iOS: Offline Listening & How it Works

[thomastra]

can someone explain and do you have to download your entire pandora file or can you pick what to download?

[TannerPandora]

Thanks for posting to community @thomastra. I took a look at your account and noticed you use an iOS device, so to help keep things organized I've moved your post to our iOS board.

Offline Listening is available to Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium subscribers. When you lose your mobile connection, Pandora will alert you with a notification to let you know that we are switching you to one of your offline stations. This way you stay connected to your music without major interruptions.

For Pandora Plus subscribers, we will automatically choose up to three of your most-listened-to stations along with Thumbprint Radio and add them to your offline listening stations. Pandora Premium subscribers, on the other hand, can choose which additional stations, albums, songs, or playlists are downloaded.

Both Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium listeners can also switch to Offline Listening at any time, so you can save your data and take the music you love wherever you go. If you'd like steps on how to manual transition into Offline Listening, let me know. 

Let me know if you have any more questions about Offline Listening. 🎧

[rcastine08]

Hi there!

I am not able to obtain an activation code either- the issue is, is that when I attempt to change to  "offline mode", there is a pop up stating that I need an activation code to go off line. I have an iPhone 11. Any suggestions to be able to turn on my 'offline mode"?

[AlyssaPandora]

Hey there, @rcastine08. 👋

I moved your post over to this thread as it's related to your question.

I would recommend checking out @TannerPandora's post here about how offline mode works in this thread.

To listen offline from a mobile device:

1. Tap the Profile tab and then the Settings gear in the top right corner.
2. Toggle Offline Mode on.

Once Offline Mode has been enabled, you will see only the content in your collection that has been downloaded for offline listening.

++

Could it be that there isn't enough storage on your iPhone 11? Please keep in mind, Pandora will never use the last 500MB of storage on your device, so we will only download as many stations as we can before we hit that limit.

I'd also recommend disabling the offline listening feature and re-enabling it, which will reset the download process. Then, make sure to keep Pandora in the foreground of your device while the download completes.

Let me know if this helps! 📲

[mikeg44]

does the offline mode download a certain number of songs per channel? does it change the songs periodically or stay the same once it is downloaded?

[AdamPandora · Accepted solution]

@mikeg44 Nice to see you around the Community. 👋🏽

With your Pandora Plus subscription, we will automatically choose up to three of your most-listened-to stations along with Thumbprint Radio and add them to your offline listening stations.

Each offline station that is downloaded will provide approximately 3 hours of music for you to enjoy.

To prevent your stations from becoming too repetitive, we periodically refresh your offline stations based on your online listening habits and the Thumb feedback you give. 

While listening offline, it's important to continue giving feedback in the form of Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down. The next time you connect to Pandora through Wi-Fi or a mobile network, we will use that info to personalize and replace the offline tracks with new ones.

I hope this helps! 😎

[valizoe1]

So is 'my collection" offline?  Why do I buffer when I try to play selections from my collection...I pay for premium service and I am often where I have no signal and wish to enjoy playing music offline...i must be doing something wrong?  thanks in advance

[TannerPandora]

Hi @valizoe1! Thanks for posting. 

Does the buffering happen when you're in Offline Mode? The next time this happens can you take a screenshot to share with me here. (If you need help with a screenshot, I can send these over.)

When you lose your mobile connection, Pandora should alert you with a notification to let you know that we are switching you to one of your offline stations. This way you stay connected to your music without major interruptions.

We will automatically choose up to three of your most-listened-to stations along with Thumbprint Radio* and add them to your offline listening stations. However, as a Pandora Premium subscriber, you have the option to choose which additional stations, albums, songs, or playlists are downloaded. 

You also have the option to turn Offline Listening on at any time. If you need steps on how to turn on Offline Listening manually, let me know. 

Let me know. 

*If you're not seeing Thumbprint Radio in your downloaded stations, you'll need to add it to your collection.

[MNHOKIE]

This was happening to me as well... Almost cancelled then did some trouble shooting with the help of the community questions/answers!

My suggestions for those of us without the newest phones: make sure you have plenty of time/space for it to download... [SO WORTH IT!!]

I've had to/perhaps you may have to toggle the "offline" button described above while you are on stable/secure WiFi!

(my iPhone also needed to be plugged in and basically "ONLY" downloading the stations...  Not updating multiple things; especially if you are close to your max data storage.

Make sure it has its "Pandora Time" during the week (perhaps more depending on how much you listen; make sure it's not backing up at the same time)....

I run my Pandora app for literally 20-48+ hrs non-stop while I'm delivering/working.... Including falling asleep w/it on? I think the longest I snapped/posted that I've run it non-stop was for 6 days/nights.

Legitimately. That is how much I love my Pandora.... 🥰

(Other than a hiccup or 2 w/the hardware/actual physical phone resetting ... due to temps too cold/hot, it wasn't plugged into power for more than 15-120 seconds... It is plugged in too long/constantly - or 🤷🏻‍♀️just feels like it... 😂🤦🏻‍♀️)...

Personal Tip that helped me make sure it was working before I head out?!

