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Pocketcasts - Error, Unable to play, song not encoded properly or the connection was lost

  • 27 January 2021
  • 16 replies
  • 212 views
T
Badge +1

Has anyone else seen this error? The encoded error as well as the lost connection error are persistent & I have tried changing network channels, I have tried rebooting the system and I have tried uninstalling the service and adding it again.

 

The error codes persist despite these troubleshooting strategies.

 

Anyone else having this issue or have any suggestions?

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Best answer by Xander P 15 February 2021, 09:49

Hi everyone, thanks for reaching out to the Sonos Community!

As you have experienced, we are aware of an issue affecting Pocketcasts playback, particularly when attempting to skip forward or back, or when resuming from pause.

No ETA to share for a fix I’m afraid, however we are working with Pocketcasts to get everything working properly. In the mean time, if you are using an iOS device and have AirPlay capable speakers, you can AirPlay audio from the Pocketcasts app as a workaround.

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16 replies

Airgetlam

One of the key things that I used to miss when I rebooted my system was the simple action of rebooting the router while the Sonos devices were unplugged. That way, I get fresh software across the board, as well as renewed IP addresses and DNS information. It’s not clear from your post one way or the other, so I thought I’d throw the idea out there.

Sometimes, people have also reported that removing PocketCasts from Sonos and then adding it back in has worked for them. I suppose it matters exactly why the error is existing as to which solution might work. 
 

However, if it continues after trying both those possibilities, I would recommend that you submit a system diagnostic within 10 minutes of experiencing this problem, and call Sonos Support to discuss it, or post the diagnostic number here for a Community Moderator to pick up.

There may be information included in the diagnostic that will help Sonos pinpoint the issue and help you find a solution. Indeed, nothing better than hard data to look at.

When you speak directly to the phone folks, there are more options available beyond just the diagnostic analysis. 

Bruce
J
Userlevel 2

Has anyone else seen this error? The encoded error as well as the lost connection error are persistent & I have tried changing network channels, I have tried rebooting the system and I have tried uninstalling the service and adding it again.

 

The error codes persist despite these troubleshooting strategies.

 

Anyone else having this issue or have any suggestions?

I am getting this constantly over the past few months, on two separate Sonos systems.  The "lost connection” error fixes itself quickly, but the "not encoded correctly” problem does not.  

 

The thing I noticed is that pocketcasts seems to give this error only if you are trying to play a podcast from any position other than 0:00.  Since pocketcasts syncs across its system I go into the pocketcasts ios app, reset the position to 0:00 and then can play on sonos.  But don't try to fast forward or you'll get the error again unfortunately

A

I have started experiencing the “song not encoded correctly” error since the upgrade to 12.2.2.  It happens whether I am running a PocketCasts podcast using Sonos from my PC or from Android phone.  The fault occurs if I pause and restart or attempt to skip forwards or backwards.  I assume this is a Sonos bug rather than a PocketCasts issue.

What can I do to fix this problem?  Is this a known bug in the current release?  Where can I find it logged as such so that I don’t waste time looking for help? 

Alan

W
Badge +1

I have been having the exact same problem for months. It seems to only happen when the podcast has been stopped and restarted. It has been a bug with Sonos for some time now. 
 

has anybody heard anything from Sonos about a solution?

Xander P
Userlevel 4
Badge +7

Hi everyone, thanks for reaching out to the Sonos Community!

As you have experienced, we are aware of an issue affecting Pocketcasts playback, particularly when attempting to skip forward or back, or when resuming from pause.

No ETA to share for a fix I’m afraid, however we are working with Pocketcasts to get everything working properly. In the mean time, if you are using an iOS device and have AirPlay capable speakers, you can AirPlay audio from the Pocketcasts app as a workaround.

W
Badge +1

Ugh. First problems with Apple podcasts, then Stitcher, now Pocketcasts. Getting tired of it. 

A

At least we have an acknowledgement of a problem and that they are working on it.  Is there an official “Issues List” anywhere so I can stop trying to fix things at my end that I can’t fix?  I am always scared that I will make things worse!

G

 

As you have experienced, we are aware of an issue affecting Pocketcasts playback, particularly when attempting to skip forward or back, or when resuming from pause.

No ETA to share for a fix I’m afraid, however we are working with Pocketcasts to get everything working properly. In the mean time, if you are using an iOS device and have AirPlay capable speakers, you can AirPlay audio from the Pocketcasts app as a workaround.

