When the sync has finished, the orange audio bar vanishes for a few seconds then re-appears almost maxed out, so i know exactly what's happened.
Does the music storage reported by iTunes match that reported by the phone itself?
If it was me, I would delete my iTunes library, sync the now empty library with the phone (which should reset music storage to zero) then add all the music back into the iTunes library and re-sync. Play counts etc would be lost but it might sort the issue.
Does the music storage reported by iTunes match that reported by the phone itself?
If it was me, I would delete my iTunes library, sync the now empty library with the phone (which should reset music storage to zero) then add all the music back into the iTunes library and re-sync. Play counts etc would be lost but it might sort the issue.
They don't match, no. The storage on the phone is always 12gb more than what's reported in iTunes.
I hadn't thought of syncing the empty library though - thanks for that. I'll try that now because i really am at my wits end. I've just finished re-syncing .. again .. after uninstalling and re-installing iTunes and it's given me the same problem, but i'll definitely try your idea now though.
#edit
well now, that's bizarre. manually removed every song and playlist and then re-synced with the iPhone. rebooted it for good measure and just clicked "scan for media" to repopulate the library, which it has done, and it's coming back with 52.6gb in iTunes now.
On further investigation, it appears to be the case that, for some reason, it has repopulated my library with 1,601 songs encoded at 320kb/s - which I had purposely re-encoded down to 256kb/s VBR last September.
This is clearly what the issue is as these songs need to be re-encoded down again, as that will certainly free up the necessary space but how they have been re-instated to full 320kb/s is utterly bizarre - when I did it last year, I kept a backup copy of the original files in case i didn't like the results but after about a month I was perfectly happy so deleted it.
Where did the 320kb/s originals come from? 320 is not a standard setting anywhere in iTunes so it would definitely not have re-encoded them. They've either come from somewhere else or they are copies of your originals.
I suspect this could be a consequence of manually copying different versions of your music folder, and you've ended up with discrepancies between the data in the iTunes library file and what's actually in the music folder.
Where did the 320kb/s originals come from? 320 is not a standard setting anywhere in iTunes so it would definitely not have re-encoded them. They've either come from somewhere else or they are copies of your originals.
I suspect this could be a consequence of manually copying different versions of your music folder, and you've ended up with discrepancies between the data in the iTunes library file and what's actually in the music folder.
That's the thing - I shouldn't have had the 320kb/s originals. When I downgraded the bitrate last September, I did keep a copy of the originals in a seperate folder as I figured i'd give it a good month listening to the music at a lower bitrate to see if there were any problems and also if i could tell the difference.
When it became apparent that it had no effect on my music listening at all, I actually removed the backed up folder of the 320kb/s originals and just kept the 'My Music' folder as my main music library with everything at a lower bitrate.
I've also reformatted the desktop a number of times since as well - most recently to install Windows 7 and upgrade to Windows 10.
That's the thing - I shouldn't have had the 320kb/s originals. When I downgraded the bitrate last September, I did keep a copy of the originals in a seperate folder as I figured i'd give it a good month listening to the music at a lower bitrate to see if there were any problems and also if i could tell the difference.
When it became apparent that it had no effect on my music listening at all, I actually removed the backed up folder of the 320kb/s originals and just kept the 'My Music' folder as my main music library with everything at a lower bitrate.
I've also reformatted the desktop a number of times since as well - most recently to install Windows 7 and upgrade to Windows 10.
Theory.
Did you have iTunes do the re-encoding? If so, iTunes likely put the 256kbps copies are in the iTunes Media/Music folder and repointrd the library to thise copies, leaving the originals untouched in My Music. When you deleted songs from your library and dumped My Music back in, it's added your originals, which were still in My Music. Perhaps check your iTunes Media/Music folder (name is from memory, might differ in reality!)
Did you have iTunes do the re-encoding? If so, iTunes likely put the 256kbps copies are in the iTunes Media/Music folder and repointrd the library to thise copies, leaving the originals untouched in My Music. When you deleted songs from your library and dumped My Music back in, it's added your originals, which were still in My Music. Perhaps check your iTunes Media/Music folder (name is from memory, might differ in reality!)
It's a good theory, but I did the re-encoding manually with a program called Amok MP3 re-encoder. I moved everything out of the music folder to a spare location and made a full copy of the whole folder somewhere else as well and then manually re-encoded everything.
Anyway, I've actually made some progress as i basically re-did the above last night and re-encoded the 320's again and "re-assembled" the library and re-synced this morning and it's reporting the same number of songs but "only" at 44.2gb.
I've re-installed all my apps and games as well and ultimately, i've been left with 7.8gb free which is around 3gb less than what i had last week but I don't really have a lot of choice but to take that.
Although, to be fair, I'm currently back on the iOS 9 beta as well, so maybe if i did go back to 8.4 then it might free up a bit of extra space. Either way, everything is back and i'm just sitting here re-logging in to everything and re-setting everything back up again.
Thanks to you and everyone else who offered suggestions and ideas as well, it was a big help
It's a good theory, but I did the re-encoding manually with a program called Amok MP3 re-encoder. I moved everything out of the music folder to a spare location and made a full copy of the whole folder somewhere else as well and then manually re-encoded everything.
