Songbird TroubleshootingProblem: My sensor is never discovered in the app.
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Solution: You have to pedal, or shake the sensor around for testing. Your Songbird sensor will not be active/visible to your device unless it's moving.
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Solution: In Songbird, go to Options in the main menu then Select Sensor. Hold the sensor near your device and shake it. If you are able to select the sensor here but it just never registers pedaling when you start the game, try making sure the sensor is in Cadence mode and keep pedaling for a longer time at game start. Also, re-selecting the sensor this way in Options will re-calibrate it, fixing most calibration-related issues.
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Solution: In Android, go to Settings, Apps, Songbird, and turn on the Location setting. "Allow all the time" must be selected if available - newer Android versions require this in order to communicate with your Bluetooth sensor.
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Solution: In Android, go to Settings, Location and make sure it is ON. This is needed to communicate with your Bluetooth sensor.
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Solution: In Android, go to Settings, Connections and make sure Bluetooth is ON. This is needed to communicate with your Bluetooth sensor.
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Solution: Are you sure you're using your Songbird sensor? Only the Songbird sensor works with the Songbird game - other cadence sensors do not work.
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Solution: Remove and re-install the battery in the Songbird sensor. Note, if your sensor shipped with an insulation sheet on the battery, discard it.
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Solution: If your sensor is asking for a code, you can find the code in an email that was sent when your order shipped, OR by Logging In.
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Solution: Replace the battery in the Songbird sensor, even if it's brand new.
Problem: I have to pedal too fast, or the sensor responds too slowly, or after playing for a while it becomes too hard to pedal.
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Solution: Re-calibrate your sensor by going to Options from the main menu and re-selecting your sensor. Songbird uses a dynamic calibration method to keep you challenged and allow compatibility with all kinds of fitness equipment. If you pedaled too fast previously or shook the sensor too hard it can cause the calibration to be too aggressive and re-selecting the sensor will reset the calibration.
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Solution: Make sure your sensor is in Cadence mode. Using Speed mode when your sensor is installed as a cadence sensor appears to work at first but will cause calibration issues.
Problem: Songbird runs too slowly on my phone (frame rate is too low, screen freezes for a few seconds sometimes, animations are not smooth)
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Solution: In Songbird, main menu, tap Options and make sure the graphics quality is all the way down. Higher quality levels may require a faster phone.
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Solution: If your phone gets hot, try re-orienting it for better cooling, or you can even buy a fan that straps to your phone for cooling. Some phones will reduce performance when they begin to heat up.
Problem: After playing for a while, my game crashes. (This may be preceded by weird graphics glitches.)
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Solution: In Songbird, main menu, tap Options and make sure the graphics quality is all the way down. Higher quality levels may require a faster phone.
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Solution: In Android, go to Settings, Device Care, Memory. Close apps to free up as much memory as you can. A crash-without-error in Songbird is always caused when your device runs out of RAM.
Problem: In VR mode, my view starts to drift or get out of sync with the direction I'm facing.
Solution: This is a problem with your phone/Android and not a problem with Songbird: it's called "VR Drift". Search online for *your phone model* fix VR drift. Typically the steps involved include resetting your gyroscope (which might be done by restarting the phone), moving it away from any source of radiation like USB or other Bluetooth devices, and laying your phone on a flat surface until the loading screen disappears. You can also mitigate this issue: just look straight ahead and hold the button until the in-game menu appears and your view will automatically be centered.
Problem: When I'm using VR, the lenses in my VR headset fog up.
Solution: Try washing the lenses with soapy water, but allow them to air-dry instead of drying with a towel. The soap can leave a residue which prevents fogging.
Problem: Songbird takes too long to load when I open it to count my calories.
Solution: Android phones sometimes automatically close apps that are running in the background to save batteries, so when you go back to them (even if they say they're open) they have to reload from scratch. To change this behavior, in Android, go to Settings, Battery and Device Care, Battery, Background usage limits, Never sleeping apps, then click the arbitrarily placed "+" plus sign and add Songbird. (May be slightly different depending on your Android version.) Songbird uses a lot of memory when it's open, but it doesn't do anything when you're not playing, so it won't significantly reduce your battery life to do this.
Problem: I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the game to reset my progress or troubleshoot an issue but my save game data remains after reinstalling!
Solution: This is a ridiculous (because it's so opaque) behavior of Android. Google, using algorithms crafted by 1000 maniacal interns working at 1000 keyboards for 1000 years, automatically stores none, some, or all of your app data in imagination land without telling you, and then restores it when you reinstall the app without telling you. Depending on the cycle of the moon and how many parrots are within a 6.3 mile radius of you, this condition may cause your data for Songbird or any other app to cling to you relentlessly even if you root your phone and clean everything with a file manager. Anyways, just go to Settings, Accounts and backup, Backup and restore, Google Account, Automatic restore and turn it OFF. (Of course, then it will be off for all apps. The procedure may be different depending on your Android version.) SIDE NOTE: you can also reset your story progress from the Options menu of Songbird.
A blue lock icon locks my screen when I'm playing and I don't touch the screen for a while (such as in VR mode or with Autopilot).
Solution: Restart Songbird, hold your phone in portrait mode, swipe up, and tap the little game controller icon at bottom left on the little menu that pops up. Then tap the picture of a gear at the top right of the next menu. Then tap Auto screen lock and set it to None. Then sit back and lament that someone thought it would be appropriate to add this *ADDITIONAL* way that your phone locks itself, turn it on by default when your phone updates itself without your knowledge or consent, and ignore the API commands that apps like ours send to Android telling it the screen should always be on.
There is no audio in Songbird.
Solution: Restart Songbird, hold your phone in portrait mode, swipe up, and tap the little game controller icon at bottom left on the little menu that pops up. Make sure there is no option selected there to mute games or applications. Then tap the picture of a gear at the top right of the next menu. Then tap Auto screen lock and set it to None. Then sit back and lament that someone thought it would be appropriate to add this *ADDITIONAL* way that your phone locks itself, turn it on by default when your phone updates itself without your knowledge or consent, and ignore the API commands that apps like ours send to Android telling it the screen should always be on.
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