Audible sync

DiapDealer · 10-09-2022, 10:20 AM

This feature has been frustratingly hit or miss with me lately. Especially when Alexa/Echo enters the mix. It's to the point where I have to write down my position when ending a session so I can make sure I get back to where I was when restarting on a different device. It's not been a very handy feature for me. Not like the standard Whispersync for ebooks at all.

Any tips? I use a Fire tablet at home, my phone when out and about, and my Echo at bedtime.

CRussel · 10-09-2022, 01:46 PM

The only tip I have, @DiapDealer, is to sync your tablet or phone before leaving. That seems to be working for me. Otherwise, it is often a bit behind where I left off. I pretty much only use my iPhone and my Echo to listen, and the Echo appears to accurately report its last position, but the iPhone less so unless I explicitly sync by going to the home screen and pulling down from the top.

DiapDealer · 10-09-2022, 04:16 PM

I'm sure a lot of it is me making mistakes. I'm still figuring things out. The part that hangs me up is that on my Fire tablet and Android phone, Audible doesn't seem to update its displayed progress data until after I hit the play button. Only after I hit play does it indicate it's picking up my progress from another device. Which is not all that handy to me. With Alexa on the Echo, I can't see ANY progress info until after I tell her to "Read my Book" and then open the Alexa app on a device to determine where it's at.

Then there's been several books where the Audible chapters don't seem to match what the narrator is announcing. Audible might indicate chapter 6 while the narrator reads "Four."

I'm sure that's an entirely different issue, though.

What manual sync are you referring to on your phone? Is it a function of the phone or Audible?

issybird · 10-09-2022, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Then there's been several books where the Audible chapters don't seem to match what the narrator is announcing. Audible might indicate chapter 6 while the narrator reads "Four."

I'm sure that's an entirely different issue, though.

Audible labels each “chunk” a chapter, which throws chapter count off. That is, for Audible, the Introduction is chapter one. Editor’s notes or author bio or forward could be chapter two. So by the time the book hits chapter one, Audible’s already up to two or three. In addition, for a book with volumes, as with Victorian novels, Audible will just keep a running total rather than resetting to chapter one as in the book text, so by that time the narrator will be very different indeed.

Quote:

What manual sync are you referring to on your phone? Is it a function of the phone or Audible?

It’s an Audible function. Look at the drop-down menu in the upper right on the app and you can sync manually. Same for the Kindle app.

CRussel · 10-09-2022, 05:57 PM

Especially with older books where they weren't planning on WhisperSync, chapters are fairly arbitrary for Audible. If the book is REALLY old, and was originally a BOT book, it might well simply be chunked up in ~1 hour segments. Later, but still pre-WhisperSync, the Intro was "Chapter 1", Prelude "Chapter 2", actual Chapter 1 "Chapter 3", etc. But finally, with more recent books, or ones that have been updated to support WhisperSync, Audible even has chapter titles, not just chapter numbers.

DiapDealer · 10-09-2022, 08:07 PM

Thanks for the info on audible chapters. That's a bit of a shame. I religiously set a sleep timer at night when listening via my echo, but I still try to remember the last announced (by the narrator) chapter number I heard. Seems like that will rarely be helpful.

But as far as the manual sync goes... I'm not seeing such a menu entry in Audible on my Fire tablet, nor on my Android phone. I have the option to turn "Sync across devices" on/off in Audible's settings, but no kind of Sync Now menu item that I can find.

There's just no definitive way I can wake up the next morning and know exactly where my Echo quit reading the night before (sleep timer). I either have to trust that the sync will "just work" on one of my other devices (which, as I've mentioned, has not been my experience thus far), or I have to tell my Echo to start reading again so I can fire up the Alexa app on one of my devices to see the chapter/time. And that's a PITA.

issybird · 10-09-2022, 09:01 PM

My Fire tablet is upstairs and I’ll take a look at it when I go to bed. In the meantime, my own MO on waking is to go back to the point where I went to sleep; i.e., I start playing on the Echo and keep saying, “Alexa, go back X minutes” until I hit something I remember. I’ve noticed that making X>10 isn’t successful. But once I’ve gone through that, it seems to sync to that spot elsewhere.

DiapDealer · 10-09-2022, 09:37 PM

That's good advice, thanks!

DiapDealer · 10-09-2022, 09:41 PM

I think swiping down on the library page on Android might force a sync/refresh in Audible.

CRussel · 10-10-2022, 02:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I think swiping down on the library page on Android might force a sync/refresh in Audible.

That's how it works on the iPhone.

DiapDealer · 10-10-2022, 10:48 AM

I think I've narrowed the issue down to the Fire Tablet. If I stick to my Echo and Audible on my Android phone, syncing seems to be pretty straight-forward, non-finicky and very consistent. It's only when I add the Fire tablet into the mix that things get a little squirrelly.

I listened with the Fire Tablet yesterday evening, then switched to my Echo after going to bed (setting a sleep timer). All seemed well with that. The next morning, I used Issy's technique for telling Echo to back up until I found the spot where I fell asleep. I then listened for a while longer this morning and stopped on a chapter break. Easy-peasy.

Then later this morning, I picked up my Fire tablet, launched Audible and started the book like I normally do--only it was still at same the location as my previous night's Fire listening session. I did not get the "Audible is picking up where you left off on another device" message. After forcing a sync, there still was no change. I had to manually move to the chapter I knew I'd stopped at earlier.

