Merlin Bird ID app not working? crashes or has problems?

Merlin Bird ID Status

Published by on 2023-11-27

What's that bird? Ask Merlin—the world’s leading app for birds. Just like
magic, Merlin Bird ID will help you solve the mystery.


I have a problem with Merlin Bird ID

Are you having issues? Select the issue you are having below and provide feedback to Merlin Bird ID.


problems reported in the last 24 hours

24 hour clock

Most reported problems

Something else
208.3%

Not working
45.8%

Crashes
31.3%

Login
10.4%


Reported Issues: 100 Comments

By SL   1 month ago


The app IDs the birds and seems to record them BUT I am unable to retrieve the recorded ones.

By Kristi   1 month ago


Recording 15 minutes this morning, saw all the birds identified, went to save recording, received the following error: "There was an error loading the recording." Lost a new lifer. Extremely bummed.

By Sue Shebosky   1 month ago


I inadvertently recorded 1 hour of birds in a single recording. As I was deleting several old recordings to free up space on my Android phone, I cannot delete this very long recording using the methods suggested. Can you help? Thank you.

By Brooks Atherton   2 months ago


I acquired a new Samsung phone and Verizon transferred my old LG phone's apps. However, the 635 sound recordings which did transfer to the new phone no longer appear in Merlin. It appears that the android app data file linking the recordings did not transfer to the new phone. How can I restore to the previous state where the bird ids are associated with the recordings?

By David Ray Vickers   3 months ago


When selecting my recordings, there is a green bar that comes up at the top with an X that deselects recordings. If I select that it deselects the recordings. It won't allow me to delete the recordings. This is not the way it worked before. Is there some setting that changed?

By Gail Korn   5 months ago


Merlin is no longer playing the bird songs when I want to hear a certain bird's song. What do I do? Iphone 10 is my device.

By Teresa Jarrett   6 months ago


Since purchasing a iPhone 15 my Merlin app doesn’t show the bird id photos. Please advise- thanks

By Johan   6 months ago


Doesn’t play records

By Esmé   7 months ago


it keeps telling me my password is incorrect even though i'm using the password i saved to my password manager last time i used the app. i tried to reset my password and the email isn't coming through.

By Christina Nealson   7 months ago


The app recorded my birds but now it will not let me in to see my bird list. It keeps going round and round but will not open. Android pixel 7.

By Sue Bingham   7 months ago


Reporting lots of birds names but no pictures added all of Mexico origin I live in the Uk and it will not open up

By Sam   8 months ago


It is stuck on updating bird list. Tried uninstalling but it is still stuck

By Richard   8 months ago


Hi - I get a black bar saying uploading species list but nothing happens! Tried on iphone and ipad with same result. Tried deleting app and reinstalling and same result.

By Jane Muller-Peterson   8 months ago


I get a message that my five-day grace period is over, and I have to go to email to confirm. I have asked that the message to confirm be re-sent several times, and I get no message that allows me to confirm my email address: janemullerpeterson@redacted.

By Bj Garnaus   8 months ago


I suddenly can't save to my life list. When I hit save, it says "submission failed." And why do I all of a sudden HAVE to fill in "yard" or "tree" or whatever? I don't like having to do that. Getting ready to go with another bird app.

By scrubjay66   8 months ago


Made recording, but left it running for about 2.5 hours by mistake. Trying to delete file but it won't load so I can dump it. Suggestions?

By Sue Hacking   8 months ago


I've been trying for DAYS to install the bird pack for southern Bolivia (on e of the smalller ones for S america!) and it keeps saying downloading. My user data is 2.11 GB. I don't need the data i've collected when ID'ing birds... so is that an OK thing to delete? clear? Or is User Data the Bird Packs? The cache is only 170 MB, smaller than any of the bird packs I have installed (Chile, Argentina and Antarctica only). Maybe that's what I can clear out? HELP! Please.

By Hilary   9 months ago


My app is not able to record. When I look for the app in the list of apps that have requested access to the iPhone mic, it is not listed.

