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CloudLibrary App Complaints & User Negative Comments 2024
CloudLibrary app received 102 complaints, negative comments and reviews by users. Have you ever had a bad experience using CloudLibrary? Can you share your negative thoughts about cloudlibrary?
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CloudLibrary for Negative User Reviews
✓ FrustratingThis would be a great app if it could remember my book marked page, not have disappearing or repeating text and duplicate pages. For anyone having the issue of the app crashing (this happened to me before most recent update) then try switching off WiFi on your iPad - this prevented the issue of the app crashing when opening the book. Please run another update to fix these bugs!! Using it with Surrey Libraries.Version: 3.7.2
✓ Unreliable, riddled with problemsOf all the reading apps out there, why oh why use this? While I am grateful that ebooks are available to borrow from the library; I would be even more grateful for an app that actually works. Where to start: after closing the app & on reopening it, the pages can’t be turned anymore, sticking to the same page. After the latest update, which seems to have stopped pages sticking, the bookmark function has stopped working. At times, the app closes on its own for no good reason. I could go on, but you get the picture. If I could give it no stars, I would. Sort it out!.Version: 4.5.18
✓ Three starsAs a previous reviewer said, it keeps going back to the 'my book' page and then doesn't always load the book but goes back to the Apple main screen. Very annoying. I am using an ipad2 so that may be the problem. Just never had it with the previous app that the public library used..Version: 3.5.13
✓ Will you please fix this app?!Updated after iPhone upgrade: I just did the upgrade on my iPhone 6 and app won’t even open. So sorry I upgraded as now I can’t listen to my checked out audio books. Please get your developers working on bug and performance fixes. This app is a disappointment! I mainly use the iPad version and am displeased and frustrated with it, especially the new UI. History does not work. The biggest frustration is that every time I stop reading at book mid chapter, when I reopen the app it goes back to the beginning of the chapter. I thought a work around would be to set a bookmark before I closed the app, but that doesn’t work because the bookmark takes me to the beginning of the chapter. Earlier versions of this app did not have this problem. You need to deploy an emergency bug fix release soon as you’ve made this an unusable tool for reading ebooks from my library and I’m sure they are paying lot of money for their ebook subscriptions..Version: 4.5.18
✓ Don’t bother if you use audiobooks!Warning to any audiobook lovers- This app doesn’t use standard Bluetooth controls, thus rendering the player a frustrating nightmare. If you press back because you miss heard something it will take you to the beginning of the chapter. Same story for forward. this has been like this for years, the app devs just don’t care. This is the only audiobook player that works like this..Version: 5.9.1
✓ Frustrated after last two updatesWas very impressed when I first started to use this app, but after updates have found it most unreliable, lost the dictionary function then it re-appeared but when I try to use it either won’t highlight the required word or randomly selects a completely different piece of text, also find half a page missing have to go back and forth several times until it suddenly appears. Wish I hadn’t installed the updates please fix these issues!.Version: 4.2.28
✓ False “furthest point” pop-upsIts location tracking is poor. After a restart, or even just after not using the app for a few hours, it opens to the start of the chapter I’m reading instead of to the page I’m reading. If you take it up on the offer to go to your furthest point read, that is where it takes you - or to the last page of the previous chapter. And right now it’s popping up dialogue boxes to take me to my “furthest” point about once every 30 seconds, making me hit No over and over, which is so annoying that I’m here writing my first ever app review. It normally does this every now and then - but it’s gone into overdrive. Fun times! Also, I don’t know if it’s how my local library did their set-up, or if it’s inherent in the system, but I was reduced to scrolling through their entire catalogue of several thousand history books, because there was no meaningful way of refining my search to my more specific areas of interest..Version: 5.0.6
✓ Poorly-Designed User Interface and FunctionalitySuddenly the eBooks from my library are available only in this format, rather than Kindle. It was okay, definitely not great, for the first couple books I read using this app. But the search capability isn’t very useful, and the text selection ability is awful (I still haven’t been able to get copying to work at all, or to highlight or look up more than one word at a time). Now I’m trying to read a publication that has copious footnotes, which I would dearly like to read. Although they appear as blue superscript numbers, they aren’t active, i.e., you can’t tap on a footnote number, read the associated footnote text, and return to where you were in the main text. No, you have to set a bookmark for the first page of notes at the end of the book, activate the menu, select Notes/Highlights, and then navigate through to the desired numbered footnote. And then, it seems, you have to navigate, via the Table of Contents or the bottom page slider, back to the page you were previously reading..Version: 3.5.13
✓ Crashes all the timeIt’s easy to find and borrow books, but the app crashes all the time when I’m reading. Even when I restart the app, it will crash again when I get to that same page. (To get the page to load, you have to use the linked TOC in the front of the book to go past the crash page, and then back to it.) Also, the bookmarking and table of contents features don’t seem to work..Version: 4.2.19
✓ Scroll option please!!!!I haven’t really had any problems with this app (I don’t listen to audiobooks so I don’t have troubles with them) and all the books I’ve borrowed work fine. The only issue I have is that I hate the page flip way of reading; I much prefer scrolling down, like on Wattpad. A scrolling option would add more variety and for me, I read more smoothly with scrolling and auto-scroll options..Version: 4.6.52
✓ New Update Ruins Reading ExperienceI’m someone who’s willing to pay foe good apps, so maybe the fact this one is free tells you how little support there will be. The recent update (September 2020) has made this almost unusable on the IPad. It switches back and forth between light and dark background. It routinely loses track of the last read location, meaning the reader has to recall and move around each time the book is closed. And an annoying popup window appears every 3 to 8 minutes asking if I want to go to the “last read position” . Bad bad update. As of 1/3/21, I learned NEVER to update this app and without reading what happened to others. The new update apparently causes lots of people to lose their history or otherwise render the app useless. Not sure how the developer gets paid (maybe library license fees), but they’re clearly not a shop with a good testing protocol. Though my old version still has the September bugs and annoyances, at least it still works. NEVER update this app until you check to see how what havoc the newest release has created..Version: 5.0.13
