[Bug][iOS][macOS]: Playback stops when app is not in focus

[gdavis]

User feedback:

Recently (and before the latest iOS update) Mimir will stop playing when it is no longer the focus on iOS. Whether the screen shuts down or you go to the homepage, Mimir stops playing, but immediately starts up when the app regains focus.

Prior to this last week, the app would continue to play the podcast whether or not it had focus.

I am not running focus scenarios (like driving, speed, etc.)

iPhone 14 Pro iOS 16.3 Mimir iOS 1.1.1 (Jan 12, 2023)

Works: iPadPro 5th Gen. iPadOS 16.3 Mimir iPadOS 1.1.1 (Jan 11, 2023)

iMac Pro macOS 13.2 Mimir macOS (if minimized, but shuts off when the window is closed - this may be expected behavior).

• [ ] Determine if this is isolated to either iOS or macOS
• [ ] Determine if this is caused by macOS 13.2 software update

[gdavis]

The iOS behavior is definitely suspicious.

Oh, I will say that the two podcasts that shut off are both RSS imports. If the podcast has been added from within Mimir, it will continue to play. Also, an Acast feed will continue to play.

So: Won’t play when app doesn’t have focus: Blizzardwatch (private RSS feed from their Patreon) Dan Carlin Hardcore History (private RSS URL)

Will play: Last Podcast on the Left (private Acast feed) Best Care Anywhere (Mimir linked podcast)

iPadOS and macOS will play all without requiring focus.

[gdavis]

The user was also using "Never" download option. It seems there is maybe something up with authenticating requests when the app is backgrounded? The reason why escapes me, but thats what its looking like.

[gdavis]

Ah, I generally don’t download the episode, mostly because I work from home, so I am always connected via wifi.

Confirming if I download the episode it will play even when the iOS app is minimized.

I’m also confirming that once the podcast is downloaded, even if the file is no longer local, it will still play.

It seems as if the only time the podcast won’t play is if it had never been downloaded and was set to play for the first time but only for specific RSS URLs. That is a pretty bizarre edge case.

[gdavis]

This is potentially resolved by the work done in #233

This seemed be related to multi-part requests while backgrounded, and now that we are using an up-front progressive download, should no longer be a problem. Will confirm testing TestFlight beta versions

[gdavis]

Confirmed by user that this has been fixed in the latest beta.