I don't want to eliminate the Fire tablet from the mix (because it's so much better on battery than my phone). I'll have to keep fiddling, I guess.

Thanks for the input!

10-09-2022, 10:20 AM	#1
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,071 Karma: 199770456 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	Audible sync This feature has been frustratingly hit or miss with me lately. Especially when Alexa/Echo enters the mix. It's to the point where I have to write down my position when ending a session so I can make sure I get back to where I was when restarting on a different device. It's not been a very handy feature for me. Not like the standard Whispersync for ebooks at all. Any tips? I use a Fire tablet at home, my phone when out and about, and my Echo at bedtime. Last edited by DiapDealer; 10-09-2022 at 04:00 PM.

10-09-2022, 04:16 PM	#3
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,071 Karma: 199770456 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	I'm sure a lot of it is me making mistakes. I'm still figuring things out. The part that hangs me up is that on my Fire tablet and Android phone, Audible doesn't seem to update its displayed progress data until after I hit the play button. Only after I hit play does it indicate it's picking up my progress from another device. Which is not all that handy to me. With Alexa on the Echo, I can't see ANY progress info until after I tell her to "Read my Book" and then open the Alexa app on a device to determine where it's at. Then there's been several books where the Audible chapters don't seem to match what the narrator is announcing. Audible might indicate chapter 6 while the narrator reads "Four." I'm sure that's an entirely different issue, though. What manual sync are you referring to on your phone? Is it a function of the phone or Audible? Last edited by DiapDealer; 10-09-2022 at 04:31 PM.

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10-09-2022, 01:46 PM	#2
CRussel (he/him/his) Posts: 12,247 Karma: 80074820 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sunshine Coast, BC Device: Oasis (Gen3),Paperwhite (Gen10), Voyage, Paperwhite(orig), Fire HD 8	The only tip I have, @DiapDealer, is to sync your tablet or phone before leaving. That seems to be working for me. Otherwise, it is often a bit behind where I left off. I pretty much only use my iPhone and my Echo to listen, and the Echo appears to accurately report its last position, but the iPhone less so unless I explicitly sync by going to the home screen and pulling down from the top.

10-09-2022, 05:57 PM	#5
CRussel (he/him/his) Posts: 12,247 Karma: 80074820 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sunshine Coast, BC Device: Oasis (Gen3),Paperwhite (Gen10), Voyage, Paperwhite(orig), Fire HD 8	Especially with older books where they weren't planning on WhisperSync, chapters are fairly arbitrary for Audible. If the book is REALLY old, and was originally a BOT book, it might well simply be chunked up in ~1 hour segments. Later, but still pre-WhisperSync, the Intro was "Chapter 1", Prelude "Chapter 2", actual Chapter 1 "Chapter 3", etc. But finally, with more recent books, or ones that have been updated to support WhisperSync, Audible even has chapter titles, not just chapter numbers.

10-09-2022, 08:07 PM	#6
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,071 Karma: 199770456 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	Thanks for the info on audible chapters. That's a bit of a shame. I religiously set a sleep timer at night when listening via my echo, but I still try to remember the last announced (by the narrator) chapter number I heard. Seems like that will rarely be helpful. But as far as the manual sync goes... I'm not seeing such a menu entry in Audible on my Fire tablet, nor on my Android phone. I have the option to turn "Sync across devices" on/off in Audible's settings, but no kind of Sync Now menu item that I can find. There's just no definitive way I can wake up the next morning and know exactly where my Echo quit reading the night before (sleep timer). I either have to trust that the sync will "just work" on one of my other devices (which, as I've mentioned, has not been my experience thus far), or I have to tell my Echo to start reading again so I can fire up the Alexa app on one of my devices to see the chapter/time. And that's a PITA.

10-09-2022, 09:01 PM	#7
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 20,823 Karma: 227654321 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5	My Fire tablet is upstairs and I’ll take a look at it when I go to bed. In the meantime, my own MO on waking is to go back to the point where I went to sleep; i.e., I start playing on the Echo and keep saying, “Alexa, go back X minutes” until I hit something I remember. I’ve noticed that making X>10 isn’t successful. But once I’ve gone through that, it seems to sync to that spot elsewhere.

10-09-2022, 09:37 PM	#8
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,071 Karma: 199770456 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	That's good advice, thanks!

10-09-2022, 09:41 PM	#9
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,071 Karma: 199770456 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	I think swiping down on the library page on Android might force a sync/refresh in Audible.

10-10-2022, 10:48 AM	#11
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,071 Karma: 199770456 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	I think I've narrowed the issue down to the Fire Tablet. If I stick to my Echo and Audible on my Android phone, syncing seems to be pretty straight-forward, non-finicky and very consistent. It's only when I add the Fire tablet into the mix that things get a little squirrelly. I listened with the Fire Tablet yesterday evening, then switched to my Echo after going to bed (setting a sleep timer). All seemed well with that. The next morning, I used Issy's technique for telling Echo to back up until I found the spot where I fell asleep. I then listened for a while longer this morning and stopped on a chapter break. Easy-peasy. Then later this morning, I picked up my Fire tablet, launched Audible and started the book like I normally do--only it was still at same the location as my previous night's Fire listening session. I did not get the "Audible is picking up where you left off on another device" message. After forcing a sync, there still was no change. I had to manually move to the chapter I knew I'd stopped at earlier. I don't want to eliminate the Fire tablet from the mix (because it's so much better on battery than my phone). I'll have to keep fiddling, I guess. Thanks for the input!