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Level 1

1 points

My Playlists won't play in the correct order

My problem, whenever I play my playlist(s) on my shuffle, they play in alphabetical order by the artist. I can't figure out how to change this setting.

When I'm in ITunes and my shuffle's connected I can sync my playlist(s) normally.

After I sync there are two "items" listed under my IPod Shuffle: "Music" which has all the songs in my playlist but ordered alphabetically by artist, and "Playlist" which has the same songs but ordered correctly.

It's obvious that the shuffle's playing the "Music" folder as opposed to "Playlist", and I've tried changing the order of songs in "Music", but nothing can be edited.

It's very frustrating that I can't figure out how to get my songs to play in the correct order. Can someone please share with me how to fix this issue?

Thanks.

Message was edited by: aptsshagy

Ipod Shuffle, 4th gen

Posted on Oct 27, 2010 2:30 PM

24 replies

hughfarn

Level 1

0 points

Mar 8, 2011 3:40 PM in response to UKOutpost

I have found that I can play tracks sorted by various Itunes column headings but the secondary sort is always the Artist so if I chose the number of plays as the main sort criteria it will then play all the artists alphabetically within the same number of plays.
What I would like to see is at least 2 sort criteria in Itunes so that I could, for instance , sort by number of plays and then by song title to get a more varied play list .
I do not want to listen to 10 tracks by a single artist in succession and would rather listen to different artists and even different genre - especially if I am on a long journey. Surely Apple can come up with this simple solution

Johnmacc

Level 1

0 points

Apr 3, 2011 1:27 AM in response to UKOutpost

Hi,

Please see my post on 13 Feb 2011. It tells you how the Shuffle plays playlists.

John

Nov 27, 2011 11:43 PM in response to PT

Indeed the function is poorly documented (if documented at all). As wel as completely unnecessary: why doesent the iPod (app or device) not just follow the sort-choice made in iTunes?

And for a smart playlist: you have to "copy to playlist" each and every time the contents in your playlist changes!

Jan 12, 2012 8:01 AM in response to jukinjim

This is the correct solution to the problem I was having. The default is indeed "ALL SONGS" and they play in alphabetical order by artist.

Make sure you're on your playlist by doing what jukinjim mentions, and assuming you have the button on the shuffle in the middle setting it should work.

Jan 20, 2012 5:49 PM in response to jukinjim

I tried all the other suggestions e.g copy to play order, manage music manually, but this is the one that worked for me. I added another playlist and then pressed play when I heard the playlist that I wanted. Thanks! What a waste of several hours.

pakman80

Level 1

0 points

Apr 6, 2012 9:34 AM in response to aptsshagy

I don't know how everyone got on with this, but i found that when i went in to each playlist

Right click on it
edit smart playlist
deselect "live updating"

then synced my device again, it put it in the right order for me

dumbscot

Level 1

0 points

May 11, 2012 3:13 AM in response to aptsshagy

I found a simple solution. Playback order of playlists seems to be controlled through the iPod, not the PC. So simply go to the main menu on your iPod (NOT connected to your PC) and select Settings. Then scoll to Shuffle, and click it to Off. Simple. Works for me.

If you want to shuffle All songs or anything else, just turn Shuffle back to On.

In E-Z speak: On your Ipod (not connected): Main Menu>Settings>Shuffle>Off.

Apr 13, 2013 9:04 AM in response to PT

Thanks to PT for the simple solution (in response to the original question -- Oct '10). It seems like the software -- three years later -- should just leave the song order alone without having to tell it not to mess with it, but it's a painless fix. I appreciate your taking time to set the rest of us straight.

dennisar

Level 1

4 points

Aug 11, 2016 3:43 AM in response to Johnmacc

This worked for me and I've been trying for awhile to have my shuffle play the songs in my playlist in order with no luck. Try it, you might also find these directions work for you. Thanks, John

My Playlists won't play in the correct order