DISCOVER Magazine App Reviews

Very good app

Great App

I bought the subscription. Can't get into the App, there's no support. When you click on App Support it takes you to a page telling you this doesn't exist. Apple Support can't help with it. Very poor app for what I thought was a pretty big publication.

This app has failed to work for years. I can't access my issues; I get asked to buy the current issue instead. Reinstalled the app and no change. Called customer service and they were absolutely useless! Really pathetic that a publication dedicated to science can't figure out how to fix their technology problems. Do not buy this magazine!!!!!

Obviously the software supplier is just stealing the discription money. No access to anything. I phone says I have my subscription but no help . Could no be more disappointed October 2021😐

This app doesn’t work and apple doesn’t seem bothered. Huge waste of money!

I have an active digital subscription that ends August of 2021. For some reason I cannot access any issue, nor can I **Restore Purchases** as per the disclaimer here. I contacted Apple Support and they referred me to the “App Support” link that is found on this app review page. I did that and the link is either broken or inactive because it does not provide a means of asking for assistance. So I drilled down to the *Contact Us* link in the customer service section of the magazine’s web site and sent an email request. This was 4 business days ago and no response. So, I contacted Apple Support and requested a refund, which was not provided. So, this makes me upset at both Discover Magazine and Apple itself because I am not the only customer who seems to have to recourse to this problem. If services and products are not rendered AFTER payment has been provided, there is a problem. I don’t care if it’s over $30 or $3 or $300. Lousy Customer Service all around here. Keep this in mind if you are considering subscribing.

Worst app I have come across. For a number of years every time my subscription renews I have had to delete the app and reload the app and tell it to restore purchases. Now that doesn’t happen. After my latest renewal I can’t open any issues. Apple tells me to contact the magazine. The magazine tells me they don’t know who I am and to contact the people who designed the app. The app doesnt reply. So now I spent $20 for a magazine I can’t read. Obviously the publishers of Discover don’t care about their app. They just take the money. Laughing all the way to the bank. DO NOT BUY THIS APP! Waste of money.

I have had the same issue that many have had here. I have paid for the subscription through my iTunes account and have no access to the content. Inquiry to both Apple and Kalmbach publishing, resulting only in incredible frustration. This seems to have been a known issue for the past year or more, and Apple has done nothing to help its devoted customers from being ripped off by paying money, albeit, be at to a third-party, but not receiving content that was promised and paid for. To me, this is equivalent to theft. After a discussion with Apple, my only recourse was to cancel my subscription and ask for a full refund. This experience diminishes my trust in Apple and will think about this the next time faced with paying their higher prices, which is only justified by higher quality of products, services, and customer service, all of which were seriously lacking in this experience. The publisher, Kalmbach publishing, should be in someway, held accountable for this!

Just to echo the other comments here. App lost my subscription, doesn’t recognize my Apple ID, App support link goes nowhere. Been a subscriber for 10 plus years. No more.

I paid for a year in oct 2020 but cannot access anything after December. No obvious way to contact them, but they didn’t have trouble taking my money. Restore purchases function freezes. So frustrating.

It is impossible to read Discover magazine with this app. It constantly forgets my subscription and locks me out of issues I’ve subscribed to. When I try to restore purchases, it won’t recognize my Apple ID or it freezes up. I finally just canceled my subscription, which is too bad, because I like the magazine content. I’m considering subscribing to the print magazine, which seems like an insane thing to do in this day and age, but I’m at my wits’ end. I see lots of other reviewers here who’ve had the same experience as me, and I find it shocking that Discover has done nothing to fix the problem. They’re losing customers and readers.

I’ve read Discover for decades. But I’m canceling my subscription. This app is horrible. I’ve seen other reviews with the same complaints. On-line requirement, doesn’t remember where you were in an issue, requires you to accept cookies EVERY time you open it. They should be embarrassed by this app. I guess if enough people cancel their subscription maybe they’ll notice.

I cancelled my digital subscription 2 years .... I just came cause I got a new iPad Pro and thought maybe I’d try it out again cause it was horrible last time .... after reading the reviews I’ll wait ... it’s a shame they can’t do this right

I have a subscription to Discover magazine and can login just fine on the website but not the app. I keep getting “Failed to log in”. Sad.

Handled by the same company that does astronomy. Same story there. iTunes subscription does not work company says to use Zinio app. No

I am going back to a paper subscription. Not sure why Discover Magazine can’t make the app useable.

This App used to great (the magazine is). But whoever updated it should be fired. It’s non-responsive, refusing to open, unless I delete it and then download it again.

This was probably a nice app 10-12 years ago. Now? I really see no reason to use it. I downloaded it. Looked at it. Deleted it.

The new app is useless as others pointed out. I have been a digital only subscriber for several years now to help the planet by omitting the print copy. Now I can’t even access the magazine on my phone. Until it’s fixed, I am deleting it from my phone and suspending my subscription. It’s a bummer.

Been reading this magazine for as long as I can remember. I just dont have time any move.

I'm an advanced computer user and I can not understand this app. It's slow as can be even with 400mb internet service I have. The icon shows a notification of 2 and I have no idea why. Scrolling through the archive list does not clarify which issues are loaded and which are not. Terrble.

App freezes on the opening screen on my IPad, but sometimes works on my IPhone. Also agree with all negative comments made since this app was last updated.