 

I am experiencing the same problem described above (stopped playback with not encoded correctly error) when resuming a podcast from the middle, on the Android G2 app.

 

I have been in touch with PocketCasts support, and they have said that due to a lot of turnover at Sonos, they have been unable to establish a working relationship with Sonos engineers who understand the problem, who could help debug the problem.

 

How can we get PocketCasts and Sonos to work together?

Xander P
Userlevel 4
Badge +7

Hi @gnuf, I’ve double checked that with the engineering team, and I can confirm that we are currently working with Pocketcasts to get the issue resolved :)

A

Thanks for that update

Alan

J
Userlevel 2

@Xander P just fyi I've noticed a new behavior where playback stops in the middle of an otherwise successfully playing podcast, and gives the same encoding error, then sonos moves on to whatever is next in the queue.  

 

Have others seen this?

A

I don’t have the unexpected stop issue but I have noticed:

  1. During podcast playback I cannot move from a speaker in one room to a speaker in another room
  2. If I start a podcast playing on all speakers I can mute them individually by turning the volume down (in the app or using the physical button)  but I cannot disconnect a speaker.

I feel sure that it is all part of the same bookmarking feature that is filing to pick up properly.

Today’s diagnostic number 1125182448

Alan

J
Userlevel 2

I don’t have the unexpected stop issue but I have noticed:

  1. During podcast playback I cannot move from a speaker in one room to a speaker in another room
  2. If I start a podcast playing on all speakers I can mute them individually by turning the volume down (in the app or using the physical button)  but I cannot disconnect a speaker.

I feel sure that it is all part of the same bookmarking feature that is filing to pick up properly.

Today’s diagnostic number 1125182448

Alan

 

I have no specialized insight into what is going on, but my observation is that the problem occurs when pocketcasts syncs episode position on one device (whether it’s a non-playing or other-playing Sonos device or a pocketcasts mobile app) and then it tries sync that position on the currently playing Sonos device.

 

I think this relates to you not being able to move from one room to another, something I also have struggled with.  I think I have “solved” for that by doing the following:

 

  1.  Group the currently playing room together with the room to which you like to move;
  2. After they are playing together for a minute or two, drop the first room from the group; and
  3. Importantly, clear the queue on the non playing room (and make sure no pocketcasts episodes remain in any queues in any non playing rooms). 
  4. Possibly, though I haven’t tested it, try to avoid simultaneously playing any pocketcasts episodes on any other devices, whether Sonos or non Sonos, as it appears to me that position syncing on any device other than the playing Sonos device triggers the problem.

I wonder if that might work for you  It’s not ideal, obviously, but it’s a somewhat reasonable workaround until the combined Sonos / pocketcasts forces hopefully sort this out.

T

Hi all,

I raised this in November last year. Basically the request times out for any tracks if playback is attempted part way through (so if paused and attempt to play later, already played elsewhere in another service or PocketCasts track is part played). It’s like it can’t search to the correct start point so throws random errors.

To get around this I have to play the track to the very end in PocketCasts (reset the track) and then open in Sonos (play from start) then search/scan to where I was. A nightmare.

Here is what Sonos emailed me in November:

“My colleague has done some experimenting on his own system and has found that the Pocketcast service has an unacceptable reaction time - the service is not responding quickly enough and your (and his) Sonos system finds this unacceptable and reports a lost connection. We have reported this to Pocketcast, but have no further information to share at this time. 

The solution for this is likely entirely at the server side of things - your Sonos system is operating as it should and when this issue is fixed, I don't think you'll need to do anything yourself.“

A quick fix Sonos should add is a ‘play from start option’ so it just plays without timing out while we wait for the actual fix.

I have been onto Sonos customer support again this morning as it’s a pretty unacceptable amount of time for a such small fix to be implemented. Hoping this is escalated and resolved soon.

Fingers crossed.

 

Frank



 

A

I have only been experiencing this in the last three weeks - it did not start in November for me.  I wonder if it has anything to do with the hardware?  I have a Windows 10 PC and a Samsung Android 7.0 phone

Diagnostic 966372957

J
Userlevel 1

Out of frustration I tried iHeartRadio for podcasts.  Same problem.  This is a SONOS issue.  Despite their claims to the contrary, SONOS doesn't do podcasts.

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