How Audex actually works

A self-hosted-first media player for Android, for music, video, audiobooks and radio. It doesn't host or stream any content of its own — it plays from a media server you already run, files already on your device or in your own cloud storage, internet radio, and your own PDFs and EPUBs read aloud. Nothing to re-upload, nothing rented back to you.

No. Local files, a Google Drive/Dropbox/OneDrive folder, internet radio, and your own books all work with nothing else set up. A media server is one more source you can add, not a requirement to get started.

30 days with every feature unlocked, starting the first time you open the app. It's tied to your device (and to your Google account too, if you sign in) rather than the install, so reinstalling doesn't reset it. After the trial, a single $5 payment through Google Play unlocks Audex for good, on every device signed into the same Google account. There's no subscription at any point.

From Settings: "Media servers" to connect a server, "Local files" to add a folder from your device or a cloud account, or "Books" to import a PDF or EPUB. Each source shows up as its own tab in your Library once added.

Audex speaks English, Arabic (العربية), German (Deutsch), Spanish (Español), and Portuguese (Português, Brazil) — on the phone, in the car, on the TV, and on the watch. It follows your phone's language by default; to choose a different one, go to Settings → Language. In Arabic the whole layout runs right to left.

Jellyfin, Emby, Plex, Subsonic and its compatible siblings (Navidrome, OpenSubsonic, Airsonic), Audiobookshelf, and Kodi. WebDAV addresses and SMB network shares can be added the same way and streamed folder by folder.

Settings → Media servers → Add a server. Jellyfin, Emby, and Kodi servers on your network appear under "On this network" — tap one and its address is filled in. Otherwise pick the type, enter its address (and username/password if it needs one), and Audex tests the connection before saving — so you know it worked before you leave the screen.

Yes, each with its own nickname. Switch between them from the same source picker you use for Local Files and Books.

On Jellyfin, Emby, Plex, and Kodi, Audex can browse and play video the same way it plays audio. Subsonic-family servers and Audiobookshelf are audio-only, matching what those platforms themselves serve.

No — credentials are saved encrypted on your device the first time you connect, so you're not re-entering them on every launch.

First, confirm the server itself is actually reachable from wherever your phone currently is — the same Wi-Fi network at home, or a VPN/reverse proxy if you're away. Then double-check that the address and port saved in Audex still match what the server is really listening on; a server restart or a router change can shift this. If you use the server both at home and away, give it a second address (see Home Servers below) so Audex can switch on its own.

Yes, from any server — download a track, an album, or a whole playlist so a spotty connection doesn't interrupt a commute.

Follow the step-by-step Raspberry Pi guide: it installs Navidrome, a free music server that runs comfortably on a Pi, copies your music across, and connects Audex to it — with a video walkthrough if you'd rather watch first.

For Subsonic and Navidrome servers, it tells the server to send your files exactly as they are instead of converting them on the fly. That's much less work for a small server like a Raspberry Pi, at the cost of more mobile data away from home. Turn it on when you add the server, or later from its page in Settings → Media servers.

Edit the server and add a Second address — for example its VPN address (such as Tailscale) or a public URL. Audex uses your home address when it can, and switches to the second one by itself when the first can't be reached. You can see which one is in use on the server's page.

Yes. The first time, Audex shows the certificate's details and SHA-256 fingerprint so you can compare them with your server and trust exactly that certificate (or the private authority that issued it). If the certificate ever changes unexpectedly, Audex stops and asks before connecting again.

Yes — Audex loads large libraries in pages, so every album, artist, and audiobook appears, however big the collection is.

Yes. On the TV, open Import from phone, then send your servers from the phone app. They arrive with their addresses, logins, and any trusted certificates.

Any folder on your device via the system file picker, plus one-tap shortcuts for WhatsApp's and WhatsApp Business's voice-note folders and your phone's own voice recorder folder.

Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive folders, from Settings → Local files. WebDAV addresses and SMB network shares are added under Settings → Media servers, where they stream folder by folder.

Automatically, into Albums, Artists, and Folders, based on each file's own tags and its location on disk — there's no manual tagging step.

