Intermittent issue adding tracks to playlist in Roon (ref#GJ7TTK)

[Chris_McGolpin]

Hi! What’s not quite right with Roon?

· None of the above quite fits

None of the above quite fits

· None of these quite match

Tell us what's going on

· I have created multiple play list and never had an issue. Now when I select a track with the three dots to add to an existing playlist it is coming up with the following message in red - 1 tracks couldn't be matched to your streaming service. The other day I could add no tracks to an existing playlist then eventually I could. This morning tried again and it accepted the first request and rejected the second request with this message. What is going on please. I have a subscription so this should work. Room version on iPhone - 2.71

Tell us about your home network

· UK Sky router - sky Hub 4.2

[Chris_McGolpin]

I have just tried the same action on Roon desktop on my Mac and same issue occurs.

[connor]

Hi @Chris_McGolpin,

Thank you for your post.

Diagnostics indicate that this RoonServer machine is running a severely outdated version of Roon, build 1496. The Roon Remote instance on the same machine is a more recent, but still outdated build, 1651. That’s likely the root of the problem here.

A build mismatch will cause havoc outside of playlist updates, so please navigate to Settings → About and follow the prompts to update to the latest version of Roon.

Please let us know if this helps. We’ll watch for your reply.

[Chris_McGolpin]

Hello Connor. Thanks for your reply.

I get and take regular Roon updates so curious why this issue.

Regards,

Chris.

[Chris_McGolpin]

Connor I have just looked at Roon and it says I have the current lates version installed - 2.71 build 1683. It gives a link to change log and that confirms the same. Can you help me understand why the app is saying something very different to what you say please.

Regards,

Chris.

[Chris_McGolpin]

I think you need to advise me how to update the Nucleus if that is what you are saying.

Regards,

Chris.

[Chris_McGolpin]

[Chris_McGolpin]

Connor the more I think about this the more confused I am / my Roon nucleus automatically updates so you Roon do that and I just accept it. I have just checked on Claude and it says - The latest is Roon 2.71, Build 1683, released August 2026.

Per screenshots this is what I have. I took and update a few days ago.

I am confused you are Roon technical yet you are giving me what appears to be incorrect information.

Regards,

Chris.

[Chris_McGolpin]

Morning can Roon technical come back please.

[Carl]

@Chris_McGolpin

Morning can Roon technical come back please.

Roon support will follow up on this when they return to work after the weekend.

[Chris_McGolpin]

OK. I might add that this message is also appearing. It comes up and disappears very quickly so just managed to take a screenshot.
Please advise Roon technical support on this and the broader issue.

[vadim]

Hello @Chris_McGolpin

Chris, first the version question, because you asked twice and you were right both times.

The build numbers we quoted, 1496 and 1651, belong to a Roon Server installed on your MacBook Air and to the Roon app on your iMac. Neither is your Nucleus, and both show an empty library, so neither is where your music lives. Your screenshots were accurate all along: your Nucleus and your remotes are on 2.71 build 1683, and there is nothing for you to update.

You have raised two separate things, so let us keep them apart.

The message in your latest screenshot

That one is telling you something real:

Playback notifications are unavailable because the notification permission was denied. Roon may be less reliable when the app is in the background on some devices.

Roon asked your iPhone for permission to show notifications at some point and was declined. So it cannot show playback notifications, and it is warning you that it may be interrupted when it is not the app on screen.

Please turn both of these on:

• Settings, then Notifications, then Roon, and switch Allow Notifications on
• Settings, then General, then Background App Refresh, and make sure it is on and that Roon is enabled in the list

That message should stop appearing once the permission is granted.

The playlist message

Before anything else, one question, because the answer decides whether this is a fault at all.

When you add a track to that playlist, is the playlist one you created in Roon, or is it a Tidal or Qobuz playlist? And are the tracks you are adding from your own library, or from Tidal or Qobuz?

It matters because the two behave differently. A playlist that belongs to a streaming service can only hold tracks that exist on that service. If you add a track from your own library, Roon has to find the matching version in the service catalog, and where there is no match it says exactly what you are seeing. That would also explain why one track was accepted and the next refused: the first had a match and the second did not.

