Ipod play count is incorrect - solution?

Hey everyone,
I've been noticing EXTREMELY high play counts for my songs and it has to do with ipod syncs. Every time I plug in my ipod it adds all my computer library play counts to the ipod play counts and it doesn't just add the new ones that occured since my last sync, but all computer play counts EVER! so it double, triple, quadruple counts the computer play counts b/c of each sync.
Does anyone know if there is a way to fix this so it stops messing up the play count? Or does anyone know how to stop it from syncing computer and ipod plays in general?
thanks! =D

I have the same issue with my touch and it's really annoying. What I've noticed is that the play count is added to itself and then incremented. For instance I just played a song that had a play count of 7 once and then it became 15. The songs I've listened to twice will have a play count of 3, songs that Iv'e listened to 3 times will become 7 and so on.

Similar Messages

Saving iPod play counts when reformatting

I have a windows formated 60 GB 5G iPod that I want to reformat to Mac. Problem is I have been accumulating play counts for well over a year and I don't want to reset them. I've been managing my music manually, so the play counts don't update in my library. If I created a playlist in my library that's the same as my iPod and synced my iPod with that playlist, would the play counts transfer from the iPod to the playlist or from the playlist to the iPod? Is there any other possible way to save play counts?

Not a very elegant solution, but for Macs you can use Apple Scripts and there are a couple that allow you to change the playcounts of iTunes stuff either by entering the play count directly or adding/subtracting a number from the current playcount. You can find these at Doug's Apple Scripts for iTunes (do a web search).
So what you would need to do is on the Windows machine, select all and do a copy, then past into a spreadsheet. Everything should line up nicely in columns. Make sure Play count is there. Save it.
When you get to the Mac, you can use this list (printed out if you like) and those Apple scripts to set the playcounts back to where they were. Ya, tedious manual method, but I don't know of another way.
Patrick

Sync manually managed iPod played count etc with multiple iTunes libraries

I have my music and podcasts spread out in different iTunes libraries. So if I sync items, tracks from another library are deleted from my iPod therefore I manually manage my tracks. The downside is when you connect a manual iPod to iTunes your ratings, played date, count don't get synced with the iTunes Library. So I created a simple applescript that syncs tracks on specified playlists on your iPod with matching ones in iTunes. I realise applescripts exist to do this already but I wanted something which required no user input and simply did what would happen if the iPod was in sync mode.
The applescript:
tell application "iTunes"
    set iPodName to ""
    set syncPlaylists to {"Music", "Podcasts"}
    repeat with syncPlaylist in syncPlaylists
        repeat with i from 1 to count of sources
            if the kind of source i is iPod then
                set iPodName to name of source i as string
                set ipodPlaylistId to (first playlist of source iPodName whose name is syncPlaylist)
            end if
        end repeat
        set musicLibraryId to (first playlist whose name is syncPlaylist)
        --update every track itunes syncPlaylist with data from ipod syncPlaylist
        repeat with ipodPlaylistTracksCounter from 1 to count of tracks of ipodPlaylistId
            set ipodTrack to track ipodPlaylistTracksCounter of ipodPlaylistId
            set ipodTrackData to {name, artist, album, played date, played count, rating} of ipodTrack
            set foundTracksInPlaylist to (every track of musicLibraryId whose ((name is item 1 of ipodTrackData) and (artist is item 2 of ipodTrackData) and (album is item 3 of ipodTrackData)))
            repeat with eachFoundTrackInPlaylist in foundTracksInPlaylist
                --use try blocks in case of missing data
                try
                    set played date of eachFoundTrackInPlaylist to item 4 of ipodTrackData
                end try
                try
                    set played count of eachFoundTrackInPlaylist to item 5 of ipodTrackData
                end try
                try
                    set rating of eachFoundTrackInPlaylist to item 6 of ipodTrackData
                end try
            end repeat
        end repeat
    end repeat
end tell
Mac Mini G4 Mac OS X (10.4.8) 1 GB RAM, ATI 9200 32MB, Samsung 940BW 19" Widescreen TFT LCD monitor

btw if you don't know how to use applescripts. Open script editor, you'll find it in Applications/Applescript/. Open a new window and copy the code in it and press compile. Save as a script and place in your home folder at ~/Library/iTunes/Scripts, create a Scripts folder if it doesn't exist. Alternatively, save as an application, on opening it will do its magic! Make sure an iPod is mounted in iTunes otherwise an error message will pop up.

Tried to sync ipod but too full - now play counts have shot up?!?

