NPR One App Negative ReviewsNPR

NPR One Negative Reviews

3.0
3.04119 star

Total 85 Negative Reviews

NPR One App Complaints & User Negative Comments 2023

NPR One app received 85 complaints, negative comments and reviews by users. Have you ever had a bad experience using NPR One? Can you share your negative thoughts about npr one?

Please wait! NPR One Facebook comments loading...



NPR One for Negative User Reviews

Beyond AnnoyingFor the most part this is a decent app, but I’ll tell you what I find beyond annoying. You’re listening to a story and in the middle of it. It’s a great story. You’re excited, enraptured, curious to see what’s going do you happen next. You pick up your phone, which you were listening on, and accidentally bump the forward button. The next thing you know, your story is gone. And there’s no way to return to it. True, they have a finished listening section. Unfortunately it’s filled with stories you were listening to last week and the month before, not stories that you were listening to recently. Aaaarrrrrggh! Why can’t they have a back button? I don’t mean going 15 seconds back to listen to something you just missed, we’re going back to the store you were listening to. So, until they fix this problem, I’m only gonna give them three stars for a halfway decent app..Version: 1.15.5

Let Us Listen to Complete ShowsI love NPR, let me say that first. I came to love it as I worked Sunday afternoons in my classroom, when our base’s radio station (I work overseas) had the luxury of broadcasting on two frequencies. Weekend Edition Sunday was a refreshing break from Top 40 high rotation popular music. I especially loved hearing the Sunday Puzzle. DoD budget cuts turned off the secondary broadcast frequency. I turned to the internet and a web browser to login and load the broadcast onto my classroom speakers. Sometimes I use my iPhone to start listening but am immediately frustrated by NOT being able to listen to the COMPLETE show in ONE GO!!! If I can load the complete show in a web browser, why can’t I do the same in an app that promotes itself as the way to listen to NPR on the go? I think you know your listeners will follow particular shows, please give them the option to make listening more convenient for them to love those shows..Version: 1.9.2

Not Podcast FriendlyI like the option to save podcast episodes and news stories to “listen later” but the app buries that list at the very bottom of a scroll under the “explore” tab, not the “listen” tab, which is super unintuitive and hard to find. Then when you’re listening to an episode, the controls on the full screen view don’t give an option to advance by 15 or 30 seconds, just reverse. And if the phone is locked, the mini player on the Lock Screen doesn’t even give the reverse option. I need to unlock my phone and pull up the app every time I want to back it up 15 or 30 seconds to hear something I’ve missed. The mini player should give both the back up and advance options. I’m also frustrated by the fact that if I’m listening to a podcast from the Listen Later selection, then pause it for more than a minute, the app has forgotten what I was listening to, even though I didn’t close the app, and I have to find and re-select the episode, and it doesn’t remember where I stopped..Version: 1.15.5

Love NPR. Hate this app.Where do I start? NPR One's algorithm is stupid. I live in San Diego. Almost every day I get a feed for a WAMC station which is in NY. To make matters worse, the feed is of a guy who sounds like an undertaker in a horror movie. His voice is the stuff of nightmares. I have skipped this show every darned time. This SHOULD teach the algorithm not to play it. But now it's not only baked into my algorithm, but it's also listed in my "favorite" podcasts on my NPR One "homepage". Can I change that? So far as I've been able to tell, no. They've recently"improved" the app by adding a feature that lets you skip through a story by shaking your phone. That means if I happen to PICK UP my phone to go to another room, the story skips. Apple music dropped this feature years ago because it's stupid. Why did NPR add this improvement? I can't fathom. Can I go back to the skipped story? The app says that your unfinished stories get saved. But no. The stories that the app skips for you just disappear. Finally the app says that I should be able to listen to the hourly national news broadcast any time by going to the home page. NOPE. Nope, nope, nopity, nope. In short, I love NPR. I love their content. But if you want to enjoy their content, this app simply gets in the way..Version: 1.13.0

What is going on?Fix the robot that slaps your stories together. It's cutting new ones half way through the story I'm listening to. I love NPR as much as my very own CBC..Version: 1.1.0

You can't skip addsI used it once and won't use it again. There is no 15 SEC fast forward! I wonder if that is the main reason NPR developed this app :/.Version: 1.6.6

Love NPR, not so much NPR OneI love NPR and NPR one - when it works. Sadly it’s buggy as hell and a pain to use more often than not. Please sort this out because I love the concept..Version: 1.9.8

Confusing experienceI re-downloaded the app after not using for at least a few months. I just want to listen to Morning Edition but the process of listening to one day’s broadcast doesn’t make a lot of sense. Each broadcast has the stories broken up into “episodes” so there’s seemingly no way to just play that morning’s broadcast. I realize ME is a mix of local and national but you’d think they’d figure that out by now... I’ve also had problems with controlling the audio once casting on a Google speaker... No visible way to skip ahead in increments... No way to go back to the last program which is bad when the “episodes” are less than 5 min long. Would appreciate a playlist or listening history feature... No persistent now playing bar so you have to backtrack to the Listen page to control the audio within the app..Version: 1.10.1

