Copying Music from B2 to iphone 8

[irbr...@gmail.com]

I would like to copy some of the music on my B2 to my iPhone.

An idiots' guide in simple steps would be most useful - Thanks

[Rob Harriman]

Before considering whether this is even possible there are a few things to clarify:

Firstly, is your B2 set up with NAS on?

Secondly, do you have a Mac or Windows computer to attach to the iPhone and/or the B2?

Thirdly, what filetype are your music files on the B2 that you wish to transfer - Mp3 or Flac?

Have the music files been created on the PC before moving to the B2 or are you wanting to copy CDs ripped on the B2?

Lastly, what application do you wish to use on the iPhone to play the music?

Be aware that Apple iTunes does not support Flac files.

There is no simple way to do this, if at all. 

Once the scope of your requirement is clearer we'll see whether what you wish can be done.

Rob

 

[Jeff. M.]

I bought a 256 GB SD card, and put all my B2 music on it, then popped it into my android phone, but I phone owners won't have that choice!

[Peter Lowham]

Hi All,

Yes, this is a perfect example of the 'open' nature of the Brennan (and of Android) versus the almost 'closed' nature of Apple products.

However it is possible to do transfers of 'mp3' files from an external (non-Apple) device to the iPhone.  This can be achieved by using iTunes.  In my case I purchased an iPod in 2003.  I transferred my mp3 collection into iTunes and then used iTunes to transfer the collection (at that time about 40GB) into the iPod.  This worked without any problems but it does take some effort!

The iPod was the only new Apple product that I ever purchased.  I learned from this that Apple products are just too difficult to deal with.

Regards,

Peter.

[Mark Fishman]

The iPod is also the only music player (hardware or software) I've encountered that allows you to play whole albums in random sequence -- each album plays its own tracks in their "proper" order (NOT shuffled), but the next album chosen is "random", and the one after that, etc. (IOW, the shuffle takes place at the level of album-name, not inside albums.) This is great for classical music.

A little extra complexity is OK if it gets away from the "song" paradigm that seems to be how most of the products think music exists.

[irbr...@gmail.com]

Hi

I have NAS on my B2.

I have a Windows PC

Music files will be either Mp3 or Flac.

The music on my B2 has been created from two sources - 1) via Itunes and subsequent Uploading from PC 2) from CDs ripped onto B2. It is ome of the latter that I was to copy to my iPhone as the former are already on my iPhone.

I will use the Music app to play music on my iPhone.

Does all of this help?

Ian

[Rob Harriman]

Hi Ian,

The first thing to say is that it is not possible to play Flac files on your iPhone using the Apple Music app. These two articles will give you the lowdown of your options for how it actually is possible to play Flac on your iphone, though you'll need other apps and potentially other equipment to get the full benefit:

https://www.lifewire.com/can-flac-files-be-played-on-the-iphone-2438627

how-to-play-hi-res-music-your-iphone-0

This means the music from your CDs ripped to B2, which will be Flac, will not be playable via the Music app on your iPhone.

That being said, the process to actually transfer music files from your B2 to your computer is quite straightforward.  I have a wi-fi connected iMac rather than a NAS and Windows PC, so I use a Fat32 formatted USB drive connected to the USB-C port of the B2. You can do this also, or others can guide you in how to do this via your NAS setup.

From the B2 web-ui on your pc select the music album or track you wish to transfer and click on the 3 dots to the right hand end of the line. Select 'Add to Playlist'.  This then appears in the playlist box on the bottom left side of the UI. When you've added the music to be transferred to your chosen playlist go to the B2 front panel and select 'Export Playlist' from the Playlist Menu.  Use the rotating knob to select the playlist. This writes to playlist contents to the USB drive. Once complete you can then transfer the USB drive to your PC for subsequent processing.

I use the Import file option on Apple Music on my iMac to handle the transfer of music via wi-fi to my iPhone from here on, but others will need to guide you on what you do with Windows these days.

Hope this helps a bit.

Rob  

 

[JFBUK]

Hi Ian,

I don't have an iPhone but do own an iPad.

I have successfully copied files from my B2 to my iPad.

