WBEZ

The app was working okay, save the closing notification issue, until just before the update. Now that issue is fixed, but the broadcast can't be heard. There is sound until the "already in progress" bit finishes, then the app appears to be actively broadcasting, but there is no sound. ???

Like other WBEZ app users, I find I cannot stop the app without going into settings and forcing a stop. I must use the clumsy "30 sec" forward to get to the point in the broadcast where it stopped streaming, mysteriously. Altogether buggy. I have uninstalled and installed before and will try again because I enjoy so many WBEZ shows. But the app? :(

Still a horrible app. On both my tablet and phone it regularly freezes and it will not close unless it quits due to an error. Fire the intern who developed this and hire a pro.

I really want to like this app, but there are too many bugs. You can't select where in a past broadcast you want to listen to, so you have to use the "30 seconds skip" button which barely works as is. Not to mention you cannot get rid of the notification for the app, even if you close it. I have to restart my phone just to get the app to actually close. That should be hidden to begin with, but just having it go away when you close the app would be a good start.

Somehow in 2017 wbez managed to find the one developer who didn't know how to stream audio. My Spotify, Pandora, YouTube are 100%. Wbez app? Lately, 0. But always iffy.

This app is such a disappointment. Lots of interruptions in streaming. I live out of range 4/7 days per week to access it. I do donate regularly, but wonder why with all their resources this app isn't more effective. It should be MORE robust, not less, when I am on WiFi. You cannot always just click on the program you want to replay any time and have it work every time. It often requires a "hard"shutdown, or it keeps running in the background. Good thing the programs are worth the listen, or I would have abandoned this long ago.

The audio stream stops after a few minutes of play, even though the interface indicates the stream is active. Happens every time I use the app. The app does not shut down when I exit, so I have to force it to quit through the Settings menu.

I want to love this app because I am a WBEZ contributor and follower but this app on Android sucks. It is constantly on my notification tray as being on even though I don't have it on. It doesn't have the force quit option that used to have and that I always had to use in order to quit the app. Definitely has some bugs

UPDATE FOR V3.0: At first, after an uninstall/reinstall, I thought the bugs were worked out. Now, I've discovered not only can you not conventionally quit the app, it now no longer provides a quick access to Force Quit. It's worse. FURTHER UPDATE: On the hour and the half hour, a recording comes on with a station ID. This is required of broadcast stations, though I have no idea if they have to put it on apps that already have a recording of the station ID from the broadcast. But fine, WBEZ wants or needs to pause to say hey. The problem here is it then jumps ahead to the live broadcast. So if I started ten minutes after the hour to listen to Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me from the beginning (a feature the WBEZ app proudly advetises), on the half hour it jumps ahead to live and I miss 10 minutes. Then on the hour, another station ID and we skip to the next program. And there's no rewind, only a jump back to the start of this or an earlier show. I now feel I've devoted more time to pointing out the flaws in this app than was spent developing it. Sorry developer. Man, I wish I liked this app. I listen to WBEZ all the time, I'4m a High Fidelity subscriber and I live just far enough away to not have solid radio reception. But the app is so flawed it almost causes me to give up on the station when I can't get it on my radio. It drops out frequently even when I have a very solid wifi connection. And then, when it reconnects, I have to sit through station ID and commercials. Then I've missed part of the show. And if it hasn't dropped out, it will pause for station ID even though station IDs are already in the broadcast. And then, if I have paused the show, on the hour (the actual hour, not the hour in programming), we jump to the next program even if I'm not done with the one I'm listening to. And, to add to all this, it doesn't offer pledge-free programming and WBEZ doesn't mention this on the air. Pbbbbt. Update: with the latest version (as of May 2017), there seems to be no way to quit it on my Android other than going to the Apps setting and shutting it down from there. It's actually getting worse.

App keeps hanging while trying to play the radio

As a High Fidelity member i really want this to work! This thing never works. Locks up, drops the stream about every 10 min, and keeps running even after i close it. I end up atreaning WNYC instead. Uninstalling for now.

I am using it because I am temporarily away from the Chicago area. I will join the crowd by saying that the random "welcome" messages that keep popping up are annoying - sometimes they interrupt the live stream at inopportune times. Recently, I discovered that I need to 'force stop" to get it to stop running, simply closing the screen does not work.

Even after the update, I am still having problems with the start/stop/jump ahead glitches others have reported. And now the app will not close & I have to force stop every time I use it. Love WBEZ but this app is disappointing.

The 30 second fast forward or rewind feature never works and I have to restart it from the beginning. I even updated the app after initially having downloaded a year or more ago and it still does the same thing.

I get 10 minutes of a program, then it stops and plays a recorded message and then repeats the process ad nauseum until I give up and put on Pandora. I love WBEZ but this ap is awful. Edit 5/13: this week it has had a much steadier stream. I don't know if it was updated recently but I have noticed a change. It will still stop, but not as much as before.

My big complaint is the amount of data consumed for a just-audio streaming app. I do not have unlimited data, and I use it while walking my dog, and it consumes more data than say a youtube video/audio stream. This limits the number of times I can use it. This is only audio, data usage should be low.

