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Level 1

32 points

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

Hi - I foolishly made the mistake of installing the 7.1 update on all my ios devices yesterday morning! Since then when I stream music from iTunes Match I get a gap between each track. Not a problem when listening to studio albums but a total nightmare when it comes to listening to live concert recordings, of which I have many.

My iMac seems to be unaffected and streams live music seamlessly but all three ios devices have this same problem. If I download the recording to the device it plays seamlessly but that rather defeats the aim of having all my music in the cloud without the need to store it on a device. I have been in touch with Apple who don't have any answers but seem to think the update may have changed the way ios now interacts with iTunes Match. They are looking in to it and will come back to me.

Have been through multiple reboots and iTunes Match re-installs etc without any joy. I have also had the same problem when trying to stream over a cellular network and another wireless network.

Is anyone else experiencing this problem? I'd welcome any help or suggestions...thanks.

iPad (4th gen) Wi-Fi, iOS 7.1

Posted on Mar 13, 2014 10:17 AM

103 replies

rayworth15 Author

Level 1

32 points

Apr 18, 2014 8:59 AM in response to Community User

Thanks David...I can assure you I intend to keep the support ticket open until I get a satisfactory response which I hope to eventually post here.

rayworth15 Author

Level 1

32 points

Apr 18, 2014 9:07 AM in response to Community User

Have just received this response to my latest email from Apple:

Thank you for your email.

I regret that you are dissatisfied with our response, this is not our intention. I have reviewed your situation and have provided Apple's answer. There is no further escalation point or anyone I can transfer you to that is going to provide a different answer at this time.

I think this just says it all really.

Luckytwn

Level 1

0 points

Apr 18, 2014 10:01 AM in response to rayworth15

As a fairly large Apple shareholder, I would like whoever edited my post to contact me to explain why my post was editied. It is utterly bizarre that a line that said nothing more than "I am going to email Tim Cook as well about this issue" would be removed. Is it a secret that Tim Cook is the CEO of Apple?

Should there be any further unnecessary editing of my posts, I am not only going to take it up with Mr. Cook but also with Investor Relations and I'm going to work hard to see that the person responsible is removed from their job.

The bottom line is that we are paying for a service that is defective and instead of editing content that is not profane or inappropriate in any way, Apple should working to resolve the issue.

ianb11

Level 3

553 points

Apr 19, 2014 9:36 AM in response to rayworth15

I'm guessing that this will get edited as well but what an awful awful response that is.

There is quite clearly an issue with the software since the update & Apple are absolutely unwilling to do anything about it which is complete different than unable. Basically it could be sorted if they wanted it to but won't which is completely unacceptable.

As much as I like the service as I use it regularly & I would miss it I will cancel my subscription & I'd suggest others to do the same.

magnard

Level 1

4 points

Apr 23, 2014 2:53 AM in response to Community User

I am shocked and saddened that my inoffensive post of support for this letter has been deleted. I have today cancelled my iTunes Match subscription and am redownloading (with tons or error messages lol) my music collection to my desktop. I can now also disable the idiotic Genius feature, which was non optional with iTunes Match. About to try the Amazon Cloud Player Premium service which, as Amazon is generally cheaper than iTunes for downloads anyway, seems the way to go now that Apple have decided that reverting to a service that once allowed customers to listen to music as its supposed to be played (ie without stupid gaps) isn't a priority for them. Cue 'delete post' from the land of the once free...

joakes66

Level 1

4 points

Apr 23, 2014 2:46 PM in response to rayworth15

Bummer. Now it's messed up for me again. And the $3 3rd party app mentioned on earlier posts is also getting the same gaps. I tried "The Wall" with both the built-in player and the 3rd party app, and there were gaps between each song with both apps.

This is so frustrating. I do not want to have to upload everything to Amazon; that would be a nightmare too.

I emailed Apple tech support about this; haven't heard back yet. Maybe if enough people complain about it they will fix it (yea, right).

Apr 23, 2014 3:51 PM in response to joakes66

It started working for me and a few others here a while ago.

My theory is they're phasing in a fix gradually to random accounts. It's a common plan by developers to make sure a fix doesn't break something else.

rayworth15 Author

Level 1

32 points

Apr 24, 2014 11:47 AM in response to magnard

Hi all...still no joy on this for me and no further response from Apple. However I have noticed the way Apple describe whether iTunes Match streams or downloads songs in their FAQ's is interesting. They certainly seem to be indicating you can stream on a computer and Apple tv but that IOS devices 'start playing tracks as they download'. Does anyone know if this is new wording?

Does iTunes Match stream or download songs?

On a computer, any songs stored in iCloud will stream over the air when played, though you can download them at any time by clicking the iCloud download button. iOS devices will start playing tracks from iCloud as they download and will store them so that you can listen to them later even if you don’t have a network connection. Apple TV only streams songs.

joakes66

Level 1

4 points

Apr 24, 2014 1:28 PM in response to rayworth15

Apr 24, 2014 1:35 PM in response to rayworth15

On iOS devices you don't really stream. Songs are cached and the cache is deleted when your device runs out of space.

ianb11

Level 3

553 points

Apr 25, 2014 1:27 AM in response to woodstocknick

Correct but doesn't explain why it "streamed" without gaps before the last update.

I honestly don't think it's fit for purpose now.

magnard

Level 1

4 points

Apr 25, 2014 1:42 AM in response to ianb11

I agree, which why I've abandoned it. Amazon Cloud Player is just as bad if not worse - I get gaps streaming Dark Side of The Moon on the iOS and even the Mac version of the app! I even get them on the downloaded versions. Is there a service out there that lets you play classic (and classical music) without clunky gaps? There must be!

ianb11

Level 3

553 points

Apr 25, 2014 10:08 AM in response to magnard

Probably my imagination but it seems to getting worse, gap is absolutely massive between tracks.

It's got so bad I've stopped using it which is completely unacceptable as I'm paying for a service I can't use.

Apr 25, 2014 10:28 AM in response to ianb11

I just streamed Pink Floyd's "The Wall" and something interesting happened. There were big gaps between the first 3 tracks, then it was seamless from that point forward. It's almost like something in the servers "woke up" and started downloading the next song before the current song ended.

davisguy

Level 1

14 points

Apr 26, 2014 11:31 AM in response to woodstocknick

I'll add my voice here. I have all kinds of music in Match, including opera - listening to an act of Wagner with 3 second gaps now in the middle of an aria - unacceptable - these are my own albums uploaded originally and not available in the US Itunes store. It is ridiculous that Apple is making this a priority.....

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