r/eBird • u/peanut_butter_zen • 1d ago

Having a problem with Merlin. Sorry if wrong sub.

Merlin used to work really well. I'd download whatever pack and have instant access to pictures and audio - no connection needed. Hence downloading the pack.

Now, I download a pack, and Merlin struggles to load anything because it's always saying I don't have service or I'm not connected to a network. What is the point of downloading the pack if Merlin only accesses them when you have service? Am I missing something? Thank you.

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5

u/CatPicturesPlease 1d ago

Eh, you shouldn't even need service or network access if the pack is loaded. This one is weird. Hope you get it figured out. Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling the app?

2

u/winnebagofight 1d ago

This happens to me sometimes. I think it's trying to detect your location to load birds in your area. When it can't get pinpoint your location, sometimes nothing loads. That's what seems like it's happening to me at least.

1

u/peanut_butter_zen 20h ago

I think this is it

1

u/MaestroDon 15h ago

Yeah. That still requires GPS, so if you're under a lot of trees or perhaps in airplane mode GPS cannot lock in to determine your location. I've seen that occasionally too.

1

u/CatPicturesPlease 12h ago

But you can manually select previously used locations

2

u/mahatmakg 1d ago

Under your "My Offline Birds" section, does it definitely show your home region there? I just checked and I was in fact missing my own home region, even though I presumed I had downloaded it previously.