getmusicbee.com
Support => Portable Devices => Topic started by: FeronStost on December 26, 2024, 12:43:05 AM
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Hi friends!
So I am a longtime android phone user, but also a longtime iTunes user. I have a giant library with 162 rather complex playlists. I used to use iSuncr/Rocket Player to sync to my phone, but they got bought out by a greedy developer and the apps are broken beyond repair and they want $15/week for use.
ANYWHO I decided to switch to MusicBee and be done with iTunes for good. So I exported my iTunes library and downloaded MusicBee. My library transferred PERFECTLY except for some album art and multiple disc things, but that's no big deal.
So I synced my library to my phone via USB and none of the playlists show up on my phone. I even double checked the sync file path like I saw in another post, and no dice. All my songs transferred, but none of the playlists. Some help would be really appreciated. Thanks!
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What version of MB are you using? (Help > About) INCLUDE THE LETTER (if any) AFTER THE NUMBER
How was MB installed? (Store, Installer, Portable)
Please post a screenshot of your device sync preferences.
What is the end-result format for the playlists?
Are you using an Android phone?
What music player are you using on the phone?
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Hamburger Menu->Edit Preferences->Devices
Select your mobile device in the Known devices window and click "Configure"
On the Music tab, make sure "synchronise playlists" is checked. You can choose to sync all or specific playlists. Click Save and they should copy over with the next sync.
Edit: You should also check out the wifi syncing thread. It works quite well with android devices. There are some custom packages linked in that thread and a user also has an updated version on the playstore but that one has some limitations.
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What version of MB are you using? (Help > About) INCLUDE THE LETTER (if any) AFTER THE NUMBER
How was MB installed? (Store, Installer, Portable)
Please post a screenshot of your device sync preferences.
What is the end-result format for the playlists?
Are you using an Android phone?
What music player are you using on the phone?
I'm having a hard time figuring out how to post an image in here that isn't from the internet. But I can provide the other information.
Version: 3.5.8447 Store
My sync preferences are my entire library and all my playlists, and I have a specific folder for playlists on the device.
End result format is M3U
Yes it is an android phone.
I initially tried it with Poweramp, now I am trying it with Symfonium.
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Hamburger Menu->Edit Preferences->Devices
Select your mobile device in the Known devices window and click "Configure"
On the Music tab, make sure "synchronise playlists" is checked. You can choose to sync all or specific playlists. Click Save and they should copy over with the next sync.
Edit: You should also check out the wifi syncing thread. It works quite well with android devices. There are some custom packages linked in that thread and a user also has an updated version on the playstore but that one has some limitations.
Yup that has been checked from the beginning. I'll check out the wifi syncing thread :)
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Yup that has been checked from the beginning. I'll check out the wifi syncing thread :)
What path do you have set for playlists for that device and do the playlist files actually get transferred to the device to the matching folder?
That will at least indicate if it's a problem with the sync or a problem with the player on the device picking up the playlists.
edit: If you set to the playlist folder so it's inside your music folder, the apps will probably pick up the playlists no problem but if you have it set to outside the music folder, you will need to let the app know where to find them.
My device has the following settings
storage path - 23049PCD8G\Internal shared storage\
playlist path - Music\Playlists\
If your playlist path is set to just "Playlists", the music app won't find them unless you add 23049PCD8G\Internal shared storage\Playlists as a folder for it to look at. Obviously your device name will be different (probably).
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I'm having a hard time figuring out how to post an image in here that isn't from the internet. But I can provide the other information.
There's a link in my signature regarding how to post screenshots.
Basically upload the screenshot to imgur.com, copy the link and paste it here.
Version: 3.5.8447 Store
My sync preferences are my entire library and all my playlists, and I have a specific folder for playlists on the device.
End result format is M3U
Yes it is an android phone.
I initially tried it with Poweramp, now I am trying it with Symfonium.
Using the Store version you can't update to the latest MB version. At some point the Store version will be updated to v3.6.x but until then you'll have to stick to that or switch to the Portable version, which gets updated frequently - at least once a week.
As BoringName said, change the location of the Playlists directory on the phone. Place it directly under Music.
