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Would yall please read your android play store reviews. For god's sake they've been 1 star ever since v10 was released.


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Dear Evernote, have yall not even looked at the reviews on the app store?  I truly don't understand the amount of apathy required to watch your own app fall from 5 star to 1 star, and do nothing about it.  I mean, any self respecting business would see that and INSTANTLY roll the code back to the old version, reprimand everyone involved, and send a massive apology out to the users.  

Users are begging for the old simple interface.  Instead we get a cluttered mess, which is so buggy that sometimes i can't even edit my notes ("view only" bug, lmao).  

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There is no future in nostalgia, and there is for sure no future in investing 2 years of redesigning the app just to roll it back ?!

A good memory may not always be a blessing, but I remember very well the time when EN was asked when the stagnation would end. No new functions, aged GUI, impossible to even keep up with IS and browser updates. This was the situation before v10, and if these were the old days, they were for sure not good.

It seems we are right there, right now in what is to become the future of EN.

If good or bad is another question.

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Well @PinkElephant you are at the Android forum. As you say you don't own an Android device and do not use the Android app. I would like to hand you an average  Android device for 10 minutes with 10.13 and you would probably feel what is behind the emotional approaches of sometimes long year Evernote enthusiasts here at the forums. We have been waiting for almost 3 years to see something new that is working (first) and (maybe) could have some nice features. And?? .. By the time being, the old working client was dismissed. For us Android users it really feels like no one at Evernote does even care about it, as progress only hits the desktop and iOS-clients. The core EN10 for android has been without noticable evolvement (in terms of stability/bugs/speed) since 10.0. Who cares about features, if the core app is sluggish and buggy?

I would love if at any point Evernote would decide to invest enough development power in the Android app to bring all apps to the same level. If they do not, the rating in the Play Store will probably fall further... I feel really sorry about that, the original green elephant did not earn this development. 😞

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The emotional side is ok, I just need to go a year back when the iOS app felt neglected as well. I don’t own Android devices, but I help others with theirs.

The EN v10 mobile apps are practically twins, but on iOS it works more stable than on Android. So the reasons are most likely external:

- Android devices are more diverse in terms of hardware and OS modifications by the makers

- updating is not systematic, many devices rarely update

- Apps come from different sources, and users tend to install apps seldom found on iOS (like the 3rd party keyboards discussed here in the forum)

EN is offering the app for Android, so they need to make it work. No discussion about that. But it is obviously much harder to achieve this stable situation - the iOS client is stable and running since EN v10.6, putting minor issues aside.

Hope the EN team gets it done, the sooner the better.

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Come on man. Stop with this Evernote defending and Android "bashing". V10 simply deserves bad reviews on Play Store because of all the basic issues with the app on popular Android phones.
The problem is Evernote and their slow android development. V8 works on more Android devices (below A10) and it works better, so this is no excuse. V8 works fine, the v10 doesn't, because clearly they need more time for v10. The problem is, that this "more time" is taking too long.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Evernote V10 has always been pretty quick on my device. Yeah it's had a few bugs, but they've mostly been fixed.

 

The Android JavaScript engine is more advanced than the one in iOS and is updated more regularly. This could give the Android version a real advantage, but the framework Evernote uses probably only use features found in the lowest common denominator. When it comes to JavaScript this is iOS.

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All the V10 discussion re Android is spot on. I simply would like to able to create a new note on my phone and save it. Still can't do that. Isn't that the most basic function of a note taking app? If anyone has any advice, I am happy to read it. I have tried everything I can think of. I have a Realme 6 Android phone. V8 works perfectly, but even though I turned off auto update after I installed a legacy version, Evernote still forced the app to update!!

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First, the positive news.  It used to take v10 30 seconds to open, it's now down to about 10 seconds, sometimes as low as 5 seconds. I can just about live with that.

The trouble is that once open, it still doesn't work properly. It can't find all tagged notes, syncing is erratic.

