Fix Problems with Google Play Music

Google Play Music is a popular music player and a pretty great app for music streaming. It incorporates some of Google’s best in class features along with an expansive database. This allows you to find any song or video pretty easily. You can browse top charts, most popular albums, latest releases, and create a custom playlist for yourself. It keeps track of your listening activity and thus, learns your taste and preference in music to provide you with better suggestions. Also, since it is linked to your Google account, all your downloaded songs and playlists are synced across all your devices. These are some of the features that make Google Play Music one of the best music apps available in the market.

Fix Problems with Google Play Music

However, just like other apps, Google Play Music has some bugs and thus malfunctions on certain occasions. Android users have often reported various errors, problems, and app crashes over the years. Therefore, it is high time that we address the various issues with Google Play Music and helps you fix these problems.

Fix Problems with Google Play Music

1. Google Play Music is Not Working

The most basic problem that you can face is that the app stops working completely. This means it just won’t play songs anymore. There are a number of potential reasons for this problem. The first thing that you need to check is your internet connection. Google Play Music requires a stable internet connection to work properly. Therefore, make sure that your Wi-Fi or cellular network is working properly. Try using some other apps like YouTube to test internet bandwidth. If the problem is caused by a slow internet connection, then you can lower the playback quality of songs.

1. Open Google Play Music on your device.

Open Google Play Music on your device

2. Now tap on the hamburger icon on the top left-hand side of the screen and tap on the Settings option.

Tap on the hamburger icon on the top left-hand side of the screen Tap on the Settings option

3. Scroll down to the Playback section and set the playback quality on mobile network and Wi-Fi to low.

Set the playback quality on mobile network to low | Fix Problems with Google Play Music Set the playback quality on Wi-Fi to low

You can also toggle your Wi-Fi or mobile network to resolve the connectivity issues. Switching on Airplane mode and then switching it off also helps resolve internet connection issues.

If there is no issue with the internet, then it possible that multiple people are simultaneously using the same account to stream music. Google Play Music is designed in a way that only one person can stream music on a single device using one account. So, if you are someone else is logged on to some other device like a laptop and playing music, then Google Play Music will not work on your phone. You need to make sure that it is not the case.

Other prospective solutions include clearing the cache for the app and restarting your device. There is also no shame in making sure that you are logged in with the correct account. This can be checked easily by opening the app settings and clicking on the Account option.

A lot of times, users get logged out of their devices and they can’t remember the password. This too has a workaround as you can recover your password via the Google Password Recovery option.

2. Duplicate Tracks

At times you will find multiple copies of the same song present in your music library. This could happen if you have transferred your music from iTunes, MacBook, or a Windows PC. Now, Google Play Music does not have the ability to identify duplicate tracks and automatically delete them, and thus you need to manually get rid of them. You can either go through the entire list and delete them one by one or clear out the entire library and re-upload them while making sure that duplicates are not present this time.

There is also an alternative solution to this problem available on Reddit. This solution is easier and saves a lot of manual labour. Click here to read the solution and then if you feel like you can try it yourself. Take note that the above-described method isn’t for beginners. It is advisable that you try this out only if you have some knowledge about Android and programming.

3. Google Play Music is not able to Sync

If Google Play Music does not sync, then you won’t be able to access the songs that you uploaded from some other device like your PC. Sync between devices is important as it allows you to play music on your Android device. One of the main reasons behind sync not working is a slow internet connection. Try connecting to a different network and see if the issue is resolved. You can try restarting your Wi-Fi to ensure proper stable bandwidth is received.

Another reason behind Google Play Music not syncing is corrupted cache files. You can clear the cache files for the app and then reboot your device. Once the device starts again, refresh your music library. If that doesn’t help then you might have to opt for a factory reset.

This problem can also arise if you are transferring your account to a new device. In order to acquire all the data on your new device, you have to deauthorize your old device. The reason behind this is that Google Play Music can work only on a single device with a particular account. In order to play simultaneously on multiple devices, you need to upgrade to the premium version.

Also Read: Fix Google Play Music Keeps Crashing

4. Songs are not Uploading on Google Play Music

Another common error is that Google Play Music is not able to upload songs. This prevents you from playing new songs and also adding them to your library. It is really frustrating when you pay for a song and then you are unable to save it in your library. Now there are three main reasons as to why this problem occurs:

  • The Google Play Music library is full and there is no more space.
  • The song that you are trying to upload is in an unsupported file format.
  • The song was purchased by a different account.

Coming to the first condition, i.e. the limit has been reached for song download, seems highly unlikely as Google Play Music recently increased its library capacity to 100,000 songs. However, if that is actually the case then there is no alternative but to delete old songs to create space for new.