✓ Libby is a lot betterMy library switched to this and its been horrible. It constantly crashes or gives a message saying “There’s something wrong with your library card”. I’ve had to delete and reinstall this app several times already to fix the problem. Very disappointed.Version: 4.7.12
✓ Some problemsInitially I found this App to be excellent with no problems at all but lately it keeps closing down unexpectedly, sometimes won’t allow me to download the book, other times just 'blanks out' when I’m part way through the book. Very annoying..Version: 3.5.13
✓ AwfulIt appears you need a internet connection when reading a book. This is awful.Version: 5.9.4
✓ Missing “Featured” on home pageAlthough Oakville Library has created entries to be featured, they sometimes don’t appear on the home page. “Kids Mode“ is always displayed (although not turned on!) together with any currently borrowered book(s). Touching “Search” results in primarily kid-targeted suggestions..Version: 5.9.6
✓ Awful, unreliable, buggy appWhen I click on a book I’ve borrowed, 80% of the time the app just closes itself down. Sometimes the pages don’t flow correctly e.g just now I had p17 followed by another p17, which had different text, seemed to follow on from the previous page, but between the two pages, some text had gone missing! Spent more time rebooting it than reading the book so far. Whoever at Richmond libraries chose this app over other options should reconsider their choice of career. Did taxpayers pay for this? I really hope they got it for free, if I’ve paid for this I want my money back!.Version: 3.5.13
✓ Buggy for kids booksThis app is great for kids books from the local library, but many other of them are formatted such that they would require adjustments. Sadly, the controls are mostly unresponsive - moving pixels at a time... needs major help... Updated - still a mess for many kids books and adjustments majorly lacking. Trying to get to the “hidden menus” are painful at best. Put a button on there, geez... Also, please put a restart button or auto rewind after finishing the book - anyone remember VHS? Yeah, try explaining it to a toddler and that “we can’t read that book anymore because you can’t get to menu to go back to the beginning” - even after returning and reborrowing it keeps its place... App also regularly crashes on books over 20 or so pages and it can’t ever keep track of preview thumbnails. I mean seriously, 6 books all labeled differently and have the same book cover and content as the one that is opened first when app is launched. Only way to fix it is to return and redownload the book. Wouldn’t use this app if it were a paid app, only use it because I haven’t found another app to access local library content. Downgraded to 1 star..Version: 3.5.13
✓ App design good but data unreliableThe design of the app is good but the data showing current books and renewal dates is not reliable. Several times I’ve seen that it takes hours to update current books after I have returned or borrowed from the library, and today the app showed that I still had two books which I had return days previously - I checked the West Lothian libraries system and it correctly showed them as returned. I later checked the app again and it showed one book as returned, I then refreshed the app data and it showed the other as returned too so I think the problem is between the app and the CloudLibrary servers..Version: 5.8.1
✓ Cloud LibraryTerrible! The automatic snooze does not work, therefore the light stays on and runs out the battery, the pages are not recognized properly, and constantly flipping pages when not asked to, can’t find any settings to fix problems, no contact support for this software (no phone number and their email does not work !!!). Our library does not have any support contact information either, Apple support couldn’t help - said my settings were all good, it’s just bad software, Libby and the previous software worked fine; our libraries should not be wasting tax payers money on this poor and in adequate app; we would appreciate hearing others feedback.Version: 5.9.3
✓ It keeps crashingI do really like this app and would love to give it a higher rating but the app continuously crashes as soon as I open it up. It worked for maybe the first month that I had it but ever since then I haven’t even been able to spend two seconds in app without it crashing! Very disappointing because I’d love to read your books but I can’t..Version: 5.0.13
✓ DeferI wish we had the option like the Libby app to pass the book onto the next person until we are ready to read it..Version: 5.9.4
✓ Go next page but skip 18??!Support to improve app is terrible and none of self help modules covers this annoying problem. Read one page even if start of chapter, swipe to next page and find jumped to the start of the next chapter??? Just happened now and I counted 18 pages to get back. Have had app years now and use sporadically cause this issue gets annoying. One stage when Covid first hit it would continuously happen spoiling stories. Did all the delete/ reset/ updates but a major flaw ruining UX. Just want to read a good story/author not mountains of your unhelpful advise. Have 5 reader apps to keep me sane all have contact help/ feedback EXCEPT this one. Fix both issues & get 2 more stars.Version: 5.8.1
✓ App glitches and doesn’t understand my search resultsNot a fan of this mobile app, smh.Version: 5.9.7
✓ So many glitchesI have used this app for several years now and still find the glitches make it tricky to read without disruption. Turning pages is the biggest issue- it often will skip the entire chapter in one page turn..Version: 5.8.2
✓ Easy to read but slow and still needs workPage display is good and easy to read from, however most functions take a long time to load. Borrowing and placing a hold doesn’t always work, despite giving indication of processing on screen. Love the ability to save a book for later/create a to read wish list. Is it possible to extend a loan?? I couldn’t find this function and very annoying to not finish book in one loan period and have to wait til it is next available.Version: 4.4.21
✓ App not loadingIs anyone working on this app? It's not working anymore. It doesn't load on my iPhone or iPad..Version: 4.5.18
✓ UnreliableGlad to have access to ebooks but most of the time you click on your book and it opens and immediately closes. Takes patience as requires several attempts to finally access your book. Also renew button unreliable showing occasionally but disappears when you click on it and then doesn’t reappear so can’t renew book. Would love a larger range of books available..Version: 3.5.13
✓ Glitchy and frustratingI’ve been using this app for a few years. Only recently, the app gets quite glitchy. It shuts down in middle of the book. It skips pages, some time, the entire chapter. When I turn the page backward to re-read a name or place, it would jump to a different section/page entirely, so I have to search for current page. Last but not least, when I click on footnotes to read, there’s no way to go back to the page I was reading, so I have to either bookmark (or do the old fashion way of remembering which page I was on) before checking out the footnote. This gets quite cumbersome when there are a lot of footnotes. Grrrh. Very frustrating. I wish this app would link with the kindle app, so I can borrow books then read on my Kindle. Reading on kindle is less distracting than reading on the phone. Some libraries use the Libby reading app, and the Libby app link with Kindle app, so I’m able to borrow and read with my Kindle. Very convenient. Highly recommend Libby app, instead of this glitchy Cloud Library. I’ll have to report to my current library to see if they can change platform!.Version: 5.0.8