Am I going to stop using Evernote? No. I use EN on multiple platforms, the move to consistency was a priority for me, I love the new features and the direction things are going. I am unreasonably happy about the Linux Beta.

Do I recommend EN to others? Yes.

But can I recommend the Android app?  No. It's not so much how slowly it runs, though that's frustrating, it's the fact that it's simply not reliable. I've been caught out too many times in meetings looking at a list of three tagged notes when I was expecting ten.  

But it's getting better...

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That's good for your issue, but there is still no apparent way to save a newly created note on Android phone. The save tick remains greyed out, no matter what I try. If anyone following this post has any tips I will gladly try them. Am using Google Keep notes for now but as reminders can't be sorted by due date, it's a bit clunky. I am holding on waiting for Evernote to fix the Android issue. Lots of online complaints about the same problem.

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No problem with an edit as the Tick is green, allowing me to save the edited note. It's when creating a new note, the tick is greyed out. Other users have spoken about this as well. I reverted back to V8 and disabled auto updates, but still Evernote updated me again to the latest V10***. I am being patient as I love Evernote, but I have been not able to use it since the first V10 update.Screenshot_2021-08-04-16-36-37-38.thumb.jpg.2ec13b2a78b45034180e3989c8818e3c.jpg

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OK 

Have you tried to twiggel the „edit protection“ Switch in EN settings, notes menu yet ? It is not meant for that, but maybe something got stuck.

If this doesn’t work, my next step would be log out, switch the device completely off, on again and log in. Wild guessing again.

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Then it probably means uninstalling and reinstalling the client. In between switch the phone completely off and back on, since this wipes the RAM.

About more concerned with wich OS: I don't want to rant about Android, but there are differences to iOS. One is the very weak update support for the OS by the makers. There were reports recently that Qualcom (the company that provides the CPU for most Android devices) sort of prohibits updates.

With iOS you have nearly all devices (and all by one maker) on the most recent OS - even the older ones. We still run an iPad Air 2 from 2014 and an iPhone 6S+ from 2015. Both are fully updated to the latest iOS release. It is obvious that it is much easier to fix bugs on such a platform than on the Androids. No excuse for EN (I am another user, and I expect stuff to work), just my view why it seems more difficult.

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10 hours ago, Colbunko said:

That's good for your issue, but there is still no apparent way to save a newly created note on Android phone.

Fair point Colbunko. Still, it's worth noting when they fix something. Hope they sort your issue soon.

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As often noted with Android - it will work for one person and not another. Due, I think, to the very wide variety of Android devices which all have the odd tweaks to the OS. That doesn't stop these issues being immensely frustrating and requiring attention but it does make resolution much more challenging.

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That's understandable, but if that is the case why won't EN allow me to re install the last working V8 version without forcing my phone to update back to the latest V10 version, even though I have disabled auto updates, so I can at least keep using EN until all the little bugs are sorted? 

From reading a lot of these threads, there are many android users who are having the same trouble as me. I am sure they are all not using a Realme phone, so it's a broader issue than just one brand, but I am not tech enough to guess the common link between android brands and there tweaked OS's to guess where the bug lies.

Thanks for your comment though.

Colbunko

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13 hours ago, Colbunko said:

but if that is the case why won't EN allow me to re install the last working V8 version without forcing my phone to update back to the latest V10 version, even though I have disabled auto updates, so I can at least keep using EN until all the little bugs are sorted? 

Where did you disable auto updates in Google Play Store settings? These are my 2 settings that allows me to stay at v8:

Screenshot_20210805-135434.thumb.png.334bce180829d15b269d6edc45f20108.png Screenshot_20210805-135343.thumb.png.32b48002f2b1dacae96c441c5da1e927.png

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These are the exact settings to prevent auto updating! I set it the same way, it works. I skip every 2-3 releases of EN10 and then give it a try again...but sadly everytime after 1-2 days the frustration gets too big, as you cannot get anything done (slow, screens flipping, offline not downloaded) with 10.14 I ran into issues that after 2 days EN stopped working completely on all my devices within 2 hours one after the other (could not be started anymore, immediate closing). Obviously it is all messed up, client / cloud. I wonder that support is even answering me as I am reporting bugs daily... it is a shame, that even after 8 months Evernote is a big joke on Android. Rolled back to EN8.13.3. New features are not worth trying, if you use Android devices - you are locked out.

