Roon Playback stops frequently, connection lost

Support
1

Roon Core Machine

iMac, Catalina, 3,3 Ghz Quad i5, 16GB, late 2013
Connected to router via WiFi, stable and reliable (!), 1000MBit +/-, about 60 dBm, 5 Ghz,
Router to iMac WiFi-distance 5m / 1 thin wall
located in office at home

iPad and/or MacbookPro (M1, 2020), both via WiFi 5Ghz

Networking Gear & Setup Details

Fritzbox 7590, via Ethernet into an Auralic Mini with internal SSD (480GB), living room

Connected Audio Devices

Auralic Mini (as a Bridge) via USB into a DAC (Chord Qutest) into a Preampā€¦

Number of Tracks in Library

9300 tracks,
qobuz subscription

Description of Issue

Hi all and a Happy New Year 2022 !
I was ( and I think I am stillā€¦) a happy roon user until about last week! Donā€™t know the exact day. Should have been after Christmas. After installing 884ā€¦ (still a guess)
Iā€™m encountering frequent stops of roon playback. Sometimes after 15 Minutes +/-, sometimes after 25 Minutes etc.
Sometimes it just stops and I have to push PLAY (in case the Zone is still available) on the iPad.
Sometimes the connection is lost completely and I have to re-activate the zone on the Core machine (iMac). Couldnā€™t find a regularity so far. However, connection is lost then.
Playback stops on both streaming (qobuz) and playback from internal SSD

What I did so far:

  • I searched the roon forum
  • Switched on and off router, core, endpoint, tablet etc. (incl. pulling power plugs)
  • I reinstalled roon software on core, tablet etc.
  • I restored roon backup twice
  • Iā€™m permanently monitoring figures and statistics of the router/WiFi (always looking very good!)
  • I double-checked all releases, everything is on the latest software release

However, I assume it is a WiFi <-> roon issue because
my home network is generally working fine and reliable,
I can playback roon via Sonos, ok
I can stream 4K video, ok
I can stream TV, ok
I can listen to my music flawlessly via Auralic Lightning alternatively, no issues. a n d
I can listen to a roon zone in my office (same machine for core and playback on my iMac)

Needless to say that until 1 week ago, everything was very fine and I felt pity for the many users with issues which I could read in the forum, but now itā€™s up to me.

OK, this was a lot of text now, Iā€™m looking forward to your comments.
If you need any more information, let me know.

Regads,
Franz

ā€¦

1 Like
2

After the last update I also started to see problems like this when using wired headphones on my Android phone. The Roon Server on my ROCK is build 884 and the build on my Android phone is 880 (and the latest one available at Google Play Store). Perhaps there is a version-mismatch issueā€¦?

3

Run a lan cable to troubleshoot this. WiFi is not recommended to connect a roon core machine

4

I read about that recommendation,
but my WiFi did a good job for about 2 years.
My System did not change, what about Roon ?

5

The recommended trial (by @wizardofoz ) with an ethernet cable will prove if it is a wifi issue or a general network issue. A process of elimination will need to be followed to effect a resolution.

6

OK,
I connected the Core (iMac) by Ethernet to the router and, no wonder,
no stopping anymore !
Unfortunately this cannot be my solution, because there is no way to install an Ethernet cable in this area.
Still, why did it work fine for about 2 years, and now it is stopping frequently ?

1 Like
7

Why itā€™s suddenly stopped working with WiFi is likely to remain a mystery and may be coincidence as so many external influences can severely impact WiFi performance.

While not a recommended option you could try ethernet over power adapters (the fastest you can get) which might improve performance. I currently connect an end point this way and have had no problems with performance.

3 Likes
8

Thanks a lot for your contribution.
But currently Iā€˜m at the point where I do not want to accept or believe
that a stable 1000Mbit 5Ghz WiFi can be an issue! Which, by the way, came up after a roon release updateā€¦ā€¦
Tomorrow is the first working day of the new year, let us wait for the opinion of the roon experts.

9

OK, good luck but donā€™t expect a rapid response as there are a lot of support request tickets in from before christmas.
I hope you get to the a bottom of the problem, cheers.

10

Hi Franz,
I had this issue with stopping and losing the core for a longer time before the latest builds. My roon core is hard wired to the router. Internet speed was good but I contacted the helpdesk of my provider and the lady there could see a rather low signal strength (ā€œPegelā€ she called it. So I hope it is really the signal strength). This was fixed by atechnician sent fro the provider. Since then this problem is solved on my end. Perhaps this is your problem aswell?
Regards

11

Hi Norbert,
Thanks a lot, but your issue seemed to be outside your network/WLAN. Pegel and SignalstƤrke (bist du Deutscher, wie ich ?) are DSL terms for me.
And in case I hear music on my iMac (= Roon core) I have no problems and no stops. So I have a WiFi issue.
Danke! :+1:

12

@support, How are you doing ? :sunglasses:

A short intermediate result (Iā€˜m testing a lotā€¦):

  • stopping of playback nearly always after 25-30 Minutes
  • I also monitored my router, WiFi workload at the beginning of an album/CD: 40-45 %, when skipping to the next track <10%
    Regards
    Franz
13

Ich hatte auch das Problem mit stoppen und dann wieder play drĆ¼cken mĆ¼ssen und das Skippen der Tracks! Ich hoffe, du hast glĆ¼ck bei der weiteren UnterstĆ¼tzung!
Ein bisserl sĆ¼dlicher - Wien!
Servus

1 Like
14

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PNG-Bild971Ɨ433 27.6 KB

Why this ?

15

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Bildschirmfoto 2022-01-04 um 22.15.34700Ɨ207 5.74 KB

I know that there may be a high workload on the #support team,
but I want to make sure that this thread has no solution yet.
The flag was set erroneously !

16

A post was split to a new topic: Bluesound ? Device failed to initialize

18

Hi @fgm ,

Do you by any chance have Packet Acceleration turned on? There were a few reports that this setting caused issues in the past, see:

19

I already knew these ā€œhiddenā€ features,
they were already turned off.
As well as Ingress shaping.
I also turned off IPV6.
And from the beginning my devices which are relevant for the signal path have a fix IPV4 addressā€¦

Thanks !

20

I would suggest running a speed test on your internet connection. I was having a similar issue and the sound quality was poor, using my old Docsis 3.0 cable modem. Although I pay for 200 mbps, at times I was getting as low as 1mbps. As a result, I upgraded to Docsis 3.1 and my throughput is now as high as 230mbps, but never lower than 60. All my audio/video devices are hardwired, and with the exception of my iPad, I donā€™t use wifi in my audio room. I was still able to stream video while experiencing the problem, but my video quality improved as well, after swapping out the modem. Something to look into.

21

I am having a very similar issue. Purchased a new iMac (M1 chip/Monterey OS) in December and the performance is very unreliable. Iā€™ve experienced the same problems as you described. I am also using wifi to an AURALiC Aries, and previously had few/no problems, but now its a daily issue. Itā€™s very frustrating.

Roon is also very sluggish, taking a long time to load or play music.

Lon