My 7.5.1 experience so far.....

[bluegaspode]

Some might say that you shouldn't rely on a Squeezebox alarm since it wasn't specifically made to be an alarm clock, but personally I bought the Squeezebox partially because of its alarm clock feature and I expected it to work -- and if it didn't, a backup sound would wake me up. Hearing nothing at all which could cause me to miss getting up for work is just unacceptable.

Could you confirm, that you schedule your alarm ONLY directly on the Radio (instead of via the web-interface) ?
I never had a failing backup alarm since 7.4.2 version where the backup-alarm code was fixed.

Could you also write if you use a local server or mysqueezebox.com ?
There are several tweaks for both scenarious to make the alarm play the wanted sound instead of the backup-alarm (which should always sound, regardless of your server type)

[ciarmer]

After numerous complaints to customer support and no relief from the 7.5.1 upgrade, I was told that Logitech was now replacing radios as they believe that the streaming issue (and others that I have) are caused by a hardware issue. They mentioned "overheating" They asked me to send my radio in for replacement. New radio arrived yesterday. The hardware version is "5". This is the same hardware version as the previous one. I set up the new radio. It downloaded firmware 7.5.1. I turned the radio on using a preset. The streaming stopped within 10 seconds. Same exact problem as I had before.

Waste of my time. But at least we know it is not a hardware issue. (But we all knew that before).

Is there any word on when these bugs will actually be fixed?

Do they actually test these firmware releases before they are released?

[erland]

New radio arrived yesterday. The hardware version is "5". This is the same hardware version as the previous one. I set up the new radio. It downloaded firmware 7.5.1. I turned the radio on using a preset. The streaming stopped within 10 seconds. Same exact problem as I had before.

Please make sure to inform the support that it didn't help, just to avoid that other users have to waste time the same way as you had to.

Is there any word on when these bugs will actually be fixed?

I think you will get the best answer through the official support channels, you are only going to get guesses on these forums. Bugging the support about it will make them aware of the problem and it will hopefully also make them improve their internal communication channels so the support staff knows when a new release is planned, this doesn't currently always seem to be the case based on some forum posts here.

If you find the bug in the bug database at bugs.slimdevices.com, you can look at the "Target Milestone" field to get an indication which release it's planned for. If it's "7.5.x" it's planned for the next 7.5 release although some 7.5.x bugs might probably be postponed to a future 7.5 release since there are a lot of them now.

Do they actually test these firmware releases before they are released?

Yes and it works good for a lot of people. The problem is that most of these bugs depends on the environment, typically some network problem or server problem, it might be your local network or it might be your ISP network connection to MySB.com or it might be internet radio station providing the stream or the MySB.com servers. It's often hard to tell exactly which one is causing the problems.

They are still bugs that needs to be fixed so this is no excuse, I'm just saying that it can be pretty hard to find some of these things when running tests in a test facility prior to the release. We don't have much information about how Logitech performs the testing, so it's hard to tell if they have done as much as they realistically can do prior to the release. Still, it's really not our responsibility to tell them how to test things, we should only make sure to tell them through the official support channels when the quality is insufficient. Or in the "Beta" section of this forum if we are participating in official beta testing of the software prior to a release. Yes, I know it might feel like we are beta testing the official release also but I think it's better to report those problem through the official support channels.

Hopefully someone at Logitech is working to solve these issues as soon as possible, but it's hard to tell with the current level of communication they have with the community.

[toby10]

I kinda suspected you would end up with the same hardware exhibiting the same issues.

As erlend suggests your issues are not a universal problem for all users, which would indicate not being a hardware problem.
My Radio does not turn itself ON or OFF under any conditions including selecting a Preset from Standby. For me this works as expected.
How/what/why it works for some and not others I haven't a clue.

If you provide the station details (name, url, format, etc..) I can save the same station as a Preset and try to duplicate your issue.
But I'm betting it will function fine for me.

[ciarmer]

This is in response to Erland and Toby10. Thanks for your posts.

