Help Flight Map launch
We need people who are flying soon. Flight Map can only really be tested on a plane: every phone, airline and seat is different, and each flight log shows us something new. Take it on at least one flight, ideally as many as you can, and send us the log after each one. Google also asks for testers to stay opted in for 14 days in a row before the app can go public.
What you get: Pro free during the test, switched on for you as soon as you open the app, and Pro kept free for you after launch: every flight, connections, the logbook and the Pro features as they arrive (worth £7.99). You'll also be the first to try new features, and what you tell us shapes the app.
Android or iPhone users with flights coming up
- An Android phone running Android 8 or later, or an iPhone running iOS 15 or later
- On Android: a Google account you use for the Play Store
- About 5 minutes to join, and a couple of minutes per flight
- On Android: to stay opted in for 14 days
- At least one flight in the next few weeks (more is better)
- On iPhone? Skip the Google Group: jump to the iPhone steps
Join, fly, send the log
Ask to join
Ask to join the Flight Map testers Google Group with the Google account you use for the Play Store. In the message, say when you're next flying.
We approve you
We approve requests by hand, usually within a day. Being in the group is how Google Play knows you're a tester.
Opt in and install
Open the opt-in link on your phone, tap Become a tester, then install Flight Map from Google Play. We'll email you the link.
Fly and send the log
Use it on every flight you can and send the log after each one (More, then Send flight log). Stay opted in for at least 14 days.
Use the same Google account as your phone's Play Store. Questions: [email protected].
Join the iPhone test
The iPhone test runs through TestFlight, Apple's free app for test versions. There's no code to type in and no group to join: you join by opening a link on your iPhone.
Reading this on a computer? Point your iPhone's camera at the code, or type getflightmap.com/iphone into Safari on your iPhone.
- Install TestFlight from the App Store on your iPhone: TestFlight on the App Store.
- Then open the join link on your iPhone: tap Join the iPhone test above, scan the code, or type getflightmap.com/iphone into Safari.
- In TestFlight, tap Accept, then Install. Flight Map appears on your home screen.
- On your flight: tap Start before take-off and allow location, then use flight mode and lock the screen as usual.
- After landing: More, then Send flight log.
If it doesn't work
Don't use Redeem in TestFlight: that's only for email invitations. Open the join link instead.
If you tapped it in Facebook, Messenger, Gmail or a forum app, it may have opened in that app's own browser, which can't hand it to TestFlight. Type getflightmap.com/iphone into Safari instead.
If the link sent you to the App Store to get TestFlight, install it, then open the link again.
On a computer the link just shows a web page. Scan the code with your iPhone instead.
Check in Settings, General, About.
Email [email protected] with a screenshot of what you see, and we'll sort it out.
This first iPhone version is mainly a GPS test, so the turbulence reports, arrival weather, logbook and landmark alerts are greyed out for now.
How to test it on a flight
Before you board (with internet)
- Set your arrival airport: tap Change. Add connections if you have them.
- Download the reports: switch Turbulence on once.
- Turn off battery saver. On many phones it stops the GPS when the screen is off. The app warns you if it's on.
On board
- Tap Start before take-off and allow location.
- Switch to flight mode as usual. The GPS keeps working.
- Put the phone away. It records with the screen off, and stops by itself after landing.
After landing
- Send the log: More, then Send flight log. It goes to [email protected]. (On version 0.17.1 or older: More, Debug log, Share.)
- Add a line on anything odd, with screenshots if you took any, your seat (window, middle or aisle) and the aircraft type if you know it (a Boeing 787 especially).
- That's a couple of minutes per flight.
Things worth noting on the day
- How long it took to find you the first time
- Whether the arrival time was right
- Gaps in the route on the map
- Battery used over the flight
- Whether it noticed the landing and stopped
- Anything confusing, or missing
Before you sign up
No. Testers get Pro straight away, free, on Android and iPhone. Later Android test versions use Google Play's test payments, which are never charged. Testers keep Pro free after launch. Everyone else gets their first flight free, then pays once for Unlimited or Pro.
Yes, at least once during the test: that's what we need testers for. The more flights the better, short or long, and connections are especially useful. If your trip is cancelled, just let us know.
The app's own activity: GPS fixes during the flight (positions in the air, height, speed), satellite and battery figures, and what the app decided. Positions on the ground are rounded to about 1 km. It only leaves your phone if you share it, and we use it only to improve the app. Ask and we'll delete it.
The group's members are visible only to us, and we use the addresses only to run the test and send you test news. If you email us a log, we use your address only to reply. We never share it.
Yes: the iPhone test is open. Install TestFlight from the App Store, then join the iPhone test (or type getflightmap.com/iphone into Safari on your iPhone). The steps on each flight are the same.
Any time, from the opt-in page or by uninstalling. If you can stay the full 14 days it helps us most.
The test version is updated as we fix things; Google Play updates it for you. See the roadmap for what's planned.