iOS App keeps crashing (Offline/Not on same Network) #367

New Issue

2026-04-24T23:18:10+02:00

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:18:10 +02:00

Originally created by @gh0sti on GitHub (Dec 14, 2022).

Steps to reproduce

Have a downloaded audiobook
Start playing
After a few minutes the app stops and crashes. Pausing the audiobook also crashes and won't resume till I launch the app again and keeps saying the app crashed. I have sent several emails from testflight app with stack trace of the issue.
This issue seems to be related to app not communicating with server when offline or not on the same network as the server.

Expected behaviour

Tell us what should happen
app shouldn't crash trying to play a downloaded audiobook

Actual behaviour

Tell us what happens
app crashes after playing an audiobook after awhile.

Environment data

Audiobookshelf Version:

[ 0.9.60 (17)] iOS App

iOS Issue

iOS Version: 16.2

iPhone model: iPhone 13 PM

Originally created by @gh0sti on GitHub (Dec 14, 2022). ### Steps to reproduce 1. Have a downloaded audiobook 2. Start playing 3. After a few minutes the app stops and crashes. Pausing the audiobook also crashes and won't resume till I launch the app again and keeps saying the app crashed. I have sent several emails from testflight app with stack trace of the issue. 4. This issue seems to be related to app not communicating with server when offline or not on the same network as the server. ### Expected behaviour - Tell us what should happen - app shouldn't crash trying to play a downloaded audiobook ### Actual behaviour - Tell us what happens - app crashes after playing an audiobook after awhile. ### Environment data Audiobookshelf Version: - [ 0.9.60 (17)] iOS App #### iOS Issue iOS Version: 16.2 iPhone model: iPhone 13 PM

adam added the bug label 2026-04-24 23:18:10 +02:00

adam closed this issue

2026-04-24 23:18:10 +02:00

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:18:11 +02:00

@taxilian commented on GitHub (Dec 14, 2022):

That's really strange -- I'm on ios 16.0.2, iphone 13 pro max, 0.9.60 (17), and no issues. I'll try updating my iphone and see if it lets me reproduce this issue, since I have the same model phone as @gh0sti

@taxilian commented on GitHub (Dec 14, 2022): That's really strange -- I'm on ios 16.0.2, iphone 13 pro max, 0.9.60 (17), and no issues. I'll try updating my iphone and see if it lets me reproduce this issue, since I have the same model phone as @gh0sti

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:18:12 +02:00

@gh0sti commented on GitHub (Dec 14, 2022):

@taxilian I agree it has been strange. I keep submitting the crash logs through testflight each time the app crashes too.

@gh0sti commented on GitHub (Dec 14, 2022): @taxilian I agree it has been strange. I keep submitting the crash logs through testflight each time the app crashes too.

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:18:12 +02:00

@benonymity commented on GitHub (Dec 15, 2022):

I just experienced this too--and I think it might have something to do with the device being online and the server being unreachable. If I turn off wifi and data the app doesn't crash, if one is on but the server isn't reachable it routinely crashes.

@benonymity commented on GitHub (Dec 15, 2022): I just experienced this too--and I think it might have something to do with the device being online and the server being unreachable. If I turn off wifi and data the app doesn't crash, if one is on but the server isn't reachable it routinely crashes.

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:18:13 +02:00

@lerndmina commented on GitHub (Dec 19, 2022):

I appear to have the same or similar issue.
I have my ABS instance hosted privately at home, so when my device has access to the internet it often does not have access to the ABS instance and often crashes when playing downloaded media.
When I use a VPN to my home network I hardly ever experience any crashes.

IOS: 1.16.2
iPhone 14 Pro
Version: 0.8.60-beta

@lerndmina commented on GitHub (Dec 19, 2022): I appear to have the same or similar issue. I have my ABS instance hosted privately at home, so when my device has access to the internet it often does not have access to the ABS instance and often crashes when playing downloaded media. When I use a VPN to my home network I hardly ever experience any crashes. IOS: 1.16.2 iPhone 14 Pro Version: 0.8.60-beta

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:18:14 +02:00

@benonymity commented on GitHub (Dec 19, 2022):

Good to know--I'll try to reproduce it in the simulator to capture some logs. Hopefully we can track down the issue!