I tried to sync my 60gb ipod classic but a message came up saying it was too full ect.. that was fine, but a day or 2 later i noticed that the play counts and ratings for about 1250 songs (out of 11670) are completely messed up - the play counts of 721 songs have gone up by 512, 426 songs have gone up by 256, 54 songs by 100, 24 by 80, 10 by 60, and i think some of the others have changed too.
It's really important to me to have my play counts!! I've looked all over the internet - some people have had issues with play counts but I haven't found any solution to my situation..
Obviously i know i can reset them, but i want them to be how they were before! any ideas?? or am i being stupid for asking?
many thanks!

also, what i find strange is that the songs that are messed up have no relation to each other other than a lot of them are in the same albums..

Recover music from ipod without losing ratings and play counts

hey Guys, I just changed my laptop which I use to sync my ipod. I understand that if I change the setting to manual update I will be able to see my song without losing them, and that if I show hidden files I can actually copy the music back on my computer.
My question is wheter if I do the overstated procedure, will I be able to see the play count and ratings that I had on my ipod in itunes? Please help, I put a lot of work in that

bump
Guys I am still seeking for a solution for this, please somebody help me

Play Count and Last Played not updating from iPod in iTunes

I've had this problem with 2 of my iPods over 2 different computers, and I have no idea what is causing it.
For some reason, sometimes when I have finished listening to my iPod for the day and then go in to plug it and sync it with iTunes, none of the Play Count or Last Played updates from the iPod. But sometimes it DOES update, which is what frustrates me, as I cannot seem to pinpoint the problem.
These are my specs at the moment:
iPod: Fifth-gen 30GB video
iTunes: 7.0 (also had this issue with 6.x and 4.x before this)
Computer: P4 3.0GHz dual-core, 1GB RAM, WinXP Pro, USB 2.0 ports (also experienced this exact problem with Firewire ports).
I always have iTunes set to automatically sync with the iPod. I have also gone through the 5 suggested steps (including restoring the iPod, restarting the computer and trying out other ports) on several occasions already.
I also had this exact same problem with my old computer and old iPod, the specs which were as follows:
iPod: Third-gen 20GB
Computer: P3 450MHz, 384MB RAM, WinXP Pro, USB 2.0 and Firewire ports.
Has anyone experienced this particular issue before? If so, is there a solution to this issue? It has been bugging me for a while now, and I don't know what other action to take. Thanks heaps in advance!
P4 dual-core 3.0GHz Windows XP Pro 1GB RAM, iTunes 7, USB2.0

hi ozfrog80! sorry, my english is poor...i´ve got a similar problem with a 30gb-video-ipod at mac mini (g5).i just updated itunes 7 at saturday and it ran for 2 days without a problem. okay, some playlists seemed strange, but no problems with the sound (see other topics).
i updated the ipod-software to the latest software-version on saturday too.
while "connection" of ipod/itunes the sync.-symbol never dissappeared. but no new data was transmitted.
yesterday, the ipod froze while running and had to be resetted. result: now the connection to itunes fails because "itunes doesn´t react".
the ipod is "empty" now.
i re-installed both quicktime and itunes (as considered in other topics) but that didn´t solve the problem.
funny: itunes runs without a problem but won´t connect to ipod.
i don´t know what the problem is.....i´m waiting for an update....thanx and good luck from mainz/germany.

IPod touch play count dosnt work

ok my ipod touch doesnt update play counts. like i play though any song all the way throughand plug it in to the computer and it says is hasnt played at all. but when plugged in to the computer the play count works fine. any suggestions on how to get play count working on ipod too???

Play count is a sort of metadata that doesn't have a direct display implementation on the iPod (well it isn't data that is actually saved to the file, but instead stored as a preference in the library database ). It's there, you just can't see it! The exception is if you use smart playlists (see my comment below), where you can use logic to sort tracks by play count into distinct playlists.
With your iPod connected to your computer, playing in iTunes, you can choose to display play count in your track listing. Select View > View Options…, then check the Play Count checkbox.
You can build smart playlists based upon play count and last played, which is a very powerful and handy feature for those who prefer to manually manage their iPod content, allowing you to create dynamic playlists that propagate based on your listening preferences (such as "play only tracks I haven't heard in a while" or "play only newly added tracks I haven't heard yet"). Create a smart playlist in iTunes by holding down the option key and clicking on the create playlist button. This is the solution for new iPod users who complain that their iPod playing in shuffle mode keeps playing the same tracks.
The main problem is that iPod touch does not always properly keep track of play count, something that iPod classic excels at. It's like using a calculator that has an inconsistent math error -- how can you trust it?

Play Count and iPod

is there a way to disable the iPod from adding to the play count for songs when you plug it in?

