17Troubleshooting
What you might see, why it happens, and what to do about it.
17.1How to use this chapter
Find the line that sounds like what you see. Read across to learn why it happens. Then try what it says, in order.
Most things here sort themselves out in a minute. If none of this helps, the last part of this chapter tells you how to reach a person.
17.2The app on your phone
| If | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| If the Motocamp icon has gone from your home screen | Motocamp lives on the web. The icon is only a shortcut to it. Deleting the icon leaves your account, your subscription, your saved routes and your Saved Spots as they were. | Put the shortcut back. On an iPhone or iPad, open Safari, go to motocampaustralia.com and sign in. Tap Share, then Add to Home Screen, then Add. On Android, open Chrome, go to motocampaustralia.com and sign in. Tap the three dots, then Install app, or Add to Home screen. |
| If you put the icon back and your offline maps have gone | Maps you download are kept on the phone itself, not with your account. | Open Menu, then the Offline tab. Download the areas you need again. Everything else comes back by itself when you sign in. |
| If a card keeps asking you to keep Motocamp on your phone | On a phone, the app asks each time you open it, until the home screen icon is there. | Follow the two taps it shows. Once the icon is on your home screen, it stops asking. |
| If on an iPhone the Add to Home Screen choice is missing | Only Safari can add a web app to the home screen on an iPhone or iPad. | Open Safari, not Chrome, and go to motocampaustralia.com. Then use Share. |
| If you are on a computer and want Motocamp in its own window | Chrome and Edge can open a web app in a window of its own. | Bookmark motocampaustralia.com. Or click the small install sign at the right end of the address bar. |
Step by step, with pictures: Keep the map with no signal
17.3Signing in
| If | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| If you can't remember your password | You can sign in with a code we email you instead. | On the sign-in card, tap Email me a sign-in code. Type your email and tap Send code. Type the 8-digit code from the email, then tap Sign in. |
| If the code email doesn't come | It can take a minute, and some mail lands in junk or spam. | Wait a minute. Check junk or spam. Tap Resend code for a fresh one. Use the newest code you get. |
| If it says That code doesn't match | The code was typed wrong, or an older code was used. | Open the newest email and type all 8 digits. If it says the code is no longer valid, tap Resend code. |
| If you joined with a username, not an email | Older accounts have no email, so a code can't reach you. | Use your recovery code. Type your username, the code and a new password on the sign-in card. No code? Tap Message us if you can't sign in. |
| If it says Incorrect username or password | The username, email or password doesn't match the account. | Tap Show to check the password as you type. Or tap Email me a sign-in code. |
| If it says Can't reach the server | The phone has no signal, or too little. | Move to better signal and try again. Once signed in, the app opens with no signal. |
| If you signed up in Facebook and the app now asks you to sign in | Facebook's own browser keeps its own sign-in, apart from Safari or Chrome. | Use the email you signed up with and tap Email me a sign-in code. |
NoteYour saved routes and Saved Spots are kept with your account. Signing in on a new phone brings them back.
17.4The map
| If | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| If the map stays blank or grey and you have no signal | The map comes over the phone signal unless you have downloaded it. The app may say: No offline maps are saved on this device yet. | Next time you have signal, open Menu, then Offline. Download the area you need. After that the map draws with no signal. |
| If the map stays blank and the Offline tab line is red | Map source is set to Offline only, but no map is downloaded yet. The line says the map is blank for that reason. | Open Menu, then Offline. Set Map source to Auto. Or download the map in that same tab. |
| If nothing loads, yet your phone shows signal | A weak signal can look fine but carry almost nothing. | On Auto, the app switches to your downloaded map by itself when nothing gets through. To make it use the downloaded map now, set Map source to Offline only. Set it back to Auto later. |
| If the satellite pictures stay blank with no signal | Satellite pictures come over the phone signal. | Tap the Sat button at the bottom left of the map. It changes to Topo. The topo map works with no signal once downloaded. |
| If the map looks out of date after an update | An open app keeps the version it started with. | Close the app fully, then open it again with signal. That loads the newest version. |
17.5Your position and GPS
GPS means the satellites your phone uses to find where you are. It needs a clear view of the sky.
