iTunes Match streaming with gaps between songs since ios7.1 update

Hi Luckytwn

Thanks for the update. That is a start - at least they are acknowledging there is an issue! You're making better progress than I am. The IOS Senior Adviser I'm corresponding with tells me my case is still being looked into. As soon as I hear further I'll post his response here.

Hi jimhuibspht

Like you I am making little progress with Apple so far. I am continuing to chase the IOS Senior Adviser who has been corresponding with me but as of right now he says the matter is still being investigated.

I did point out that it took my 12 year old niece five minutes to replicate this problem on her iPhone and surely amongst Apple's highly paid army of technicians there must be someone with an iPhone and an iTunes Match account who can try streaming a live album!

At the very least I want confirmation of what Luckytwn was told - that it is an issue and they are attempting to resolve it.

I'm sorry to say I have still had nothing back from Apple on this other than repetative emails assuring me it is being looked into. I don't know if it will do any good but I have emailed Tim Cook today and have posted the content of my email below:

Dear Mr Cook

I am writing to you because it has proved quite impossible to get a meaningful response from your team of advisors.

I have two issues I’d like to raise with you – the problem itself and the extremely poor customer care I have subsequently received.

The Problem

On the 12th March 2014 I installed the 7.1 update on all my IOS devices. From that point onwards when I stream music from iTunes Match I get a gap between each track. This is not a big issue when listening to studio albums but it completely destroys the experience of listening to a live concert recording and devalues the iTunes Match service. My iMac and Apple TV are unaffected and continue to stream music seamlessly but my iPad, iPod and iPhone (all three IOS devices) will only stream music with a 3 second gap between each track.

The whole purpose of having an iTunes Match account is to store my large music collection remotely and stream any recording I want on the Apple product I choose. If I download recordings to an IOS device they will play seamlessly, but that defeats the aim of having all my music in the cloud without the need to store it on a physical product.

It is apparent from a thread on the Apple Support Communities forum (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5992086?start=0&tstart=0) that many other iTunes Match subscribers who stream live music are having the same problem. Also a number of friends and relatives with iTunes Match accounts have been able to confirm the fault exists on their IOS7.1 devices.

I suspect only a minority of iTunes Match customers have noticed this issue (as most probably don’t stream a lot of live music) but I can assure you that this problem is real and it is affecting those of us who stream live recordings.

I have heard you say how important music and music fans are to Apple. I would be very grateful if this ‘glitch’ could be fixed so that I and others can get back to enjoying our music through iTunes Match rather than chasing your advisors and posting on forums.

Customer Care

Let me start by saying that I am a recent Apple convert. I love the simplicity and reliability of your products and it is hard to imagine going back to a time without Apple products in my life. That said an organization is only as good as the customer care it provides. I have to say my customer experience regarding this matter has been extremely poor.

Since the 12th March 2014 I have spent several hours on the phone to Apple Technical Support (at my own expense) concerning this matter. I have spoken to three different advisors. Neither of the first two advisors I spoke to respond to me when they said they would. The third adviser has responded to three emails I have sent him but can only say the matter is still being investigated.

My overwhelming feeling is that I’m not seen as a customer, but as a rather inconsequential and slightly irritating problem. The inference I get from those I’ve spoken to is that because there are not hundreds of thousands of people complaining about this it’s obviously just me being foolish and stupid. They have all tried to deal with this as though it is an isolated problem with my account, which it clearly isn’t. Although all three advisers have been pleasant they have lacked empathy. I realize they are dealing with lots of people ringing up for all sorts of reasons but it’s important not to assume everyone who contacts Apple doesn’t know what they are talking about.

Had I been able to talk directly to someone at Apple with an IOS7.1 device and an iTunes Match account they could have confirmed this was an issue in just a few minutes on the phone.

I have spent many hours adding music to my iTunes Match account but I’m no longer getting value for money if I can only use it for storing and not streaming my live recordings.

I do hope this matter will be resolved soon. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this.

No idea if this will make any difference but I will post any response I receive.

Hi magnard

Thanks for confirming it is definitely an issue with the 7.1 update. Agree with all you say about asking for a refund.

Since my letter of complaint to Tim Cook I have been contacted by an Executive Relations Manager at Apple this week and tomorrow a Senior Technical Specialist is ringing me. I feel as though I am making some progress and I will post an update here tomorrow after they have called me.

Thanks woodstocknick for the suggested app - may go for that if I get no joy tomorrow.

The most annoying aspect of all this is being treated like an idiot by Apple! Their attitude is that becuase hundreds of thousands of people are not complaining it's obviously not a problem and it must be something I'm doing wrong!

I'm not going to stop chasing them until I get a positive confirmation that this is a 7.1 issue and they plan to fix it.