Ok an observation and then a possible solution.
The observation: I find it very interesting how when people begin to use something they like that offers features never before offered (and this goes for anything, not just computers and software) that people become obsessed and/or dependent on that feature. With itunes and ipods, the whole issue of Play Counts has to be the number one in this regard. People are obsessed. Oh can't have my playlist be out of whack of what I actually listened to. Or I got a new computer/iPod/hard drive and I don't want to lose my playcounts. Funny how a few years back, most people before getting into iTunes or an iPod probably never considered how many times they listened to one album or song vs. another, let alone getting obsessed with maintaining a count.
Yes iTunes came around, introduced play counts, and now everyone is all up in arms if their playcounts are not accurate, updated, lost, etc.
OK so the possible solution. Since you use a Mac, you can use several different Apple scripts to adjust playcounts. In particular there is one that lets you add or subtract from the playcount (vs. setting a playcount to a specific number). So you can select a song or a bunch of songs at once, invoke the script, type the number you want to add or subtract then hit the or button and your playcounts are incremented or decremented that amount.
So in your situation, you simply play your iPod and fall asleep. Then next time you sync your iPod, all you have to do is in iTunes, go to the most recently played list (which is a SmartPlaylist you can adjust the total number shown so instead of just 25 or whatever, make it 100 or whatever works), select all the songs from the one after the last one you recall listening to before falling asleep through to the when the iPod turned off or you woke up or whatever it is. With all of them selected, invoke the script, type in 1, hit the minus button and all those tracks will have their playcount adjusted down one, preserving the playcount the way you like.
Patrick

Won't sync play counts from iPod and IS automatically updating

Well, the subject pretty much says it all...for some reason when I connect my iPod it won't sync the play counts. Searching for other posts on this I see that you have to be set to automatically sync everything but it IS doing that (meaning, not having "manually manage music and videos" checked and having "sync music" and "all songs and playlists" checked, yes?). So when I connect it, it syncs and seems to do everything it should be doing except the play counts. I use Last.fm so this is really bugging me! What should I do? Thanks in advance for your help.

#1
- Try another cable. The cable for 5G iPod (lightning connector) seems to be more prone to failure than the older cable.
- If a 5G iPod
Iphone 5 lightning port charging problem - SOLUTION!
- Inspect the dock connector on the iPod for bent or missing contacts, foreign material, corroded contacts, broken, missing or cracked plastic.
- Make an appointment at the Genius Bar of an Apple store.
Apple Retail Store - Genius Bar
#1.1 n/a because the errror message overrides it
#2 see #1
#3 iOS: Device not recognized in iTunes for Mac OS X
But could be caused by #1
#4 Covered by previous ones
#5 Obvious jpegs are photos and thus will not sync as videos. Also see:
iTunes: May be unable to transfer videos to iPhone, iPad, or iPod
iTunes: Frequently asked questions about viewing and syncing videos
#6 iOS: If you can't back up or restore from a backup in iTunes
First #7 See #6
Second #7 You have so many other problems resolve those first
#8 Resolve other problems first

Solution: Play count problem

As many others I had the play count problem with my iPod Shuffle which suddenly stopped working.
The solution sounds boring but seems to work: the iPod seems to be pretty inflexible, but you have to follow a precise routine to keep it working after you have reset it:
1) click 'eject' before tacking the iPod of the charger
2) switch on
3) start
4) listen
5) stop
6) switch off
7) insert in charger in 'switched off' mode
Since I don't shortcut any of these steps, I don't have the count problem anymore.

Unfortunately, this did not work for me. I tried chatting with Apple support about the issue and they suggested I call support. They had me re-install iTunes, but that did not correct the problem. Since my wife's Shuffle was updating the Play Count and Last Played correctly on her computer, I thought I would try on her computer. However, she has a older version of iTunes and it would not sync with my Shuffle. I then connected my Shuffle to my Son's laptop since he has the latest version of iTunes. iTunes required me to Erase and Sync on his computer. I did this, loaded up a few short songs, played them, and then sync'd back to his computer. It worked! I then sync'd my Shuffle with my computer (Erase and Sync, etc.) and it worked there as well!
I'm not sure what part of that process actually corrected the problem, but thought I would post this in case it helps someone else.

Is there any way I can update my play count from my iPod to the same iTunes library on my computer that does not have any play counts?

I recently transferred my data (music, apps, etc.) to a new computer via transferring purchases and Home Sharing and only a few songs had play counts. On my older computer, all the songs had at least some documentation of a playcount. Thinking that I could figure it out, I reset the play count for the songs on the new computer. Is there any way I could get the play counts onto the computer w/out them via iPod or Home Sharing. I look forward to hearing a reply. Thank you.

