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Real Simple Magazine App Complaints & User Negative Comments 2024
Real Simple Magazine app received 64 complaints, negative comments and reviews by users. Have you ever had a bad experience using Real Simple Magazine? Can you share your negative thoughts about real simple magazine?
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Real Simple Magazine for Negative User Reviews
✓ Can't access issuesSince the recent app update, I can't access my iTunes subscription. Really cheesed off!.Version: 33.0.0
✓ Newsstand?Why doesn't this appear in newsstand? It's a magazine! I'm keen on keeping apps organized, and it is frustrating that it won't go neatly into the newsstand app. Please fix!.Version: 2.1.116
✓ Great magazine, finicky appI used to love this app (years ago when I had the print version with digital access). I recently canceled my print subscription and purchased digital only through iTunes. The app barely opens and it won't confirm my subscription. So irritated that I'm paying $3/mo and can't access my magazine at all now. ___________ UPDATE: After many, many tries, I finally got it to work. I had to access it on the device I'd originally subscribed on before it would then work on my phone. I'm not sure why it was so finicky but it works now, so I'm upgrading my rating to three stars. The magazine is great if you can access it..Version: 33.1.0
✓ Not worth even one star.Can't download, tried starting over, lost my previous purchased issues. Worst customer support ever, seems that unless you ask a question that they like, they won't answer you. Don't waste your time or money. Can't even sign in as it doesn't recognize my email address. Stupid, stupid, stupid..Version: 24.0.1
✓ Where is the digital issue by issue or subscription info?"and then you can buy each month's digital issue through iTunes." Oh yeah? Where? And if it's not true, then why not at least remove the text that says it can be done?.Version: 2.1.116
✓ Have subscribed - now can't get any magazinesLoved this mag when I lived in the States and loved reading it with the old app - now can't get any of the magazines. Feel completely ripped off - no one from Real Simple will contact me about it.Version: 33.0.0
✓ App not workingKeeps freezing after I have subscribed, so I can't access any issues!.Version: 24.1.1
✓ Less than I'd hoped forThis magazine-app is a little clunky to navigate. Menus and page-overview is accessed by touching the bottom of the screen. Not a deal breaker, but different from all the other ipad magzines I have, where access is at the top. I've given the low rating for two reasons. 1. Issues from my paid subscription aren't available for download 2. Customer support doesn't recognize me. The app manages to successfully charge my itunes account every month for the issue, but is somehow unable to recognize me as a subscriber when I try to the customer support. Its a pricier subscription. Not worth IMHO for the what you get or the hassles in trying to access issues you've paid for. Pity, I quite enjoy the magazine..Version: 3.2
✓ Cannot access issuesI want my money back. i’ve gone back and forth with support 3x and still not able to get issues I paid for. My other magazine subs work fine..Version: 103.6.7
✓ App not workingLove this magazine but can not get it to work on my ipad pro. So fustrating..Version: 103.6.4
✓ Won't downloadI read some other reviews about the magazine not downloading, so I thought I would try downloading the sample copy first. Didn't download. Not prepared to pay for it until this problem has been resolved..Version: 24.1.1
✓ LinksThe page in the magazine with links to your website are not easily found in the app. I have to get to it from the web. Why not put QR codes on the page instead of the link so rates can get right to the article/ recipe/ ideas, etc.Version: 103.7.3
✓ Can’t access my subscriptionI haven’t been able to read my subscription for months. It keeps telling me that my email is wrong..Version: 103.6.7
✓ Real SimpleAs someone else has mentioned already, Why won't the Real Simple magazine appear in the "Newstand" app?.Version: 2.1.116
✓ Keeps getting worseEdit: Cancelled my subscription a few months ago. Couldn't take the buggy app anymore. My subscription will remain cancelled until the old app is back. Edit: And now I can't even stay logged in or download any of my magazines. Awesome... I've been subscribing for a long time and they keep changing the parts about it I like. I don't have room for the paper magazines at my apartment, so I rely on the e-version to get and keep my magazines. First they removed the calendar at the end, ok. And now, starting with January's issue, the text seems so much smaller with fewer interactive features such as highlighting one caption of a list at a time. I usually read while I'm on the treadmill and it's almost impossible for me to read now - I'm 28 with 20/20 vision. The table of contents also doesn't seem to let you jump around anymore making it hard to revisit articles I may not have had time to read. If the magazine keeps going downhill like this, I won't be able to justify spending the money on it anymore..Version: 33.3.3