The next issue is that of an unsupported file format. Google Play Music supports and can play files that are in MP3, WMA, AAC, FLAC, and OGC. Apart from that, any other format like WAV, RI, or AIFF is not supported. Thus, the song that you are trying to upload needs to be in any of the above-mentioned supported formats.

For the issue of account mismatch, make sure that you are logged into the same account on your device with which you made the purchase. It is possible that you might have downloaded the song with a family member’s account or a shared family account. In this case, the song will not get uploaded to your Android device and Google Play Music.

5. Unable to find some songs on Google Play Music

You might have noticed that sometimes you are not able to find a particular song in your library which you know for sure was there earlier. Often pre-downloaded songs appear to have gone missing and this is a bummer. However, this is a relatively simple problem and can be solved by Refreshing the music library. Follow the steps given below to see how:

1. Firstly, open Google Play Music on your Android smartphone.

2. Now, tap on the hamburger icon on the top left-hand side of the screen. Then click on the Settings option.

Tap on the hamburger icon on the top left-hand side of the screen Tap on the Settings option

3. Here, simply click on the Refresh button. Google Play music might take a couple of seconds depending upon the number of saved songs.

Simply click on the Refresh button

4. Once it is complete, try searching for the song and you will find it back in your library.

Refreshing your Google Play Music library causes the app to sync its database and thus bring back any missing songs.

6. Payment Issue with Google Play Music

If Google Play Music is not accepting payment while you are trying to get a subscription, then it is probably due to incorrect payment details, faulty credit card or corrupted cache files that store details about payment methods. In order to fix the “card is not eligible” error you can try a couple of things. The first thing that you can do is make sure that the card is in proper working condition. Try using the same card to pay for something else. If it does not work then you need to contact your bank and see what’s the problem. It is possible that your card has been blocked by the bank for being outdated. If the card works properly then you need to try some other alternate solutions.

Try removing your saved payment methods from Google Play Music and Google Play Store. Next up, clear the cache and data for Google Play Music. You can also restart the device after this. Now once again open Google Play Music and enter the card details carefully and accurately. Once everything is done, proceed with the payment and see if it works. If it still does not work, you need to contact Google and see what is the problem. Until then you can make the payment using someone else’s card or even switch to a different app like YouTube music.

7. Problem with the Music Manager App

A Music manager app is required to upload songs from your computer to your Android smartphone but sometimes it does not work properly. It gets stuck while uploading music. This could be due to a slow internet connection. So, make sure that the Wi-Fi network that you are connected to is working properly. If needed reset your router or connect to some other network. If the internet is not the reason behind the error, then you need to sign out and then sign in again to fix the problem. Follow the steps given below to learn how:

  1. Firstly, open the music manager app on your computer.
  2. Now click on the Preferences option.
  3. Here, tap on the Advanced option.
  4. You will find the option to Sign Out, click on it.
  5. Now close the app and then open it again.
  6. The app will ask you to sign in. Enter the login credentials for your Google account and sign in to the music manager app.
  7. This should solve the problem. Try uploading songs to Google Play Music by establishing a secure connection and see if it works properly.

8. Uploaded songs are getting Censored

When you upload a bunch of songs from your computer to your mobile phone, you might notice that some of the uploaded songs are not getting reflected in your library. The reason behind this is that Google Play Music has censored some of the uploaded songs. The songs that you upload are matched by Google in the clouds and if a copy of the song exists, Google adds it to your library directly. It does not go through the process of copy-pasting. However, there is a downside to this system. Some of the songs that are available on the Google cloud are censored and hence you are not able to access them. There is a solution to this problem. Follow the steps given below to avoid your songs getting censored

1. Open Google Play Music on your phone

Open Google Play Music on your device | Fix Problems with Google Play Music

2. Now tap on the hamburger icon on the top left-hand side of the screen.

3. Click on the Settings option.

Tap on the Settings option

4. Now scroll down to the Playback section and make sure that the option to block explicit songs on the radio is switched off.

Make sure that the option to block explicit songs on the radio is switched off

5. After that, refresh your music library by tapping on the Refresh button found in the Settings menu.

Refresh your music library by tapping on the Refresh button | Fix Problems with Google Play Music

6. This might take a couple of minutes depending upon the number of songs in your library. Once completed, you will be able to find all the songs that were censored earlier.

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With that, we come to the end of the list of various problems and their solutions for Google Play Music. If you are experiencing some problem that is not listed here then you can try some general fixes like restarting your phone, reinstalling the app, updating the Android operating system, and finally a factory reset. However, if you’re unable to fix problems with Google Play Music, then you just have to wait for an update and use some other app in the meantime. YouTube music is a popular choice and Google itself wants its users to make the switch.

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