This is a great idea but the Android app only sporadically works for me. Most of the time it simply tries to load. The in-app "help" feature seems to have an error report form but it has not resulted in the release of a usable version.

The three stars is a little generous but I am an npr junkie and use this app every day. I agree with the others that the sudden drops in playback are definitely an issue. I also can't stand how it continues to run in the foreground, this is dumb. My main gripe with this app the the 30 second rewind/fast forward functionality. This is a terrible user experience. If a stream drops, I have to tap that button enough times to get to 40 mins which is infuriating. You should be able to scrub through the timeline just like any other audio app worth its salt. Absolutely great idea, but the implementation needs improvement.

I am lucky to get 10 minutes of play before it freezes up. I read in the reviews where WBEZ says they're working on the glitches but some of those reviews go back to earlier this year. Until fixed, this app is useless.

Martin Nelson hit the nail on the head... especially the constant station ID repeat everytime the stream has a glitch. WBEZ should understand; A. I'm a High Definition subscriber and appreciate the concept behind the WBEZ app. However, there's an old adage that says "you get what you pay for", and this app proves it...it's Junk. B. I can get all the programs I really want from podcasts. So, if you think pushing this particular free app, repeating ads everytime the stream starts/REstarts is a good marketing strategy, think again. Using this app is an excercise in frustration.

Im a Hi Fi donor and love WBEZ so very much. And this app is terrible. The 30sec fast forward or rewind kills me with frustration. Why can't I scrub the time to locate a point in the program? Seems like a pretty basic expectation these days. As of 10/14/17, there's still same issues others mention: keeps running until you force stop, automatically jumps ahead to live broadcast while I'm in the middle of listening to something from earlier in the day, and like I already mentioned, the inability to scrub recording to a certain time in the program.

The app runs...and...runs...and there's no way to stop it! It's very annoying to have to restart your phone to get the thing to stop.

Love Wbez, My Father has listened in for years. I really enjoy this station. Like Father like Son. Thank You For Everything Chicago. We love you. Smooth Jazz Was My Favorite!

One of the worst apps I've ever seen. Fails at the basics. I shutter to think of how much donor money was dropped on this mess.

The programing is excellent, especially the option of listening to prior broadcasts. I've never had an issue with the application, not from apple nor Google play store. My experience anyway.

Love it. Do not have issues with dropping after 10 min anymore. The 30 sec for/back skip feature on episode details screen is awesome.

The app doesn't stop. No stop button in the app. You have to go to apps and do a force close. Fix this!

Perfect for listening to Chicago Public Radio. Wish there was a sleep timer.

Not what i thought

Super glitchy for example the live stream frequently cuts out for several minutes before resuming and promptly cutting out again to rejoin the live stream. This problem is unrelated to ISP and seems to only occur on the Android version. This glitch along with other glitches make the app unusable. Would give less stars but I still love WBEZ.

I have a terrible time with this app on my Android phone. It constantly stops, frequently after less than 30 seconds. It doesn't ever last more than a few minutes

WBEZ is great but this app isn't. One big problem I have is that it sometimes decides to play at about half volume. Plugged into my portable speaker, I can't hear it clearly at work when it does this. Another big problem is data usage. I listened to about four hours today and burned over half a gig. My work doesn't have WiFi so I'm gonna run outta data before the week if I keep using this app. Are the Pritzkers gonna throw down another generous donation to fix this app? My ten bucks a month isn't gonna be enough.

It constantly cuts out and restarts. I have used it for years, and I can't believe that they can't get it working properly in all that time. I love NPR, and wbez, but the app reliability is terrible.

This app is horrible! It continuously stops in the middle of stories and takes too long to reload. Very frustrating!

Streaming constantly stopping. I only listen on the app and it's becoming almost unlistenable. I am a WBEZ member that is cancelling their monthly membership to try to get someone to look into this.

The app is nice as a catalog, but it is really inconvenient for fast forwarding a show to a specific time segment. If the app needs to buffer, it often just starts the program over. Other times, the app seems to be unable to keep live streaming of the show without constant buffering.

Stick to the radio for live streaming! The content of the app is wonderful, since it's WBEZ. But, as many reviewers have noted, the live stream is super glitchy. It constantly cuts out and sometimes doesn't restart until you've forgotten it was playing at all. Worse, every time it restarts it plays a welcome message that often includes a sponsorship, which means I sometimes hear three or four ads in a space of two minutes. I do use it reliably for listening to prior broadcasts, although the navigation feature is terrible (you can only fast forward 30 seconds, and the app fairly regularly restarts you at the beginning of the broadcast). This app is a missed opportunity and ends up being more frustrating than it's worth. I'm hoping all these poor reviews from otherwise devoted WBEZ listeners and members like myself make a difference!

Constantly stops. This app is terrible!!! I just want my WBEZ!!! I'm streaming with Radio FM. Much better already. Sorry WBEZ

It stops playing very frequently. Why? I just want my Wbez. :(

This app constanly stops and has to reloads, very frustrating