✓ Great mag, terrible app.Like others, I have had to download and delete the app several times on my iPad mini. I can pull up the latest issue no problem, but once it's open, I'm not able to access my library, bookmark any pages, or even do anything other than flip through the pages of the current issue I've opened. If I want to access a different issue, I have to delete, then re-install the app AGAIN, because I am stuck in a different one without having access to my library. great magazine, but terrible app. so for this reason, 1 star. If this problem was fixed, 5 stars..Version: 24.0.1
✓ Useless... Real uselessAfter 10 tries to add my paid account info, and suffering the infinite loop of evil password reset and authentication codes... I give up. Keep sending me the 10 pound magazine and maybe let me know when you get it figured out... Oh yah, why are you not showing in newsstand like every other magazine I read. I am not sure why you asked me to rate on my 11th try... Here it is! Fuming....Version: 2.1.116
✓ Zero stars (but they made me give one star)Horrible, horrible, horrible. The old app worked just fine and the new one doesn’t work at all. The app doesn’t recognize my email address or my account number, and I can’t download issues. Multiple phone calls and emails have been fruitless. Nobody seems to know (or admit) that there is a systemic problem with the new app. The app’s company, Zinio, is beyond horrible. I keep getting emails assuring me that everything is fixed, but of course it isn’t. I see their responses on other reviews here telling people that they will fix everything right away—of course that’s a lie. I’ve spent hours on the phone and dozens of emails and it still doesn’t work. Real Simple really blew this one..Version: 35.0.1
✓ Get it out of Newstand!Had I known once I updated this app I would lose ALL of my old issues and it would be incorporated into Newstand, I would have NEVER have done it. I was thrilled when downloaded this app a few months ago that I could keep all of my old issues (which I still needed to catch up on) on my iPad so I can get rid of the hard copies - trying to minimize the junk around the house. Having not read the older issues, I gave them away since I had it all on my iPad. Now that I updated they are all gone and all of the original functionality of the app is gone too. You can see the controls at the bottom when you first open up the app in Newstand but then they go away and you can't get it back. WTH?! I'm deleting this app. What a waste! Real Simple, if it wasn't broke, why did you try to 'fix' it?.Version: 3.1
✓ Not impressed at allAll the below is based around the iPhone app. I don't own an iPad so I can use those functions... Just got the subscription as a gift, and just signing up was more trouble than it should have been. The app doesn't even fit my iPhone 6. It was built for what it looks like, an iPhone 4. I'm also disappointed with the fact that it doesn't rotate and you can't view it in 2 pages mode as if you were reading a real magazine. I was also bombarded by ads and can hardly find the art led because of them! Very disappointed. We're headed towards a digital age and just because I signed up for the magazine also doesn't mean I want to take it everywhere I go like I do my phone, which is more convenient when I'm somewhere waiting and wanna read your magazine. This should be a priority and considering that the bigger phones have been out for over a year, I can see that it's not..Version: 32.4.6
✓ Unpleasantly Surprised :(I can't believe that Real Simple charges people for a digital portion of their subscription. The app is so slow, lags every time I click something, and errors at least once every minute or two. I love this magazine, it's top quality, I would hope the app would mirror that. Please fix the app or stop charging people extra to have it as an option. Sadly, it's not seeming worth the cost..Version: 33.2.0
✓ ONLY ONE ISSUE AVAILABLEI purchased a year yet can only access the current issue.Version: 103.6.6
✓ Still room for improvementOverall I like having the magazine online. However, there's still a few things that could be better I've noticed just in the first few pages of my first magazine. Number 1 would be to make any websites listed as active links so we could go right into the website at that time. After all, we are talking digital. My number 2 issue is that, having an iPad, I'd like to have the magazine rotate all directions. Right now I have this site that requires one direction and another that requires the opposite turn direction. Minor I know, but still I'd like to see that change..Version: 2.1.116
✓ Can't downloadJust loaded the app on my iPad retina, it got about halfway through the December issue and stopped. Just keeps telling me to shut down the app and try again. Not impressed..Version: 24.0.1
✓ Access failureI love this magazine, but after the most recent update, I have been unable to access my purchased copies or any new editions I have a paid subscription for. The info they have posted to remedy this problem is not working for me, and they have not responded to my inquiries. I would say, don't subscribe until they have sorted out their technical issues..Version: 33.1.0
✓ AwfulHate the new app. Lost all my downloaded magazines prior to january 2012. Have to purchase again! Even the downloading does not always work. The waiting message comes on and then nothing. I want the old app back!!!!!.Version: 24.0
