Support

Getting started

1-bit can play music from three places: an SMB share on your home server, a 1-bit bridge companion server (HTTPS, faster, optionally remote-reachable), or the on-device library (files you've dropped into the app's Documents folder). You can use any combination — each source shows up in the Sources tab.

Add an SMB share

1. Open the Sources tab and tap + → Add SMB Share
2. Enter your server details:
   • Host — IP or hostname (e.g. 192.168.1.10 or synology.local)
   • Share — the share name (e.g. Music)
   • Username / Password — your SMB credentials
3. Tap Save. The password is stored in your iPhone's Keychain and never leaves the device.
4. Grant Local Network permission when iOS prompts — required to reach servers on your Wi-Fi.

Servers that advertise via Bonjour (_smb._tcp) appear in the Nearby list — tap one to pre-fill the host.

Add a 1-bit bridge

The 1-bit bridge is a free, open-source companion server you run on a Mac, Windows PC, Linux box, or Raspberry Pi alongside your music library. It serves the iOS app over HTTPS instead of SMB — usually faster, works over Tailscale / WireGuard, and avoids the Samba quirks. The bridge has its own canonical site with full setup and troubleshooting documentation:

The iOS-side pairing flow is the short version: open the bridge's admin console, click Devices → Pair new device, then on iPhone open Sources → + → Add 1-bit Bridge and either scan the QR code, tap a discovered bridge under Discover on network, or open a bridge:// link. The app probes the bridge, captures its TLS fingerprint, pins it, and the first manifest sync takes seconds.

Use the on-device library

For listening with no server at all — files you've dropped into the app via the Files app or USB:

1. Open Sources → + → Enable On-Device Library.
2. Add files: open the Files app on the iPhone, browse to On My iPhone → 1-bit, and drag or paste your music in. Or connect the iPhone to a Mac / PC and drop files into 1-bit via Finder's Files tab.
3. Tap Rescan on the on-device source row. Tracks appear in the Library tab once the scan finishes.

Scan your library

1. For SMB: open a share and tap Scan (top right of the folder browser)
2. For bridge: scanning is automatic — the bridge ships its pre-built manifest in one paginated GET
3. For on-device: tap Rescan on the source row in the Sources tab
4. SMB scans run in two passes — Pass 1 walks the folder tree, Pass 2 opens each file to read tags, artwork, and duration. The Sources row shows a live status line.
5. Switch to Library — albums, artists, and playlists are ready

Rescans are incremental — only folders whose modification time has changed are re-processed. Use Full rescan from the source menu after moving files around. For bridge sources the manifest itself drives change detection, so a regular rescan is enough.

Play

• Tap any track to start
• The Now Playing view gives you scrubbing and skip
• Lock Screen, AirPods, CarPlay, and Apple Watch remote controls work as expected
• Background audio survives screen-off and app-switch

Settings, explained

A short tour of every Settings section. The defaults work for most people — these are the knobs to know about when something specific isn't doing what you want.

What else you might want

• A USB DAC, for DSD. Any DAC that advertises DoP support. Connect via USB-C (newer iPhones) or a Lightning-to-USB camera adapter.
• An SMB-capable server, if you're going the SMB route — a Synology / QNAP / TrueNAS box, an old Mac with file sharing on, a Raspberry Pi running Samba.
• Or a 1-bit bridge, if you'd rather not deal with SMB. Run it on anything from a Raspberry Pi to your main desktop. Faster, easier to reach remotely, and fully documented.
• (Optional) Tailscale if you want to reach the bridge from outside your home network. The bridge setup guide covers the iOS-compatible configuration.

FAQ

What file formats are supported?

DSF (DSD64/128/256) bit-exact to DoP-capable USB DACs; FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF at native rate; MP3, AAC for legacy files.

Why do DSD files need a USB DAC?

DSD is a 1-bit format iOS doesn't decode natively. The app packs DSD into DoP frames and sends them to a USB DAC, which unpacks and plays the original bits. Without a DoP-capable DAC, DSD files show a DSD rate not negotiated error.

Which USB DACs work?

Any USB DAC that advertises DoP (DSD-over-PCM) support. Connect via USB-C (newer iPhones) or a Lightning-to-USB camera adapter. If your DAC's documentation mentions DoP, it will work.

Why does DSD playback take a moment to start?

By default, the entire DSF file is downloaded before playback begins. This guarantees DoP marker alignment never hiccups mid-track. For large DSD256 files this can take 10–30 seconds on first play. Enable Settings → Stream large DSD files to trade that for faster starts — works well on stable Wi-Fi, less so on flaky networks.

Why is my library scan still going after I close the app?

If your library is large and the first scan didn't finish in the foreground, 1-bit schedules a one-shot background task with iOS to pick up where it left off — only when your phone is charging, idle, and on Wi-Fi. iOS decides when (and whether) to run it; there's no network traffic beyond the same SMB or bridge connection you'd already authorised. Turn it off in Settings → Refresh → Opportunistic background scan if you'd rather it didn't.