Great content, but app desperately needs an updateThis content provided by NPR One app is phenomenal. Starts off with the latest national news update, moves on to detailed stories, mixes in news from your local NPR station, and introduces great new podcasts from within NPR and from member stations. What is missing is support. The app hasn’t been updated in almost a year, and it shows. Open the app on an iPhone X, XS Max, or iPhone XR and get huge black bars on the top and bottom of the app. Sometimes the app can’t connect when attached to CarPlay, which can only be alleviated by pulling out your phone while driving in the car and opening the app on your phones screen. Those are my two biggest complaints. I do use CarPlay A LOT and the aforementioned bug happens at least once a day. Please please NPR, update this app..Version: 1.8.6

EATS ALL YOUR DATA!I listened in my car for my 20 min drive to work, and all 3 gigs of data was gone half way through my billing cycle. Every couple days I was getting an alert from my service provider letting me know they just added another $10 of data. Finally figured out how to see which apps are using data—and NPR One was the culprit. I really liked the app for the two months I was using it, but that 20 mins M-F was costing me about $40 bucks extra every month! Seeing this also had battery issues as well, seems like they released this app before it was ready. I’d expect some minor bugs for a brand new app, but come on...those are pretty significant issues that basically make the app unusable (unless you go WiFi only and are careful not to allow the app any of your cell data). I hope they fix it. I did enjoy listening in the morning. It’s nice to listen to the news but skip through the stuff you don’t care about..Version: 1.8.5

No sorting?Would love to be able to sort episodes of a show by oldest to newest and vice versa, rather than having to endlessly scroll down..Version: 1.22.0

Frustrating!This app is terrible to use. Gets stuck on content, no way to go back to previous story, no way to list stories, confusing to navigate and so on. The only good thing about this app is the NPR content, other than that it is horrible..Version: 1.8.6

NPRThis app is ok but there doesn't seem to be a sleep timer..Version: 1.6.9

So much promise, so poorly executedNPR has great content, it's a shame they put it into this useless app. If you haven't seen this already, it will lock you out if you don't register after one week. I just want to listen to some podcasts, I don't want to cultivate a bubble. And no, NPR, I don't want you to track my usage. Take off. Second, the app does not queue the next segment, so if you're listening in a place with intermittent service (like the subway or in a car) you get one segment, then dead air. Extremely frustrating. It also randomly drops what you're listening to and starts a new segment. If you pause for more than a few seconds it starts a whole new podcast and there's no way to go back to what you were listening to without stopping, searching, and restarting. Overall, I love the content, it makes my commute interesting and at least feel somewhat productive. But this app is so dysfunctional as to defeat its own purpose. Please fix it. Update: I wrote this something like 4 years ago and nothing has changed, except maybe to get worse. Now I get 5 - 10 minutes of a stream, then the buffer times out and I get the three “loading” dots for a long time until the app just crashes. Useless..Version: 1.24.2

Needs basic functionality improvementsLike many reviewers, I listen to this app all the time, despite its many frustrations. The scrubber is unusable. I want to move to a different place, not swipe to the next screen. Please add a scrubber knob. While we are at it, how about a back button? I’m usually multitasking when listening, and when something catches my interest, I want to be able to go back and listen from the top. Nope, missed it, on to the next story with no way to go back. How about a history list? When I reopen the app, why not make “catch up” the default? While we’re at it, what do the labels “catch up” vs “resume” (and “interesting”) mean to someone who’s unfamiliar with the app? Why not make it easier to switch your “home station”? I listen to both NYC and AMU and switching between the two is cumbersome and unintuitive. I love the content, just wish this app was significantly easier to use..Version: 1.8.6

I LOVE it, but the bugs are extremely annoyingI really love this app, but mostly because of what it does for me (I listen to it all the time whenever I go) and not because of the performance. NPR APP TEAM...PLEASE fix the bug that makes the app stop working (and often shut down) after a phone call interrupts whatever I’m listening to. It’s been going on for a long time. Also, how hard is it to make sure your algorithm adds shows to your favorites once you follow them or removes them once you stop? Doesn’t seem like it should be that difficult. Today, after a phone call interrupted the show I was listening to and the app closed (twice) I tried to reopen it and go back to what I was listening to. But despite the fact that I listen to the show ALL the time and had turned on the “follow” toggle, the show didn’t and doesn’t even show up in my favorites. Seems like ridiculous little fixes that could really make a difference in the app doing what it’s supposed to do. Ugh..Version: 1.9.5

