My Nucleus+ is becoming increasing unreliable with frequent crashes for the past 1+ year. I thought the newer software updates would help, but it’s not improving.
The playback stops after some random period, and the Roon App screen goes blank for a while before it slowly reloaded. Sometimes the play queue gets wiped out after the crash. Resetting Roon Server usually helps. I have to reset Roon Server once or twice a week, some bad days I have to reset it multiple times a day. I thought it’s a Tidal issue, but it crashes also playing from the local library from the attached 4TB SSD.
There’s no change on my network, and none of the other streaming Apps are having problems. I have to go back to my legacy Meridian Sooloos library for playback many times as Roon keeps crashing, and it takes a long time to reboot Roon Server.
Another issue is I cannot add Tidal albums to the library using the iOS or iPadOS Roon App. It looks like it’s added to the library for at first, but reverts back to unchecked after a while. I have to add the albums using the iOS Tidal App.
I’d appreciate it very much if you could look into the issues.
Best Regards,
David
Core Machine (Operating system/System info/Roon build number)
Roon Nucleus+, Serial Serial #54B203F68A49, 4TB SSD
Roon OS 1.0 (259), Server 2.66 (build 1658)
Network Details (Including networking gear model/manufacturer and if on WiFi/Ethernet)
All devices are on the same network.
Netgear Cable Modem (Cox Gigablast up to 1Gb/s)
Netgear Orbi WiFi6 Router
Peakedge SE26 24 port GigE Switch
Netgear 16 port GigE Switch
Linksys 4 port GigE Switch
Audio Devices (Specify what device you’re using and its connection type - USB/HDMI/etc.) Endpoints
Devialet D250 PRO v.13.1
Meridian: 218 (3u), MS600, Control 15
AppleTV 4K (2u)
iMac Studio
Other Devices
Meridian Core on QNAP
Crestron Pro2 Controller
Crestron CNX-PAD8 (Audio Matrix Switch)
Crestron MT-MC2W Controller
Thank you for the detailed report, and I apologize for the ongoing frustration. Dealing with frequent crashes and interruptions to your music is certainly not the experience we want you to have.
To be completely transparent with you regarding the crashes: something specific within your library’s data or structure is triggering a process that consumes almost all of the available memory (RAM) on your Nucleus+. When the memory maxes out, the Roon OS is forced to kill the process to protect the system, which results in the blank screens, wiped play queues, and the need for frequent restarts.
Our R&D team is actively investigating these specific memory allocation issues, and we are working hard on optimizations to handle these triggers more efficiently. You will see stability improvements designed to address this in our upcoming software releases. We highly recommend keeping an eye on the Roon Software Discussion > Software Release Notes section of the Community forum as we deploy these updates.
Regarding the issue with adding Tidal albums from your iOS device: this is actually a direct symptom of the server struggling with its memory limits. When the Nucleus+ is bogged down or silently freezing in the background, it cannot properly save the “add to library” command to your database or sync it with the Roon cloud, which is why the app eventually reverts the checkmark.
Please keep your Nucleus updated as new builds are released. If you find that the system is still experiencing these memory crashes after the next few updates, please reach out and report back here so we can take another diagnostic look.
Thank you for your patience and understanding while our engineering team works on these improvements!
Is this memory limits issue “specific” to my library’s data / structure or it’s a common Nucleus issue?
My library contains music files on the local SSD and Tidal tracks, nothing out of the ordinary. I’ve been diligently cleaning my library removing “Deleted Files”.
I’m running the latest version Roon. It’s always a bit scary to update Roon. This is my 3rd Nucleus+, the last 2 bricked after a Roon software update and could not be repaired.
A couple of data points for you:
Playing from Roon’s “Daily Mixes” almost always crash, usually after 1 or 2 tracks; sometimes it’ll work OK if I pause for a while and retart the queue again.
Roon Radio is the second most prone to crashes.
Roon crashes repeatedly sometimes, it boots up and crashes immediately when I hit Play, have to reset Roon Server before it works again.
Most of my friends are running Roon Core on Mac Mini, and they’re not experiencing frequent crashes as I do. I believe most newer Mac Mini’s have at least 16GB RAM. I was hoping Nucleus+ would be optimized for the Roon OS.
I’d appreciate it very much if you’re aware of any specific issues with my library.
Thanks for the additional details. We released a new Roon update today that should help with memory management, particularly on large libraries like yours, so please update and let us know how it’s looking on your end. Please report back once you’ve had a chance to try it.
I’ve updated to the latest Roon Version 2.67 (build 1661) production.
It seems to run smoother, but there are still a few issues:
Still cannot add Tidal albums using the Roon App. I tried to add album from New Release For You. It showed the album was added to my Roon library, but disappeared after a few seconds. I had to add the title using the Tidal App.
Opening the Roon App on another iOS device caused the playback to stop sometimes.
Roon and ARC page loading is extremely slow from time to time, especially ARC. ARC was having trouble loading the Album page one day, had to restart Roon Server.
Roon App was left opened one night and it lost contact with Nucleus+ suddenly, unable to connect after multiple attempts; but the N+ is still connected to the network; had to use the N+ web interface to restart Roon Server before Roon App could reconnect.