Music shuffle broken and freezes server

[marriedman 85]

I was getting ready for a road trip and I usually copy a bunch of music over to my phone. Then it dawned on my that I could just stream whatever I wanted. But I also wanted to try it out and it's a good thing I did. I can pick an album and play it. I can even shuffle it. But if I want to do anything larger - say shuffle a genre - and my server locks up. My TV will only display a black screen and no other device can connect to it. I had to log into my server and stop emby.

Fresh emby restart has no measurable CPU usage and 2.60 GB RAM usage.

As soon as I hit shuffle, CPU is at 16.7% (Core 0 is 1%, core 1 is 100%, and 2,3,4,5 are at 0%) and RAM just barely increases to 2.62.

Attached are my logs. I truncated the server log to show when started emby then snipped it to where I started emby on my phone. There wasn't anything that jumped out at it to me except the purchase status failures.

Fri May 09 22:05:53 EDT 2025 getPurchaseInfos
Fri May 09 22:05:53 EDT 2025 Checking purchase status of com.mb.android.playback
Fri May 09 22:05:53 EDT 2025 *** IsPurchased Result: com.mb.android.playback Failure
Fri May 09 22:05:53 EDT 2025 Sending url to webView: window.IapManager.updateProduct("com.mb.android.playback", false, "$4.99")
Fri May 09 22:05:53 EDT 2025 Checking purchase status of com.mb.android.unlock
Fri May 09 22:05:53 EDT 2025 *** IsPurchased Result: com.mb.android.unlock Failure
Fri May 09 22:05:53 EDT 2025 Checking purchase status of emby.supporter.monthly
Fri May 09 22:05:53 EDT 2025 *** IsPurchased Result: emby.supporter.monthly Failure

I am a Premiere user with a lifetime license. (Best money I have ever spent on home entertainment. And that is not a suck up comment!)

I have the Android 3.4.67 version. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a crapload of music to copy over...
 

emby_android_1746842740789.txt embyserver.txt

[marriedman 85]

Oh, I forgot my phone spec - Pixel 7 with Lineage 21 (20241227-nightly - That was the last release of the 21 series.)

[marriedman 85]

I just had a thought and I had to test it out. The same issue happens if I repeat these steps on my TV and from a web browser. 

So I guess this needs to be moved to another section of the forum, but not sure where. @Lukewould you mind moving this to whichever section you think it would be best placed?

[EZEd 60]

Chiming in to confirm the same.  Just tried to shuffle play music on a Genre.  Server locks up and needs to be restarted.  Restart from Dashboard doesn't work.  Have to shut down server by way of Task Manager and restart manually.  Tried shuffle play music by Artist...same behavior.  Server locks up and has to be manually restarted through task manager.  Only music play that is currently working for me is play an album (no shuffle).  Just play in line according to tracks...how boring.  This has happened before.  What ever you did last to fix it, please fix again.  When you get it fixed, I would like to offer that you stop fixing things until you break them.  Would be great. Thx

[marriedman 85]

I can also attest that this bug happens on music videos too. Trying to shuffle play locks it up. So this might be a alittle more widespread than I thought. 

Is shuffle used so little that this has not been found before or is this a new bug?

[marriedman 85]

I should probably ask @GrimReaperto move this to the proper forum instead of Luke.  Apologies!

[marriedman 85]

I posted an issue on my Linux server and I haven't gotten much attention, could someone test it on a Windows server and tell me if you can begin shuffle playback at the genre level in your music  library?

If the Windows version has the same issue, I will ask my thread be moved to the General subforum instead of the Linux one. My current topic is here:

Thanks in advance for anyone who tests this for me!

[marriedman 85]

@Admin_GroupI actually posted that in the Windows subforum because I wanted a Windows user feedback. Moving/merging it into the Linux subforum completely misses it's intended targets.

[EZEd 60]

On 5/15/2025 at 8:32 AM, marriedman said:

I posted an issue on my Linux server and I haven't gotten much attention, could someone test it on a Windows server and tell me if you can begin shuffle playback at the genre level in your music  library?

If the Windows version has the same issue, I will ask my thread be moved to the General subforum instead of the Linux one. My current topic is here:

Thanks in advance for anyone who tests this for me!

Yep same problem in Windows...I'm running windows server.  It happens with Android app, Android TV app and Windows desktop app.  It amazes me how new folks can come to the forum, complain a little and get the devs to immediately start bending over backwards to fix their new problem and yet we old heads that have been with Emby since before it was a stand alone music server can't get the devs to even look at a problem that didn't used to be a problem and has been turned into one because they keep trying to "fix" stuff until it IS broken.  I'm almost sure that if they'd work more on features rather than stability we wouldn't feel like every step forward is four steps backward.  How can the product not do really anything new but consistently break what used to work over time?  And these are just the basics...I just don't get it.  At this rate, I don't think we'll ever get any NEW features...they'll just continue to try and plug holes that are spewing sewage forever.  The only saving grace for this product is that I detest the competitor's product even more and the far superior product is no longer being produced or supported.

[marriedman 85]

Thanks for confirming that shuffle is broken and it's not just me or the Linux version. 

I've been a user for almost 5 years, so I don't know if I can call myself a vet or old head. I haven't noticed new folk getting preferential treatment, but I admit I don't browse the forums much.  Usually my posts get a reply that points me in the right direction. Luke, Grim, and a few other admins have always been especially helpful.  I think the only time I didn't get a solution was regarding the AppleTV version of Emby. That app was so far behind the Android/Theater version I ended up just not using the hardware at all. I don't know if the current app has been fixed for feature parity.

Sorry - I got of topic. If there is some preferential treatment of new users, it would make some sense. New people have to be taught how to use the software and how to report issues. I prefer to think of it as hand-holding. There is also the chance that those new users will become paying customers which is what will keep Emby alive. However, I also believe that something as basic as shuffle on music should be a priority for the developers. I have a workarounds that don't involve Emby, but the average potential premium user might not be a dedicated. This bug is something that could drive away potential users/customers. "If something a basic a shuffle doesn't work, how good is the rest of the software?"

I already know that I love Emby and I am patient. I am not going to leave anytime soon. And I cannot even consider Plex. That platform sickens me. I might as well go back to running Windows! (no offence to you, I just like poking fun at Windows.) 

@Luke can we get this thread moved to the general forum, or would you prefer I create a new thread there?

[Luke 42077]

Hi, we are looking into this. Thanks.

[marriedman 85]

@LukeIs there any update on the shuffle causing the server to freeze / crash?

[Luke 42077]

On 9/15/2025 at 10:26 AM, marriedman said:

@LukeIs there any update on the shuffle causing the server to freeze / crash?

Hi, we are still working on this one. Thanks.

[marriedman 85]

44 minutes ago, Luke said:

Hi, we are still working on this one. Thanks.

Thanks for the update @Luke! I know you are busy as can be with everyone on this forum. I appreciate the time you take to reply. 

[EZEd 60]

I switched to using Symphonium app.  It works on both Android and Android/Google TV. It can be set up to read from either cloud based storage or from Emby Server and doesn't lock up the server when shuffle playing from Genre or Artist

[joshhuggins 22]

Glad to here this is getting looked at. Have been having this issue for a while too on my windows server as well, but just finally got time to sit down to try to figure out what was up with it.  Server kept going offline and finally figured out kiddos were trying to play large shuffled genres. Glad it's not just me, I think. Good luck on the hunt! Happy to share logs if needed. Happens making the request from Android tablets, phones and FireTv app.

Edited September 19, 2025 by joshhuggins