5 Ways to Fix Bad Sound Quality on Spotify Mobile App

Quick Tips

• Go to Settings in Spotify > Audio Quality, and select a higher level of playback quality for both mobile and Wi-Fi networks.
• Further, disable the data saver in both Spotify settings and your device settings to ensure there are no network restrictions for the app.
• You can also try clearing the cache on the Spotify app to resolve any temporary bugs and glitches.

Basic Fixes

• Check Your Spotify Plan: Using a free version of Spotify does not offer the best audio quality. Spotify Premium provides the highest audio quality called Very High, and the free version only offers up to High.
• Check Network Connectivity: To play songs of top quality on Spotify, you need a strong internet connection — via a stable cellular data plan or a high-speed Wi-Fi network.
• Restart Spotify: Restarting Spotify essentially refreshes all the elements and services of the app, and it is likely to fix most issues.

Fix 1: Check Audio Quality Settings

Tap on the Settings icon on the home screen, and tap on Audio Quality. Select the Very High option on both Wi-Fi and Cellular streaming options. Here’s the bitrate at which Spotify will play music based on the selected quality.

Automatic: Dependent on your network connection
Low: Equivalent to approximately 24kbit/s
Normal: Equivalent to approximately 96kbit/s
High: Equivalent to approximately 160kbit/s
Very high: Equivalent to approximately 320kbit/s

Also Read: How to fix Spotify showing black screen.

Fix 2: Disable Data Saver

Having the data saver enabled can restrict the full streaming potential of Spotify, and might result in inferior audio quality.

Tap on the Settings option in the Spotify app. Tap on Data Saver and turn it off.

Fix 3: Disable Network Restrictions

If you’ve set any restrictions that limit the internet usage for apps on your device, Spotify may find it difficult to play songs in the highest quality.

On iPhone

Step 1: Open the Settings app. Tap on Cellular Data/Mobile data.

Step 2: Tap on Mobile Data Options (or Cellular Data Options).

Step 3: Tap on Data Mode. Ensure you haven’t selected the Low Data Mode option. Select either Allow More Data on 5G or Standard.

Additionally, ensure you’ve not enabled Low Data Mode for Wi-Fi networks as well. Open the Settings app, tap on Wi-Fi, and tap on the info icon next to the connected network. Then, turn off the toggle for Low Data Mode.

On Android

Open the Settings app, and go to Network & Internet. Then, make sure you have not enabled the toggle for Use Data Saver.

Fix 4: Check Spotify Volume Level

While this option might not necessarily improve the audio quality on Spotify, setting the volume level of Spotify to the best possible option might improve the audio playback.

Step 1: Open the Settings menu from the Spotify home screen. Tap on Playback.

Step 3: Set the volume level to Loud. This will output the audio from the songs at the best possible volume level.

Fix 5: Clear Spotify Cache

Spotify is known to accumulate large amounts of cache, leading to storing many junk files which might affect the app’s performance. It may also cause the issue of bad sound quality on Spotify, but fortunately, there is an easy way to clear the cache on Spotify.

Step 1: Tap on the Settings icon in the Spotify app and select Storage.

Step 2: Tap on Clear Cache and select it again to confirm.

Tip: Check out why Spotify consumes large storage space on your device.