Can't play MP3 format audiobooks in iPhone Books app

Question

Level 1

4 points

Can't play MP3 format audiobooks in iPhone Books app

Hey gang,

So I can't get audiobook MP3s to play on my Books app on my iPhone. I synced them using Finder and I found two things immediately: if an audiobook contains multiple MP3s, each file shows up as a separate book in the app. Second, none of the imported files will play. At all. I've deleted the books app and reinstalled, then synced my audiobook library again--no joy. They show up just fine in the desktop app, and I don't have any problem playing them on the desktop either. It's just the iPhone that makes this a hassle.

TL;DR: when I sync my MP3 audiobooks to the Books app on the iPhone, the individual MP3s show up as separate audiobooks that don't play anyway. Anyone have any ideas? Do I need to change the file format or something?

Posted on Aug 6, 2022 4:08 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

brbo

Level 8

35,891 points

Aug 20, 2022 4:37 PM in response to Orcaman

Seems others have been having problems too!

Cam across this interesting discussion thread:

Audiobooks won't sync? SOLVED! - Apple Community

Eg: says:

"Your phone will not play any audiobook item where the file name (music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Audiobooks/Author/Book/Chapter 1.mb4) has a space or special character in it. A simple command script to replace spaces with underscores will do all the hard work for you then you can import the new files into iTunes and sync with ease".

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Answer 2

Orcaman Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 18, 2022 3:21 PM in response to brbo

Hi Brbo,

All of the audiobooks are locally stored (no cloud icon) because I don't use iCloud. I've got 128 Gb free on my iPhone, so I don't think space is an issue.

This is driving me nuts. All I want is to listen to my audiobooks. That's not too much to ask, is it?

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Answer 3

brbo

Level 8

35,891 points

Aug 18, 2022 5:00 PM in response to Orcaman

Thank you Orcaman,

We are learning more about your issue from each of your replies.

Re: That's not too much to ask, is it?

Commiserations ... You've been through quite a lot with this issue, and without success.

Re: "I synced them using Finder"

Wondering where the files were synced from (eg: Mac, iPad)

Could it be that the mp3 audiobook files synced with the Finder were not actually imported to the iPhone ?

If possible, you might want to try redownloading one of the mp3 audiobooks to your iPhone tand see if that plays.

How to: Redownload books and audiobooks - Apple Support

or

You might try eMailing (or use Airdrop) an original mp3 file to yourself. ... open it on iPhone .... is that file playable ?

or

noticed this mp3 audiobook app is available in the App Store:

https://mp3audiobookplayer.com.

Mac requires macOS11.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.

iPhone requires iOS12 or later

iPad requires iPadOS12 or later

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Answer 4

brbo

Level 8

35,891 points

Aug 27, 2022 3:58 PM in response to Orcaman

You're welcome, Orcaman!.

Thank you for your reply, and for letting us know that fix from a few years back worked ok for you.

I'm grateful to the originator of that discussion thread for posting his findings, so we could all benefit..

Re: "Now, if we could just do something about editing the audiobook info in iBooks... "

Seems like that capability may belong to the audiobooks copyright holders ?

We can send feedback on the Books app to Apple:

They will likely not reply, but the feedback will reach those able to make changes.

If others are also requesting this feature, we may see changes in a future update:

Here's the feedback form

Feedback - Books for iOS and iPadOS - Apple

Cheers :-)

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Answer 5

Orcaman Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 17, 2022 10:57 AM in response to brbo

Thanks for the replies, everyone. Unfortunately, I've already tried the methods you suggested: I've deleted the Books app and reinstalled it, deleted the audiobooks and re-synced my iPhone--still no joy.

Are there any other suggestions? Do I need to "copy to playlist order", like I used to do with iTunes?

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Answer 6

brbo

Level 8

35,891 points

Aug 17, 2022 9:02 PM in response to Orcaman

You're welcome. Thank you for replying, and letting us know you still need helpful suggestions.

You might want to make sure the audiobook you want to listen to is downloaded to the iPhone

(ie: does not have a "cloud" on the right hand side).

If iPhone needs storage space, some files that can easily be redownloaded may be "optimised".

.

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Answer 7

Orcaman Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 19, 2022 12:19 PM in response to brbo

Thanks for your help, brbo. I tried the Apple Support link you helpfully provided: only my purchased audiobooks show up in My Purchases. None of my mp3 audiobooks show up at all, either in "All Books" or "Not on this Mac". I can see them in the Books app on my phone, but that's as far as I can get. When I try to export one from Dropbox, the Books app doesn't show up in the "Open With..." or "Export To..." lists.

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Answer 8

Orcaman Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 27, 2022 9:50 AM in response to brbo

Thanks, brbo! You the MAN! (It doesn't matter if you're male, female, or nonbinary--you are still the man.) That was it. I deleted the books in the library, got rid of the spaces in the file names, and re-synced. Voilà! All lined up neat and tidy. They even play on my iPhone. Thanks for all your help! Now, if we could just do something about editing the audiobook info in iBooks...

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