USB Support

Inertiaman said:
My best guess is some sort of problem with how IP addresses are being cached. Maybe the app is perpetually looking for the USB drive at a dated/aged address that has since changed, maybe due to dynamic assignments from my router? Maybe there is some tiny configuration detail in my router playing into this, and the Wiim app is vulnerable to that detail, which perhaps isn't rearing its head on other peoples setups. But I've got a mainstream, recent (3 year old) router with standard configuration, nothing unusual.
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(I am not a networking expert but) That makes sense - the "192.168" IP of my amp has not changed since I first set it up. When I touch "Browse" then "Home Music Share" I see a little message that says "Available Media Server on TP-LINK_580A network" and it finds both the server on the Wiim and one other "server" - actually just an HDHomeRun device that must be exposing some items to the network. So it *looks* like it is doing a fresh scan each time but maybe it is not.

I can see that the App produces log files on my phone. Can you see those ? Or - are those supposedly sent to Wiim when you create feedback on the app ?

(what doesn't make sense to me is that all I changed was the formatting and file type - not even the usb device itself - and since then I have had no problems ; there shouldn't be anything magical about NTFS + FLAC)
 
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sejarzo said:
I want to define playlists in very specific order. I never play random lists. For classical, each playlist is for a single a composer, with each individual album with that composer's works shown sorted by date, ascending, with each cut in the album in numerical order. For all other genres, each playlist is for a single performer, albums sorted by date, ascending, with each cut in numerical order. I've no desire at all to put my content on a NAS plus use another app to feed the WiiM Amp when any of the PC-based player apps such as Foobar or JRiver let me do that simply.
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The WiiM Home app and the server onboard the WiiM Amp (MiniDLNA) are really only for those with the most basic local media requirements.
You'd be much better off using the WiiM as an endpoint with your choice of server and control point.
 
I don’t believe that the current usb functionality allows you to easily create your own playlists. Better using an external app and retaining the playlists there, not on the usb drive itself.
 
Yes - If I open up VLC on my Mac and point it to my Wiim UPnP server, I can easily make playlists and then then entries look like this

#EXTINF:342,Bob Dylan - Tangled Up In Blue

(and maybe they would look differently if I made them using different software)

But those playlists will not be available on the Wiim App. @sejarzo was specifically asking if they could replace a PC running Foobar with a tablet running the Wiim App. I was using the information provided by @jeromeof at the beginning of this thread about what playlists would look like if they resided on the USB device itself.

And when he mentioned a SQLite database file - I thought it might be fun to make new playlists that way. I really really enjoy controlling the Amp with just the Wiim App on my phone. I actually don't use playlists but my wife does and I was able to make some for her with the SQL method. I know it's kind of nerdy but SQL is very powerful and I think just a few queries could make all the necessary EXTINF lines for what @sejarzo wants. But - like I said when I replied - maybe existing M3Us generated by Foobar would work just fine if they just fix the directory structure with a text editor and put them on their USB device.
 
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SeeRM114 said:
And when he mentioned a SQLite database file - I thought it might be fun to make new playlists that way. I really really enjoy controlling the Amp with just the Wiim App on my phone. I actually don't use playlists but my wife does and I was able to make some for her with the SQL method. I know it's kind of nerdy but SQL is very powerful and I think just a few queries could make all the necessary EXTINF lines for what @sejarzo wants. But - like I said when I replied to him - maybe existing M3Us generated by Foobar would work just fine if he just fixes the directory structure with a text editor and puts them on his USB device.
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If @sejarzo had all the playlists they were ever going to need then yes, it's a relatively simple task to make the existing playlists usable within the WiiM app, but what if they wanted to create new ones, or modify existing ones. As far as I can tell you still need to add tracks to a playlist individually, and once they're in a playlist you can't change the order, so for anyone needing anything but the most basic functionality the WiiM app really isn't usable.

Of course you could use another control point, but nothing is going to come close to the functionality of foobar, MusicBee, e.t.c.
 
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Agreed - the playlist functionality on the Wiim Home App at this point is very very minimal.

For myself, I will continue to use this SQL method to make or change playlists and then put them on the usb stick directly because I am comfortable with that. And I really prefer to just use the Wiim app to control the amp.
 
I updated a Pixel 6A to Android 14, then uninstalled and reinstalled the Wiim Home app, and **so far** the USB/media server functionality is working properly. I'll be curious to see if this "success" continues. In the past, after new app updates or uninstall/reinstalls, things worked well for a bit, only to deteriorate over time.

