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Why am I receiving the "RAM Memory Warning" in Playback?
Why am I receiving the "RAM Memory Warning" in Playback?

Learn what the RAM warning means, and how to free up RAM on your iOS device for a smoother Playback performance.

Ben Edwards avatar
Written by Ben Edwards
Updated over a week ago

The Playback RAM Memory warning alerts you when your device's RAM is low.

What is RAM?

The RAM warning in Playback is shown when your iOS device is consuming heavy RAM. RAM (Random Access Memory) is the memory that electronic devices use to temporarily save data from apps so that they load and operate faster. When multiple apps and background tasks are running at once, your device’s RAM becomes overloaded, leaving less RAM to help Playback run smoothly. This makes your iOS device run slower overall.


Free Up RAM on iOS Devices

There are a few things you can do to clear RAM memory in your iOS device.

  1. Force quit any background apps

  2. Force quit and restart Playback (make sure and save your current setlist to the Cloud first)

  3. Clear the RAM on your iOS device, which can be done in 3 easy steps:

Clear RAM on iOS Devices with Home Buttons

1. Hold the power button for 3 seconds until the shutdown screen appears

2. Release the power button, and hold down the home button until your login screen appears

3. Your device's RAM is cleared!

Clear RAM on iOS devices without Home Buttons

1. Enable AssistiveTouch (Settings → Accessibility → Touch → Toggle AssistiveTouch on)

Enable AssistiveTouch from the iOS Accessibility Menu.

2. Press “Shut Down” in General settings, and use the the AssistiveTouch menu to hold down the home button until your login screen appears

Use the Accessibility menu to hold down the "Home" button.

3. Your device’s RAM is cleared!

If you continue to experience issues, please contact support and we'll be happy to help!


Free Up RAM on Macs Running Playback Beta

Macs and other computers also operate applications using RAM. While computer RAM storage is highly customizable and can vary from as little as 4 GBs of RAM to 32GB and higher, Playback requires a minimum of 4 GBs of installed RAM to operate smoothly.

  • Close All Other Running Applications to free up RAM when running Playback. This includes apps running in the background. Notable RAM-heavy applications are Browsers (Safari, Chrome, etc.) as well as background-refreshing apps such as Mail or Messages.

  • Restart your computer before using it for service. This helps to clear up more tasks that may have been passively taking up RAM in the background of a long-running session on your computer.


Clear the PRAM and SMC

Note: This is an excerpt from an article found on TheNextWeb.com covering how to improve computer performance by clearing the Parameter RAM, as well as the System Management Control.

PRAM (Parameter Random Access Memory)

What is the PRAM? A computer's PRAM stores core settings such as disk cache and RAM disk. Resetting the PRAM can improve a computer's overall performance. Note: the PRAM also holds utility settings such as notifications sounds, sleep settings, and more. Check the above link for a full list of items stored in the PRAM.

  1. Shut down your computer.

  2. Press the power button and then press command-option-p-r.

    1. Ensure that the command-option-p-r keys are pressed before the gray booting screen appears, for it to be successful.

  3. Continue to hold command-option-p-r until your Mac reboots again. Release after hearing the startup noise.

  4. Your Mac will now reboot normally with cleared PRAM.


SMC (System Management Control)

What is the SMC? The SMC is only for Intel-based Macs and it stores/manages/controls hardware-related behavior such as the Fan, Lights, Power cycles, and System Performance.

For MacBook Pros, Airs, and MacBooks without removable battery

  1. Turn off your machine

  2. Keep the power adapter plugged in.

  3. Press at the same time shift-option-control (on the left side of the machine) and the power button

  4. Let go

  5. Turn your machine back on with the power button.

Note that you keep the power supply plugged in for MacBooks that have the built-in battery and out for MacBooks where you can pull the battery out.

For Mac Minis, Mac Pros, iMacs, and Xserves (really on a server?):

  1. Shut the machine down

  2. Unplug it from the power adapter

  3. Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds

  4. Plug it back in, and turn it on.

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