Features
How Favourites Work in a Live TV App (and Why They Disappear)
A favourites list is a set of channel identifiers in local app data. That explains everything about when it survives and when it vanishes.
This guide covers an app you install yourself — download the latest ak47sports apk (v1.6, Android 5.0+, free, no registration) AK47 Sports APK download page or go straight to the Android install guide.
What a favourites list actually stores
The list holds references rather than copies. Each favourite is an identifier the app can match against the current playlist to find the channel's name, group and stream address. Nothing about the channel itself is stored locally, which is what makes the list compact and also what makes it fragile: change the identifier and the reference resolves to nothing, with no visible error. This is why a favourite can vanish after a refresh even though the app was never uninstalled and the channel is still listed.
When favourites survive and when they do not
| Event | Favourites kept | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Installing a newer APK over the old one | Yes | Android preserves the data directory when the package is replaced |
| Uninstalling and reinstalling | No | The data directory is deleted with the package |
| Clearing app data | No | Clearing data removes the same directory without removing the app |
| Refreshing the playlist | Sometimes | Kept if identifiers are unchanged, orphaned if the source renumbered entries |
| Changing playlist provider | No | Unrelated identifier sets produce a list that resolves to nothing |
What to do when a favourite points at nothing
1.Search for the channel by name
If it appears in the channel list but not in favourites, the entry was renumbered and the favourite is orphaned rather than lost.
2.Check the group rather than the channel
If a whole group's favourites are affected, the playlist was reorganised and the list needs rebuilding rather than repairing.
3.Re-add the channels you actually watch
Rebuilding a short list takes less time than diagnosing a long one, and a shorter list is easier to keep accurate.
4.Avoid clearing app data as a fix
Clearing data is offered as a general remedy for playback problems, and it takes your favourites, your settings and your playlists with it.
- Favourites live in app data, so anything that removes app data removes them.
- They reference channel identifiers, so anything that changes identifiers orphans them.
- They are local only, so they do not transfer between devices or follow a playlist.
Frequently asked questions
Worth knowing: Favourites hold channel identifiers rather than channel names, so a playlist refresh that renumbers or replaces identifiers silently orphans every favourite you had.