Playing Spotify offline on your Apple Watch has many benefits. For example, you can enjoy your music while jogging without carrying your phone and you can save your phone’s battery by listening on your Apple Watch. To listen to Spotify on your Apple Watch without your phone, you need to download the songs to your watch. Next, we will show you how to do it.
The methods in this post also work if you want to get Spotify on an Apple Watch using Family Sharing. First, you need to set up your Apple Watch using Apple Watch for Kids or Family Setup. If you don’t know how, this official guide can help.
Download and Play Spotify Songs on Apple Watch Without Phone
On certain Apple Watch models, you can download and play Spotify directly through the native app. In this section, we will discuss the compatibility and explain everything you need, along with the steps.
What You Need
1. Spotify Premium Account
Playing or downloading Spotify songs on Apple Watch is a Premium-only feature. Free users can install the app on their watch, but they can only use it as a remote control (via Spotify Connect) to manage playback on other devices.
2. Apple Watch Series 3 or Later
Spotify lists Apple Watch Series 3 as the minimum for direct playback and downloads, such as:
- Series 3: 8–16 GB models
- Series 4: 16 GB
- Series 5, 6, SE, 7, 8, 9: 32 GB
- Apple Watch Ultra: 32 GB
All of these work well with Spotify.
3. watchOS 8 or Newer
Make sure your Apple Watch is updated to the latest watchOS version.
4. Wi-Fi or Cellular
You’ll need an internet connection to download songs on the Apple Watch. After making the songs offline, you can listen to them off the grid.
Step 1. Get Spotify on Your Apple Watch
- Open the App Store on the watch.
- Search for Spotify.
- Tap the Get/Install button.
- Hit Open once it completes.
Step 2: Download Spotify Songs Directly on Apple Watch
Spotify’s rule of allowing only playlists, albums, or podcast episodes to be downloaded applies on the Apple Watch too. You cannot download single songs. That limitation stays the same.
1. Connect the Apple Watch to Wi-Fi or turn on Cellular data on the watch if available. Then, open Spotify.
2. Pick the playlist, album, or episode. Tap the download icon (a downward arrow) below the title banner. Keep the watch awake while it saves everything.
Once it finishes, go to Your Library > Downloads. Your offline music stays there and works without the phone.
Spotify caps offline content on the watch at roughly 10 hours. Storage varies by model, so older watches will hold less. In practice, expect about 100 tracks per playlist on the watch.
Step 3: Play Spotify on Apple Watch Without Phone
First, connect your earphones. Spotify needs a Bluetooth device to play on Apple Watch. For this: go to Settings on Apple Watch > turn on Bluetooth > pair your AirPods, Beats, or any earbuds.
To play the offline songs:
- Now, open Spotify on the Apple Watch.
- Swipe right to reach Your Library.
- Open Downloads.
- Select the playlist you saved. That’s it, your Apple Watch will play everything offline on its own.
Can You Play Spotify on Apple Watch Speaker?
No. Apple blocks third-party music apps from using that tiny speaker, which protects sound quality and battery life. The watch speaker isn’t meant for music playback at all.
So, the watch will not output any Spotify downloaded songs unless you connect headphones. You can pair AirPods, Beats, or any Bluetooth earbuds, only then the Spotify music will be played.
Download Spotify Songs onto Apple Watch Using Phone but Play Without It
The paired iPhone here acts as a sync tool that transfers Spotify songs from your iPhone to your Apple Watch. Once the songs are on your Apple Watch, you don’t need your iPhone to listen.
Way 1. Use Download to Apple Watch Feature
This method has similar requirements to the one mentioned above and is not compatible with every Apple Watch model. If your Apple Watch is running watchOS 6 or 7 and cannot be updated, this method is worth trying. Here’s how the entire process works.
Requirements:
- Apple Watch Series 3 or newer, running watchOS 6.0 or later
- Spotify Premium
- Internet access on both Apple Watch and paired iPhone
Step 1: Install Spotify on Apple Watch via iPhone
You can use the Apple Watch app on the iPhone to download the Spotify app to the watch remotely.
- Run Apple Watch app on the iPhone, tap My Watch and go to Available Apps.
- Tap Install next to Spotify.
- You will see Spotify move into the Installed on Apple Watch section.
- Check your Apple Watch and the Spotify icon will be there.