1. Install the Apple app 'Files' on your iPhone if it is not already installed

2. In the top left of the Files home screen is a circle with three dots, click on this and choose 'Connect to server' from the dropdown

3. type smb://{ip address of your B2} e..g for me it is smb://192.168.0.101

4. Connect as Name = Root, Password = Brennan

5. All being well you will see a folder Icon with the name "music", click on this and navigate to the files you want to copy

6. Use the 'Select' button top right to select multiple files or folders

7. Drag and drop your selected files to the 'On My Ipad' in the locations list on the left

There will be other ways to do this  I am sure

John

[JFBUK]

I should have added that the files will play in the Files app and VLC app which I have installed on my iPad.

I'll see if I get get the Apple Music app to see them and play them and report back.

John

[Daniel Taylor]

John,

What about FLAC files?  Is there a way to get an iProduct to play those?

[JFBUK]

Hi Daniel,

yes the files I copied are FLAC and VLC plays them fine and, surprsingly, so does the Apple Files app

John

[Rob Harriman]

John,

Thanks for the heads-up re Apple Files app capability here.  Like you I've been using VLC to play Flac on my iPhone.

You live and learn as they say.

Thanks again.

Rob

[Rob Harriman]

Hi John,

I've just tried your Apple Files procedure to access my B2. Unfortunately, it fails to open with a non-helpful message saying:

'The Folder contents could not be displayed because of an unknown error - Try again'  I have tried three times w/o success.

I have double checked the url address and the username and password. No errors there.

Is this because my B2 is wi-fi connected rather than ethernet?

Have you any other suggestions as to the cause here?

Thanks

Rob

[Mark Fishman]

Rob,

you do have to turn on the NAS function on the B2 to be able to connect and see the music folder. I think you said in a previous message that you hadn't been using NAS, so maybe it's not yet on?

[Rob Harriman]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for this.  I suspected it was to do with my not having ethernet connection, which is why I don't have NAS turned on.

Here's yet another reason for me to reorganise my home and get the B2 connected via ethernet.

Cheers

Rob

[Mark Fishman]

NAS works over wifi -- it's just slower, that's all. Wired ethernet not needed.

[JFBUK]

Hi Rob & Mark

just to confirm that my connection to my B2 as NAS from my iPad is over wifi. 

John

[Daniel Taylor]

Hi John (JFBUK),

I've just started down the road to learning how to play music on my wife's iPhone.  So I'm quite interested in your suggestion to use the Apple Files app.  I was just reading about it on the Apple site, and they say precious little about how to transfer files from a PC.  In your instructions about how to connect to a B2, I suspect that to connect to a PC, you simply substitute your PC's IP address in the line where you enter "smb://{ip address of your B2"  However, the Apple page says that the Files app does not have the capability to deal with passwords.  Maybe the context of that statement was different than what I'm thinking.

Also, you said that "the files will play in the Files app." Does that include FLAC files, or do you need VLC to do that?  To make sure I understand, the Files app will play Apple music files (AAC, etc), but FLAC files require VLC.  Is that right?  Please correct me where I have it wrong.

[Rob Harriman]

Hi John,

Can I just clarify how you are connecting your iPad and your B2 please?

When I tried to connect to my B2 as NAS from my iMac via wi-fi it was chronically slow to startup - approx an hour at least.

My wi-fi signal strength is -50db so not brilliant but perfectly adequate for the B2, which currently has approx 23K mixed FLAC and MP3 tracks and about 350GB of used storage.  This is why I switched NAS off until I can go wired ethernet.  Waiting for the B2 for over an hour after startup is no joke.  

I am aware of the debate around leaving the B2 powered on or not, and have veered more towards regular switching off, but just as Peter Lowham has had no issues with leaving it on, I've equally had no issues switching it off either, with the notable exception of this NAS issue.

If I bite the bullet and leave the B2 in standby overnight, will I circumvent this delayed startup each time? 

Am I missing something obvious here?  

Cheers,

Rob

[JFBUK]

Hi Rob ,

it is slow for me too.

I have about the same volume of tracks as you and the initial mapping in Files on the iPad took quite some time.

I don't know whether the mapping of the NAS speeds up for subsequent connections after the first connection in the Files app. 

I do leave my B2 on most of the time and the iPad is in standby pretty much all of the time when not in use.

I implemented a wi-fi repeater to boost the wifi strength my B2 sees. 

The repeater is still connected via wifi to my ISP router but is physically much closer to the B2 than the router.

