8 ms·

I've found even apps that support downloading content for offline usage don't work properly offline. They do stupid things like sign you out randomly, refuse to

I've found even apps that support downloading content for offline usage don't work properly offline. They do stupid things like sign you out randomly, refuse to work without a connection, put un-dismissable banners about not having connections over controls, or hang in random spots trying to navigate their UI. I'd settle for offline-second apps that, when ostensibly having the ability work offline, can work with any sort of designed or considered experience (dismiss banners about no connection, don't hang randomly, etc.)

colordrops 4y ago
Downloaded songs on Spotify stopped working for me if I'm offline. Why even bother downloading songs???
- sojournerc 4y ago
  You are not alone. I live in the mountains. The primary reason for downloading is to have music in low/no connectivity. It seems worst when I have a bad connection, and it just can't deal, wanting to download the whole thing again. I swear, they don't ever test this stuff in anything but ideal California reception.
  - bin_bash 4y ago
    > ideal California reception you must not spend much time in California
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - getcrunk 4y ago
      Big facts. I don't leave the house much these days. Recently I went on a 30+ min drive to visit a friend. From a super dense urban area to a suburb that is growing into a dense area. And I legit had no internet for like 4 minutes. Obviously it'll be worse for non densely populated area
  - Karrot_Kream 4y ago
    Spotify is a Swedish company. And yeah, you just need to go to a lake a bit at the edge of a metro area to feel the bugginess of these apps with intermittent connectivity
- hombre_fatal 4y ago
  Yeah, it's weird for Spotify to have all these loading spinners when I'm offline and just want to pick from my downloads folder. Back when I used Spotify, I would navigate to where I needed to be while I had wifi to prepare for when I had no signal, like before a run or plane flight. Else it would often just fail to load at all. Youtube and Youtube Music at least have a deliberate "Downloads" tab which is what I want when I know that I'm offline and want to browse my downloaded media.
- HWR_14 4y ago
  I mean, there is a use case. You have access to WiFi at home/work, and expensive or slow mobile data. So you can transfer the music when using a better connection and just check licensing in realtime. But it does still suck. I'd imagine the main reason Spotify choose to limit it like that is some requirement put on them by the music labels.
  - matheusmoreira 4y ago
    > just check licensing in realtime And be locked out of your music if either the internet or their servers are down.
    - HWR_14 4y ago
      As I said, it does suck. There are use cases where it helps, but it's much rarer than just letting you listen offline and checking once a week or whatever. I doubt it was Spotify, as opposed to the music labels, who thought it was a good idea to check constantly.
- harrisonjackson 4y ago
  The downloaded songs play great if you toggle to airplane mode. The whole app is basically unusable with a spotty connection though. It is constantly attempting to do network things that block the ui.
- Mindwipe 4y ago
  Yeah, this is the big kicker in my everyday life. I download music on Spotify so I can use it on the tube with no internet connectivity. So why does the page for any downloaded album seemingly require connectivity to load FFS? How am I supposed to click on the song? (Randomly, after half an hour often, it just works. I have no idea how or why.)
35mm 4y ago
YouTube Premium does this all the time. When I get on a plane, on the tube, etc. it has bugs that mean my ‘offline’ content isn’t accessible.
JamesSwift 4y ago
Thats (mostly) not offline-first. Thats offline-resilient. Theres a big difference. Offline first always hits the cache for its data so should provide the same exact navigation experience with or without connection, but the data is sometimes stale. Offline-resilient has a bimodal flow where it usually operates normally, then switches to the cache when connection is dropped. The "no connection" banner is usually still present but shouldn't block UI.

colordrops 4y ago

Downloaded songs on Spotify stopped working for me if I'm offline. Why even bother downloading songs???

sojournerc 4y ago
You are not alone. I live in the mountains. The primary reason for downloading is to have music in low/no connectivity. It seems worst when I have a bad connection, and it just can't deal, wanting to download the whole thing again. I swear, they don't ever test this stuff in anything but ideal California reception.
- bin_bash 4y ago
  > ideal California reception you must not spend much time in California
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - getcrunk 4y ago
    Big facts. I don't leave the house much these days. Recently I went on a 30+ min drive to visit a friend. From a super dense urban area to a suburb that is growing into a dense area. And I legit had no internet for like 4 minutes. Obviously it'll be worse for non densely populated area
- Karrot_Kream 4y ago
  Spotify is a Swedish company. And yeah, you just need to go to a lake a bit at the edge of a metro area to feel the bugginess of these apps with intermittent connectivity
hombre_fatal 4y ago
Yeah, it's weird for Spotify to have all these loading spinners when I'm offline and just want to pick from my downloads folder. Back when I used Spotify, I would navigate to where I needed to be while I had wifi to prepare for when I had no signal, like before a run or plane flight. Else it would often just fail to load at all. Youtube and Youtube Music at least have a deliberate "Downloads" tab which is what I want when I know that I'm offline and want to browse my downloaded media.
HWR_14 4y ago
I mean, there is a use case. You have access to WiFi at home/work, and expensive or slow mobile data. So you can transfer the music when using a better connection and just check licensing in realtime. But it does still suck. I'd imagine the main reason Spotify choose to limit it like that is some requirement put on them by the music labels.
- matheusmoreira 4y ago
  > just check licensing in realtime And be locked out of your music if either the internet or their servers are down.
  - HWR_14 4y ago
    As I said, it does suck. There are use cases where it helps, but it's much rarer than just letting you listen offline and checking once a week or whatever. I doubt it was Spotify, as opposed to the music labels, who thought it was a good idea to check constantly.
harrisonjackson 4y ago
The downloaded songs play great if you toggle to airplane mode. The whole app is basically unusable with a spotty connection though. It is constantly attempting to do network things that block the ui.
Mindwipe 4y ago
Yeah, this is the big kicker in my everyday life. I download music on Spotify so I can use it on the tube with no internet connectivity. So why does the page for any downloaded album seemingly require connectivity to load FFS? How am I supposed to click on the song? (Randomly, after half an hour often, it just works. I have no idea how or why.)

35mm 4y ago

YouTube Premium does this all the time. When I get on a plane, on the tube, etc. it has bugs that mean my ‘offline’ content isn’t accessible.

JamesSwift 4y ago

Thats (mostly) not offline-first. Thats offline-resilient. Theres a big difference. Offline first always hits the cache for its data so should provide the same exact navigation experience with or without connection, but the data is sometimes stale. Offline-resilient has a bimodal flow where it usually operates normally, then switches to the cache when connection is dropped. The "no connection" banner is usually still present but shouldn't block UI.