music skipping/choppy often when using either Google Play or Pandora

[Andrew Galperin]

Hi everyone - I got my Droid Razr Maxx HD maybe a month ago and I've got all my music on it (about 15 gigs). I probably have another 10 gigs free space. When I play these files off my phone using Google Play, or when I'm playing random music on Pandora, there's a lot of skipping within the song - at least once every minute or so, sometimes more often. Anyone else have this issue? More details:

*This happens even if no other apps are running.
*What app is currently on screen makes no difference
*Screen on/off makes no difference
*I usually have data and GPS on and nothing else on (I never use WiFi or Bluetooth.) Turning off both of these seems to have no effect - Google Play still skips.
*I play music on my phone almost exclusively in my car. I connect it to my car stereo using an old-school tape deck thing. I know the tape deck isn't the problem because it plays 100% fine with my iPod.

I'd greatly appreciate any insights on this!

Btw someone has posted on this here https://community.verizonwireless.com/thread/791768 but there's no good response.

 

[djousma]

I notice this too. But didnt use to be this way. Can't say for sure, maybe started with the latest 9.16.6 update. I have all my music locally cached on the memory card. Nothing via mobile data or wifi.

 

[oscarnyc]

Oddly, I'll get skipping sometimes from my locally stored files on Play, but when I play those same files streamed from play there is no skipping.
I love google and it's services, but Chrome mobile and Play are terrible and the least satisfying aspects of my Razr Maxx HD

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Android Central Forums

 

[anon(5484072)]

Oddly, I'll get skipping sometimes from my locally stored files on Play, but when I play those same files streamed from play there is no skipping.
I love google and it's services, but Chrome mobile and Play are terrible and the least satisfying aspects of my Razr Maxx HD

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Android Central Forums

Agreed on all levels.

I use Dolphin and Now Playing instead of Chrome and Play Music.

 

[SeanInColumbus]

Mine is skipping as well and driving me nuts! I have my entire music collection on my SD card and I have a Bluetooth music gateway in my car. I have Smart Actions set to open and run Power Amp when I start my car - a perfect scenario for enjoying all my favorite music @and playlists while driving, right?

Wrong. Every other song skips horribly. I thought it might be blue tooth issues but it skips even when I connect the phone via 3.5mm aux audio cable... It does it with the stock music player as well... Oye.

Quite frustrating.

 

[anon(5484072)]

Ever since I got Now Playing, I haven't had any more skips. Just smooth playing, smooth transitions from song to song, no problems. I've used 3.5mm and the phone speakers.

Give it a shot, if you'd like: [24/04] Now Playing Beta - Holo Music Player - xda-developers

 

[SeanInColumbus]

Thanks pegs520 - I will load Now Playing this evening and give it a go - I will mos def post results here.

Quick question - is this not on Google Play? Can't seem to find it there - about a half dozen other apps called some form of variation of now playing.

 

[anon(5484072)]

Thanks pegs520 - I will load Now Playing this evening and give it a go - I will mos def post results here.

Quick question - is this not on Google Play? Can't seem to find it there - about a half dozen other apps called some form of variation of now playing.

I don't think so - pretty sure it's an xda only app.

 

[McIrish]

I just installed Now Playing. I will give it a day and see if it cures the skipping problems on my Maxx HD. I hope so. I tried Player pro but that skipped badly too.

 

[pblakk]

Same here... my locally stored mp3s skip a lot. But they skip more frequently when I'm also doing stuff on different apps while playing music versus the phone just idle and screen off, with only music playing through Play Music.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD

 

[anon(19981)]

Same here... my locally stored mp3s skip a lot. But they skip more frequently when I'm also doing stuff on different apps while playing music versus the phone just idle and screen off, with only music playing through Play Music.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD

It seems that it skip's when the available RAM is below 100 mb's. I don't know which app that I disabled that seems to have worked but I am constantly having 220 mb free Ram or more for a few days now. I also cleaned the cache. I haven't had music skip once in three days and zero lag.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2

 

[SeanInColumbus]

..Wow. 1 GB of RAM and only 100mb of actual free RAM! Mine is pretty much the same.... It seems there are literally dozens of apps running that I haven't used in days (or weeks even) that are still using my RAM....

 

[SeanInColumbus]

I just installed Now Playing. I will give it a day and see if it cures the skipping problems on my Maxx HD. I hope so. I tried Player pro but that skipped badly too.

....been there, tried that (Now Playing) - skipped and dropped out just the same using that app too....

Verizon is infamously slow with releasing updates so I don't expect this to be resolved any time soon.

Lesson learned - I will never buy another Motorola phone again. I should have done more research and gone with Samsung - they've got it right. Awesome GUI, that is fluid, quick and out of the box PACKED with tons of stock tweakability.... Lesson learned.....

 

[anon(19981)]

I don't know about all of Matorola phones. I have had a org RAZR maxx for a year and had no problems with lag or skipping music. This could be because of something that Verizon put on also.

You are right about Verizon being slow with update fixes.

I have a Nexus 7 with 1 GB of RAM and always have 400-500 mb's of free RAM. There is definitely something wrong on the maxx.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2

 

[McIrish]

I can also confirm that Now Playing does not cure the skipping problems. Its very frustrating. I've had my phone since it came out. I love the battery life and the build. I don't like that it now lags often and the music skips. I do a cache clear once a week to see if it will cure the problems, but they always come back. I'm kind of disappointed now. There's so much to like about the phone but the few problems it has are pretty extreme. When it lags, it really lags, as if it had locked up. I wonder whats going on? There has to be a reason. It didn't used to be this way at all. Maybe a factory reset and start over? I'd hate to take the hours it will take to reload and setup the phone as it is now.
Anyone have success at tracking it down?

I just spent an hour disabling all apps I don't need. Still glitches when playing back locally stored MP3 files.

 

[anon(19981)]

I know you shouldn't have to but I rooted and unlocked boot loader. I installed eclipse blur ROM. Everything works and haven't had one skip yet. Phone is running fast like it should always have run.

It was either this or taking back my original RAZR maxx from my daughter. She wouldn't like that.

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[Square85]

Mine will skip too or just force close the app for no apparent reason even right after performing a fast reboot. I find it skips in all my music apps: Pandora, Songza, DI Radio. Its frustrating.

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[DanLev]

Per someone's instructions on a different forum, I shut down the Amazon app and processes that were inexplicably running even though I have NEVER used them. The skipping miraculously stopped. Don't know if this will work for everyone, but it's worth a shot.

 

[Bob61]

Per someone's instructions on a different forum, I shut down the Amazon app and processes that were inexplicably running even though I have NEVER used them. The skipping miraculously stopped. Don't know if this will work for everyone, but it's worth a shot.

I noticed that when my music started skipping my free RAM (running) had dropped to under 100MB (as mentioned above). I killed apps to bring my free RAM to over 100MB and skipping went away. I have tested this three times so far and seems to work. Killing Amazon apps probably raised your free RAM to prevent the skipping.

 

[Square85]

So its seems the chopping and stuttering has seemed to stop on my phone since installing Onavo Extend on my phone. It compresses data through Onavo's servers. My data gets compressed which means it lasts longer and my music streaming apps no longer stutter.

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