Does the app send my data anywhere?

No tracking, no analytics, no account system. The only outbound request is the optional Deezer artist-image lookup (anonymous, off/on per your setting). SMB credentials live in the iOS Keychain on-device.

Will this ever support streaming services?

No. This app is for playing files you own, from a server you control.

Should I use SMB or the 1-bit bridge?

Either works. SMB is fine if your server already speaks it well and you only listen on the same Wi-Fi as the server. The bridge is faster (a pre-indexed manifest replaces the SMB walk + tag-enrich pass), much easier to reach from outside your home network (over Tailscale, WireGuard, or any direct connection), and side-steps the Samba edge cases that cause most "Couldn't connect" reports. See the bridge page for the full picture.

How is the bridge connection secured?

TLS fingerprint pinning. The iOS app captures the bridge's certificate SHA-256 on first contact (during pairing) and pins it forever after. No public CA, no browser trust store, no MITM window after pairing. If the bridge's certificate ever rotates, the app refuses to connect and prompts you to re-pair from the admin console — this is by design, not a bug.

Why do I have to re-pair my bridge once a year?

iOS 26.4 enforces the Apple ATS 398-day cert-validity cap at the network layer, so the bridge's self-signed certificate must be re-issued at most once a year. The bridge handles this automatically (it warns in the admin console at ≤30 days), but you'll need to re-scan the QR code or open a fresh bridge:// deep link from the admin console when the cert rotates. The pin guarantees this is intentional — re-pairing is the only way to authorise a new certificate, and that's what keeps the connection MITM-resistant.

Can I reach the bridge from outside my home network?

Yes — Tailscale or WireGuard both work. The bridge speaks plain HTTP/2 over TLS; anything that gets a TCP connection to it can pair. Tailscale is the easiest: install it on the bridge box and your iPhone, and the bridge is reachable on its tailnet address from anywhere. See the Tailscale troubleshooting note below if you're using bare CGNAT IPs (the iOS-specific gotcha is documented there).

Troubleshooting

"Couldn't connect to server"

• Server online and on the same Wi-Fi as your iPhone
• Hostname/IP correct — try pinging from a Mac on the same LAN
• SMB2 (or higher) enabled on the server — SMB1 is not supported
• Share name matches exactly (case-sensitive on most servers)

"Authentication failed"

• Username is typically without domain prefix (ars, not WORKGROUP\ars)
• Some NAS systems require enabling "SMB file sharing" separately
• Test the same credentials from Finder → Go → Connect to Server to isolate client vs. server issues

DSD track plays silence or stutters

• USB DAC connected and powered on before starting playback
• DAC's DoP indicator showing DoP (not PCM)
• Some DACs need a powered hub for higher DSD rates via Lightning adapters
• Toggle Settings → Stream large DSD files off to force full pre-cache

"DSD rate not negotiated"

Your DAC doesn't advertise DoP for that sample rate. Confirm DoP mode is enabled on the DAC, and try a DSD64 file before DSD128/256.

Scan stops partway through

• A share-level connection drop aborts a scan. Tap Scan again — it skips folders that already completed.
• If a specific folder fails consistently, the Shares tab shows the underlying error.

Library looks stale after renaming an album on the server

Use Full rescan from the menu. Incremental scans skip folders whose modification time hasn't changed, so server-side renames need a full pass.

Bridge: pairing fails, TLS errors, certificate rotation, Tailscale gotchas

Bridge-side issues — pairing failures, "TLS fingerprint doesn't match", "certificate has changed since pairing", Tailscale CGNAT problems, protocol version mismatches, slow enrichment — are covered with full step-by-step fixes on the bridge troubleshooting page:

The short version, for the most common case (annual cert rotation): the bridge's TLS certificate is renewed at most once a year (Apple ATS caps self-signed cert validity at 398 days). When that happens, the iOS app refuses to silently accept the new cert by design. Open the bridge admin console, regenerate the pairing, and re-scan the QR or open the fresh bridge:// link on iPhone.

Known limitations

• DSD requires an external USB DAC. Built-in output, AirPlay, and Bluetooth don't do DSD — there's no path around this on iOS.
• SMB1 is not supported. Enable SMB2 or higher on your server.
• Hybrid DSD streaming is opt-in, not default. The default path is full pre-cache. This is deliberate — the failure mode of mid-stream underrun on DSD is worse than a few seconds of startup latency.
• Bridge pairings need to be refreshed annually. Apple ATS caps self-signed cert validity at ~one year on iOS 26.4+. The bridge re-issues automatically and warns in the admin console at ≤30 days; you scan a fresh QR from your iPhone to authorise the new cert. The pin contract guarantees the rotation is intentional. See the bridge troubleshooting page for related TLS / Tailscale notes.