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iTunes stops and starts over Airport express!!!Q

Ok,

I've reset by Airport express, reset the base station (my airport express is receiving the stream from the base-station) and all my plalists stop and start. Currently, my playlist just stopped playing and has yet to resume!

I've searched the message boards for both iTunes and Airport express - it seems other people are experiencing this issue as well, but there is NO solution! Please help! This didn't happen about 6 months ago, but over the last 3 months or so it has been happening regularly. I'm am currently using the newest update of iTunes (as of 15Sept07).

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.4.8), Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM

Posted on Sep 15, 2007 6:22 PM

Reply
34 replies

Sep 17, 2007 6:54 AM in response to EinSD

Happened to me too. And I followed all the usual methods of resetting both the base station and the slave. I had two AEXs, and the one serving my hi-fi kept dropping the signal. Some months later I had to replace my cable modem - it had died. Coincidentally (or not) one of the Airport Expresses failed. No power light, nothing. So I chose to upgrade to the latest Airport Extreme (802.11n). Since then, no drop outs, no problems working seamlessly.

I don't have a solution for your problem except to say that it's most likely *+not iTunes+*, and could simply depend on the age of your device. Mine was three years old and maybe that's just the life expectancy of these things sometimes. Yeah, I know these devices should last longer than that and I'm not condoning shoddy workmanship. Sad fact of life that electrical equipment usually lasts until just past the warranty period.

Just a thought. Sorry I can't be more constructive.

Sep 20, 2007 8:55 AM in response to Charlie Fellowes

I see your point, but I'm not ready to just buy new equipment yet. The airport express is less than 5 months old (and it worked properly until the last few iTunes updates). The same is true for my airport basestation. It still works just fine for internet, file sharing, printing, etc. There is no reason streaming music would be "broken".

Also, I just updated iTunes with the newly posted update and it STILL freezes songs randomly!!!!! PLEASE ADDRESS THIS ISSUE, APPLE! I know I'm not the only one experiencing this random "music stoppage" on airport express!

Sep 21, 2007 10:01 AM in response to EinSD

Also been having problems with AirTunes since the iTunes 7.4 upgrade. At first I thought it was a problem with my Airport Express as I would get "An error occurred while connecting to "Bedroom". An unknown error occured (-3256)".
By chance I found that I can connect to the APE but ONLY if I don't connect to multiple speakers. If I try to connect to the computer speakers when the APE is playing, or vice-versa, the the above error message pops up.
Before the 7.4 Upgrade I could have the computer speakers and 2 APEs playing at the same time.
PLEASE NOTE APPLE !!

Sep 23, 2007 12:15 AM in response to EinSD

I am experiencing the same thing, i have two AP 802.11n and an APX (which is less than a week old) and every so often it just stops, sometimes it starts on its own, other times i have had to quit iTunes and start again. I have not yet been able to isolate a cause and effect, initially i thought it was the remote from the BOSE (which is radio not infrared) but more testing this seems not the be the cause, but i remain open minded.

Any feedback would be welcome

Jeremy
Brisbane

Sep 27, 2007 1:07 PM in response to EinSD

For what it's worth (perhaps piling on will solicit a response), I'm experiencing this on both my Windows XP iTunes and Apple 10.3.9.

I'm also experiencing issues with the >V.7 iTunes stopping playing when outputting sound through my Firewire port via a MOTU828 on 10.3.9. It's identical behavior but may or may not be related. Sound stops playing, the song progress and time increment stops but the Play icon remains a square.

Rebooting iTunes fixes the behavior.
Reinitializing the FireWire connection fixes the behavior.

Oct 2, 2007 9:39 PM in response to EinSD

Just checking back in. I'm still experiencing random drop outs of sound EVERY time I try to play music through airpoirt express. Sometimes iTunes stalls, but other times the time shows the track playing but there is no sound coming out of my stereo via airport express. It will come back in if I wait long enough, but it will also continue to randomly drop out. I NEVER get to listen to an entire song without at least 2 stops for seconds -- sometimes minutes of silence will interrupt a song!
Why hasn't apple addressed this issue!????

Oct 4, 2007 9:32 PM in response to EinSD

Same issue. My Macbook OSX v.10.4.10, 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, iTunes version 7.4.2 (4) pauses randomly and sometimes stops altogether. I am playing music via my Airport Express.

However, my MacBook Pro v.10.4.10, 2GHz Intel Core Duo, iTunes version 7.3.2 (6) works just fine. Anyone know where to get old versions of iTunes?

And all remains quiet from Dell... uh, I mean Apple.

Oct 12, 2007 11:41 PM in response to EinSD

I'm having 'drop out' problems with iTunes too

I am streaming my music from iTunes running on a Mac Pro ( linked wirelessly to a new Airport Base Station 802.11n)... the Airport Express connected to the stereo if linked wirelessly to one of the older 802.11g. The 802.11n and 802.11g are connected by an Ethernet cable. I was thinking it may be due to the Mac Pro being on a different Airport Base station than the Airport Express is on but it has always worked well in the past.

Is it perhaps related to a recent iTunes or Airport update?

Oct 23, 2007 1:20 PM in response to EinSD

same, same, same. Even when creating a apple network directly between powerbook and airportxpress 4 feet away, it just keeps on stopping. I think this is a hardware issue, the express just can't keep the reception, which is why apple haven't commented. If the express had an internal memory and could buffer the signal, would this help, or am I talking rubbish?

Dec 3, 2007 10:29 PM in response to EinSD

I don't know if anyone else found a real fix to this problem, but I was looking through other discussion groups and found someone who said they set their iTunes for Multiple Speakers and it began working properly. I tried it a couple days ago and we haven't had a single drop out. All I have is one set of speakers and the computer itself so I just mute the computer speakers.
I can't find the thread again or I would point you to it.
Just a workaround, but maybe it will give someone here a clue to what the problem is.

Before I found the suggestion for Multiple Speakers a downgraded to iTunes 7.2. At first it seemed to fix the problem, but after a few hours the drop outs started again.

This was all on my MacBook. I will upgrade my 15" MacBookPro, currently running iTunes 7.3.2(6), to iTunes 7.5 just to see if it has the same problem.

Message was edited by: aknunn

Dec 11, 2007 7:43 PM in response to aknunn

I have noticed something else problematic with my setup which may help. I had Airport Extreme piled in a stack with the ADSL modem and a VoIP box. This was making all the devices extremely hot. Since moving space between all of them they now run much much cooler and, it seems, that I have a more stable wireless connection. It may be coincidental but worth checking.

Jim

Dec 22, 2007 9:14 PM in response to EinSD

I am an Apple Engineer who has three airport expresses. I just purchased a top of the line $5000 17" MacBook Pro. I experience the same "drop-outs" or "pauses." iTunes will play for a while good, then for a few seconds the volume drops out and then it comes back. This is crazy because I have no idea where the issue is, is it Internet lag, activity on my Mac, crappy Expresses? Where? If I use just two Airport Expresses it improves but it's not perfect. I have seen this issue for years and I keep hoping Apple will fix it. I know that I don't have a $50,000 Crestron system but I expect it to play, audio lag is ok (previous problem years ago) but come on - somebody say something. I mean if you told me the limit was two expresses I'd take it.

iTunes stops and starts over Airport express!!!Q

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