Android: Audio stops and stations disappear

[TheCarsForever]

I primarily use the Android Pandora app and am finding that after playing for awhile, the audio stops and all stations disappear.  I can get the stations back if I force stop the app and clear the cache, but then they will disappear again after playing for awhile.  I am on a free account and know content will stop playing after awhile, but having the stations disappear is definitely new.  This started in the past week or so and is making Pandora a real hassle to use.  Any thoughts why this is occurring and how to stop the stations from disappearing?

Moderator Edit: Edited title for clarity

[MusicFan0692]

@TheCarsForever Welcome to the community!!! I am not sure why it stops playing and then the stations disappear. I have had my family premium account for year or so but never had thst happen and previously I had a free account and it didnt do that. I would love to help but unfortunately I can't. I do hope someone is able to help you because that is really weird. Feel free to look under the GSOTD. GSOTD (Genre Songs Of The Day) (Clean Only)@MOHLovesAlaska posts I believe daily on it and he does a really job. He also posts The Meaning Behind the Song... Daily on here. He does a really good job and is a really great person. Take care 💖. Hope to hear from you soon @TheCarsForever 

[AdamPandora]

@TheCarsForever Sorry to hear about the trouble.

Could you explain what's happening in more detail? The more information you can provide, the better I can help.

When this issue occurs: 

• Is the app still open in the background where you're able to press play and resume music or do you need to close and relaunch the app to continue listening?
• Does an error message appear when the music stops? If so, what does it say?
• Are you listening to a station, album, playlist, or podcast? 
• Are you connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data?
  •  If using Wi-Fi, are you able to recover the listening session by toggling Wi-Fi off?
• Are you using a Bluetooth connection?
• Can you please send me a screenshot of what you're seeing when your stations disappear?

Additionally, please provide your device model, Android OS, One UI (if on Samsung), and Pandora app versions:

• Model:
• Android version (Settings > About Phone > Android version):
• One UI version: (Settings > About Phone > Software information):
• Pandora version (Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > Find Pandora):

Thanks for your help!

[TheCarsForever]

Hi @AdamPandora,

Thanks for the quick response.  I will respond to your questions below, but feel free to let me know if I miss anything:

1. Is The App Still Open: The app is open, but the stations list is empty.  After force stop/clear cache, the list will be available.  Prior to the station list 'emptying', a station was open and playing with the track art displayed, but the empty stations listing is shown when the issue occurs.
2. Play/resume music: There is no content, including the station previously playing, available to play or resume.
3. Error Message: No error, just a blank stations list and nothing playing.
4. Are you listening to a station, album, playlist, or podcast?: Sorry I was unclear, but this is related to issues with stations.  There may be issues with other content, but I typically use stations when using Pandora.
5. Wifi or cellular: This is on WiFi.
6. Bluetooth: I am using Bluetooth headphones.  I have tried several different sets without a change.
7. Screenshot: I don't have one presently, but will capture one the next time it occurs.  Nothing is abnormal on the screen other than there are no stations showing in the station list.
8. Stations: I don't have a ton of stations - 11 - but they have been curated over many years.  One station was created fairly recently with the hopes that it would not experience the issue, but it has the same problem.
9. Time Before Issue: I do not know how long playing before there is an issue as I often use Pandora overnight for sound while sleeping.  In the past when a station would stop playing I could tap the earbud or start playing again directly in the app, but now stations are not available when this occurs so cannot do so.  The lack of audio usually wakes me up and it is happening a few times a night so suspect it occurs within 1-2 hours but could be sooner.

Phone info:

• ThinkPhone by Motorola
• Android 15
• Pandora: Version 2510.1

This is very odd and really impacts usability of the app.  If I can provide any additional info, do not hesitate to let me know.

[AdamPandora]

Thank you for the detailed reply, @TheCarsForever.

I've enabled a trace on your account to help us better understand what's happening.

For this trace to be useful, we'll need you to run through our troubleshooting steps once more: Troubleshooting for Android Devices

If it happens again, please make sure to grab a screenshot of what you are seeing and send it in a reply to this message.

(Please note you won't be able to attach images via email - you will need to open this Community link in a web browser in order to provide attachments)

Thanks again for working with me on this.