@benonymity commented on GitHub (Dec 19, 2022): Good to know--I'll try to reproduce it in the simulator to capture some logs. Hopefully we can track down the issue!

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:18:14 +02:00

@gh0sti commented on GitHub (Dec 19, 2022):

Good to know--I'll try to reproduce it in the simulator to capture some logs. Hopefully we can track down the issue!

It almost sounds like to me a DRM in a way that audiobookshelf needs to contact the server always even with the content locally downloaded and device is no longer connecting to the server. Sounds like others are experiencing this issue as well.

@gh0sti commented on GitHub (Dec 19, 2022): > Good to know--I'll try to reproduce it in the simulator to capture some logs. Hopefully we can track down the issue! It almost sounds like to me a DRM in a way that audiobookshelf needs to contact the server always even with the content locally downloaded and device is no longer connecting to the server. Sounds like others are experiencing this issue as well.

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:18:15 +02:00

@anha7196 commented on GitHub (Dec 21, 2022):

This happens to me as well. The app cashes randomly, maybe 5-10 times during an hour, and as far as i have been able to test it, it seems to crash only when not on the same network as the server. If i turn of wifi and data the app still crashes though, but maybe less frequently, hard to tell as i have found no pattern to the crashes. I will try vpn next.

@anha7196 commented on GitHub (Dec 21, 2022): This happens to me as well. The app cashes randomly, maybe 5-10 times during an hour, and as far as i have been able to test it, it seems to crash only when not on the same network as the server. If i turn of wifi and data the app still crashes though, but maybe less frequently, hard to tell as i have found no pattern to the crashes. I will try vpn next.

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:18:15 +02:00

@lerndmina commented on GitHub (Dec 24, 2022):

Just commenting to say I have experienced this again. My server is temporarily offline and my phone is connected to the internet. I've reported the crash with a mention of my GitHub username in hopes that the crash logs can be correlated with what we think is causing the issue.

@lerndmina commented on GitHub (Dec 24, 2022): Just commenting to say I have experienced this again. My server is temporarily offline and my phone is connected to the internet. I've reported the crash with a mention of my GitHub username in hopes that the crash logs can be correlated with what we think is causing the issue.

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:18:17 +02:00

@blumarten commented on GitHub (Jan 1, 2023):

i have this as well. trying to play downloaded books and the app just stops playing after about (rough guess) 5 minutes.

@blumarten commented on GitHub (Jan 1, 2023): i have this as well. trying to play downloaded books and the app just stops playing after about (rough guess) 5 minutes.

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:18:17 +02:00

@pewter77 commented on GitHub (Jan 3, 2023):

Have this issue as well. Currently my server is only locally available.

@pewter77 commented on GitHub (Jan 3, 2023): Have this issue as well. Currently my server is only locally available.

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:18:18 +02:00

@blumarten commented on GitHub (Jan 3, 2023):

i changed my ABS server to my exposed domain for accessing ABS outside my home but this made no difference. My iphone stopped playing a downlaoded file after 7 mins. I'm not sure if the whole app crashed or whether it just stopped playing, but one way or another it still stopped playing.

@blumarten commented on GitHub (Jan 3, 2023): i changed my ABS server to my exposed domain for accessing ABS outside my home but this made no difference. My iphone stopped playing a downlaoded file after 7 mins. I'm not sure if the whole app crashed or whether it just stopped playing, but one way or another it still stopped playing.

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:18:19 +02:00

@gh0sti commented on GitHub (Jan 3, 2023):

Having the app crash while not being connected to our server defeats the purposing of having our audiobooks downloaded to play locally.

@gh0sti commented on GitHub (Jan 3, 2023): Having the app crash while not being connected to our server defeats the purposing of having our audiobooks downloaded to play locally.