✓ Cannot downloadI bought a yearly subscription and I cannot download August, please fix..Version: 3.1
✓ New app doesn't workI have a digital subscription and I can't access any of my magazines. I press restore purchases and nothing happens. So frustrating!!.Version: 24.0
✓ Good, Could Be Great...I love Real Simple and the fact that this app allows me to read digital versions at no extra charge. Suggestions for improvement: 1. The ability to bookmark specific pages instead of sections. If I like a recipe in a 5 page spread I want to be able to go right back to the recipe I marked instead of the first page of that section. 2. The ability to view all Real Simple bookmarks from the Real Simple library instead of having to remember which issue the bookmark was placed in. 3. The ability to click to navigate to websites listed in each issue. Another reviewer mentioned the need for WiFi in order to read the issues. I've only tried to read at home so far, but if this is true then that is a MAJOR disappointment. What's the point of having to "download" an issue if you do not have offline access to it? Readers definitely need the ability to read magazines while waiting or traveling away from a wireless signal they trust. I'll end by saying once again that I really love this magazine! I hope these features are included in future updates..Version: 24.0.1
✓ Phooey!!!I am really frustrated with your tablet version of my favorite magazine. When I first downloaded it, it was GREAT. I wished all magazines worked so well. After updates, I am thoroughly disgusted. Can't download any but the one issue. Totally frustrating. Will never subscribe to this again. WASTE OF MONEY and my time..Version: 24.1.1
✓ Would like to give 0Since the app upgraded all of my magazine issues have disappeared. I’ve been trying to sign in for months....doesn’t recognize my account number or email address. Couldn’t contact anyone because it didn’t recognize my email address so the send button was grayed out. Finally tracked back the charges on my credit card so I could figure out who to call....it’s the Meredith Corporation by the way. Was able to get through to a real, very helpful, person who verified my info...I’m not crazy after all...who then sent me to the ZINIO help desk. Have been going in circles with THEM all day. They had me input a new email address and password. We end up at the same spot “click on the digital+print subscriber button”. Where I am in accounts does not provide that option. I have uninstalled and reinstalled both the Real Simple and ZINIO apps. But, hey, good news...according to them I have been a subscriber since 2011! Yay for me! No magazines...they are happy to take my money and I get a nice blank screen!.Version: 35.0.1
✓ Good start, but still needs workI'm super glad that Real Simple finally has a digital version. That being said, I was kinda hoping this would be for the Newsstand app. Newsstand is one of three apps on my iPad that i cannot use and cannot remove from my home screen. So i was hoping that this would be in that format so that I could utilize that app. Overall good app, but could use some work. It freezes up on me a lot. There are some pages where the content doesn't cover the screen and you have to swipe your finger over the I,age to see the rest of the page. Also, I have to keep downloading the magazine every other to,e I use the app, which is a real bummer considering my Internet speed isn't exactly optimal. It would also be nice to be able to view the magazine in landscape mode, if so desired. I'm not really into a lot of magazines, but I like Real Simple because the title says exactly what you're getting before you even open the cover..Version: 2.1
✓ OMG SO MANY PROBLEMSNeeds lots and lots and lots and lots, get the drift, of work before I can even give it one star. Never ending problems trying to get issues to download. Some issues want me to re pay in order to download. One person in support tells you one thing and another one tells you something different. Wait till all the problems are fixed, if that ever happens!!!!!.Version: 24.0.1
✓ ConfusingI've never done much with magazines for iPad but this one said I could get 2 months free to check it out. I already love the mag, but I can't figure out how to get the free monthly magazines so I know what it would be like on the iPad. All in all I've wasted my time and am just frustrated!!.Version: 3.2
✓ Crappy...StillI just upgraded this app and discovered that I have to redownload an entire year of issues. I have clicked on "restore issues" but it doesn't work. It downloaded one out of 12 issues then stopped. For a magazine whose name is "Real Simple", this entire process is difficult and frustrating! I'm totally unimpressed :( Update: they updated the app and it's totally cumbersome. Can't access all my issues. Tried to download the newest one for an 8 hour plane ride, only to find out that they didn't "really" download and I had nothing to do on the plane for 8 hours. Real Simple? No, definitely not. More like Real Crappy!.Version: 33.3.1
✓ Real SimpleYou guys have been charging me for a year for this subscription, but I have never been able to read it without paying for a second time..Version: 103.6.7
