Audible books not playing on Apple Watch, even though iPhone and Apple watch have synced.

Hello

I suffered from exactly the same problem, went through everything obvious, reinstalled both apps etc.

Contacted Amazon who were very nice but did not provide any solution....

However, I spoke to someone who suggested I go into the phone app profile>settings (gear wheel)>download and change from 'single-part' to 'multi-part'. (They also suggested 'standard' quality but I was already using that).

It worked first time afterwards although I haven't used it for very long , but I'm passing it on in the hope it works for you.

Best wishes.

I too have had this issue. It is sporadic but I have been successful a couple times. As previously stated, there is a direct relationship to the size of the book and the length of time the sync takes. Today I had success by first updating my iphone (not sure why it doesn’t automatically even though it’s set up that way). Second, I removed Audible from my watch via a the watch app and then re-installed it. Then , while the watch was on the charger, I added/synced the book to my Watch. I left it to sync for about an hour just to be sure. When I returned, initially the watch app didn’t respond (play didn't work) then I turned off the Bluetooth on the phone. Closed Audible on the watch and I put in my wireless headphones, heard them connect to the watch, then I opened Audible on the watch- it played! I then turned back on the Bluetooth on the phone to test and the watch kept playing. I was able to leave the phone home and go on a run. Pain in the &$$ but it worked! Unfortunately, I do not know which step was the successful step, however I suspect it was the update and/or Bluetooth issue(s). Good luck!

So far this is the only solution that worked for me. Turning off Bluetooth on the iPhone and then connecting my AirPods to the Audible app on the watch. The whole book is now displayed on the watch. After a few minutes to make sure I’m able to listen from Audible app, I turned the Bluetooth on again on the iPhone. Now it is still working. Thanks Momlas!

I had this same problem and one of the suggestions here fixed it in my case, I deleted the book from the watch, turned off Bluetooth on my phone then transferred the book again with Bluetooth off, and while the watch was still on the charger I started playing the book. Now it seems to play fine the normal way.

I think we’re all experiencing the same problem in the audible app (although for me and others it also won’t play). That’s why I am using “Now Playing” app (Outside the Audible app) as a workaround. Once I select the book in Audible, opening “Now Playing” will both play and controls the audio. I’ve added an image pointing out the “Now Playing” app icon.

Thank you the "now playing" seem to work. Also, when I turned off bluetooth on the iphone BEFORE synching the book to the watch, it not only went a lot faster but seemed to work when all things prior didn't. So try that. Hope it helps. This is so ridiculous!

This worked for me! And it makes sense considering the previous post about the problem being specific to large books. The one I was trying for days to get working was 16 hours. I deleted from the watch and iPhone. Changed the setting to multipart and re-downloaded it to the phone. I got 2 parts, and synced to the watch one at a time. It took awhile to even show up on the watch after the phone said it was complete, but it finally did and plays perfectly. I can't thank you enough for taking the time to post this solution

Turning Bluetooth off on my phone while syncing the book to my Apple Watch did it for me! Went MUCH faster too.

For me, it works sometimes. Really, it’s just a terrible app.

Audible help say there are no known issues!

I’m convinced it’s a problem with the upload being damaged or incomplete even when it says it is ok. 

This is at least in part because over Bluetooth it takes so long but also because I’ve tested and the app on the phone says it’s complete when it absolutely isn’t- because I haven't even had the phone on. Sometimes you get an error message and its says it can’t find the phone but sometimes it says it’s worked ok.

I still feel using the option to send it in parts helps because it’s less likely to get corrupted, but it doesn’t always help.

Also, it’s much better if you can upload over wifi but that doesn’t always work either but it's much faster and much less likely to break down. When the upload stops then it has to find where it was to start again and I think that maybe the problem. Something I thought we had done away with +20 years ago, but I think that's it.

The way to do this on wifi is to start to synch over Bluetooth and when it’s going, then turn off Bluetooth on the phone in settings (it must be in settings) and after a couple of minutes if you are lucky, it’ll pick it up in Wifi and complete the upload in about 10 minutes. or even less. It still likes to be on charge but you might get it to work without.

 The phone and the watch have to be on the same wifi network. 

After it’s uploaded, it should be accessible straight away but if it isn’t you can reboot the watch and it’ll pop up.

 However it’s more than likely that the file is damaged and the controls won’t work afterwards if it doesn’t work straight away.

If it doesn’t work, the best thing is to delete it and have another go. It might take 2 or 3 goes. I’ve persisted this way and got a book to work.

It also seems to help if you haven’t started the book on the phone. I’ve never managed to get it to work on the watch so far if I’m ever at any place than the start to so maybe that’s messing it up too?  Just what I've found for others with no problems, this may well work perfectly.

It is also a good idea to delete it on the phone if you have started then redownload and go straight to synching. This worked for me once when I couldn't get it to work.

If you’ve got it working and it freezes closing the app should fix that.

You do this slightly differently depending on your watch model (and I’m not an expert) but they all involve pressing the power button and then some manipulation like sliding the app screen that appear across to shut it down. I think on some models you press the crown after : you probably know on yours.

 When you start it again the controls should work again if they worked before. This doesn’t help if they have never worked however.

I have never got the controls to work paired to any other headphones either. AirPods, yes but nothing else for me.

We are all really trying to make sense of this. I post this not because I’m sure I have a solution but in the hope it helps a bit and maybe leads to a better solution from someone else.

It may also be linked to a particular version of the watch too considering the way to shut an app is slightly different there must be differences. 

Mine is a 5. 

Good luck everyone.

Not that this is a great solution, but I find that it takes two times of syncing a book to my series 3 watch before it will actually play (I sync it once then delete it and sync it again). It has worked every time.

Wow guy, you made my day!!

I tried EVERYTHING discussed but nothing helped. I had a multi-part audio book synced (around 7 hours) but was not able to play it.

Finally, you trick " WHILE THE WATCH IS STILL ON THE CHARGER, Open The Audible App on the watch and play" solved the issue.

Also without the watch now being on the charger I can perfectly play the same book and it seems, that other books are also now playing fine.

I seem to have solved the problem. For the last two days I have placed my AirPods in my ears after opening the Audible App on my phone, and then the Apple Watch controls for the app begin working.

When I reduced my 8 synced books to 3, then it played.

I just called Audible/Amazon and was told it not playing audio books from the Library is a known issue with lots of complaints, and it has been referred to their developers several times. He is confident there will be an update that will fix this bug. I paused my Audible membership for 3 months (no payments or credits; still have access to Library).

Thank you for your post. My issue is that once the titles are downloaded ( I have two titles on the watch right now and, yes, I let them download overnight) , the Audible controls on the watch don’t work. I have learned that if I tap the ‘library’ icon on the watch twice, I can toggle between the titles and then touch the title I want to listen to, the audio then works through the AirPods. BUT I can’t use the audible controls on the watch: no pause, no rewind, etc. If I remove the AirPods then the playback stops. I don’t want to take my phone with me on my walks—that’s the reason I invested in the watch and the AirPods. Ironically, the controls worked PERFECTLY for two days, and I thought I had the issue resolved....