Spotify Outage: Why the Music Streaming Giant Went Down Today and When It Will Be Back Online

Spotify users worldwide are reporting that the music-streaming service is unreachable this afternoon, prompting a spike in “is Spotify down” searches. Reports first surged around 2:20 p.m. ET, when outage tracker Downdetector logged more than 27,000 problem submissions in the United States alone. The disruption appears tied to a broader incident involving Google Cloud, the infrastructure provider Spotify relies on for parts of its backend. Google’s platform simultaneously showed tens of thousands of error reports, hinting at a shared root cause. What users are experiencing • Mobile and desktop apps stall on the splash screen or return “Something went wrong. Try again.” • Web player pages fail to load or display 502 error codes. • Smart speakers and cars skip tracks or disconnect altogether. Geography and scope Live outage maps indicate the highest concentration of problems in North America and Western Europe, but reports now span every continent as peak commuting hours roll forward. Is there an official response? Spotify has acknowledged “intermittent issues” via its @SpotifyStatus X (Twitter) account and says engineers are “working with cloud partners to restore full service.” No estimated time to recovery (ETR) has been posted as of 3:15 p.m. ET. Tips while you wait 1. Check Spotify Status: Visit status.spotify.com or monitor @SpotifyStatus for updates. 2. Toggle connections: Some users regain playback by switching from Wi-Fi to cellular or vice versa. 3. Downloaded music still works: Offline playlists stored on your phone should play without an internet connection. 4. Avoid repeated log-ins: Rapid sign-in attempts can trigger security locks, prolonging access issues. How to track progress Real-time graphs on Downdetector refresh every few minutes. You can also watch live blogs such as Tom’s Guide for rolling commentary on the outage and recovery checkpoints. What’s next Large-scale cloud outages often resolve within hours, but cascading effects—like cache resets and load balancing—can make Spotify sluggish even after initial fixes. If you need uninterrupted music, consider switching to locally stored tracks or alternative services until Spotify confirms full restoration. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.