What App Bugs Discourage Players from Playing Online?

If you're a gamer, regardless of whether you game on a console or on your mobile device, there’s nothing more annoying than when there are bugs in-game. While bugs can be irritating when gaming on a console, when you're playing on your mobile they can render the game unplayable simply because the app itself can be functionally broken.

In this article, we'll be looking at the most common app bugs that annoy mobile gamers, and what you can do about them. Whether you spend your time online looking for the best poker app on the internet, or prefer to play an action mobile game, we’re sure you’ll be familiar with some of these problems.

Loading screen freezing

A problem that can annoy gamers to no end, especially if it's a repeating problem, is when the app freezes and you can't actually play the game, or when it does so soon after you begin gaming. This is super frustrating as all you really want to do is get in the game and have some fun, especially if you've been waiting to play all day.

Sometimes the cause can lie within the device itself, such as when the device cache is full up, for example. This means that new data cannot be properly processed and transferred, resulting in issues with the app. Another common solution is checking for both device and app updates as these are often quite frequent.

In-game lagging

Although it can be funny at first, mainly because of the comical movements other players can see, lagging is no joke in the gaming community, because it can absolutely ruin the entire gaming experience. In short, lagging is when the game doesn't load in time with the movement you see on the screen, causing a delay for the player.

There are several different reasons for this, although the most common one is either a poor server connection or too many players accessing the server at one time. If your internet connection is solid, the best thing you can do is restart the game, and if that doesn't work, all you can do is wait for the developers to fix the issue.

Disappearing items

Most gamers love collecting in-game items, whether it be through a quest or being rewarded by the publisher for continuing to play the game. These items are often super rare and therefore usually have special abilities which give the gamer an edge over their rivals, making them prized possessions.

One such bug which isn't all that common, but which is still super annoying, is when the item doesn't get saved in your inventory. When that happens there isn't much you can do to get it back, especially if it’s a limited edition item. However, you could make a note of the item (including a screenshot from when you first received it, if available), and then get in touch with the developers if it disappears.

Random crashing

Unfortunately, games do crash and will continue to do so in one way or another. Despite it being a regular part of gaming, it doesn't get any less annoying for gamers who are suddenly kicked out of their game and have to reset their entire device just to get back online. This can result in lost progress and a ruined gaming experience.

Crashing mid-game can be indicative of a wider issue with either the game or the device itself, but pinpointing the cause can be difficult. Your best bet here is to clear your cache, restart the device, and if the problem persists, get in touch with the developer support team as there may be a patch on the way.

Your progress not saving

Nobody likes losing their progress, and this can be a much larger issue with mobile gaming, as it’s not so easy to access saved files and recover them if they've been damaged or corrupted. Mobile devices are not designed to have users looking in the back-end, and so the functionality to do so is just not there, in most cases.

Unfortunately, if you lose your progress on a mobile game this may be something that you'll just have to accept. If it's an online game or a game linked to an online account, you should be able to sign back in and carry on where you left off, but this isn't always the case, and retrieving lost data is near impossible on a mobile device.

In-game purchases not processing

In-game purchases divide the user base unlike anything else, and are a real bone of contention for many in the gaming space, let alone the mobile gaming space. They offer a way for users to fast-track their progress by buying their way in and accessing more advanced boosts before they've earned them.

What can be annoying is when you've paid for the item and it hasn't appeared, despite there being a clear record of payment. If this happens, your best bet would be to contact the game’s support team and raise the issue, and if they can't do anything, contact the App Store team and dispute the purchase.