Are player favorites saved if I reinstall the app or switch to a new device?

Usually not. Player-side favorites are stored inside the app on that specific device. If you reinstall or move to a new TV, phone or Firestick, you start fresh. A custom category built inside the playlist editor is stored in your account and appears automatically on every device that connects to your URL.

What is the difference between player favorites and a custom category?

Player favorites exist only inside one app on one device — they are not shared anywhere. A custom playlist category is part of your channel lineup itself, so every app on every device that uses your permanent URL sees it without any extra setup.

Can I have different favorites on different devices?

Yes. Use player-side favorites for device-specific preferences (your personal shortlist on your phone, your partner's on the TV). Use a shared custom category for channels the whole household wants at the top everywhere.

Will my favorites disappear if I change my provider?

Player favorites are tied to channel IDs from your current provider and may become orphaned if you switch. A custom category in the playlist editor is maintained in your account — when you switch providers and re-sync, you can re-populate it with the equivalent channels from the new source.

How many channels can I put in a custom favorites category?

There is no hard limit. You can add as many channels as you like. Most users keep a favorites group small — 10 to 30 channels — so it stays fast to navigate.

How to Create IPTV Favorites That Sync Across Every Device

Marking a channel as a favourite in your IPTV player is quick, but those favourites are trapped in one app on one device. Get a new TV, reinstall the app, or set up a second Firestick and you start from scratch. This guide covers how to create IPTV favorites in the most common players, and how to build a permanent favourites group in your playlist that automatically appears everywhere.

TL;DR: Player favorites are local to one device. A custom category in the playlist editor lives in your account and appears on every device that uses your permanent URL — no setup required when you add a new player.

Player-side favorites: fast but device-local

Most IPTV players have a built-in favorites system. They are great for quickly stashing a channel you want easy access to, but the data is stored inside the app on that device alone. Here is how they work in the most common players.

TiviMate

Long-press any channel while watching or while browsing the EPG grid and tap Add to Favourites. Your favourites appear in the dedicated Favourites category in the channel list. You can also reorder them by long-pressing inside the Favourites screen. TiviMate supports multiple favourite groups, which you create in Settings → Favourites.

IPTV Smarters Pro

While browsing channels, tap the heart icon next to any channel name to add it to your favourites list. The Favourites group appears at the top of the category panel. Smarters also lets you mark individual VOD titles as favourites separately from live channels.

GSE Smart IPTV

Tap and hold a channel name to reveal options, then select Add to Favourites. GSE creates a Favourites playlist group automatically the first time you add a channel.

The limitation

All of the above work well — until you add a second device. Your Firestick favourites do not appear on your phone. Your phone favourites do not appear on your smart TV. And if you ever reinstall the app, they are gone. For a household sharing one account across multiple devices, player-side favourites require repetitive setup on each one.

Permanent favorites via a custom playlist category

The better approach for favourites that should appear everywhere is to create a custom category in the playlist editor. This category becomes part of your channel lineup itself, served through your permanent Xtream URL, so every app on every device sees it without any configuration.

Log in to your iptv.domains account and open the playlist editor for your stream.
Click Create category and name it something clear — Favourites, Must Watch, or whatever suits your household.
Use the search box to find each channel you want. Drag it into your new category, or use the multi-select tool to move several at once.
Drag the new category to the very top of your category list so it is the first thing your players show.
Save. Your permanent URL now serves this category to every connected device.

The next time each of your devices refreshes the playlist — or immediately on a manual refresh — the Favourites category appears at the top, fully populated, with no per-device setup.

Example

Scenario: A household with three devices and one shared account

Jamie and their partner share one IPTV account. Jamie watches mainly news and documentary channels; their partner follows live sport. Both want a fast shortlist at the top when they pick up the remote. Rather than setting up favourites on the living room TV, the bedroom Firestick, and the shared tablet separately, Jamie opens the playlist editor and creates two custom categories: News & Docs and Sport Highlights. Both categories are dragged to the top of the list. After a playlist refresh on each device, both categories appear automatically — and if they add a third device next month, it will show up there too without any extra steps.

Tip: Keep your permanent favourites category small — 10 to 25 channels is the sweet spot. A shorter list is faster to scroll through and quicker for your player to highlight in the EPG grid.

Combining both approaches

You do not have to choose one or the other. Use a shared custom category for the channels everyone in the household wants to access quickly from any device. Use per-player favourites for personal preferences that only apply on that one screen — your late-night picks on your phone, for example, that you would not necessarily want on the main TV.

Keeping your favourites tidy over time

Over time providers rename channels, move them between categories, or retire them. If a channel disappears from your custom favourites category after a sync, you can search for its replacement in the editor and add the new version. See the clean-up playlist guide for tips on maintaining a tidy lineup after provider changes without starting from scratch each time.

What happens when you switch provider

If you change your upstream provider, the channel IDs will be different and your custom category will need updating. The advantage of doing this inside the playlist editor — rather than relying purely on player-side favourites — is that you rebuild it once and every device sees the result. You never have to go around your household editing favourites on each screen individually.

How to Create IPTV Favorites That Work on Every Device