Meanwhile my Pixel 3, which cannot be updated beyond Android 12, continues to perpetually search for a media server / USB for hours on end, despite an app uninstall/reinstall, phone restart, etc.

Given that there are still 500M+ phones in use with Android 12, it seems reasonable to expect the Wiim Home app to work properly on that platform. I am due for a phone change for reasons unrelated to Wiim, so although my Pixel 3 situation is super frustrating/annoying, perhaps a new phone will put those problems behind me.
 
Thanks for all your suggestions, but none of them are workable for what I need. They all require me to go through, IMHO, ridiculous lengths to do something simple, or in the end don't allow me to ditch the miniPC, wireless keyboard, and TV...which frankly is the only reason I considered the WiiM Amp at all.

As @simbun notes, the inability to easily create new or modify existing playlists is a deal breaker. I get that it's not something the majority of users need, though.
 
Inertiaman said:
I updated a Pixel 6A to Android 14, then uninstalled and reinstalled the Wiim Home app, and **so far** the USB/media server functionality is working properly. I'll be curious to see if this "success" continues. In the past, after new app updates or uninstall/reinstalls, things worked well for a bit, only to deteriorate over time.

Meanwhile my Pixel 3, which cannot be updated beyond Android 12, continues to perpetually search for a media server / USB for hours on end, despite an app uninstall/reinstall, phone restart, etc.

Given that there are still 500M+ phones in use with Android 12, it seems reasonable to expect the Wiim Home app to work properly on that platform. I am due for a phone change for reasons unrelated to Wiim, so although my Pixel 3 situation is super frustrating/annoying, perhaps a new phone will put those problems behind me.
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Maybe your Pixel 3 was too new - my LG G7 is on Android 10 and has been working with USB since the FW upgrade of a few weeks ago.:unsure: But i note that before that, i had your same problems on Android, while IOS worked fine with the USB - so an Android version issue does seem like a potential cause.
 
spacegrass said:
Maybe your Pixel 3 was too new - my LG G7 is on Android 10 and has been working with USB since the FW upgrade of a few weeks ago.:unsure: But i note that before that, i had your same problems on Android, while IOS worked fine with the USB - so an Android version issue does seem like a potential cause.
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Well my joy w/ the Pixel 6A lasted less than 24 hours. Today the 6A is behaving identically to the Pixel 3: perpetual waveform animation saying "Search your media server" for hours and hours on end, never finding USB.

All yesterday afternoon and evening I played content from the USB stick thru the Amp and thru a Wiim Mini with zero issues. But on first attempt this morning, there is no USB to be found, through either the Mini or the Amp.

Obviously something is "aging" in the software, and it seems to correlate with the Amp going into sleep mode overnight.

I'm coming up on my 30 day return window at Amazon, and am seriously considering a return. Can't imagine this is a hardware issue, but swapping for a new unit is one way to find out.

Sure would be nice if Wiim had anything to say about this.

EDIT: uninstall and reinstall of Wiim Home app on the Pixel 6A did nothing, still no USB.
EDIT2: briefly opened my VLC app to check if it could find the Wiim Amp USB. It did. So I closed VLC and went back to Wiim Home on phones, and still neither can find USB.
 
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Inertiaman said:
I'm coming up on my 30 day return window at Amazon, and am seriously considering a return. Can't imagine this is a hardware issue, but swapping for a new unit is one way to find out.
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If apps like BubbleUPnP and Hi-Fi Cast consistently discover the WiiM Amp's music server then it sounds like a WiiM Home app issue, that should be relatively easy to fix. Having said that, when taken together with all the indexing problems I wouldn't let it pass the 30 days.
 
OK, I feel like I've narrowed the problem. After power cycling my router, which presumably renewed any IP address assignments, the Wiim Home app was immediately able to see the USB source and provide the media server content thru both the Amp and the Mini.

My hypothesis is that USB/UPnP is "lost" when the amp reaches a sufficient depth of standby/sleep mode and the router-to-media server connection is interrupted. On wakeup, perhaps the App is looking for the UPnP at an old pre-sleep address which has changed as the router dynamically re-assigned an address on wake-up?

One thing I find odd -- among many -- is that the router/network connection to the Amp and the Mini is always flawless. I have never for even an instant had a problem with the Wiim Home app finding the Mini or the Amp, and subsequently playing internet radio or streaming. Hence I don't feel like my router or router configuration can be blamed for the erratic behavior of the USB/UPnP.

