GBH News

Love WGBH, but I’m in Maine and stream it through this app…BUT that’s only when the streaming works. It is a glitchy mess. Sometimes you can listen for an hour, then it glitches out and won’t play, or an alert comes up with “audio problem”. Sometimes you will get 5 min. Then it happens again. At that point you need to close out of the app, wait 5-10 min. And try again. I make sure my phone is updated, app updated. No other issues with other apps, only this one. Please fix this!!

I’ve listened to the GBH morning news on my iPhones for years with no issues. A couple of months ago I started getting a message that there was a problem downloading the audio. I made sure I had the latest OS and everything else was OK. I deleted the app and reinstalled it several times. 2-3 weeks ago I noticed on the App Store description that the app was completely updated. I installed the new version and it worked great for one day. I started getting the same message again that there was a problem downloading the audio. I check it every day with the same message. Two days ago the app worked and I was able to listen to the morning news for about 15 minutes before it quit and the audio download problem message appeared again. I’m a tech guy and that is very strange to me. I have hundreds of apps on my iPhone 12 Pro and they all work as designed. The GBH app has a serious problem.

Note: this review is about THIS APP, not the radio station or its content. I love them. But I absolutely despise this app. Literally for years I have been commenting to WGBH, emailing them, tweeting them, and leaving reviews about how much I love their news coverage, but how desperately bad this app is. It is to the point where I will switch to anything else when trying to use it unless I am stock still in a single location. I love this radio station, I wish them nothing but positive things, but in every single instance I will use the app of their competitorstation. It buffers nicely, the streaming is smooth, I can back up to the beginning of any show or most of their programming through the day, their podcasts and back episodes are seamlessly integrated and easy to find an access. It is a joy to use, and everything that this app is not. Guys. Seriously. It’s the 2020s, we should have an app that at least works well, even if it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of so many others. As I said, I love you, but I will almost never use this app unless I absolutely have to

In the preview screenshots they show a panel where you can select other GBH services, including 99.5 classical - I had to hunt around (and write a negative review in frustrated panic) before I finally found this menu - you have to “select steam” (a tiny button next to the main “play” triangle button). Too techy (not at all intuitive) for us mortal classical music lovers, but the functionality I wanted does exist, it seems to work, so four stars.

I’ve been using this app for more than 2 years. I love the content, but the app performs very poorly. A recent issue in the past week + is the inability to play using cellular data (yes, I’ve check my settings, etc). Also, long-standing problems with any transition (e.g. from speaker to earbud or interruption by a notification from another app) causing the GBH app to play the advertisement portion again). This content deserves a better vehicle!

I love WGBH, but this app forces me to go to WBUR for most of my listening. The only time I actually use it is during Jim and and Margery’s show. It is so unclear to me how an app can be so bad in the year 2022. Even sitting in my house it constantly drops the stream and has to pick up again, each time repeating the darn tag line. I’ve learned that if I want to walk around my house and keep listening uninterrupted I have to turn Wi-Fi off. I simply don’t understand how every other radio station can handle technology, but this one can’t!

Unfortunately, the app seems to have issues with streaming. Every few minutes, the stream for 89.7 seems to stop and resume after a moment or sometimes after a minute. WiFi and cell signals where I work and live are fine, so there’s something not working with at least the streaming ability of this app.

This is a great news app, especially for listening to the local station. However, the layout of the app makes it impossible to see the full article title before clicking. Makes for a poor user experience since you don’t know the story you’re clicking into.

Very annoying--streaming cuts out frequently, requiring reboot, but often it simply will not reload. This happens occasionally with other stations, but not nearly as often as WGBH. I listen to a lot of NPR, on both WGBH and also WBUR. I like WGBH for best local coverage of Greater Boston and also Boston Public. But I usually listen only to WBUR when streaming on iPhone because this WGBH app stinks. The only exception: when WBUR is ( much too frequently) fundraising, I cannot tolerate listening to that. And I am a monthly contributor to both.

In previous versions of the app, you could see at the bottom what was playing now, and what was coming up next. Now the only way to find that very useful information is to tap through to schedules, find the right one, find the right time, and enlarge it to read the tiny print on your mobile device. Basically, it’s impossible to do while you are walking or running or working in the garden.

For an excellent station like WGBH to have such a disaster of an app is maddening. The streaming cuts out constantly and also resets whenever the phone bounces between Wi-Fi and cellular connections, which means when I’m walking down the street the app stops every 30 to 90 seconds and then plays underwriting announcements, then requires me to dig the phone out of my pocket and press play again, etc. Really horrible.

I’m a huge GBH fan and have been listening to public radio for years - my overall favorite station has always been GBH…morning addition, 1A, J & M , the world etc…love listening to it all, BUT…after the app was changed and updated the station keeps stopping and falling out…I have stopped listening through the app and only listen on the radio when I drive. Please FIX!!!

I really only need the app when I’m out, because at home I have the radio on. The app used to work pretty well (except that you could never back it up!). Well much bigger problems now, and I see that others have had the same complaint for quite a while now: the audio won’t play unless I’m listening over WiFi. I’ve switched to WBUR’s app.

This app is my standby local news radio app. I’ve been so disappointed in the last few months when it will not load audio. It has not worked since around October. I’ve tried contacting support but it isn’t available through the app. Please fix!

