diff --git a/src/renderer/controllers/playback-controller.js b/src/renderer/controllers/playback-controller.js
index bd517e86..176ae6a4 100644
--- a/src/renderer/controllers/playback-controller.js
+++ b/src/renderer/controllers/playback-controller.js
@@ -4,8 +4,7 @@ const path = require('path')
 const Cast = require('../lib/cast')
 const {dispatch} = require('../lib/dispatcher')
 const telemetry = require('../lib/telemetry')
-const {UnplayableFileError, UnplayableTorrentError,
-      PlaybackTimedOutError} = require('../lib/errors')
+const {UnplayableFileError, UnplayableTorrentError} = require('../lib/errors')
 const sound = require('../lib/sound')
 const TorrentPlayer = require('../lib/torrent-player')
 const TorrentSummary = require('../lib/torrent-summary')
@@ -223,34 +222,11 @@ module.exports = class PlaybackController {
     state.playing.infoHash = torrentSummary.infoHash
 
     // update UI to show pending playback
-    if (torrentSummary.progress !== 1) sound.play('PLAY')
-    // TODO: remove torrentSummary.playStatus
-    torrentSummary.playStatus = 'requested'
-    this.update()
+    sound.play('PLAY')
 
-    const timeout = setTimeout(() => {
-      telemetry.logPlayAttempt('timeout')
-      // TODO: remove torrentSummary.playStatus
-      torrentSummary.playStatus = 'timeout' /* no seeders available? */
-      sound.play('ERROR')
-      cb(new PlaybackTimedOutError())
-      this.update()
-    }, 10000) /* give it a few seconds */
-
-    this.startServer(torrentSummary, () => {
-      clearTimeout(timeout)
-
-      // if we timed out (user clicked play a long time ago), don't autoplay
-      const timedOut = torrentSummary.playStatus === 'timeout'
-      delete torrentSummary.playStatus
-      if (timedOut) {
-        ipcRenderer.send('wt-stop-server')
-        return this.update()
-      }
-
-      ipcRenderer.send('onPlayerOpen')
-      this.updatePlayer(infoHash, index, true, cb)
-    })
+    this.startServer(torrentSummary)
+    ipcRenderer.send('onPlayerOpen')
+    this.updatePlayer(infoHash, index, true, cb)
   }
 
   // Starts WebTorrent server for media streaming
@@ -265,7 +241,6 @@ module.exports = class PlaybackController {
 
     function onTorrentReady () {
       ipcRenderer.send('wt-start-server', torrentSummary.infoHash)
-      ipcRenderer.once('wt-server-' + torrentSummary.infoHash, () => cb())
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/src/renderer/lib/state.js b/src/renderer/lib/state.js
index 39758bdb..bac5a7e3 100644
--- a/src/renderer/lib/state.js
+++ b/src/renderer/lib/state.js
@@ -215,9 +215,6 @@ function saveImmediate (state, cb) {
         if (key === 'progress' || key === 'torrentKey') {
           continue // Don't save progress info or key for the webtorrent process
         }
-        if (key === 'playStatus') {
-          continue // Don't save whether a torrent is playing / pending
-        }
         if (key === 'error') {
           continue // Don't save error states
         }
diff --git a/src/renderer/pages/torrent-list-page.js b/src/renderer/pages/torrent-list-page.js
index 81d871a3..c108eb7f 100644
--- a/src/renderer/pages/torrent-list-page.js
+++ b/src/renderer/pages/torrent-list-page.js
@@ -56,8 +56,6 @@ module.exports = class TorrentList extends React.Component {
     // Foreground: name of the torrent, basic info like size, play button,
     // cast buttons if available, and delete
     const classes = ['torrent']
-    //  playStatus turns the play button into a loading spinner or error icon
-    if (torrentSummary.playStatus) classes.push(torrentSummary.playStatus)
     if (isSelected) classes.push('selected')
     if (!infoHash) classes.push('disabled')
     if (!torrentSummary.torrentKey) throw new InvalidTorrentError('Missing torrentKey')
@@ -197,25 +195,16 @@ module.exports = class TorrentList extends React.Component {
   renderTorrentButtons (torrentSummary) {
     const infoHash = torrentSummary.infoHash
 
-    let playIcon, playTooltip
-    if (torrentSummary.playStatus === 'timeout') {
-      playIcon = 'warning'
-      playTooltip = 'Playback timed out. No seeds? No internet? Click to try again.'
-    } else {
-      playIcon = 'play_circle_outline'
-      playTooltip = 'Start streaming'
-    }
-
     // Only show the play/dowload buttons for torrents that contain playable media
     let playButton
     if (!torrentSummary.error && TorrentPlayer.isPlayableTorrentSummary(torrentSummary)) {
       playButton = (
         <i
           key='play-button'
-          title={playTooltip}
+          title='Start streaming'
           className={'icon play'}
           onClick={dispatcher('playFile', infoHash)}>
-          {playIcon}
+          play_circle_outline
         </i>
       )
     }