First I’d like to clarify that I’m not complaining. If I were to complain, my posts would be a lot longer. My complaints have been expressed through the appropriate channels – customer support. And my experiences and assistance have been expressed in bug reports. I’ve had an open back and forth email dialogue with tech support.

Once I received the new radio and set it up, it became apparent that nothing had changed. My first stop was not to come to the forums. My first action was to report back to tech support. My second action was to post an update to one of the bug reports. My last action was to come here and simply report back since someone had expressed curiosity about what the hardware version number was. Sorry if some of my frustration emerged.

With respect to the installed environment for this radio, I can tell you that my too Booms work flawlessly. My two receivers and my controller also work flawlessly. I know that doesn’t mean anything but given that as a foundation, I’d expect the radio to work also.

With respect to the radio turning off after start up, it is a problem no matter what is playing when I’m connected to MSB. This includes Sirius Radio, Pandora, any radio stream through RadioTime and anything I listen to through the Podcast Player. With respect to it turning on after I shut it off, I don’t think it matters what it was playing when I last turned it off. With respect to the alarm, it is simply unreliable no matter what it is set to play when it triggers. I have a strong impression that the device becomes far more stable when connected to SBS rather than MSB. I know that I can avoid much of this by just running SBS.

I enjoy being a beta tester. I’ve beta tested software. I like looking for issues and solutions. I’m not a programmer but I enjoy this stuff. Unfortunately, I didn’t sign up to be a beta tester on this device. I realized a long time ago, however, that I am beta testing.

The only thing that threw me a bit here is I simply have the feeling they asked me to send my radio in because they are at a loss. If they still believe this is a hardware problem it means their current level of communication with the community is not great. While I have not tried it myself, it seems pretty clear based on what I've read that many of my problems did not exist prior to 7.5. Doesn't sound like a hardware problem, but I don't know enough to make a firm statement.

I’m hoping they solve this also.

If I hear anything productive from tech support, I'll post it here in the hope that it helps someone.

[erland]

This is in response to Erland and Toby10. Thanks for your posts.

Once I received the new radio and set it up, it became apparent that nothing had changed. My first stop was not to come to the forums. My first action was to report back to tech support. My second action was to post an update to one of the bug reports. My last action was to come here and simply report back since someone had expressed curiosity about what the hardware version number was.

Thanks, this is exactly how users with problems should make Logitech aware of them. I wish more users would follow your example.

Sorry if some of my frustration emerged.

No problem, it's just that we are as frustrated as you are because we have no idea if Logitech is working on this or not. We hope they are but we don't really have any proof.

With respect to the installed environment for this radio, I can tell you that my too Booms work flawlessly. My two receivers and my controller also work flawlessly. I know that doesn’t mean anything but given that as a foundation, I’d expect the radio to work also.

From what I've seen I think the Receiver and Boom are a bit less dependent on mysqueezebox.com so that might explain why they work better.

Some questions, just to try to help you, sorry if I'm asking questions about something you have posted somewhere else where I could have read it.

Are you playing audio directly on the Controller or is it just used for controlling the other players ?

Is the alarm unreliable because it doesn't play anything and just stays silent, or is it unreliable because you sometimes get the loud fallback alarm ?
If the problem is the fallback alarm, I have the same problem in my setup. In my setup it's caused by a brief disconnection with the server, probably due to local network problems as I'm playing local music.

Could you think of anything that happens when it's turned on after you have shut it down ?
- An SBS installation on local network is started or restarted or shut down ?
- Some computer on local network is going out of hibernate/suspend mode ?
- Some computer on local network is started or restarted ?
- You change what's playing on some of the other players ?
- Some network connection problem with mysqueezebox com ?

Do you shut it down completely by holding power for a while, or do you just switch it to the off screen saver ?

[toby10]

...........
First I’d like to clarify that I’m not complaining....

I sure didn't think you were.

Let me know if you want me to try something on my end for comparison.