By Veronica Speedwell   9 months ago


I am unable to add to my life list through e-bird, and I always get a message that there was an error loading my life list when I click on it from the Merlin app. I can see a list of birds as long as my screen, but I cannot scroll down.

By Dan Blake   9 months ago


I love the bird sound id!!! I used to call the birds to me after ID...awesome! Now, when I send out the song from my phone, I can hardly hear it, much less the bird in the tree. My phone volume is up, I hear my alarm???? What am I doing poorly??

By Kim Tobias   9 months ago


New phone. Installed app. It's hearing birds but will not list what's being heard.

By Leonie   9 months ago


I’m one of many people who keep getting the ‘five day grace periode is over’ but are not receiving an email. Why isn’t this issue fixed yet?

By L. J.   9 months ago


Any idea why my recordings are disappearing from my iPhone 14? I had 24, including Indigo Bunting, Scarlet Tanager, and Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers, but they are not there anymore! I am absolutely certain I did not manually delete them - is there a limit?

By Angus   9 months ago


Used Merlin Bird ID for a few days - very impressed. But then I was told to confirm my email to continue which I did several times but I have since received no email from 'confirm@redacted'. I have sent a request to 'confirm@redacted' only to receive a message that my request was 'undeliverable'. This is a real shame - as a said above, I was very impressed with this App.

By Prudence Meyer   10 months ago


I am unable to install any Bird Pack on my new iPhone 14. I have tried a number of times including deleting and reinstalling the app. Interestingly, the Bird Pack installed almost immediately on my iPad. What’s the problem? Thanks. Prudence

By Theresa Weissglass   10 months ago


After I added upgrade of North American birds, Merlin app won’t make matches—example: I clicked date, allowed location, size between sparrow and robin, color black and white, at feeder and it said no matches!!

By Russ Brumm   10 months ago


I video record a bird singing using my camera, then convert the MP4 file to just an MP3 sound file, and then try to open it with Merlin ID Sound, and it always says 'there was an error opening the file', Can MP3s recorded with other tools be read by Merlin ID, and if so, how can I do that? Thanks much. Merlin ID Sound works fine when recording directly from my ipad.

By Noelle   10 months ago


The Merlin bird id’s explore birds isn’t working properly. If I click family on explore birds and push enter the screen shows nothing. I hope this gets fixed soon because it is a great way to know what birds are in my area.

By Hing Wah Hatch   10 months ago


Sound ID won’t download after I downloaded the app in my iPhone with IOS 13. The photo ID did download though.

By Michael Lamson   10 months ago


Merlin calls out 3 time as many species on my iPhone XR as it does on my wife's iPhone 8. Is this differences in the microphones? We have checked all the settings and cleaned the microphone apertures.

By Barry Smith   10 months ago


App not displaying bird id when recording on a Samsung A3 2016

By Michael Hendry   10 months ago


Failure to record. I’ve twice run for forty minutes or so, and when I stop recording the stop button becomes an everlasting progress indicator, responding only to shutdown, with loss of the recording.

By Trevor Patrick Whittaker   10 months ago


Hi. Im getting a message saying my 5 day grace period is over and need to confirm my email but the email you send me to do so doesnt arrive in my inbox or junk even when i request to resend email.

By Stephanie Grevelis   10 months ago


I'm also having the problem of just getting the "Your 5 day grace period is over" message and to confirm my email to continue. It says that it sent an email to my address, but it never comes and it's not in spam. Can't get past this screen to actually use the app.

By Nick Roberts   10 months ago


I can't retrieve any recordings longer than about 25 minutes. It just hangs and I have to quit. Please can you help!

By Denise McCartan   10 months ago


never loaded correctly - received 'five day grace period' error message, then will not resend email.

By Carolyn Brumbaugh   10 months ago


My Merlin App keeps freezing. I get a circle on the screen that never seems to finish.

By Kathy   11 months ago


I recorded sounds today and can not retrieve all of them...