App just sits on opening screenshot, never proceeds. I have an App Store subscription for last 4 years. App used to be functional. iOS version is 13.3. Please hurry fix. Love magazine.

With this current update the app locked up once I did a Restore of my purchases. It now is impossible to read my magazines. Beware! Kalmbach could care less about their customers. It’s very obvious that once they have your money, that’s it. There has been no attempt on their end to rectify the problem. Apple and customers should do a class action lawsuit against them. Disgusting!

New updated app is awful. I’ve been a subscriber to Discover Magazine for over 20 years and this app update is seriously disappointing. There is no dashboard menu to speak of, so can’t figure out if I can remove downloaded issues once I’m finished. When reading an issue the app loses your place and starts back at page 1 if you leave and come back later. The last app worked really well and I can’t figure out why is replaced with this!

I have read Discover for over 30 years, the last 5-10 digitally. I can’t even read at all with this app. I can’t login with my Apple ID. The Discover website won’t let me send email to complain unless I have a paper subscription. The App Support link here goes to NO active page. This is the 2nd app update I have had problems with. Kalmbach doesn’t seem to care about Apple digital subscribers. Don’t think I will renew.

ETA: the updated app also requires you to have an active internet connection to read the magazine, making it even more useless. This app deserves 0 stars, and the developers should all be fired. I am a longtime subscriber to Discover magazine, first in print but for the last 4 or so years through the app. The updated app is useless - you can't tell which issues you have downloaded, and even worse the app does not remember what page you are on, so if you don't finish the issue in a single sitting, it brings you back to page 1 the next time you use it. Don't waste your money on a digital subscription until they fix this worthless app.

iOS apps are touted as being totally intuitive, more so than Android or Windows. Yes, navigating the new app is still “intuitive”, but the best features have disappeared. The worst omission is the lack of a bookmark. I have no way, other than a sketchy memory, to find my place in the magazine after reading. I have cancelled the subscription through Apple and re-subscribed via the 4+ rated ZINIO app.

I have been happily reading Discover Magazine on my iPad for years. Then I made the mistake of downloading the most recent update. Because of a busy summer, I’ve been a bit behind in my reading. I was reading the March 2019 issue when I updated the app. Now I cannot find that issue anywhere. The archives skips from May 2019 to Dec. 2016. Where are all the issues in between? Speaking of the archive, it is virtually useless. Although it presents an image of the cover art; it is impossible to determine the date of the issue. Furthermore the special issues are included further obscuring the situation. Sadly, I will be cancelling my subscription and look elsewhere for science news. Hello Phys.org

I have subscribed to Discover for years. That is now ending due to the fact that the new version of the iOS app does not work. It freezes each time I try to restore purchases. This is extremely disappointing.

My subscription was good year one. Then it expired without notice and it wouldn’t even let me read past issues. Renewed in App Store and it lets me download new issues but not read them. Total rip off. Not sure how to resolve. No help site or number I can find.

I have subscribed to magazine for years. I found out about the app, downloaded it and discovered I still have to pay for the e-edition. Be aware, it is a way to get more from you.

I love this format. I used to subscribe to physical editions years ago, and have always missed this magazine. Now I can look at it anywhere without wifi, and backlit. I read it much faster this way.

This app is only created for users to purchase and download issues of Discover. Select free previews don't reveal much. Disappointed big time.

Subscribed but app still insisted I had to pay $5.99 to read the latest issue. Reinstalled app. No good. Reset iPad. No good. Nothing in the help choices so gave up and cancelled. Rubbish app.

This fixed my problem I have all the latest updates for OS and the magazine app on both my iPad and iPhone. The app starts to open and immediately quits. Not usable at the moment.

The app hadn't worked in months. Out of desperation, I decided to delete and reinstall the app. That somehow resolved the crashing problem and I was able to use the app again. Restoring the past issues was also quick and painless.

This is a joke... the app crashes immediately after opening; like so many others I can't access years of issues that I paid for. They need to update this and soon.

Subscription confirmed up to date. Fails to download issue...notes some file missing. Started in August and Sept 2017. ? Solution.

I wasted my money on this And I cannot cancel my subscription. Frankly, the app has been crashing for two months, so it's clear that the developer has zero imperative to fix the app. Do not subscribe to discover!!!

App immediately crashes. Completely unusable. All of my issues - years worth - inaccessible. Will cancel (sadly) if not fixed soon. Extraordinarily disappointing. Using latest iOS version across all devices.

It crashes immediately upon trying to open it. I'm ready to cancel my subscription if this is not fixed soon.

Need improvements for Smartphones.

Crashes upon opening. Does anyone test this?

For those who haven't contacted Kalmbach Publishing directly, here's what I got from them to fix it: Thank you for your patience while we awaited feedback from the app developers. They have communicated that they updated a URL on the back-end that was related to iTunes receipts. They feel this might have been the root of the challenge. They are asking that our readers now try the steps below to resolve: 1 - uninstall the app 2 - turn the device off/back on 3 - re-download the app 4 - follow the prompts to restore purchases This worked, but I shouldn't have had to do this, hence the 3 stars.

Update! I deleted, reloaded and restored with success.

App won't lauch

Cannot access my subscription with new update

totally crashed, subscription disappeared. Are you sure you want to subscribe?

The App crashes - just like the other reviewers have warned. In addition, my issues, that have been purchased, won't download.