[CrackBerry Question]

Dear BB10 users,

I recently switched from an Android phone to the BlackBerry Passport because BB10 allowed Android apps to run. I have been using Pocket Casts on my Android and was happy to be able to get it installed on my BB via Snap.

However it seems that the headphone controls do not work at all. When I press the stop button to on my headset to pause a podcast, the BB default music app starts playing a track on top of what's playing on Pocket Casts instead. Pocket Casts has a setting for whether the app respond to external controls, and I've tried toggling it but it made no difference.

It then occurred to me that external controls probably do not work for any Android apps. That means one is basically stuck with BB apps if one wants to use their headphone controls. Is anyone else also having the same problem?

Thank you for any comments or feedback.

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[JamBueree]

I believe that depends on the app. Some BlackBerry apps are compatible with the external play/pause button on headsets, and others don't. Same goes with Android apps.

One for example would be Soundcloud. I'm able to pause my tracks using my earphones. It's probably a matter of how the media from the app plays on the phone. Some apps play media that is only locked down the app, and others can play media that is integrated to the phone's controls.

That's why if you play some things and change the volume, you'll see what media is currently playing over any other one on your phone minus media that stays in the app.

Miami Heat and GS Warriors fan.

[BloombergPhone]

Thank you for your kind reply. I think you are right, as I experimented and tried the same thing with Google Music (downloaded via Snap again) and the external controls on my headphone worked. Therefore, it seems to be an issue with the podcast app.

Pocket Casts is one of the best, so it will be a shame to have to switch. All the good apps are paid apps, but I won't know if it works until after I've downloaded them. What a pain! Anyway, thanks for your help.

[JamBueree]

No problem at all. I have apps that I love that also do this, and I just learn to adjust to them not interacting with external pause and play buttons.

Miami Heat and GS Warriors fan.

[BloombergPhone]

I just wanted to give an update in case others come across this via search one day.

Pocket Casts: I seem to have gotten it to work with my external head phones. I don't know how I did it because it just started working. The only setting I changed recently is in Storage > Allow apps to see episodes, and then allowed VLC to import the episodes (VLC scans all media automatically). I don't think that's the reason because when I disable the setting, it still works. So I am really pleased. But there is another problem for those with 1:1 screens. Videos on Pocket Casts are obscured by the controls because it doesn't recognise landscape mode and so don't disappear. Also, it takes ages for Pocket Casts to "export" a video to an external player (to get rid of the controls). My 30 min episode took 3 mins!! This is a big problem.

BeyondPod and Doggcatcher: Controls didn't work either. They might work now but I've already deleted them so I can't check. I'll reinstall BeyondPod later for video podcasts and will update again then.

So in conclusion, the title is wrong. It's possible for externals controls to work on Android apps but it's up to the individual app.

Update: The external controls don't work on Pocket Casts anymore. So that's a bummer. It still works on BeyondPod but for how long?