Hello, I bought Synthesia on my Galaxy S10+, but it wouldn't unlock on my other devices logged into the same Google Play account. When I click on "Unlock" on those devices, they say I already own this item. Yet the app stays in it's unpaid form, even if I restart the device or close and reopen the app or Google Play. Internet connectivity is not an issue.
As of this moment, Google has already refunded me the payment I made because I had to wait for approval of registration to this forum. The automated support bot kept telling me I would already have access to the app on all my android apps. So its no help, then it just asks if I wanna start over. I can't believe this issue has never cropped up before seemingly, but it has.
Here's a video of what I'm talking about. This is my own recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMV1nRqKeWE (yes, I hit my tablet like a kid at the end lol)
The devices I tested here were: Galaxy S10+ (where I bought the app), Galaxy A50s (new late 2019 phone), Asus Transformer Trio Android (TX201LA), and NVIDIA shield. All of them allowed for the app to install from Google Play.
I liked the app so far, wanted to pay to enjoy it as a tablet game and maybe buy a MIDI keyboard later down the line but the app unlock got me frustrated. Any help here? I know its already been refunded (because there's a time limit for Google Play refunds) but I'd pay again if its fixed and unlocks on all devices.
Bought on Android App (Google Play) but wouldn't unlock on my other devices
When describing problems, always mention your OS and game version (shown at the bottom of the title screen).
If your keyboard has USB or MIDI ports, there is a tremendously high chance (>99%) it will work with Synthesia. See what you'll need on the keyboards page.
If your keyboard has USB or MIDI ports, there is a tremendously high chance (>99%) it will work with Synthesia. See what you'll need on the keyboards page.
We do see a similar version of this problem where it doesn't detect things on the other device for "a while". I've never been able to narrow down the steps to get it to show up, but they sometimes include restarting the tablet (which seems to refresh the list of purchases from the Play store) all the way to uninstalling/reinstalling the app. Sometimes in the opposite order. And sometimes that still doesn't seem to do anything... until 24 hours later when it suddenly starts working on its own. It is very frustrating and the Play store seems rather inconsistent in this regard.
This isn't a good work around because the unlock on our website costs more than the in-app purchase, but using our own "unlock key" system generally works every time without any of the hassle introduced by Google. That key can be used on all your tablets immediately. It's just unfortunate because that shouldn't be necessary. The whole point of giving Google 30% of our revenue is that they're supposed to sort these kinds of problem out. Sorry!
Oof. Alright, well I guess what I'll do is buy it with the tablet where I'll primarily use Synthesia and hope the rest of the devices follow suit. On the previous purchase I bought the app on my S10+ (cause it was easier with the fingerprint payment verification) but I was primarily looking to play it on the tablet/s. A bit frustrating but I'll repurchase knowing that it'll hopefully unlock on my other devices. Will keep you posted on the uhh... developments. Thank you!
I just released a Synthesia 10.6 beta with an updated in-app purchase library that has a small chance that this might be fixed.
If you'd like to try it, you can opt into beta versions of Synthesia on Android, here.
You'll know you have the latest version when it says 10.6.5311 in the lower-right corner of the title screen.
If you'd like to try it, you can opt into beta versions of Synthesia on Android, here.
You'll know you have the latest version when it says 10.6.5311 in the lower-right corner of the title screen.
Unfortunately this one still seems out of our hands. We're using the latest version of the Play store library and asking "did they purchase it" in the most direct way possible. Sometimes Google just says "no" when the answer is actually "yes".
The only bulletproof workaround I know of is to use an unlock key purchased from this website instead of the Android in-app purchase. That never fails to have the most up to date information and it works across all devices (PC, Mac, iPad, and Android) simultaneously.
I wish I had a better answer. Sorry!
The only bulletproof workaround I know of is to use an unlock key purchased from this website instead of the Android in-app purchase. That never fails to have the most up to date information and it works across all devices (PC, Mac, iPad, and Android) simultaneously.
I wish I had a better answer. Sorry!