I have a current iPhone and software. This used to work but not anymore. I think there is something wrong with the stream. It always says it’s buffering and then shoots an pop up: Alert “There was a problem downloading the audio”. It has been this way for a while. Also does not work from their website, so…

This app has always needed improvement. Glitchy stream and as others say, when bouncing between wifi and cellular it plays the 15 second ad roll over again. This drives me crazy when I am in a part of my house where the wifi drops for a second. But ‘tis just an annoyance.. The reason I’m writing this is because as of yesterday I keep getting “there was a problem downloading audio” when I try to listen. I’ve tried reinstalling the app but no luck. WGBH, could you fix this app so we can listen? If you could fix the wifi/cellular ad roll issue too, this app would be decent enough

Seems like I’m hearing more ads than ever on NPR stations and it’s worse on the app. The balance seems to be tipping into the not-worth-listening any more since I am almost as likely to hear an announcement and description about products than news.

Often it plays the initial ad and then just hangs. When it does work there are 10-15 second blank times. You can’t go back to hear what you missed. PS the WBUR app work just fine, including being able to go back over something you want to hear again. Why can’t GBH provide the same?

Whether I’m on mobile data or Wi-Fi it constantly drops for no reason. I do not have the same issue with other streaming apps, including the other Boston radio app, WERS. It rots when Scott Simon or Margery suddenly drips mid-sentence. Thank you.

This is the most informative station. I live by their news reports. NO fake or inflated news. You can repeat what you hear and know it is backed by facts.

I use this app every day for top-rate news from WGBH and NPR; also for classical music from WCRB. Wish list: more access to on-demand content from WCRB On-screen information on streaming music content (as in the old app).

I love to support my local public radio stations. I pledge to both and have both apps on my phone to listen to radio on the go. Please take a look at the WBUR app. It is very simple, uncluttered and functional. Everything this app is NOT.

App stops streaming more often than not. Despite app being updated, its live stream is more off than on. I live in MA so this is not a distance issue. You should be able to do better than this, WGBH.

I love listening to GBH especially since I moved out of the range of the station but this app is so frustrating! It drops all the time and then buffers so long I end up canceling the app and restarting it so I can listen to the station again. I am a regular donor to GBH. Please update the app!!!

“There was a problem downloading the audio “ keeps coming up when I’m on AT&T cellular data. Works fine via WiFi/Verizon FIOS. I tried to report this to member services weeks ago but it’s still broken.

Ever since I’ve had this app there are regular interruptions of no sound. I’ve had the app for years. No other video, live stream etc does this except for zoom. Does anyone else have this problem?

Pro: it plays the station. So does TuneIn. Con: TuneIn shows which show is playing; this app doesn't. WGBH app shows gratuitous text news instead, and sends you to their awkward website for schedule.

Starting over the weekend this app ( and the NPR app) began cutting out approx every 30-60 sec, rejoining after a minute or more. This is not stuttering related to internet connectivity ( no other processes or video apps affected). This is super frustrating, can you fix? Is there a WGBH only iPad app?

This app is very glitchy. It randomly stops and sometimes restarts on its own, but often you have to go in and pause-play to reconnect. Also it would be nice if you could pause and resume the live stream as you can do on the WBUR app.

Tried to locate a previously aired spot I heard earlier in the week, By searching on the app for the specific article, from the specific program, at the specific time, on a specific date and got nowhere. Useless.

The app, or any app that provides GBH streaming including the NPR app will not work on cellular. I’ve tried to contact GBH for support but have not been replied to. A brief search on the web will show dozens of similar complaints. Unacceptable.

Tried to donate through this app but it wouldn’t allow a sign in, so I couldn’t renew my membership. Had to call GBH to pay up.

A request: please make the GBH app compatible with Apple CarPlay, the way the CRB app already is. That would make it easier to listen and keep up with GBH News.

Also great to have the jazz 24/7 stream, love it, but why not include the gbh jazz decades stream? I am forced to use tunein still for these 2 streams in the car.

I love WGBH but the app is glitchy at best and right now not working at all on cell streaming. Seems other people have the same issue and it is not being resolved.

Very annoying , the audio keeps shutting down , then buffering for a long time and not able to download. Please fix that app

I love GBH but this app is trash. Get the NPR One app instead and select GBH as your stream and listen there instead (and access other great NPR content as well.)

Used to mostly work. But the live stream is now unavailable/so flaky as to be useless. Very disappointing and it means I listen to this station *much* less these days.

This app is glitchy and at times, unreliable. It cuts out for seconds at a time. Very annoying particularly when a guest is in the middle of an important response!

This app has been glitchy for years. Won’t be donating till they fix it, as it’s the main way I listen.

With the newest update, the info on WCRB what’s playing is gone.

I hope they send me ads.

I love listening to this app. Works great, too.

Clunky compared to WBUR’s app.

What has happened to public radio? There are as many annoying advertisements as there are on conventional AM/FM, corporately owned, stations. How the mighty have fallen.

I want to stream 89.7 BPR at work but can’t ever get it to los. The data and wifi are abundant where I am so it is not that. Fix this please!

All I want to do is listen to WGBH and this app never works!! Maybe 1/10 times it connects. Please fix!!!! Even the updated version rarely connects :(

Anyone fixing this?

So useless

Sadly, the app is one, long choking glitch. Wish it were fixed!!