Your podcasts are so good that NPR One actually makes for a worse show.Sure, I need nprone if I want to listen to morning edition outside of public radio/streaming. But with your hourly news and daily morning edition synopsis. NPR really brought in the golden age of podcasting with the best and most neutral media reachable by all Americans and beyond unlike any other media organization. Yet when using your NPR One app that looks like it hasn't updated since the iOS 11, doesn't even provide basic features the woefully inadequate apple podcast provides. NPR provides such an incredible amount of content, from stories from the unheard or your relentless endeavour towards maintaining neutrality and unlike your for profit competetors, are actually willing to provide time for "both sides" and even detailed show notes with links, pictures and etc. Please make NPR One the preeminent Public Radio app, one that tells us of events hosted by the local NPR station not your own. It's about time you had variable speed in addition to a hard speed control. And of course improvements in recommendations. NPR is creating original content in every state and should be introduced to quality NPR media that isn't just from the nearest town with its own public radio station. H/t to PRI, APM, PBS, and viewers like you..Version: 1.8.6

App won’t openJust downloaded but app won’t open. Bummer..Version: 1.22.1

Great content, buggy app these days.Firstly, I love NPR and its content. I really enjoy the press play and automatically getting served a variety of stories, both news and podcasts. My problem is with some major app bugs. My most major problem is if the app is not in the foreground and is paused, its very likely that that app will not resume what was previously playing, even if it was just paused for literally a few seconds. I then not only lost my place, but often I can’t find what I was listening to and the app moves on to another story. This is very frustrating and really ruins the experience. This especially is awful when I’m in the car and get a phone call, when the call is over, I know very likely I will not be able to resume what I was listening to. Other apps, whether podcast or music apps, do not seem to have this problem. If that main issue was fixed this would be a 4.5 star app for me..Version: 1.10.1

Love/hateI love NPR but this app keeps cutting out every 15 seconds or so. It isn't my connection just this app..Version: 1.8.5

Doesn’t work, has never workedSame as another reviewer I see - this app has never actually done anything for me on any phone. I always download it but can’t use it so I just use the podcast app built into the iPhones.Version: 1.8.6

Disappointing DowngradeUpdate: Still playing repeat episodes, in the last 24 hours they’ve tried to play the same episode at least 6 times (that I’ve noticed so far) I used to listen to NPR on the NPR News app, where you could make playlists and listen to (or binge) all your favorite shows, or choose a station and listen to a live stream. When the podcasts jumped ship, I was forced to switch over to this app, and it's been painful. Limited number of skips, but the news segments are broken up story by story, so you waste 10 of them trying to get through one segment, no playlist feature, which is the most frustrating thing. I've had the app randomly start playing when my phone was on silent and in my pocket, in public, in meetings, in the middle of conversations, even when the app isn't open. Additionally, there are several podcasts that seem to be added to my feed as filler. They play episodes I've heard multiple times, not rebroadcasts or new versions, just the same episode over and over. My most recent complaint is that it's become particularly glitchy. Not playing the story you select (as in playing a completely different one), or not loading. If this wasn't the only way for me to hear these podcasts I would never use this app again. The shuffle feature should be an option, but not the entirety of the function of the platform. This is a poorly designed disaster..Version: 1.23.1

Full list of shows?There only seems to be about 20 shows listed and it seems like you have to know the title of a show to find it. I downloaded the app to discover new shows! Am I just missing the link which says 'see all shows'?.Version: 1.8.6

Crashes all the timeRecently downloaded to most recent Apple TV. It crashes almost every time. Still rated 3 stars because of content..Version: 1.9.8

You really have to do better.I LOVE NPR. But I really dislike this app. It’s soooo hard to navigate. I can’t find the shows I want or listen to them they way I want. I feel you keep forcing all you other shows down my throat & not giving me the opportunity to dive deeper into the shows I love & want to listen to. I keep deleting the ridiculous app. Then putting it back when you mess up my WONDERFUL, perfectly fine regular NPR app. Now I can’t fully listen to the shows I want there like morning editions a Saturday & Sunday. But I can’t easily find them &’once I do they don’t play the entire show as I would expect. I get sooo frustrated & now you lose a loyal listener to a program. Why are you doing this STOP, please STOP. I could add more to this list. But I’ll stop myself & see I f I can find the full show on regular Apple podcast or them just go to he internet & see if I can fully listen to the show. It really really really shouldn’t be this hard!!! Sorry Lulu another Sunday where I’ll miss the puzzler :(.Version: 1.9.6

Doesn't workAll I get is an icon of a microphone with a round blue background. Maybe it's because I'm in Canada? NPR said no, and asked me to write them. I did, and no response. Still can’t get it to work..Version: 1.8.5

NPR is always FIVE stars | This app is ONEThe concept is fantastic and it’s really nice be able to listen to stories on “shuffle” in a similar way you listen on the radio, without knowing what the next subject may be. The problem is you can not customize what you hear in any way, I listen to marketplace every evening on my way home from work so I don’t need it in the NPR One app. But I can’t inform the app that I don’t want to hear this anymore. It also repeats over and over and over, I’ve heart the intro to Children of Afghanistan no less than nine times so far. Lastly, you should be able to filter content based on your mood, the world is a depressing place right now and some days I don’t have it in me to hear political news. I feel like you should be able to “toggle” off political content, or the opposite…when it’s the day before/after an election, you could toggle on political content ONLY. Everyone should absolutely still download the app, because the content is top notch and the tech is ALMOST there, but a lot more functionality, filters, “dislike” buttons, etc. are all needed to make this app live up to what NPR believes it is..Version: 1.23.2