✓ I pay for Real simple through the App Store for my I pad and can’t access new issues.I like real simple and can’t access it through the app on my tablet honestly I want a refund my subscription goes until April of 2023 and it won’t restore my purchases. Waste of hard earned money..Version: 103.6.7
✓ No Digital Subscription?Maybe I just missed it, but there didn't seem to be a way to subscribe only to the digital edition. Why not?.Version: 2.1.116
✓ New app is lameI use to enjoy browsing through the weekly posts. This new format seems archaic in comparison.Version: 35.0.1
✓ Really NOT simpleWhile it is nice to have this on the iPad, it took me multiples times to load and then delete the app before I could actually get an issue downloaded..Version: 24.0.1
✓ Can’t restore issuesI’ve been a subscriber for many, many years and can no longer restore issues via this app. Please fix this..Version: 35.4.0
✓ Update erased everythingWish I could give zero stars. Loyal subscriber for many years through iTunes. The last update erased years of downloads and cannot restore or get new issues (that I am STILL PAYING FOR). Ridiculous..Version: 103.6.6
✓ Pay for the app via iTunes, cannot access new issues or restore old issuesCannot chess any new issues or restore past issues, subscription to August 2023. Would like a refund..Version: 103.6.7
✓ App not workingDespite the fact that I have an ongoing subscription, the App Library will only show issues up to November 2021. The December and Jan/Feb issues show upon the front page of the app but not on the App Library. When I try to download from the front page, the app tells me I have to pay for them and subscribe, even though my subscription is paid thru the iTunes Store til November, 22. I tried resetting, deleting and redox loading the app and still get the same results..Version: 103.6.3
✓ Just okI enjoy being able to read the magazine on the iPad without having a pile of paper with me. However, this app is lacking some features that paper offers. I miss being able to mark a page I want to go back to. If there is a way to annotate with the app, it's not clear to me. Also, I find that some of the features are not very responsive such as turning pages and scrolling where it is an extra. I have to try many times to be able to see the "scroll for more" features. More often, the pages turn as I am frantically trying to access these extras. I don't think it will be my preferred way to use the magazine unless some of these concerns are remedied..Version: 24.0.1
✓ Needs Newsstand SupportWould be great to see Newsstand support added to this app..Version: 2.1.116
✓ All adsRidiculous amount of ads for a 1 paragraph article! What a waste of $5..Version: 28.2.4
✓ Not user friendly anymore.12/20 update: Well they updated the app again & now I've lost all my back issues, or must redownload them & I have to sign in over & over & over again, sometimes just to read the ONE magazine I have bothered to download. So now I've lost my back issues TWICE- so much for the iPad making this easier. At least the program used to remember who I was. Really now, it seems like a very inconvenient process- I think I may junk it & just stick with the paper magazine again. Not happy that the app has been incorporated into the "Newstand." all my back issues are gone (double boo). Does this mean I won't ever be able to keep them anymore? I don't want to go to the Newstand to read Real Simple- ridiculous to turn this over to Apple. If it ain't broke, don't fix it....Version: 24.0.1
✓ Real rip offI’ve been a subscriber for years and just re-subscribed in December. No January issue? Contacted the publisher, contacted this app to learn that they have decided to do combined issues for this year. Requested a refund for the missing issues and was refused. Will dispute the charge on my credit card I have a receipt for 12 issues. Do not subscribe unless you want to throw your money into the trashcan..Version: 103.6.1
✓ It bugs!...so much! I can not even retreive my password. It says my email adresse is not valid! Very hard to get to my first edition!.Version: 3.1
✓ Might be the worst app everAnd also I’m not a big fan of the magazine overall with the new editor. This magazine has seen WAY better days :(.Version: 103.7.3
✓ It's okI like to mark or tear out pages in the print version and there's no way in the app to bookmark pages so you can easily find them later. Would be great if you could virtually tear out a page to save all the great ideas. Wish it had the functionality of an iBook such as increasing text size, zooming in on pictures and writing notes. Wouldn't it be great to have links to products so you could click and get more info or purchase it? If you accidentally click an ad, it takes you to a website so why not the same functionality in the articles? Will be keeping my print copies around until the app gets more functionality. Also, I don't like that it's not integrated into newsstand..Version: 2.1.116
✓ Not in Newsstand?I had to disable the app icon notification because Real Simple was telling me insistently that I need to download the latest issue that I already downloaded two weeks ago. Why isn't Real Simple in Newsstand? Why can't we make bookmarks or clip pages/articles? Why aren't the articles and materials linked to the web? More interactivity, please.. Love the content and we definitely prefer the digital edition to the print edition. Thank you for recognizing your print subscribers as valid - too many publications are forcing their subscribers to pay again for the digital edition..Version: 2.1.116