[TheCarsForever]

Thanks again for the quick help!  I have muted my phone and starting playing a station.  I suspect the issue will occur in the next hour or two.  That said, I may use my phone during this time and overnight, it sits completely idle in the charger while playing so if that is part of the issue it may not occur.  Worst case, I suspect it will recur overnight and I can reply with a screenshot of the empty stations listing afterward.  Appreciate you helping me out!

[TheCarsForever]

Oddly, the station stopped playing fairly quickly and returned to the station list which did have stations displayed.  I have connected my primary Bluetooth earbuds and am trying again.  This is much closer to the setup when playing overnight so hopefully that will trigger the issue as opposed to a completely different fluke 🙂

FYI - I have power cycled the phone a couple times since the issue started and even received a minor phone update with no change in the quirk occurring.  Wanted to share that the 'turn it off' troubleshooting step had been done.

[AdamPandora]

Thanks for keeping us updated, @TheCarsForever.

Make sure to run through the full list of troubleshooting recommendations here if you haven't already done so: Troubleshooting for Android Devices

If you are able to reproduce the issue, please let us know the name of the station you were listening to, along with sending us the screenshot of your missing station list.

Thanks again!

[TheCarsForever]

Thanks for the troubleshooting link.  I have been clearing the cache with no change, Pandora is installed on local memory and confirmed it is setup to use battery in the background.  I didn't worry about the audio settings as there are no sound issues, but if you think they could cause what I have detailed, I can temporarily downgrade the audio quality.

[TheCarsForever]

@AdamPandora: About an hour of playtime and the audio stopped, then this is the screen the app sits at.

Pandora After Issue

Prior to this, the Comedy #2 station was playing with the track art and player controls being displayed.  I left the phone playing through Bluetooth earbuds on a Qi wireless charger until it stopped and did not interact with the phone to simulate what I do overnight.

If you have any suggestions to try just let me know.

Thanks again!

[TheCarsForever]

@AdamPandora - Wanted to let you know that this issue occurred again last evening about 5-6 times.  You noted adding a trace on my account to help research this, so wanted to let you know as hopefully this will provide some good information about the issue.  Thanks again for your help!

[TheCarsForever]

@AdamPandora: Overnight this weekend, the station would stop playing multiple times and would not start playing when tapping the earbud button.  Checking the screen would show the same blank station list and had to force stop the app and clear cache to start audio again.  On Sunday night, this happened a few times (music stop & stations gone), then there was a difference about midway through the night where Pandora would play 1-2 tracks, then stop but I could start again by pressing the earbud button.  The oddity was that I would only get 1-2 more tracks before audio stopped again with the stations eventually disappearing after a number of times doing this which required me to force stop/clear cache to start playing again.  Hope this helps when evaluating the trace.

[AdamPandora · Accepted solution]

Hey @TheCarsForever, thanks for trying!

I was checking your account and wanted to make sure that you cleared app data as well - you would have been logged out and needed to log back. I'm currently seeing your last connection with Pandora from earlier this year and June.

Here are the steps once more:

1. Clear data* for Pandora in your phone's settings.
   • Press the menu key from the home screen on your device (not your Pandora app).
   • Tap Settings.
   • Tap Apps.
   • Select Pandora.
   • Tap Clear data from the storage details page (you may have to tap Storage to see that option).
2. Return to the Pandora app, and log back into your account after completing the above steps.

Keep in mind that the steps for each Android device are slightly different.

Let me know if you run into any issue with this.

[TheCarsForever]

Hello - Sorry for missing the Clear Data step previously!  Very interesting that you are not seeing any recent sign-ins as I use Pandora daily for a number of hours each day.  I have forced stop, cleared cache & cleared storage (equivalent to clear data on my device).  After this, I started Pandora and signed in.  I will try again this evening and see if there any change in functionality.  Thanks!

[TheCarsForever]

Last night the audio worked normally.  Very odd that I was showing not having connected since June, but very glad to find that clearing the data/storage appears to have resolved the issue!  Appreciate your help and patience getting me back to using Pandora!

[AdamPandora]

I'm happy to hear that, @TheCarsForever. 😁

Enjoy the music, and hope we continue to see you around the community!