✓ Good but needs to hold page and zoom featureI would give this app five stars if it didn’t keep losing my page and if I could zoom in to look at things like maps and images more clearly.Version: 5.5.0
✓ Login Failure HTTP response errorHi, The app responding so I deleted the app and re-downloaded it no it wouldn’t let me login. It’s telling me ”Login Failure HTTP response error” Please tell me how to fix this problem?.Version: 4.7.12
✓ Cloud libraryThis app is no where near as good as Libby. Not sure why my library changed to it, not nearly as user friendly.Version: 5.9.6
✓ Fine but…Okay so I love that I can connect to my local library via and app and borrow audio books, that’s very cool HOWEVER this app could really use some help. The app itself is slow and laggy and is fickle in its response to my trying to pause my book IF it allows me to pause at all which it often does not, and I have to close out the application to get the book to stop playing and reopen it to resume the book. My biggest gripe about this particular bug is when I’m listening to a book in the car and am driving, if I’m in a situation ( like a drive thru) where I need to pause my book I have to close the app out as it doesn’t respond to my car at all, and sometimes not even when I attempt to pause on my phone. It’s very annoying and overall the app is fine but I wish it was a bit less clunky..Version: 5.9.2
✓ Update that backslidesNot sure what happened with the latest update, but I have to close the app out at the end of each chapter…and most of the time I can’t bookmark so when I reopen I have to search for my spot. Almost ready to give up reading here and move to something else..Version: 5.9.4
✓ Technological improvements neededOften have to close and re open the app.Version: 5.9.5
✓ RNot as easy to use as Libby!!.Version: 5.9.6
✓ Not bad, but not greatHard to get the bookmark option to display. Weird habit of going back quite far in the novel if u accidently hit the screen, and then u have to try and get the bookmark feature to display your last bookmark. Prefer my kindle, but this is the only library option available to me..Version: 5.7.0
✓ Out of date and defective audio controlsI was able to connect to my library and check out an audio book. However the audio controls seem way behind what iOS and latest audio apps on Apple Watch support. You can only skip chapters in watch - no skip back/forward 15/30 seconds. This is table stakes now with these apps. On the phone - you can skip back a few seconds at a time, maybe 15 or so. But if you try to grab the little seek knob and slide forward through the chapter, it just keeps jumping back to where you were listening. The work around is to drill into the chapter list and use the seek control there if you want to pan forward through the chapter. There is also no support for the live notification on newer iPhones with the dynamic island. I am giving this app one star for this terrible audio book UX. With just a few hours of development these gaps could be addressed. I hope they read this and update the app..Version: 5.9.0
✓ Normally I love the appSince the last update, I can read 2 chapters, then the book can’t go forward or backward. I have to close the app, then reopen, and then I can continue reading. Annoying, mostly, but it also breaks the flow of reading..Version: 5.9.5
✓ Poor quality readIng appHere are several observations that I’ve experienced when using the app: From time to time, the app loses the last page read. When this happens, it places the current reading page back to the beginning of an earlier chapter. The app hangs, it often becomes impossible to advance the pages. The search function is not embedded with the word select feature, i.e. when you highlight a word. The search function is slow and only goes backward from the current page, not the entire book. When searching, you can’t search a phrase or a word. When using the search function, there’s no way to get back to the last page read..Version: 5.9.5
✓ Becoming very unreliableWhen I first started using this app a couple of years ago, it was a pleasure to read the books. Now, it’s frustrating and unreliable. My main problem, like many other users, is that without warning, the page appears to turn as normal but it doesn’t really, it just keeps showing the current page. Only cure is to delete and reinstall the app but this doesn’t keep it working properly for long. This needs a proper fix..Version: 4.1.28
✓ Zero ratedUnable to download this app on Sony e-reader and unable to transfer from PC to Sony e-reader via this app. I can only use on iPad instead. Half of library books have no description on content. Very poor quality. I know of many complaints to the library and hopefully they'll dump this app and revert to original method of downloading library books. Constantly crashing, turn a page and it’s the previous page but with the bottom sentence unread on your next page..Version: 3.5.13
✓ Loses your place!I’ve been using the app for a while and it’s great for having something to do while feeding my little one in the small hours. However since the last update, it’s misremembering where I last got to in a book. It’ll take me back far earlier and it’ll take me ages to scroll through to where I was. This morning it did the same even when the app was open and my phone locked briefly. It also repeatedly pops up to ask me if I want to continue from where I left off but takes me back to the wrong place. Really frustrating!.Version: 5.0.3
✓ Reading on my iPhone is frustratingThis app still has too many bugs. When I turn a page, often, usually , many pages skip, often whole chapters. No one else has commented on this. I use a small iPhone SE. I love reading books on my phone but this bug is so disappointing and frustrating. Please fix the problem..Version: 5.9.4
✓ Mediocre appI much prefer when my library used Libby. Right now it’s showing like 90% of the books on hold. There’s no way!! And they all (or mostly all) will be available in 2 days. Also, like others have said, it doesn’t remember where it left off and so I have to try to find where I last stopped. So many glitches over the past few years and changes to things that don’t need to be changed!! Please fix this hold thing!!! I’m going to uninstall and reinstall to see if that helps 🤷♀️. If I don’t change this, it didn’t work. BTW, I’m not at all a complainer, but I love my audiobooks!!! The fact that these are free to listen to is why I didn’t go below three stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️. Update: It didn’t help and I forgot to include that I have my search settings set to only show available titles, but it still also shows ones on hold. Unless that’s just a part of this glitch..Version: 5.0.11
✓ Reference numbersIf you click on a reference number in the book you are taken to the reference but then can’t get back to the page you clicked from and need to manually find the page you were reading and clicked from. Also have issues with books disappearing from the app (due to popularity?) so you can’t save them or hold them..Version: 5.1.0
