Offline Listening
Listening to SuttaCentral Voice on a phone is challenging. The most annoying issue is that an unattended phone will shut down power consumption and activate the screensaver. Although delaying the screensaver (e.g., Display > Screen Timeout) is a workable solution to mobile listening, it does consume a lot of battery. A more efficient way to listen to the suttas is to download them for offline listening.
For offline listening with a phone, it is best to download an audio file from SuttaCentral Voice. A downloaded file can be loaded onto your phone for offline listening. The SuttaCentral Voice web page is not intended for mobile listening. Mobile devices are powerful, but using a web browser on a phone requires a lot of battery power. Instead of using a mobile web browser, listen directly to the downloaded audio file for offline listening. This is particularly important for iPhones, which place severe restrictions on HTML5 Audio elements.
Downloading Audio Files
On a desktop computer, browse to the SuttaCentral Voice web page and search for one or more sutta(s). Next to the Play button you see an arrow for download. Click it to download the selected sutta(s).
Copy the audio file to your phone or other audio device (see below for iPhone instructions).
Listen to Suttas on iPhone
To listen to an audio file on an iPhone:
- Create an account on the cloud service of your choice (e.g. DropBox)
- Upload the audio file to your cloud service
- Install the cloud service phone app on your iPhone and login to your account
- Your cloud service app should display the audio file you just uploaded
- Select the appropriate offline option for your cloud service (See TABLE 1):
- Click to play
Offline listening with a cloud service phone application uses minimal battery power and is the preferred way to listen to entire suttas on any iPhone.
TABLE 1
| Cloud Service | Offline Option | Example |
|---|---|---|
| DropBox | Make Available Offline |  |
Voices