Podcast Downloads Disappear

[red1922]

Podcast that I download do not stay downloaded when I close and reopen app. App is up to date. I've deleted and reuploaded the app. Checked all settings, and this shouldn't be happening. Songs and playlists remain downloaded, but podcasts do not.

Plan

Premium

Country

USA

Device

iPhone 13

Operating System

iOS 18

My Question or Issue

[Leo221]

Every time I download podcasts on Spotify they are deleted by the time I next open the app. I have repeatedly tried re-downloading them but every time I do they get deleted again, and even if I download them and then don't close the app they still often won't play when I'm off WiFi and data. I have over 25gb of storage available and I have tried both logging out and removing the app, but the problem keeps persisting. 

[MaKoe]

same happens to me since 2days. Even deleted app and re-installed but, whenever I close the app or go offline, the downloads are gone 

[Ivelina]

Hey there @red1922 and @MaKoe,

Thank you for posting on the forum and kudos for already performing these initial troubleshooting steps.

To help us narrow this down, could you let us know if the setting Auto-download episodes is enabled, or is this happening with specific, manually downloaded podcast episodes?

In the meantime, consider going over the following steps in case they make a difference:

• Toggle off the Auto-download episodes setting (if you haven't already done so).
• Clear the cache within Spotify's settings as it can cause performance issues when it's corrupted.
• In Spotify's settings, ensure Data Saver is toggled off (when it's on, it can accidentally block your downloads from working offline).
• Restart the app.

Many thanks and we'll be on the lookout.

[MaKoe]

Hi Ivelina, for my part I have no auto downloads active. Because of another issue I have (I opened a topic) I have deleted the cache, closed the app, deleted and downloaded the app and restarted the phone multiple times already. In my case it’s an iPhone 17 Pro with IOS 26.6. 

Downloads are gone every time I close the App or lose signal

[Billy-J]

Hey @Leo221, thanks for reaching out to the Community!

Can you try reinstalling the Spotify app following these steps instead? They're more thorough than a simple reinstall. If that doesn't work, can you let me know the make and model of the device you're using? You can also send me a screen recording if the podcast download gets removed almost immediately after downloading it. Make sure to hide sensitive info when posting to the Community.

Keep me posted. 

[red1922]

Issue is ongoing — I cleared the cache, toggled auto-download off, turned off data saver, and restarted app. It seemed like I could download episodes. But when I woke up, my phone again had no downloaded episodes and still had downloaded playlists. Very irritating. 

[stjeand123]

I have the same issue. I tried everything listed on the help forum (deleted the app and reinstalled, cleared the cache, toggled auto-download off, turned off date saver, etc.). It continues to do the same thing. 

[OscarDC]

Hey everyone,

Thank you for your messages.

To look into this further with the relevant teams, and in case you haven't sent it yet, let us know the following info:

• Your device info (make/model) and OS version
• Exact Spotify version

Also, could you confirm whether this is happening with any episodes added to a playlist, or if it's specific to "My Episodes"?

Lastly, if possible, could any of you record a short video so we can take a closer look? You can attach it to your next response using the Insert Video option in the post editor, or upload it to YouTube or Google Drive and share the link with us (make sure the video's permissions allow anyone to watch it).

We'll be waiting for your response.

[red1922]

Spotify version: 9.1.72.1896

[Utini]

Same here. It started a day ago. None of the rides are working. I’m guessing there’s an issue at your end. 

[Fleetcasual]

Deleted as duped when thread merged

[Fleetcasual]

I'm also having this exact same issue since last week. I tried all of the steps suggested above (clearing cache, offloading app, deleting app, uninstalling, rebooting phone and reinstalling) but it still removes all podcast downloads every day. Happens to all podcasts, regardless of whether they’re in “your episodes” or not. 

Interestingly song downloads are unaffected.
iPhone 17 iOS 26.6
Spotify version 9.1.72.1896

[MaKoe]

Hi Oscar,

I‘m using an iPhone 17 Pro with IOS 26.6 and Spotify Version 9.1.72

all downloades or checked podcast episodes are automatically in „Your episodes“. Therefore I do not understand your question, whether it happens to episodes outside this list as well. The downloaded music playlists are not effected.

I recorded a video and converted it to mp4 but it’s impossible to upload due to the 5MB restriction. I do not use YouTube nor Google Drive, sorry.

Honestly, it’s not much to see: All podcast episodes in „Your Episodes“ are downloaded, then I close the app and reopen. Same episodes still in „Your Episodes“ but not downloaded anymore.

[DR60047]

Just adding myself to the growing number having this issue. It seemed to begin for me not with the most recent update but the one prior. I presume that was 9.1.71.  I hoped that 72 would fix it but no luck. It happens both with auto-downloads as well as podcasts I’ve gone back and manually downloaded. 

I’ve tried all the recommended steps, songs are fine. I’m on an iPhone 17 Pro with the most current iOS (which updated since this issue started so that’s not a factor). 

[OscarDC]

Hey folks,

Thank you for your messages!

We appreciate the info you've all included in your posts. We've passed this along internally so the relevant teams can investigate it further. Any important updates will be posted here.

In case you haven't done it yet, remember to include the make, model and OS version of the affected device, along with the Spotify version you're currently running. 

Thanks again for your cooperation, and stay tuned.

[JakeMurdoch]

Same problem for me. It started like 2 days ago and nothing has helped. I’m running ios 26.6 on a 17 promax and Spotify version 9.1.72.1896