✓ CrashesThe books dont load right or else the chapters fail. The app needs to stop crashing at the end of each chapter..Version: 5.9.5
✓ Poor performanceJust when we really needed e-books - during lockdown - this app fails to perform. It told me I had no books out when I did, then a few days later they just reappear. I get emails saying a reserved book is ready, but it stays as Reserved, not available. Yesterday the message was no Internet connection when everything else on the iPad worked perfectly. This app needs major work doing to it.Version: 5.0.4
✓ Crash All The TimeI would love to give this app a higher rating but it is just not right. I travel all the time and when I want to read on the way there(which is most of the time), I can’t bring all of the heavy books. Sometimes, I bring a whole bag of books and struggle to bring them in. I found this app from my library and downloaded it. It works well for the first week or so but after that, it will not open or load anything. I tried downloading books but it keeps crashing or saying that there is an error. This is really annoying and I hope that you will get rid of this problem..Version: 3.5.13
✓ BookNot all the books I am looking for is on the site.Version: 5.9.3
✓ Good but needs improvementOverall I’ve been impressed by this app - two things I think it could do better: with the e-book functionality on iPhone (as I don’t have a kindle or dedicated e-reader) it doesn’t keep your page placement when you switch out of the app - it defaults back to the last chapter page. It can be frustrating when it’s a longer chapter and you have to scroll back over pages you’ve already read to find where to resume reading. Secondly, it would be great if the app offered dark mode..Version: 5.8.3
✓ DisappointingWhen it is working it’s a pleasure to use, however I get a repeatable fault that is very annoying. I might be part way through a book and the page will not go forward, the page will turn but it just presents the same page I was reading. This has happened with many different books. The only remedy seems to be to delete the app and reload it, I wish this could be fixed..Version: 4.0.67
✓ Horrible after updateI used to love cloud library, but after a recent update it no longer functions. Way to ruin a great app! It took me several tries to even find the list of ebooks from my local library and now the ebooks won’t download at all when, before this update, they downloaded easily. Also the new app deleted my user history including a carefully curated list of books I intended to read. The app supposedly has more features after the redesign (and it may have more features that I don’t use or care about) but the features I always used and loved now don’t work. The new app also offers many books that aren’t available at my library. It’s a frustrating waste of time to browse through books, see something that you like and then be presented only with the options to “save for later” (whatever that means!?!) or “suggest” (I don’t want to be the collection curator for my local library. That’s what I count on librarians for!) The interface is counter-intuitive and hard to use. What a horribly stupid update. Please restore the functionality of the previous version ASAP..Version: 4.4.21
✓ Endlessly frustratingI previously said the app was barely acceptable and gave it two stars. But the more I’ve used it the worse it gets. I now give it 1 star and would give it zero stars if I could. It frequently has the extremely annoying habit of opening to the first page of a chapter or several pages before the point I left off rather than the page on which I left off, forcing me to page through the chapter to find my place. This requires me to highlight a portion of the last text I read or bookmark the page to ease finding my place. To make matters worse, when clicking on highlighted text to delete the highlighting, the trash can icon, which is black, is invisible when the iPad is in night mode because the background of the trash icon is also black. If the highlighted text is at the very top of the screen, it is impossible to delete the highlighting until you change to scroll mode and move the highlighted text away from the top. Also, occasionally turning pages (back or forth) jumps several pages rather than just one. Changing between portrait and landscape mode screws up pagination..Version: 5.9.4
✓ I’ve removed the Cloud Library appI’ve only tried to read two books on Cloud Library and gave up on both. I can see why it has a shorter wait list for downloading a title. The first book had problems with turning the pages. It would look like the page was turned, but it would still be the page I had just read. If I used the table of contents, I could jump to a new chapter, but on short order, if not immediately, that would lock up. I tried opening and closing the book, removing and downloading it again, but nothing worked. On the second book, I had much less trouble with freezing. It had a problem that is becoming increasingly common in various apps. A lot of different things are activated by tapping the screen, and it’s hard to predict what will happen. On the second book, when I swiped the page to turn it, as often as not, what happened is that the gray top and bottom menus appeared and cut off most of the page. I got so sick and tired of constantly having to get them out of the way, that I returned the book when I was about 20% finished. I removed the app. I’m going to get hard copy when my only other option is Cloud Library..Version: 4.3.7
✓ THE worst app I’ve ever usedI hesitate to leave a scathing review...and yet I WILL. this app is the only way I can access my library’s digital content AND it CONSTANTLY crashes (to the point where I just give up most of the time on listening to books). It’s fine for e-books, but for as long as I’ve been trying to use the app to listen to audiobooks, it has been a nightmare. I pay for audible and their app has never given me problems—it’s simple and straightforward and works perfectly. I wish I had that experience with CloudLibrary. For a month or so there was an update that worked ok (not good, but okay), but then the app was updated and now it’s back to crash city. I want to offer constructive criticism for the developers but honestly there’s nothing I’ve enjoyed about the app..Version: 4.5.18
✓ Could be betterI like the range of available books, and as a traveller it’s great to have access wherever I am. But the performance of the app leaves a lot to be desired - loading is slow and comes up with random errors, and even when you get into the book, it often freezes on a page, and you can only get onto the next part by reducing the font to minuscule then the page turns. Annoying!.Version: 4.1.28
✓ Needs more varietiesThis app is nowhere nearly as good as hoopla it needs more variety and to be user friendly. It is too difficult to find what you are looking for. It’s ridiculous if i slightly misspell a word or don’t put in the exact title nothing shows up..Version: 5.9.4
✓ TerribleImpossible to search anything.Version: 5.9.7
