Mobile - FAQs

Skip ahead to:

General

Mobile Ed

Lexham English Bible Audio

Sync

Library

Search

Guide

Text Comparison

Notes/Highlights

Courses Questions

Reading Plan

Registration

Resources

Unsupported Features

 

General App Questions

How do I install the Verbum mobile app?

The mobile apps are free and can be installed from Google Play, Apple App Store, or Amazon’s App Store.

 

Will the Verbum mobile app work with my specific device? Do I have enough space?

Please see our release notes for the currently supported versions of iOS and Android.

 

I can’t find a Verbum <feature> on my mobile device.

The mobile apps are small, lightweight apps that only offer a few of the hundreds of features available in Verbum Desktop.

 

Do I have to be a Verbum customer to use the mobile app?

No. Our application is free for anyone to use and can be downloaded from the app store. However, if you are a Verbum user, the app will give you access to books from your Verbum library.

 

Do I have to create an account?

No. You can use a limited version of the Verbum app without an account. Create a free account to get access to additional free features and books for Bible study.

 

Can I read my books offline?

The current version of our app offers limited offline reading by pre-downloading resources to your device (requires an internet connection via your wireless carrier or Wi-Fi). Learn More >>

 

I have a Verbum Base Package. Will I be able to see all my books in the Verbum Bible app?

All books in a Verbum Base Package are supported on mobile.

 

Which books are compatible with my mobile device?

Any resource that says "Runs on internet" is available for mobile devices. You can browse them all.

 

Which free books will I have access to on my mobile device?

The specific list of titles varies over time. To ensure unrestricted access to a free resource, consider purchasing it on Verbum.com.

 

Can I change the default font?

You can now change your resource font in the app settings.

 

Is there anywhere I can learn more about using the app?

Our free online training materials are constantly being updated on our iOS Training Page.

 

Mobile Ed Video Questions

I can’t watch Mobile Ed videos.

  • Are you online or offline? If offline, have both the Mobile Ed text resource and video files been downloaded? If online, how strong is your network signal?
  • Are you using wifi or cellular? Mobile Ed videos can be quite large and will load very slow over cellular networks.

 

The video works but the audio doesn’t.

Is the audio on your device muted? Is the audio working with other apps on your mobile device?

 

Lexham English Bible Audio Questions

The LEB audio doesn’t work.

Are you online or offline? If offline, have you downloaded the LEB media resources? Note that the LEB media resources are a separate download.

 

When I try to play audio for the LEB the Old Testament, it goes to Matthew 1:1.

The LEB audio only includes the New Testament, which is why it navigates to Matthew 1:1.

 

Sync Questions 

My notes/highlights won’t sync between Desktop and Mobile

Check the following:

  • Are you online or offline? Make sure each device with Verbum installed is online.
  • Are you using a firewall? Misconfigured firewalls can block sync operations.
  • Can you access the internet on both devices? If not, please fix this issue first.
  • Have there been any recent changes to your network? Network changes can break connectivity.
  • Is cellular data enabled for the Mobile app? If you are using a cellular connection please ensure that the mobile app can use data.
  • Did you recently update either the Desktop or Mobile apps? After an app update it can take a while to sync notes/highlights.
  • Are you using a new computer / mobile device? Restoring a backup of Faithlife apps to new devices isn’t supported.
  • Are you signed into the app? Notes/highlights won’t sync to anonymous accounts.
  • Are you using the same account for Desktop and mobile? Notes/highlights can’t sync across different accounts.
  • Check http://documents.logos.com to see if your notes appear there. If not, there is likely a network problem.
  • If they are present at documents.logos.com, which device is missing them? Has that device been synced while online?
  • Did you check View Settings to verify that the Notes setting is turned on? If the Notes setting is turned off, notes/highlights will not be visible.
  • How long did you wait for the notes/highlights to sync after signing in? If you have thousands of notes/highlights in a single document, it can take quite a long time for them to sync.

 

Library Questions 

I can’t find the books I purchased through my mobile device.

 Open the app menu, then select About > Restore Purchases.

 

I can’t find my books.

Check the following: 

  • Are you signed in to the correct account? Books will only appear in the account that purchased them.
  • Is this a newly purchased book? Recent purchases may take a little while to appear in your library.
  • Are you online or offline? If offline, can you see the book when online?
  • Is this a new device? If so, did you perform a fresh install on your device or do a backup/restore? Faithlife only supports fresh installs of our apps on new devices; backup/restore methods (from one device to another) are not supported.
  • Did you recently install the app? If so, did you sign in? The app can take from a few minutes to many hours (depending on the number of downloaded books) to sync resources, notes, highlights, etc. after a new install.
  • Have you tried rebuilding the index (iOS only)? From the Dashboard, type rebuild index in the reference field at the top of the screen. 
  • Has the book been hidden in the Desktop app? Books hidden on Desktop won’t appear in the mobile apps.

 

I can’t find my books in the Faithlife Ebooks app.