And please stop praying against Android. Evernote is the very only company that fails to address this eco system!

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You have to be careful. Google Play Store is sending you notifications regarding new available updates. If you click on "update all" you also update Evernote. You can update all other apps but not Evernote.

Screenshot_20210807-092141.thumb.png.0087ae400650efbfea69242f5db07d0e.png Screenshot_20210807-092146.thumb.png.0bb888d7dedc24d44762f1e60bc22198.png

In my case I already updated all other apps except Evernote.

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On 7/29/2021 at 11:18 PM, Colbunko said:

All the V10 discussion re Android is spot on. I simply would like to able to create a new note on my phone and save it. Still can't do that. [ . . . ] V8 works perfectly, but even though I turned off auto update after I installed a legacy version, Evernote still forced the app to update!!

I have auto-updates turned off on my LG android phone; thankfully EN forces no updates.  I'm running a VERY stable v8.

Now, I turn to calculating how I can live with 2 EN devices, letting me drop my premium level, since I can't exploit new task and calendar features in v8. (I started EN in 2008 and premium since 2010.)

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Must be something wrong with me! I'm running the latest version on my Android phone and the app is working perfectly. Only issue I have had is a delay in my Google Calendar events syncing to my Evernote Calendar on my phone. And it is an insignificant delay. Totally love the work that has been done on both Android and Desktop.

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4 hours ago, Colbunko said:

... you select create new note, the tick at the top left is green awaiting you to click on it to save the new note?

The grey tick immediately turns green ... With this tick at the top left you can switch back to the view only mode of the note, same as only once clicking the back-button, second click on the back-button closes the note.

The note itself is automatically saved in the background as you type it, even if you don't press this tick or the back-button. Open a note in the Windows client, change a character in the same note at the Android app, wait a few seconds and watch the Windows client ...

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On 8/4/2021 at 10:37 AM, PinkElephant said:

Then it probably means uninstalling and reinstalling the client. In between switch the phone completely off and back on, since this wipes the RAM.

About more concerned with wich OS: I don't want to rant about Android, but there are differences to iOS. One is the very weak update support for the OS by the makers. There were reports recently that Qualcom (the company that provides the CPU for most Android devices) sort of prohibits updates.

With iOS you have nearly all devices (and all by one maker) on the most recent OS - even the older ones. We still run an iPad Air 2 from 2014 and an iPhone 6S+ from 2015. Both are fully updated to the latest iOS release. It is obvious that it is much easier to fix bugs on such a platform than on the Androids. No excuse for EN (I am another user, and I expect stuff to work), just my view why it seems more difficult.

Android's web engine is updated over the play store within minutes of a new version becoming available on all devices back to android 5. Apple just doesn't offer a comparable update capability for iOS devices.

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As I wrote, our iOS devices back to 2014 still run the latest version of iOS, which is currently iOS 14.7.1. This would be comparable to run Android 11 on a device build in 2014, by regular updates.

In autumn with the release of iOS 15 these same devices will update to iOS 15, which would be comparable to Android 12. I am not talking about security updates here, it is the full new iOS release that will download.

We have older iPhones 6, that couldn’t update to iOS 13 two years ago. They are still on iOS 12, comparable to Android 9 - which is not the iOS version with which they were delivered. These devices still receive security updates from Apple, the last one only a few weeks back.

Sorry, there is no Android maker or device that enjoys updates on a comparable level - not even those build by Google themselves.

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On 8/4/2021 at 6:41 PM, agsteele said:

As often noted with Android - it will work for one person and not another. Due, I think, to the very wide variety of Android devices which all have the odd tweaks to the OS. That doesn't stop these issues being immensely frustrating and requiring attention but it does make resolution much more challenging.