HELPPP ME BEFORE CHRISTMASS MORNING!!

Is there a way to "reset" the games "played count" on the 5th Gen iPod Nano

I was just looking through my new iPod Nano (16 GB), and happened to select
all three games (Klondike, Maze and Vortex), but never played them, just looked and then
quit out of each game. Now I have a "game played" count on all three games.
I'm not sure if I may hang onto this iPod Nano or possibly look into an iTouch.
If I sell this new one on eBay, I would like to know how to reset the "game counts"
back to 0 or the original "default" of no game counts showing.
Any help would be appreciated.
By the way, why would Apple even need to show a "game played count" on any of
the iPod Nano games ... very weird.

I think the only way you can reset play counts on games is if you do a full restore of the ipod. But, then again, if you plan on selling it on ebay, it'd be probably be best if you do the restore, that way it'd be like opening a brand new ipod for the new owner.
As for why Apple would want to keep track of game counts...I have no idea.

My iPod Shuffle 4th Generation refuses to sync up the PC plays count

As soon as a new podcast episode arrives in my Podcasts iTunes library, it shows up in that library with a plays count = 0. When I start up iTunes and update the podcasts, I then copy all new (unplayed) podcasts to a Playlist named "1-UnheardPodcasts", then mark all unplayed podcasts in that playlist as Played, thereby setting the play count on those podcast episodes to 1. I then copy a bunch of podcasts to my iPod shuffle 4th gen and wander off cackling into the night to listen to those podcasts. In the fullness of time, I return to my PC, fire up iTunes, plug in my shuffle and see that the shuffle shows the plays count (on the episodes I have listened to) as 2. I then sync the iPod to iTunes but the plays count in my "1-UnheardPodcasts" playlist and in the podcasts library both stubbornly remain set to 1. I then have to manually pretend to listen to the podcasts in iTunes again, fast forward to the end of each podcast, let it finish, then the plays counts everywhere are set to 2. I can then delete the plays count 2 episodes from my "1-UnheardPodcasts" playlist and all is right with the world and I'm ready for new episodes to randomly appear in my podcasts library.
My older first generation shuffles (both of which died and were replaced by the 4th gen shuffle recently) did not have this problem. Sync from those would always update the plays count on the iTunes application on my PC to match what it showed for the plays count on the shuffle.
What's up with that? Is there any way to fix this? It happens whether or not I completely fill up the shuffle.
I also have problems with getting back to where I left off if I stop playing a podcast by pressing the centre button on the iPod face and then try to resume play a few minutes later. If I shut down the shuffle and restart it, it seems to always resume play from where it left off.
I've got everything turned on in the iPod settings menu except the thing about reserving disk space for Windows files.
I've got what claims to be the latest version (11.0.4) of iTunes running under Windows 7 (64 bit) on a BIOSTAR MB with an AMD phenom II X4 820 2.8 GHz quad core processor with 8 GB of RAM and at least 50 GB of free disk space.
When I click on check for updates with the iPod attached on the iPod settings window, it comes back with "you have the latest version"

If you are loading the shuffle manually, by dragging podcast episodes to the shuffle in iTunes, that is probably why the playcount does not update in your iTunes library, after playing the podcast episode on the shuffle (and then connecting the shuffle).
When you use the manual method to load the shuffle, the iTunes library on the computer and the library on the shuffle are separate. iTunes does not keep the two libraries "in sync." Therefore, data such as playcount are not synced back to the computer when you connect the shuffle.
If you set up automatic syncing using the shuffle's Podcasts screen in iTunes, iTunes keeps your iTunes library in sync with the shuffle's library (based on how you set up the shuffle's Podcasts screen). So data, such as playcount, should sync back to the iTunes library. In your case, if you maintain a playlist in iTunes with the unheard podcast episodes you want on the shuffle, you can select that playlist on the shuffle's Podcasts screen in iTunes (where it says Include Episodes from Playlists). iTunes will automatically keep that playlist in sync between your computer and the shuffle.
NOTE: If you are currently NOT using automatic syncing, and you also have music on the iPod, you will also need to set up the shuffle's Music screen in iTunes. When you start using automatic syncing, any content on the shuffle that was loaded manually is replaced.
The 1st and 2nd gen shuffles used a different very simple software design, compared to other iPods. They did not have an automatic syncing mode. You loaded it manually, but it was linked to only one iTunes library at a time. Therefore, although you loaded it manually, iTunes does keep data (such as playcount) in sync. On all other iPods, including the newer shuffles, iTunes only keeps the data in sync if you use automatic syncing.