✓ Love it, but experiencing problemsFirst I want to point out how much I LOVE the idea of this e-book library, it’s so so so great. However, the app has been glitching for me lately. I borrowed one book that I got quite invested in, but it would never remember the page I was on when I reopened the app even if I bookmarked it. I got tired of scrolling through literally hundreds of electronic pages to try to find where I was and I eventually gave up on finishing the book. Other books seem to be working better, but there have been a couple times where page turning didn’t work at all; it would show the animation, but remain on the same page. Fortunately, turning my phone off and back on has seemed to correct this issue so far. I have a new iPhone XS, so I’m not totally sure what the problem is. Again, I LOVE this app, and have used it for years now, but lately it’s not performing well at all. Pleeeease either fix or let me know that I’m just technologically illiterate! 😂.Version: 4.1.28
✓ Cloud libraryHolds should be able to be managed, so that you aren’t receiving several holds at the same time. Options such as skipping or going next in line would reduce the wait for everyone..Version: 5.9.7
✓ Really don’t like the update….I have been using the Cloud Library app for quite a while and found it pretty user friendly. This latest update, however, has removed some of the features that I found most useful. With the listings of current, history, holds, and saved books now side-by-side, when there are three options for what to do with the book, the third one is no longer directly accessible. Takes longer to get things done. The number of books on hold or checked out is no longer at the top of the list. You have to count them individually. Also, the history of books previously checked out is now very limited instead of a complete history. This very much defeats the way in which I use the history in conjunction with the saved list. Seems like the programmers don’t actually use this app. Lastly, the new “kids mode “ is really annoying for those of us who have no children using this app. There should be a way to easily hide or turn it off..Version: 5.9.0
✓ Frustrated.Joined months ago, generally happy. But lately, I get to the end of a chapter and ,like the afterlife, “it all goes black”- won’t move to the next chapter/ page. If I wait a few days, it will produce the next chapter, but then the same thing happens…..would be great if there was a “help” page. Frustrating..Version: 5.9.5
✓ Great concept, terrible appEdit: came up with a fix for opening books. As long as you've downloaded the book already, open the app while your phone is in airplane mode. Doesn't crash! Love the idea, and great when it works. But it so often doesn't. On iPhone, frequently takes at least ten tries to open a book without crashing. I'm currently on try 15 for my current book when I gave up to write this review! PLEAD fix!.Version: 3.5.13
✓ Too many iseuesI would like to rate this app 5 stars but the bugs keep showing up and I am about ready to give up. I like the ability to filter search results and the ease of checking out or returning a book, but the core job of the app is to read books, not try and find where you were when you swipe to go to the next page and end up a chapter plus ahead and all you can do is swipe backwards and hope you recognize the page you were on last. Or everytime you open a book, it gets to the start of the chapter you were reading but not the page you were actually on and while you swipe page by page, suddenly the 1st issue happens and you are a chapter ahead. I have reported my problems to the library and they have tried to help but so far nothing has worked, including deleting and reinstalling the app. Please fix this problem!! Thank you..Version: 5.8.2
✓ UnsureI don't like the search function very limited and hard to find books I want. Books available is also limited, being online library should be able to find any book. App keeps closing when trying to click on book to read. Couldn't even read book last night could not get in at all..Version: 3.5.13
✓ The most frustrating App ever!When I heard my local library lent ebooks I couldn’t wait to download the app and get started. It turns out I wasted my time. This is the most frustrating App I have ever used. To actually get into my book is a hit and miss affair. No matter many times I press the icon I always end up back on my home page. It won’t load immediately but sometimes if I’m lucky I get the book pages teasing me before reverting to the home page. Surrey Libraries you’re wasting the rate payers money on this second rate service! We pay too much council tax to be fobbed off with this heap of sh!te..Version: 3.5.13
✓ Don’t use this appMy library changed to this app and I hate it. It keeps cutting out mid book on me and I can’t figure out why. It isn’t worth the stress of trying to restart a book so many times. I wish the library would change their provider.Version: 4.7.12
✓ Badly designed and badly organisedWhat a terrible app! It’s clunky to load and clunky to use. You can’t search by type. I tried searching for Audio as suggested by one reviewer but that didn’t work. And trawling through the titles to try and find an audio version seems impossible. The menu is sparse and uninformative. The toolbars are non-existent. It’s as if they don’t want to help users at all. Horrible, horrible, horrible! Can’t understand why my public library has chosen this service for their e-book catalogue. What a disaster!.Version: 3.7.2
✓ Convenient but buggyUpdate: I’m lowering my rating from 3 stars to 2 because I see that the issue I complained about previously has still not been fixed. When I am scrolling from page to page through a chapter, the book will suddenly scroll forward several pages, like to the end of a chapter even though I have ten pages still left to read before the next chapter. I described the same problem below, and it still hasn’t been fixed. This is really annoying!!! I have been using CloudLibrary for a few years now, and I was pretty satisfied with it until the latest update a few months ago. When you turned the page in the previous version, it actually looked like a page turning, like on a Kindle, and I really liked that feature. Now it just changes from one screen to another, pretty boring. Far, far worse than that, however, is the way the app randomly skips pages when I am turning a page. I will turn from, say, page 22 to page 23, and all of a sudden, I am on page 35 for no apparent reason. Then, I have to go back and search for the page I was actually on. This keeps happening no matter what book I read. I truly appreciate the convenience of being able to read books for free whenever I want to through my library’s subscription to CloudLibrary, but this weird bug is basically the only reason I am leaving this review. I wish it would be fixed..Version: 5.8.3
✓ Please allow screen saver/sleep function read modeThis app has to be the most dysfunctional library app as reflected in the reviews. The worst decision my library has ever made. Slow and buggy. Books need to be repeatedly downloaded but you already know this. Two versions ago something was changed so that the app NEVER goes to sleep. I read in bed as many others do. It was great when it went to sleep as set on my iPad screen saver mode so when I fall asleep so does the iPad/book saving battery life. Can you PLEASE PLEASE bring this back or add this as an option in the settings? Slow readers can just extend the sleep timer. This function appears to be in the audiobook but not ebook function. I am constantly falling asleep and finding the screen on the next morning with battery almost drained. This is bad for the life of the battery and device..Version: 4.5.18