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:18:19 +02:00

@blumarten commented on GitHub (Jan 3, 2023):

Having the app crash while not being connected to our server defeats the purposing of having our audiobooks downloaded to play locally.

it still crashes when connected to the server, i tested it earlier

@blumarten commented on GitHub (Jan 3, 2023): > Having the app crash while not being connected to our server defeats the purposing of having our audiobooks downloaded to play locally. it still crashes when connected to the server, i tested it earlier

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:18:20 +02:00

@lerndmina commented on GitHub (Jan 11, 2023):

I sometimes get app crashes when connected to the abs server but that is rare and inconsistent. Whereas I can reliably reproduce a crash when not connected to my abs server playing local audiobooks.

Edit: because of this issue I've decided to make my abs server available on a public subdomain as it's a pain to have to tunnel back to my home network to listen to books.

@lerndmina commented on GitHub (Jan 11, 2023): I sometimes get app crashes when connected to the abs server but that is rare and inconsistent. Whereas I can reliably reproduce a crash when not connected to my abs server playing local audiobooks. Edit: because of this issue I've decided to make my abs server available on a public subdomain as it's a pain to have to tunnel back to my home network to listen to books.

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:18:21 +02:00

@anha7196 commented on GitHub (Jan 16, 2023):

After testing some more i think the crashes occur after starting the playback offline, but do not occur when starting playback online and then going out of range of the network where the server is available. Pausing playback for a while (while offline) seems to bring on the crashes again.

Can someone else confirm this behavior?

@anha7196 commented on GitHub (Jan 16, 2023): After testing some more i think the crashes occur after starting the playback offline, but do not occur when starting playback online and then going out of range of the network where the server is available. Pausing playback for a while (while offline) seems to bring on the crashes again. Can someone else confirm this behavior?

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:18:22 +02:00

@gh0sti commented on GitHub (Jan 16, 2023):

I almost wonder if it has to do with syncing the time stamp of where you are in the playback of the audiobook so the server keeps track of where you are on any device.

@gh0sti commented on GitHub (Jan 16, 2023): I almost wonder if it has to do with syncing the time stamp of where you are in the playback of the audiobook so the server keeps track of where you are on any device.

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:18:22 +02:00

@anha7196 commented on GitHub (Jan 16, 2023):

Sounds possible. A bit strange to me though is that the crashes seem to be so irregular. Sometimes very often ans sometimes seldom.

Please till me if I can help by testing something.

@anha7196 commented on GitHub (Jan 16, 2023): Sounds possible. A bit strange to me though is that the crashes seem to be so irregular. Sometimes very often ans sometimes seldom. Please till me if I can help by testing something.

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:18:24 +02:00

@jmt-gh commented on GitHub (Jan 19, 2023):

Just noting that I'm also experiencing this:

iPhone 7
iOS 15.7.1
ABS 0.9.60 (17)

@advplyr -- I'm submitted the crash reports through testflight each time it happens (added a few comments on some of them). Not sure if there's anything relevant in any of those to share here that could help anyone looking in to this?

@jmt-gh commented on GitHub (Jan 19, 2023): Just noting that I'm also experiencing this: iPhone 7 iOS 15.7.1 ABS 0.9.60 (17) @advplyr -- I'm submitted the crash reports through testflight each time it happens (added a few comments on some of them). Not sure if there's anything relevant in any of those to share here that could help anyone looking in to this?

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:18:24 +02:00

@advplyr commented on GitHub (Jan 24, 2023):

The crash reports are all the same and they show it has to do with Realm. It isn't giving us much but here are screenshots of the report:

In case anyone wants to dig into this

@advplyr commented on GitHub (Jan 24, 2023): The crash reports are all the same and they show it has to do with Realm. It isn't giving us much but here are screenshots of the report: ![image](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/67830747/214176302-fa8f4058-9afd-4430-a618-89f4711dfa38.png) ![image](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/67830747/214176257-ffb56a8c-4a63-4d95-9543-ed21bee01d49.png) ![image](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/67830747/214176277-6c7cff91-286b-4443-9dd9-14c1ebff76d8.png) In case anyone wants to dig into this

adam commented

2026-04-24 23:18:25 +02:00