Problem with Pandora Radio freezing since updating to iOS 8.3

By Niki, 14 April, 2015

Forum
iOS and iPadOS

Has anyone had the problem where pandora freezes ever since updating to iOS 8.3? They released a new update for pandora but hasn't seemed to fix the issue. I wonder if it will ever get fixed. I can't navigate my list of saved stations without it freezing.

Options

Comments

By TamagotchiTune on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:43

I havent been able to use Pandora for a few months now. Im not able to listen to my stations i have saved because when i do it creates a new station i never wanted. I also cant delete either. I been hoping they would have fixed all this by now but there has been no fixes at all.

By raaj on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:43

We have no ... Pandora here in India. so that's the problem here.

Raaj.

By treky fan on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:43

Another problem I've noticed with Pandora, is that wind swiping through stations, voiceover seems to lock up, and the only way to fix this is to turn voiceover off and back on again. This is getting ridiculous, I'm ready to cancel my Pandora one subscription, and find something else.

By Troy on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:43

I'm having the same issues although not every time, I also no longer have a button to go back to prev song. I wonder if someone can develop an app similar to hope for the IPhone because this is what it's coming down to. I've heard of a few people wanting to cancel their Pandora and try something else.

By treky fan on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:43

What other services are similar to Pandora, and work with voiceover?

By Cindi Vega on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:43

I have an IPhone 6 and downloaded the newest IPhone update.
I'm frustrated with this new Pandora update. My phone freezes; I am unable to find the station I want fast enough. Is their a way to turn off that fast environment name change?

By Mike Freeman on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:43

I'm using iOS 8.3 with an iPhone 5. I have not encountered any of these problems with Pandora. Interesting.

By Curtis Chong on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:43

I, too, am having problems with the latest update of the Pandora app. I am running iOS 8.3 on an iPhone 6, and last week, even after I updated to iOS 8.3, Pandora was working fine. Not so now--after the update. Now, as soon as I try to find another station, I get complete silence from VoiceOver, and I don't even hear the bonks on the screen as I slide my finger across.

I have written to Pandora as a paying customer with my complaints. So far, no response<sigh>.

Cordially,

Curtis Chong

By dvdmth on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:43

I can confirm that the Pandora app is now completely broken on my iPad Air. I cannot say if the cause was the iOS update or the Pandora update, but one of the two has completely hosed the app with VoiceOver. Trying to do anything in the app with VoiceOver causes the iPad to get hung up, and if I leave the app by pressing the Home button and then reopen it, it crashes.

I wrote to Pandora Support about this. My experience with them is that they will work to resolve the issue, but it may be awhile before a fix is available. Perhaps the fact that the app is virtually useless may get them to speed up a resolution, but I'm not holding my breath. I will keep my Pandora One subscription for now, but if they cannot resolve the issue in a timely fashion, I may begin researching alternatives.

I can still use Pandora by other means, but I strongly prefer using my iPad.

By peter on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:43

I too have written to Pandora support about these issues. They can only fix the problems if they know about them. They seem sympathetic. We'll see what happens.

--Pete

By Mike Freeman on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:43

I now have experienced the so-called "freeze" everyone is discussing. In my view, it isn't exactly a freeze; what is happening is that VoiceOver is being overwhelmed with information, as in what happens if one uses the NLS Bard Mobile app to view one's previous downloads if the number of results allowed is left to its high number default. When Pandora seems to hang up, I hear occasionally the VoiceOver "change line" sound which would happen as I move my finger around the screen. If I then hit the Home Key to get back to the main screen, there is a moment's hesitation, after which VoiceOver begins to speak what appears to be a lot of the information which results from speaking what's on-screen as I move my finger around.
In short, what we're experiencing IMO is a full buffer being continually bombarded with information which VoiceOver doesn't have time to speak, resulting in a buffer overflow. This would be solved by sending information to VoiceOver and the screen in smaller chunks.
In my experience, many apps (including Dropbox) have run into this issue because app developers are trying to efficiently put information on the screen and it never occurs to them that they could overwhelm speech.
I know of no work-around.

My phone has actually opened up other applications after the freeze is over, in addition to closing down Pandora. I'm Trying ITunes radio now.

By dvdmth on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:43

I got a response from Pandora informing me that they are already aware of the issue and are working on it now, and they appreciate my patience in the meantime.

To Mike Freeman, that is a great explanation, and I have seen this very behavior in other apps, including Safari on particularly complex websites. As you describe, returning to the Home screen restores normal VoiceOver behavior, including a quick processing of the gestures that were backlogged. If you try to reopen the app, it crashes within a few seconds.

As for a workaround, only Pandora can address the issue.

By Lisa on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:43

Hello everyone,
Sometimes the skip button is located in the bottom right corner on my iPhone 6, and at other times it is not there at all. Does anyone know of a work around to always be able to locate the skip button? Thank you.

By dvdmth on Friday, April 24, 2015 - 23:43

If you can't find the skip button, it may be because you used up your skips. Pandora only allows a certain number of skips per hour per station, and there's also a limit to the number of skips per day across all stations. If you are a paid subscriber, the daily skip limit is removed, but not the hourly skip limit. Songs you give thumbs down are also included in the skip count.

If you believe the skip button is disappearing when it shouldn't be, you can try the next track button in the control center, which will also activate the Pandora skip button if you're allowed to skip.