  • Have you turned off the Faithlife Ebooks Resources Only setting? By default the Faithlife Ebooks app only shows Faithlife Ebook resources; to show all resources, open the settings menu by tapping the icon, selecting the Settings menu item, then toggling the Faithlife Ebook Resources Only option off.

 

I can’t find my books while offline.

  • Are the books downloaded locally? Reading a book while online does not mean the book is automatically downloaded to your device. To download a book for offline use, please tap the info icon and then tap Download.

 

My downloaded books don’t work offline.

(For the first two suggestions below, ensure the Library is set to Cover view)

  • Are you sure the books are downloaded locally? If you view the book in the Library is the i icon filled in?
  • It could be that the downloaded book is outdated. View the Book in the Library and tap the i icon, then Remove and Download the book again.
  • Did you backup/restore the app from another device using iTunes? If so, this scenario isn’t supported - previously downloaded books will not be backed up / restored to another device. Please perform a fresh install on your new device.

 

I just bought a book and can’t find it on Mobile.

  • Is the book supported on mobile devices? Some books are not supported on mobile either because of licensing or technical issues. Please contact Customer Support.
  • How long did you wait after buying the books? Books might not instantly appear in the Mobile apps; you might have to go online and wait a few minutes.
  • Have you synced or restarted the app while online? If not, please restart the app while online.
  • Is this a new device? Make sure you’ve done a fresh install of the app while online, and are signed in with your account.

 

Downloaded books on one device aren’t downloaded to my other device. Why?

Downloads are on a per-device basis. The number of books downloaded on one device will not automatically match other devices when using the same account.

The reason? Not all devices have the same storage capabilities and we don’t want to force downloads to all devices because a change was made on one. Many customers that use more than one device with the same account want to control exactly which books are downloaded on each device.

 

How do I make the downloaded books the same on both devices?

The best way is to use Mobile Management on Verbum Desktop to select which books you want on each device.

 

I only want to see books in a certain language.

 Open the Library and enter lang:spanish or lang:german, etc. in the Library search field. You can use Mobile Management in Verbum Desktop to manage what books appear in your app.

 

I only want to see downloaded books.

Open the Library. click the filter icon at the top right and select the Downloaded option. 

 

I know some words in a book title but I can’t find the book. How do I find it?

Open the Library and enter title:word1 title:word2 etc until you have entered all the words you know are in the title.

 

How do I find books by a certain author?

Open the Library and enter author: followed by the author’s name.

 

How do I find books in a given subject?

Open the Library and enter subject: followed by the subject name.

 

How do I find books of a certain type?

Open the Library and enter type: followed by the book type.

 

How can I filter my Library?

The following Library Filters work in the mobile apps:

  • Abbreviated titles; eg. abbrev:nas
  • Author; eg. author:smith
  • Edition; eg. edition:logos, edition:ebook
  • Electronic publication date: eg. epubdate:2017
  • Language; eg. lang:greek, lang:english
  • My Tags; eg. mytag:tagname
  • Pubdate; eg. pubdate:1995
  • Publisher; eg. publisher:zondervan
  • Rating; eg. rating:5
  • Series (such as Commentary Series); eg. series:anchor
  • Tags; eg. tag:tagname
  • Titles; eg. title:esv
  • Types; eg. type:bible

 

Search doesn’t work.

Check the following:

  • Are you online or offline? If offline, is the book you are searching downloaded?
  • Did you just install or update the app? If the app isn’t finished processing after an install, search might not work.
  • What exact search syntax are you using? The mobile apps only support a small subset of the Search features available on Desktop. 

 

Guide Questions 

Guides don’t work.

Check the following:

  • Are you online or offline? Guides only work when online.
  • Are you signed in to the app? Guides don’t work for anonymous users.

 

I’m not seeing the same Guide results on Mobile and Desktop.

Guide results on Mobile will only show a small subset of the results shown on Desktop.

 

Text Comparison Questions

Text Comparison doesn’t work.

Check the following:

  • Are you online or offline?
  • Are you signed in to the app? Text comparison doesn’t work for anonymous users.

 

Text Comparison doesn’t show the correct Bibles.

Check the following: 

  • Are you using Top Bibles? If so, have you prioritized the Bibles you wish to see in the Desktop app?
  • Are you using a Collection? Does the Collection include the Bibles you expect to see?

 

Note/Highlight Questions

I can’t see my notes/highlights.

Check the following:

  • Is the Notes setting turned on? If the setting isn’t turned on, notes/highlights won’t appear.
  • Where did you create the notes, and have you synced your device(s)? Notes won’t appear across devices if they haven’t been synced. 
  • Do you have a solid network connection? Syncing requires a solid network connection.
  • Is this a standard highlight or a custom highlight? Some custom highlights may not appear in the mobile apps.

 

I can’t create highlights.

Check the following:

  • Is the Notes setting turned on? If it isn’t, a highlight might appear for a second and then disappear. Please make sure the Notes setting is turned one.
  • Is Swipe to Highlight turned on? If you expect swipe-to-highlight to work, it must be enabled.

