performance.
If you’re listening to Tidal music through Bluetooth headphones, please check the Bluetooth connection as well.
Tip 5. Check Apple ID Registration
If you use Apple ID to log into the Tidal app and receive a message that says “Service Unavailable” error, then this might be the problematic issue. You can check your Apple ID and disconnect it to resolve this error. Try these steps:
On iPhone:
Step 1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone and tap the Apple profile in the first place.
Step 2. On the detail page, go to Password & Security, then tap Apps Using Apple ID.
Step 3. In the app list, find the Tidal app and tap it.
Step 4. Select the Stop using Apple ID option and tap Stop using to confirm your setup.
On computer:
Step 1. Go to the Apple ID online page and choose Security.
Step 2. Select APPS & WEBSITES USING APPLE ID > Manage apps & websites.
Step 3. Here you can find the Tidal app and click on Stop Using Apple ID to finish.
Part 4. Extra Tip: Download Tidal Songs Offline for Listening Without Limits
Since Tidal Music files are all strictly protected content, due to the DRM license, they are encrypted with special formats which restricts them from being only playable within the Tidal app. If you want to keep Tidal downloads playable and offline accessible on your devices, here we met the best solution: Tunelf Tidal Music Converter.
Tunelf Tidal Music Converter is designed to download Tidal Music without a premium account and convert them to popular audio formats to keep them playable on any other compatible devices forever. You can manage your music library by different archives and keep the original ID3 metadata information with lossless quality. Do you want to play Spotify music on multiple platforms? Yes! Tunelf can remove the DRM limit on these audio files on Tidal and convert them to MP3, AAC, FLAC, M4A, M4B, and WAV. Then you can stream Tidal songs on multiple devices free of errors.
Key Features of Tunelf Tidal Music Converter
- Download any Tidal content, including songs, albums, playlists, and artists
- Support exporting Tidal music to MP3, AAC, FLAC, WAV, M4A, and M4B
- Preserve a whole set of ID3 tag information in the downloaded Tidal songs
- Handle the conversion of Tidal music up to 5× faster speed and in batch
Part 5. Wrap Up
There is a wide range of errors that can result in the Tidal not playing music issue. But it won’t be big trouble since you can get some powerful solutions here in this post. If you want to enjoy Tidal music offline on multiple devices and be free of errors, the Tunelf Tidal Music Converter is recommended!