Yes — a Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive folder downloads once to your device, then plays exactly like a local file with no live connection needed afterward. For a WebDAV or SMB folder, choose Keep offline on it, and Audex downloads it and keeps it in sync.

PDF and EPUB.

Audex reads the book's own table of contents where one exists, rather than guessing chapter breaks from a fixed page count — so chapters in the app match the real chapters in the book.

A fully offline neural voice (nothing sent anywhere once it's downloaded), your phone's own built-in text-to-speech as a no-setup fallback, or a Google Cloud Text-to-Speech voice using an API key you supply yourself.

Audex detects each chapter's language and reads it with a voice for that language, so an Arabic book gets an Arabic voice even if the app is in English. Offline voices are available for English, Arabic, German, Spanish, and Portuguese (download them in Settings → Books & voices); other languages use your phone's built-in voices. If a book is detected wrongly, pick its language in the book player's Voice menu.

Cloud voices sound noticeably more natural. Using your own key also means your usage is billed against your own Google Cloud free-tier allowance — it's never shared with any other Audex user's usage.

It's billed to your own Google Cloud account, not shared with any other Audex user, and the Text-to-Speech API includes a free monthly quota that's generous for typical listening.

1. Create a Google Cloud project

   If you don't already have one, create a new project — this is just a free container for the API you're about to enable. Any name works.

   Create a project in Google Cloud Console
2. Enable billing on the project

   Google Cloud requires a billing account attached before it will issue API keys for most APIs, even ones with a free tier — you won't be charged unless you go past the free monthly quota, and you can set a spending cap.

   Set up billing
3. Enable the Text-to-Speech API

   With your project selected, enable the Cloud Text-to-Speech API for it — the same link Audex's own "Get an API key" button opens.

   Enable the Text-to-Speech API
4. Create an API key

   Go to APIs & Services → Credentials, click Create Credentials, and choose API key. Google Cloud generates the key immediately — copy it somewhere safe.

   Open Credentials
5. Recommended: restrict the key to Text-to-Speech only

   On the same Credentials page, click the key you just created, and under API restrictions choose Restrict key and select only Cloud Text-to-Speech API — so the key can't be used for anything else if it were ever leaked.

6. Paste it into Audex

   In Audex, go to Settings → Books & voices → Cloud voices, turn on Use your own Google Cloud API key, and paste the key in. It's stored encrypted, only on your device.

Yes, per book or per chapter.

The Radio Browser directory — a free, community-maintained list of thousands of real internet radio stations, searchable by name, country, or genre.

Yes — paste any direct stream URL you already have.

A correction curve measured for a specific pair of headphones, so the equalizer reshapes what you hear to match how that exact model performs — not a generic bass/treble guess. Audex bundles 113 of them.

Automatically matches loudness between tracks recorded at different volumes, so you're not reaching for the volume dial every time a new track starts.

Yes — speed and pitch are independent controls, so slowing a lecture down doesn't make the narrator sound like a chipmunk.

Yes, with a fixed duration or an "end of current track/chapter" option.

Yes, to any Chromecast-compatible device, from any source.

Yes — browse and control playback from the car's own screen, with steering-wheel button support.

Yes, a standalone companion for your watch. Download tracks directly to it for a run with no phone nearby, or mirror whatever's currently playing on your phone in real time.

Yes, a separate app built for the living room and a remote, with the same server connections, radio, and offline downloads as the phone app — plus a way to send local files straight from your phone to the TV over your home network.

No — one purchase, tied to your Google account, covers every device you sign into. The TV app has the same 30-day free trial; to unlock it, buy Audex in the phone app with the same Google account, then press Refresh on the TV.

No. One payment, once, after the free trial. Nothing recurs, and no feature is later moved behind a second paywall.

No. Your purchase is tied to your Google account, and the trial to your device (and your Google account, if you sign in), rather than the install — so both carry over automatically.

See Delete Your Account and Data — it explains exactly what is and isn't deleted, and lets you confirm and delete it immediately.

Not on any server we operate — it's stored on your device only. See the full Privacy Policy for exactly what does and doesn't leave your device.

No, never — and there are no analytics or tracking SDKs in the app either.