Great app but something is broken!I love NPR One. It's my primary source to catch up on the world every day during my commutes to and from work! I love that I can also catch up on many of my favorite podcasts and discover new ones all through the app. This new update however, along with subtle UI changes, has brought along some bugs that are making my experience unpleasant. There seems to be a broken connection between the phone app and the CarPlay interface, as every time I plug in from my car, I can’t see anything on-screen, much less control any app navigation. I have to keep using my phone, and while driving, we all know creates a hazard. I’ve tried deleting the app and reinstalling multiple times, so it’s definitely something on the development side that needs updating. Please fix ASAP!!.Version: 1.8.6

Still buggyDoesn't work in canada.Version: 1.8.5

I don’t want to train an algorithm, I want to listen to the news.Downloaded this app specifically to listen to Morning and Weekend Edition, as I am able to enjoy other NPR programs using podcasting apps. Unfortunately, there is no way to listen to the complete program in one go, due to it being cut into segments. I am forced to search for the program repeatedly to jump back in from where the app diverts to often unrelated content. I do not understand the point of this app at all, unless the point is to keep the user interacting with it constantly to extract as much data from the user as possible. There are indeed listeners out there who don’t care what gets streamed at them, and aren’t concerned with feeding an algorithm their data. As far as this app goes, however, it would seem to require a lot of effort to end up with a reasonable result. There are many listeners like me, though, who want the news without having to submit to an algorithm’s whims. A shame that this app cannot provide a coherent listening experience that allows the user to be in control. The NPR One app functions like Pandora, and as such is effectively useless..Version: 1.9.2

Devolved into frustrationThis app started buggy, but I saw enough value from the personalized content feed to stick with it. As it got more stable was listening to it every day, and all day on weekends. I liked it so much that I programmed my favorite podcasts to stream through it, and spent a good amount of time rating content so it could learn my preferences, for example, science and astronomy. Things changed drastically after I started hearing more local station announcements. Suddenly it would get in endless loops saying “ and now for something from outside NPR” or it would not allow me to skip content that it had already forced me to listen to several times. I tried changing local stations in the app, and it helped for a while, but eventually it seemed to disregard all of my preferences and it was no better than listening to a live station stream. I gave up on this app realizing that I was missing favorite podcasts and NPR stories by relying it.Version: 1.8.6

Fantastic Content. CarPlay App FaultyNPR is great. I have no complaints with regards to the iPhone app. I am however having real issues with the App on CarPlay. It just doesn't work well. It fails to play more than it works to the point that it's unusable. I'm not sure whether this is an Audi issue or a CarPlay or NPR issue but I'd love it fixed as I thoroughly enjoy your content..Version: 1.8.4

Please implement a morning alarm clockEverything with this app is great.I love NPR. It would be amazing if I could wake up to "up first" or any other program in the morning. I also think this would be the only podcast app with this feature. Thank you.Version: 1.7.2

Why can't it just remember where stoppedAlways fails at remembering where you left of last time. It asks every now and again but doesn't always work! Massive fail.Version: 1.8.5

Love NPR, Hate this appI can’t give it one star because I LOVE NPR. I enjoy almost all of their content but this app won’t let me decide. What’s the point?!? I guess some people can just press play and breeze through their day. I’m just not that type of person. I’ve come to love ME and ATC just the way they are. I trust the producers of those shows to arrange stories in an appropriate way. When I want one of the other programs, I’ll listen to them. I also realize that these programs are available on the other NPR app but it only works with constant connectivity which my long subway commute doesn’t provide. Why can’t I just download M.E. in the app and go?!? They tried to simplify and ended up making something that I’m not interested in using. Until they do, I’ll continue to listen to M.E. until the last cashed story ends and switch to the NYT ‘The Daily’ podcast..Version: 1.8.6

Fell very mixedI enjoy the content of the app. The podcasts, the custom station setting, but not the everything. It’s a pity when the app can’t load to the next ‘cast after skipping several others. A quality option would be perfect for those with limited data..Version: 1.8.6

Not for listening to public radioI switched over to NPR One from the original NPR app. The One version is overall styled better, but functionally is not quite there. It’s great if you go to NPR for its regular news-oriented programming or podcasts, but not for listening to public radio. Indeed, the latter is an afterthought at best: on the main “home” page (when you open the app), you have to scroll down a bit to get to your local station, and even then a further click to get to its streams. Or you can go to the dedicated station tab, but same deal: another click for different streams. But—and here’s its main weakness—you cannot add more than one local station at a time. This is really too bad, because one of the main benefits of the internet is that you can access stuff from afar, including favorite public radio stations (sorry, LA, but Sac’s classical stream is far better!). Oh, and Apple Car Play? Forget about it. Useless..Version: 1.24.2