 

When I highlight it selects blocks of text.

 Is Smart Text Selection turned on? If so, turn it off.

 

I can’t delete highlights.

 Tap once on the Highlight, then tap on the trash icon.

 

I’m having a hard time highlighting text.

 Try the following:

  • Use a stylus.
  • Change the text to a larger size.

 

Courses Questions

I can’t see my Courses on Mobile.

  • Courses created on Verbum Desktop using the Courses Tool do not sync to the Mobile apps.
  • The Courses icon on Mobile is similar to the Library icon, except it only shows Mobile Ed and other courses that combine Text with Video.

 

Reading Questions

I can’t see the verse numbers.

Is Bible Text Only turned on? If so, turn it off.

 

I can’t scroll the Bible.

Is Scrolling View turned off? If so, turn it on.

 

I can’t turn the page in the Bible.

Is Scrolling View turned on? If so, turn it off.

 

Highlighting selects too much text.

Is Smart Text Selection turned on? If so, turn it off.

 

My Highlights don’t appear.

Is the Notes setting turned off? If so, turn it on.

 

My Community Notes don’t appear.

Is the Community Notes setting turned off? If so, turn it on.

 

I can no longer see Bible footnotes.

Is the Bible downloaded? If not, download it and try again.

 

I still can’t see Bible footnotes.

Is the Inline Footnotes Setting turned off? If so, turn it on.

 

Reading Plan Questions

I can’t create a custom reading plan.

This feature is not currently supported in the mobile app.

 

I can’t see my reading plan(s).

Check if you can see the plans in the Reading Plans section of the settings menu

 

Registration Questions

I can’t register through the Mobile app, it says invalid username or password.

Do you already have a Verbum account using the same email? If so, please use Sign In instead of Register. If you forgot your account email or password please contact Customer Service.

 

Resource Questions

I can’t report a typo.

  • Android: reporting typos is only supported if the setting is turned on.
  • iOS: reporting typos is not supported.

 

The Interlinear display doesn’t work like on Desktop.

  • Some Interlinear lines can be turned on/off for Interlinear resources.

 

Verse navigation takes me to the wrong location.

If the book is downloaded, remove the book and download it again.

 

Does Text-to-Speech work for books in the Verbum Mobile app?

Yes

 

Unsupported features

Documents

  • Bibliography
  • Canvas (only available on iPad)
  • Handouts
  • Morph Query
  • Sentence Diagrams
  • Syntax Search
  • Text Alignment
  • Visual Filters
  • Word Find Puzzle
  • Word Lists

 

Notes

  • Turning off individual Note Documents
  • Note tags

 

Guides

  • (Offline) Passage Guide
  • (Offline) Exegetical Guide
  • (Offline) Topic Guide
  • (Offline) Bible Word Study
  • Homily Starter Guides
  • Theology Guides
  • Workflows

 

Library Tools

  • Creating Collections
  • Courses Tool
  • Wikipedia
  • Hiding resources
  • Copying the Library to external SD Cards
  • Changing resource priority

 

Reference Tools

  • Atlas
  • Canvas (only available on iPad)
  • Homily Builder (only available on iPad)
  • Bible Browser
  • Bible Sense Lexicon
  • Concordance
  • Reading Lists

 

Resources

  • Layouts (are available but don't sync with Desktop layouts)
  • Two-finger scrolling while in Paging mode (Android)
  • Creating resource tags
  • Creating resource ratings

 

Utility Tools

  • Personal Books

 

Passage Tools

  • Copy Bible Verses
  • Explorer
  • Passage Analysis
  • (Offline) Text Comparison

 

Lookup Tools

  • Cited By
  • Power Lookup
  • Pronunciation

 

Interactive Media

  • No interactive media resources are supported on Mobile

 

Search

  • Wildcards
  • Some desktop search features are not supported in the mobile apps

 

View Settings

  • Changing font type
  • Changing font size on a per-panel basis

 

Miscellaneous Unsupported Features

  • Writing notes with the Apple Pencil
  • Reporting typos (iOS doesn’t support this, Android does)
  • Print support
  • Extended offline usage

 

Unsupported Devices

  • Windows mobile devices
  • Rooted Android devices
  • Jailbroken iOS devices
  • Blackberry devices
  • Chromebooks
  • Linux mobile devices

 

Unsupported backup/restore scenarios

  • iTunes Restore/Backup to the same device
  • iTunes Restore/Backup to a new device
  • Android Restore/Backup to the same device
  • Android Restore/Backup to a new device

 

Unsupported Operating Systems

  • Android - any Android or Fire OS versions more than five releases old
  • iOS - anything more than two releases old
  • Windows Mobile
  • ChromeOS
  • Beta versions of iOS
  • Beta versions of Android
Was this article helpful?
Suggest an improvement or request a feature
Have more questions? Ask the community.