Collins Bird Guide Negative Reviews

Collins Bird Guide App Complaints & User Negative Comments 2024

Collins Bird Guide app received 36 complaints, negative comments and reviews by users. Have you ever had a bad experience using Collins Bird Guide? Can you share your negative thoughts about collins bird guide?

Collins Bird Guide for Negative User Reviews

✓ Illustrations too smallI have recently updated my app and the print and pictures are far too small. The previous version was much clearer. Disappointed..Birder2023Version: 2.1.2

✓ UpdatesI have an update of over 1gb to download, this is the third one in as many weeks, why so many so close when there hasn’t been one for over a year?.Dave.s7Version: 1.7.1

✓ Search function now flawedAs with others, since the update the search results will not progress to the next stage when clicked on. This is both on iphone and ipad. Clearly this update hasn’t been fully tested, something all computer science student are taught to do when developing an app..Abababab123Version: 2.0.3

✓ Not user friendlyI really don’t like this app. Nothing ever comes up when I search on attributes..KahnigVersion: 1.8.3

✓ Some nice updates, but…I like the updates (Aug 23) but please bring lists back into the app. I don’t want or need another app to do this..EepipVersion: 2.0.2

✓ List problemGreat app and I have used the List feature for several years - but in the last couple of days my latest list keeps disappearing..Bower9999Version: 1.5.4

✓ Additional purchases for updatesI don’t think forcing customers to pay for updates to the app is wise, especially when you have to pay for the app in the first place. Will everyone have to pay again for the next update?.Redders0070Version: 2.0

✓ Almost there but not completeAn excellent app but the rating is kept low because of a number of essential requirements need sorting/adding. Managing lists is incredibly difficult; using and retaining previous locations does not always work (even if I delete a sighting and start again), it does not default to the taxonomical list order I set but keeps showing date order. I would also like to copy an entry between lists and what if I change my device or want to share my list between iPhone and iPad? How about sharing sightings on social media? Managing locations should be a separate menu option with a larger screen to drop the pin. Above all there are no help pages. This is a premium cost app without premium features..TeaBoy63Version: 1.5.4

✓ The latest update is AWFUL!It was brilliant until this last update. Now it regularly freezes, the comparisons don’t work any more (I used to use this a lot), it won’t return to the Home Screen and it’s just awful. I’ve written to them to ask how the comparisons are supposed to work now, but nothing useful came back. Call me cynical, but I can’t help but think they’ve made it awful so you buy the next edition. 🤷‍♀️ I just use the BWP app now..Ergates12345Version: 2.0.3

✓ FinallyAt last, the Collins on ipad. Not yet perfect, including the language versions and life lists (how to store those?), but we are getting there. Keep on working guys, competition is around the corner!.HadrianiVersion: 1.2.1

✓ Latest update - can’t open bird details after searchSearch for (say) sandpiper and get results. Try to get into the bird details from the search selection and it won’t open If you search for green sandpiper and it goes direct to the bird that’s working fine..Kentish LassVersion: 2.0.3

✓ Good but annoyingGreat contents but Very frustrating when out in the field and go to open app only to find it needs a update and because of lack of 4g network in the wilds hence App is useless!!!.Jp1070Version: 1.6.5

✓ Still not saving life list additionsVery frustrating that it is STILL NOT saving life list additions, emailed support but very sadly no response 😖.Steve57Version: 1.6.0

✓ Pretty good but not without problemsIllustrations are the best in the business and juxtaposition of other, tricky comparison species really helpful. However, try finding geese in a hurry and where are Lesser Redpolls? If you select the broad category area for geese it starts with ducks then scrolls through Eagles and other, unrelated species before eventually arriving at geese. I gave up several times before realising I needed to continue scrolling through, which is unhelpful in the field. What makes it worse is a text search of ‘geese’ returns nothing whatsoever. Needs addressing and I’d give it five stars; as it stands I’d like to give 3.5..RelphsterVersion: 1.7.4

✓ BadWaste of money. Not user friendly. Only drawing no real pictures. I wish I can have my money back..DodobirdflyVersion: 1.6.4

