State of two way syncing

[MusicBeenie]

Hello
moved from iTunes and using isnycr for years to my Android and mostly working fine.
Basically wanna use musicbee now but from my research also on this forum I understand it's all a bit complicated...

Just wanna make sure I understand correctly. Initially I understood that reverse synching (playcounts working on my phone and back too is so important to me!) only worked with the WiFi app plus GetMad and Power Amp.
Great! I use Poweramp. Then I found that the WiFi app isn't on the playstore.
Upon more researching I found the developer posting the apk somewhere.
But then I'm not sure, some people say it isn't working anyway? Or on newer versions of android?
I am using the newest version so...
I then found there seems to be a test phase for a new version or something.

Anyway, just wanted to show that I'm not posting without having researched.
But it's all a bit confusing.
I have moved my PC library from iTunes to musicbee and am happy with it.
I just want to sync playcounts, as I've literally done for the past 20 years.
Is it currently possible or do I actually have to just accept that it isn't? Hard to believe, since isyncr had figured it out so long ago.

I hope somebody can give me an easy breakdown if this is at all possible.
Sync my android (via cable or WiFi I don't care) and get playcounts to work.

Thank you!!

[BoringName]

It's a bit of a mess at the moment. Someone is trying to create an official version that will be available in the play store but it's only in Beta at the moment.

There is a version I have compiled
https://www.mediafire.com/file/oybyrc2mp0b4l5n/MBAndroid30.apk/file

You will need to allow installing apps from outside the play store to install it..

This works for android 13 and 14. At a minimum it will let you sync songs to your devices. As for syncing play counts, it works with the paid version of GoneMad. My partner is currently using it to sync 40k+ songs without issue.

I have no idea if it will work with PowerAmp as it requires a paid version to test it on and I wasn't prepared to fork out money just to test it.

If you have the paid version of PowerAmp, it would be great if you could test play count syncing on it as no one has been able to confirm if it works.

I initially used iSyncr as well and it kind of worked but was always a bit slow. Then the owner sold it and whoever took it over completely stuffed it.

edit:
When you first launch this app it will ask you to grant all file permissions and open a window, you need to tap on musicbee and click allow.

Also the usual disclaimer, you should be wary of anyone asking you to install something in a random forum post. I have a few posts on these forums discussing the app and plugins but you should do due diligence before installing anything.

I just modified the code from here so it would work with android 12 and above. I didn't look over the whole code.
https://github.com/mayallst/MusicBeeWifiSync

[MusicBeenie]

Thank you for the quick response.
That sounds promising!!!
I indeed own the pro version of power amp.
I will try with the app you sent me in the next few days!!
I have high hopes this will actually work!!

Actually one more question, you said you compiled this, so this is entirely different from that beta version being tested that I also heard about?
If yours work then what is the need for that one being tested? I guess it would of course be good to be officially on play store again.

[BoringName]

Actually one more question, you said you compiled this, so this is entirely different from that beta version being tested that I also heard about?
If yours work then what is the need for that one being tested? I guess it would of course be good to be officially on play store again.

It's a different person doing the beta version. They most likely started with the same code I did (the github link I provided) but all I did was the minimum to make it work on later versions of Android. As of android 12 there were some permission changes that stopped the original app from working. I just did a workaround with the "all files permission".

The person running the beta version is updating the app so it can be hosted on the play store. This requires certain things to be done to get approval from google. Most notable is the "all files permission" that my version asks for. Google doesn't like apps asking for that permission unless absolutely necessary so it's usually reserved for file manager apps. An app that just manages audio files will get rejected if it contains that permission as they expect the app to just used scoped storage (new method of handling file permissions since android 12).

So mine is the quick and nasty way that gives the app permission to access all files. The all files permission is an issue because a malicious app will have access to everything in your storage. That's why I said you shouldn't trust a random forum post as you are letting the app access everything. As far as I can tell it doesn't do anything dodgy but again, you shouldn't take my word for it.

The beta version is the proper way that will only have access to files it actually needs (I assume...) and will prompt you to allow access to whatever folders your music is in. In theory it should be able to access /music but won't be able to access /documents /downloads etc....

[MusicBeenie]

Thank you so much for the detailed responses!!
I'll report back once I have tested things.
So it SHOULD work, syncing music, the covers, playlists (I have such a huge library I only sync certain playlists, hope that is implemente), ratings and play counts in a two way manner?

