"Failed to play file" after updating to Android 13 / OneUi 5

[andrewilley]

@oskado Max discovered this issue while tracing some error logs supplied by users, and his solution was posted in this thread last week. I'm with you, I can see no reason why Samsung's processes should disable file access from its own system Storage application, but that's what seems to be happening to some Samsung users with the Android 13 upgrade. Glad it's sort for you now anyway,

Andre

[Jeremy N White]

Same problem. Wasted too much time following all the recommendations and still will not play tracks anymore. Time to buy another music player. 

[andrewilley]

@Jeremy N White The problem is most likely your device, but since you haven't actually said anything about it, your firmware, or what the exact problem is, it will be hard to help you.

Have you checked this:

Andre

[maxmp]

@Marinorama hi. Thanks for the log. From the log - Poweramp can't find the entries from your playlists.

Are you able to play these songs (for example, Playlists/Santana Caravanserai 01 - Eternal Caravan Of Reincarnation.mp3) by going in Poweramp Folders hierarchy to Playlists then pressing on Santana Caravanserai 01 - Eternal Caravan Of Reincarnation?

- if there is no Playlists (nor Santana Caravanserai 01 - Eternal Caravan Of Reincarnation), ensure this folder is added and selected in Settings/ Library / Music Folders.

- if there is Playlists folder but no such file in Poweramps Folders hierachy / Playlists, ensure file actually exists, you can try to open it in any file manager

- if file is there, but Poweramp skips it, see the discussion in this thread regarding External Storage file access permission.
(in Android terms, External Storage is ANY storage available to the user, including your phone storage. Internal storage is used for apps installation/system, user can't do anything to it without root).

Thanks!

[Twisties]

I am having the same issue.  Wife and I just both got the same new phones and migrated Poweramp.  Mine works fine, hers gives the "Failed to play File" error.  Have:

cleared app cache

restarted phone

uninstalled and reinstalled both Poweramp and unlocker

Files are on an sd card in a folder called music, not in root.

Verified app access to external memory in apps --> special access  

Appears to be all files that won't play.

Appears that only song titles were imported.

Can not find/understand Legacy file mode?  What is this where do I access it?  Files are mostly wma, with a few mp3.

Build 957 977004-fc6ea6fb full version 64 bit.  Android 13

[maxmp]

@Twisties what's shown in Poweramp settings / Music Folders popup? Are you able to add folders there?

[andrewilley]

File Access Legacy Mode is in PA Settings=>Misc.  For Android 13, I would suggest turning that mode OFF to allow Android to use its current default Storage Access Framework.

Have you granted access permission to the folder that contains your music, which is done by going through the Android permission system and tapping 'Use The Folder' when you are viewing the contents of the Music folder on your SD Card. Then allow a Full Rescan to occur:

When you request a Full Rescan in PA Settings=>Library, what happens? You should see an initial "Scanning Folders..." message at the top of the screen which should only take a few seconds to find and count all of the music subfolders and any contained filenames. At that point, PA would only be able to show filenames in the Library (which is as you describe). Then after that first quick pass, a much longer second phase of "Scanning Library..." should occur, during which time PA checks every discovered audio file and reads its embedded tag data into the music library database. It is that phase which finds the song Titles, Artists, Album names, etc. If that does not occur, it is possible that the files cannot be read or played.

Andre

[Twisties]

On 5/2/2023 at 1:40 PM, maxmp said:

@Twisties what's shown in Poweramp settings / Music Folders popup? Are you able to add folders there?

Yes.

On 5/2/2023 at 4:17 PM, andrewilley said:

File Access Legacy Mode is in PA Settings=>Misc.  For Android 13, I would suggest turning that mode OFF to allow Android to use its current default Storage Access Framework.

Have you granted access permission to the folder that contains your music.

which is done by going through the Android permission system and tapping 'Use The Folder' when you are viewing the contents of the Music folder on your SD Card. Then allow a Full Rescan to occur:

When you request a Full Rescan in PA Settings=>Library, what happens? You should see an initial "Scanning Folders..." message at the top of the screen which should only take a few seconds to find and count all of the music subfolders and any contained filenames. At that point, PA would only be able to show filenames in the Library (which is as you describe). Then after that first quick pass, a much longer second phase of "Scanning Library..." should occur, during which time PA checks every discovered audio file and reads its embedded tag data into the music library database. It is that phase which finds the song Titles, Artists, Album names, etc. If that does not occur, it is possible that the files cannot be read or played.

