Spotify Error Code 401 — What It Means & How to Fix It

What Does This Error Mean?

Spotify Error Code 401 is an authorization error. It means your login session has expired or Spotify does not recognize your current authorization token. Signing out and back in almost always fixes this immediately.

Affected Models

Spotify on Windows
Spotify on macOS
Spotify on iPhone
Spotify on Android
Spotify Web Player

Common Causes

Your Spotify login session has expired and needs to be refreshed
Your Spotify account password was recently changed, invalidating existing sessions
You are accessing Spotify's web API or web player and the authorization token has expired
A system clock error on your device is causing authentication tokens to be rejected
You have been automatically logged out after being inactive for a long period

How to Fix It

Sign out of Spotify. Click your profile name at the top right > Log Out. Then sign back in with your email and password.

This is the fastest fix for Error 401 — it creates a fresh session with a new authorization token.
If signing out and in does not work, go to spotify.com, log in to your account, then go to Account > Security and Privacy > Log Out Everywhere. This clears all sessions on all devices.

This signs you out on your phone, computer, and any other device that has Spotify open.
Check that your computer's date and time are correct. Right-click the clock in the taskbar > Adjust date/time > make sure 'Set time automatically' is on.

Authentication tokens have expiry times. If your system clock is wrong, tokens can appear expired even when they are not.
Clear the Spotify cache. On Windows, go to %appdata%\Spotify and delete the cache folder. Then relaunch Spotify and log in.

Cached authorization data can become stale and cause persistent 401 errors.
If you recently changed your Spotify password, make sure you are using the new password to log in, not the old one.

Changing a password invalidates all existing sessions — you need to log in fresh with the new password on every device.

When to Call a Professional

Error 401 is almost always a simple session expiry that signing out and back in will fix. If you are a developer using Spotify's API and seeing Error 401, check your OAuth token implementation — tokens expire every hour and need to be refreshed. Contact Spotify Support only if your account has been locked or compromised.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an authorization token and why does it expire?

An authorization token is like a temporary ID badge that Spotify gives your app when you log in. It proves you are allowed to use the service without sending your password with every request. For security reasons, these tokens expire after a certain period. When the token expires, you get Error 401 — logging in again gets you a fresh token.

Will Error 401 delete my playlists or saved songs?

No. Error 401 is a session error — it has nothing to do with your account data. Your playlists, liked songs, followers, and subscription are all stored on Spotify's servers and are completely safe. Logging back in restores full access.

I keep getting Error 401 every few days. Is something wrong with my account?

Getting Error 401 occasionally is normal — it just means your session expired. If it happens multiple times a day, something may be repeatedly clearing your saved login data. Check if any privacy-focused browser extensions, system cleaners, or security software are deleting Spotify's local auth files.