Some music not playing

[Michael Joel 22]

Certain albums and songs have stopped playing on both Google Play Music and Phonograph. However it is possible to play them on VLC. The albums all played previously and are in different formats. This is why it is confusing. Any suggestions will be appreciated

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Which phone? Are the music tracks stored on Internal Storage or an SD card? Do those music apps still even find those music tracks, or have they disappeared from within the apps?

 

[Michael Joel 22]

Hello. Thank you for responding. All of the music tracks are stored on the phone. It is a Nokia 6.1. All the tracks are visible in all apps. In Google Play Music they appear to play but are not actually playing. In Phonograph this message appears "couldn't play this song". I have loaded the same original files to my S7 and they play without a problem (including via Phonograph). I have tried clearing the cache but it makes no difference.

 

[B. Diddy]

Try also clearing the app data (along with the cache) from the Play Music app, if you haven't already.

 

[Michael Joel 22]

Hello again. Yes we've tried that also.

 

[Rukbat]

You say "are in different formats". It could be that you don't have an app that will play certain formats. (Since they all play in VLC, why not just set VLC as the default player? Go to Settings > Apps > App info - to your current music player app > Clear Defaults. Then run a music file [from your file manager], choose VLC and hit Always.)

 

[Michael Joel 22]

Hello. This is not the case. My son's preferred app is Pbonograph. It did play all formats as did the default Google Music Play. Although I appreciate that one solution is using VLC this does not explain the problem.

 

[B. Diddy]

Where were the tracks obtained? Do any of them have DRM?

 

[Michael Joel 22]

Hello. I'm not sure about DRM but I don't think that is relevant. The music is from a variety of sources. Most is ripped CD's but some individual songs are itunes downloads. All the music that will not play on my son's phone plays on my S7. The music plays on all players including Phonograph. This makes me think it is an operating system issue.

 

[B. Diddy]

Hmm, I'm not sure what else to suggest. It'd be strange for there to be issues playing standard music tracks just because the Nokia is on Pie, while the S7 is on, what, Oreo? Or did that S7 get Pie as well?

 

[Potato Guru]

Hey bro! Previously, tracks played normally on the device? If not, then most likely the problem lies not in applications, but in the broken scripts of your device! There is an option to reset your device and check the music again... Suddenly, something malicious was installed on your device. Hope I helped you!

 

[Michael Joel 22]

Hello. Initially all music played. Now some does and some doesn't. I was contemplating a reset but did not want to do this without exploring other options first. Is it possible to do some form of reset that is not as drastic as a full factory reset?

 

[B. Diddy]

You mentioned clearing the cache, but I assume that was for the music app only, right? Try wiping the cache partition: https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-28028

 

[Rukbat]

If the same music file played before, and doesn't now, I'd suspect either malware or a corrupt music file.

If it's a track that's never played on that phone, but played on your son's phone I'd suspect a corrupt copy of the file.

If the same file plays in VLC but not Phonograph, I'd suspect a missing codec in Phonograph.

 

[Michael Joel 22]

Hello. By way of explanation. I put music on my son's phone which is a Nokia 6.1. The music is a series of albums from ripped cd's and individual songs downloaded from itunes. All the music played through both Phonograph and Google Music Play. For some reason some of the albums and individual songs have stopped playing through both players. It was suggested that I try VLC. Bizarrely all the music plays through VLC.

I put the same music on my phone from the same source. All of it plays through any music player including Phonograph.

What I can't understand is how some music plays whilst some doesn't through more than one music player. It just doesn't make sense.

 

[Michael Joel 22]

Hello. I have been reading old posts which cover the same problem. The good thing is it's not just a problem on my son's phone. The bad thing is that there doesn't seem to be a black and white explanation.

Does anyone think thst a systen restore would resolve the issue?