Music fades in and out randomly

Question

Level 1

1 points

Music fades in and out randomly

I've noticed on my iPad both using the iPod software as well as Pandora that my unit will periodically fade the volume in and out at random intervals during playback. It doesn't occur during song transitions but will happen during a song. There don't seem to be any notifications that would trigger it and nothing pops up on screen.

I've looked around the discussion board and haven't seen any other mentions of this.

Does anyone have any ideas?

iPod, iPhone OS 3.1.3, 16G WiFi/3G

Posted on Jul 19, 2010 8:48 AM

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Answer 1

Jul 19, 2010 8:50 AM in response to RenegadeTK

Having push emails being sent to your iPad would trigger a decrease in volume for the mail bong noise, then the volume would return to normal. Does the volume fade or is it cut off? That would indicate if it needs to buffer or not.

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Answer 2

RenegadeTK Author

Level 1

1 points

Jul 19, 2010 8:59 AM in response to a Mac user

I usually get the bong noise for any sort of email or calendar request. This is a quick fade to almost nothing (can still be faintly heard) then back to the previous level.

I do have the AIM app installed but the sound notifications are turned off and I don't have the app logged in.

I noticed it first with Pandora so thought it was a buffering issue, but it's happening with songs stored locally.

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Answer 3

Jul 19, 2010 9:04 AM in response to RenegadeTK

Hmmm, is it possible that you are pressing the volume buttons by accident? I have found that when I am leaning back in my desk chair with my iPad in my lap that I can sometimes toggle the volume buttons if they are facing towards me. Another thing to check is the headphones you are using, they might have a faulty connection that might make the volume seem to dip at random.

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Answer 4

RenegadeTK Author

Level 1

1 points

Jul 19, 2010 9:25 AM in response to a Mac user

The iPad is sitting at my desk untouched. The speakers (and cable) I have them connected to have also been used with my desktop and my iPod Touch without incident so I'm stumped.

It seems like a software issue to me.

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Answer 5

Jul 19, 2010 9:30 AM in response to RenegadeTK

I agree. Have you tried restoring the iPad yet? If the problem still persists after a restore would assume that it is a hardware problem of some sort and would need to be replaced.

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Answer 6

RenegadeTK Author

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1 points

Jul 19, 2010 9:35 AM in response to a Mac user

I haven't tried restoring it yet though I have done a hard restart. I guess a restore is the next step.

Since there haven't been a flurry of posts about the issue I suppose it's safe to assume that either:
1) It's an issue with my particular iPad
2) It's a setting that I've somehow overlooked.

I'll try restoring and update the post when I get home. I appreciate the input.

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Answer 7

Jul 19, 2010 3:57 PM in response to RenegadeTK

Hmm... Maybe it's a problem with the head-phones?
If nothing work, try rebooting or restoring.
I was also going to suggest the e-mail alert...

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Answer 8

RenegadeTK Author

Level 1

1 points

Jul 21, 2010 1:10 PM in response to Pietro Esteves

Well, it appears that it is an issue with the notifications. Instead of making the notification sound when a new e-mail message arrives, it fades whatever it is playing in and out briefly.

I suppose it's working the way it is designed to, but I would rather hear something over the music rather than just have the audio cease for a second.

Oh well. Thanks everyone for your input.

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Answer 9

Ricarvic

Level 1

0 points

Mar 30, 2011 12:17 PM in response to RenegadeTK

Maybe you figured it out after a year. But I just had the same problem today with my ipod's music fading in and out randomly. And after a while of thinking about it, I nailed it! It happens because you're downloading songs in the background through itunes. When itunes is processing the song at the end of its download, the music you're playing on your ipod will fade for some seconds and then come back. I Hope this helps you, or whoever has the same prob.

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Answer 10

Jihatchi

Level 1

0 points

Oct 14, 2011 8:22 AM in response to Ricarvic

Ricarvic,

Thank you for this update. This was happening on my iPhone 3Gs, and was making it impossible for me to use as an ipod. I was in the process of downloading some of my purchases from the iCloud while listening to music simultaenously, and the music would fade out and fade back in at seemingly random intervals. I thought this was a "sleep" or "power-saving" sort of setting, but quickly found that it was not related to the iPhone/iTunes/iPod settings.

Your post nailed it on the head. The downloads are finished, and the fade-out/fade-in audio level changes have stopped.

Thank you for updating this thread!

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Answer 11

Nov 18, 2011 12:16 AM in response to Jihatchi

I can confirm this too.

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Answer 12

MegaDamo

Level 1

0 points

Nov 18, 2011 5:14 PM in response to DJ John Dow

As do I.

But regardless, I class this as dumb and very annoying. I have looked for options to disable this annoyance but have found none.

I am currently trying to listen to music on my ipad 2 whist downloading an album with three dozen tunes.

You can imagine the result.

Not impressed, it seems that things must be done the Apple way, and personal preferences of the consumer regarding such matters are ignored in apple land.

Glad I bought a Samsung Galaxy S2 rather than an iPhone 4S. I can do as I wish with this device and the screen is Kick ***.

Not impressed.

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Answer 13

songsta

Level 1

13 points

Nov 30, 2011 3:14 AM in response to RenegadeTK

I'm having this issue too. It isn't related to me downloading purchases in the background with iCloud, as I don't have that enabled. It seems to be due to some sort of notification that is happening, but I haven't yet figured out what it is about. It can't be mail because I don't have push mail enabled. This is really frustrating, as I use my iPhone every day at gym and continually have this volume attenuation randomly without any notifications appearing! This never happened before iOS5.

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Answer 14

nhelder

Level 1

0 points

Dec 16, 2011 5:10 PM in response to a Mac user

Having push emails being sent to your iPad would trigger a decrease in volume for the mail bong noise, then the volume would return to normal.

...is there any way to prevent this from happening?

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Answer 15

tkoozz

Level 1

0 points

Feb 21, 2012 10:32 AM in response to nhelder

I think I found a solution, at least in my case...

If you use the Gmail app (not in Safari, but the actual App), it has "Sound" notifications enabled by default.

Once I disabled that, the random audio volume fade in/out is GONE from both my iPad and iPhone.

I guess whenever I got a new email it'd fade the audio in/out, and since my mute switch is on, it wouldn't make a sound, but just fade the audio in/out.

I figured this out because whenever I have the Rdio app playing and I open the Gmail app, the music would stop. Not sure why the Gmail app has to hijack the background audio. Sounds like a bug with the Gmail app.

But once I went to Settings > Gmail > turned "Sounds" OFF.

And I disabled Gmail sounds in:

Settings > Notifications > Gmail > "Sounds" to OFF.

It stopped!

Hope this helps!

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