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Level 1

82 points

iTunes stops updating podcasts / iTunes has stopped updating this podcast because you have not listened to any episodes recently. Would you like to resume updating this podcast?

Hi,

My iTunes is set to automatically update podcasts and keep the last five episodes of each podcast.

However, iTunes appears to stop updating podcasts after several (five?) unwatched episodes and gives me an exclamation mark in the podcast overview. Clicking on that, I get the message: "iTunes has stopped updating this podcast because you have not listened to any episodes recently. Would you like to resume updating this podcast?"

This is not what I intend... and not what I told iTunes to do... (at least this my reading of the below settings)

This stopping is rather less then ideal: (1) if I am going away for two weeks, which I often do, I would still like to have the last five days of news, not the last five days of news back from the date I left, (2) I need to click update for approx. 20 podcast on regular basis, (3) my iPhone is synced to iTunes as soon as I come home, if iTunes does not have the podcasts downloaded, they are not copied over to the iPhone, and the iPhone will attempt to download the episodes via 3G next time I play the podcast on the go, (4) I am mainly using iTunes functions, such as smart playlists and podcasts, through another app (Plex, a fullscreen media player) and it is a pain to have to go to iTunes to manually do things. That is why this bothering me...

How can I get iTunes to behave as intended? (From reading through old posts I know that there is a Doug script adressing this problem, which I have just set up, but I would prefer to use internal settings if possible... maybe I am just missing a setting)

Thank you for your ideas!

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4), 4GB RAM, Intel Core Duo 2, 3.06 GHz

Posted on Feb 9, 2014 12:21 AM

37 replies

stagj

Level 1

0 points

Aug 8, 2014 2:27 AM in response to stagj

Looks like the issue might have been fixed:

Tunes 11.3.1 addresses a problem where subscribed podcasts may stop updating with new episodes and resolves an issue where iTunes may become unresponsive while browsing your podcasts episodes in a list.

Aug 8, 2014 4:28 AM in response to stagj

I hope so; I just installed the update but it didn't clear the current batch of exclamation marks. I cleared them by hand, we'll have to see if the come back or not.

Aug 10, 2014 10:33 AM in response to stagj

Unfortunately, 11.3.1 did not fix the problem. iTunes just flagged another podcast as "not recently listened to" despite the fact that there are no episodes in the feed that I have not listened to.

stagj

Level 1

0 points

Aug 12, 2014 3:54 AM in response to porkchop_d_clown

yep, I just had 8 podcasts flagged and I'd listened to all of them in the last few days.

Aug 20, 2014 3:38 AM in response to _daniel_

I also have been using iTunes in one way or the other for many years. It's only recently when Apple decided to implement this new "feature". My issue with this is that some of the podcasts which I listen to don't allow you to go back and get history infinitely. So if the podcast only provides the last 2 updates for download, there's no issue if I keep iTunes open (which I do) and then synch my iPod every week or so (as I have been doing). Now this timer kicks in at seemingly random times and I start loosing podcasts. Since I listen to a lot of history podcasts, missing even one or two of those causes you to miss valuable story information. Imagine trying to listen to the history of the American revolution and miss the podcast on the events around the writing of the Star Spangled Banner!!! This is definitely NOT a feature. This must be fixed or a work-around provided.

-RWR

ftolar59

Level 1

8 points

Aug 21, 2014 3:44 PM in response to Rogier_RobW

What Apple needs to understand is that I choose what podcasts I download, not them. It ****** me off to the point where I'm sorely temped to stop using iTunes completely. I can use other apps for every thing that iTunes does and there are plenty of other places to buy music, TV shows, and Movies. They can go without the money I spend.

And from what I've read about Yosemite, I won't touch it. So when support for Mavericks ends, I'll recycle my Macs and replace them with something else.

Aug 23, 2014 3:39 PM in response to Howard Brazee

It seems to happen often with a series of podcasts I get every Friday "Science Friday".

dtae

Level 1

0 points

Aug 27, 2014 10:12 AM in response to _daniel_

Same problems here, plus crashing problems with the latest iTunes. I shouldn't have upgraded. Contemplating downgrading to an earlier version of iTunes or more likely just switching to a third podcast/music handler. iTunes has always been a bloated poor application, but it used to redeem itself by handling podcasts very nicely...

Another person in the thread called this "motherly", I'd say "big-brotherly" is the more apt allusion...;-)

ftolar59

Level 1

8 points

Aug 27, 2014 10:19 AM in response to dtae

I'm very pleased to see that others find this practice ridiculous. Apple needs to reign in it's urge to control it's users. Or it might find itself without users.

Aug 29, 2014 8:19 AM in response to Howard Brazee

Odd, I just got back from vacation and had a week's full of podcasts - without this problem.

Aug 30, 2014 8:29 AM in response to Howard Brazee

Until today. Now I have a podcast that I just can't seem to get downloaded, no matter how often I click on the cloud/download button.

ftolar59

Level 1

8 points

Aug 30, 2014 1:28 PM in response to Howard Brazee

Are you getting an error code?

wevowva

Level 1

0 points

Sep 20, 2014 10:36 AM in response to ftolar59

Apple explain purpose of "feature" please.

? Preserve HD space (1TB / 20 MB = 50,000 podcasts! really?)

? Reduce screen clutter... How about:

Anybody seriously care about or use any of these "features" (refresh, reset plays, uncheck??? then what do I get?)

I am not a Luddite, but this feature is stupid. Get rid of it.

Sep 20, 2014 12:02 PM in response to wevowva

That explanation would be more reasonable if it had a constant (configurable) date to make that assumption. But within the last couple of months, it will start doing it with podcasts that are a day later than the previous one I received and listened to. Randomly.

felixds

Level 1

5 points

Nov 18, 2014 9:19 PM in response to Donot Haveone

It seems that the Apple gods have gone you one better in iTunes 12. Now they download podcasts only every other or every third or forth day. Actually it is probably the NSA deciding what you can and cannot listen to.

As they continue to "improve" iTunes it only gets worse and worse....Get out while you still can!!

iTunes stops updating podcasts / iTunes has stopped updating this podcast because you have not listened to any episodes recently. Would you like to resume updating this podcast?