Internet Radio Since WP 8.1 Update

[MicrosoftCoreFan]

Since I've gotten the WP 8.1 on my Lumia 1520, my streaming radio does not work the same way. Before I get into my issue, it's not a matter of finding a different app because the only place I can listen to this station--it's talk radio--is on the station's home page, so listening to it on an app isn't an option. Anyways, here is the issue. Before the update, I was able to start the streaming radio and run the radio on my browser in the background so I could do other things on my phone like text, play games, use the FaceBook app, etc. However, since the update, the second I try to go back to my Start screen so I can do something--ANYTHING--else while the streaming radio continues to run, just in the background, it stops playing. This really sucks because it forces me to leave my browser open and showing on my screen the whole time I want to be able to listen to my station and it prevents me from doing ANYTHING else on my phone at the same time. Frankly, it's REALLY becoming an issue for me. Anybody else having this issue?? Is this just me or is this something that everyone has been noticing?? If it is a widespread issue, are there any plans to fix it AND SOON?!?!

 

[Laura Knotek]

What station is this? There are talk radio stations on iHeartRadio and TuneInRadio.

I've never used the browser to listen to any radio programs, so I cannot say anything about the issue.

 

[MicrosoftCoreFan]

It's a political talk and news station. I don't want to say which one in case there are some out there who may disagree with me and I don't want that to become the issue. I have both iHeartRadio and TuneIn on my Surface AND Lumia 1520, and neither have this station. I HAVE to listen to it in a tab in IE, but I never had a problem with that until I got the 8.1 update. I don't know how Microsoft hasn't noticed this happening. Well, I shouldn't say that. As you already said, Laura, you and 99.9% of people don't listen to the radio in their browser so it's not an issue for an overwhelming majority of people, I suppose, so it makes sense that it has slipped through the proverbial cracks. I guess I just don't understand what about the 8.1 update changed the ability to listen to the radio on your browser in the background while concurrently running and actively using other apps/programs. PLEASE FIX IT, MICROSOFT!!!!!!

 

[Damon Jackson3]

I discovered the same thing this week. I actually went to a "listen live" browser link pinned to the start menu because Tunein Radio has gone thumbs down on me since going to WP8.1, but that's another story. Like you described, if any attempt is made to move away from that streaming window the stream stops. This makes the phone one dimensional and not something one would have expect from a WINDOWS phone.

Honestly, it's just been one issue after another since deciding to try a Windows phone some 11 months ago. I'll stick with it for now, but I really think I'm back to Android after this WP. The late addition of very basic features and lukewarm support from 3rd party vendors is making the entire effort not worthwhile.

 

[MicrosoftCoreFan]

Luckily, I recently discovered the addition of my station to iHeartRadio, and that app IS able to run when "minimized" so I no longer have this problem. And to your overall point, I think it will only get better for Windows Phone in the future. You ever noticed how Microsoft makes an awesome crowd-pleasing version of Windows only to follow it up with a dud, but then release another success following the dud?? Think about the history of Windows through the years: '98 but then Millennium, XP but then Vista, 7 but then 8/8.1. See what I mean?? While I don't consider 8/8.1 to be a dud; rather, just a shock to the senses when you first see it which takes some getting used to and it kind of has a steep learning curve (although, the possibilities are nearly limitless--especially in regards to how customizable the Metro UI is--once you master the OS, in my humble opinion), a lot of people don't like it and Windows is listening which means the next version of Windows (Windows 9 or Threshold, depending on who you ask) will be that awesome version in that pattern. The Start Menu is coming back and it looks like it's going to have Live Tile integration alongside the classic look and a lot of issues people have with the current version will be taken care of with Windows 9/Threshold. Couple that with the fact that a lot of people have held off buying new laptops/desktops/devices simply to hang onto their Windows 7 computer and avoid Windows 8/8.1, and there will likely be a FLOOD of customers buying the new version of Windows which may end up making it the most successful Windows yet.

Windows has also struggled because of the lack of quality phones available to consumers. The hardware has only recently caught up to Android phones and only in a few phones (the Lumia 1520, Lumia Icon and the HTC One M8) and they are all relatively large phones which limits the customer base, too. Also, two of the phones are Nokia phones and, even though they are both AMAZING phones, Nokia still has this stigma out there of being stuck in 1999. When I wanted to make the switch, only the Nokia 920 was in my price range and I admit that I was reluctant to get a Windows phone specifically because I preconceived notions about Nokia in my head. And I think a lot of people do.

But the 920 was, AND STILL IS, A GREAT PHONE!! And so is my 1520. But when I told my friends I got a Nokia, they all went, "Really, dude?? A NOKIA?!?! The same brand we all had back in high school as our first phones??" I told them I had the same doubts when I first made the switch to Windows (which I wanted to do because I didn't like that Google, through its Android phones, snooped through all my stuff like my Gmail and my browser history and I couldn’t EVER see myself getting an iPhone because I just hate Apple), but when I showed them my 1520, they told me that their individual opinion of Nokia has been completely flipped on its head which never would've happened without me showing them just what the phone was capable of. And that was before it got the 8.1 update. They all would've just walked on by a Nokia Windows phone and I think a lot of people feel that about Nokia, Windows phones in general, and just about the new Windows UI as a whole.

But it really is getting better. New bargain, mid-range and flagship Windows phones are coming out in the next 5 or so months, and Windows 9/Threshold will be sometime around April of 2015.

And, finally, don't forget that the Windows Store keeps growing every day (and as the UI gains more and more acceptance, so too will it gain acceptance by programmers/developers/3rd party whatevers who will release better and better apps for it that have no problems seamlessly integrating with the OS).

I think Windows has started to pick up some momentum which will, after not too long, become synergistic and will continue to propel Windows upward. I'm excited for the future of Windows and Windows Phones. The possibilities look endless, the sky is the limit and the future very realistically looks bright. Hang in there, Damon and everyone else with concerns: it WILL continue to get better and better.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I'm glad you got it sorted and the iHeartRadio app works for you.