✓ Basic app. Has great potentialI listen to audiobooks, this is one my most used app on my iPhone. This app has some of the most basic features you would expect from a book reader app. However, for a modern day digital library app, it lacks that user experience that one would expect to see on apps these days, feels quite dated, feels like it was designed and built from pre-app era. One of the features I would like to suggest is to list the titles of the chapters on the audiobooks..Version: 5.1.0
✓ Useable but not quite thereI downloaded this app recently and while it is useable for reading library books, the performance isn't great for a relatively modern application. When opening the app, it takes some time for the books to become 'active'. Following that it also takes a while to load a book after tapping it. I've learned to be patient while this happens, but there should at least be some feedback to help users visualise the loading time. Also, I wish the app icon was redesigned to something more classy and the button interface within the app designed with vector graphics rather than raster graphics..Version: 3.7.2
✓ Page jumpsMost books seem to jump a few pages when slide to next page. Very irritating when it jumps so far that it takes frustrating time to figure where you were.Version: 5.0.10
✓ Worked fine for a week, then refuses to functionThis app was marvellous for a week, but then constantly presents the same first page of each chapter and does not allow entry into any chapter. I returned and re borrowed the book. Same problem. I reinstalled the app. It worked for an hour and then same problem. At this point, in effect, it is useless as you cannot read the books you have borrowed. A pity and I hope they fix it..Version: 4.1.28
✓ IssueThere is an issue where the last page goes back from where you are reading when re opening it..Version: 5.5.1
✓ Search function is uselessWhen trying to find books written by the same author of a book I’ve read, I get nothing. You used to be able to tap on the name of the author which would give you a list of what else they’ve written which was available. Now when you click on an authors name, I get ‘no results’. Doesn’t matter how I search, nothing comes up on advanced search either. Doesn’t even list the book I’ve just read. Painful....Version: 5.6.0
✓ Very buggy doesn’t work greatThe search/ find feature only works some of the time. For example, I search the name of a background character and it brings up results with huge blank spaces between results. It will only take me to results in the first part of the book. When I click on a result that is about halfway through the book, I get nothing but a blank screen. I have to read ebooks on the infinite scroll setting. When scroll is off and I try to “turn” the page, sometimes it moves ahead k e page and sometimes a few dozen and then I have to try and remember where I left off These are only two issues and they occur with every book I’ve tried, not just one or two. I vastly prefer Libby!! It’s a far preferable app.Version: 5.9.4
✓ Missing basic featuresOnly using this app because it’s what my public library uses and I don’t have a choice. The fact that I can’t filter search results by reading level or fiction/nonfiction is absurd. I shouldn’t have to slog through picture books and leveled readers to find adult books about the same subject..Version: 5.9.3
✓ Needs Improvements!I listen to audio books and constantly have an issue, nearly if not every time I pause the story, that it skips way forward or way back, and I have to spend half my time trying to find where I left off. The options to go forward or back for a larger amount of time are too few and far between, so it is not helpful what so ever. My library went from Overdrive to this app, and I wish I had the other app back. Another complaint that I have is that the selection here was said to have been larger, but I’m not finding that to be the case. The search option requires specific spelling and complete titles, often I’m not sure of. The overdrive app had suggestions that helped me find what I was looking for. Also, this app doesn’t have a full collection of books in series. I could understand not having the lastest book in a series, but often I can ONLY find the latest of a series, which I can’t read bc I can’t find the previous books. It’s very frustrating and I’m disappointed in the app. I don’t have a CD player or tape player in my vehicle at work, so I can’t just checkout from the library. I’m very fed up and frustrated with this app, but I don’t have any other option from my library, so unfortunately I’m stuck with it. If updates become available with fixes to these issues, or if there is another way I can have some of these issues addressed, I’d be glad to receive that info and take it up with anyone who could help. Thanks..Version: 3.7.2
✓ Unstable appI have used this app religiously for years; I use it on one of my devices daily. I usually love this app, especially because at least for my library, there are no monthly limits on borrows. However, in the past 1-2 months, I’ve had more problems than not! It won’t recognize that I have books checked out, when I know I do. I’ll check the history, and it’s blank; I check for my saved books (easily over 200 of them) and it will tell me there are none. Generally I have uninstalled/reinstalled (annoying but simple) the app, and it’s fine. Today I kept getting a (new to me) error that I wasn’t connected to the internet when I can see my WiFi signal has full bars and other devices (tv) are clearly connected. I disconnected WiFi to run off 5G and had the same “no internet connection” error. I even deleted and reinstalled the app, and when I tried to sign in with my card number and PIN, got told it was “unable to log me in”. Why has this app been so unstable lately? PLEASE fix this as this is my primary distraction during “stay at home” orders!.Version: 4.7.12
✓ Fingers CrossedMy rating is based on comparison to software I use which costs money or if free is older version of tried and true software. Anyhow heres hoping version 5.0.7.5 I just downloaded for use on new ipad fixes at least most of bugs/problems associated with earlier versions ( i.e recently installed version 5.0.6.5 actually more frustrating than earlier versions—kept forgetting current position in book when I closed and later re-opened book; often forgot who I am and required repeated log in; often opens with tiny font size different from my selected font size and will not accept changing font size when that happens; occasionally would open and then immediately shut down; and so on). Could eventually work around some bugs (i.e. disconnect from internet and open book “offline” to work around open/shutdown bug ). Earlier versions prior to 5.0.6.5 would go hours refusing to open at all. Maybe covid has driven so many people to online library that system is overwhelmed?.Version: 5.0.7
