Unable to open or download content to Gospel Library

I got a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 earlier this month. Initially, I was able to install Gospel Library without any problems and view most of the content.. However, this week I decided to uninstall and reinstall because I was not able to download the Come Follow Me 2019 information.

Now I am able to install Gospel Library, but when I try to open it, the progress bar will get stuck at less than one third (the bar stays at one millimeter left to the words "Updating Gospel Library") and the app never fully opens. Instead, after hanging for 10-15 minutes I get the following message:

"Gospel Library
Failed to download Catalog.
Check your internet connection and try again."

It doesn't work, neither with Wi-Fi nor with mobile data.

Needless to say that I don't have any problems with any other apps on this device.

It sounds like there's something blocking the connection to the Church's content servers. Do you have any filtering apps or services turned on?

I don't believe so. It doesn't work whether I use Wi-Fi or mobile data. Incidentally, I'm not able to install the LDS Music app on my Note 9 either. I've had no problems installing the Gospel Library app on our iPad, iPhone, Galaxy S5, and Galaxy Note 4.

Sometimes content filtering is done by the Wi-Fi network (several consumer services exist) or the cellular network (T-Mobile Web Guard, etc.), but sometimes it's a third-party app you have installed for blocking ads, filtering, or security (such as a VPN). Those kinds of apps are more prevalent on Android, because Android allows third-party apps deeper access to the system than iOS does.

If not that, have you disabled, or do you have any updates to, Android or any of the Android system apps – in particular, Google Play Services, Chrome (or Android System WebView, if you don't use Chrome), or the Android Download Manager?

Are you able to access Church content in a web browser on that device? For example, you could try LDS.org or a scripture audio file.

Do you have the app installed on an SD card, or regular storage?

I'm not aware of any third-party app that I have installed for blocking apps, filtering, or security. That's a good suggestion, so I'll keep looking.

As far as I can tell my Android and all apps are to to date to the latest version. I have not disabled any of them.

Yes, I am able to view Church content in a web browser like Chrome and I'm able to download the scripture audio file that you included in your message.

Gospel Library is currently installed in internal storage but I also tried changing it to the SD card. I have tried clearing data and clearing cache. I enabled app permissions to use the microphone and storage.

After looking through the reviews in the Play Store I have come to the conclusion that I'm not the only one who is experiencing this problem and that the problem is somewhat specific to Galaxy Note 9 users. See the attached screenshot. I haven't had any problem downloading any of the other LDS apps like LDS Tools, etc. I only have difficulty downloading content for the Gospel Library app and the LDS Music app.

I also contacted the Church through the email address provided in The Play Store but they have not been able to provide any helpful advice so far.

Something must happened when the Gospel Library app was updated on November 6, 2018. See screenshots of the many complaints that look like they describe exactly what I've been experiencing.

PROBLEM SOLVED!!!! After uninstalling the "1.1.1.1: Faster & Safer Internet" app from my Galaxy Note 9 I was able to both install and download content for the Gospel Library and the LDS Music app. It is a DNS resolver.

It's not limited to the Note 9. My wife has an old Galaxy Tab S and can't download the CFM curriculum, and I had similar problems with my Galaxy S7 and then it finally loaded. Constantly getting "check your internet connection", and there's no problem there as I can function elsewhere on the Tab S.

Considering that I was able to solve the problem by uninstalling an app, you most likely have an app on your devices that prevent you from downloading the CFM curriculum.

We were having the same problem on my son's Samsung s9+ phone. I finally unpaired his device with the Verizon family companion app and uninstalled it. I then uninstalled Gospel Library and reinstalled it. It worked! I almost gave up while installing because it paused in the same spot it had been stalling before but it worked! Yay! I just thought I would put this out there for others.

fredbloem wrote:Considering that I was able to solve the problem by uninstalling an app, you most likely have an app on your devices that prevent you from downloading the CFM curriculum.

That is quite the stretch of thought. Just because uninstalling the app worked for you doesn't mean that is the end-all solution for the problem. There is no "1.1.1.1:Faster & Safer Internet" app on the Samsung Galaxy S to be uninstalled. I looked. And considering that the same issue occurred on my Galaxy Tab A, it appears to go beyond just the single app issue. This is a problem that Salt Lake needs to look at.

ronin718 wrote:

fredbloem wrote:Considering that I was able to solve the problem by uninstalling an app, you most likely have an app on your devices that prevent you from downloading the CFM curriculum.

That is quite the stretch of thought. Just because uninstalling the app worked for you doesn't mean that is the end-all solution for the problem. There is no "1.1.1.1:Faster & Safer Internet" app on the Samsung Galaxy S to be uninstalled. I looked. And considering that the same issue occurred on my Galaxy Tab A, it appears to go beyond just the single app issue. This is a problem that Salt Lake needs to look at.

ronin718, if you feel "Salt Lake needs to look at a problem" (i.e. the developers) you need to send feedback from within the app or via lds.org to get this concern to those who set the developer's priorities. Unless another user in the forum like yourself has stumbled on a solution, no one here will be able to help. This forum is user-to-user help, not an official support arm for the church.

ronin718 wrote:It's not limited to the Note 9. My wife has an old Galaxy Tab S and can't download the CFM curriculum, and I had similar problems with my Galaxy S7 and then it finally loaded. Constantly getting "check your internet connection", and there's no problem there as I can function elsewhere on the Tab S.

What version of Gospel Library are you running? And what version of Android is on your devices? You mentioned that you don't have any content-blocking apps installed. Do you have a VPN enabled, or any filtering services at the network level, like T-Mobile's Web Guard, etc.? Also, have you tried on a different Wi-Fi network?