| If | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| If there is no blue dot, or it is in the wrong place | The app needs your permission to use your location. | On an iPhone or iPad, open Settings, then Safari, then Location, and allow it. Check that Location Services is on too. On Android, allow location when Chrome asks. |
| If the map says This position is approximate | The phone guessed from wifi or phone towers, not from GPS. The note says roughly how far out it may be. | Move outside, away from tall buildings. Give the phone a minute to find the satellites. |
| If navigation shows Weak GPS | Your position is only good to about 50 metres or worse. Trees, gorges, tunnels and tall buildings do this. | Keep going. The note goes once the phone finds the sky again. Until then, the arrow can sit off the road. |
| If navigation shows No GPS | No position has come from the phone for 15 seconds. | Keep the phone where it can see the sky, such as high on the dash. Check location is still allowed. |
| If an offline map download stops when the screen locks, on a Samsung phone | Samsung battery settings can put Chrome to sleep. | Open Settings, then Battery, then Background usage limits, then Never auto sleeping apps. Add Chrome. Then open Motocamp and tap the download again. It carries on from where it stopped. |
17.6Planning a route
| If | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| If a stop you typed is not found | The app could not match the words to a place. It says: Could not find, then the words, then: Check the spelling, or pick it from the suggestions. | Type the first few letters again. Tap the place in the list that drops down. Or tap the spot on the map instead. |
| If it says No road joins these points | A pin may sit off the road map, on an island, or across a ferry. | Drag the pin onto a road. Then tap Plan Route again. |
| If it says Routing servers are unavailable right now | The service that works out routes did not answer in time. | Wait a minute, then tap Plan Route again. |
| If it says No signal, so there's nothing to plan with | Working out a new route needs signal, or the routes kept on your phone. | Open Menu, then Offline. Download the first card, for the whole country. It holds the routes as well as the map. A saved route still draws with no signal. |
| If it says No routing pack on this phone yet | The routes for planning with no signal are not on this phone. | With signal, open Menu, then Offline. Download the first card, for the whole country. |
| If navigation says you are offline and can't reroute | You left the route with no signal, and the routes are not on your phone. | Head back to the green line, or wait for signal. Next time, download the whole country card before you leave. |
| If the route goes a long way round | The app keeps you off roads that are closed on your trip day. With a towing setup it also keeps to gentler roads. | Check the Leaving on date in the Route tab. Check the Vehicle for this route. The Route Summary says why a route is longer. |
Step by step, with pictures: Plan your own route, stop by stop · Closed roads, checked for your trip day
17.7Voice and alerts
| If | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| If the voice stays silent in navigation | Spoken directions may be muted. The VOICE button in navigation then reads MUTED. | Tap MUTED in the bar at the bottom of navigation. It changes back to VOICE. |
| If the voice is still silent | The Speak turn directions switch may be off. Or the phone may be on silent, or its volume low. | Open Menu, then Layers. Under Voice Guidance, turn on Speak turn directions. Tap Test to hear it. Turn the phone volume up. |
| If there are no spoken turns at all | The voice reads out turns on a planned route. With no route, there are no turns to read. | Plan a route, then tap Start on the map. |
| If the voice sounds odd, or you want another one | The app uses the voices built into your phone. Which ones you get depends on the phone. | Open Menu, then Layers. Under Voice Guidance, pick another from the Voice list. Tap Test. |
| If the Speed Limit Alert stays quiet | It only comes in navigation, on public roads with a posted limit in the map. You must be more than your chosen amount over for about 4 seconds. It starts at 20 km/h. | Open Menu, then Layers. Check Alert in navigation is on under Speed Limit Alert. Check the number in Alert when over by. |
| If the Speed Limit Alert came once and not again | It comes again every 90 seconds while you stay over. | Nothing to do. This keeps it from nagging. |
| If you see the speed notice but hear nothing | Spoken directions are muted. Muted means the notice only, with no chime or voice. | Tap MUTED in navigation to turn the sound back on. |
Step by step, with pictures: A quiet heads-up when you're over the limit
17.8Plan with AI
AI here means the helper that turns the trip you describe into a route.
| If | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| If it says You've hit today's AI route limit (15) | Each account can send Plan with AI 15 messages a day. | Try again after 10 in the morning in Sydney, or 11 when the clocks go forward. Or plan it yourself in the Route tab under Plan Your Route. |
Step by step, with pictures: Tell it your trip, get a route
17.9Your subscription
| If | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| If a screen asks you to pick a plan and add a card | Your trial or subscription has ended, or the card step was never finished. There is no free version. | Pick a plan and add a card. Or tap Sign out. Nothing you saved is deleted. |
| If it says Subscriptions are briefly unavailable | The plan prices didn't load. | Tap it to try again. |
| If after paying it says activation is taking a little longer | The payment arrived, but your account hasn't caught up yet. | Give it a minute, then close and open the app again. |
| If you want to cancel or change your card | Both happen on your billing page. | Open Menu, then Account. Tap Manage or cancel subscription. |
| If there's a payment you don't recognise | Motocamp shows on bank statements as MOTOCAMP. | Open Menu, then Account, then Manage or cancel subscription to see your receipts. Or email [email protected]. |
17.10How the app updates itself
There is no app store to visit. The app updates itself when you open it with signal.
On a phone it happens quietly, in the first two minutes after you open the app. It only happens before you touch anything. It also happens when you come back after four hours or more away.
It never happens while you navigate, while a route is on the map, or while a download runs. It waits for the next fresh start instead.
On a computer, a small bar says New version ready. Click Update to load it now. Click the cross to wait until you next open the page.
| If | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| If something still looks old | The phone has not had a fresh start with signal since the change. | Close the app fully. Open it again with signal and wait a moment before you tap. |
17.11Battery
| If | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| If the battery runs down fast in navigation | Navigation keeps the screen on so you can see the next turn. A screen that stays on uses power. | Plug the phone into a charger in the vehicle. Tap END when you arrive, so the screen can sleep. |
| If the battery runs down fast with weak signal | A phone works harder to fetch the map over a weak signal. | Download your maps before you leave. With Map source on Auto, the app uses them when the signal fades. |
| If you want the phone to work less hard | Satellite pictures come over the signal. 3D draws the hills as well as the map. | Use the topo map, flat. The two buttons at the bottom left of the map should read Topo and 2D. |
17.12Talk to a person
If none of this helps, please tell us. A person reads every message.
- Something wrong on the map, like a campsite that has gone or a fee that has changed: open Menu and tap Report a problem at the very bottom. Or long press the spot on the map.
- Can't sign in: tap Message us if you can't sign in on the sign-in card. It opens a short form that works without a mail app.
- Anything else: email [email protected].
Please give the email or username you signed up with. Say what you were doing when it happened. That is usually enough for us to find your account and answer in one go.