Help

The usual problems, and what to do about them

Installing the app didn’t work

The steps are on the download page. If Android stops you partway, find the message you saw:

“For your security, your phone is not allowed to install unknown apps from this source”: tap Settings, turn on Allow from this source, then go back and tap Install again.
“Blocked by Play Protect” or “Unsafe app blocked”: Play Protect doesn’t know apps from outside the Play Store. Tap More details, then Install anyway.
“App not installed”, or “The package conflicts with an existing package”: an older LibotBulacan signed differently, such as a test build, is already on the phone. Uninstall it, then install this one. Your account and progress are on the server, so just sign in again. The same message can also mean the phone is out of space: free some up and try again.
“There was a problem parsing the package”: the download didn’t finish, or the phone runs Android older than 7.0. Download the file again, on Wi-Fi if you can, and check Settings → About phone → Android version.
You can’t find the file: open Chrome’s menu → Downloads, or the Files app → Downloads, and tap libot-…apk.

Still stuck? Use Something else below and tell us the exact message and your phone’s model.

My arrival at a spot wasn’t detected

Arrival needs location permission, and you need to be close to the spot: each spot has its own arrival distance, usually about 50 metres. With Allow all the time, LibotBulacan recognises your arrival and sends an alert even when it’s closed; with While using the app, only while LibotBulacan is open on your screen. Indoors or under heavy cover GPS can drift, so step outside and give it a moment.

Some phones stop apps running in the background to save battery. If arrival alerts don’t come while LibotBulacan is closed, set LibotBulacan’s battery usage to Unrestricted (or turn off battery optimisation for it) in your phone’s settings.

“A spot is nearby” alerts

When you come near a spot you haven’t visited yet, usually within about 500 metres (each spot sets its own distance), LibotBulacan tells you, and tapping the alert opens directions. Each spot is announced at most once a day. Like arrival alerts, these come while the app is closed only with Allow all the time, and after a phone restart they start again once you open LibotBulacan. To turn them off without losing arrival alerts, switch off the Nearby spots notification category in your phone’s settings for LibotBulacan.

AR won’t start

AR needs camera permission and a phone that supports Google Play Services for AR (ARCore) or, on iPhone, ARKit. You also have to be at the spot: away from it, AR View doesn’t open and offers directions instead. If you turned the camera off for LibotBulacan, the app shows a button to your phone’s Settings.

I didn’t get my badge

Badges are awarded after your visit is recorded. Pull down to refresh on the Badges screen. If it still hasn’t appeared after a few minutes, get in touch.

My review was removed, or I can’t post reviews

You can review a spot once you have visited it with the app. Until your arrival there is recorded, the spot page shows its reviews with “Visit to write a review” instead of the review box.

Reviews that break the Terms can be removed by an administrator. A warning stops you posting reviews for 7 days, and any warning after that for 14 days. A warning never suspends your account. A suspension is a separate step: while suspended you can’t use your account at all, and it opens again by itself when the suspension ends. Suspensions last 7 days, then 14, and a third is a permanent ban. An administrator can also lift any of these early. The steps are in Moderation. If your account is banned, you can appeal from the app.

Something else

Email the developers at support@libotbulacan.com. Tell us what phone you have and what you were doing when it went wrong; a screenshot helps. The button below writes the email for you.

I have a suggestion

A feature you would like, a spot we should add, something to change in the app or on this website: send it to the developers. The button below writes it into an email to support@libotbulacan.com, which you send from your own email.