MMW keeps losing track of what it had synced to MMA [#20262]

[Barry4679]

I have a recurring problem where the sync between MM5 and MMA fails.
The problem is:

• I sync a lot of tracks to MMA
• I use the music in MMA for a number of months
• Then I reconnect my phone to my PC, aiming to remove some albums, and add some new albums
• I set my (android) phone USB Preference to FileTranfer/AndroidAuto setting
• ===> the tree at D&S>SyncList has no checkboxes checked ... MM thinks that it has nothing synced to the device
• the sync at MM5 is configured to Delete "Unselected Library" tracks ... it wants to delete everything

This had happened to me multiple times.
ie. I synced some hundreds of albums to a Network location (Google Drive I think),. I was going to sync my whole collection. But then MM5 forgot them, so I could not easily continue synching all my albums to that location. I gave up on that project.

I loaded MMA 1101 today. The issue has happened this time with my phone. I have 2300+ tracks sync'd to the phone, but have now lost control of the sync process. When I start a new sync the process wants me to delete 2300 tracks off my phone.

This is at least the 4th time this has happened with my phone syncs.

1. MM has a strategy to repair the coordination between MMW and MMA when this happens? I looked at the databases in the MediaMonkey folder in my phone. The database contains rows in the Albums & tracks tables for all tracks that have been sync'd to my phone. The other database on the phone lists the tracks in the Media table. .... I tried syncing a new track across to the phone hoping that would wake the MM5 database up to the contents of the phone, but no.
2. Is there any way to get MM5 to regain the correct view of what it has sent to the phone? ... MM becomes useless for a ongoing sync of large amounts of tracks if we have to reset everything periodically, and start again. I have seen this same issue reported here a number of times.
3. What can be causing this situation? Was it the install of the new MMA version? Or was it the MM5 File>ManageDatabases>Rebuild that I accidentally triggered a few weeks ago when researching something for someone on the forum? ... A DB Rebuild shouldn't wipe out the sync status should it?

Phone: Pixel 6 Pro
MMW: 2814
MMA: 1101

[rusty]

Hi Barry,

When you initiate the WiFi Sync operation after a couple of months, does MMA find and recognize the MMW Server? OR does the sync fail and then you're forced to sync to a 'New server' (even though it's the same server except that the client or server have a different IP address)?

-Rusty

[Barry4679]

When you initiate the WiFi Sync operation after a couple of months, does MMA find and recognize the MMW Server? OR does the sync fail and then you're forced to sync to a 'New server' (even though it's the same server except that the client or server have a different IP address)?

MMA recognises the MMA server w/o requiring any assistance.
Also it is just tracks|albums that disappear from the Sync Tree in "Sync List (Library->Device)" in D&S tab. I also synced a playlist. The playlist remains recognised as being synced.

Or was it the MM5 File>ManageDatabases>Rebuild that I accidentally triggered a few weeks ago when researching something for someone on the forum? ... A DB Rebuild shouldn't wipe out the sync status should it?

I am now convinced that a db "rebuild" is what triggers this problem.
I have just triggered another rebuild, and the sync tree is empty again, except for the playlist that I had synced.

There should be a rebuild step which conserves the sync status during a rebuild process. Maybe it is a bug, because the status of playlists seems to be protected.

IMO there should also be a procedure to recover the sync status if it becomes confused at the MMW end.
The target location contains a database describing the contents that it received via sync.
It doesn't seem a large stretch to get that db from the device, and then rebuild the MMW db sync flags via a track ID match, or tag match.

It is a lot of work to transcode and sync a large collection, especially to a network location. It would be better if that work can be better protected.

[Peke]

Hi,
I've tested it whole day yesterday and could not replicate.
Here are the steps I have done:
1. Done normal WiFi sync (synced aprox 2k of tracks)
2. changed ratings in MMA
3. Synced back
4. Changed some album names for synced tracks
5. Synced -> Only metadata is updated no tracks synced
6. Done a rebuild
7. Changed/played some tracks in MMA (ratings, play count)
8. Sync -> All updated to MM5 no new tracks synced.

I repeated combinations several times and all was OK. Am I missing something? Can you provide some steps, please?

[Barry4679]

I've tested it whole day yesterday and could not replicate.

A whole day? Who do you think you are kidding?

Where did you get all those steps from? They are not related to what I reported.
I reported:

• I synced a lot of tracks to my phone

• I played them for a few months ... No retagging, and no syncing back to MMW ... not even play counts

• then I went back to MMW to refresh the phone, intending to remove some albums, and sync across some new ones

• ===> MMW had forgotten which albums I had already synced across to the phone .. ie. the tree at D&S>SyncList has no album checkboxes checked ... MM thinks that it has nothing synced to the device, other than a playlist

This is the problem. I can't uncheck the albums that I want to swap out. The sync process wants to delete everything.

• This has happened to me before ... once after syncing to a Network location, and also when synching to my phone

• I have seen other people report that same thing in this or the MMW forum

In the 1st report I said that I had done a library rebuild, and suggested that this may have triggered the problem.

After Rusty answered I went back and retested. I ran a three minute test

• At the beginning of my test there was one playlist and one album synced to my phone

• the MMW SyncList for the phone was populated as expected

• I did a MMW Rebuild

• I went to the SyncList for my phone in MMW

• ===> the sync list remembered the playlist, but had forgotten about the album

I repeated combinations several times and all was OK. Am I missing something? Can you provide some steps, please?

The only things I can think of are:

• Are you sure that you did a database rebuild? ... Maybe you just did an Optimise? ... I had both rebuild and optimise checked

• I selected my albums from a Custom index

• I selected some, not all, whole albums

• I have "delete other files and playlists' checked ... and Show Confirmation

[cokehearth]

I've had the same issue. A couple of days ago, I initiated a sync and it wanted to delete a large amount (30,000) files - I thought it may be because I updated a heap of tags on MMW. It didn't want to delete ALL files, just a fairly sizeable chunk of them.

The next couple of times, it didn't want to resync these deleted files, and then it did sync them. MMA spent the day rescanning all the folders and files; I just reset my phone and now it's scanning all the files again, and I notice in folder view it shows it's scanning the entire MMA from the beginning.

I'm assuming perhaps in the sync process, the MMA folder library was corrupted. I am using MM4, if that's of any help!

Thanks as always for the fabulous app!

[rusty]

Thanks for clarifying!

Replicated and documented at https://www.ventismedia.com/mantis/view.php?id=20262

-Rusty