Playback timing issues
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I have a bit of a strange issue, and I looked on the forums, but I couldn’t find anyone with the same issue – it may be a lack of technical vocabulary on my part though.
When I am listening to podcasts, there seems to be a disconnect between the timing of the podcast and what appears on the seek/progress bar. It appears that the progress bar is often ahead of the actual podcast.
E.g. this morning, I was at 26:20 in a podcast, and missed something, so I hit rewind 10 seconds, it went back to 26:10, but the podcast was playing content I hadn’t yet heard. I had to seek back to ~25:00 before I got back to where I was actually at. So the seek/progress bar said I was at 26:20, but I then had to go back to 25:00 to get to where I was actually up to.
I notice this regularly when I get back into my car in the afternoon. The podcast resumes from the timestamp I was at in the morning, but the content playing is not correct, I always have to scrub back a few minutes to find where I was really up to.
It is also evident when I get to the end of a podcast, as the progress bar reaches the end, but the podcast continues for another few minutes. Time continues on the progress bar, and I end up with something like “56:27/54:35”.
It is hard to listen to podcasts when I’m constantly jumping around to find where I am at.
- Other notes:
- I always download my podcasts ahead of time, so not streaming
- I believe it only started occurring once the podcast series started using dynamic ad insertion. So I’m assuming this is the culprit. It’s almost as if the progress bar of the podcast doesn’t take into account the time of the ad to play.
- Other notes:
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Hi @garzo91,
What you’re describing sounds like a playback position sync issue, where the progress bar is showing a saved timestamp that doesn’t match the actual audio content. This can happen when playback position data gets out of sync, especially across listening sessions or devices.
To help narrow this down, could you let us know:
- What device and operating system are you using?
- What version of Pocket Casts is installed? (You can find this under Profile > Settings > About)
- Do you use Pocket Casts on more than one device, such as a phone and a computer or tablet?
- Do you use an Apple Watch with Pocket Casts?
- Is this happening with all podcasts, or specific ones?
- Are you streaming episodes or listening to downloads?
In the meantime, a few things worth trying:
- Open the Profile tab and tap “Refresh Now” to force a sync.
- Check the Profile screen for any account or sync errors.
- Make sure you’re signed in to the same Pocket Casts account on all your devices.
You can find more sync troubleshooting steps here: https://support.pocketcasts.com/knowledge-base/sync-troubleshooting/
We’re looking into a related issue that may be connected to what you’re experiencing, so the details above will help us confirm whether this is the same thing.
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Hi Lynn,
- Google Pixel 9 Pro running Android 16 (Build: CP1A.260505.005)
- Version 8.11 (9427)
- I only use Pocket Cases on this device, no where else.
- I do not use an Apple Watch
- I only listen to one podcast, so I can’t say if it affects other podcasts. I will note that I started using the app/listening to Podcasts last July, and for the first ~100 episodes of the podcast, I didn’t have this issue. Approximately 100 episodes in, the podcast started using dynamic ad insertion (there were no ads previously), and around this time is when the issue started. So it is either the ads causing the issue, or there was an update to the app sometime between July of last year and the beginning of this year that is causing the issue.
- I only download episodes, never stream.
- No sync errors when refreshing sync.
- I only use one device (Which is signed in to my account)
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@garzo91 We’d likely need to dig into your app’s logs to determine the cause of the issue. Could you reach out to us through the app by navigating to Profile > Help & Feedback > Contact Support > Get Support.
You may receive an automatic response with suggestions from our documentation, but if those don’t do the trick, you can reply to that message to reach our support team directly.
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Hi, was there a resolution to this issue? I’m experiencing the same thing, and I have the same phone.
Pixel 9 Pro, Android 16 – only device used with Pocket Casts
Pocket Casts v8.13
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Hi Ryan
Not sure if any of the staff will reply here, but the short answer is no, there has been no fix. They are aware of the issue, and say it is a known bug, and are working on it.
My most recent communication with them was when I tested listening on the web player, the issue didn’t exist. Below was their latest reply to me (16/06/26):Thanks for flagging the duration difference between the app and the web player — that’s a really useful data point and it fits the picture well.
What you’re seeing lines up with what we’d expect. The Android app is reading the duration metadata embedded in the downloaded file, which for variable-bitrate episodes like these can be inaccurate. The web player doesn’t rely on that metadata in the same way, so it reflects the true length. That 13-minute gap between 1:26:05 and 1:39:55 explains a lot: if the app thinks the episode is shorter than it actually is, the progress bar will hit 100% while audio is still playing.
This is all part of the same underlying bug we have open with the development team, and your duration comparison is exactly the kind of evidence that helps them pinpoint it. I’ve added this to the report. -
Hi @ryanbickette1d7b16d77! I happened to just reply to @garzo91’s latest email too.
@garzo91’s issue is tied to podcasts that use Dynamic Ad Insertion. More on that here:
https://support.pocketcasts.com/knowledge-base/ads-in-episodes/
Can you let us know:
- Is your issue only happening on podcasts that use Dynamic Ad Insertion, or across all your podcasts?
- Is it on downloaded episodes, streamed, or both?
In the meantime, please try the following:
- Turn on Prioritize seek accuracy (Settings > Advanced). This makes the app read downloaded files more precisely instead of estimating.
- Turn off Intelligent Playback Resumption (Profile > Settings > General, in the Player Settings section) if it’s enabled. When it’s on, the app jumps back 10 to 30 seconds each time you resume, which can stack on top of the timing discrepancy.
If your issue is indeed the same as @garzo91’s, we’ll add it to our existing bug report.
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@staff-cara my issue happens on a show that doesn’t insert ads. Not all shows.
The issue happens with Prioritize Seek Accuracy turned on and Intelligent Playback Resumption turned off.
The issue does NOT happen with streamed episodes. It only happens with downloaded episodes.
I sent an email to Happiness Engineer Eleanor with more details.
Pocket Casts Forum 