✓ Eh…almost better than nothingUpdated to remove a star, leaving one single star as the rating. I cannot stand this app. It’s garbage. The 4.7 rating is bull and clearly fabricated if you actually look at the five star reviews. Tonight the book blurbs won’t load, nor am I even able to borrow or save any books based on cover/title alone as the borrow and save buttons have completely disappeared. This app is a piece of hot, stinking, mid-summer, humid day, full of rotten meat garbage. Much prefer Libby to Cloud Library. The functionality here is severely lacking. Interface feels outdated and is missing basic things like being able to see that I already checked a book out either from the list when searching or on the details page once you click in to read the blurb about the book. If I hadn’t moved and been forced to use this app instead of Libby by my local library I never would have changed. Wish I could go back to Libby, so much so in fact I’ve started researching where the nearest library that uses Libby is so I can go there to see if I can somehow pay for a guest card or something. Not to mention the catalog of books is much more limited, not sure if that’s my library system’s issue or the app’s issue, but it’s very noticeable. Two stars because something is better than nothing, but there’s a lot of room for improvement here..Version: 5.9.2
✓ WholeI cannot make the font large enough to read..Version: 5.9.7
✓ Constant crashing and bug issuesMy reserved books on hold are CONSTANTLY lost and crash and just cycle over. A 21 day hold or 6 month hold will be made available only to open it and be re submitted for the hold…another 21 days or 6 months. It’s ridiculous..Version: 5.9.6
✓ Frustrating, slow, and horrid searchingWhile I enjoy checking out books without needing to travel to the library, the frustrations with this app come very close to negating the convenience. After checking out a book and then trying to download it to begin reading, I often most try many times to get the download to begin. Usually it requires quitting and relaunching the app multiple times and still it takes repeated attempts to download. This is on WiFi or full strength 5G. The search function is horrid. I literally just now searched for a book that I currently have checked out and it says no results found. Advanced search does no better. I can search for an author whose book I have checked out and it can’t find the author, either. If you want to just browse instead of searching and you’re okay with five minutes of frustrating clicking and relaunching to download one book, you might be okay with this app. Trying to quickly select a new book and begin reading or searching for books by a favorite author and this app will have you reaching for your car keys to drive across town to the library instead. More than a year later, searching is still horrible. Searching a database is nothing new. Programmers have been doing it since the 1950’s. It’s a shame that this app is still so bad at it..Version: 5.8.3
✓ Horrible reading experience, nothing to recommendIf I could give this app 0 stars, I would. I’ve updated, reinstalled it, and it makes no difference. CloudLibrary is, by far, the worst reading experience I have ever encountered, and I’ve read on hoopla digital. The glare cannot be contained, the text options are limited, and there’s no margin spacing. The real reason this app deserves zero stars, however, are the skips. I touch to turn the page (which is a nightmare, even when it just turns one page, if it turns), and it skips forward or backwards, randomly. This does not remember where you are, and when you close the app/webpage and bookmark it, even, none of that exists when you reopen. I spend at least twice as long trying to find my page (which takes forever) than I do reading, and that’s not an exaggeration. I spent 20 minutes this evening trying to find my page. My bookmark was not where I placed it (believe me, I double checked). It is nearly impossible to track where you are in the book. Each time I’m forced to use cloud library (when there is no other option but to buy, and usually I buy) and I say to myself, “Surely it will be fixed this time…” but no, it’s never fixed. What a terrible app for reading this is. It may be fantastic for everything else, but I’m a reader, and I can’t believe my library replaced overdrive with this monstrosity..Version: 5.8.2
✓ Stalls OftenA number of books at my local library are only available through Cloud Library. The book I’m currently reading contains many short chapters. My experience with Cloud Library is that it will allow me to read 2 full chapters but will stall when I try to go to a third chapter. I get a blank screen with a never-ending “working” symbol so I have to close the app, reopen the app, then reopen the book. Only then can I advance to the next chapter. I get to read that chapter and the next before it stalls again and the cycle repeats. Were I reading a novel with long chapters, I might not even notice this problem. However, while reading this novel with its very many short chapters using Cloud Library, I feel that I’m spending almost as much time closing and reopening the app as I am actually reading..Version: 5.9.4
✓ Won’t open where I finishI’ve been hoping for a fix for a few months. The book opens where I opened the previous time or even 4 times ago, not the last time. On both iPad mini and iPhone. It’s frustrating to have to go through the pages to find where you left off. Please fix..Version: 5.9.3
✓ Locked out of appI had this app on my iPhone. When I installed it on my iPad, I had to type in a password or pin. I thought I had created the password or pin and entered a few of my commonly used passwords. There was no button to push for “forgot password “. After a few tries, I got locked out of my account. I’ve tried everything, but I can’t get signed in again. After using Google, I found out the pin is the last four digits of your library card. I’m not sure why you have to use a pin like this… Something people won’t remember. The owner of the account should be able to create their own pin or password if you’re going to require one. These are just library books, it’s not high security, why do we need a password? I would love to get back into my account again. Any help would be greatly appreciated.Version: 5.7.2
✓ Needs work, poor quality and Not disability suitableCan’t put text into different colours No audio option to read the text Text enlargement is not adequate Can’t put the background into different colours Not easy to use No option to create a wish list Can’t take out many books which is not acceptable as it’s a digital format , so nothing can be lost or not returned Limited time frame for keeping a book, which is stupid as it’s not a physical books Can’t sign into other accounts like ones children or of a different library Spellchecker not present within the app which isn’t acceptable Books are not in the right categories No category for trans books No faculty to remove adult books No category for audio books just have to stumble across them Can’t use with large text setting Took ages for my books and history to return to the app Very slow operating Authors and titles not what has been searched for or included in results App has lost all but two of my favorite genres No way to reset the settings in the app.Version: 5.0.14
