Hiccups / stutters in audio

[ultrarunner2020]

Hey guys;
I know this has been an ongoing issue for some Android owners. I am at my wits end to figure out a solution.
My phone is: Moto G7 Optimo Maxx Tracfone.
SD Card: Samsung EVO Select 256GB MicroSDXC UHS-I U3 100MB/s Full HD & 4K UHD Memory Card.
I am now using flac for music. Was using ogg Vorbis before.
When I switched to flac, I did not have any expectations that this would fix the hiccup problem - and it did not.

I have had some success with disabling / uninstalling some apps I wasn't using, and I thought might be causing the hiccups, but they haven't stopped - although the frequency of hiccups seems to have dropped.
WiFi seems to have some effect. When turned off, lfrequency of hiccups seems lower, but not zero.

Now, this hiccup thing occurs on all headsets - wired or bluetooth.
It also occurs with two different music players I have: Poweramp 3.x (licensed version) and the built-in Android player (don't know the name of it).

As for the apps I uninstalled or disabled:
Waze, NOAA Weather app, Lightning Tracker app, Google Earth, and there were several more.
I have also disabled the Android FX app, which for some reason I had switched on - don't need it with Poweramp's EQ.

The hiccups are very brief - a small fraction of a second, but it drives me mad!

I am getting to the point where I may buy a dedicated music player (with bluetooth), but if I do that, then I won't be able to receive phone calls while out running, since the only headphones I own that have multipoint are the Bose QC 35 II, which are not outdoor headphones. I normally run with JBL/UA Train Wireless, or Jabra Elite Active 75T.

I had this same issue with my last phone - LG Fiesta II (Tracfone) with Android 7, so I know it's not a phone thing.

Any ideas?
Thanks
Ultrarunner

 

[B. Diddy]

Does this only happen with music played from the card? What about music that's saved to Internal Storage? Or streaming music?

It's also worth trying it in Safe Mode, since some app you regularly install on your phones might be interfering: https://support.motorola.com/us/en/solution/MS135872?linkId=70832214. This is assuming you can play those music files using the stock preinstalled music player, since you won't be able to test with a 3rd party player in Safe Mode.

 

[ultrarunner2020]

Thanks for the suggestions;
I haven't ever tried listening to music on internal storage. I have far too many songs on the SD card to fit in internal, so I could never make use of it.
I do not stream music on my phone at all.
Safe mode? Haven't tried that yet. I guess I should, although I probably won't be able to use Poweramp - will need to use the generic Android player, no?

 

[B. Diddy]

These are just troubleshooting steps. If skipping doesn't happen on Internal Storage, then it might just be that specific SD card that's a problem, so you could try a different one.

You're correct, you can't use Poweramp in Safe Mode. But that might also be helpful, because if skipping doesn't happen in Safe Mode, the problem might be with Poweramp.

 

[ultrarunner2020]

I am using a different SD card now than I was yesterday. I just upgraded from 128G to 256G when I decided to switch from .ogg to .flac.
So, I doubt the issue is with the SD card.
I did however increase buffer size in PA to 700ms.
I don't see a way to increase buffer in generic player though.
This generic player I am referring to is the one that is opened when I select an audio file using 'Files' and just tap it.

Also, while listening to a 60 minute audio track, I had two hiccups; one at 20 mins, the other at 40 mins. Interesting that it occurred at 20 minute intervals. But that is not generally the case. The hiccups appear to be random, except that they usually occur as a song is ending.
For this reason, I switched off crossfade in PA.

 

[B. Diddy]

Did the phone come with any other preinstalled music player, like YouTube Music?

 

[ultrarunner2020]

Yes. The player that comes up by default when I go into 'Files' app. The icon for music files is the purple 1/8 note.
The hiccups occur with this player just as they do with PA.

I think I will copy some songs to internal storage and play the whole lot of them; at least a couple hours worth, and see what happens.
If it doesn't happen with the internal storage, there isn't much I can do. I'm already using a fast SD card, so I doubt changing it (again) would do anything.
That said, I would think that if there was an issue with the SD card that the hiccups would happen much more often.

Besides safe mode, I could try airplane mode (with wired headphones). But I do have WiFi turned off anyway.
If all else fails, I may just go for a DAP. With my new Bose QC 35 II I can at least take incoming phone calls while I listen on the DAP.
Not true with my other two bluetooth devices, but if it means getting rid of the hiccups, I can live with the 'inconvenience' of not being able to take phone calls while out running. I probably shouldn't be doing that anyway... not that I receive many phone calls. It's mostly texts, which are even more distracting while out running.

