The fix would be to remove the “stream” button and only allow downloading
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Just saying thanks for replying and that downloading (which I am happy to do) is working for me so far. I think some people were having the issue with both streams and downloads, including me but that was only from memory and I may have been mistaken.
Just found this thread after experiencing this for the first time today with v3.9.0 (1f242876d)). It was with episodes that were downloaded on Aug. 12th, so probably with whatever version was live in the Google Play store at that time. I am not streaming anything, only playing downloaded episodes.
My particulars:
- Samsung Galaxy S23 (SM-S911W)
- Android 15
- Google Play update as of July 1st, 2025
- Android security patch Aug. 1st, 2025
- Listening via bluetooth earbuds
- Galaxy Watch 7 was connected with bluetooth at the same time
Yep, I’m having the same issue as well.
I get a skip/jump back in the episode I’m listening to of approx. 20-30s. This happens regularly, say in about every third podcast I listen to.
Also I think I notice another related thing which is, if I get a skip/jump back during an episode then that episode will also cut off early before the end. It seems it cuts off early at the end by whatever amount it skipped/jumped back during the episode, for example 20-30s.
Device and app version:
- Xiaomi Mi 11 - Android 14
- AntennaPod app v3.9.0
Potential clue: I used to see this sometimes, but haven’t seen it in months. I’m wondering if it’s related to the fact that I haven’t altered the playback speed or enabled “Skip silence” for months.
Additional info, I always listen to my podcasts at greater than normal 1x speed.
Others have noted this so it could be important factor.
I will try listening to some at normal 1x speed and see if I still get this skip problem.
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I’m new to AP but came from many years using pocketcasts. I see this problem frequently and across multiple of my podasts so looking for an issue here I am dismayed to find this bug reported and still unfixed. 
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Please note that
- AntennaPod is fully built and and maintained by volunteers putting in their time, energy and experience for the love of podcasting, and the software comes ‘as is’
- This issue propped up because podcast hosting companies are doing something different than before with their dynamically inserted advertisements
- It’s rather easy to work around this issue by downloading your episodes rather than streaming them
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Actually I have always streamed but after using the download approach for a few days now I see it works very well and is actually superior from a user perspective to streaming because it is done quickly in the background so there is no time delay when transitioning between queued episodes/podcasts and when skipping forwards/backwards etc. It is also probably more efficient re battery and network.
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IMHO streaming cause a lot of problems and apart being able to start listening immediately an episode I don’t see any pro compared to downloading.
Forum is full of people complaining about it. So I think it should be removed or replaced with an option to play episode as soon as download start.
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Other apps start playback by streaming then switch to the downloaded version when it becomes available. You can hear a momentary blip/pause as the switch happens a few seconds in.
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I’ve had this issue for a while and downloading episodes before playing has fixed it for me.
So, as a workaround I’ve essentially done two things:
- Ensure regular update/refresh frequency, set new episodes pulled to be added to Inbox, turn on auto-download, set downloaded episode # limit, set downloads to only happen while charging.
- Settings > Downloads > Refresh podcasts > [choose update frequency]
- Settings > Downloads > New episode action > Add to Inbox ON
- Settings > Downloads > Automatic download > “Automatic download” ON; set an “Episode limit” value; “Download when not charging” OFF.
- Setup Automatic deletion of any items that have been played or haven’t been favorited.
- Settings > Downloads > Automatic deletion > “Delete after playback” ON; “Delete before auto download” set to “When not favorited”
Current setup: Pixel 9 Pro, Android 16 (GrapheneOS), T-Mobile MVNO, AntennaPod 3.9.0 from PlayStore.
Thanks to the volunteer devs for staying vigilant on this issue despite it seemingly being mostly out of their hands at the moment. I would donate but see that monetary needs are met. I don’t have dev skills but will look for ways to help out and give back.
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I was a Google pod cast refugee as well. The app worked well for a while then this skipping issue started when streaming OR changing wireless nodes while downloading (or streaming).