I doubt that's the reason, unless the framework is doing stuff not covered in the Android compatibility suite (which would be very questionable: the compatibility suite exists for a reason).

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25 minutes ago, PinkElephant said:

As I wrote, our iOS devices back to 2014 still run the latest version of iOS, which is currently iOS 14.7.1. This would be comparable to run Android 11 on a device build in 2014, by regular updates.

In autumn with the release of iOS 15 these same devices will update to iOS 15, which would be comparable to Android 12. I am not talking about security updates here, it is the full new iOS release that will download.

We have older iPhones 6, that couldn’t update to iOS 13 two years ago. They are still on iOS 12, comparable to Android 9 - which is not the iOS version with which they were delivered. These devices still receive security updates from Apple, the last one only a few weeks back.

Sorry, there is no Android maker or device that enjoys updates on a comparable level - not even those build by Google themselves.

All Android devices enjoy automatic immediate updates of core operating system components. On iOS devices how long does it take for a critical error in, say, the mail client to be fixed and how big is the download? Android is a modular operating system. It's really difficult to compare it with monolithic operating systems like iOS. All Android devices going back to around 2012 have the newest web engine, e-mail client, etc.

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…. and etc. is AFAIK pretty small.

IOS releases are most of the time full releases, updating ALL parts of the OS to the latest level. I really don’t care what size they have - they run during the night, and I notice it when I have to type my PIN-code in the morning, because after the update there was an automatic restart.

Some „point-releases“ that only fix certain components are smaller, but again, I don’t care whether they send me several hundred MB or a few GB to run the update.

Updates bring all OS components to the latest level - web kit (the engine that drives Safari) and the mail client among them. Most of the time there will be an update for other devices as well, like a new WatchOS, that installs via the iPhone to which the Watch is linked, or a tvOS update, and of course an update for MacOS. This policy assures the close sync between all devices.

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10 hours ago, PinkElephant said:

Just as an idea: Could you check in your account settings if you have any upload quota left ? It probably won’t let you save changes when you reached your upload limit.

I am using V8 at the moment, hoping it doesn't update again, with no saving issues. It's a good tip, but I only have text notes so I am confident I am fine.

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Evernote v10.x is rubbish. 😑

Slow to open, laggy, full of bugs. (On the latest hardware)

Every person saying something different is either an imbecile or lying. 

The one star ratings in the Play Store tell it all. 

A note taking app should foremost enable a user to take and read notes fast. Evernote v10.x has been failing us miserably for months. 😝

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2 hours ago, ryhol said:

Evernote v10.x is rubbish. 😑

Slow to open, laggy, full of bugs. (On the latest hardware)

Every person saying something different is either an imbecile or lying. 

The one star ratings in the Play Store tell it all. 

A note taking app should foremost enable a user to take and read notes fast. Evernote v10.x has been failing us miserably for months. 😝

Absolutely 100% agree. I can't see how anyone on Android phone is using it successfully at the moment.

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On 8/11/2021 at 5:15 AM, Colbunko said:

Absolutely 100% agree. I can't see how anyone on Android phone is using it successfully at the moment.

I just don't have these problems on my phone. Evernote opens quickly and reacts without perceptible lag for me.

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It's amazing the difference in experiences with Android. I have 3 different experiences.
Opens within 5 seconds and works flawlessly - 50% of the time.

Opens in 10-30 seconds and is slow to respond - 40% of the time

Haven't used it since an update, Completely useless for 20-30 minutes. 10% of the time.

 

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Since 10.14, I haven't seen the "view only" bug or sync problems.... yay!  I believe they snuck in a fix for them even though it wasn't mentioned in the release notes.  The app has been adequately usable for me so far, since I updated recently.  I still hope they clean up the home page clutter, as myself and others have asked for... give us an option to see the old simple interface instead of the distracting mess that is the home page.... please!

