· I have used ARC in offline mode (playing songs downloaded to my phone) for almost a year without issues. Today while on an airplane, for the first time it insisted that I log in again. When I was finally able to log in, I get to a screen that shows that it is trying and failing to connect to my ROCK. (I know it won’t work due to network issues at home, which is why I downloaded a bunch of music to my phone.) But it gives me no option to run in offline mode.
Since ARC had been working in offline mode for nearly a year and then suddenly asked you to log in again on the airplane, we want to narrow down exactly what changed.
Did this start after updating to the latest ARC release? Also, what exact steps did you take before reaching the screen where it tries, and fails, to connect to your ROCK? Finally, was ARC ever connected in online mode at least once with both ARC and your Roon Server on the latest build?
Please let us know, and we will take it from there.
When I got home and was able to connect to my ROCK, everything worked again.
It is possible that I had not used ARC since the latest SW version was installed. But this is the first time this failure has happened to me, and the software has obviously been revised many times. Do I need to alway make sure I run ARC once on my phone online before trying to use it offline?
I am glad to hear that everything started working again once you were back home and connected to your ROCK!
To answer your question directly: yes, it is highly recommended to let ARC connect to your server periodically.
Here is a quick breakdown of why this happens:
License Verification: Roon ARC is designed to quietly verify your active Roon subscription and refresh its license token with your server approximately once a month.
Token Expiration: If you happen to be entirely offline (like on a flight) right when that 30-day token expires, ARC will lock and prompt you for a login to re-verify your account. Because it cannot reach your server or the internet to complete the login, it restricts access to your downloaded files.
To prevent this from happening on future trips, simply open the ARC app while connected to your home Wi-Fi (or on cellular data) every few weeks. This will refresh the license token in the background and ensure your downloaded music is always ready to go when you are completely off the grid.
Please let us know if you run into any other questions!