Troubleshooting sync process

[KingK 0]

[Luke 42077]

Hi, you're not doing anything wrong. The problem is we don't currently have a way for you to monitor the transfer progress and this can lead you into thinking that it's not working. This is something we plan to address in an upcoming update. Thanks.

[KingK 0]

Okay, I understand that the process can't be monitored at the moment. But my challenge is also that I'm not only thinking it's not working, it's not working at the moment.

 

Episodes synced in the past, but right now nothing happens. I have multiple episodes sitting in "Ready to Transfer" or "Queued" since yesterday and nothing happened so far. The iPad was connected to the server, I even watched media on the iPad while connected to the server, nothing happend.

 

How often should the sync normally be happening? Or by what is it triggered?

 

Any idea why the sync isn't starting?

[Luke 42077]

Hi @@KingK, what version of Emby Server are you running?

[KingK 0]

Hi @@Luke, I'm running 3.5.3.0 on a Synology.

 

The episodes synced over time, but I still have no idea when it was triggered and why.

 

Is it triggered by a task or when should it start?

[Luke 42077]

A combination of two things. We register a background fetch process with the iOS app. We ask the system to run it every 15 minutes, but in reality, the most likely outcome is that it will run several times per day. The more you use the app, the more priority iOS will give it.

 

If the files require conversion, then this happens first and this also increases the amount of time it will take for the files to be downloaded. In 3.5, the server doesn't always do a great job of starting the conversion immediately. The upcoming 3.6 will do a better job of this. In the meantime, if something is waiting to be converted, you can always run the Convert Media scheduled task.

 

So to answer your question, how long it will take to sync is a function of how long both of the above two things take.

[KingK 0]

Okay perfect, that makes sense. So basically if I use the app often there's a better chance that the process is triggered in the background.

 

Since I don't convert the files that's the only thing involved, the iPad is capable of playing the format natively.

 

Is there a plan for a future version to trigger the process from within the app while the app is open/used? I'm not sure how to describe it technically correct, but I'm thinking of something like "App asks server if new sync files are available, server says yes, transfer is started". Or is that already the case? I'm asking because even using the app didn't trigger the sync during my tests earlier.

 

By the way, thank you for Emby, what a great piece of software! I'm a former Plex Lifetime Pass user now "converted" to Emby Premiere and I can't be happier with my decision to leave Plex.

[Luke 42077]

Thanks for the feedback. Yes we do do that, and in conjunction with the upcoming 3.6 release that should be improved. Thanks.

[KingK 0]

After the first tests it looks like it got extremely better in 4.0. Way faster sync and much more reliable. 

 

Thank you very much!

[Luke 42077]

Thanks for the feedback !

[Freman 4]

My sync between server and my iPad was working fine prior to server v4 update.

 

I used it for the first time in offline mode last Tuesday on a flight to LA it was work & I watch 3 out of 11 titles I have sync’d to the iPad Emby app.

 

A few days later the server auto updates to v4.0.0.2 as well as an iPad app update..

 

- all my previously downloaded media is gone from the iPad and when I try to download again it sits there in the downloads with a status of ‘Ready to transfer’ it’s been like this for well over an hour now.

[bretswinney 22]

Yeah I second this it is not working

[Luke 42077]

My sync between server and my iPad was working fine prior to server v4 update.

 

I used it for the first time in offline mode last Tuesday on a flight to LA it was work & I watch 3 out of 11 titles I have sync’d to the iPad Emby app.

 

A few days later the server auto updates to v4.0.0.2 as well as an iPad app update..

 

- all my previously downloaded media is gone from the iPad and when I try to download again it sits there in the downloads with a status of ‘Ready to transfer’ it’s been like this for well over an hour now.

 

Hi there, can you please attach the emby server log? thanks !

[bretswinney 22]

Mine just started working but I am on 4.1 beta

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[KingK 0]

That all the previous downloaded media was gone was the same for me. Looks like the database restructuring or something else in the v4 code kind of reset the queue.

 

But as mentioned above I had quite the opposite experience after setting up the sync again. For me the synchronization is faster than ever the last few days. Really strange that there also seems to be the opposite experience.

 

By the way, I never ever had sync problems when cross-checking a problematic situation with my Android phone.

 

Right now (open as another thread) I have problems with subtitles on my iPad/iPhone. They seem to sync, but the don't play. At the moment I'm very tempted to guess that the iOS part, i.e. the app, is the puzzle piece that tends to get broken or is really prone to errors. Apple doesn't seem to make it easy to get a reliable sync established.

[Luke 42077]

the main issue is that you can't yet monitor the progress of the transfer. If you give it enough time, it will download, but if you're right there waiting for it to happen, then the lack of progress display can lead you into thinking that it's not working. We will be looking at resolving this in an upcoming app update. thanks.