Time for imported AAC files is changing to 789:57:13

I confirm Mr. Lonzo's finding. I installed 12.9.5 for Windows 10, and the damage is reversing itself as the .m4a files are played.

I would send back feedback everyday to iTunes about the problem. If everyone bombards them maybe they will wake up and reinstall 9.2.3. Did it really start going bad after the last update? Did you change how you were importing from Audacity (i.e. mp3 vs m4a or AAC?)

As noted the usual trick of rolling back to a previous build while awaiting a fix isn't possible on Mojave so use Feedback - iTunes - Apple to let Apple know you're affected by this issue. They don’t read these boards for feedback or bug reports.

tt2

Hi,

I can't say for sure that there would be no impact in your situation. In terms of the edits you were making - are you talking about name, artist, album, genre etc.? To m4a files or ALAC? You did those changes in iTunes or to the files directly or in another program. Either way, It should should not matter. Those changes should stay with the files in your music folder. If you can see that data listed with the files in the music folder it will not go away. Alternatively, any files I have edited in iTunes and moved elsewhere or played in another music playing program, still retain any data that I added including artwork.

When I uninstalled iTunes the file folders on my hard drive (Windows 7) stayed intact as is, as if there was no change. My current iTunes folder has a date created of 1/3/2018 and that did not change earlier this month when I uninstalled 12.9.4. The "date modified" - while a different more recent date - is still a date the precedes my install and uninstall of 12.9.4 this month. I didn't stick around in 12.9.4 that long once I noticed the problem shortly after updating to it. I had added one new playlist of 11 tracks encoded as AAC m4a outside of iTunes when I experienced the issue. They immediately would not play. When I rolled back to 12.9.3.3 those same files were fine. I believe that you should be able to roll back to the earlier version and if there's issue's you can always return back to 12.9.4. If your iTunes music file library is in your music library on your PC, you should be OK. The Program files for iTunes will change and be updated when you install a new iTunes version.

Hi MD, No one was necessarily "in the loop" and the new version info just became available over the last 24 hours. tt2 posted an update and in my case - while I saw that - I was presented the normal update prompt when I launched iTunes today. I apologize that I am not specifically familiar with Audacity though I use similar software which in my case as well - was that files created with my software outside of iTunes were the ones impacted. In your case, since you have some concerns, perhaps proceed with caution.

Perhaps wait a little while and see if any others report issues. So far, I've seen positive posts. If you plan to update, be ready to roll back again if needed. If you have more than one PC, try one first. If you are in good shape now, no need to rush. If you follow the discussions, here:

https://discussions.apple.com/search?page=1&q=AAC%20789&content=filterDiscussions&time=month

you should be able to see what all are saying.

Apple has also made the new version available on their Download page: https://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

Think about what's best for you. Since your use of iTunes is part of your profession, definitely proceed only when you are confident and when you have plenty of time before next jobs. Good luck!

The older version 12.9.1.4 works fine.

I have a lot of affected files, created with FAAC 1.26.1 (Apr 8 2007) UNSTABLE.

Yes, the Support Tech and Sr. Support Tech were nice. I also opened a case and it was sent to Engineering for review and after 5 days they came back and said not our problem. You are using a 3rd party application, so the problem you are having in ITUNES is not our problem. If you read some of the other posts above, the same thing is being said. I think a couple of us have opened case files on the issue. Keep us posted on your results. Good luck. The more that complain and open case files, the more chance we can get this fixed. They wouldn't even help me to restore an older version of ITUNES.

This is absolutely Apple's problem. I have many files that have been converted from other formats and are now show 789:57:13 and are unreadable by itunes 12.9.4. They have worked for years in itunes up until now and still work with any other media player. Please fix this bug ASAP. If not I and many others will find an alternative and never use apple tools again. Why is Apple so hostile to its customers?

Thanks tt2, have the same issue on a Windows 10 machine following the iTunes upgrade. Have created audiobooks in m4b format with even another program and same issue. Definitely an iTunes / Apple issue.

I've been having the same problem recently and it has happened when I send the audio from iTunes Mac to my homepod. I recently linked my iTune to my recently purchased home pod which forced my iTunes songs to go to iCloud. I believe it may have something to do with the iCloud. I've had iTunes for years and never had this problem before.

That's interesting. Doing this on a Mac should be an easy fix but on Windows it would break the link to the file which would then need to be repaired. I could write a script for that. Did you reimport your tracks or do something else? Are you on Windows or Mac?

tt2

It's at bugreporter.apple.com, but you might need a developer account to access it.

Unfortunately rolling back iTunes isn't possible on Mojave so use Feedback - iTunes - Apple to let Apple know you're affected by this issue.

tt2

Confirm it's fixed for me with Mojave 10.4.5 and iTunes 12.9.5.5

Files will still show 789:57:13 until you access them, but then reset to proper time & play ok

Thank you for doing that as I would have no clue. The only thing I can think is that everyday we go on the Apple Feedback (which I believe goes to the engineers or the minds that be) and EVERYONE feedback the issue that the last upgrade has caused. Maybe that will open their eyes and they will do something. Like one person said above - resend out the last version 12.9.3 and fix the bug in 12.9.4 and then reissue it. SO FAR I am not finding any way to fix the issue without months of work.