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Level 1

0 points

Airtunes stops after end of song.

I use an Airport Express (model with 802.11n) only to stream music to my stereo. The wireless is disabled and my laptop is connected to the LAN directly (read: not using wireless anywhere). I can connect to the AE using the Airport Utility without fail, the AE's LED is always green, and iTunes on my MBP is set to Shuffle (read: music does not stop...ever). The AE is running the latest firmware (7.4.1), the MBP is running Leopard w/ iTunes 8.

The problem is after a random number of songs (from 3 to 10, rarely beyond), Airtunes stops playing music. Note, this only happens at the END of a song, and never during a song in progress. The visualizer in iTunes continues throbbing, so I know music is still streaming from iTunes. In fact, the network switch between my laptop and the AE continuously blinks, as if traffic is still being sent to the AE. However, there is no sound out of the AE (using it's analog out). I have to pause or stop the current track, then hit play, for Airtunes to work again.

This began happening since upgrading to the latest firmware (7.4.1). I've reset the airport multiple times, reset its configuration, and still get the same results. When Airtunes drops out, I've checked the AU and found the Airport still active. I've checked the log, and it's empty aside from the connection established messages and the ntp clock sync messages, both of which happen outside the time of the airtunes drop out.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

MacBook Pro 2.0, Mac OS X (10.5.1)

Posted on Mar 21, 2009 4:49 PM

81 replies

Apr 3, 2010 1:06 PM in response to Arne Sacknussen

Bump.

10.6.3
iTunes 9.1

still no fix.

bcemail

Level 1

10 points

Apr 5, 2010 8:05 AM in response to KaiKane505

Grr...for months my songs were playing smoothly, and then this weekend the silence started back up again. Still no fix from apple. I just have to try and remember what I actually did to make this go away the first time around. I thought it had something to do with selecting which speakers, but that doesn't seem to matter this time.

Angry bump.

Jerico

Level 1

0 points

Apr 28, 2010 7:05 PM in response to fdawg4l

Bump...

I have an Airport Express wired to my network (Airport Extreme wit a Netgear switch), and run the Toslink out from the AE to an external DAC and then along to my stereo. I have my iTunes library (all AIFF) on a NAS, and connect to it from my MBP (also wired to my network, usually).

I get the dropouts pretty often, always at beginning of songs after the previous song ends. This does not happen if I connect to the DAC via USB (this is inconvenient for my setup though - wires across the living to laptop - that's the only reason I have an Airport Express to begin with).

I tried changing multicast rate on the Airport Extreme to the max value (read about that somewhere on this forum), and then I tried a fresh iTunes install (i.e. dragged app to trash, dump trash, rebooted MBP, reinstalled iTunes). I'm about 4 songs in with no skips, but we'll see how it goes.

Edit: no fix here, the drops started again after a while.

Message was edited by: Jerico

Dee Run

Level 1

0 points

Apr 28, 2010 9:04 PM in response to Jerico

My Airport Express is connected via ethernet (no wifi issue) to my AppleTV (hosting my music) and the skipping/stopping problem occurs even when listening to a continuous internet radio stream (so not only related to a problem with "fetching" the next song)...

May 4, 2010 8:23 PM in response to fdawg4l

This problem has been dogging me for two years, ever since I bought my AX. I've tried lots of things, but what seems to be working for me is placing the AX away from other cables and electronic equipment. I've been streaming continuously through AirTunes (files sit on an HP Mediasmart server) for about 6 hours now without a drop (fingers crossed).

May 5, 2010 8:37 PM in response to epicenter

Check that... I've had a couple of drops today, but seemingly less frequent than usual.

Jerico

Level 1

0 points

May 6, 2010 5:26 AM in response to ajfisher1970

Great call! This looks like it has been working for me as well.

Last weekend I upgraded my Airport Express (I had one of the old, pre 802.11n versions) and I still had iTunes dropouts after the upgrade.

Then I picked up an extension cable (the kind that you swap via the AXP's "removable corner") so I could hide my AXP behind my TV, away from the wall socket/power strip. Since then, I've only had one drop. So, I think moving the AXP has helped.

May 6, 2010 1:54 PM in response to Jerico

It's better with the AX in a different spot, but occasionally there is still a drop out between tracks. I wonder whether interference on the wireless channel is causing the problem. I downloaded iStumbler to scan local wireless channels, and there are a couple of other routers in my neighbourhood on the same wireless channel (11), so I'm trying switching the router's wireless channel to one that seems not to be used around me (8). We'll see what happens.

Inkjetmac

Level 1

125 points

May 7, 2010 7:42 AM in response to ajfisher1970

Remember the channels overlap, so you might like to try a lower channel. If you have the option to use 5 GHz, that would be better still.
I've got four Expresses and regularly we stream them all day. The only problem we did get was with the new Time Capsule dual band II and the old software. Upgrading to 7.5.1. solved everything. We tested with some friend's laptops. Streaming to five expresses and five laptops (all via wireless) worked without outages. The spot where you put the wireless router/base station is very important though, the metering closet with all the electricity does not seem to help.

May 7, 2010 7:49 AM in response to Jerico

Hmm, no luck with changing the wireless channel on my router either. One solution sometimes offered is to set AirTunes to stream to multiple speakers, but I still had a drop (with no audio even on my Macbook!). I think maybe it could be one of two things: if there is any hiccup at all in my internet connection, then this could cause a dropout; or, some have suggested opening the Airport Utility and keeping it open (but minimized) whenever AirTunes is streaming. I'm trying the latter "solution".

Inkjetmac

Level 1

125 points

May 7, 2010 8:15 AM in response to ajfisher1970

Keeping Airport Utility open won't help. Streaming only stops if there is a problem with the network connection, or a software problem like TC software 7.5. Did you try to stream via a network cable as a test?

May 7, 2010 8:24 AM in response to Inkjetmac

It's worth a try - how would I do that, exactly? My setup is that my AX joins an existing network on my D-Link router via an ethernet cable. Do I simply run the ethernet cable from my Macbook to the ethernet port on the AX?

Inkjetmac

Level 1

125 points

May 7, 2010 9:05 AM in response to ajfisher1970

Sorry, I didn't get that the express was connected via cable already. And the computer? Is that also connected via cable to the same D-link system? If that's the case you should be ok.

All dropouts I've come across only happened because of weak wireless links or iTunes running on a computer that was too busy to stream properly.

May 7, 2010 9:11 AM in response to Inkjetmac

No, the Macbook is a wireless connection from the router. I suppose I should try a wired connection between Macbook and router and see what happens. I assume that if the AX joins a network instead of creating a network, then AirTunes is broadcasting to my D-Link router and not to the AX, which only relays the signal from the router to my amplifier (am I right about this?).

Inkjetmac

Level 1

125 points

May 7, 2010 9:33 AM in response to ajfisher1970

Yes, first try to connect the Macbook to the D-Link, leave the Ax connected to the same router via another cable. That should work, with the Ax either joining or creating a network. If it works, we can exclude many faults from the possible problem list.

By the way, I think there are two correct ways to run things:
1) Have the Macbook and the Ax connect via wire or wireless to the D-link (in case the Ax is connected via wire it is best to switch off the wireless)

2) Have the Ax connect to the D-link via wire and put it in bridge mode. Then connect the Macbook wirelessly to either the D-link or the Ax.

Airtunes stops after end of song.