pixal 4a phone/Wherigo

[+TeamLarcee]

we have an android pixel 4a phone.

the Wherigo app is installed and  we have been successful at finding over 100 Wherigo geocaches before getting this phone.

we can download the cartridge successfully.

at that point things fall apart. the downloaded file is obvious in the files folder, and when clicking on

‘open with’ a pop up indicates ‘none of your apps can open this file.’

 

searching online we found that the pixel phone features a hidden file manager, but it does not allow the ability to maneuver files..only view.

 

i see in past forum posts something about using a cable and computer etc. is there something else that can be done when caching on the fly? without any planned pre-computer/cable time? or is that the only way to make this work?

[+capoaira]

Which android version you have? There were several problems with file manager on Android 12, but they are fixed by the newest version, a view days ago.

It is and was never possible to open a cartridge by opening the gwc-file. You always have to click on the start-Button and select the Cartridge.

[+TeamLarcee]

android 12. phone indicates it is up to date as of today.

 

yes, i understand the start button on the cartridge.

i cannot get the Wherigo file beyond the file manager and into Wherigo app  once it is downloaded to the phone

 

[+SpiritGuide]

No problems with Geooh's built-in Wherigo player. The app can download cartridges for you and then run the player... fully supports Android 12.

[+CAVinoGal]

10 hours ago, TeamLarcee said:

i cannot get the Wherigo file beyond the file manager and into Wherigo app  once it is downloaded to the phone

 I also have a Pixel 4a phone, running Android 12.  What app are you using to play Wherigo catridges?  I use WhereYouGo, and there is a setting that points to the Wherigo folder.  Mine says  /storage/emulated/0/Download.  You may need to adjust this setting, or place the Wherigo file in the folder in the settings so the app can find it.

 

I haven't had any issues playing Wherigo files with this set up.

[+capoaira]

 

On 1/20/2022 at 6:07 PM, TeamLarcee said:

i cannot get the Wherigo file beyond the file manager and into Wherigo app  once it is downloaded to the phone

Do you use the in-app download?

Maybe the pixel 4a phone gives you not fully access to the file system.

If that not helps maybe this website or the whereyougo support helps you: https://www.whereyougo.org/support

 

 

16 hours ago, SpiritGuide said:

No problems with Geooh's built-in Wherigo player. The app can download cartridges for you and then run the player... fully supports Android 12.

... and it costs €6.50, and some functions require a subscription... In addition, only a rating of 3.5 stars - not really a selling point.

Is it possible to test the app before buying it?

[+TeamLarcee]

cavino gal - yes i am using the whereyougo app.

the Wherigo folder:

 /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/mention.android.whereyougo/files/

 

i cannot change the Wherigo folder even on the popup, that is: select folder for Wherigo files. it stays on the above no matter which of the 3 available i choose.

 

capoaira: i click on the download button on the actual cache page in the geocaching app. that 'use to' (on my old phone) open the whereyougo app and the app would ask if i wanted to download the geocache Wherigo. once it downloaded, i could just begin to play the cartridge right then and there.

 

now i get sent to the Wherigo site to re-sign in, download to pocket pc, the once downloaded to my phone, the phone indicates i do not have any app that will open the file.

 

i will begin to research some of the above links that you have kindly attached.

thanks....

[+CAVinoGal]

3 hours ago, TeamLarcee said:

cavino gal - yes i am using the whereyougo app.

the Wherigo folder:

 /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/mention.android.whereyougo/files/

 

i cannot change the Wherigo folder even on the popup, that is: select folder for Wherigo files. it stays on the above no matter which of the 3 available i choose.

That is odd that you can't change the location - can you browse the folders on your phone via the popup?  Clicking the top folder on mine, the one with two dots after the folder icon, gives me a list of folders, and from that I can choose the Download folder, where all my Wherigo files are.  Then when I download from the link on a geocaching page, it goes into the download folder.

 

Are the files shwoing up in your Download folder on the phone?  Can you browse the phone files with a USB cable, and perhaps manually move them to where your Wherigo app is looking for them?