[ciarmer]

Some questions, just to try to help you, sorry if I'm asking questions about something you have posted somewhere else where I could have read it.

Are you playing audio directly on the Controller or is it just used for controlling the other players ?

I welcome all of your questions – thanks.

Is the alarm unreliable because it doesn't play anything and just stays silent, or is it unreliable because you sometimes get the loud fallback alarm ?

It varies. Sometimes it works fine but when “snoozed” it does not re-trigger. Sometimes it gives the fall back alarm. Sometimes it triggers properly but shuts off after a few seconds.

If the problem is the fallback alarm, I have the same problem in my setup. In my setup it's caused by a brief disconnection with the server, probably due to local network problems as I'm playing local music.

Could you think of anything that happens when it's turned on after you have shut it down ?
- An SBS installation on local network is started or restarted or shut down ?
- Some computer on local network is going out of hibernate/suspend mode ?
- Some computer on local network is started or restarted ?
- You change what's playing on some of the other players ?
- Some network connection problem with mysqueezebox com ?

All of the issues I have are when connected to MSB.com. I rarely am connected to SBS. And SBS is rarely running. When the alarm triggers in the morning, there is no computer on. The radio is connected directly to MSB.com No other players are up and running when this happens. Not sure if it is a network connection problem. I’ve often done testing of the alarm when the radio is within five feet of the wireless modem and the reception is listed as 100%. I have not tried it with an Ethernet cable.

When it turns on by itself, it is usually within just a few seconds of being turned off (switched off to screen saver). That’s at a point where there are no other players on and no computer on.

Do you shut it down completely by holding power for a while, or do you just switch it to the off screen saver ?

I don’t shut it down completely unless I have to (which frequently I must since the “art” gets frozen on the last thing that has played – which is one of the other bugs). Should I be shutting it down completely whenever I shut the radio off?

[erland]

It varies. Sometimes it works fine but when “snoozed” it does not re-trigger. Sometimes it gives the fall back alarm. Sometimes it triggers properly but shuts off after a few seconds.

Do you have the same problem if you play the same music stream normally and not through the alarm ?

Do you have the same problem independent which type of internet radio station you configure to be played when the alarm triggers ?

What does the display indicate after you have snoozed it ? If I remember correctly there is some indication that the alarm is snoozed and not turned off. I need to check to know exactly how it looks like since I'm not using snooze myself, maybe someone else knows ?

All of the issues I have are when connected to MSB.com. I rarely am connected to SBS. And SBS is rarely running. When the alarm triggers in the morning, there is no computer on. The radio is connected directly to MSB.com No other players are up and running when this happens. Not sure if it is a network connection problem. I’ve often done testing of the alarm when the radio is within five feet of the wireless modem and the reception is listed as 100%. I have not tried it with an Ethernet cable.

Try with an ethernet cable to see if the local network causes the problems.

When it turns on by itself, it is usually within just a few seconds of being turned off (switched off to screen saver). That’s at a point where there are no other players on and no computer on.

Do you only see the problem when you turn it off when something is playing or do you have the same problem if it's stopped before you turn it off ?

I don’t shut it down completely unless I have to (which frequently I must since the “art” gets frozen on the last thing that has played – which is one of the other bugs). Should I be shutting it down completely whenever I shut the radio off?

I'm guessing it won't turn on spontaneously if you shut it down completely ?
So the problem where the Radio is turned on after a few seconds only happens when you activate the off screen saver ?
Which screen saver do you use as the off screen saver ?

[ciarmer]

Questions from Erland

Erland - thanks so much for taking the time to help with this. The responses might take a little bit of time. I want to make sure that I give you accurate responses. Some issues happen only frequently rather than all the time. Give me a few days.

Also, I received a reply from tech support on my expression of frustration about why they made me swap the hardware. Their response was they were trying to eliminate the hardware as an issue. They have also asked me a number of questions about readings from the diagnostic screens such as Power readings, MAC address, etc. I'll keep you posted on this as well.

Thanks again!