For music lovers who rely on offline playlists to get them through commutes, travel, or simply to save on mobile data, Deezer has long offered a convenient solution. However, some users have recently encountered a frustrating issue where downloaded playlists meant for offline use aren’t being saved to their SD cards—even when the SD card has been set as the preferred storage location. Fortunately, there is a reliable fix involving Android storage permissions that can bring things back to normal.
TLDR; Summary
If your Deezer offline playlists are not saving to your SD card, the issue likely lies in Android’s storage permissions. Deezer needs proper access to write data onto external storage like microSD cards. To fix this, go to your phone’s app settings, revoke and then re-grant storage permissions to Deezer, and re-select the SD card as your storage location within the app. This often resolves the downloading failure and restores normal offline functionality.
Understanding the Problem
Deezer, like many other music streaming apps, offers users the ability to download tracks, albums, and playlists for offline playback. This is ideal for minimizing data usage or for times when a Wi-Fi or cellular network is not available. The app also allows users to specify whether to save these downloads to the device’s internal storage or to an external SD card. However, recently many users have noticed:
- Offline playlists not being saved despite a successful download indication
- Storage space being used up on internal memory instead of SD card
- Corrupted or missing offline files when reopening the app
This problem exists across many Android devices and has been particularly common following OS updates or Deezer app updates. In most cases, the problem is not due to the SD card itself but to app permission handling.
What Causes Deezer Not to Save to SD Card
The root cause is usually related to Android’s app permission system. Starting with newer Android versions, applications are required to request specific permissions to access and write to external storage. If these permissions are incorrectly granted, revoked, or not updated during app updates or reinstallations, it can interfere with Deezer’s ability to write downloads to the SD card.
In essence, Deezer may believe it is authorized to write to the SD card, but Android is silently preventing it due to insufficient or improperly configured permissions. This leads to failed or improperly redirected downloads that end up using internal space—or disappear entirely.
How to Detect If You’re Affected
If you’re unsure whether you are experiencing this problem, here are some telltale signs:
- You’ve chosen the SD card as your storage location in Deezer’s settings, but internal storage space is decreasing
- The downloaded tracks seem to vanish or don’t play while offline
- Clearing app cache/cache partition doesn’t resolve the issue
- Inspecting the SD card shows no Deezer folders or uses minimal space
Moreover, if you’ve recently updated your Android OS or reinstalled Deezer, there’s a higher likelihood that permissions were reset or removed during the process.
Step-By-Step Storage Permissions Fix
Follow these steps carefully to allow Deezer proper access to your SD card. This solution has worked reliably for most users reporting similar issues.
- Open Settings on your Android device.
- Navigate to “Apps” or “App Management,” then locate and open “Deezer.”
- Tap on “Permissions.”
- Under “Storage” or “Files and media,” make sure Deezer has “Allow access to media only” or full storage permission granted.
- If it’s already enabled, toggle it OFF, then turn it back ON again.
- Go back to the Deezer app, open Settings within the app, and reselect the SD card as the storage directory for downloads.
- Clear existing download cache from Deezer’s storage settings if prompted.
- Finally, redownload a playlist and check if the SD card holds the downloaded files under the Deezer folder.
Re-selecting the SD card inside the app is critical. It allows Deezer to reinitialize file paths in light of the new permission state.
Extra Considerations and Advanced Checks
If the above fix didn’t solve the issue, consider the following advanced checks:
- Check if your SD card is formatted as internal or portable storage. Deezer works best with SD cards set to “portable.” Reformatting a card will erase data, so back it up first if you decide to change format.
- Ensure your SD card isn’t corrupted or write-protected. Corrupted SD cards will accept the storage setting in-app but fail to actually store downloads. Try using a card-reader on a PC to diagnose card errors.
- Use Android’s built-in file explorer to manually inspect the Deezer folder on the SD card. If the folder exists but is empty, it’s a permissions issue. If the folder does not exist at all, it might be a storage path conflict or mounting issue.
Partial permission revocation is also more common on Android 11 and up, where apps can either have full file access, access to media only, or access to select folders. Make sure Deezer’s access level is adequate for writing large downloaded files.
Implications of Not Fixing the Problem
Failing to resolve this issue could lead to:
- Wasted internal storage space, especially on phones with limited memory
- Inability to listen to music offline despite downloading
- Reduced app reliability due to file indexing errors
- Performance slowdowns caused by app cache bloating in internal memory
Moreover, constant switching between SD and internal storage during troubleshooting—without resolving permission conflicts—can cause Deezer to malfunction further. You might start seeing repetitive crashes, duplicate downloads, or broken playlists.
Deezer’s Official Position on the Topic
Deezer does acknowledge this issue in its online help documentation but does not offer a detailed technical fix. The platform generally advises switching storage locations or clearing cache/data. While this can help temporarily, the permissions route is a more robust and long-term solution. User forums, Reddit threads, and online tech communities overwhelmingly recommend inspecting and fixing system-level permissions.
What Users are Saying
Comments and accounts online suggest that users who correctly carried out the storage permission fix experienced near-instant resolution. Anecdotal evidence indicates:
- Playlists became downloadable and reachable offline once again
- The SD card showed active data partitioning by Deezer
- No further issues following Android reboots or app updates (once proper permissions were in place)
In contrast, users who ignored permissions continued to face the same problem despite reinstalling the app or even factory resetting their devices.
Final Recommendations
For optimal performance of Deezer’s offline feature with SD card use, keep the following best practices in mind:
- Regularly verify app permissions after updates
- Keep your SD card healthy with occasional disk checks (on a computer)
- Avoid frequently toggling between internal and SD storage unless necessary
- Always reselect the SD card in Deezer settings after major OS or app changes
While Deezer is generally stable, these issues show that even small permission misconfigurations can have large consequences on user experience. By managing storage access correctly, you can enjoy your offline music library without disruption.