Anyway, I've actually made some progress as i basically re-did the above last night and re-encoded the 320's again and "re-assembled" the library and re-synced this morning and it's reporting the same number of songs but "only" at 44.2gb.
I've re-installed all my apps and games as well and ultimately, i've been left with 7.8gb free which is around 3gb less than what i had last week but I don't really have a lot of choice but to take that.
Although, to be fair, I'm currently back on the iOS 9 beta as well, so maybe if i did go back to 8.4 then it might free up a bit of extra space. Either way, everything is back and i'm just sitting here re-logging in to everything and re-setting everything back up again.
Thanks to you and everyone else who offered suggestions and ideas as well, it was a big help
Although, to be fair, I'm currently back on the iOS 9 beta as well, so maybe if i did go back to 8.4 then it might free up a bit of extra space. Either way, everything is back and i'm just sitting here re-logging in to everything and re-setting everything back up again.
Thanks to you and everyone else who offered suggestions and ideas as well, it was a big help
No probs.
If it helps, I've been using public beta 3 (aka beta 5) since it was made available, and barring one minor issue with a niche use case (use of external DAC via USB camera kit), it's been running perfectly. Feels like a finished OS to me.
If it helps, I've been using public beta 3 (aka beta 5) since it was made available, and barring one minor issue with a niche use case (use of external DAC via USB camera kit), it's been running perfectly. Feels like a finished OS to me.
that sounds good to me. i did try the actual beta 5, which i understand is the developer version, over the weekend which hammered the battery and is what ultimately made me want to change back, but i do now have the "proper" public beta 3 on it now so fingers crossed.
Comments
Yeah that's what I meant. Maybe it's not as effective with battery life as later models.
Does the music storage reported by iTunes match that reported by the phone itself?
If it was me, I would delete my iTunes library, sync the now empty library with the phone (which should reset music storage to zero) then add all the music back into the iTunes library and re-sync. Play counts etc would be lost but it might sort the issue.
They don't match, no. The storage on the phone is always 12gb more than what's reported in iTunes.
I hadn't thought of syncing the empty library though - thanks for that. I'll try that now because i really am at my wits end. I've just finished re-syncing .. again .. after uninstalling and re-installing iTunes and it's given me the same problem, but i'll definitely try your idea now though.
#edit
well now, that's bizarre. manually removed every song and playlist and then re-synced with the iPhone. rebooted it for good measure and just clicked "scan for media" to repopulate the library, which it has done, and it's coming back with 52.6gb in iTunes now.
On further investigation, it appears to be the case that, for some reason, it has repopulated my library with 1,601 songs encoded at 320kb/s - which I had purposely re-encoded down to 256kb/s VBR last September.
This is clearly what the issue is as these songs need to be re-encoded down again, as that will certainly free up the necessary space but how they have been re-instated to full 320kb/s is utterly bizarre - when I did it last year, I kept a backup copy of the original files in case i didn't like the results but after about a month I was perfectly happy so deleted it.
Weird ..
I suspect this could be a consequence of manually copying different versions of your music folder, and you've ended up with discrepancies between the data in the iTunes library file and what's actually in the music folder.
That's the thing - I shouldn't have had the 320kb/s originals. When I downgraded the bitrate last September, I did keep a copy of the originals in a seperate folder as I figured i'd give it a good month listening to the music at a lower bitrate to see if there were any problems and also if i could tell the difference.
When it became apparent that it had no effect on my music listening at all, I actually removed the backed up folder of the 320kb/s originals and just kept the 'My Music' folder as my main music library with everything at a lower bitrate.
I've also reformatted the desktop a number of times since as well - most recently to install Windows 7 and upgrade to Windows 10.
Theory.
Did you have iTunes do the re-encoding? If so, iTunes likely put the 256kbps copies are in the iTunes Media/Music folder and repointrd the library to thise copies, leaving the originals untouched in My Music. When you deleted songs from your library and dumped My Music back in, it's added your originals, which were still in My Music. Perhaps check your iTunes Media/Music folder (name is from memory, might differ in reality!)
It's a good theory, but I did the re-encoding manually with a program called Amok MP3 re-encoder. I moved everything out of the music folder to a spare location and made a full copy of the whole folder somewhere else as well and then manually re-encoded everything.
Anyway, I've actually made some progress as i basically re-did the above last night and re-encoded the 320's again and "re-assembled" the library and re-synced this morning and it's reporting the same number of songs but "only" at 44.2gb.
I've re-installed all my apps and games as well and ultimately, i've been left with 7.8gb free which is around 3gb less than what i had last week but I don't really have a lot of choice but to take that.
Although, to be fair, I'm currently back on the iOS 9 beta as well, so maybe if i did go back to 8.4 then it might free up a bit of extra space. Either way, everything is back and i'm just sitting here re-logging in to everything and re-setting everything back up again.
Thanks to you and everyone else who offered suggestions and ideas as well, it was a big help
Oh please don't go back to 8.4.
No probs.
If it helps, I've been using public beta 3 (aka beta 5) since it was made available, and barring one minor issue with a niche use case (use of external DAC via USB camera kit), it's been running perfectly. Feels like a finished OS to me.
haha! just wait
that sounds good to me. i did try the actual beta 5, which i understand is the developer version, over the weekend which hammered the battery and is what ultimately made me want to change back, but i do now have the "proper" public beta 3 on it now so fingers crossed.