Guides · Features
Download Audiobookshelf books for offline listening on iPhone
Download Audiobookshelf books and episodes free in SoundLeaf, let Smart Downloads fetch what you're listening to, wait for Wi-Fi and clear finished books.
To download an Audiobookshelf book in SoundLeaf, open the book and tap the round download button. Downloads are free for everyone, and a downloaded book plays with no connection to your server. Your progress syncs back when the connection returns.
Downloading a book
On a book’s screen, tap the round download button. The button shows the progress, and tapping it again while it downloads stops it. In library lists, press and hold a book and choose Download.
Podcast episodes have a Download button in their action row.
Where are my downloads?
The Downloads tab lists everything on the phone, from every account you’ve saved. Transfers shows what’s still coming, and Downloaded what’s finished. Inside each, books are grouped by library, with the account beside the library name, so two servers never get mixed up. Books and podcast episodes are kept apart.
Within a library, rows sit under Downloading, Waiting for Wi-Fi, Downloaded, Failed and Canceled. Press and hold a row for its menu, or tap Try again on a failed one.
Removing a download
- On the book’s screen, tap the download button and choose Delete Download.
- In the Downloads tab, press and hold the row and choose Remove Download.
- The … menu in the Downloads tab has Select, for removing several at once, and Remove All. Both ask first, and say which accounts the downloads belong to.
Mobile data
Settings > Downloads > Download over mobile data is off to start with, so downloads wait for Wi-Fi.
- Tap Download on mobile data and SoundLeaf asks: Download now, or Wait for Wi-Fi.
- Automatic downloads (Smart Downloads, podcast auto-download) wait quietly. They show under Waiting for Wi-Fi in the Downloads tab.
Smart Downloads
Smart Downloads downloads a book for you after you’ve listened to it for a set time, so it’s ready to play offline. It’s free, and off until you turn it on in Settings > Downloads.
- Time Threshold - how long you listen before it downloads: 1, 5, 10 (the default), 15 or 30 minutes
- Also send to watch - puts those books in the queue for your Apple Watch too. It shows when you have a watch paired and the watch buttons are switched on in Settings > Apple Watch.
It counts listening on this phone and skips books that are already downloaded. It covers audiobooks; podcasts have their own auto-download rules.
Removing finished books
Settings > Downloads > Remove played downloads removes a book’s download once you’ve finished it. Choose After finishing, After 24 hours, After 2 days or After 1 week. It’s Never to start with.
- The book’s downloaded ebook is removed with the audio.
- It applies to books you’ve already downloaded, not only new ones.
- A book is only removed while it’s closed in both the player and the reader.
- If you download a finished book again, it’s kept.
- Include books finished on other devices also removes the download here when you finish the book somewhere else.
Podcast downloads
The Podcasts section of Settings > Downloads sets the defaults for new shows: auto-download new episodes, how many to keep, and when to remove played ones. Each show can override these in its own settings; see Podcasts.
Download queued episodes downloads episodes as soon as you add them to Up Next. For books, Download queued books does the same.
How much space do downloads use?
Settings > Storage & Cache shows what’s on the phone, each with a button to clear it:
| Section | What it holds | Button |
|---|---|---|
| Cache | The copy of your library kept on this device | Clear Cache (keeps downloads, saved episodes and settings) |
| Downloads | Downloaded books | Clear Downloads |
| Downloaded Podcasts | Downloaded episodes | Clear Episode Downloads |
| Ebooks | Saved ebooks | Clear Ebooks (also clears what Read Along processed) |
| Read Along | Books processed for Read Along | Clear Processed Books |
| System | Network Usage, how much SoundLeaf has sent and received | Nuke Everything clears cache, downloads and ebooks at once |
In the Downloads tab, choose … > Storage, then pick an account to see and manage its downloads.
Can I browse my library with the server off?
Yes. SoundLeaf keeps a copy of your library on the phone, so Home, your libraries, collections and playlists still open from what it last saw. What you can play with the server off is what you’ve downloaded. A book that isn’t downloaded shows Offline on its play button.
Progress you make offline is saved on the phone and sent to your server when it’s back. A progress change you make offline says “Saved on this device. Will sync when connected.” For a trip with no signal, see listen offline.
Downloads and the Apple Watch
Downloads on the phone and on the watch are separate. Downloads also belong to each account; see multiple accounts. Send to Watch on a book’s screen copies it to the watch; see Apple Watch.
Troubleshooting
Why is my download stuck on Waiting for Wi-Fi?
You’re on mobile data and Download over mobile data is off. Connect to Wi-Fi, or turn the setting on.
”Changed on the server. Delete it and download it again.”
The book’s files changed on your Audiobookshelf server after you downloaded it. Delete the download and download it again to get the new files.
Why didn’t Smart Downloads download a book?
It counts listening on this phone only, and turning Smart Downloads off resets the count. Check it’s on and that the book has passed the time threshold. On mobile data it waits for Wi-Fi unless Download over mobile data is on.
A download stopped or is very slow
If a download stops, the row says why:
- “Couldn’t reach your server to finish the download.” The phone couldn’t reach your server. Once the server is reachable, reopen SoundLeaf or tap Try again.
- “The download has stopped receiving data.” No data is arriving from your server. Check your connection, then tap Try again.
- “A connection problem interrupted the download.” Your connection dropped.
Downloads that crawl away from home are usually the connection to your server, such as a slow home upload speed or a tunnel. Slow Audiobookshelf downloads away from home goes through the causes. Downloading at home on Wi-Fi is the quick fix.
”Not enough storage”
The phone doesn’t have room for the book plus a little spare. Free some space, or clear old downloads in Settings > Storage & Cache, then try again.