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3 hours ago, ehrt74 said:

Samsung galaxy S20 with exynos processor

Thanks. There may be a subtle difference in the Android OS on my Realme 6 phone that is blocking the save arrow. I have read that a lot of people using Android have the same issue of not being able to save a new note, so you need to feel lucky and thankful EN works for you. I am sitting in V8 and happy for now. I may never update it.

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On 8/13/2021 at 1:36 AM, Colbunko said:

Thanks. There may be a subtle difference in the Android OS on my Realme 6 phone that is blocking the save arrow. I have read that a lot of people using Android have the same issue of not being able to save a new note, so you need to feel lucky and thankful EN works for you. I am sitting in V8 and happy for now. I may never update it.

Thank you

i really doubt this is an Android OS problem. The Android programming interface on all Android devices should be identical (apart from certain custom extensions like the s-pen on samsung galaxy note devices). 

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3 hours ago, ehrt74 said:

Thank you

i really doubt this is an Android OS problem. The Android programming interface on all Android devices should be identical (apart from certain custom extensions like the s-pen on samsung galaxy note devices). 

My Realme 6 phone has a custom User Interface V2.0 that interacts with the Android V11. Maybe it's a small issue. In V8, when I create a note, if I skip through too quickly to the creation page, the keyboard will not appear. I need to do it slowly. 

I have read of a number of people on Android, who also can't save a new note, so I know it's not just me.

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21 minutes ago, Colbunko said:

My Realme 6 phone has a custom User Interface V2.0 that interacts with the Android V11. Maybe it's a small issue. In V8, when I create a note, if I skip through too quickly to the creation page, the keyboard will not appear. I need to do it slowly. 

I have read of a number of people on Android, who also can't save a new note, so I know it's not just me.

in order to ship the play store, manufacturers of android devices have to pass the Compatibility Test Suite. This tests all the standard Android APIs. If the manufacturer's version of Android fails then they are not allowed to call it Android and they lose access to the play store and Google apps. 

It is possible that the framework Evernote uses uses some APIs which aren't standard Android APIs. If this is the case, then this is a bug and Evernote should open a bug against the manufacturers of the framework. 

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1 hour ago, ehrt74 said:

in order to ship the play store, manufacturers of android devices have to pass the Compatibility Test Suite. This tests all the standard Android APIs. If the manufacturer's version of Android fails then they are not allowed to call it Android and they lose access to the play store and Google apps. 

It is possible that the framework Evernote uses uses some APIs which aren't standard Android APIs. If this is the case, then this is a bug and Evernote should open a bug against the manufacturers of the framework. 

I agree, but Evernote are invisible and uncontactable. The only thing I as a user can do, is post on public forums. I am happy using the V8*** I have installed.

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If you are a subscriber, you have support by mail, or by chat.

If not, you should think about a good reason a company should pay any employee waiting for your contact. You very obviously don‘t even give the value of a „large to go“ per month for everything you get. I don’t know any such reason …

Free users have a large, searchable help database at their disposal, and the user forum (including getting answers they may not enjoy).

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8 minutes ago, PinkElephant said:

If you are a subscriber, you have support by mail, or by chat.

If not, you should think about a good reason a company should pay any employee waiting for your contact. You very obviously don‘t even give the value of a „large to go“ per month for everything you get. I don’t know any such reason …

Free users have a large, searchable help database at their disposal, and the user forum (including getting answers they may not enjoy).

I tried that, but got no response. I have used EN for many years (10?) and have been very happy. I recommend EN to anyone looking for a solution to keeping notes and reminders. I have read many many comments from Android users like me, frustrated with such a huge upgrade that had major bugs. It was apparent that EN didn't really want to get heavily involved with users. It's a shame. As I said, I am happy to stay on V8**

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For me the usual return time from support is below 24hrs on workdays. Response time was longer in between, but they corrected this. It probably cost a pile of money, because there are many new names popping up when you get support answers. 

IMHO no issue for users who use the service seriously, and are willing to pick up the bill for good service.