 

[ultrarunner2020]

Update:
It's not the SD card.
I copied the entire 'Bryan Adams' .flac folder from my PC to internal storage on my phone. Bryan Adams is my overall favourite artist, so I have hundreds of songs by him.
I reset PowerAmp library to only this folder on internal storage and started listening to the entire folder -shuffle turned off.
No WiFi, and I have already (on the 2nd song) heard a hiccup.
I will continue listening until I have exhausted all of songs on internal storage - just to confirm that this is not a SD card issue.

What next?
Factory reset?
Do not install any apps except PowerAmp?
I don't know. I'm pulling my hair out over this.
Maybe it wouldn't bother another listener, but that's not me. It really does bother me. Technology should be better than this.
Maybe it's time to leave Android for an iPhone?? I hope not.

Edit: I never had this problem before Android 7 (Kit Kat). I had Android 4 before that.
I guess after I have confirmed - after maybe three hiccups - the issue still exists on internal storage, I will try safe mode and run the built-in player.

 

[B. Diddy]

Does this happen with mp3 as well? I wonder if it's some glitch with FLAC files.

Safe Mode is a quick test, so I'd just try it and see if it still happens.

 

[ultrarunner2020]

I tried safe mode last night, but I fell asleep while listening. I awoke suddenly, thinking I had just heard a hiccup, but I cannot be sure.
I will use safe mode all day today and see what happens.
I first thought that i would not be able to use Bluetooth in safe mode, but that turns out to be untrue. Matter of fact, I was able to use BT while in airplane mode.

As for the file type; I was listening to .ogg files before switching to .flac, so I doubt it's the file type. I could try mp3 for experimental purposes, but I don't use that format for my music.

I should mention that I have Nova Launcher installed on my phone. I think I have had it since my last phone, so I guess that is a possible cause. Of course it is not loaded in safe mode.

An odd thing happened last night when I switched to listening to music from my PC.
I was listening through the Bose headphones, which have multipoint. So I just paused the music on the phone and began listening to songs I have loaded on my PC (not streaming). Since I had just heard a hiccup on the phone while playing a particular song, I wanted to listen to that same song on the PC using MusicBee.
While listening from the PC, there were several hiccups.
But when I loaded the same song into Reaper DAW, I heard no hiccups.
I came to attribute the hiccups I heard while listening to MusicBee to the headphones, which were still paired with the phone. I don't think those hiccups were related to the problems I am having on the phone.

Perhaps instead of trying mp3 on the phone, I should go in 'the other direction' and try .wav. I would never have the storage space for wav files, but it might be worth a try.

 

[ultrarunner2020]

Now here's a new glitch; completely unrelated to the hiccups:
While in safe mode I am playing songs on the default player. The screen blanks after 30 seconds.
No hiccups while listening on BT headphones.
But when I take the phone and hit the power button to wake the screen, the current song immediately stops and play begins from the beginning of the song that was playing when the screen went to sleep.
This is obviously a glitch with the default music player.

 

[B. Diddy]

I would've started suspecting a Bluetooth issue, but you mentioned in your OP that this also occurs with wired headphones, so that can't be the main issue.

I'm not sure if I understood correctly -- does this also happen if you play the music on the phone's main speaker?

The main reason I was asking about mp3 is that this is by far the most common format, and although most phones are supposed to be compatible with other formats like OGG and FLAC, I just wonder if the relative rarity of their use among the general population might mean it's more common to encounter glitches with their playback (perhaps due to less attention during firmware development to diligent testing of these formats). I'm probably way off-base, but just a thought.

Not sure about the music app's behavior in Safe Mode -- that certainly doesn't sound right. And that doesn't happen out of Safe Mode, right?

 

[B. Diddy]

Also, how are you creating the FLAC and OGG files? Have you been able to play them anywhere without hiccups?

 

[ultrarunner2020]

I haven't done any testing with the phone's speaker. It sounds so terrible I wouldn't be able to listen long enough to acquire any useful data.
I rip from CD's to flac using EAC. When I purchase from iTunes (or other download store) I convert to flac using Foobar2000. I have also used Reaper.
I have not had any hiccups while playing music on my PC - except that one time yesterday, but I think that was a bluetooth issue when both the phone and PC were paired to the Bose headphones. I was not able to repeat that issue.

This morning, I listened using Poweramp (in normal mode) while out running for about 1-1/2 hours. No hiccups at all.
Before I went out, I shut off all notifications. I'm thinking that could be at least part of the problem, although I don't hear the notification sound when I get a hiccup.
I also had WiFi turned off, but there were no hiccups when I turned it back on after my run.

