Author Topic: Wireless Sync to Android  (Read 4189 times)

Tose1976

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Currently I'm using MediaMonkey to sync music to my Android phone. I have the gold version on the desktop and the pro version on Android, to get the sync working. However I'm very unhappy with the results. Most of the time i couldn't connect to the MediaMonkey server to start the sync. Now I'm looking for alternatives. I have used Musicbee a long time ago for some time, but my experience is several years old, so something could be changed in the meantime.

If i understand it correctly, i have to use a thing called "Virtual Device" to sync a Autoplaylist, including the songs to this device. After that, i can copy the files from this "Virtual Device" via WiFi to my phone? Is this correct? Can this "Virtual Device" be a normal folder somewhere in my network and i can copy the files afterwards via SSH, SCP, Samba or whatever to my phone? Or must i do something other?

Ahh and a little bit OffTopic: If i remember correctly, there is no way to get the PlayCount / LastPlayedTimestamp back from the phone to the PC, other than via Last.FM? Or is there a newer better way in the meantime available?

phred

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If i understand it correctly, i have to use a thing called "Virtual Device" to sync a Autoplaylist, including the songs to this device. After that, i can copy the files from this "Virtual Device" via WiFi to my phone? Is this correct? Can this "Virtual Device" be a normal folder somewhere in my network and i can copy the files afterwards via SSH, SCP, Samba or whatever to my phone? Or must i do something other?
You can designate any directory on your PC as a virtual device. And if you want to sync via WiFi, that would be the way to do it. Whether an auto-playlist, a static playlist, or all or parts of your music library. It doesn't have to be a playlist.
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Tose1976

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Ahh i see. I have added a SMB share as virtual device, which is available on a Raspberry Pi. I setup a automated sync via Tasker and SynchronizeUltimate to let this folder sync over night, when the device gets charged. If all works, i could post an update if someone is interested.

Meanwhile, i try to export my current MediaMonkey database as iTunes library, to import this to MusicBee. Hopefully, it works as expected.

SandaruLJ

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I use Resilio Sync to get this done. I synchronise my entire library between my PC and mobile. It's very easy and convenient. This is what I have done.

1. Installed Resilio Sync on both my PC and android.
2. Paired the devices.
3. Added my music library folder to the PC version.
4. Connected it in android version and selected a folder for the files to be synced to.

That's it. From then on, every change I do to any of the files would be synchronised over WiFi between the two devices. I'm using GoneMAD as my android player (It's the only one compatible with the ratings of MusicBee). So when I change ratings in my mobile it would sync over to my PC. Same with adding and deleting files. And it's very safe because as it replaces the old file with the updated one, it moves the old file to a safe location where we can retrieve it if we want.

I've tried several methods and I can guarantee you that this is the ideal one. I've been using this for over a year and had no issues as far as I can remember.
Last Edit: July 18, 2018, 04:34:03 PM by SandaruLJ

psychoadept

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I use Resilio Sync to get this done. I synchronise my entire library between my PC and mobile. It's very easy and convenient. This is what I have done.

1. Installed Resilio Sync on both my PC and android.
2. Paired the devices.
3. Added my music library folder to the PC version.
4. Connected it in android version and selected a folder for the files to be synced to.

That's it. From then on, every change I do to any of the files would be synchronised over WiFi between the two devices. I'm using GoneMAD as my android player (It's the only one compatible with the ratings of MusicBee). So when I change ratings in my mobile it would sync over to my PC. Same with adding and deleting files. And it's very safe because as it replaces the old file with the updated one, it moves the old file to a safe location where we can retrieve it if we want.

I've tried several methods and I can guarantee you that this is the ideal one. I've been using this for over a year and had no issues as far as I can remember.

This is basically what I've done, too. The only limitation is if you don't have room for your whole library on your device, then you have to create a separate directory to sync from.
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Tose1976

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I can try Resilio also, but i think, i will stay with SynchronizeUltimate. Mostly, since I use this App for all my other backup jobs from phone to the Raspberry Pi since some time (WhatsApp backup, photos, app settings and much  more). Since it supports SSH, its nearby perfect for me. I have used it last night the first time for music sync. I have set it up with its own scheduler and some conditions (own WiFi network, charging, sync deletes) and i must say, it worked great. But i will try Resilio to. Thx for the tip.

BTW: I have tried FolderSync to. But FolderSync has so much problems. WebDAV does not work, SSH seems also to be broken. It seems to be more intuitive, but when it wont sync correctly, its not the best solution.

SandaruLJ

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This is basically what I've done, too. The only limitation is if you don't have room for your whole library on your device, then you have to create a separate directory to sync from.

Yesterday my library reached the point where my android could no longer afford to store it in it's entirety. So now I use selective sync in the android version. Changes done to the files on either end still gets synced. The only downside now is if I add a new file to the library, or renamed a file, I have to manually sync it to my mobile.

What is this separate directory thing though? Is it something to do with the virtual drives? Can you give me some guidance on this please?

psychoadept

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Yeah, when that was a problem for me I would just use a virtual device to create a sync directory. It would interfere with your auto-updating, though, so not the best solution.
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Tose1976

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Currently, I'm using a Virtual Device. But i sync a Auto-Playlist. This list is using at max 2GB filled with music not played since one year or older, sorted by Album name. That's why, it's important for me to to sync the timestamp via Last.FM between the phone and the PC. But with this, the list updates itself after MB start-up and refresh the content and playlist at the virtual device. Thus virtual device is than synced again over the nights battery charging cycle to the phone. Since this virtual device isn't on the PC where MB is running, the PC must not be online. It could be also a share in your Router, if that's possible.

Tose1976

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I have moved away from the virtual device and wireless sync. The main reason is, that as playlist *.pla isn't supported for a virtual device. But it seems that the phone including the "Samsung Music" app uses only playlist's in the *.pla format. However, it works with MTP mode over USB. It would cool, when *.pla could also supported for a virtual device.

psychoadept

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You might want to put that on the wishlist
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(Unzip and overwrite existing program files)