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Troubleshooting playback issues

If you're unable to listen to a show or track, this may be due to technical device issues or limits due to our Featured Artist Limits or subscriber-only features. This article outlines how to troubleshoot device-related playback issues. 


Read on or jump ahead to find relevant device information within this article:

Browser users

This section provides advice to help troubleshoot playback issues for users who visit the Mixcloud website (www.mixcloud.com) using a computer browser or mobile browser (eg. Safari/Chrome/etc). 

We also recommend following these steps if you're listening to content that has been embedded on an external site. 

  • Try listening to a different show or track. 
    • This will help narrow down whether the issue is with the specific upload you were trying to listen to, or if there's a wider issue with accessing Mixcloud content on your device. 
    • If you're only experiencing playback with specific content or creators, please continue to 'Issues with listening to specific shows or tracks' in this article.
  • Restart your device. 
  • Close out software and apps running in the background. 
  • Make sure your operating system and browser are up-to-date. 
  • Disconnect from VPNs or try connecting to a different server. 
  • Try temporarily switching off privacy and security software that may interfere with your connection. 
    • If you can playback from the site successfully while this is disabled, you may want to adjust your settings to make sure playback will be permitted. 
  • Make sure your browser is up-to-date, and try switching off your browser extensions. 
    • Some browser extensions can cause unexpected interference with other sites. Consider switching all your browser extensions off to test playback, then try re-enabling them one-by-one to help identify which one is causing the issue. 

Mobile app users

Whether you're using an Android phone or tablet or an iPhone or iPad, we recommend that you try the following troubleshooting steps to help resolve most common causes of playback issues:

  • Try listening to a different show or track. 
    • This will help narrow down whether the issue is with the specific upload you were trying to listen to, or if there's a wider issue with accessing Mixcloud content on your device. 
    • If you're only experiencing playback with specific content or creators, please continue to 'Issues with listening to specific shows or tracks' in this article.
  • Restart your device. 
  • Make sure your device's operating system is kept up-to-date. 
    • This will also keep your device secure and running smoothly. 
  • Check for Mixcloud app updates in the Apple App Store or Android Play Store. 
    • You may be able to turn on automatic updates for your device. 
  • Close out apps running in the background. 
    • This helps ensure your device has enough free memory for Mixcloud to operate correctly. 
  • Switch off privacy apps and settings including VPNs. 
  • Test to see if playback works when you use the mobile browser app on your phone instead of the dedicated Mixcloud app. 
  • Try playback when using only WiFi or cellular data. 
  • Make sure your device and operating system version are currently supported. 

If these general steps don't resolve the issue, please read on for further troubleshooting steps depending on your device. 

Further troubleshooting for Android devices 

If you're experiencing unexpected pauses when using the Mixcloud app on an Android device, this may be due to battery optimisation features included by the manufacturer. These features might stop apps from running correctly in the background, or may pause audio from apps when your device is locked or goes into sleep mode. 

You may be able to update your settings to help avoid these interruptions.

NB: Due to the large number of different manufacturers and devices, we're unable to include comprehensive instructions to cover all devices in this article, and you may wish to reach out to your manufacturer or consult user guides for your device online. 
You can find information for some of the major Android device manufacturers here:

Issues with listening to specific shows or tracks

If you can listen to some content on Mixcloud but specific shows or tracks can't be played on your device, this may be due to other limits on the platform. 

The content is 'locked'

Some content may not be available for all users. This can happen when a creator chooses to upload content as an Exclusive for their subscribers only, or if a show exceeds the Featured Artist Rules limits for playback by free listeners on the platform. This can also happen if you exceed the number of plays for one show within a 14-day period if you don't have a Premium subscription. 

You may wish to consider subscribing to the creator or to Mixcloud Premium to access this content.

The content won't load

On rare occasions, you may come across content that was shared to Mixcloud but is no longer available. If a show appears to be unlocked but won't load when using different devices, please contact our Support Team and confirm the content URL so we can advise further. 

Contacting Support

If your playback issues aren't resolved by the steps in this article, please contact our Support Team so we can help you troubleshoot further. Please include as much information as possible, including: 

  • Your username. 
  • The device model and your operating system version. 
  • If relevant, the version of the Mixcloud app you have installed. 
    • You can find instructions on how to find this here. 
  • The URL for the content that won't play. 
  • A screen recording of the behaviour you're seeing. 
    • Please make sure to include any error messages if displayed. 

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