Seedio - Together we are loud!

FAQ

Seedio does not work. Why?

For Seedio to work properly you need to make sure that you have at least 2 iOS devices running on the same WiFi network. This network may be a stationary WiFi Network (like at home) or a Personal Hotspot on any one of the participating iOS devices. To create a Personal Hotspot the device has to be an iPhone 4 or higher or a "new" iPad. To connect to such a Hotspot any iOS device will do. To set up a Personal Hotspot switch to iPhone Settings. Select "Personal Hotspot", enter a name for your device (this will be used as the name displayed in the list of seeders in the receiver window) and a Pasword/Keyphrase to be used to connect to your device. Make sure the other devices connect to this WiFi by selecting it in the "Choose a Network" list in the "Wi-Fi" settings of the respective iPhone(s). (More information on iOS Personal Hotspot is available at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4517)
The iOS device seeding music needs to add music to the current playlist and start seeding (=broadcasting) by pressing the big Antenna button. Only then the device will show up in the list of available seeders in the receive window of the other devices.
To add music to the current playlist tap the "+" button, select a music source, and select tracks or playlists to add to your current Seedio playlist.
To listen to a seeder currently broadcasting switch to the receiver mode by sliding the button on the top right and tap on the name of the Seeder in the list displayed.

In case Seedio still does not work after you did all of this please read on and/or turn to the section Troubleshooting.

Can I enable a Personal Hotspot with "Mobile Data" switched off?

Unfortunately Apple allows only to enable your Personal Hotspot with Mobile Data switched on. But as long as you play music from the Music Library only, Seedio will not consume any mobile data bandwidth.

Why is the option to enable a Personal Hotspot grayed/not available on my iOS device?

You probably have an iPhone older than a 4 or an iPad 1 or 2. Those devices do not support setting up a Hotspot. if you have a newer device make sure that your data plan allows for tethering (the technical term for allowing other devices to connect to the internet via your device)

Are you supporting Bluetooth connections?

Short answer - No. And we probably never will as Bluetooth is lacking stability and some functionality required by Seedio.

I was told Personal Hotspot allows for 5 additional devices to connect but only less then that can connect. Why?

Although iOS allows for 5 additional devices most Cellular Data Providers limit the number of allowed connections. From our experience 3 additional devices will connect without problems all of the time.

Can I use a MiFi (Mobile WiFi router) as a WiFi Hotspot?

Yes of course. And in contrast to the iPhone most MiFis will always allow for 5 additional devices to connect and you do not need to have an active cellular data connection to create your Wireless Network. We will keep an eye on MiFi devices as we expect them to support even more devices in the future.

Why can't I add tracks from my Music Library that I have stored in the iCloud?

Seedio can only access tracks from your Music Library that are physically stored on your device. To add tracks from the cloud you first have to load them to your device using the native Music (aka iTunes) app. Unfortunately we cannot hide such tracks from the Music Picker (the interface that allows you to select tracks from your Music Library).

Why can I select tracks from my Music Library that I cannot play?

Tracks that have a non supported format, that are drm-protected, or are stored in the iCloud cannot be played with Seedio. Unfortunately we cannot hide such tracks from the Music Picker (the interface that allows you to select tracks from your Music Library).

What music formats does Seedio support?

Seedio works well with MP3 and unprotected AAC. We are working on supporting more formats. Unfortunately we cannot hide unsupported tracks from the Music Picker (the interface that allows you to select tracks from your Music Library).

Can I use Seedio as a stand-alone player?

Yes, of course. You will not need any WiFi connection to do so. And to our knowledge it is the only player available that allows you to mix tracks from your Music Library with YouTube tracks into one playlist!

Can I connect Bluetooth speakers when playing?

Yes, but we discourage you to do so. We cannot anticipate the time lag generated by the Bluetooth audio connection. So you most probably will get out of sync. In addition, with some Bluetooth devices we experienced interferences and dropouts. Better plug in the speaker via the headphone plug for perfectly synced listening experience.

Will Seedio use a lot of storage space on my iOS device?

No. We only need to store the currently playing track.

Do you have an Android version of Seedio?

No. And at the moment there are no definite plans for an Android version. Maybe ...

When I try to add a YouTube Playlist the number of items returned is less than shown on the YouTube Website. Why?

We only display those YouTube videos in the playlist that are explicitly released for mobile playback by 3rd party applications. Unfortunately many publishers start to restrict access to their videos to YouTube itself.

How can I manage the sessions in my play/receive history?

In the Seedio settings in your iPhone's Settings app you can control how we store the history. Just open the Settings app and scroll to Apps/Seedio. With "New Session after" you control what time must pass after the last song finished playing before we create a new session in the history. With "# of Sessions stored" you control how many sessions will be stored in the history. When this number is exceeded the oldest session will be deleted.

When I start Seedio it automatically starts to play, how can I switch that off?

For your convenience we have implemented an "Auto Receive" option. If this option is on Seedio will automatically start to play whenever there is exactly one seeder broadcasting in your WiFi network. To switch it off, got to "Apps/Seedio" in your iPhones Settings app and switch "Auto Receive" off.

What ist the maximum number of devices that may connect to a seeding device?

The limit is the sky :-) Ok, it depends. Mainly it depends on the Performance and the Bandwidth the WiFi router is offering. (For further information see "Troubleshooting")

Troubleshooting:

All devices are connected to the same WiFi network, one is seeding but no one can see the Seeder in the list

You very probably are connected to a WIFi network that does only allow communication to the "outside" internet. If you are not in charge of the WiFi Network there is nothing you can do about it.

All devices are connected to the same WiFi network, one is seeding but some receiver cannot see the Seeder in the list although others are receiving fine.

The WiFi network is fine. Those devices not seeing the Seeder probably need to be restarted (see "Restart Seedio")

After some time one of the receiving devices ran out of sync.

Press the mute button twice. If this does not help stop receiving and start receiving again. Your receiver should be in sync again. If not, restart Seedio (see "Restart Seedio")

When I try to start Seedio, it does not

Restart Seedio (see "Restart Seedio")

When trying to switch to a different Seeder nothing happens.

Keep pushing. Tap on the Seeder in the list for a second or a third time. It finally will start to play ;-) We are working on that issue.

We have stuttering sound and/or dropouts on the receivers while playing

Very likely there is too much traffic on your WiFi network. Try to identify other apps that are using the network and switch them off. If you have a large number of receivers and Seeders running think of turning some of them off.

I was told to restart Seedio.

Sometimes things go awry and you need to restart Seedio. To do so, click twice on the home-button to see the list of active programs at the bottom of your screen. Locate the Seedio icon, tap and hold it until it starts to wiggle. A "x"-symbol will appear next to it. Tap the "x" and Seedio will be wiped out of memory. If the symptoms still persist, try to restart your iOS device. Press and hold the Power-button until your device asks you if you want to power down the device. Follow instructions to power it down. Press and hold the power button to start your iPhone. Btw: isn't it great that most users do not know how to power down their iPhone because they never need to?

I did neither find an answer to my problems in the FAQs nor in the trouble shooting section.