I tried to keep the phone in safe mode longer than I did, but I could not work with it that way. I didn't even have a texting app in safe mode.
The hiccup did occur once or twice while the phone was in safe mode this morning, playing music through the stock player.

The problem with this issue is it is so inconsistent that it is very difficult to detect any patterns.
I can go hours without hearing any hiccups, only to hear a number of them in a short time later on. I always look at the notifications screen and the running apps list (in developer) to see what might have happened, but so far I have not found anything definitive.

With my previous phone (LG Fiesta II Android 7) I would hear the hiccups frequently while out running. I thought the problem might be WiFi, since I was out of range of my home WiFi, but there are public hotspots that my phone may try to connect with as I run past them. So I would turn off WiFi, and that seemed to reduce the frequency of hiccups, but not eliminate them.

All of this has led me to think that the problem may be caused by multiple sources. This is always the most difficult to troubleshoot.
I have thought of installing a utility that might help me monitor the phone's processes, but that utility may cause more hiccups itself.

One more piece of info regarding Poweramp:
I have played music using both of the output methods:
OpenSL ES Hi-Res output, and Audio Track Output. The hiccups occur with both of them.

Another thing I tried was disabling crossfade in PA. But that didn't change anything either.

In the end, I may just have to learn to live with it. Or, root my phone and do some hacking myself. But I wouldn't do that with this phone; I would use the LG Fiesta II with Android 7 - since the problem existed on that phone as well.

 

[B. Diddy]

Ok, here's something else to try -- turn on Do Not Disturb before an extended listening session, and see if the hiccups occur. Since you're blocking all notifications, you can see if the hiccups consistently don't occur in Do Not Disturb.

 

[ultrarunner2020]

I think I've already tried that. I usually do turn on DND when I'm listening to Holosync meditation music. I know that I have heard the hiccups during that time. But next time, I will make sure I have DND turned on.

 

[ultrarunner2020]

Now this is disturbing:
I was listening to music on the phone and there was a skip in one song. This was completely different than the hiccups I have been experiencing.
Unlike the hiccups, I was able to repeat the skip when I replayed the song.
So I played the same song on my PC with Musicbee. No skip.
This is odd, since the flac file was copied to the phone from the same folder on the PC that Musicbee uses.
Note that I cipied my entire flac library to the phone by USB using a USB to SD card adapter before installing the SD card into the phone.
This worries me, as there are probably other songs that have such defects. I hope that there isn't a problem with the SD card - it's bran-new.
When I re-copied the file, I did not directly replace the one on the phone. I renamed the existing file and copied the new one to the phone.
I did not remove the SD card from the phone to do this; I just used the USB cable between PC and phone.

Perhaps I should never have expected perfection from the device I am using. My phone - the Moto G7 Optimo Maxx cost me about $120, and that included the 1yr Tracfone service and 1500 Mins/Texts/MB data.
So maybe I'm asking too much for too little.
If I really want perfection, I may need to purchase some sort of dedicated device.
That said, I did a search for such devices on Amazon, and I didn't find anything with rave reviews. Perhaps I would need to shop at a dedicated music store like Sweetwater or Sam Ash? Or, at least B&H Photo/Video.

 

[B. Diddy]

I came across this thread: https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Moto-Z...-fine-on-bluetooth/m-p/4067675?page=1#4071683. Make sure your Equalizer and any Audio Effects are turned off (if available).

 

[ultrarunner2020]

Thanks for the link. Interesting thread, but I don't think it's the same issue. If I had to guess, I would conclude that his issue is with the codec usef to play flac files. Some sort of bug in Android, the codec, or both.
That said, I am not using Android FX, but I am using the EQ in PowerAmp. I did have Android FX turned on until a few days ago - I was using it with Spotify when I had that service - but found that having both it and the PA EQ turned on caused the music to sound flat, and sometimes it would suddenly change EQ. So now I have Android EQ (and other FX) turned off.

I just had an idea. Maybe it will reveal something:
I have a number of long 'DJ' style mixes which I created in Reaper and rendered to flac. These continuous play mixes are between 1 and 2 hours long.
So, if I don't get the hiccups while playing the mixes, then perhaps this could indicate that the problem has something to do with the music player (either PA or Google) loading the next track.
Perhaps something with the buffer.

So, I'll play these long tracks all day today and see what happens.

 

[ultrarunner2020]

Update:
Had 2 hiccups so far while playing the continuous mix, so loading next track does not appear to be the issue.
I currently have buffer set to 700ms, 3 buffers and 1 Post-Fade.