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I'm having a hard time figuring out how to post an image in here that isn't from the internet. But I can provide the other information.
There's a link in my signature regarding how to post screenshots.
Basically upload the screenshot to imgur.com, copy the link and paste it here.
Version: 3.5.8447 Store
My sync preferences are my entire library and all my playlists, and I have a specific folder for playlists on the device.
End result format is M3U
Yes it is an android phone.
I initially tried it with Poweramp, now I am trying it with Symfonium.
Using the Store version you can't update to the latest MB version. At some point the Store version will be updated to v3.6.x but until then you'll have to stick to that or switch to the Portable version, which gets updated frequently - at least once a week.
As BoringName said, change the location of the Playlists directory on the phone. Place it directly under Music.
Playlists directory has always been directly under music. Here is the link to the screenshot :)
https://imgur.com/a/LLW4eJE
How do I switch to a portable version?
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Playlists directory has always been directly under music. Here is the link to the screenshot :)
https://imgur.com/a/LLW4eJE
A screenshot of the settings tab would be good.
Does the Music\Playlists folder on your device have any files in it after attempting a sync?
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Playlists directory has always been directly under music. Here is the link to the screenshot :)
https://imgur.com/a/LLW4eJE
A screenshot of the settings tab would be good.
Does the Music\Playlists folder on your device have any files in it after attempting a sync?
The playlists folder has no files in it after attempting a sync except "Recently Added". And that is the only playlist that shows on my media player, as well.
Here is a copy of the settings, and proof that the folder exists even though the settings tab says it doesn't.
https://imgur.com/sAUjTjk
https://imgur.com/r1hBgDI
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I changed the file path to just "Music/Playlists" and tried another sync. Nothing again.
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I changed the file path to just "Music/Playlists" and tried another sync. Nothing again.
Did you use a forward slash "/" or a backslash "\"
Try these settings
storage path - Pixel 9 Pro\Internal shared storage\
playlist path - Music\Playlists\
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Oops I meant to do a backslash. Yes those are the settings and file paths I currently have. I tried another sync just a half hour or so ago with those.
Sorry I'm not super well-versed in this stuff. I appreciate your time.
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Oops I meant to do a backslash. Yes those are the settings and file paths I currently have. I tried another sync just a half hour or so ago with those.
Sorry I'm not super well-versed in this stuff. I appreciate your time.
Strange one. Maybe try searching your phone for one of your playlists to see if they have ended up somewhere else.
edit: Also try unticking synchronise playlists, click save , then tick it again and click save. Then try another sync.
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I've tried that, too. No dice. I'm at wit's end with this lol but I don't want to give up. I'm just not sure what else to try.
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I've tried that, too. No dice. I'm at wit's end with this lol but I don't want to give up. I'm just not sure what else to try.
I'm out of ideas. Converting to a portable install is probably the next step as suggested by Phred but someone else will have to explain that procedure, Installing a portable version is easy enough, just download it and extract it to a folder but I don't know where the Store version keeps it's files to transfer them over.
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just curious.... Are the playlists static playlists or smart/auto playlist? Mostly curious to know if the playlists are populated in musicbee when attempting to sync. Empty playlists I don't think will sync, so just something I wondered.
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just curious.... Are the playlists static playlists or smart/auto playlist? Mostly curious to know if the playlists are populated in musicbee when attempting to sync. Empty playlists I don't think will sync, so just something I wondered.
They are playlists I built, originally in iTunes. I'm wondering if that is the issue somehow. But I'm not sure how to fix it, if so.
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The playlists folder has no files in it after attempting a sync except "Recently Added". And that is the only playlist that shows on my media player, as well.
If only 1 out of your idk-how-many-playlists is syncing, then that sounds similar to what psychoadept is experiencing too:
https://getmusicbee.com/forum/index.php?topic=42331.0
They are playlists I built, originally in iTunes. I'm wondering if that is the issue somehow. But I'm not sure how to fix it, if so.
So, so far we know that your playlist path is working because at least 1 playlist is syncing there.
To rule out your assumption above, create test playlists (a mix of static and auto-playlists) using MusicBee and see if those sync.
