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Fix a failed or stuck download

Last updated on Jul 10, 2026

Fix a failed or stuck download

Use this guide when a download in Phyn does not finish, stays queued, keeps retrying, pauses unexpectedly, or will not open after it appears to complete.

Downloads depend on your device, Phyn's download queue, and your Jellyfin server all working at the same time. The fastest fix is usually to identify the download state, choose the matching action, and then retry with the right version if needed.

Start here: Do not delete the item from your Jellyfin library. The download actions in Phyn only affect the offline copy or the queued download on this device.

Before you start

Check these basics first:

  • Keep Phyn open for a moment and make sure your device is online.
  • Confirm your Jellyfin server is reachable from the same network.
  • Make sure the device has enough free storage for the item.
  • If you are using a VPN, captive Wi-Fi network, or mobile data, confirm that Jellyfin is reachable from that connection.
  • If Android or iOS has battery saver enabled, allow Phyn enough background activity to finish large downloads.

For large videos, a download can also look slow because your Jellyfin server is preparing or transcoding the file before Phyn can save it.

Find the stuck download

  1. Open Phyn.
  2. Open Downloads.
  3. Find the item that is stuck, failed, missing, or not opening.
  4. Open the item menu or the download action menu.
  5. Choose the action that matches what you see.
What you see What to try
The item is paused Select Resume download.
The item is queued, running, or waiting to retry Select Pause download if you want to pause it, or Stop downloading if you want to cancel and start over.
The item appears downloaded but will not open Select Delete download, then download it again.
Phyn says the download failed and cannot be resumed Delete the download and start a fresh download.
A season or album says everything is already downloaded or queued Open Downloads, remove the old queued or broken entries, then try again.

Resume a paused download

Use Resume download when Phyn shows that a download is paused and can continue.

  1. Open the item menu.
  2. Select Resume download.
  3. Keep Phyn open until you see progress continue.
  4. Return to Downloads and confirm the item moves forward.

If the task pauses again, check storage, network access, and whether the Jellyfin server is still reachable.

Stop a download and start over

Use Stop downloading when a download is queued, running, paused, or waiting to retry but never finishes.

  1. Open the item menu.
  2. Select Stop downloading.
  3. Wait for Phyn to cancel the task.
  4. Return to the movie, episode, season, or album page.
  5. Start the download again.

Stopping a download removes the queued task from this device. It does not delete the media from Jellyfin.

When to use this: If the same item has been stuck for a long time, stopping and starting again is usually better than waiting indefinitely.

Delete a broken local copy

Use Delete download when Phyn shows an item as downloaded but the offline copy is broken, incomplete, or no longer opens.

  1. Open the item menu.
  2. Select Delete download.
  3. Confirm the prompt.
  4. Download the item again.

Phyn's confirmation explains that this only deletes the downloaded file. You can download the item again later as long as it is still available on your Jellyfin server.

Retry with the right version

When you start a download, Phyn may ask for a download Version.

Version When to use it
Default Best first choice. Phyn downloads the media as-is when the server can provide it directly.
Optimized Use this when the default version fails, the file is not compatible with the device, or the server needs to transcode the file for better playback.

If Phyn warns that one or more downloads need to be transcoded, your Jellyfin server must prepare the file before Phyn can save it. This can take time, and progress may be less accurate while the server is working.

If queueing fails

If Phyn says Error queuing download task. Try again later., the download task could not be added to the device queue.

Try this sequence:

  1. Confirm the item can still play normally from Jellyfin.
  2. Free storage on the device.
  3. Stop or delete any duplicate queued download for the same item.
  4. Try the download again with Default.
  5. If Default fails, try Optimized.
  6. Restart Phyn and try once more.

If Phyn says No downloadable episodes or No downloadable tracks, the selected season or album does not currently have downloadable items available to your Jellyfin user.

If the downloaded item is missing

If the item disappeared from Downloads or does not appear under the expected group, check whether you downloaded a parent item such as a season or album. Phyn groups downloaded episodes and tracks under their parent show, season, or album when it can identify that relationship.

If the parent item cannot be fetched from Jellyfin, the local download may still exist but be harder to identify. Reconnect to your server, reopen Downloads, and let Phyn refresh the list.

Prevent the same problem next time

  • Start large downloads while connected to a stable Wi-Fi network.
  • Keep Phyn open until the download clearly starts.
  • Avoid switching VPNs or networks while a large file is downloading.
  • Keep enough free storage for the full file, not only the amount already downloaded.
  • Use Optimized when a video repeatedly fails with Default.
  • If you are downloading a full season or album, check Downloads first so duplicate queued items do not block the new attempt.

Expected result

After you resume, stop, delete, or retry the download, the item should either continue downloading or be removed cleanly so you can start again. Once complete, it should open from Downloads even when your device is offline.

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