6 Tips for Troubleshooting Apps

Our team of educators and parents spend their days managing devices, apps and kids. They have come across many of their own struggles and often field questions about apps and devices from the greater KinderTown community. This blog post contains their answers to frequently asked questions, plus tips for maximizing time and limiting issues when dealing with apps and devices.

Tips for Troubleshooting Apps

Questions answered below:

• I’m having issues with an app. What should I do?
• Why can’t I hear any sound for this iPad app? I know the volume is up and the sound isn’t muted.

I’m having issues with an app. What should I do?

This question is broad. There are a lot of potential issues you could be experiencing and a lot of potential causes of those issues. The suggestions below are the equivalent of “duct tape” solutions. What we mean is, they don’t fix all problems, but they’re handy suggestions that can be used to fix a lot of problems.

Most likely you’ll encounter an app that freezes, crashes, or acts in some other way strange. In those cases, these are the first things we’d recommend trying. These suggestions are for Apple products, but Android products have similar options.

(If you’re not a “do it yourself” type or have more patience than us, skip to suggestion #6)

1. Force an app to close – Tap the home button twice, quickly. A list of recently used apps will appear. Scroll left and right to locate the app. Tap and hold the app. When it starts to jiggle, tap the red minus sign to close it. Tap the home button and try to open the app again.

2. Check if there are any updates to the app – Launch the app store and go to “Updates.” You can also search for the app by name. If there is an update available, the app’s page will offer you the option to “Update” where you usually “Install.”

3. Restart your device – Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button for a few seconds until the red “slide to power off” slider appears and then slide the slider. To turn it back on, you’ll need to press and hold the Sleep/Wake button again until the Apple logo appears. (Sometimes people forget they need to hold the button and get concerned when their phone won’t turn back on.)

4. Delete the app and reinstall it – First delete the app by touching and holding the icon until it jiggles. Tap the “x” to delete it. When prompted, tap “Delete.” Press the home button and launch the App Store. Search for the application and download it again. Note: You should not have to pay for an app again. If you’re asked to pay, then you have logged in with an iTunes account that’s different from the one you bought the app with.

5. Check for updates to your device software – Sometimes app updates require you to upgrade to the latest iOS software (the latest iOS is iOS11). To check if you need to update your iOS, go to Settings > General > Software Update. If an update is available you can tap “Download” to download the update. When prompted, tap “Install” to update your iOS.

6. Contact the developer (preferably through email) – Users sometimes leave a review in the App Store asking the app developer for help. DON’T DO THIS. The developer can’t reply directly to App Store reviews and has no way to find out your contact information.

Instead, find the developer’s website. It usually has a way to contact the developer directly. The App Store page for the app will also have a link to the developer’s support page. Don’t hesitate to reach out to developers. They all appreciate hearing from users (at least, at KinderTown we do).

Why can’t I hear any sound for this iPad app? I know the volume is up and the sound isn’t muted.

Most people know that the switch on the upper left-hand side of the iPhone turns the phone’s ringer and sound alerts off and switches it to vibrate depending on your settings.

What some people don’t realize (and this includes a KinderTown team member who shall not be named) is that your iPad has a similar switch on the upper right-hand side. If this switch is showing you a red dot, then you won’t be able to hear any app sounds. Switch it the other direction and this will solve your issue.