Update to GL for Android 4.0.0.38: All data lost

With the latest update of Gospel Library for Android 4.0.0.38 a couple of days ago all my previously downloaded data is no more available from within the app. Did I forget anything? Did I do something wrong? Any solution to restore it?

Markus Gäbler

Depends on what you mean by "previously downloaded data". I had to re-download content (I used to subscribe to the entire library - I see no way to do that now - but had to choose download all from the main library page as no content, or maybe only the scriptures, was downloaded). Any previous "multiple screens" and "Custom Collections" are gone. You cannot see all highlights any more, only those which are either tagged or in a notebook. I'm assuming previously downloaded media is all gone.

Personally, I'll be side-loading the previous version until they get the footnote pane to scroll with the content again. (And I'll also have to go through any non-tagged highlights and either put them in an "unassigned" type notebook or tag them (perhaps with "untagged" ).

Liz

Oh, so I should have expected the loss?

I mean I didn't look for it, but was there a warning that all the content and history and so forth would be gone after the update? This never happened with any of the other automatic updates in the past.

Markus

markusgaebler wrote:. . . was there a warning that all the content and history and so forth would be gone after the update? This never happened with any of the other automatic updates in the past.

I have always had to reload content after an update. Two updates ago, I was not syncing and also lost dozens of bookmarks. I began syncing and unhappily put up with the automatic rearranging of bookmarks by the mothership from time to time, but with this latest update, all of my bookmarks remained (after the dust settled). They weren't there at first, but I stayed connected and shortly afterward they partially returned, and then completely returned.

I never used the "history and so forth" function(s). [smile]
It would not surprise me if they disappeared, but if I used them, I would be saddened by the loss.

Losing annotations is something the Gospel Library team has tried very hard to prevent (constantly encouraging people to sign in). But clearing content was unavoidable with this update because each book and manual has been converted into a new HTML5 format (among other things, the new format allows highlighting everywhere).

Other things that don't sync – history, screens, and custom collections – were cleared because a lot of the internal user database was rebuilt from the ground up. These could hypothetically have been migrated with a little extra work. Migration from one format to another is difficult, though, because if it fails at some point in the process it can cause bigger problems (like constant crashing or the inability to save any new settings). And with 3 million users, there's guaranteed to be a failure on several obscure devices. We were blessed to have a strong preview/beta user group as we prepared for this release, but unfortunately not everything can be anticipated.

No, there was no warning. I don't consider the loss catastrophic, but I would have handled the upgrade differently (paper notes or lots of tagging) had I known I was going to lose all the things I did... IMO, other things are a bigger deal as you can recreate your custom collections and your list of screens.