I believe the UPnP media server on the Amp has its own unique MAC and IP address, independently of the Amp's MAC and IP. And my bet is that the Wiim Home app has a flaw in how it remembers/forgets/looks for that UPnP. Other applications -- aka VLC -- aren't succumbing to the problem (VLC on my PC can find the USB UPnP server when my Wiim Home app cannot), so I feel it must be an issue in how the app is looking for the UPnP, and not in how the Amp is making the UPnP server available.
 
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simbun said:
If apps like BubbleUPnP and Hi-Fi Cast consistently discover the WiiM Amp's music server then it sounds like a WiiM Home app issue, that should be relatively easy to fix. Having said that, when taken together with all the indexing problems I wouldn't let it pass the 30 days.
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Ironically I haven't had any scanning/indexing problems. The Amp seems to configure a suitable wiimcache folder if given enough time for larger databases. Of course I have objections about how they index -- aka not being able to see the artist if a compilation is metadata'ed as Various Artist. But I figure that Wiim will ultimately solve that and/or third-party indexing SW can help. At any rate, its a modest annoyance, rather than a show-stopping inability to play my media server content.
 
Inertiaman said:
I believe the UPnP media server on the Amp has its own unique MAC and IP address, independently of the Amp's MAC and IP. And my bet is that the Wiim Home app has a flaw in how it remembers/forgets/looks for that UPnP.
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If you download the Android app 'UPnP Tool for Developer' and click on the (i) next to the WiM music server it'll display its IP address.
 
simbun said:
If you download the Android app 'UPnP Tool for Developer' and click on the (i) next to the WiM music server it'll display its IP address.
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Thanks, that provides some interesting info. The IP address shown via this tool for the Media Server is the same address that the Wiim App shows for the Amp itself. So maybe the UPnP service doesn't have its own address as I speculated.
 
Inertiaman said:
Thanks, that provides some interesting info. The IP address shown via this tool for the Media Server is the same address that the Wiim App shows for the Amp itself. So maybe the UPnP service doesn't have its own address as I speculated.
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If you can play a track using VLC when the USB isn't visible in the WiiM app, it means the USB is correctly connected and powered, and it's most likely some silly coding error in the app.

Has anybody had this problem with the WiiM app on iOS?
 
simbun said:
If you can play a track using VLC when the USB isn't visible in the WiiM app, it means the USB is correctly connected and powered, and it's most likely some silly coding error in the app.
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There is no end to the odd combinations I can achieve. Examples:
- VLC app getting music from the Wiim UPnP USB server (despite the server not being visible to the Wiim App) and sending that music back to the Amp as a renderer. A very roundabout way of playing the music from USB on the Amp.
- Wiim Home app on my Pixel 3 cannot see the USB server via the Browse/HomeMusicShare, but my Pixel 6A *can* see the USB, and play music from it to the Wiim Amp or the Mini, and once that is initiated, the Wiim Home app on the Pixel 3 can manipulate (skip forward, backward, etc) the playback from the USB . . . but still cannot see the USB directly or initiate playback of a different file/folder from the USB.

Could enabling Chromecast be contributing to this?? I can't find a way to disable Chromecast on the Amp. I remember enabling it during original setup, but now when I go back to Amp Setting / Voice / Chromecast there is no disable choice.
 
I have Chromecast enabled, but no adverse side effects concerning USB/internal UPnP server.

Don't know of a way to disable Chromecast, except resetting the WiiM Amp.
 
So the mystery continues. The Pixel 6A can see the USB much more consistently than the Pixel 3, although even its not foolproof. I've still had several "where did USB go?" moments w/ the 6A in the past week.

But the "big news" is I've discovered that I can "force" the Pixel 3 to see the USB with a little trick: toggling the "Enable IP v6" switch in the Network Status section of the Device screen for the Amp. It doesn't matter if its currently enabled or disabled; whatever the setting, if the USB isn't visible, I just change the setting, then within 10 seconds the USB shows up. I've done this about 12-15 times now, so it appears pretty reliable.

This seems to confirm that there is something wonky with the way the app and Amp are communicating over the network. Presumably the toggling of the IP version does something to reset/refresh the connection, and voila! you get USB.

I just wish Wiim would pay even the slightest attention to some of these debug scenarios and/or respond to my ticket. 24 days and counting since they've said anything.
 
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