An error or outage of some kind at Spotify is causing users with paying accounts to hear ad breaks while also showing that their Premium accounts are on the “Free” plan.
A growing number of Spotify Premium subscribers in the past few hours have noticed that, suddenly, their paid accounts are no longer working as expected. The app shows some affected users that they are on the Free plan instead of reflecting Premium status, while ad breaks are also playing in between songs on Spotify.
There are dozens of reports of this on Twitter/X, as well as DownDetector’s comments.
In support replies, Spotify recommends signing out and back in, but also acknowledges that this seems to be a “live issue.”
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The problem first popped up earlier today but, as of this afternoon, is spreading to more users.
Thanks for trying. Upon checking this from our end, we can confirm that your account is currently on Premium Basic. However, since you’re experiencing ads and are unable to access certain features, this appears to be a live issue. We kindly request your cooperation while we work…
— SpotifyCares (@SpotifyCares) March 18, 2026
Update: In a forum post, Spotify confirms it is aware of the problem and looking for a fix. However, the behavior already seems to be reverting back to normal for some users.
We’ve received some reports about Basic plans users who noticed they’re getting ads and their accounts appear as Free on the mobile app, but the account overview does show they’re Premium. We’re currently investigating this behavior.
Over the past year, there have been rumors of Spotify Premium adding ad breaks following some rogue ad insertions for Premium accounts, but Spotify says this is not happening.
Updating…
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