One other thing, I also came across some issue people had that the app asked for some root folder that didn't exist or something but there was a fix, so the version you provided here also includes that fix? Or is it directly related to the newer Andorid version issue?

Regardless, this has been helpful, I'll post back sometime the next few days.

[BoringName]

Thank you so much for the detailed responses!!
I'll report back once I have tested things.
So it SHOULD work, syncing music, the covers, playlists (I have such a huge library I only sync certain playlists, hope that is implemente), ratings and play counts in a two way manner?

One other thing, I also came across some issue people had that the app asked for some root folder that didn't exist or something but there was a fix, so the version you provided here also includes that fix? Or is it directly related to the newer Andorid version issue?

Regardless, this has been helpful, I'll post back sometime the next few days.

Been a while since I've setup a device but I believe you need to do a wired connection so the device appears in Musicbee. Once it appears you can configure what you want to sync. You can specify individual playlists or choose to sync everything.

You specify in the app what you want to reverse sync. The choices are ratings, play counts and playlists.

The root folder issue is what my version gets around. In android 12, google introduced scoped storage which changed how folder permissions worked. The old version of the app got stuck in a loop when asking for permission. The workaround I put in was to just grant access to all files which basically bypasses scoped storage. The downside to that is google won't approve it for the play store which is why it needs to be installed manually.

[MusicBeenie]

Hmmm... not so good news, but I am not sure if I did everything correctly.

To test this, I set up the initial connection to my phone via cable. For testing I only synced one playlist (minor issue, in Poweramp it still synced ALL playlists, but wouldn't find the assosiated files as it didn't sync those).
Ok, then I set up the wifi app. Worked all fine. Detected in musicbee on my PC, syncing works fine!!

But... even if I check the box "2 way sync play counts", even after playing one song on my Android in Poweramp and "syncing" again, it does report "syncing successful" but the play is not synced.
If I go to the error log, I don't see any mention of any failure, it just copied the playlist again.
So I am actually not sure, if poweramp counted the play at all? I honestly couldn't find the setting in the app that would confirm it monitors play counts.
Any ideas whatsoever? I am soooo close to getting this to work, I think, synce the wifi app itself works fine and very quickly.

Maybe unrelated, but while the box is checked in the wifi app, on Desktop under "devices" the "2 way sync" box is unchecked and CANNOT be checked at all. But maybe that is just meant for cable syncing, where this feature is just not available (then why is the checkbox there in the first place?).

Anyway... if "BoringName" or anybody else has any idea..
If not, I will try GoneMad. I WILL switch and I WILL pay for the Premium if it works there, even if I do kinda like Poweramp (and yes, it says in the app it is confirmed the pro version/paid version).
But currently to me it looks, like there is still a chance this will work because I didn't see any errors in the wifi app, like it didn't even try to sync play counts maybe because poweramp didn't actually record them. Or something. Maybe just one setting to change, maybe I am just coping. Yes, checkboy for "poweramp" and "sync playcounts" are synced in the wifi app.
Thank you in advance!!

EDIT:
Another update and somewhat unrelated question:
I found that while the wifi syncing is GREAT (other than the play counts...so far I hope), so much faster that isyncr via cable lol...
The embedded covers shown in poweramp are really low res? I know for a fact they were much higher previously in rocket player and I mean I imported stuff from itunes so it should still be the case. Why?
Related to this, if I add a cover in musicbee, is it enough to just have the cover embedded or do I want a "copy" being saved (that textbox is ticked by default, but I don't want extra picture files for every song unless I really need to... I think previously I was all just in the file. What do I do with that option?)
Thank you for this help too!!

Update again:
I carefully checked everything again, I fixed the cover issue (had the tickbox checked to resize to 200pc on PC, why is that ticked by default lol) - only still wondering if there is any drawback for just using embeded covers in the PC app - especially because "save cover" is like the default when you add a cover when tagging.

I even found out why there were old playslists, basically there were some old playlist files SOMEWHERE on the phone.

Everything is perfect...except the play counts not working. I don't know, when I play a song in Poweramp, it does say "last played" there, playcount is just "one" (as opposed to the synced one from the PC). But this doesn't get added or synced at all to my musicbee library when I click "preview" or then "sync now" on the wifi app... all it shows in my "test enviorment" is the one playlist that would get "copied" again when I sync.
Speed and reliability and everything is great. Just how how how can I get the play counts to work...