The B2 now connects at -35dBm so behaves itself better

The repeater also gave me the opportunity to broadcast separate SSIDs for 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz without altering the config of the router from my ISP.

Ethernet, if you can do it, is the way to go

John

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Rob,

The NAS delayed start problem is an Apple (for me a MacOSX) issue.  I have a MacBook Pro and a Win 10 laptop.  The Win 10 NAS connection is fairly robust but the MacBook connection is constantly dropping out and it takes some time to re-establish the NAS connection.  I did read a number of threads in Apple related fora that suggested that Apple's implementation of NAS on some versions was a bodge and is unlikely ever to be fixed.

 The B2's implementation of NAS uses the Linux stack and seems to me to be very solid.

The initial mapping does take some time, about 5 minutes for my 20,000 mixed flac and mp3 collection but my B2s are using the wired network connection.  Windows 10 normally has the folders displaying within 30 seconds or better.

Regarding not powering the B2 down at night, I don't think that this will make any difference to the delayed start up because the issue is at the Apple end.  But it would be worth trying out just in case!

Regards,

Peter.

[JFBUK]

Hi Daniel,

I'm just testing to see if I can connect to a PC share successfully.

I can connect but not display or access content.

When I crack it I will revert with  a description of what I did :)

To answer your other question, yes Apple Files plays FLAC files. It was a surprise when it did

John

[Mark Fishman]

>  Apple's implementation of NAS on some versions was a bodge and is unlikely ever to be fixed

Actually, it used to work, and then they broke it. I forget which version of OS-X it was, 10.something -- they had been using the Samba.org code and decided to write their own. Only the deity knows why, and (s)he's laughing too hard to tell us. It's not NAS in general, just Apple's implementation of CIFS (formerly called SMB; either way it's Microsoft Networking).

The Samba.org folks, using an EU court ruling that Microsoft had to allow third-party implementation of their server and client protocols, worked with Microsoft to test that their implementation not only complied with the spec but also actually worked with Microsoft's own implementation of that spec. Apple didn't bother, and having written their own half-assed code, own any problems that now exist when connecting macOS or iOS devices to SMB/CIFS servers.

Feh. When there's a perfectly good open-source codebase available that works properly, I can't come up with any good reason to go to all that effort to screw it up. Of course, IANAL... -- m.

[Daniel Taylor]

Hi John,

I have succeeded in connecting my iPhone to my B2 via NAS using the Files app following your instructions.  It was not unexpected that it took a fair long time to index everything on the B2.  The learning curve is somewhat steeper than I'd like, but I have succeeded in copying an album folder from the B2 to my iPhone, connected to my Bluetooth speakers, and played a song.

Unfortunately (for me), or fortunately, depending on your point of view, because the app deals with Files, rather than music specifically, it uses the filenames rather than the music metadat tag information.  So, because I name my files as 01 Artist Name - Song Title, I had to go through the folder and rename each song, removing the artist name so that I could read the song titles.

Also, I noticed right away that the Files app does not show the music files that I can access with the Music app.  Nor does it give me access to my pictures, which I must access with yet a different app.  I guess such is the process of getting used to the Apple iPhone universe.

Thanks for the help.  Mostly, I wanted everyone to know that your instructions for connecting the iPhone to the B2 were spot-on.

[Mark Fishman]

Unless the Files app can be made to see the "files" stored in the Music app, if you're going to use the Music app for other stuff it's probably more convenient in the long run to convert your FLAC files to ALAC and put everything in the Music app. ALAC is also lossless so there's no quality reduction in the conversion. On a Mac, I would use XLD to do the conversion; on Windows I'm currently using foobar2000 for conversions.

Depending on your ears and the available storage in your iDevice, high-bitrate MP3 or M4A filees would probably sound the same for most material, and take up less space.

[Daniel Taylor]

Right now, I'm faced with the awkwardness of transferring files from my B2 and having to rename but using only Apple approved apps, vs the awkwardness of having to convert files to AAC or ALAC and having to use a non-Apple program to transfer them to the phone.  The jury is still out. 

