KQED

Are used to listen to morning edition on the way to school, and I loved the personal opinion and pieces that listeners could relate to kqed as I listen to it on the way to school in my household days when it was playing on 88.5 FM here in San Francisco. Then, over the years, I would always catch Science Friday with Ira Flatow, and now I still like to listened Robert Krulwich, who used to be on Radiolab journalist who still churns-out scientific loot now and then on Saturday’s and Sunday’s. Last, but not least, I do love the radio puzzles, and will short with NYC; more than that I always look forward to wait wait don’t tell me as it airs on Chicago’s, Public radio, PRI, and then again there is also this American life which will always be a quaking, moving masterpiece of American technology meets drama, meets reverie and sly, witty appeal [And A+ / applause].

I’ve been using the new KQED app for a while now, and while the content remains top-notch, there are a couple of issues that need addressing. First, the app tends to make my iPhone 15 noticeably warm, especially after prolonged use. This isn’t something I experience with other news apps, so I suspect there might be some optimization issues that KQED needs to look into. Secondly, I believe the radio option should be the default interface rather than the news site. KQED has a strong presence in the listening medium, and many users, like myself, primarily use the app for live radio and podcasts. Having to navigate away from the news site to access the radio feature is an unnecessary hassle. Overall, while the content quality is excellent, these changes could significantly enhance the user experience. Prioritizing the app’s performance and aligning its default settings with user preferences would make it much more enjoyable to use.

I like this station because it provides you with information you would not normally hear on other stations! I listened to it ,before, I head out on the road, to find out, how the traffic is moving. Also? I listings to the different guest that appear on the program sharing how they, were able to write a book. This stations gives points of view that is thought provoking and enlightening!

Nicely designed. Request for enhancement: please consider adding the actual sleep timer to the playing screen with the countdown showing in small font beneath the sleepy face icon. It’s happened a few times that in my half asleep daze I can’t remember if I set the timer to 15 minutes or 30 minutes. There’s no way to check for that without resetting the timer completely. Thank you

I’ve been an avid daily KQED listener with the app on both my iPad and iPhone so that I can listen from home and on the go. Never had an issue with the app until both apps stopped working from a week ago for no reason. The intro comes on as usual with the sponsor and after that the wheels are turning and the news does not come on. I’ve deleted the app and downloaded again to restart but to no avail. Now I can’t get my news at all and I’m frustrated. Not sure if it’s just me or there’s a big. Please fix this so that I can resume with my news!!

I use the app daily to catch the live stream in my car, so this may actually be the most-used app on my phone. It's also great that I'm just a couple of clicks away from their podcasts without having to leave the app. As someone who left the Bay Area many years ago, I need my KQED fix and this app has me covered!

Living in the Bay Area, the main reason to listen to KQED on the app instead of on the radio is for the pledge free stream, which I greatly appreciate. However, it is difficult to listen to KQED in my car with this app. Not only does the app not support CarPlay, but the new app makes it harder to listen with the phone then it was on the old app. The old app opened to a screen with the play live radio button. Now you have to navigate to another screen in order to play the stream. A recipe for distracted driving.

Not easy to find past shows and also not easy to fast

I’ve been a fan, listener, viewer and member since 2004. It is great to see all the app improvements over the years, including the addition of the pledge free stream. Thanks for all the fact based journalism KQED team

I can’t get the Kqed app to listen to as I always have. The circle just spins endlessly and drains my battery. Please help me correct this problem. I’m frustrated. Elizabeth Rounkle. Long time sustaining member

I am a multi-decades long fan of KQED and it’s programming. But this app is borderline unusable for me. The problems have only gotten worse over the year but include: 1.No evidence way to change output source 2.disconnects often (I’ve seen this across multiple years, multiple networks, multiple phones). Recovery from disconnects is about 50/50 at best 3.no way to “go live”. Rewinding to an earlier point never, ever works right. It goes to the wrong place and I have to close and reopen the app to get my stream working again. I gave it two stars because I love KQED as an organization. If this was any other organization I would give it one star.

I used to use the NPR app which has now been replaced by the incredibly inferior NPR One. I was forced to find another app. I’ve been HAPPILY SURPRISED by the KQED app! It’s not perfect but I love getting my local news and I especially love having the ability to listen to any broadcast all day! Great job KQED!

The app quits frequently for no apparent reason. When I go to restart it, there’s a message “tap to restart”….which is directly in the way of the “start” button. Please eliminate this message, we ALL know how to start/restart the intuitive app. Thank you.

Thanks for adding the new features. Easy to get to the news articles and radio I enjoy.

The app has good features but controlling them is impossible. Love being able to rewind and go forward but app view is often out of sync or control or playback just stops.

KQED is vital in keeping us connected to the world around us. We can understand how and why events affect our lives.

It’s the companion of most of my day. Source of information, inspiration and provokes constant curiosity.

I finally terminated my 40 some odd year sustaining membership due to this miserable app. It quits several times an hour and when it restarts it plays the commercials for its sponsors. I am now tossing my support to Cap Radio which has a much more robust and reliable app. KQED, you need to fix this app! The complaints about it go back years with no resolution.

Lots of small and large local public radio stations are available on CarPlay, I’m surprised that the new KQED app upgrade didn’t include this. For being the center of the Bay Area - tech universe they’re way behind the times.

Not app related but ... Why red? It's now moved to my last screen. I don't want alarming red staring at me when I look at my phone. Then when I tap in it's black and red. I look to public radio for calmer and less alarming.

