Top 9 Ways to Fix YouTube Music Not Downloading Playlist Error

YouTube Music is Google’s latest effort to take on the giants of the streaming music world. Google continues to add new features like smart playlists to it, but old features like regular playlists make nightmares for many. Several users have reported that YouTube Music does not download playlist songs to their smartphones.

Other users say that the playlists do not download completely and that several songs disappear from the playlists. When you have a long playlist with hundreds of songs, finding the missing ones can be boring. Let’s see what we can do to help you.

1. Delete and try again

It’s an old trick but it works sometimes. Any problem or error may be responsible for the fact that YouTube Music does not download all the songs in the playlist or does not stop halfway. Press Library and select Downloads.

Tap the three-dot menu icon next to the playlist you want to delete and select Delete download. Go back to the library and under Playlists, select the playlist you want to download. Tap the menu icon and select Download.

2. Availability

YouTube has a huge library of videos, and you will often find multiple versions of the same song on the platform. The one you added to your playlist may no longer be available. For example, I added Ruby by Kaiser Chiefs to a playlist, and later it was unavailable.

A simple search on YouTube and the YouTube Music app shows that the song is gone, but another version is available. I suggest you always add songs from the artist / label’s official channels if possible.

Another problem could be regional availability. You see a public playlist with songs you like and add it. But are these songs available in your country? There are so many factors at play, like musical rights and label contracts. Although most of the artists are on YouTube, the odds are still there.

3. Limitations

There are two factors that limit the number of songs you can add to a playlist and download. The first is the storage space of your smartphone. How much do you have left? Open Settings and check under About phone.

YouTube imposed the second. Felix Beuster, product expert, notes that YouTube playlists are limited to 5,000 videos. So YouTube Music playlists should have the same limitation, I guess. While this is a generous number, some advanced users may have reached the upper limit.

4. Storage permissions

Open Settings and go to Applications> Manage applications and search for and open YouTube Music. Things may be a little different depending on the phone you use.

Tap app permissions and make sure storage is selected.

You can try deactivating it and reactivating it once to restart things. Check if the playlists are still not fully downloaded to YouTube Music.

5. Download settings

To help you save mobile bandwidth, YouTube Music comes with a setting called Download via Wi-Fi only. Tap your profile photo and select Library & Downloads under Settings.

Make sure this setting is not enabled and, if it is, disable it to download YouTube Music playlists to mobile. You can also define the audio and video quality settings here. However, I recommend that you use Wi-Fi to download. This will not only save operator data but also download playlists faster.

6. Synchronization of newly added songs

So what happens when you’ve downloaded a playlist and added a new song to it? Ideally, it should automatically download it to your device. Some users have complained that synchronization is not working as expected and that the song is not available offline. It works as advertised and takes around 24 to 48 hours. It’s slow like hell, but it works.

Some users say that downloading the playlist from the Playlist tab instead of the playlist is working. I don’t think it is, but you can try.

7. Clear the cache, delete the data

Old cache data may be responsible for the YouTube Music app not downloading playlists. Open the apps list in the settings like you did before and find and open the YouTube Music app.

Tap the Clear Data button at the bottom of the screen and delete the cache and data.

You may need to reconnect to the YouTube Music app, and all of your downloaded playlists will disappear. Keep this in mind.

8. Reinstall clean

I would recommend removing all cache files and data from your mobile, as in the step above, before uninstalling the YouTube Music app. This would give you a fresh start and eliminate all chances of bugs and errors. It will also allow you to download the latest version of the application from the Play Store.

9. Different account

Do you have another Google account? Try this and see if the error persists. You may want to ask your friends and family for help.

Music transcends language

YouTube Music is not there yet. Google Play Music is still alive, and Google is working to put the app on par with the competition. Have you tried Spotify or Apple Music? They’re much more refined than YouTube Music, and you won’t be faced with playlists that don’t download errors with them.