✓ Update has stopped app functioningUpdatjng to the new Collins edition on an iPhone 12 Pro with the latest iOS, has meant the app no longer works correctly. Very disappointing..NofreenicknameleftVersion: 2.0.3

✓ User unfriendlyUnhelpful to people with learning disabilities who want to search for a bird but perhaps cannot spell correctly - must spell bird exactly correct for anything to come up. This really needs sorting considering other reviews and price of app. Click birds of prey on home page to browse and says there are 47 species of BoP only 4 buzzard species appear, browsing options limited. Only good feature is bird songs, even this is limited..99dcasterVersion: 1.7.6

✓ Update removed my listsLike other review my lists have disappeared, no forewarning. I do not want anther app to record my sightings ,I want my lists back and within the app. If we can get to the moon surely this can’t be too difficult Very unhappy.Mothman12:456Version: 2.0.3

✓ Problem with video packNice app, used the book for a number of years, is a logical development. However, had problems trying to download video pack 3. It gets to about 80%, jumps to 100% and then says that it can’t complete the installation. Been trying for about a year, without success. Other 2 video packs have downloaded fine. Not a space problem, still have about 150Gb capacity left..ITim ThornbyVersion: 1.7.7

✓ Be great when it's finishedFor the cost of this program and the Collins name you would expect more but it lacks a lot. Illustrations and database search is great, but the writers seem to want to make more out of the in app purchases which is real sad when you have paid a lot of money for it. The side that lets it down is the record listing. It is just so poor it hard to describe its like writing records in a book rather than a modern medium. The listing display is so poor I like to view my records after I have written them but this display is bad. Is should display them on a separate page but has like a little note page rubbish I'm afraid. I brought this as my present bird app doesn't cover out of UK though I have been using it for France records. But this app gives great records search and display that's it. Your paying 13 quid just for that really, the rest of the program is poor. If your happy like me to pay an over inflated price for the information carry on. But it's not a value for money deal. Sad really you would expect more. This is even no iCloud back up, in this day and age the norm really. Look at ispiney products for that much better value for money. Bottom line great information but needs to be fully finished and it just doesn't feel like it is..PwcompVersion: 1.3.0

✓ Not a good appThe illustrations and text is fine but the app is almost unusable because the navigation and search function is poorly designed. They seem to want you to find species by scrolling through families in groups by photo. Sometimes searching for a species by name works and sometimes it doesn't. A simple taxonomic list would be easier..MF98008Version: 1.7.7

✓ Text searchOnly purchased the old version 4 months ago and now had to pay an extra £7.99 The text search doesn’t work correctly eg search for owl and all instances of owl within the text appear eg Wild fOWL Try Barn Owl and BARNacle Goose appears!!.Fredblogs123456Version: 2.0.5

✓ Some major issuesThe search function is not fit for purpose. Unable to click on a result to see the main entry. Also not sure about updates in terms of species distribution. Example ruddy duck greater than 100 pairs when there are prob less than 10 left after cull. I’m sure this will be a teething problem but needs sorting soon..IGL 43Version: 2.0.3

✓ Not intuitive to useI appreciate what this guide tries to achieve, but it’s comprehensive approach makes it as a very complicated app to use which loses any sense of being intuitive. I’m sure if you are already an expert this is not a problem, but for a casual birdwatchers it is easy to get lost..Dutch DirkVersion: 1.6.1

✓ Good but needs better search facilityWould be more stars if search feature was more intelligent and predictive and narrowed search as you spell. It does not like any spelling mistakes!!.Dr BuckVersion: 1.7.6

✓ DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!I think the good reviews were seeded here when the app was first released. This is a pretty app, but the interface is sparse (as in it doesn't have many features) and the search engine is useless--you can choose a variety of criteria but it's not clear that what then appears is a subset or just an entire section (e.g. "Raptors") repeated without other criteria applied. The descriptions are thorough and the drawings are nice. But there is no indication of names other than the English bird book one and the Latin name. No hope for those of us in non-English-speaking countries who want to use a bird book in English, but need to search based on what locals call a bird. Look at the version history. I'd hoped, unreasonably, that it had been such a great app when it came out that it hadn't needed an update. Wrong. It needs attention and hasn't gotten it. Compare the version history to iBird Pro (North America) and you'll see what a living app's history should look like. I really wish I could get my money back. Within 5 minutes of not being able to figure out how I'd use it productively (i.e. as a field guide, not to memorize birds), I knew I'd wasted my money. And I still need a Swiss or Europe field guide app!.Khb54321Version: 1.4.2