Apple CarPlay IssuesWill only work 10% of the time with Apple CarPlay since the new IOS updates - very frustrating..Version: 1.8.6

Can't access live feedCan't seem to access of the live feed of a particular station like kpbs I have to go direct to the website May be I have missed something but I can't find find it.Version: 1.7.1

Wonderful app but makes phone hotThe app gives you many suggestions of items to listen to. For some reason it makes the phone hot. I hope someone fixes this..Version: 1.8.2

Doesn't correspond to my needsI've tried to use the NPR One app several times, but simply couldn't get it to do what I want. Finally, I had to search for a howto guide on the web, and realized that it simply isn't designed for me. As an expat living in London, I've used the classic NPR app to follow All Things Considered and Morning Edition. I don't need or want local news. This doesn't seem to be an option in the NPR One app. Or if it is I haven't figured out how to use it. The app may be fine for others, but it doesn't work for me, and it got a low star rating for being so difficult and opaque to understand. Instead of NPR One, I'd like to see the classic NPR app developed and improved..Version: 1.6.19

What’s “Listen Later” Even There For?!?!I basically hate this app. I don’t know why I’m even giving it two stars; I guess I just want to be as supportive as possible. Basically, this is no better than just listening to the radio or searching the Internet for stories. When I look around and find something I’m interested in, I either have to listen to it immediately – interrupting whatever I am listening to currently — or just yet “save it for later“ and hope that somehow that does something. But it doesn’t. I can’t build any kind of a playlist or queue. This is a stupidly designed app. I’d rather just turn on the radio or use my podcast app. This app gives me no control other than to skip a story (that I didn’t pick anyway). I’m rambling. Point is, I’m *this close* to (once again) deleting this app because it’s just not useful. It’s just lame..Version: 1.16.2

NO LANDSCAPE MODEI just downloaded this app, but will not use it until it can be used in landscape mode. Please develop this app for landscape mode too. Most iPad covers are for landscape mode only. Nan.Version: 1.0.1

Good content but app is really buggyI love this app and spend a lot of time listening to it but lately I've found that it's really been bugging out recently. It won't play the next episode and the loading screen won't go away and it will replay the same episode over and over again without you being able to change it. Once this is fixed I'll give it the five stars it deserves.Version: 1.7.0

Would be perfect but...Great for news updates and to find new NPR programs but a fatal flaw - it doesn't keep your place so when in the middle of listening something it's about 50/50 that it will remember your place when coming back to listen a few hours later. This is very annoying because usually it means that I never hear the end - it's difficult to find the show again and impossible to skip ahead to where I was last. So it's not really fit for the purpose to replace my podcast app and I Won't use it more than occasionally as a result..Version: 1.6.13

Why two?! Why so complicated?!I want radio to be: just turn on, listen live, randomly or at specific times for the predictable schedule. On-demand, snippets, bits, bites are not primarily why I come to radio. Also, in case of NPR, I want to listen to the main, national stream, and only sometimes my local NPR station. Both of the NPR apps (why two!!??) fail to give this simple usage. NPR One app seems to offer that, except that it tries to be "smart" by always starting with the news bulletin no matter what minute of the hour I'm tuning in at. I'm a software engineer myself, and can figure out ways, work with workarounds, but the NPR apps fail to impress. For my simple use case, I'd also expect a better use of the screen real estate, to show me details of what's streaming, names of speakers, what's up next, album art, some other pretty pictures, or some other ideas. I love the KDFC app for the simple and beautiful experience..Version: 1.10.3

Good but..... There needs to be some way of limiting the data used. I listened for 45mins and used 500mb of data!.Version: 1.6.19

Interface needs updatedNative interface support for iPhone X,XR, etc...Version: 1.8.6

Good app but loading issuesThe audio always keeps lagging while I'm streaming any thing. This is insanely annoying when trying to listen to anything. Why can't I just download the episode and listen to it like literally every other podcast app?.Version: 1.6.9

Used to be a decent app most recent update is crapNot sure what happened with the most recent update to this app but 3 times in the last hour of listening to my podcast the app has (with my phone locked and sitting on my kitchen counter as I’m doing dishes) cutoff my podcast without rhyme or reason changing it to the news. This of course wipes the episode I was listening to from my recent list and also any progress in the podcast I then have to search for that podcast then try to find where it randomly cut off. An added layer and further annoyance is that the news is of course 10x louder than the podcasts I actually care about so when the app randomly decides to start playing the news it blasts my speakers. This is incredibly obnoxious and if left unfixed I plan to uninstall and find a new place to listen to podcasts because it’s really obnoxious having to stop in the middle of what I’m doing pause the app so it’s no longer blasting my speaker then spend multiple minutes trying to locate the episode and time in the episode where the app cut to the news..Version: 1.13.0