Streaming:
I live in Niagara falls Ontario and cross from Canada to the USA and back for work every day. I can tell you without a doubt this has to do with the phone switching cell towers. the skipping happens RELIABLY when going from US towers to Canadian towers or vice versa. I ALWAYS happens when that switch occurs. There are also some bridges in Niagara Falls Ontario where (I think because of the elevation) where you will filp briefly from Canadian towers to US towers and back again (if you are on a call in those spots it will drop too, just like if you cross the border and within a quarter mile or so you switch to the other country towers). If you are streaming After that tower switch , the stream skips within 30 seconds to a little over 2 minutes depending on how long you’ve been streaming that podcast. This is not occasional. The only exception seems to be if you are very, very far into the podcast, like near the end.
Downloaded playback:
To get around this, I took to download. In this instance it happened far less frequently. If I download from a single , steady Wi-Fi connection it simply doesn’t happen. However, if I download while switching from wireless node to wireless node, the skips are in the download too. My workplace has a large footprint. If I start downloading on one side of the building and walk to the other side of the building (moving from one wireless node to another) while the download occurs, even though its the same network, just different wireless nodesthere are often skips.
Finally, I’ve noticed the even when the US/Canadian border is not involved, there are skips in streaming when driving across town. You switch from tower to Tower, and there are skips.
This is a buffering/timestamp thing. Towers switch, playback continues, then the new tower happens and the app thinks it needs to pickup where it was before the cell data was interrupted.
I dealt with the skips for some time. Then a few weeks back there were so many other issues with the app I went to another app. I like antenna pod better in layout and features and fewer ads. I’d like to switch back, but am waiting for a resolution.
That is my experience. It’s not ads, it switching cell towers, and Wi-Fi nodes. Or, more broadly, changing data connections and the app skipping after that change when the last buffered section it was playing runs out and it skips to the new buffered section that started after the data connection reconnected.
Android, Blu S91. Carrier Att and then Mint mobile.
Mark
Just downloaded 3.10.3f (ab8841b6a) and so maybe that has fixed the issue but…
Have had this problem for a long time now (1 year?). I almost always download my podcasts and from just my WiFi router so not sure if node is THE issue.
Recently (month?) I have also noticed a podcast just stopping, normally quite near the end,and new one starting.
Also sometimes an already played episode just restarting.
Thanks everyone for continuing to report back — it’s reassuring (and a little frustrating!) to see I’m not alone with this.
My experience sounds very similar to what others have described: occasional mid-episode skips or sudden jumps that feel almost like déjà vu, especially when listening in the car. Sometimes it’s obvious (missing audio or jumping ahead), other times everything sounds fine and I only realize later that something didn’t quite line up.
It’s inconsistent for me as well — I can go days with flawless playback, then have it crop up seemingly at random across different podcasts. I mostly stream while driving, which makes it harder to catch exact timestamps, but I’ll try using Google Assistant to note the episode and approximate time when it happens and report back with specifics if I can.
Really appreciate the volunteers and devs looking into this, and thanks to everyone here for sharing detailed examples and workarounds — it definitely helps narrow things down.
Hi everyone.
Since Google Podcast death, I’ve been trying different podcast players, and found AntennaPod the best in class.
However, the issue with skipping back and forth the episodes seems to be related to adds inserted to the episodes.
It always skips 30s-ish in moments where we should expect an add that for whatever reason is not there, and it also causes the sudden termination of some episodes as well.
Paid streaming platforms without adds included tends to not have this issue (and I refuse to pay those services knowing that podcast producers don’t get any money from them), but any free player with adds have similar issues.
I wonder if any AntennaPod developer have ever found a solution for that (and I wish I knew more to help)?
Thanks anyway!
Environment
Android version: 16
OS version: 5.10.236-android12-9-31998796-abS901U1UES8GYL1
AntennaPod version: 3.11.0
Model: SM-S901U1
Device: r0q
Product: r0quew
Manufacturer: samsung
I am still encountering this skipping issue as wwell. It will also occasionally cause me to miss the last few minutes of an episode.
Is downloading the episode a viable workaround for the time being?