✓ I hate this app. Not user-friendly, it’s user-hostile.I just started to read a borrowed library book in the app, but have paused my reading to come here and give it a one-star rating. I find the interface confusing, buggy, and (compared to the far superior Kindle app), also less attractive (though the difference is subtle). It took me a few tries to figure out how to simply highlight a passage, and another few tries to figure out how to delete the one I highlighted incorrectly. Once I did that and returned to the page, the “deleted” highlight was still there, until I closed and reopened the book. I have memberships with a few local libraries, and I ALWAYS look for the ones that work with the Kindle app, and only use CloudLibrary when I have no other option. It’s a frustrating program. 8/7/19 update: The app is *slightly* less frustrating than it was when I wrote my original review in 2018. Some of the glitches I reported to their tech support over a year ago are still there (e.g., highlighting text is confusing, often difficult, and the interface for doing it is ugly and breaks conventions). It’s still far inferior to the Kindle app and I still will try to avoid library books which require using this app..Version: 4.5.18
✓ Frustrated by bugsI have used this app for over a year and had been completely satisfied with it. However recently I’ve experienced an issue with moving from page to page. Sometimes the last line or two are missing from the bottom of the page and I have to fool around with it before it shows up. At other times I flip to the next page and it’s clearly not a continuation of the previous page so then I have to go back several pages and subsequently move forward to try to resync the pages. It’s very annoying and it goes without saying that this is basic functionality that is key to a reading app. Please please fix this!!! I have an updated iPhone 6. Update: several months later I continue to periodically have problems with this app. Right now I experienced an issue where I cannot turn the page in the book I’m currently reading. After trying different workarounds I deleted the app and am going to reinstall it. Why does this continue to happen with this app? I understand that it’s free, but I expect better if I’m going to use it and recommend to others..Version: 4.0.67
✓ App glitchesWhen changing chapters, the app freezes & will not turn the page..Version: 5.9.4
✓ Wish my library wasn’t using cloudTurn the page, and you get…nothing, blank screen. Can’t go forward, can’t go backwards. The only thing you can do is delete the app and re-install it. This has now happened so many times that I have my 13 digit library card number memorized. Total waste of time and completely frustrating. I didn’t have these issues with Libby.Version: 5.9.5
✓ Security problemThis app circumvents the screen auto lock after 30 seconds, and stops the iPhone 12 which I have from turning off. It never turns off if a book is being read. My phone is updated on iOS, and restarting the phone does not fix this..Version: 5.9.0
✓ Frustrating!I borrow books from the library and was directed to this app. When I first installed this app it would crash a great deal. That problem seemed to improve and almost disappear after a while. I installed the update IOS12 on my phone and the app now doesn’t crash, it gets ‘stuck’ on the same page and the only way I have found to get round this is to delete and then reinstall the app, repeating this procedure rather too often unfortunately - at least a couple of times every week. I updated to IOS12.1 hoping it was a glitch that would then be sorted out but, no, the same problem continues. Please can the owner/designer or whoever has powers to change these things, do something to make this app work correctly?.Version: 4.0.67
✓ Rudimentary AppMy library switched to this app from Overdrive and in comparison it is rudimentary and awkward to navigate. Overdrive Libby app is attractive and has all the features you will ever need. Overdrive makes suggestions when you search - this one doesn’t seem to - so if you are not sure of spelling you don’t get any results. Overdrive lets you sort books by authors name (alphabetical order) or date added - this app doesn’t say but seems random so when browsing have to scroll through several hundred books. Not very user friendly and unattractive presentation. Otherwise works ok - I suspect it was a cheaper option for the library service?.Version: 3.7.2
✓ Would be 5 star if it didn’t crash constantlyThis app has been so helpful for someone who has trouble remembering to take library books back 🤦🏼♀️ but annoying that it takes 4-5 goes every time to open a book to read. Would have no issue rating it higher if it worked consistently ☺️.Version: 3.6.25
✓ Not impressedI am not impressed with the Cloud Library app. I have it up to date and on an up to date iPad. Sometimes it refuses to load. Sometimes it seems to forget I’m halfway through the book and sends me to page 1, so I have to hunt for where I left off. I can’t just pick up with a book I was reading on my iPad with my phone because it doesn’t seem to be able to translate locations. I uninstalled it and reinstalled however I continue to have issues, including new ones such as being able to see a book I have checked out listed in My Books, but not being able to open it, it taking 45-60 seconds for a book to open (gets stuck on the three bars loading symbol), and the latest - I tried to return a book and twice got an “unknown error” message. This is just so sad to have experienced six or seven distinct errors in a single app. The only reason I keep using it is because it’s the only way I can check out digital content from my library..Version: 4.1.28
✓ Awesome but...Hello, I love Cloud Library but I would suggest two small improvements... 1. You could X out books you don’t need to see either because you’ve read them or their shirt you to tears. 2. It’d be great to hide children’s content. It’s absolutely not relevant to me. Ta!.Version: 5.0.11
✓ This app needs serious improvements!!!I was forced by my library to switch from Overdrive to Cloud Library. It's just not the same or as good. I can't find as many books as I used to. The search results are awkward and take up too much space to scroll through efficiently. And if I look at a book and go back, it puts me back to the beginning of the list and then I have to scroll back through to see where I left off - very time consuming. The sleep timer does not work anymore - it used to but something happened (a bad upgrade perhaps?) and now it never works. With the old app (Overdrive), I could easily -- EASILY -- scroll back 30 minutes by touch because you scrolled through chapters. This app, that scroll is for the whole book so you scroll back a little by swipe and you've going way too far. Forget going to the chapters and finding where you were. So finding your spot again is a difficult, near-impossible, colossal waste of time, so much so that I often find myself buying audio books rather than listening to them on here, even if they're available -- for free, mind you. This app is so non-user friendly that I prefer to pay for books rather than get them for free. Read that sentence again..Version: 4.7.12
✓ Hard to use and frustratingI’ve been downloading e-books for years, and I’ve used both Overdrive and Libro successfully. This is far harder to use. I want to pick it up and go back to where I was reading, but it always goes back to the home page and you have to select the book again. The most frustrating thing is that when you turn the page it often reloads the previous page, which ruins the flow. You’re thinking “hang on, this doesn’t make sense”, and then you realise it’s the same page as before, loaded in a slightly different place, so you have to work out where it differs. It’s really frustrating..Version: 3.7.2
🙂 CloudLibrary Positive Reviews
CloudLibrary works most of the time. If it is not working for you, we recommend you excersise some patience and retry later or contact CloudLibrary.
⛔ CloudLibrary Problems
