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Spotify Playlist Order Not Saving? Fix Reverting Order on iPhone, Android, and Desktop

If you drag songs into a new order and Spotify “undoes” it later, you’re not imagining things. Here’s what’s usually going on — and how to make a playlist order that actually sticks.

Published February 14, 2026 · Updated February 14, 2026

If you keep searching things like “Spotify playlist order not saving” or “Spotify playlist order keeps changing,” you’re usually dealing with one of two situations:

  1. The songs inside one playlist won’t stay in the order you set, or
  2. The list of playlists in Your Library keeps reordering itself.

Both are fixable — but the fixes are different.

If your goal is a consistent, “saved” order (A–Z by artist/title, grouped by album, or by date added), the quickest path is:

First: make sure you’re not just looking at the queue

This is a sneaky one. Spotify can show you:

  • the playlist (saved order), and
  • the queue / Up next (what’s currently lined up to play).

If you’re troubleshooting “order changing,” always double-check you’re looking at the playlist itself, not an old queue that’s still hanging around.

Spotify’s queue help page is here:

If the songs inside your playlist keep reverting

1) Check how you’re sorting the playlist (Custom order vs “sorted view”)

Spotify has a bunch of ways to sort what you’re viewing (recently added, alphabetical, etc.). That’s helpful for browsing — but it can also make it look like your manual changes “didn’t save.”

Two quick checks:

  • Set the playlist to Custom order (or remove sorting) before you drag songs around.
  • If you’re switching devices, remember your sort/filter settings can be saved and affect what you see next time. Spotify explains this here: Sort and filter (Spotify Support).

2) Make sure nobody else is changing it (collaborative playlists)

If the playlist is collaborative, other people can add tracks (and depending on how you all use it, the playlist can feel like it’s “changing by itself”).

If you’re not sure whether it’s collaborative, Spotify’s overview is here:

3) Let it sync (and test on desktop if mobile is being weird)

This sounds obvious, but it matters:

  • Make sure you’re online when you reorder.
  • Update Spotify (mobile + desktop).
  • If changes appear on one device but not another, close/reopen the app and give it a moment to sync.

4) If you want the order to “stick” everywhere: apply a real playlist reorder (not just a view)

If what you really want is:

  • “sort my playlist alphabetically,”
  • “group by artist,”
  • “sort by date added,”
  • or anything that should look the same on every device…

…the easiest approach is to rewrite the playlist’s track order.

That’s exactly what the Sort Tool does:

  1. Open the Spotify Playlist Sort Tool.
  2. Pick your playlist.
  3. Choose a sort mode (artist/title/album/date added).
  4. Preview the before/after order.
  5. Apply in place (default) or create a sorted copy in Expert options.

If you’re here because you want a fresh order (not a neat one), that’s a different intent — use shuffle instead:

If it’s your playlist list (Your Library) that won’t stay in order

If you meant “my playlists keep moving around in my library,” Spotify calls this playlist order in Your Library and it’s handled separately from track order inside a playlist.

Spotify says you can set a custom order for your playlists list — and that you need the desktop app to set it (but it shows on all devices):

FAQ

Why does Spotify keep changing my playlist order?

Most of the time it’s one of these:

  • You’re viewing the playlist with a sort applied (so your “custom” order is hidden).
  • You’re looking at the queue, not the playlist.
  • It’s a collaborative playlist, and someone else is editing it.

How do I change the order of songs in a Spotify playlist on iPhone/Android?

In the Spotify mobile app, you generally need to go into an edit mode (for example via the ⋯ menu → Edit), then drag tracks using the handle icons.

If you’re trying to do a clean A–Z sort (or date-added order) without dragging forever, the Spotify Playlist Sort Tool is usually faster.

How do I rearrange songs in a Spotify playlist on desktop?

Desktop is usually the easiest place to do manual reordering — as long as you’re in Custom order and not sorting the view.

If you want a consistent alphabetical or date-added order that stays the same everywhere, apply it directly:

Sources and references

If you want to stop fighting the UI and just apply a clean order, start with the Spotify Playlist Sort Tool.