Guidance

[Withdrawn] NHS COVID-19 app: troubleshooting and technical information

Updated 28 March 2023

This guidance was withdrawn on

The NHS COVID-19 app has closed down, so this content is out of date.

It is important that you continue to follow the latest guidance to protect yourself and others:

This includes reporting NHS lateral flow test results on 188体育. If you鈥檙e eligible for COVID-19 treatment, you must report your result so the NHS can contact you about treatment.

Find out about:


Tynnwyd y canllawiau hyn yn 么l ar 27 Ebrill 2023

Mae ap COVID-19 y GIG wedi cau.

Mae鈥檙 cynnwys hwn wedi dyddio.

Mae鈥檔 bwysig eich bod yn parhau i ddilyn y canllawiau diweddaraf i ddiogelu hun ac eraill:

Mae hyn yn cynnwys adrodd canlyniadau profion llif unffordd y GIG ar 188体育. Os ydych yn gymwys ar gyfer triniaeth COVID-19, rhaid i chi adrodd eich canlyniad fel y gall y GIG gysylltu 芒 chi yngl欧n 芒 thriniaeth.

Dysgwch:

Applies to England and Wales

Getting an error message

鈥楿nfortunately, this app is not working鈥�

There are a number of reasons you may receive this message.

Your phone may not support the app. Read more about which phones can and cannot use the NHS COVID-19 app.

You may have restricted settings on your phone that are preventing you from using the app. This is most common if you have a work phone or have special software installed on your personal phone because you use it for work purposes.

You may be using Android OS versions 6 to 10 and location sharing is disabled.

You may have another app installed on your phone which uses the same contact tracing technology and is preventing the NHS COVID-19 app from working.

If you have an iPhone, make sure 鈥楨xposure notifications鈥� and an 鈥榓ctive region鈥� are switched on in your phone settings by following these steps:

  1. Go to your phone鈥檚 settings and select 鈥楨xposure notifications鈥�.
  2. Make sure 鈥榓ctive region鈥� is set as 鈥楨ngland and Wales - Department of Health and Social Care鈥�.
  3. Select the arrow next to this option, then scroll down to 鈥楽hare exposure information鈥�.
  4. Make sure the toggle for 鈥楽hare exposure information鈥� is switched on.

When you have completed these steps, go back into the NHS COVID-19 app and follow any prompts for setup.

If you are still having problems, please use the .

Stopping the app鈥檚 timer

If you鈥檝e recently tested positive or have registered symptoms, you may have been advised by the NHS COVID-19 app to stay at home. It will provide you with a countdown timer so that you can keep track of this. You are unable to stop the timer and will not receive any close contact notifications until the countdown timer ends.

If you have reported symptoms in error, and do not have COVID-19 symptoms, you cannot cancel the countdown timer within the app. If you have started the timer by mistake, we would advise that you just ignore it on this occasion. It will be on your phone only and no one else will be able to see it.

Using your phone battery

The app uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and the Google or Apple exposure notification system, which is designed to have minimal impact on your mobile phone battery, especially if you normally have Bluetooth on.

If your phone battery is draining much faster than usual, you can check how much battery the app is using compared to other apps.

You can find this on your phone by following these instructions (the steps may be slightly different, depending on your phone):

  • Apple iOS: Settings > Battery
  • Android: Settings > Device Care > Battery

Under day-to-day phone use, battery usage by exposure notifications should be under 5%. However, if your phone is idle (for example if you are not using it much), exposure notifications may contribute to higher percentages of battery consumption. This does not necessarily mean the app or exposure notifications are using more battery overall.

When determining how much battery is being used by the app, you should check over the course of a week to get a better understanding of battery activity.

You can find a breakdown of battery use in your phone鈥檚 settings. The breakdown of battery usage will depend on what combination of apps are running on your phone at that time. If a lot of apps are being used, each app will show a smaller percentage of battery usage. However, if a single app is running, this may appear as 100% battery usage at that specified point. It is therefore important to consider which other apps may also be in use.

Sharing keys and matches within exposure notifications settings

The NHS COVID-19 app uses Apple and Google technology for monitoring contacts anonymously. In your phone settings, you can see a section for exposure notifications or exposure logs.

If you have an iPhone, go to 鈥楽ettings鈥� then 鈥楨xposure notifications鈥� and 鈥楨xposure logging status鈥�.

If you have an Android phone, go to 鈥楽ettings鈥� then 鈥楨xposure notifications鈥�.

On both types of phone, if you tap on 鈥楨xposure checks鈥� you can see a list of timestamps that are recorded every time your phone receives a list of anonymous 鈥榢eys鈥�.

In these settings, your phone provider (Apple or Google) provides an overview of the digital contacts (exposure logs) and how their GAEN technology works. This includes the number of exposure checks over the past 14 days.

This lists all your digital contacts with other app users you have been in close contact with.

The NHS COVID-19 app does not hold any identifiable data. The digital contact technology exchanges unique codes, changed regularly, to create a log of your close contacts which keeps the privacy of all NHS COVID-19 app users.

Enabling exposure notifications

If you have an iPhone running iOS 13.7 or higher, you may have trouble setting up the NHS COVID-19 app for the first time.

When you鈥檝e downloaded the app and are setting it up, you鈥檒l get a notification asking you to enable 鈥楨xposure notifications鈥�.

If you select 鈥榙on鈥檛 enable鈥�, you鈥檒l get a screen saying 鈥楩or this app to work, you must allow permissions on your device.鈥� You will be prompted to 鈥榞o to settings鈥�.

  1. Go to your phone鈥檚 settings and select 鈥楨xposure notifications鈥�.
  2. Make sure 鈥榓ctive region鈥� is set as 鈥楨ngland and Wales - Department of Health and Social Care鈥�.
  3. Select the arrow next to this option, then scroll down to 鈥榮hare exposure information鈥�.
  4. Make sure the toggle for 鈥榮hare exposure information鈥� is switched on.

When you have completed these steps, go back into the NHS COVID-19 app and follow any prompts for setup.

If selecting 鈥楽et as active region鈥� is not possible, or still doesn鈥檛 work, try the following.

In your settings:

  1. Go to 鈥楪eneral鈥�.
  2. Select 鈥楻eset鈥�.
  3. Select 鈥楻eset location and privacy鈥�.

Getting an alert about app availability

The NHS COVID-19 app will be updated from time to time with new functionality and improvements. The latest version of the app offers the best protection against COVID-19, so it鈥檚 important to keep it updated.

Sometimes, when an update to the app is very important, we may send you a message asking you to update your app or operating system. If the update is critical to the app working properly, the old version of the app will stop working and you will need to upgrade.

If you are required to update your app, the notification will say:

The app availability has changed.

or

The app is not currently available.


When you tap the notification you will get a message saying:

Update this app. This version of the app is out of date and has stopped working.

Go to the App Store or Google Play Store and update it to the latest version to help keep you and your loved ones safe.鈥