Galaxy Watch 4 loses control of player transport

[ultrarunner2020]

I've got a Galaxy A51 running Android 12, and a Galaxy Watch 4 with the latest update (One UI ver 4.0).
The audio app is running on the phone.
I start the player from the controls on the phone app, but I may pause play using the play/pause control on the watch.
Pausing from the watch always works, but if the player has been paused for a minute or longer, the watch will no longer restart play.
At the same time, I can restart play using the button on my BT headphones.
If I tap the watch to start play, then open the phone and wake up the screen, the audio will start, regardless of whether the player app is on the screen - it only needs to be running.

I thought the problem was the app, so I replaced it with another, but I am still having the same issue with the watch.

This problem does not occur when I am playing music through PowerAmp 3.x on the phone - only with the audiobook players.
Note that PowerAmp has a feature to keep the service running even if the app is closed, but neither of the audiobook apps have that feature.
Still, the audiobook app is running on the phone when this problem occurs.

Any thoughts?
Thanks
Ultrarunner

 

[B. Diddy]

I moved his to the Galaxy Watch4 forum for more specific traffic.

 

[VidJunky]

Hey how's it going?

Will you check your sleeping apps and see if your audiobook app is on either the Sleeping or Deep Sleeping app list? I don't think it will be simply because if it was the audio would stop when the screen was off and that isn't happening in this case. You might also check to see if the app is being Optimized. Change the battery setting to Unrestricted and see if that fixes it.

To check sleeping on a Samsung device, Settings>Battery and device care>Battery>Background usage limits>Sleeping apps/Deep sleeping apps

To allow apps unrestricted battery usage, Settings>Apps>(insert the name of your app here)>Battery>Unrestricted

I'm leaning towards the latter because it happens after a minute or so of inactivity. While the app is not being put to sleep it may be getting pushed to the background and having the connection to the watch severed. Opening the phone more or less wakes the app which then allows it establish a connection again.

Let us know what you find...

 

[ultrarunner2020]

Thanks VidJunky;
That seems to have done the trick!
I thought I had turned battery saver off and turned off optimization for all of my important apps, but that may have been several months ago on this phone when it was running A11. Recently, the phone upgraded itself to A12, and I would assume that all settings would be returned to default, which it seems strives to save as much battery as possible. I found early on that the GPS on my running app wouldn't work because the app was set to optimize battery.
There's even a setting to limit battery charging to 85%, as that is supposed to help extend useful battery life. The problem is they fail to provide a lower limit, which is crucial if you are really going to extend battery life. I read on a well respected forum that the optimal charge range for a lithium battery is 50-85%. So, in addition to limiting charge to 85%, they need to remind you to recharge when the level drops below 50%; Otherwise, you're still discharging more than 75% of the battery on each cycle, compared to only 35% when you range between 50 and 85%.
Anyway, that's a subject for another thread...

Thanks again for helping me out with this very frustrating problem!
Ultrarunner

 

[VidJunky]

Back in the Pie days, Android 9.0 they started allowing you to turn off the low battery notification but it seems that you cannot do that anymore. I'm pretty sure in one Android version you had control over what percentage it alerted you at. If I'm not mistaken it was between 20% and 5% so probably not helpful for what you're talking about. I've looked through my settings and searched a bit and now it seems there is no control. It cannot be turned off and the percentage cannot be changed. I've, I don't want to say always but more often than other percentages, mostly heard between 20% and 25% and 80%. In fact when I brought up the 85% battery setting a while back I got comments saying it should have been 80%. 85% to 50% though feels like it you'd need a charger on hand at all times. At that point charge cycles would start to come into play which can be harmful also. I'm not sure which is worse, a high number of charge cycles or always charging to 100% and draining very low?

 

[ultrarunner2020]

From what I understand, a charge cycle is a full recharge - probably from 20% to 100%. Anything less counts as only a fraction of a charge cycle. So, technically, you can get more cycles from the battery if you don't allow it to drop below 50% and above 80-85%, but as you said, you will be recharging more often. In the end, by the time the battery dies (won't take a charge), it's time for a new phone, especially if I'm buying cheap phones (around $100). If I were to spend a lot more on a phone, I would want to keep it longer than 2yrs, so perhaps I would pay more attention to battery usage. That said, I have replaced batteries on phones, but it's a real PITA having to pry the case open, and usually remove a million tiny screws, and then, unless you buy the OEM battery, it won't last nearly as long.

At this point, I am very dissatisfied with the Galaxy A51 and the Watch 4 Classic. There are too many bloatware apps, and settings that either cannot be changed, or will revert to default after every update.
Someone suggested I try a Google Pixel phone next time, but the latest model (6 Pro) costs more than $800, unless I can get it on special. Perhaps the Pixel 6 (not pro) would suffice. I have to do some research on this.