There are two types of people: those who don’t mind an app or service changing its interface, and those who are vehemently against it. When it comes to Spotify’s latest redesign, the latter group is growing by the hour.
Spotify has started rolling out a complete overhaul of its Web Player interface. So if you’re listening to your Spotify playlists in the browser and still haven’t seen it – get ready because it’s coming. And you may not like it when you receive it. So, we’re going to show you a quick workaround to get the old Spotify interface (and all its features) back.
What’s Wrong With The New Spotify Web Player UI?
Visually, the new Spotify interface isn’t all that bad; In fact, you might even find it attractive. It looks stylish, modern and simple enough.
The problem, however, is that the redesign doesn’t just affect the Web Player’s appearance. It also removed a few key features like the ability to sort your artists alphabetically, an overview of recently added albums/artists, a song queue. If you’ve never used them, you probably won’t notice the change. Still, there are users who appreciate these features or even find them essential. Apparently they are not happy.
Restore Old Spotify Interface in Chrome
Fortunately, there is a workaround that lets you revert to the old Spotify Web Player interface, at least for now. It’s realistic to expect Spotify to put an end to this in the future, but it seems to be working pretty well right now.
1. First you will need a browser extension that can change your browser’s user-agent string. In very simplified terms, this extension allows your browser (e.g. Chrome) to “fake” being another browser (e.g. Firefox) when accessing a website.
Some websites show a different version of their interface depending on whether you access them from a new or old browser, and we’ll take advantage of that in our example.
There are several similar extensions for this purpose. You can install it in Google Chrome User Agent Switcher for Chrome or User-Agent Switcher for Google Chrome (yes, the names are really creative). In this example, I’m using the first one.
2. Type player.spotify.com Log into your Spotify account in the address bar to access the Web Player interface. Beware that you will be redirected open.spotify.com. This is the new interface. Just suffer from it for a while.
3. Next, click on the extension’s button In Chrome’s extension bar to select a user-agent string. I use “Firefox 33 on Windows“, but if that doesn’t work for you you can try switching to others.
4. Write now play.spotify.com into the address bar and press Enter. The old Spotify interface should greet you in all its glory.
If you’re still stuck with the new interface, try reinstalling the Web Player, restarting Chrome, or choosing another user-agent string. If nothing helps, consider installing another browser extension or using a different browser.
Credit for this helpful tip goes to Reddit user noihctlax who pointed in this title. Thanks, Noihctlax!
Of course, other users on the web may have found the same solution – we are grateful to them as well.
Get the Old Spotify Interface in Other Browsers
If Chrome isn’t your preferred web browser, don’t worry. The same principle applies: simply change the user agent string and follow the steps described in the previous section.
Firefox
Firefox users can apply User-Agent Override or User Agent Switcher. Search results for user-agent related extensions offer more options if those two don’t work.
The User-Agent Switcher extension for Firefox also includes a version for Opera. Alternatively, you can use a different one with the same name.
Safari
Safari users will have to do some research in the Preferences dialogs. Go to: Preferences > Advanced tab and Enable development Menu.
If you can see the menu in your Safari window, open it to find the User Agent submenu. Here you can force Safari to define it as a different browser.
Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Edge has a similar approach. you will need to access Developer Tools By pressing the F12 key. Find and open the emulation tab. Here you will find two drop-down menus where you can customize the browser profile and user agent string.
SEE ALSO: Top 10 Spotify Alternatives to Try
Have You Received the Old Spotify Web Player Interface?
This workaround should give you access to the old Spotify Web Player interface regardless of your subscription plan. As we mentioned, it’s entirely possible that Spotify will soon implement a way to prevent this. We will try to update this article with new information and tips as they become available.
Until then, enjoy your music the way you want.
What do you think of the new Spotify Web Player interface? Do you love or hate? Does this trick work for you? Let us know in the comments below – if you’re having trouble, someone might be able to help!
Image credit: Microsoft Documentation, Spotify Community, Mozilla Plugins.
