diff --git a/ext/hls/gsthlsdemux.c b/ext/hls/gsthlsdemux.c
index 3476e271b9..5ad3646c60 100644
--- a/ext/hls/gsthlsdemux.c
+++ b/ext/hls/gsthlsdemux.c
@@ -1490,15 +1490,65 @@ gst_hls_demux_update_playlist (GstHLSDemux * demux, gboolean update,
   GstFragment *download;
   GstBuffer *buf;
   gchar *playlist;
-  gboolean updated = FALSE;
-  const gchar *uri = gst_m3u8_client_get_current_uri (demux->client);
+  gboolean main_checked = FALSE, updated = FALSE;
+  const gchar *uri;
 
+retry:
+  uri = gst_m3u8_client_get_current_uri (demux->client);
   download =
       gst_uri_downloader_fetch_uri (demux->downloader, uri,
       demux->client->main ? demux->client->main->uri : NULL, TRUE, TRUE, TRUE,
       err);
-  if (download == NULL)
-    return FALSE;
+  if (download == NULL) {
+    if (update && !main_checked
+        && gst_m3u8_client_has_variant_playlist (demux->client)
+        && demux->client->main) {
+      GError *err2 = NULL;
+      GST_INFO_OBJECT (demux,
+          "Updating playlist %s failed, attempt to refresh variant playlist %s",
+          uri, demux->client->main->uri);
+      download =
+          gst_uri_downloader_fetch_uri (demux->downloader,
+          demux->client->main->uri, NULL, TRUE, TRUE, TRUE, &err2);
+      g_clear_error (&err2);
+      if (download != NULL) {
+        gchar *base_uri;
+
+        buf = gst_fragment_get_buffer (download);
+        playlist = gst_hls_src_buf_to_utf8_playlist (buf);
+
+        if (playlist == NULL) {
+          GST_WARNING_OBJECT (demux,
+              "Failed to validate variant playlist encoding");
+          return FALSE;
+        }
+
+        if (download->redirect_permanent && download->redirect_uri) {
+          uri = download->redirect_uri;
+          base_uri = NULL;
+        } else {
+          uri = download->uri;
+          base_uri = download->redirect_uri;
+        }
+
+        if (!gst_m3u8_client_update_variant_playlist (demux->client, playlist,
+                uri, base_uri)) {
+          GST_WARNING_OBJECT (demux, "Failed to update the variant playlist");
+          return FALSE;
+        }
+
+        g_object_unref (download);
+
+        g_clear_error (err);
+        main_checked = TRUE;
+        goto retry;
+      } else {
+        return FALSE;
+      }
+    } else {
+      return FALSE;
+    }
+  }
 
   /* Set the base URI of the playlist to the redirect target if any */
   GST_M3U8_CLIENT_LOCK (demux->client);
@@ -1540,8 +1590,8 @@ gst_hls_demux_update_playlist (GstHLSDemux * demux, gboolean update,
 
     GST_M3U8_CLIENT_LOCK (demux->client);
     last_sequence =
-        GST_M3U8_MEDIA_FILE (g_list_last (demux->client->current->files)->
-        data)->sequence;
+        GST_M3U8_MEDIA_FILE (g_list_last (demux->client->current->
+            files)->data)->sequence;
 
     if (demux->client->sequence >= last_sequence - 3) {
       GST_DEBUG_OBJECT (demux, "Sequence is beyond playlist. Moving back to %u",
@@ -1642,8 +1692,8 @@ retry_failover_protection:
     gst_m3u8_client_set_current (demux->client, previous_variant->data);
     /*  Try a lower bitrate (or stop if we just tried the lowest) */
     if (GST_M3U8 (previous_variant->data)->iframe && new_bandwidth ==
-        GST_M3U8 (g_list_first (demux->client->main->iframe_lists)->
-            data)->bandwidth)
+        GST_M3U8 (g_list_first (demux->client->main->iframe_lists)->data)->
+        bandwidth)
       return FALSE;
     else if (!GST_M3U8 (previous_variant->data)->iframe && new_bandwidth ==
         GST_M3U8 (g_list_first (demux->client->main->lists)->data)->bandwidth)
diff --git a/ext/hls/m3u8.c b/ext/hls/m3u8.c
index d66da2d47d..40ce09027d 100644
--- a/ext/hls/m3u8.c
+++ b/ext/hls/m3u8.c
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ gst_m3u8_new (void)
 }
 
 static void
-gst_m3u8_set_uri (GstM3U8 * self, gchar * uri, gchar * base_uri)
+gst_m3u8_set_uri (GstM3U8 * self, gchar * uri, gchar * base_uri, gchar * name)
 {
   g_return_if_fail (self != NULL);
 
@@ -59,6 +59,9 @@ gst_m3u8_set_uri (GstM3U8 * self, gchar * uri, gchar * base_uri)
 
   g_free (self->base_uri);
   self->base_uri = base_uri;
+
+  g_free (self->name);
+  self->name = name;
 }
 
 static void
@@ -68,6 +71,7 @@ gst_m3u8_free (GstM3U8 * self)
 
   g_free (self->uri);
   g_free (self->base_uri);
+  g_free (self->name);
   g_free (self->codecs);
   g_free (self->key);
 
