So i’ve got a large library of Apple lossless (m4a) music files which I moved to the SD card (mounted as external memory). I’ve been trying to play those files through my favorite music app BubbleUpnp however it’s impossible to see them in the media library. Only if I browse through the folders I can find those files and I can even play them – but this is quite an inconvenient workaround. . In comparison MP3 files work well and are properly indexed in the media library.
Same happens in Android’s native file manager app. M4A files are hidden in the “audio files” sections (the one pinned in the left panel) although the files are correctly found when browsing manually through the folders.
Do I need to face the hard truth that Android simply do not handle .m4a files although some apps are able to play them?
Thanks for any help / pointers on how i could solve this issue.
PS: Of course I could convert all my files to another lossless format (flac) but the reason I use m4a is because i use Itunes (which do not reconise flac) on my laptop…
I still have a few m4a files that are perfectly read by vanilla music. I’m running FP Open OS, but I don’t see why you would come into troubles on FPOS (the default OS)… at least I think vanilla music worth a try. I assume that this app is also available on the play store.
I think the decisive thing here is not .m4a in general, but ALAC. I have never had an issue with .m4a files that were AAC-coded (i.e. lossy), but I just tried a Hi-Res ALAC .m4a file and can confirm the same pattern: Plays when I double tap on it in file manager, but will not show in the default MUSIC app’s albums nor titles.
Having just checked which app actually plays my Hi-Res ALAC file when I double tap on it in the folder, it’s VLC. Maybe VLC is your solution?
I still have a few m4a files that are perfectly read by vanilla music.
No success with Vanilla music. As @urs_lesse pointed out this might be because of the ALAC codec more than the m4a container.
Having just checked which app actually plays my Hi-Res ALAC file when I double tap on it in the folder, it’s VLC . Maybe VLC is your solution?
Yes, VLC seems to be indexing everything like a charm! I would still prefer to use only one app to manage my music (because bubbleupnp connects to my NAS and allows me to stream and remote control my home HiFi system), but I guess VLC is still a decent solution for now.
I would still prefer to use only one app to manage my music (because bubbleupnp connects to my NAS and allows me to stream and remote control my home HiFi system), but I guess VLC is still a decent solution for now.