When I sync my IPod it remembers the plays and doesn't count them from 1 even though I reset the play count, any fix?

     The problem is I like to track my play counts and like it to be correct, and it was having some errors so I reset my plays on all my songs however when I sync my iPod it will remember the amount of plays for example, if I play a song once on my iPod and then sync it it will have 1 play, then if I reset the play count back to 0 and play it on my iPod again when I sync it again it will give it a play count of 2 and so forth as many times as it gets played.
     I have an iPod touch 5, the most recent iTunes update and the most recent iPod software (iOS 8.1) and am using windows 7, but I think the problem comes from the iPod because if i reset the plays and play a song through iTunes it will go to 1, but if i listened to it 3 times on my iPod when i sync it, it will then go to 4.
     I have tried restoring the iPod and syncing it so there is no music on it and then putting it all back on but the problem persists. The only other thing i can think to do is uninstall/re-install iTunes but I'm worried if I do that it will delete my music. That is not a big deal as I have back up files elsewhere on my computer but I also have album art, lyrics etc. for all my 1077 songs and id rather avoid having to get it all back.
     Anyone know how to correct this or is perhaps having a similar problem?
Thanks, Sean.

If you haven't done so install iTunes on your computer. http://www.apple.com/itunes/
Follow the instructions here: iPhone and iPod touch: Unable to update or restore

IPod Classic updating ratings and not play counts in iTunes

I am currently using an iPod classic purchased in 2010 with iTunes 10.5.3.3. however I encountered the same issue on 10.6.1 which made me think that if I downgraded that it would solve my problem but it hasn't.
Here is my problem. Over the past two weeks, I noticed that when I synched my iPod my recenlty played playlist number went from 835 to 720. I typically listen to over fifty songs throughout the course of the day. I have playlist set up to select songs based on a last played date. Last played not in the last 14 days. I last synched my iPod yesterday and I recently setup a new library that is less than 2 weeks old.
On the iPod everything was working fine. When I synched the iPod I noticed that the playlist reverted back to yesterday's status and that my ratings had changed but not the last played date and play counts did not update. Hence breaking the smart playlist functionality of Top 25 Most Played and any other playlist based on play counts. Also my podcasts are not updating as well. I listened to a podcast today and it is still showing up as new after syncing with iTunes.
I noticed that if I do a hard reset (Menu+center button) and resync then the playlist update from the point of the last. I have not encountered this problem until upgrading to 10.6.1.
I even went has far as deleting the itl files and letting iTunes create them again based off the XML and still the problem persists. I even created a new library and added new songs and the problem persist.
I would like to know a good way to getting the sync functionality to work properly and not just sync my ratings. Has anybody encountered this problem?

The rules for my recently played list is as follows:
Last Played is in the last 2 weeks
Kind does not contain video
Live updating
Oh and I forgot the Match all is checked.
I have changed my playlist from Apple's default playlist of:
Match all
Last Played is in the last 2 weeks
Media Kind is not Podcast
I have found that Media Kind balloon breaks live updating on iPod Classics but the Kind or Genre balloon does not. In the past I could go two to three weeks without syncing as I have over 100 Gigs of music and sometimes could go into recently played to find a song quicker because it would be at the top. Now that isn't the case. Most of my smart playlist start with Last Played is not with a certain range so I can listen to new songs and I rate songs as I play them so I can get rid of 1 & 2 star songs off my library at a later date. However when I sync my device the songs reappear on certain smart playlist with no play counts but updated ratings. Like Mix Rap or 4&5 star unplayed.
For example, Mix: Rap
Match all is checked
Last Played is not in the last 14 days
Last Skipped is not in the last 7 days
Rating is not 1 star
Rating is not 2 star
any
Genre contains Hip-Hop
Genre contains Rap
Limit to 25 items Random
Live updating
I am going by the recently played list because I wiped the entire library as of April 3, 2012 so everything I play is still within the two week window. I have a few other playlist that are not updating after syncing. Meaning they are updating on the device and revert after syncing with iTunes.
After writing my post last night I did a clean install of 10.6.1.7. By clean install I mean I deleted all information from my Users\AppData folder related to Apple Computer in Local, Roaming, and LocalLow. I also deleted my .itl, itdb, and sentinel files and imported my Library xml file. I also performed a super fix on my iPod classic as well. I played a few songs last night and they seem to be running fine. But that's how it always starts out.
Any feedback would be helpful....Thanks for the response turingtest2 by the way
Message was edited by: dontreallycare4apple

Ipod play count is incorrect - solution?

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