Offline modeBeen waiting for offline mode since the beginning. NPR keeps saying it's going to be available soon - but it's been a while! Going back to the default podcasts app..Version: 1.6.13

Horrible UIThe user interface on this app is sloppy and confusing. The organization seems random, and I find myself hunting around trying to get to a place where there is a straightforward list of shows. When you get to a show, there is just a big list of story titles. They are not organized by air date. Really a step backwards in usability from the last NPR app. They push this new NPR One app pretty hard, too. I truly hope they don’t completely deprecate the old one. This app is a design disaster..Version: 1.12.0

Love NPR, Hate This AppI love listening to NPR, but I really really detest this app. The design of the app is fine. My problem is that it is still so buggy and crash-prone even years after its introduction. There have been times—like this very moment—when I have to spend like 20 minutes closing and re-opening and restarting the app to get it to work and sometimes it still doesn’t work. At first, my love of NPR made me want to give the app the benefit of the doubt—maybe it wasn’t their app but my crappy phone that was the problem. For a long time I told myself that that was the real problem. But then one day, I bought a brand new phone, and I was sadly disappointed when the app’s behavior failed to improve. The app has continued to regularly fail me for the past year that I’ve had this phone. I keep hoping it’s going to get better with some kind of update, but it hasn’t yet. I probably have 30-40 apps on my phone and this one of only two that consistently misbehaves like this. Please fix it. Please. I’ll change my tune and write a good review..Version: 1.8.6

Uses up too much battery!I like listening to NPR One in the morning while getting ready for work, but every day it eats up 10% of my battery life before I even leave the house. Surely there’s a way to make it more efficient?.Version: 1.8.6

Power drainGenerally ok way to listen to NPR and certainly a work in progress on some levels but that is ok. What is not ok is watching the battery drain while the app is open. Sit down for a single coffee and to catch up on a bit of news and a short radio documentary shouldn't drain your battery by double digits. Other streaming audio apps I use do not have this trait..Version: 1.8.5

I wish I could give 3 1/2This is a great app, but I agree with another reviewer, it needs a little more stability, it frequently crashes on me. But I love that I am listening to more NPR goodness, really smart people talking smartly about some smart stuff and some dumb stuff..Version: 1.7.3

Hangs and freezes between storiesI was a very big fan of NPROne app and it's the only way I access public radio. Unfortunately the latest update seems to have completely broken it. The app hangs at point between every other story and seems particularly to freeze when it goes to the sponsors messages. It also seems to happen when the app is running in the background and only moves on to the next story, eventually, sometimes once it is opened up again..Version: 1.7.3

Daily listenerI listen to stories on the NPR One app every day, and really enjoy the ability to open the app at any hour and instantly hear the latest headlines. I also enjoy its unique blend of podcast/broadcast streaming. That being said, there are a few things I'd really like to see in future updates. For one, I hope something can be done to cut down on the amount of battery power the app uses. Also, I would love the ability to add stories to an "up next" queue, and to create custom playlists of stories. It would also be nice to be able to download stories to listen when I'm offline. In addition, it would be great to add a button to scrub forward 15 seconds, not just back. I think the app's concept is really innovative, but it could benefit still from the functionality found on some other podcasting apps. Thanks for the consideration!.Version: 1.8.5

Newest update has massive bugsFirst version was perfect. Now the stories don't cache if I'm out of coverage and the app freezes on the lock screen. I'll be uninstalling this until I read it is fixed..Version: 1.7.3

Why is NPR Podcast not on SpotifyThis app is just not user friendly. When I play the podcast on a device, it won’t stop playing on the phone speaker. To play/pause, or adjust volume, I have to go into the app every single time. The only reason I have the app is that some content aren’t available on other platforms..Version: 1.10.1

Please addPlease add Dark Mode.Version: 1.12.0

Great content, awful appI support NPR. But this app is so frustrating I'm wavering. Return after a long enough break, and one is given the option to "catch up" (meaning get the latest 3 minute news summary) or "resume" (meaning continue from where one left off). Often this just doesn't work, and trying to find the news summary any other way seems impossible. It's frustrating because it seems obvious that access to the latest news summary, when desired, is what most people would want. Second, after the summary, some stories run automatically, and while you can skip forward to the next, you can't skip backwards! (Got my hands full, missed some of that story that was just on, want to rewind, and... can't.) This smells of "we know what's best for the user" nannying. No! Please just give the users the obvious controls they might want. Finally, the app itself is labyrinthine and very confusing. There's no need for this. NPR, please get some app designers who know how to put the users first, instead of trying to handspoon them what they often don't want..Version: 1.8.6

