What Is Spotify's No Healthy Upstream Error And Can You Fix It?

There are few things more annoying than opening Spotify, only to be hit with a blank screen with a "no healthy upstream" message. This error means your device can't connect to the Spotify servers. According to Spotify, it's often caused by your slow internet connection or problematic network configurations.

However, you might also see the "no healthy upstream" error if there's a temporary outage on Spotify systems. There are also certain instances — such as when Spotify Wrapped comes out — when the Spotify servers are overloaded and become unreachable to some. In these cases, all you can do is wait for anywhere between a few minutes and a couple of hours before trying the app or Web Player again. If you seem to be the only one among your friends and family getting the "no healthy upstream" error, don't ditch Spotify for a local music player just yet — here are a few tips and tricks to get back to your music streaming session.

Network problems are one of the top causes of the "no healthy upstream" error on Spotify. Here's how you can fix your WiFi network to get access to Spotify again:

1. Restart your Wi-Fi router. Most network issues can be fixed with a simple power cycle.
2. Check your internet speeds from sites like speedtest.net and fast.com. You may be experiencing a slow connection, causing the "no healthy upstream" error.
3. Use a different network. If you're on your home Wi-Fi, try connecting via your mobile data instead. If it fixes the error, make sure to reach out to your ISP to see if it's an issue on their end. If you're on a shared network (like at school or work), get in touch with the network administrator, so they can check why the network is blocking access to Spotify.
4. Flush the DNS cache. The DNS cache stores data from websites you've visited before. The next time you visit them again, the page will load faster as it pulls the data from the cache instead of straight from the internet. However, this old data can sometimes end up being outdated or getting corrupted, causing problems when you try to access certain pages. To solve this, clear the DNS cache on your computer to delete the stored data. On Windows, run the Command Prompt program as administrator and type ipconfig /flushdns, followed by netsh winsock reset. Then, reboot your PC. On macOS, open Terminal and run the command sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder. Type your password to proceed.

After trying these fixes, load Spotify on your app or browser again.

If you're getting the "no healthy upstream" error when accessing the Spotify Web Player, it might be due to your browser. Try these troubleshooting techniques to see if that's the case for you:

1. Refresh the page. It could just be a temporary bug.
2. If you have more than one Spotify Web Player tab opened, close the other tabs except for one. 
3. Access the Web Player from an Incognito tab. Press Ctrl + Shift + N to open a new Incognito tab and visit open.spotify.com from here. 
4. Clear your browser's cache and cookies to remove old (and potentially buggy) data from your browser. To clear the cache on Google Chrome, hit Ctrl + Shift + Del on your keyboard. On the new tab that appears, set the Time range to All time and check the boxes for "Cookies and other site data" and "Cached images and files." Then, press Delete data and try accessing the Spotify Web Player again. 
5. Update your browser. An old browser might no longer be compatible with the Web Player. On Chrome, click the three dots in the upper right corner and navigate to Help > About Google Chrome. The app will automatically start updating. Once done, press Relaunch to restart Chrome. 

If nothing works, log into Spotify from a different browser such as Microsoft Edge or Firefox instead.

If you're having trouble with the Spotify app on your phone or desktop, check whether it's the app itself causing the issue. Follow these troubleshooting techniques:

1. Uninstall and reinstall the app:
   1. On iOS, long-press on the app on the home screen, select Remove App, and press Delete App. Hit Delete to confirm. Then, download Spotify again from the App Store and sign in.
   2. On Android, press and hold the app, choose Uninstall, and press OK to confirm. Reinstall Spotify from the Play Store and log into your account as you normally do.
   3. On macOS, close Spotify if it's in use. From the Dock, right-click on the app and press Quit. Then, navigate to Finder > Applications and drag Spotify to Trash on the Dock. To reinstall the app, go to the Spotify Download page to get the installer and double-click on it to proceed with the installation.
   4. On Windows, go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps, click the More icon next to Spotify, and select Uninstall. Reinstall the app by going to the Microsoft Store and pressing Install on the Spotify app page.
2. Update Spotify:
   1. On mobile, simply go to the App Store or Play Store, find Spotify, and press the Update button if it's available.
   2. On desktop, go to the About Spotify page. If you're on a Mac computer, click on Spotify in the upper left corner and choose About Spotify. On Windows, press the three dots in the top-left of the screen and go to Help > About Spotify. If there's an update available, press "Click here to download." Restart the app to finish installing the update.

These two things typically solve technical issues on mobile and desktop apps. Try accessing Spotify again to check if you still get the same error.