Issues With Rewind and Fast Forward on Voice Dream

By Scott Duck, 3 November, 2022

Forum
iOS and iPadOS

I am using the latest version of VoiceDream Reader, with VoiceOver, on my second generation iPhone SE (the 2020 version). I have Heather set as my preferred voice and that is the only voice I use. I have begun to encounter an issue where, when I swipe up and down on the play button, to rewind and fast forward, the speech pauses for a split second, as it normally does when it is reseting its position, but it then resumes reading in the same place. In order to actually rewind or fast forward, I have to pause reading, swipe up or down on the play button to change position, and then resume reading. This does not happen every time I try to rewind or fast forward but I do encounter it probably at least 75% of the time. I also have a iPhone 6s, which I use as an alternate device, which is running the same version of VoiceDream. It also has this issue. The really strange thing is that, on both devices, this issue only seems to occur when I am using my AirPods II, which is the way I use VoiceDream the vast majority of the time. I do not have any other bluetooth audio devices and so do not know if this is connected to bluetooth audio in general or if it is specific to the AirPods. There has been an update of the Voice Dream app sense this issue started and updating did not fix the problem. When I first noticed this issue, I was running IOS 15.7 on both devices. I have sense updated my second generation iPhone SE to IOS 16.1 and am still having the issue. I have contacted Voice Dream support and they are trying to help but they do not seem to be able to reproduce the problem. Has anyone here experienced this problem and found a solution?

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Comments

By Cobbler on Wednesday, November 9, 2022 - 04:13

I've been experiencing the same.

I can't be 100% certain, but I believe that it first appeared soon after I installed the iOS 16.0 beta, and has carried over in to the public release, 16.1, and now the 16.2 beta.

Whether iOS is the root cause or it's an issue with VDR itself, I don't know. But, frustrating it definitely is.

By sockhopsinger on Wednesday, November 9, 2022 - 04:13

Are both of you using the Heather voice? If so, have you tried other voices to see if that fixes the problem and can narrow it down to a potential Heather problem?

If you are not both using Heather, have you tried removing the app completely and re-installing? I know it can be a pain in the Siri, I mean the backside (sorry, same thing), but perhaps that will fix the issue?

By Brooke on Wednesday, November 9, 2022 - 04:13

I've noticed this too. I don't use Voice Dream often so I can't pinpoint when it started. I was using one of the UK Ivona voices when I noticed it.

By sockhopsinger on Wednesday, November 9, 2022 - 04:13

What is your navigation set to? Right next to the play pause, you have the ability to change whether rewind goes by 30 seconds, 60 seconds, heading, etc. Out of curiosity, is it set to the correct navigational unit?

By Scott Duck on Wednesday, November 9, 2022 - 04:13

Shawn T, as I said in my original post, I have E-mailed the developer. Actually, we have exchanged a few E-mails. As yet, I do not believe they have been able to reproduce the problem. That is why I posted here, to see if it is just me having the problem.

By Scott Duck on Wednesday, November 9, 2022 - 04:13

sockhopsinger, yes, it is set to the correct navigational unit. I generally use 15 or 30 seconds and the issue occurs with both of those. When having the issue I have described, the app does not ignore the command, as it does when, for example, trying to navigate by a unit that is not navigable. Rather, speech does pause, for a split second, as it does when it is rewinding or fast forwarding, but the position of the speech cursor does not actually change. It is as though it is trying to execute the command but is getting hung up some how.

By Labsii on Wednesday, November 9, 2022 - 04:13

One notable thing to do is to check whether it works properly in other apps. For example you can check it in my app Speech Central, in that regard it has essentially the same functionality. That information should at least somewhat help the developer to properly locate the problem.

By Scott Duck on Wednesday, November 9, 2022 - 04:13

For me, this issue only seems to occur when I am using my AirPods II, which is the way I use VoiceDream the vast majority of the time. I do not have any other bluetooth audio devices and so do not know if this is connected to bluetooth audio in general or if it is specific to the AirPods. For those of you having the same issue, have you noticed if it seems to be connected to the use of Airpods specifically or Bluetooth audio in general? Or have you had it happen even with the built in speaker or wired audio?

By Scott Duck on Friday, December 9, 2022 - 04:13

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, for me, this problem only happens when using Voice Dream with my second gen AirPods. I have recently been in contact with the developer again. They do not have AirPods with which to test but they have tried to reproduce the problem with other bluetooth audio devices and have been unable to do so. They asked that I reach out here to see if the others of you who are experiencing the problem also only have the problem when using AirPods. As they cannot reproduce the problem, they are trying to gather information to help them figure out what could be causing it.

By Tayo on Friday, December 9, 2022 - 04:13

I use a Beats Studio III headset, and have been having the same issues you describe for a while now.