Live in NYC, suddenly keep getting news from Ypsilanti!I listen to NPR One all the time and love it, but like so many other reviewers here I wish the program worked better. It’ll sometimes randomly cut off bits of the program I’m listening to when it transitions between segments, and somehow it decided that I want to hear the podcast “Endless Thread” constantly. Worst of all is that it used to give me NYC news - my home station is set to WNYC - but in the last few months keeps switching to some local Michigan radio station called WEMU & giving me local news about the Huron and what’s happening in Ypsilanti and horrible neoliberal political commentary by someone named Alan Chartock, who should retire ASAP. It makes me grateful for the relative sophistication of WNYC content - sorry but it’s true - but drives me crazy bc I never want to hear that irrelevant claptrap again. I’ve contacted NPR One multiple times and none of their suggestions - like reinstalling - have helped. Aaaaaah!!.Version: 1.8.6

Too many buttons to reach anythingToo comp.Version: 1.8.6

Every update has a featured bug!Fix one thing and break another. NPR app developers like to feature not-so-fun and absolutely-infuriating bugs with each new app version released. One of the most annoying featured bugs of the current release is long-pressing the NPROne icon and tapping "catch up" to listen to the latest news doesn't work if the app is already open in the background. It'll just open the app and present you with whatever you were last listening to last time you were using the app. Have to force-close the app then do the long-press/catch up in order to get the latest news cast to play. I've also noticed on the short recordings asking you to "tap your screen to hear more" that tapping those does nothing. Short keeps playing to the end, ignoring your taps, and moves on to the next audio clip. Starting to think I should just get a generic podcast app and start subscribing to the individual NPR shows I like. Would be far less frustrating. So much for finding new stuff I didn't know I'd like....Version: 1.22.1

Why do you bury the news update?I would imagine that many people come in to get the hourly news update, it’s buried way down on the Explore page, and often gets stale as the explore page does not update every time app is opened. Feels like some dark pattern UX trying to shape your users into the form you want rather than designing an app that matches how your users behave. Love the content though, shame the UX is so messy and lacking in a strong direction..Version: 1.12.0

National News?Not surprisingly, when I open the app, the first thing I want to hear is the National News. I’m sure I’m not the only one. But it’s almost impossible to bring it up on demand. Can’t you fix this?.Version: 1.16.0

Please stop advertising this app on the podcastsI love npr podcasts and its news app but don't find npr one useful.Version: 1.6.5

DisappointedReally disappointed that the app fails to initialize after 5 tries over a span of several hours. All I see is a microphone animation on a blank screen. Also disappointed that none of the reviews have been answered by the developer. It’s obvious NPR isn’t an app org, and are better at sending than receiving..Version: 1.9.5

Update very disappointingI love listening to NPR and find the experience so frustrating with NPR one. I switched to NPR one after the last big upgrade of NPR news, which I think is a terrible upgrade. I can no longer download shows to listen to offline, share individual stories within morning edition, and overall find listening feels more frustrating. Maybe it works differently because I live in Canada?.Version: 1.8.6

US only but seems ok (bit buggy) at what it doesI downloaded this because I thought it would give me world news (and other audio) items direct to my phone, but it’s US-only, really. I did listen excitedly when they said there was a BBC reporter on next, but they were an American reporter, reporting on an international story so big that I could have heard it just about anywhere. I also get a lot of “audio failed. We’ll try the next story” messages. Probably more than they would hope for. Sometimes this then goes into a loop and won’t do anything til I force-close it. Good concept though..Version: 1.3.1

No longer worksI can’t get past the initial screen, which says I have no network connection (I do have one). If I reinstall the app, it works at first, then goes back to saying there’s no connection..Version: 1.8.5

Giving up on NPROneThis is probably THE WORST version of this app yet. Everything is scattered across different parts of the app. Why bother with another app when I can get what I want online: Hourly news and daily news stories that I can choose and listen to. If you want to improve the NPROne, my suggestion is to SIMPLIFY: Ditch the written stories, I want to listen, or at least make that a completely separate part of the app, not with other features mixed in; fix the bugs that replay stories over again and list the same stories two or three times over when I’m looking at the days news; make it easier to choose what specific news I want to listen too because I don’t want to listen to it all, and certainly not what randomly comes up; provide a feature to download individual daily news stories for listening later when I’m offline..Version: 1.22.1

It Totally Takes Over Other AppsGood app but when it links to my car, it does not allow me to shut it off or access any other media on my phone via Uconnect or Car Play..Version: 1.8.6

Love NPR but App needs workApp is buggy! The most recent version will drain your battery dry - in the background! Also has issues with ApplePlay connectivity.Version: 1.9.1

Is it eating my data plan?A quick review before I delete the app. I read that it caches possibly interesting programs "if the connection is strong". But no mention if this means wifi/3G/both and no settings exist to govern this. So is it eating my 3G data or not? Not waiting to find out. Bye bye app but I'll stick with Planet Money app maybe data consumption issue is clearer there..Version: 1.1.3