For the rest: Passive support, and that is it. If anybody expects more, he probably is mistaken about the value of his recommendations of the service, creating more non paying users. In this case I would say „Thank you for nothing“, but this is my personal view, user to user.

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35 minutes ago, PinkElephant said:

For me the usual return time from support is below 24hrs on workdays. Response time was longer in between, but they corrected this. It probably cost a pile of money, because there are many new names popping up when you get support answers. 

IMHO no issue for users who use the service seriously, and are willing to pick up the bill for good service.

For the rest: Passive support, and that is it. If anybody expects more, he probably is mistaken about the value of his recommendations of the service, creating more non paying users. In this case I would say „Thank you for nothing“, but this is my personal view, user to user.

Fair enough comment. But EN would strategise that a percentage of free users would convert to paying members. They would not offer a free platform otherwise. 

Regards

Col

 

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It is my personal view, and I don't like to avoid "the Elephant in the room" for being nice.

About the free plan - only my ideas, no inside knowledge whatsoever:

First it of course is a major marketing instrument, to let users try and even use the service for an extended period of time. Who starts on Free while being a student, may subscribe once the professional life begins.

Second it is a good instrument for users to share content with other users. It is often better to use a real client on a shared notebook, instead of doing everything through the browser.

Let us say a freelancing project manager is on Professional: He can invite all project members to EN, collaborate with them, and when the project is closed, the shares given into the Free accounts can easily be collected again. Or a business can give Free accounts to all suppliers, communicating through them like using a mailbox. A teacher can share to his students, etc.

Third it allows subscribers to stay on, giving access to their data, even after they maybe unsubscribed. There are countries where you by law have to give users access to their data, at least for some time after a subscription has ended.

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10 hours ago, PinkElephant said:

It is my personal view, and I don't like to avoid "the Elephant in the room" for being nice.

About the free plan - only my ideas, no inside knowledge whatsoever:

First it of course is a major marketing instrument, to let users try and even use the service for an extended period of time. Who starts on Free while being a student, may subscribe once the professional life begins.

Second it is a good instrument for users to share content with other users. It is often better to use a real client on a shared notebook, instead of doing everything through the browser.

Let us say a freelancing project manager is on Professional: He can invite all project members to EN, collaborate with them, and when the project is closed, the shares given into the Free accounts can easily be collected again. Or a business can give Free accounts to all suppliers, communicating through them like using a mailbox. A teacher can share to his students, etc.

Third it allows subscribers to stay on, giving access to their data, even after they maybe unsubscribed. There are countries where you by law have to give users access to their data, at least for some time after a subscription has ended.

In my case, I developed a medical issue requiring surgery which took too long to recover from and I had to retire from my job earlier than I had planned. Money became a little tighter as I am a single parent with 2 kids (nearly adult now hooray) and I had to go through my budgeting with a fine tooth comb. EN was one that was on the list. As I no longer needed it for my rather technical position whilst working and my cache of manuals, instructions, operational videos etc, I deleted all of those and re commenced as a free member as now I love EN to help organise my daily life.

As I said earlier, I am very happy on V8 and I hope when the day comes that EN shut it down, that V10+ works as seamlessly as V8 does now.

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My sympathy for your personal situation - this is probably a situation to make use of the free plan. Nobody knows what life has to offer around the next bend in the road.

We all hope problems on the platform we use will be fixed. I am using the iOS client (plus the Mac), which is nearly free of bugs. There are the limitations of the mobile platform, but in general it is working as it should. Android seems to be a tougher nut to crack.

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1 hour ago, PinkElephant said:

My sympathy for your personal situation - this is probably a situation to make use of the free plan. Nobody knows what life has to offer around the next bend in the road.

We all hope problems on the platform we use will be fixed. I am using the iOS client (plus the Mac), which is nearly free of bugs. There are the limitations of the mobile platform, but in general it is working as it should. Android seems to be a tougher nut to crack.

It would seem so.😀

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