✓ Not greatA comprehensive set of pictures. Well designed app which is simple to use. For £14 I'd expect the full works which this app certainly doesn't give. You have to pay more to get more from the app. To add salt to the wound, a free app on bird ID gives more calls and song. The distribution maps have no key! Fairly disappointed..Jimgee1010Version: 1.6.0

✓ Good but with issuesGood app when it works but has weird issues. For example, the auks section is greyed out and inaccessible. Why?.AdorningAdornoVersion: 2.0.6

✓ Great for ID, but listing function cd be betterThis is a great resource for bird ID - I love the Collins Bird Guide book and this saves having to take it out with me when birding. I love the ability to compare different species. I was really excited to see it included functionality for recording sightings & holding more than 1 list but it is still very clunky. It would be so much better if it could: - quickly add a bird sighting to more than 1 list (eg local AND UK, or Year list AND Life List) rather than having to make separate entries - keep a tally of total species seen, not just individual sightings. At present the same bird seen twice in different locations adds it as two sightings to your total. So if you are doing eg. My #200BirdYear you have to keep a separate tally elsewhere, which is frustrating. If the app does allow these things, then it isn’t clear how to do them - I have looked in Settings but the option isn’t there. It would be a 5 Star app if it also offered these things which some other (even free) bird listing apps have..Chocoholix5Version: 1.6.5

✓ Search feature not workingAfter paying an extortionate sum to get the latest update, the search feature does not work. After the search result returns, I can’t click through to a species description. Update: asked for and got a refund only to find that the update also totally screwed the 2nd edition. Previously it was great. Now the search is terrible, e.g. searching for “owl” returns first a Swan ?!? and other water fowl. Can’t click through from search result. Previously the species comparison was excellent, now it is hidden and when you tap “show similar” the comparison no longer includes the species of interest. I used the previous version of the 2nd edition constantly in the field, it was very helpful. PLEASE CAN I HAVE IT BACK!.DrNick53Version: 2.0.4

✓ Would be More Stars but......Not possible to restore videos purchased. App stating 2.1GB required to do so when 49GB available! UPDATE; the fix for the above problem issued on 10 Jan 2018 hasn't worked. Same error message as before. I deleted the app and reinstalled but the app now wants to charge again for videos I have already purchased. UPDATE; even after these "improvements" I still cannot restore the videos that I have paid for. Very frustrating. Think carefully before purchasing this App. UPDATE JUNE 2018: Finally, the Developers of this App have provided a solution to the missing purchased videos. I thank them for that but it shouldn't have taken this long..IslbirderVersion: 1.6.0

✓ BadNo alphabetic lookup. A big waste of money. Grey letters in index difficult to read. Buy the book, not this app..Scot BirderVersion: 1.1.0

✓ Update has ruined thisBuggy as anything; clearly no effort gone into making this work despite the fact people pay for it.Bexi h IIIVersion: 2.0.3

✓ Where have my lists gone!I am signed in to iCloud but my lists are not in the app. I just get sent to download another app. I purchased this app in May and have lost everything. Everything I do produces a prompt to buy more. Please restore what I purchased..Upset birder1001Version: 2.0.6

✓ Horrible V3 updateThe developpera have turned a great app to an usable app. The update to V3 is a nightmare - paid for V2, paid for the V3 update but now I’m back to using the book as this update is unusable..GreatpotooVersion: 2.0.6

✓ Don't use the lists!This is an excellent app, on the whole, but I have found a bug in the latest version - you can spend a lot of time recording your sightings in the list function, only to find that they have disappeared next time you open the app. I would give it 5 stars if I hadn't wasted a whole evening making a list and then losing it..Beanie101Version: 1.4.2

Collins Bird Guide works most of the time. If it is not working for you, we recommend you excersise some patience and retry later or contact Collins Bird Guide.