Super Listener; Flawed AppI love NPR One and use it daily to catch up with over a dozen podcasts throughout the week, but I’m becoming increasingly aggravated by a consistent bug I’ve contacted super about twice to no avail. NPR One has a nasty habit of opening itself in the background and autoplaying when no such command is given over the past two years. It tends to also auto-open randomly when connecting to Apple CarPlay. Though most times this isn’t an issue, it has opened itself while on phone calls, while in meetings, and possibly worst of all, at 11:30 pm while I’ve been trying to go to sleep - no one wants a news update blasting in their ears from the darkness of their bedroom. Support has only suggested deleting and downloading the app, which has not resolved the issue. Frustrating as this is, along with its incredible battery drain and data hogging, I love using this app since it’s a one-stop-shop for everything I love on public radio from around the world. Please fix this issue!.Version: 1.10.0

Crashes over and overI've emailed with tech support for the app. They acknowledge that the app doesn't work right and they say they're working on a solution but they haven't released an update in over 4 months and even that release was tiny. This app is too important for National Public Radio to entrust it to a shoddy developer. Let's get it fixed people. Right now when I try to open it in CarPlay not only does it not connect, it even crashes other applications. Unacceptable. ----------------- Almost 10 weeks after release of iOS 12 NPR One has no update. Still lists itself as being compatible with Car Play, yet in emails to me they confess it does not work at this time. My first report to them was on July 25. No updates. Nothing. ------------------ Now, with over 7 months with no updates to an admittedly broken app, I have to assume this app is no longer being developed. So why is it still in the App Store? ———————— 11 months since last update. They still haven’t fixed multiple problems with compatibility with iOS 12. Doesn’t work with CarPlay at all. It’s just shoddy of an organization as important as NPR to allow this to go on. ———————— Now that iOS 13 is almost ready for release they say they’ve updated the app to finally work with iOS 12. Used it for the first time today for about 30 minutes. Now I find that it has used 35% of my battery today. Way to go NPR. <delete>.Version: 1.9.0

Terribly FrustratingThis app is so frustrating but it’s the only place to listen to older Car Talk episodes so I have to use it. Please fix the following things NPR 1) Add a feature to download and listen to podcasts offline so I’m not using all my data 2) When you tap the “next” button it should play the next episode in the podcast I’m listening to, not some random podcast or a newscast 3) After my show is over, don’t start playing random shows!! They show up in my “recently played” list and “favorite shows” when I never chose to play them!! Please fix these things as it totally ruins the experience of listening to your shows.Version: 1.8.6

Useless and invasiveI din’t care at all for the app choosing stories for me. I want a list of stories to chose from myself. Actually, just like the old NPR app used to be. Plus, I don’t like you gathering info on what stories I listen to. You don’t need this information, all you need is overall stats per story, anonymised..Version: 1.8.6

BrokenI love NPR but this app is not functional. I guess I’ll stick to listening through podcasts..Version: 1.11.0

UnimpressedI get a notification (live outside USA and follow just a few shows like Wait wait...) which quickly disappears, but opening the App, you have no "Favourites" and while you list the shows for which I get "Notifications", I have to *search* for the show again to see episodes..Version: 1.8.5

NPR music was the best appReally wish you’d bring it back..Version: 1.11.0

Why is NPR on all platforms in all countries except for Spotify outside of USA?We should have access to NPR podcasts on Spotify. It’s absurd that it’s so easily accessible on all platforms in all countries but they decided to limit Spotify listeners to just the US. I’ve listened to Planet Money and The Indicator from their very first episodes and have recently had to give up on these podcasts as the app/web versions just don’t compare to the ease of using Spotify. Please fix this! Podcasting is moving to Spotify and you’re getting left behind..Version: 1.10.3

Great content, but loaded with bugs! Now more than ever.The last update several weeks ago doesn’t work with CarPlay. It is the worst version ever. “Unable to connect to NPR One” displays. It happens to me and my friends, and in every car I own or rent, so it’s not just me or my device. Also, it would be nice if there was a convenient shortcut to National News. I have to click Explore, then scroll down the screen pretty far too find that link. It’s a problem (read dangerous) while driving, especially since CarPlay has stopped working. Previous review: Love NPR news, programs, and podcasts. This app could be great if the bugs get cleaned up. The app cannot keep its place when you get a phone call. Sometimes it cannot even handle a simple Pause without starting a new program instead of continuing where you paused the audio. The real nasty bug is that it randomly starts playing on its own, sometimes even during a phone call on the same device! The person you are calling cannot hear it’s, but it’s playing the news over to of your phone call. It started playing by itself many times while my phone was just sitting on the kitchen counter, abs during a meeting at work. They added goofy jingles before the news cast so you have to wait for it to play before the news starts. I hope they can fix these annoying bugs soon..Version: 1.21.1


🙂 NPR One Positive Reviews
Is NPR One not working?

NPR One works most of the time. If it is not working for you, we recommend you excersise some patience and retry later or contact NPR One.

⛔   NPR One Problems
Applications with negative comments similar to NPR One
NPR negative reviews, comments
NPR Negative Reviews

The best of NPR’s content in your pocket: read the latest breaking news, stream your local public radio stations, and he...