@@ -109,6 +113,85 @@ gst_m3u8_media_file_free (GstM3U8MediaFile * self)
   g_free (self);
 }
 
+static GstM3U8MediaFile *
+gst_m3u8_media_file_copy (const GstM3U8MediaFile * self, gpointer user_data)
+{
+  g_return_if_fail (self != NULL);
+
+  return gst_m3u8_media_file_new (g_strdup (self->uri), g_strdup (self->title),
+      self->duration, self->sequence);
+}
+
+static GstM3U8 *
+_m3u8_copy (const GstM3U8 * self, GstM3U8 * parent)
+{
+  GstM3U8 *dup;
+
+  g_return_if_fail (self != NULL);
+
+  dup = gst_m3u8_new ();
+  dup->uri = g_strdup (self->uri);
+  dup->base_uri = g_strdup (self->base_uri);
+  dup->name = g_strdup (self->name);
+  dup->endlist = self->endlist;
+  dup->version = self->version;
+  dup->targetduration = self->targetduration;
+  dup->allowcache = self->allowcache;
+  dup->key = g_strdup (self->key);
+  dup->bandwidth = self->bandwidth;
+  dup->program_id = self->program_id;
+  dup->codecs = g_strdup (self->codecs);
+  dup->width = self->width;
+  dup->height = self->height;
+  dup->iframe = self->iframe;
+  dup->files =
+      g_list_copy_deep (self->files, (GCopyFunc) gst_m3u8_media_file_copy,
+      NULL);
+
+  /* private */
+  dup->last_data = g_strdup (self->last_data);
+  dup->lists = g_list_copy_deep (self->lists, (GCopyFunc) _m3u8_copy, dup);
+  dup->iframe_lists =
+      g_list_copy_deep (self->iframe_lists, (GCopyFunc) _m3u8_copy, dup);
+  /* NOTE: current_variant will get set in gst_m3u8_copy () */
+  dup->parent = parent;
+  dup->mediasequence = self->mediasequence;
+  return dup;
+}
+
+static GstM3U8 *
+gst_m3u8_copy (const GstM3U8 * self)
+{
+  GList *entry;
+  guint n;
+
+  GstM3U8 *dup = _m3u8_copy (self, NULL);
+
+  if (self->current_variant != NULL) {
+    for (n = 0, entry = self->lists; entry; entry = entry->next, n++) {
+      if (entry == self->current_variant) {
+        dup->current_variant = g_list_nth (dup->lists, n);
+        break;
+      }
+    }
+
+    if (!dup->current_variant) {
+      for (n = 0, entry = self->iframe_lists; entry; entry = entry->next, n++) {
+        if (entry == self->current_variant) {
+          dup->current_variant = g_list_nth (dup->iframe_lists, n);
+          break;
+        }
+      }
+
+      if (!dup->current_variant) {
+        GST_ERROR ("Failed to determine current playlist");
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  return dup;
+}
+
 static gboolean
 int_from_string (gchar * ptr, gchar ** endptr, gint * val)
 {
@@ -320,6 +403,7 @@ gst_m3u8_update (GstM3U8 * self, gchar * data, gboolean * updated)
       *r = '\0';
 
     if (data[0] != '#' && data[0] != '\0') {
+      gchar *name = data;
       if (duration <= 0 && list == NULL) {
         GST_LOG ("%s: got line without EXTINF or EXTSTREAMINF, dropping", data);
         goto next_line;
@@ -336,7 +420,7 @@ gst_m3u8_update (GstM3U8 * self, gchar * data, gboolean * updated)
           gst_m3u8_free (list);
           g_free (data);
         } else {
-          gst_m3u8_set_uri (list, data, NULL);
+          gst_m3u8_set_uri (list, data, NULL, g_strdup (name));
           self->lists = g_list_append (self->lists, list);
         }
         list = NULL;
@@ -397,6 +481,7 @@ gst_m3u8_update (GstM3U8 * self, gchar * data, gboolean * updated)
       GstM3U8 *new_list;
 
       new_list = gst_m3u8_new ();
+      new_list->parent = self;
       new_list->iframe = iframe;
       data = data + (iframe ? 26 : 18);
       while (data && parse_attributes (&data, &a, &v)) {
@@ -420,6 +505,7 @@ gst_m3u8_update (GstM3U8 * self, gchar * data, gboolean * updated)
               GST_WARNING ("Error while reading RESOLUTION height");
           }
         } else if (iframe && g_str_equal (a, "URI")) {
+          gchar *name;
           gchar *uri = g_strdup (v);
           gchar *urip = uri;
           int len = strlen (uri);
@@ -430,12 +516,15 @@ gst_m3u8_update (GstM3U8 * self, gchar * data, gboolean * updated)
           if (uri[0] == '"')
             uri += 1;
 
+          name = g_strdup (uri);
           uri = uri_join (self->base_uri ? self->base_uri : self->uri, uri);
           g_free (urip);
 
