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Firefox will not play SermonConnect mp3 files that were uploaded to Amazon S3 server using the S3 Organizer tool after Jan.7 2014. Previously uploaded files OK.

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Files uploaded to the Amazon S3 server are accessed through our website at littlecountrychurch.org. Any media files uploaded prior to Jan. 7, 2014, play properly on our media page. Files uploaded after Jan. 7 refuse to play on the Firefox browser. To add confusion, other browsers- Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer on Windows and Macs- play these files properly. Also, an older version of Firefox on an XP laptop plays the files properly. We even ran a test by downloading a working file from the S3 server, re-uploaded the file, and Firefox wouldn't play the freshly uploaded file, though it continued to play the same previously uploaded file with no problem.

Files uploaded to the Amazon S3 server are accessed through our website at littlecountrychurch.org. Any media files uploaded prior to Jan. 7, 2014, play properly on our media page. Files uploaded after Jan. 7 refuse to play on the Firefox browser. To add confusion, other browsers- Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer on Windows and Macs- play these files properly. Also, an older version of Firefox on an XP laptop plays the files properly. We even ran a test by downloading a working file from the S3 server, re-uploaded the file, and Firefox wouldn't play the freshly uploaded file, though it continued to play the same previously uploaded file with no problem.

Chosen solution

The problem is the content-type header being sent from S3. The old MP3s are designated "audio/mpeg", which is perfect. The new ones are designated "application/download" which does not work in Firefox's native HTML5 audio player. (The inset in the screen shots is pasted from a screen shot of the Fiddler proxy.)

On a normal web server, all .mp3 files served from the same folder typically have the same content-type. Something seems to be different about Amazon's storage, perhaps based on some difference in their environment "under the covers."

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All Replies (7)

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Chosen Solution

The problem is the content-type header being sent from S3. The old MP3s are designated "audio/mpeg", which is perfect. The new ones are designated "application/download" which does not work in Firefox's native HTML5 audio player. (The inset in the screen shots is pasted from a screen shot of the Fiddler proxy.)

On a normal web server, all .mp3 files served from the same folder typically have the same content-type. Something seems to be different about Amazon's storage, perhaps based on some difference in their environment "under the covers."

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Do you see the media player at all or just an empty bar?

On Mac there is current no support for playing MP3 files with the built-in HTML5 medias player like is available on other Windows an Linux platforms.

Is Firefox using the embed tag with a Flash player?


Reload web page(s) and bypass the cache to refresh possibly outdated or corrupted files.

  • Hold down the Shift key and left-click the Reload button
  • Press "Ctrl + F5" or press "Ctrl + Shift + R" (Windows,Linux)
  • Press "Command + Shift + R" (Mac)

Clear the cache and cookies only from websites that cause problems.

"Clear the Cache":

  • Firefox > Preferences > Advanced > Network > Cached Web Content: "Clear Now"

"Remove Cookies" from sites causing problems:

  • Firefox > Preferences > Privacy > Cookies: "Show Cookies"
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Researching this issue further, S3Fox usually assigns the correct (standard) content-type automatically, so I'm not sure why this is happening unless the file is being uploaded with some strange file extension and then being renamed to .mp3.

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Thanks, this gave me enough info to solve the problem! I found where in the S3 Management Console in AWS to change the content type - under the Properties/Meta Data for the specific files. Changed them to audio/mpeg. Also found in the S3 Fox Organizer where we could upload files correctly - the pull-down next to the upload button offers a choice of Upload/Set custom headers where the content type can be set. I appreciate your help!

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It was working until about January 7th - the default was the correct audio/mpeg content type. However, it started setting our mp3 files to application/download instead, hence the mix of content types on the web page. We will now use the Set Custom Headers option for uploads in S3 Fox Organizer. Thank you.

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Thank you - we tried this but it didn't solve the problem. See reply to jscher200 for solution. Thanks

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Glad you found that setting, and I don't know why it would have changed recently. If you had to use the Firefox reset feature for other reasons and then reinstalled S3Fox, that might explain it because the old "custom" settings for your extensions also do not survive a reset.