Spotify Not Playing or Pausing Randomly Windows 11 Fix [2026]

Quick Answer: Spotify playback issues due to hardware acceleration or audio focus. Disable hardware acceleration in Settings and check no other app is stealing audio focus.

Fix

Disable Hardware Acceleration

Spotify → Settings → Advanced → Hardware Acceleration → OFF

Clear Spotify Cache

Remove-Item -Path "$env:APPDATA\Spotify\Storage" -Recurse -Force

Check Audio Focus

Close other apps that might be stealing audio (Teams, Zoom)

Reinstall Spotify

Uninstall and reinstall from Microsoft Store

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