I even downloaded gonemad but yeah the trial just doesn't let you access its database or something, the wifi app says that as an error in its log. That's the thing though, it GIVES me an error, there is no error whatsoever when I select "poweramp", it just doesn't sync the playcount.
Just ANY ideas if I can get this to work or if getting the pro version of gonemad will actually work.
I DO prefer the layout of poweramp to be honest so I would prefer if that had a solution.
Still think that musicbee on PC not letting me enable "2 way sync" might have something to do with everything? I have searched high and low in the poweramp app and really can't find any setting that could make the play counts work with the wifi sync app.



Sorry for so much text, this is just so important to me, I have catered for my music library since I was a child pretty much (turning 30 in a few days) and this would mean a lot to me.

[roth377]

Just to clarify -- is your 'last played' timestamp getting updated back to MusicBee? Sorry if I missed that in your replies.  I mostly ask because that could prove that something is making its way back to Musicbee from the poweramp+wifisync app.  I personally use last played to drive most of my playlists (sounds like you and I curate dynamic playlists quite a bit), so I rarely use play counts ... but I'm pretty sure I get both synced back.

[BoringName]

The "enable 2 way synchronization" setting in the Musicbee devices section is a legacy setting that is no longer used which is why you can't enable it. Don't worry about that one.

You just need to make sure you have playcounts ticked in the "reverse sync to computer" section in the wifi app.

I've just downloaded the poweramp trial app which states it's fully functional for 14 days so I will do some testing and see if I can come up with something. At first glance it doesn't look like it's even attempting to talk to poweramp. If I select gonemad which I don't have currently installed on my phone it produces an error because the stats.xml file hasn't been created.

There is some documentation out there on how the poweramp database can be queried through it's own api, I'll see if I can nut something out.

[BoringName]

From everything I've checked the app is coded correctly to get the stats from Poweramp. I can't see any recent changes with the Poweramp API that would have broken it.

But PowerAmp is just returning empty (null) result for me. It could be because I am using a trial version but it does state the trial version is fully functional for 15 days.

Anyway, if someone who has the professional version of PowerAmp could install the following app and test it it that would be good. You will need to uninstall the current MusicBee wifi app you have installed before installing this one. I don't know what effects that will have with your current sync status so just be wary of that.
MB Wifi poweramp check

Make sure reverse sync of playcounts and poweramp are seleceted in the app and after a successful sync, check the error log and look for the following entry
PowerAmp: PowerAmp results empty.

edit: also make sure you allow file permissions when prompted. Just click allow, then select music bee in the list and toggle on the "allow all files" permission then hit the back arrow to get back to the app.

If you have the paid version of PowerAmp and that message appears I don't think I can fix the issue. If that message doesn't appear but play counts still don't sync,  that might be something I can work with and I'll consider forking out for the paid version to fix it.

Nevermind. Fixed it. This package syncs play counts and last played date.
MB Wifi PowerAmp Reverse sync working

Poweramp defaults to having a thumps up/down rating. These did not sync back but once I changed poweramps settings to use the 5 star system, they did sync back.

This all worked with the trial version.

[MusicBeenie]

So... I am pretty happy: I guess I have to just use GoneMad! Yesterday before bed I just decided "the heck with it, I will just spend the 7€ or so" on GoneMad pro (on a side tangent, I was worried because the pro unlocker did show up when I went to the playstore on a web browser, but NOT in the actual play store for my phone for some reason...luckily, pro unlock was a thing you could do IN the app and it then linked to my google account fine. Is that normal for this app? Poweramp pro was diretly listed in the store (as an unlocker app).).
And...the wifi sync app works with it!!
I can actually compare what may or may not go wrong with poweramp: On poweramp when I preview, it just shows "copy playlist" even when I had a play/a few plays on the app... it copies nothing. No, also doesn't update last played, since roth377 asked.
But now I got the pro version of gonemad, that previews "+1 playcount" and "last played count" for the songs that were played.

So yeah, poweramp just doesn't work with the wifi sync app it seems, but gonemad does. Enough reason for me to just use gonemad, I experimented with that yesterday too and that also seems like a very competent music app. I slightly prefered poweramp, but since this feature important to me works on gonemad, that is enough to jump ship haha.

Thanks for all the help, especially to boringname, that was a lot you did!
If this post here helps you at all figuring out why poweramp doesn't return anything, that would be even better, but since my original objective is kinda met, I would be happy enough with that.
I would also try your test app, tbh I am a bit worried to mess things up with the syncing that now works so well.
But if it is needed "for science"...?