Quran player: degraded playback, translation sync, seeking, and background audio

For a period, the Quran player could play the English audio translation out of step with the recited verse, pause briefly between verses, lose your place when seeking, and stop playing when the device was locked, in the background, or after a headphone change. Most listening worked normally throughout and no data was affected. These came up while we rebuilt the player on a new audio engine, and each one was identified and fixed; the player now plays seamlessly, keeps the translation in sync, seeks reliably including while paused, and continues in the background. This was a major rebuild of the site's flagship feature, and the work is complete.

• Posted: Jun 15, 2026, 20:23 UTC
• Resolved: Jun 16, 2026, 18:30 UTC
• Duration: 22h 7m

Timeline

1. resolved

   Jun 16, 2026, 18:30 UTC

   This incident has been resolved. The Quran player is rebuilt and confirmed working for everyone: it plays seamlessly verse to verse, the English translation stays in sync and keeps your place when toggled, seeking works forward and back including while paused and with VoiceOver, and playback continues when the device is locked, in the background, or after headphones are plugged in or out. Impact was intermittent and limited to the player's audio behavior; no data was affected. If you still notice older behavior, reload the page once to clear your cache.

2. monitoring

   Jun 15, 2026, 23:52 UTC

   A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results. The Quran player's audio engine has been rebuilt and rolled out for the supported reciters: the recitation now plays seamlessly from one verse to the next, the English translation stays matched to each verse, and seeking is in minutes and seconds. We are continuing to validate seeking, background and lock-screen playback, and the headphone and VoiceOver controls. If you still see older behavior, reload the page once.

3. identified

   21:09 UTC

   The issue has been identified and a fix is being implemented. The cause was in how the player handled the separate per-verse audio files and the English translation on the client side; the recitation audio itself was unaffected. We are rebuilding the player's audio engine to resolve it properly.

4. investigating

   20:23 UTC

   We are currently investigating reports about the Quran player: with the English audio translation on, the recitation could land on a different verse than the one being read, and the audio could pause briefly between verses for some reciters. Most listening is working normally.

Permalink: /incident/60