[+TeamLarcee]

cavinogal - all i can do is see the 3 folders after the 2 dots. i can try to select one and when i try to set it to defaut, it reverts to the one you have highlighted above.

 

yes the files show up in the DL folder on the phone.

i have not yet used the usb cable to manually move them over.

if that end up being the only option i have, we will give that a try. but that then limits my Wherigo caching to premeditated and predownloaded and no longer allows caching on the fly.

(yes, that is better than not using Wherigo at all, but not optimum)

[+Viajero Perdido]

Whereyougo originally was written by the same person who later developed (and works full time+ on) Locus Map, which is also a caching app, the one I use.  From lurking on the Locus forums, I see that Google's created quite a headache for app developers.

 

Android 11+ is more restrictive in file-system access, moving toward an Apple-style totalitarianism.  If the WYG current developer(s) aren't aware of the situation, they might want to look at the Locus forum, and get an idea of what's going on.  Kind of a mess - thanks Google! - and dealing with it has kept the developer from doing useful work for a few weeks.

 

Good luck.

[+SpiritGuide]

19 hours ago, capoaira said:

... and it costs €6.50, and some functions require a subscription... In addition, only a rating of 3.5 stars - not really a selling point.

Is it possible to test the app before buying it?

 

Cost is relative... buy a coffee you drink once, or buy an app that costs less, but can be used for years. Sometimes the better apps cost more. Optional subscription is for advanced features that use 3rd party services with ongoing costs. Rating is 4.3 in USA... some countries rate differently. Any Android app can be refunded by Google within 48 hours. After that refunds are provided by the company via support.

Edited January 22, 2022 by SpiritGuide

[+SpiritGuide]

1 hour ago, Viajero Perdido said:

Android 11+ is more restrictive in file-system access, moving toward an Apple-style totalitarianism.  If the WYG current developer(s) aren't aware of the situation, they might want to look at the Locus forum, and get an idea of what's going on.  Kind of a mess - thanks Google! - and dealing with it has kept the developer from doing useful work for a few weeks.

 

Geooh GO has been running fine with the ñew file restrictions and has been targeting Android 12 for quite some time. It's not that big a deal if the app is designed well.

[+Viajero Perdido]

I gather it's fine, if your customers don't need/want manual access to the working directories, or want to share a directory of, say, large map files between several cooperating apps.

 

Once people have had functionality in a full-featured app, edge-case to the developer but crucial to certain users, it's hard to suddenly take that away and simply say, sorry, Google did it.

[+SpiritGuide]

9 hours ago, Viajero Perdido said:

I gather it's fine, if your customers don't need/want manual access to the working directories, or want to share a directory of, say, large map files between several cooperating apps.

 

Once people have had functionality in a full-featured app, edge-case to the developer but crucial to certain users, it's hard to suddenly take that away and simply say, sorry, Google did it.

 

But Google did do that. Developers are given a window of time to make app changes. After that, Google will not allow updates to existing apps or new ones without the requirements. The big file access changes were to improve security. An app cannot access files without the user giving explicit permission to do so.

 

Some directories can be shared, just not internal app directories. You can create a directory of map files to be shared between apps... I do. The problems occur when older apps were written in a way that structural changes are disruptive to the user.

[+kunarion]

14 hours ago, Viajero Perdido said:

Once people have had functionality in a full-featured app, edge-case to the developer but crucial to certain users, it's hard to suddenly take that away and simply say, sorry, Google did it.

 

Having direct access to my files is a main consideration when I select a phone/tablet operating system.  When the files become restricted by policy, I might just pick IOS instead.  I know no company cares what I buy, but that's the way I do it.  Evidently not enough people using these things cares, either.  Not enough for it to be a concern for the company.  OK, I know I can probably hack my Droid.  That's not the point.

 

I got Android 12 on my Samsung S7+ tablet today, so I tried a few things.  First I downloaded Astro File Manager (there are others, I'm not advertising, it's just the first one I tried) because it can access more folders and files than the stock file manager can.  And I don't see all the system folders!