Andre

Ok, I have tried it with and without legacy mode, no difference.  Legacy mode is currently off.  Music folder is granted permission and enabled.  It does both stages of the scan but still only displays the song title and unknown artist.  Still fails to play file.  This is what it's done from the get go, nothing has made any difference.  

Thanks for all the help!

[andrewilley]

Did you perhaps restore settings from a previous installation? If so, try it 'clean' instead (uninstall/reinstall, or delete app data via the Android Apps menu).

Then use PA's Music Folders option to 'Add Folder or Storage' and open your chosen 'Music' folder again in the Android selector screen. You should see this sort of folder view, showing the songs and/or subfolders in your Music folder. Then tap on 'Use This Folder'.

Confirm at the next prompt to 'Allow'.

That should be all that's needed. That's assuming you've checked that the Samsung Android system 'External Storage' component is enabled, via Apps-->(menu) Special Access->All Files Access->(menu) Show System Apps->External Storage, which you say you have already done.

These steps are covered in more detail in two of the FAQs/Guides:
https://forum.powerampapp.com/kb/en_us/guides/choosing-your-music-folders-and-granting-access-permission-r43/
https://forum.powerampapp.com/kb/en_us/faq/android-13-too-many-files-failed-r45/
 

@maxmp If proper read access to files is still not being granted, would a log file help track this down? 

Andre

[maxmp]

@andrewilley Poweramp shows «Filed to play file» when there is no access. 

Why it doesn’t work is obvious from the setup in Music Folders:

• the legacy access folders are marked as such in recent Poweramp builds. Failing to play files from such folder means no permission to read/write files. Poweramp asks for this permission on startup, or (if previously denied or otherwise disabled) it can be manually allowed from App Info dialog (avail. on app icon long press)
• the normal folders have no legacy access mark. Failing to play from these means no explicit user permission (due to the imported settings or the permissions were revoked) - Poweramp shows “Enable” button for these, so pressing this button and granting the permission fixes it. If no “Enable” button - this is External Storage access issue.  

Generally, file access on recent Androids requires user to explicitly grant permission one or another way. It can’t just work as in older releases of Androids and/or for older apps (sitting on low SDK target).

Poweramp on Android 13 will loose access to legacy folders completely starting from Autumn 2023 due to the Google requirements for the app updates. I will try to apply for All files access permission from Google, but chances to get this are very low and also it won’t automatically work for users (the permission should be explicitly granted).

[Twisties]

Thanks for all the help.  I decided to swap SD cards between the two phones.  Mine failed to play and hers worked.  So, it appears to be something with her SD card.  Odd that one could see the files, read the titles, but they wouldn't play.  But, I'll reformat the card and reload it with the files and see if that works.

The system merged replies:  Below is a follow-up post.

FWIW, her SD card seemed fine.  Other files, such as photo and video were fine.  But music files would not play on any device.  I deleted the music folder and then recreated it from my copy.  All good now.  What an ordeal, and really a mystery to me.

[maxmp]

On 5/4/2023 at 3:30 PM, maxmp said:

I will try to apply for All files access permission from Google, but chances to get this are very low and also it won’t automatically work for users (the permission should be explicitly granted).

Good news that Google allowed Poweramp to have All Files Access, so Legacy File Access option will continue to work. On Android 13+ it will require enabling the permission (Poweramp will ask after the update) if the Legacy File Access is enabled.

[andrewilley]

@maxmp That's great Max, hopefully less people will now have these problems in future.

Andre

[Larry 609]

Looks like the problem has returned for me. I did a library rescan this morning to add some new playlists, and I got the following message in Settings once I couldn't play files anymore:

• File Access Legacy Mode - Not Supported
• This mode makes all storages directly accessible for a selection in the Music Folders dialog. This option is not supported on Android 13+for the Play app edition.

I believe the File Access button was working until today. I don't think I updated the Android version today, but did restart the phone before refreshing the library.

I downloaded the 965-uni version from the website, and even though it did install and scan the playlists/files with that button enabled, none of the songs will play.

 

Device: S21 Ultra

Android/One UI Version: 13/5.1

[andrewilley]

@Larry 609

For a Play Store download, try turning the File Access Legacy Mode off, and assign your Music Folders again.

Andre

[Larry 609]

That’s the thing. File Access Legacy Mode is greyed out now in the Play Store download. I can’t turn it off or on anymore.

Edit: Okay, it is working again! I'm just going to have to rely on the 965 download for awhile yet, unless Android figures out their stuff here eventually. I keep forgetting I have to select the "Music" folder under the File Legacy line!

Edited June 26, 2023 by Larry 609