The new app is a drastic improvement. It’s much more user friendly. 5⭐️

Very annoying! I’ve replaced the app with a new one but it’s still doing the same thing- not going to the right page so I can’t set it.

KQED seriously needs to upgrade this app. It keeps failing right in the middle of programs. Please do something, KQED!

Pretty straightforward app to listen to KQED podcasts! The app interface is clean and user friendly.

For some reason the live stream keeps stopping after playing or a few seconds, this problem started a few days ago and I think it may be from the distribution side because it happens on TuneIn Radio app as well.

When I’m far from home - Japan, New York, Texas….and I need to touch base with home - KQED is my solution.

Listen to it when I go to sleep and when I wake up. I love the voices of the moderators. They are very soothing.

Had to stop listening this morning as each time the NPR feed aired it would repeat the last thirty or so seconds.

What an amazing app!!

About every two weeks or so, the app stops working. I have to delete and reinstall the app.

It’s disconcerting that the live stream is about 2-3 minutes behind live radio. Other than that, the app is great, and I love KQED and NPR.

This app is consistently 2-3 min behind from real live. Also, if you pause/stop the stream accidentally- you kinda get a reset (either dropping pledge free aspect or rerunning ads)

Very buggy. Quits frequently with poor or no recovery. Sleep timer does not show up on some devices. Just really poor app. Barely works. Stick to radio if you want to listen. Worst app since my iPhone 1.

This app used to be very easy to use. What happened? Whatever improvements you were attending to do, sometimes less is more...

Used to give this 5 star, but since recent app update it no longer works on my IPhone 11. It spontaneously quits even after deleting and redownloading.

Listening to the radio stream causes my phone to heat up and run down the battery quickly. (iPhone 12 Pro Max)

I downloaded this app hoping to listen QKED radio live. Unfortunately it does not have that option.

The streaming function is frequently off-line. It requires a delete and new sign in. In order to restore service.

The app frequently locks up. Quitting the app is required to restart it. In todays tech world it is surprising. I have been a KQED member since 1986.

Crashes, rarely opens, and often pauses for extended an time. I have to use Alexa or change channels.

This new version does not have the Airplay icon visible. Ridiculous oversight by the developer.

Deleting/redownloading doesn’t change the behavior. IP8, iOS 14.6.1

Doesn’t open. Won’t play on apple phone or iPad. I’ll try again next week, maybe...

Love the content but app rarely works well

Crashes frequently

since the last update the app no longer works on this ipad. please fix.

I’ve been using this app for so long I don’t remember not having it. Having KQED handy around the world is fabulous. Where ever I am I can enjoy the news or one of the many podcasts. I also use the NPR app and NPR One and until recently I preferred this app. But, the current release dies frequently. This is very frustrating, especially if the funding banner is repeated upon restart thus losing a measurable period of the broadcast. This occurred occasionally over the years but recently it can happen multiple times a day. I trust this is fixable and my fingers are crossed it will be corrected in the next release. Then it would be a 5-star app.

. . .so I could listen to KQED on my - now - daily commute on BART. I've been listening to KQED-FM for decades now and, the sample rate on this app certainly takes, otherwise, unique and highly recognizable voices, into the realm of "Glee" singers . . . . they begin to sound, ever-so-slightly the same and like everyone has a cold. I dont use any of the other aspects of the App so can't comment on those features, but after a week of using it 2X/day for my 45 minute ride, I have at least 1 dropout each day where the feed is lost and the only way to restart it is to return to the HOME screen - press LISTEN LIVE, again - and then push one of the play buttons . . .These are NOT momentary dropouts in service since the dropout will never restart on its own and for several minutes and until I restart the service by following the above sequence. Still - it is free - and I am, once again, back in touch with my friends at KQED-FM.

I use this app quite often because it’s pretty nice to be able to listen to the radio on my phone. There’s a nice big play button when you open the app, making it easy to start listening right away (of course a 3D Touch shortcut would be even better.) Aside from that much appreciated play button, the rest of the ui has looked mostly unappealing and I haven’t bothered to explore whatever else is on offer. Now here comes the major flaw; when you first start listening, there is the paid sponsorship statement of about 10 seconds or so, this isn’t that bad and not the problem here— the problem is that whenever the phone switches from LTE to WiFi, the app completely cuts the stream AND makes you listen to the sponsored statement again! This is a huge annoyance when I’m paying close attention to an interesting statement and my phone decides to switch networks. This happens a lot when pulling into the driveway and my phone pick up the WiFi. Anyway, this app is a pretty good way to get a high quality stream of KQED aside from that one annoyance. Of course, the real reason I can’t listen to the actual 88.5 FM signal is only because Apple won’t unlock the iPhone’s FM radio to developers, but that’s a different issue altogether.

I listen to KQED all the time, and would dearly love to see fixes to the below listed issues. This app has difficulty with switching between wireless networks in my home, and from wireless to cellular data. When I walk from downstairs to upstairs, I have to stop and restart the app when the phone switches networks. The app usually requires the same protocol when I leave my house and the phone switches from one of my wireless networks to cellular data. On the upside, I prefer listening to KQED on my phone (rather than my car radio) because the reception is never interrupted by static. Today, when I opened the App Store to write this review, I noticed a note that said “Fixes for iOS 10.3 available.” iOS 11.1.2 has been out for a week. Thanks for any action you can take on these issues.