 

I downloaded WhereYouGo, too, to test that.  I cannot directly open a downloaded "GWC" file by tapping on it within its Downloads folder.  I don't see where to move it, and WhereYouGo also doesn't seem to have access to the "Downloads" folder so I did not figure out how to set another Folder as the default.  WhereYouGo's file manager is very retro, so it's hard to navigate.  I didn't try moving files using a PC and the USB connection.

 

Anyway, I'm seeing what the OP described.  I used to be able to open a Wherigo without any creative settings required.  Now it's just plain not working.  I don't remember if WhereYouGo was previously a default App, but now no App can run a GWC Wherigo file from the Downloads folder.

 

The good news is, "Geooh Go" ran the GWC just fine from within Geooh Go.  I first had to place the downloaded file into the Internal Memory "Wherigo" folder.  That folder was generated a couple of years ago, maybe by Geeoh Go?  Once the file is there, Geooh Go finds it and opens it.  It presents a map and bearing to the starting point.  I didn't actually run the game.  I'm guessing it plays as usual.  As with every Geocaching App, there are a bunch of confusing menus and selections required to run something, after it's all set up and working.  But don't worry, nobody cares.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 22, 2022 by kunarion

[+Max and 99]

I completely gave up trying to play Wherigo on my pixel. 

[+kunarion]

Today I made a Whereyougo folder in Internal storage as a test.  I tried setting that as the default folder for Whereyougo.  Using Windows File Manager I placed GWC files into that folder.  The WhereYougGo App still sees no files.  This is on a recent Samsung tablet with Android 12.  

 

Next I tried various combinations of files and folder names Wherigo and Whereyougo for both Internal storage and the SD card, and two Apps.  The only way a cartridge works is when it's in a folder named "Wherigo" in Internal Memory, and only in the App "Geooh Go".  So save up and buy that, or save while you wait for Wherigo to catch up to the new updates, at which time you'll have a little extra cash.

 

See if this works:

Use a PC to create a folder named "Wherigo" in the root of Internal storage (the folder that pops up first and has a bunch of folders).

Download a GWC Wherigo file into a Download folder on a PC or onto the phone.  Select "Download cartridge file for:  Pocket PC Device".

Move that file to the new "Wherigo" folder on the phone.

Run Geooh Go and load the Wherigo cartridge.

 

It's a little easier to do the file movement using a PC file manager than on the Droid.  But once everything is set up, you might use a third-party file manager instead (some are free), and do it all on the device.

 

[EDIT]:  The Wherigo App keeps defaulting to its default folder, regardless of what I set.  Maybe that's why it doesn't work.  It would be OK if I could save GWC files there, but system folders are hidden.

Edited January 23, 2022 by kunarion

[+TeamLarcee]

ok. thanks.

will find some time in the next few days to play with it again and see how things shake out.

 

thanks to everyone for their input,  i appreciate it...

 

another reason to like geocaching: geocachers are very helpful!!

[+AbandonedTrolley]

I've had the same issue with the Pixel 6 (Android 12) but never really bothered to look in to it as wasn't ready for the route. 

 

Figured it out though so hopefully this will help for others.

 

Grab a trial of Solid Explorer (it's worth buying)

 

Open it up and navigate to your downloaded gwc file, long press and then choose copy.

 

Now along the top navigate back to Internal Memory and then go to Android, you should then get a pop up.

 

 

Click Grant. 

 

In the next screen choose Data

 

 

Press the blue button "Use This Folder"

 

 

then "Allow" you should then see the folders change to an accessible view. 

 

 

Scroll down to Mention.Android.Whereyougo then in to files, and choose Paste. 

 

 

You only have to do the access section once. After that you can simply just move them there. 

 

Good luck. 

 

 

Edited May 14, 2022 by AbandonedTrolley

[+SpiritGuide]

Or just press Download Cartridge and then play it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 15, 2022 by SpiritGuide