✓ Please update for Retina screens!Pretty solid publication with some nice iPad specific functions, however the graphics and text look terrible on The New iPad. Please fix this issue soon, as Retina devices have been out for a while now..Version: 3.2
✓ App not workingCan’t access latest issues despite having active subscription. Like another review, I see the covers but can’t read the content - the app says I have to subscribe, but I already have. Very frustrating..Version: 103.6.6
✓ Would like more optionsI have always enjoyed the print version often finding myself cutting great tips and recipes for later. The pages on the app are more beautiful than the print version and that is saying a lot because the print version has always impressed me. If I could change anything on the app it would be direct functionality with other apps such as Evernote, especially the Evernote Food version for iPad. I am still figuring out how to use these apps for a fully integrated web clip experience. Great job, but please consider additional easy to use options for saving your great tips and recipes..Version: 24.0.1
✓ Could be so much more...I was disappointed in this app. While I like the magazine's content, the app itself pales in comparison to other, similar magazines. Way too much advertising, for one thing. Other iPad magazines have a fraction of the amount of advertising...a real advantage over the print subscriptions, in my opinion. This app has pages of ads, with an annoying and jarring stop in the flow of "flipping" through the pages where you have to click to get out of the ad and continue reading. Also, the lack of clickable links within the articles...even within articles about items you can purchase online...is a real drawback to me. Where are the video and slideshows available in similar magazines? Why no Newsstand integration, so I can keep this with all of my other magazines? On top of it all, the price of a single issue is more than the price of an issue of these other magazines. I won't purchase another issue until improvements are made..Version: 2.1.116
✓ It's a Good StartGlad to see this good magazine is finally available on the iPad. The interesting, useful articles and the attractive photographs and page layouts are there. I would give it a fourth star for better interactivity. Links within ads are clickable, but not within articles. [The "Gifts" article, for example, would be even more useful if the reader could go directly to the websites listed for each item.] I would give it a fifth star if e-subscriptions were available. To keep down clutter in my home and to reduce environmental impact, I am no longer subscribing to hard copy magazines. Having to buy this a single copy at a time is a bit pricey, especially when so many other magazines are making electronic subscriptions available..Version: 2.1.116
✓ Biggie appStill waiting on customer service. Only ten pages of the magazine downloaded then everything stopped. I really like this mag but think I will cancel my subscription and pick up the old timey version at the corner store..Version: 26.2.5
✓ Not workingApp does not load after purchase! So disappointing- and such a rip off!.Version: 24.1.1
✓ Cannot access issues on appI’m having the same issues as everyone else. I cannot access my issues in the app without paying for them. I have a subscription,so I’m getting the hard copies in the mail, but I would like to use my tablet as well!.Version: 103.7.2
✓ Worst update everAs others have said, update the app at your peril. You will lose all your old downloaded magazines (which had articles and recipes I referenced occasionally) and you will face an uphill battle getting your access back. They were able to restore my account and some issues, but only the last 8. Also the email address that they set for my account is an old defunct email address that is a decade out of date. No way that I can see to update it. Also, for some reason my account number is different than what shows when I login on safari to manage my subscription. They’ve cut off the last digit without any compelling reason why. No response when I asked these questions. Real Simple support just seems to keep getting worse and worse..Version: 35.0.1
✓ No subscription?Yes, I'm wondering why this isn't in the newstand as well. Regardless, I'm surprised they wouldn't offer a subscription price online, similar to a printed version. I've decided to stop getting print subscriptions to stop wastage & I've easily moved over to electronic subscriptions - in fact, in so many ways they are better than print (take your magazine collection anywhere to read anytime, stop wasting trees, etc..). Offer a subscription price through the app! I'll happily purchase it..Version: 2.1.116
✓ Trouble downloading on iphoneCan’t download on iPhone.Version: 103.6.9
🙂 Real Simple Magazine Positive Reviews
Real Simple Magazine works most of the time. If it is not working for you, we recommend you excersise some patience and retry later or contact Real Simple Magazine.
⛔ Real Simple Magazine Problems
