diff --git a/app/src/main/java/at/lockstep/player/LockstepViewModel.kt b/app/src/main/java/at/lockstep/player/LockstepViewModel.kt
index aebbfd7..d90ac46 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/at/lockstep/player/LockstepViewModel.kt
+++ b/app/src/main/java/at/lockstep/player/LockstepViewModel.kt
@@ -562,13 +562,34 @@ class LockstepViewModel(
                 app.playlistRepository.syncPlaylistDetail(playlistId)
                 null
             } catch (e: LockstepApiException) {
-                e.message ?: "Load failed"
+                syncPlaylistDetailErrorForLibraryOpen(playlistId, e)
             } catch (e: IOException) {
-                e.message ?: "Load failed"
+                syncPlaylistDetailErrorForLibraryOpen(playlistId, e)
             }
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Playlist detail fetch is best-effort when opening from the library. Unauthorized responses mean
+     * the token is stale; cached jukebox rows (if any) are still valid for pairing and playback.
+     */
+    private fun syncPlaylistDetailErrorForLibraryOpen(playlistId: String, e: Exception): String? {
+        if (isPlaylistDetailHttp401(e)) {
+            Log.w(TAG, "syncPlaylistDetail unauthorized for $playlistId, opening from jukebox cache", e)
+            return null
+        }
+        if (app.playlistRepository.getTracks(playlistId).isNotEmpty()) {
+            Log.w(TAG, "syncPlaylistDetail failed for $playlistId, using cached tracks", e)
+            return null
+        }
+        return e.message ?: "Load failed"
+    }
+
+    private fun isPlaylistDetailHttp401(e: Exception): Boolean {
+        val msg = e.message ?: return false
+        return msg.contains("HTTP 401", ignoreCase = true)
+    }
+
     fun completeOnboarding() {
         viewModelScope.launch {
             prefs.setOnboardingComplete(true)