Right now, I'm thinking of investigating the use of the iCloud to transfer FLAC files from my PC to iCloud to iPhone.  Then I can prep the files on the PC first before doing the transfer.  "Nothing is Easy" - Jethro Tull

[Mark Fishman]

iTunes on Windows? (for the transfer, after conversion also on Windows)

[JFBUK]

Hi All,

Having done some further testing I don't think the original solution I posted above is the best way to go and Mark's  post gave me a lightbulb moment.

I have tested two alternative solutions.

Both require the Windows iTunes app to be installed on your PC and that you have an Apple account

Solution 1 - Convert to apple format on PC and copy to iPhone/iPad

1. Convert your audio files to apple format.

I used DbPoweramp to convert my FLAC files to Apple lossless.

I converted from files already on my PC as part of a backup of my B2 and stored the converted files in a new folder

In theory you could convert the files on the B2 directly over a NAS connection but its likely to be slower and one more thing that could go wrong :)

2. Start iTunes on your PC and sign in to your Apple account

3. From the top menu, click File and then 'Add Folder to Library'

Navigate to the folders you want to copy , select, and click 'Select Folder'

Your Library view in iTunes will be refreshed with your folders/files

4. In the left Sidebar choose the Library>Songs view

5. Connect your iPhone/iPad to your PC via a USB port, the iTunes screen will refresh to show a little icon for your device

6. From the list of files in the Songs view select all the files you want to copy and right click, select 'Add to Device' and then your device

7. When the transfer is complete the tracks will be available in the Apple Music app on your device

Solution 2 - copy FLAC/MP3 files to iPhone/iPad

1. You will need to have an app installed on your device that is enabled for file sharing.

I have tested out VLC and Foobar 2000

2. Start iTunes on your PC and sign in to your Apple account

3. Connect your iPhone/iPad to your PC via a USB port, the iTunes screen will refresh to show a little icon for your device

4. Click on the device icon to bring up the details of your device in iTunes

5. In the left Sidebar menu click on 'File Sharing' 

This will bring up a list of the apps you have installed on your device that can file share and a blank Documents box to the right

6. Highlight your chosen app in the list

7. Start File explorer on your PC and navigate to the folders you want to copy to your device

8. Highlight your chosen folders/files and drag & drop them to the Documents box in iTunes

9. When the transfer is complete the tracks will be available in your chosen app on your device

If you have an Apple Music or iTunes Match subscription solution 1 may work without steps 6 & 7 because the iTunes Synch functionality should work instead.

Good luck :)

John

[Mark Fishman]

>  Both require ... that you have an Apple account

Does iTunes no longer work without an Apple account for local sync to an iPod? I haven't used a recent version of iTunes (I'm still using an old laptop running XP for sync'ing my iPod) but I've never had to log in to an Apple account just to copy files to my iPod, or delete stuff already there.

In fact, I don't even have to add the music to my iTunes library first: I point iTunes at my iPod, create a playlist or open one already there, and drag files from Windows Explorer directly into the playlist. They go onto the iPod without ever being added to the iTunes library.

If newer versions of iTunes can't do that, I'm glad I never updated. -- m.

[JFBUK]

Hi Mark,

I think the iPod is different to the iPhone and iPad which both have extra security given the nature of the devices. 

You need an Apple account to install an app on an iPhone or ipad even if the app is free.

John

[Mark Fishman]

Ah, OK. Yes, to obtain the app from the AppStore you need an account, and then it's linked to the device. So that takes care of the 2nd method.

But in method 1 you're just copying music files to the iDevice, to play with an app that comes pre-installed when you buy the device (Apple Music, formerly iTunes). You shouldn't need to log in for that. That's why I was confused.

BTW, iDevices can play MP3s -- only FLAC is the odd man out here.

[JFBUK]

Hi Mark,

yes,  I signed out of my account on iTunes and solution 1 still works.

Any iPhone or iPad owner will have an apple account though because you cannot get any OS or app updates without one.

John 

[JFBUK]

I forgot to add that Solution 1 will indeed also work for MP3 files as iTunes does recognize and display these.

John

[Alistair Newton]

I followed the suggestion to put Name = Root & Password = Brennan, but get “You entered an invalid username or password for the server”

How would I be able to reset these to start again?

Alistair

[Mark Fishman]

Passwords are CASE-SENSITIVE. The password is brennan, not Brennan.

[Peter Lowham]

Hi ali...,

Also, the user name is root and not Root

Regards,

Peter.