If that is what is happening, this is not a fault, and we will show you how to tell the two kinds of playlist apart so it stops catching you out. If your playlist is a Roon playlist, then something is wrong and we will keep digging.

[Chris_McGolpin]

@vadim Hello Vadim, firstly thank you for your detailed response.

On the version question. Thanks for confirming. I have a follow up question - I typically use Roon on two devices - my iPhone (say 90% of the time) and iPad the balance of the time. I am curious why the latter has not been picked up as a device.

The MacBook Air and the iMac are sometimes used for Roon - more checking things on a bigger screen. I would ignore the iMac as that is an old version but the Air is handy and relatively new device. How do I install the latest Roon version on this device? I had assumed like the iPhone it notifies me of an update automatically. Be useful to know so I can ensure it has the latest version.

On the first issue playback notifications - I have done both those steps. Hopefully that will sort it as you say.

The playlist message question. You pose some interesting questions. For the record I use Tidal to supplement my own ripped NAS CD collection that Roon accesses.

Looking at Tidal I have a bunch of playlists - they are either Tidal playlists or ones labelled ‘by you’ - so ones I have created in Tidal. Those appear in Roon as part of the integration and I can play those using Roon app. The issue I am experiencing is - I think - on a playlist I created in Tidal specifically and have tried to add tracks to that while in Roon app. The source music files are my ripped CDs I see in Roon. While awaiting a reply I re-created a playlist and managed to add the tracks - but here is the thing - I am not sure how I created that but given your comments I am wondering if I created that in Roon. If I did it is not something I have done before and why I have never seen the message until now!

So I think it would help me to clarify how best for me to create a playlist that can be compiled correctly accessing my ripped CD music (and for tracks I don’t have) using Tidal. My sense is the answer is use Tidal only tracks in Tidal created playlists and then I can play those through Roon, for other playlists combining my ripped library of CDs and Tidal tracks create that playlist in Roon.
If you can tell me the correct approach to get this right.

If i understand you correctly you are saying I have tried to add a track to a Tidal playlist from my CD ripped collection (which Roon has access to / copies of) but Roon cannot find a matching version in Tidal? I am note sure I have understood this correctly but please let me know.

Thank you again. I look forward to your reply.

Regards,

Chris.

[vadim]

Hello @Chris_McGolpin

Chris, taking your questions in order.

Your reading is correct. You were adding tracks from your ripped CD collection to a playlist that lives in Tidal. A Tidal playlist can only contain tracks that exist on Tidal, so Roon has to find a matching Tidal version of each local track before it can sync the change. Where a match exists, the track is added. Where none exists, you get the message you saw. That is also why one track went in and the next did not.

There is a second part to this that matters more for you than the error message does. When the match does succeed, the playlist ends up holding the Tidal version of that track, not your rip. So even in the cases where it appears to work, you are not getting what you ripped.

The playlist you re-created and were able to fill is almost certainly a Roon playlist, which is why it behaved.

For anything that mixes your CD rips with Tidal, please create the playlist in Roon rather than in Tidal. A Roon playlist holds local files and Tidal tracks side by side with no matching involved, and your rips stay your rips. Keep Tidal playlists for Tidal-only content, which is what they are good at.

You can tell which is which from the Playlists section of the sidebar: playlists belonging to Tidal sit in with the Tidal mark,

The full detail is here, and the section headed 2-Way Playlist Sync is the relevant one:

Playlists

The iPad. Nothing to do there. What we looked at is not a roll call of every device that has ever connected, so its absence does not mean anything is wrong. iPhone and iPad apps update through the App Store, so if you would like to confirm it, please check for a Roon update there.

The notification permission. Good, thank you for doing both steps. That message should stop appearing.

[Chris_McGolpin]

Hello @vadim

Apologies for the delay and thank you for the clear and comprehensive reply. That makes sense to me - what is causing the issue and how to resolve it - Tidal for Tidal, Roon for CD rips & Tidal combined. The ‘offending’ playlist was Tidal as are most of my playlist. The one that solved it has no Tidal logo so per your note that indicates I created that in Roon. The link I have opened and read now - very helpful.

Noted on iPad and notification permission.

Thanks again.

Regards,

Chris.