Step 2: Download Spotify Songs from iPhone to Apple Watch
Charge your Apple Watch and keep it close to your iPhone. Then follow these steps:
1. Launch Spotify on iPhone. Go to the wanted playlist or album.
2. Tap the three-dot menu under the banner. Select the Download to Apple Watch option or Download to other devices > Apple Watch.
Step 3: Listen to Spotify on Apple Watch Without Phone and Network
1. Open Spotify on your Apple Watch and swipe right.
2. Tap Downloads and then you can start playing your offline songs.
Fixed: “Download to Apple Watch” Not Showing
Some users report that Download to Apple Watch doesn’t appear or it stays grayed out in the menu. If you are also stuck on the issue, try these fixes to solve it.
Fix 1. Make Sure You’re Downloading a Playlist or an Album
The option won’t appear under certain auto-generated collections. It shows only on playlists, albums or podcasts.
Fix 2. Turn off Smart Shuffle
Smart Shuffle can hide the download options. Disable it, return to the playlist, and check again.
Fix 3. Log out and Reconnect
Sign out of Spotify on all your devices. Then sign in again. It refreshes the link between the iPhone and the Apple Watch, which will make “Download to Apple Watch” appear again.
Fix 4. Reinstall Spotify
Most users say the option returns after a clean Spotify reinstall. Here’s how to remove the app from your iPhone and Apple Watch.
- Long press Spotify icon on the iPhone Home Screen.
- Tap Remove App.
- Then, select the Delete App.
- Confirm by tapping Delete.
- Unlock your Apple Watch and long-press the Spotify icon on your Watch’s app grid.
- Tap the small “X” to delete it.
- Install Spotify on your iPhone and Apple Watch again.
Fix 5. Update Spotify and Your Devices
Keeping your Spotify app, iOS, and watchOS on the latest versions.
To Update Spotify App:
- Long press the App Store icon. Select Updates.
- Search for Spotify.
- Hit Update.
To Update iPhone Software:
- Head into iPhone Settings.
- Enter General, then move to Software Update.
- Press Download and Install.
To Update Apple Watch Software:
- Open the Watch app on iPhone.
- Choose General.
- Continue to Software Update and confirm the installation.
Finally, restart both devices and the Download on Apple Watch button will work again.
Way 2. Listen to Spotify via Apple Music
This method is helpful when your Apple Watch doesn’t support the Spotify app. Or, when you don’t want to buy Spotify Premium but still want its music on your Watch.
Preparation
- Windows PC or Mac with internet connection.
- A good USB-C or Lightning cable.
- Mediaio Audio Converter, which converts songs to MP3, FLAC, or M4A.
- Apple Watch app on the paired iPhone.
Step 1. Convert Songs to Local MP3
Mediaio Audio Converter lets you save Spotify music on your local computer. You can use Mediaio to export individual songs, playlists, or albums as MP3, M4A, FLAC, and others, move them to your Apple Watch via the phone and play them without the internet. The song name, artist name, cover art and song order stay exactly the same for the music downloads. So, when these songs appear on your Apple Watch, they look just like they do on Spotify. The conversion process is simple too, login with the embedded Spotify browser with your free or premium account and choose songs to convert.
Step 2: Transfer Local Spotify MP3 to iPhone
It is impossible to copy local files from a desktop directly to an Apple Watch using iTunes. You must first transfer the music files to the paired iPhone and then sync them to the Apple Watch via the phone.
- Attach your iPhone to the computer using the cable. Start iTunes or Finder.
- Choose your iPhone from the sidebar. Head to the Music section.
- Add the Mediaio songs to your library and then enable Sync Music.
- Click Apply to start exporting local Spotify tracks to your iPhone. You will find the exported songs in the Apple Music app on your iPhone.
Step 3: Sync Spotify Songs from iPhone to Apple Watch
You can now sync the saved Spotify playlists to the Apple Watch with the Watch app on the paired iPhone. For this:
- Put your Apple Watch on the magnetic charger.
- Open the Watch app on the iPhone. On the My Watch tab, select Music.
- Turn on the Recent Music toggle to auto-sync whatever you add. Or tap Add Music, choose the local Spotify playlists or albums you imported earlier and sync them to the watch.
Final Words
Downloading Spotify songs directly on the Apple Watch only works when you have Premium and plan to keep it. The moment your Premium ends, every downloaded playlist will disappear from your watch. If you’re fine with that cycle, we’ve shown you the path to follow. If your Apple Watch doesn’t support Spotify, we also show you how to play Spotify on it using Mediaio and your paired iPhone.