Depending on how much I "liked"/disliked songs or play a channel - (if 'too long' & it runs out of fresh adds); next download takes awhile to make sure you have plenty of fresh music to listen to! (Worth letting it do it's thing! I found it helps to turn the phone off & on again when it's done; but mine is super close to maxed out memory & "well loved/refuse to let it go peacefully".... Gen 1 - SE)

IMNSHO?!

For $4.95; it's *seriously* the best music channel/station/ out there (without the ability of being able to literally make it look like your iTunes Library playlists! Amazon will do that; use 3x the data all the time & cost 3-4x as much 🤷🏻‍♀️)

I've had Pandora for over a decade & wouldn't give up my account/stations....

🤔 For darn near anything.

My Pandora stations/their mix stations.... have 'gotten me though'/been my sidekick on: cross country moves; grad school marathons of studying/ reading/writing/regrouping; breakups & makeups; Girl's Nights; Annual St Patrick's Day parties; many a meal cooked; OBX vacations; Football Game Day Tailgating; long Geocache/Munzee treks; & even longer poker tourneys...

Now?! A LOT of marathon Delivery days/nights (often both w/out stopping! Especially during the first part of Covid & the spike in delivery/groceries/ ROADIE & Postmates use - trying to make sure everyone stays safe/sane/ 'most comfortable' & taking care of those in quarantine as well as the Frontline Essential workers w/meals & groceries & supplies!)

Even before my Pandora subscription (I just ate through Cell Data like CRAZY!! A half gig every 24 hrs or so...)... I pay less for the subscription than data add ons... 😂🤓

HUGE fan!!

[And I try them all out/free trials just to make sure I'm not missing something!]

[Carlsdc]

I went offline while traveling. I got a message that I’d be switched to an offline station. Which it did but only played one song?

[AdamPandora]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience on the Community, @MNHOKIE.

We appreciate your support! 😁

[MusicFan1204]

How to download music from Pandora to off line listening

[AlyssaPandora]

Hi there, @MusicFan1204. 👋

I moved your post over to this existing thread to keep the community space organized: Offline Listening & How it Works 

To listen offline from a mobile device:

1. Tap the Profile tab and then the Settings gear in the top right corner.
2. Toggle Offline Mode on.

Once Offline Mode has been enabled, you will see only the content in your collection that has been downloaded for offline listening.

You can also find out more about offline listening in this helpful article.

Feel free to let us know if you have any additional questions or concerns. 🎧

[Campingmom68]

How do I get pandora offline

[TannerPandora]

Hi @Campingmom68 

Pandora Premium subscribers can download stations, playlists, albums and songs for offline listening.

Pandora will initially download your three most played stations along with Thumbprint Radio.

You can then use the following steps to add or remove music from your offline collection:

To download music for offline listening:

1. Search for an artist, station, playlist, album, or song you would like to download, and click on its name to visit its backstage page.
2. Tap the Download icon to add it to your offline collection.

To view your offline collection (while connected to a Wi-Fi or mobile network): 

1. Open My Collection.
2. Tap the Added bar underneath the artwork.
3. Select Show downloads only.

To remove sources you have downloaded:

1. Make sure the app is connected online. 
2. Sort your collection by "Show downloads only" (see above).
3. Select the source you'd like to remove and tap Downloaded to remove it from your offline collection.

To listen offline from a mobile device:

1. Tap the Profile tab and then the Settings gear in the top right corner.
2. Toggle Offline Mode on.

Once Offline Mode has been enabled, you will see only the content in your collection that has been downloaded for offline listening.

[Cvnativeinpa]

well, this is silly because if I’m in offline mode, thumbs up and thumbs down are disabled as in pandora’s words “not available”. Any suggestions?

[AdamPandora]

@Cvnativeinpa Can you please send us a screenshot of what you are seeing when the ability to Thumb tracks while in Offline Mode is unavailable?

Thanks for working with us on this. 🤝

[Jessievm00]

I’ve had pandora for years and just signed up for Pandora Plus. When I turn my wifi and wireless off to test if I get music offline i get the message that says “cannot connect to pandora” this is so frustrating and I’m about to quit 

[AlyssaPandora]

Hi there, @Jessievm00. 👋

Sorry to hear that you're having trouble with this.

Offline Listening is available to Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium subscribers. When you lose your mobile connection, Pandora will alert you with a notification to let you know that we are switching you to one of your offline stations. This way you stay connected to your music without major interruptions.

For Pandora Plus subscribers, we will automatically choose up to three of your most-listened-to stations along with Thumbprint Radio* and add them to your offline listening stations. Pandora Premium subscribers, on the other hand, can choose which additional stations, albums, songs, or playlists are downloaded.

Both Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium listeners can also switch to Offline Listening at any time, so you can save your data and take the music you love wherever you go.

++

Accessing Offline Mode:

To listen offline from a mobile device, you can use the following steps:

1. Tap the Profile tab and then the Settings gear in the top right corner.
2. Toggle Offline Mode on.

Once Offline Mode has been enabled, you will see only the content in your collection that has been downloaded for offline listening. 

Let me know if you're able to listen offline when adjusting this setting within the Pandora app. 

[jornywar]

“Each offline station that is downloaded will provide approximately 3 hours of music for you to enjoy.“

This is exactly the info I was looking for. Y’all should include it on this info page:

https://help.pandora.com/s/article/Offline-Mode-and-Downloads?language=en_US

 Thanks!