-          if (uri == NULL)
+          if (uri == NULL) {
+            g_free (name);
             continue;
-          gst_m3u8_set_uri (new_list, uri, NULL);
+          }
+          gst_m3u8_set_uri (new_list, uri, NULL, name);
         }
       }
 
@@ -620,7 +709,7 @@ gst_m3u8_client_new (const gchar * uri, const gchar * base_uri)
   client->sequence_position = 0;
   client->update_failed_count = 0;
   g_mutex_init (&client->lock);
-  gst_m3u8_set_uri (client->main, g_strdup (uri), g_strdup (base_uri));
+  gst_m3u8_set_uri (client->main, g_strdup (uri), g_strdup (base_uri), NULL);
 
   return client;
 }
@@ -695,6 +784,92 @@ out:
   return ret;
 }
 
+static gint
+_find_m3u8_list_match (const GstM3U8 * a, const GstM3U8 * b)
+{
+  if (g_strcmp0 (a->name, b->name) == 0 &&
+      a->bandwidth == b->bandwidth &&
+      a->program_id == b->program_id &&
+      g_strcmp0 (a->codecs, b->codecs) == 0 &&
+      a->width == b->width &&
+      a->height == b->height && a->iframe == b->iframe) {
+    return 0;
+  }
+
+  return 1;
+}
+
+gboolean
+gst_m3u8_client_update_variant_playlist (GstM3U8Client * self, gchar * data,
+    const gchar * uri, const gchar * base_uri)
+{
+  gboolean ret = FALSE;
+  GList *list_entry, *unmatched_lists;
+  GstM3U8Client *new_client;
+  GstM3U8 *old;
+
+  g_return_val_if_fail (self != NULL, FALSE);
+
+  new_client = gst_m3u8_client_new (uri, base_uri);
+  if (gst_m3u8_client_update (new_client, data)) {
+    if (!new_client->main->lists) {
+      GST_ERROR
+          ("Cannot update variant playlist: New playlist is not a variant playlist");
+      gst_m3u8_client_free (new_client);
+      return FALSE;
+    }
+
+    GST_M3U8_CLIENT_LOCK (self);
+
+    if (!self->main->lists) {
+      GST_ERROR
+          ("Cannot update variant playlist: Current playlist is not a variant playlist");
+      goto out;
+    }
+
+    /* Now see if the variant playlist still has the same lists */
+    unmatched_lists = g_list_copy (self->main->lists);
+    for (list_entry = new_client->main->lists; list_entry;
+        list_entry = list_entry->next) {
+      GList *match = g_list_find_custom (unmatched_lists, list_entry->data,
+          (GCompareFunc) _find_m3u8_list_match);
+      if (match)
+        unmatched_lists = g_list_remove_link (unmatched_lists, match);
+    }
+
+    if (unmatched_lists != NULL) {
+      g_list_free (unmatched_lists);
+
+      /* We should attempt to handle the case where playlists are dropped/replaced,
+       * and possibly switch over to a comparable (not neccessarily identical)
+       * playlist.
+       */
+      GST_FIXME
+          ("Cannot update variant playlist, unable to match all playlists");
+      goto out;
+    }
+
+    /* Switch out the variant playlist */
+    old = self->main;
+
+    self->main = gst_m3u8_copy (new_client->main);
+    if (self->main->lists)
+      self->current = self->main->current_variant->data;
+    else
+      self->current = self->main;
+
+    gst_m3u8_free (old);
+
+    ret = TRUE;
+
+  out:
+    GST_M3U8_CLIENT_UNLOCK (self);
+  }
+
+  gst_m3u8_client_free (new_client);
+  return ret;
+}
+
 static gboolean
 _find_current (GstM3U8MediaFile * file, GstM3U8Client * client)
 {
diff --git a/ext/hls/m3u8.h b/ext/hls/m3u8.h
index d49287a062..9ae6c079de 100644
--- a/ext/hls/m3u8.h
+++ b/ext/hls/m3u8.h
@@ -40,6 +40,8 @@ struct _GstM3U8
   gchar *uri;                   /* actually downloaded URI */
   gchar *base_uri;              /* URI to use as base for resolving relative URIs.
                                  * This will be different to uri in case of redirects */
+  gchar *name;                  /* This will be the "name" of the playlist, the original
+                                 * relative/absolute uri in a variant playlist */
 
   gboolean endlist;             /* if ENDLIST has been reached */
   gint version;                 /* last EXT-X-VERSION */
@@ -90,6 +92,7 @@ struct _GstM3U8Client
 GstM3U8Client *gst_m3u8_client_new (const gchar * uri, const gchar * base_uri);
 void gst_m3u8_client_free (GstM3U8Client * client);
 gboolean gst_m3u8_client_update (GstM3U8Client * client, gchar * data);
+gboolean gst_m3u8_client_update_variant_playlist (GstM3U8Client * client, gchar * data, const gchar * uri, const gchar * base_uri);
 void gst_m3u8_client_set_current (GstM3U8Client * client, GstM3U8 * m3u8);
 gboolean gst_m3u8_client_get_next_fragment (GstM3U8Client * client,
     gboolean * discontinuity, const gchar ** uri, GstClockTime * duration,