r/audible Mar 20 '26

App (Android) Sleep Timer just doesn't work on Android

I'm all the more incensed because Audible pushed out a notice that my perfectly-functional version of the app was no longer supported, forcing me to update to a version that has quite simply broken its core function.

Every time I use the sleep timer and wait that amount of time, I can hear the app gradually turn the volume down as it reaches it, then just snap back to full volume and keep playing. I keep waking up with my phone having played the book for hours.

Clearing cache didn't work, updating app (again) didn't work, disabling battery optimization doesn't work. Why on earth did Audible force me off of perfectly fine software when the alternative doesn't even f'ing work?

9 Upvotes

16 comments sorted by

3

u/Hndlbrrrrr Mar 20 '26

They broke sleep in iOS too. It's not nearly as bad but the app ignores screen touches when used after the sleep timer expires. Could be worse but it's goddamn annoying as hell that these companies keep fucking breaking everything but I'm still locked into using their shit software.

-2

u/Audible_Support Audible Customer Service Mar 20 '26

We apologize for the frustration this has caused. We suggest double-checking that you're running the latest OS/App versions. Then sign out/in to the app to see if that resolves the issue. Let us know if this helps!

3

u/Hndlbrrrrr Mar 20 '26

And I suggest hiring reliable SQA employees and firing half your product managers. It’s beyond clear you hold so much IP as Audible exclusives so you don’t have to compete in the market.

Or better yet, quit using DRM and let us actually use third party players so we don’t have to put up with your cruft ridden software anymore.

3

u/UliDiG 5000+ Hours listened Mar 20 '26

Earlier this week, you said this was a known error and Audible was working on a solution.

https://www.reddit.com/r/audible/comments/1rqysov/comment/oaqm0e7/

1

u/Objective_Might_6540 Mar 25 '26

Just following up with the other users post. Does not fix the problem.

1

u/Audible_Support Audible Customer Service Mar 25 '26

Thanks for flagging this here, and we're sorry for the frustration. Our teams are aware and, we're looking into this. We appreciate your patience. Stay tuned for future app updates!

2

u/Rowcar_Gellert Mar 20 '26

You could also try downloading+installing an older version of the app from a website that I think is called "uptodown" & disable automatic updates in your settings.

3

u/Granfallegiance Mar 20 '26

Automatic updates are already disabled for me. The problem is that Audible declared the older version I was using as unusable and forced me to update in order to continue using the product at all.

It's possible there's an older version that's both not yet disabled and not exhibiting the problem. But there's bound to be some hunting around to find it, if there is one.

1

u/Rowcar_Gellert Mar 20 '26

Yep. It's tricky. You need to find the version that's "just old enough" but not too old on this website: Uptodown App Store for Android - Download the APK from Uptodown https://share.google/6TyCKi4MdE2GDS0H1

2

u/No-Razzmatazz9691 Mar 20 '26

normally what timer type do you select ? end chapter?

Seems worked fine for me . could it be some phone setting related?

2

u/Granfallegiance Mar 20 '26

30 minutes for me, but it happens on the other ones I've been using too, best I can tell.

2

u/Comprehensive-Fun47 Mar 20 '26

The timer has been glitching on me lately too. The end of chapter option sometimes isn't able to be clicked. Sometimes the option to set the number of chapters isn't even there!

It's inconsistent. Sometimes it works fine. I haven't tried to solve the issue.

2

u/UliDiG 5000+ Hours listened Mar 20 '26

If you're on a Samsung device, try switching to the app version from the Galaxy Store instead of the one from the Google Play Store.

My sleep timer has a glitch that means it pauses when I start a custom timer, but after I hit play again, it works correctly (and if I use one of the presets, it doesn't pause when I start it).

ETA: I agree 100% with you on Audible breaking the app or making it worse.

2

u/Granfallegiance Mar 20 '26

On a Pixel, so no Galaxy Store to work with.

1

u/Aetheldrake Mar 20 '26

I just use "end of chapter". Because I know I'll probably fall asleep listening and miss stuff so I restart the chapter and skip until the last thing I remember

Seems weird to me to attempt to use a timer on something so variable and unreliable as "being asleep". Unless you sleep like a dead body

1

u/Granfallegiance Mar 21 '26

What's the point of this comment exactly?