MP3 Player Shield (SKU 12660) - MP3player.begin() Always Returns Error Code 6

Sensors Sound & Audio
1

Hi Sparkfun Team,

I am troubleshooting a SparkFun MP3 Player Shield (SKU 12660) and would appreciate any advice.

My setup is an Arduino UNO with the recommended library, standard wiring, and a stable power supply. However, MP3player.begin() always returns error code 6, indicating that communication with the VS1053 MP3 decoder cannot be established.

What I have already verified:

  • SD card initialization completes successfully.
  • The SD card functionality on the shield appears to be working normally.
  • Reset handling has been checked.
  • Power supply is stable and within specifications.
  • The same behavior occurs across multiple test environments.

Because the SD card portion is functioning while communication with the VS1053 consistently fails, I am beginning to suspect a possible hardware issue related to the VS1053 device or its SPI connection.

Before concluding that the board is defective, I would like to ask:

  • Is error code 6 typically associated with a configuration or software issue?
  • Are there any additional diagnostics I should perform to verify communication with the VS1053?
  • Has anyone experienced similar symptoms and identified the root cause?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Takashi

T4939795

2

Which library are you using?

3

Our guide used to use the Bill Porter one, which now points folks to use flaga’s version

And then we have our limited version

So…which one are ya using? I think the flaga one is the one you want

4

@billiejeanisnotmylover

@TS-Russell

Gentlemen,

Thank you very much for your support.

The end user has identified the root cause and resolved the issue.

After conducting additional testing, they discovered that the naming of the audio files was incorrect. Once the file names were corrected and the sketch was adjusted accordingly, the system began operating normally without any issues.

The customer would like to apologize for the confusion and any inconvenience caused during the investigation.

Thank you again for your assistance throughout this matter.

Best regards,

Takashi