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So, so far we know that your playlist path is working because at least 1 playlist is syncing there.
Not so sure about this - was it created by MusicBee? In the image posted the filename/type (not certain what is being displayed in that view) seems to be VLC.m3u - I wonder if the OP has attempted a sync using VLC in the past (or maybe a default playlist created by VLC on Android):
(https://i.imgur.com/r1hBgDI.jpeg)
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Not so sure about this - was it created by MusicBee?
Someone lied, and it wasn't me haha. On a serious note:
No, it doesn't look like a playlist generated by MusicBee on a second look. Oh well, back to square one I suppose.
@FeronStost, I can't suggest more to what has been pointed out by others, but as a last attempt from me:
Please experiment with different playlist folders that don't exist on your phone (e.g Testt\) - MusicBee should report with a red icon that it will create the folders for you.
If it creates the folders and the playlists still don't show up, then the problem is above my pay grade.
The above attempt should be preceded by:
...create test playlists (a mix of static and auto-playlists) using MusicBee... (don't use the ones from iTunes)
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UPDATE: I made a "Test Playlist" through MusicBee and it synced to my phone just like it is supposed to.
SO is there a way to duplicate the 162 playlists I currently have in MusicBee to "trick" it into having them be playlists made through the app without having to meticulously reconstruct thousands of hours of playlists? I feel close to solving the problem! Thanks all.
EDIT: I FIGURED IT OUT!!! I couldn't have done it without yall. Thanks so darn much! Seems like I've found a super cool community in MusicBee. :)
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Cool! What did you do? It might help someone else to know
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I went through and manually duplicated my playlists. Right click on a playlist, click duplicate. Delete old playlist, rename new playlist getting rid of "(copy)".
For example:
Right click "Christmas" playlist. Click duplicate. New playlist, "Christmas (copy)" will appear. Delete "Christmas", then rename "Christmas (copy)" to just "Christmas" and voila!
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Huh. Glad it worked! I'm impressed if you did that for 162 playlists.
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A lot easier than reconstructing them from scratch lol
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Sad update: Only the first 16 of my playlists actually transferred :(
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Sad update: Only the first 16 of my playlists actually transferred :(
Really bizarre. Try changing the playlist format as this will convert all the playlists to the new format and back again which might make them work.
Hamburger Menu->Edit Preferences->Library->library playlists
The dropdown will either be set to MBP or M3U. Whatever it's set to, change it to the other one, click save. If you browse to your playlists folder you will see they will have all changed to the selected format. Change it back to what it was (or you can leave it as is) and click save.
You might get a warning about limited functionality when selecting M3U.
Try a sync and see how that goes.
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.mbp playlist files will not be readable anywhere but within MB. They can be transferred to the phone but there isn't an app in the world that can read them.
If you're transferring the playlists to a phone, make sure the format is one that the player on the phone can support. Then set the format accordingly in MB.
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So they are already set to M3U. I'm wondering if the sheer number of playlists is a problem and that's why it stopped at 10% of them. Could I try syncing the playlists in batches? Or will it remove playlists I don't have checked off in the sync menu?
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So they are already set to M3U. I'm wondering if the sheer number of playlists is a problem and that's why it stopped at 10% of them. Could I try syncing the playlists in batches? Or will it remove playlists I don't have checked off in the sync menu?
Change it to MBP in the section I suggested. When syncing they will get converted to whatever format you have set for that device in the sync settings.
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I sync about 110 playlists (both static and auto) to a Samsung phone and have no issues.
It seems unlikely, but I suppose it's possible that more than one song on a failed playlist is corrupt. Find one and see if it plays.
To expand on BoringName's comment, Preferences > Library > playlists > library playlists should be left as .mbp format. It's not necessary to modify the -exported- playlists format unless you're using the exported playlists somewhere else that is -not- the device you're syncing to. Such as another PC or media server.
(https://i.imgur.com/BpPj8TX.jpeg)
Then go to Preferences > Devices > [select the device] > configure > settings > playlist storage > save as format and make sure the format is something your device can use.
(https://i.imgur.com/a4lBW9q.jpeg)