By Steve   11 months ago


My Merlin bird app (Android) always says "no match found". It says listening for birds. Then it says bird heard or something like that. Then when I stop recording it says "no match found". Samsung Galaxy A03S I have re-downloaded (May 17 Google Play Store) the Midwest package, stopped the app, uninstalled and reinstalled the app. It's like there is a disconnect between the recording and the ID. Thanks, Out of ideas

By Spyke Pond   11 months ago


Everytime I try to save a bird to my life list I get the Error "Submission failed. Please check your internet connection" but it happens no matter where I am, at home, at my mother in-law's, or at work.

By Mary Tannehill   11 months ago


Many times when I am using the sound id, the app freezes and stops working. Other times it works fine.

By Kathy G   11 months ago


Since the last update sound ID freezes and I am unable to get out of it for a while and then finally I can clear it out.

By Deborah Kruszon   11 months ago


5 day error message and never get email to verify. Reload app and same thing happens over and over.

By Adam Brand   11 months ago


I can no longer save birds to my life list. I get an error regarding not being connected to the internet, which is definitely not the case. It also gives me an error that my life list cannot be retrieved

By dale   1 year ago


I have loaded Merlin on 2 different samsung phones A20S and A54. When I record a bird call I can see that the app is recording and can play back the bird but the app always says Merlin couldn't identify (It is a moderately loud northern cardinal) I couldn't do other common birds either. It says (The bird you are hearing might not be in our database) I have the North America profile loaded and the rest of merlin seems ok as far as I know. I also responded to the email after loading the app. Microphone and location are on in settings though it couldn't ID where I am but the app doesn't indicate that is "A Must Have". I have a solid wifi connection. So for this to happen on 2 phones, What's Up ????

By Mark Palmer   1 year ago


Only get need active internet connection message when trying to log. Mpalmer user name

By Mary Ann Hogan   1 year ago


have enjoyed a trial of this application and would like to continue using it. However, I find myself in a loop and unable to access the app. It asks me to verify my email address. When I do that it tells me I should receive an email from you, but it does not arrive. It is not in my spam file either. Can you help me with this? Thank you, Mary Ann Hogan

By isabel Cutler   1 year ago


Had to reinstall Merlin to get it to work again to recognize bird sounds. Also turned on location. It now records the bird sounds, which are quite loud, but the wav recording volume is extremely low. Even when I turn my speakers to their highest setting I can barely hear the birds.

By Gerald C Levinson   1 year ago


When I either upload or take a photo, on the second screen only the topmost left corner of the picture appears, drastically zoomed in. I've done nothing to crop it. So the app has "sees" only a tiny fraction of the photo (a corner) and can't identify any birds. Why does it do this? it didn't do this before.

By Andreas Anderson   1 year ago


When playing back my recording, the active birds used to be highlighted, so you could tel which one was currently singing. Now there is no more highlighting. I tried restarting the phone, no joy

By Dennis Wilson   1 year ago


I have a sound recording of 33 birds for one hour and 53 minutes. It uploaded to the save section. However, it will not load that recording to show the different birds it just goes back to the home screen of Merlin.

By Donna Hiiland   1 year ago


When I first downloaded the Merlin app the bird pictures were in color. They are now black & white. What can I do to correct this issue? Just love the app by the way. Thanks so much

By T. Grundy   1 year ago


For the past couple of weeks, recordings will disappear within a day of taking them.

By Linda Mathes   1 year ago


I recorded an unusual bird on Dec 31 2022. I went back to listen to it and it was gone. This is possibly a rare bird and I would like to be able to retrieve the call. Any suggestions? Thank you! Linda

By Ginger Garza   1 year ago


I have a new iPhone and the sounds I recorded and saved do not show up on my new iPhone. Also, sounds recorded and saved on my iPad did not and do not show up on iPhone before switch to new iPhone. How can I sync the iPad and iPhone sounds saved?

By Joanne   1 year ago


The app isn't picking up any bird sounds anymore. It shows the graph going, but doesn't seem to pick up the birds that are out there, that I hear. Not as sensitive as it was in summer.

By Connie kilbarger   1 year ago


I got a new phone and my Merlin app no longer has the colored birds when they pop up.

By Connie kilbarger   1 year ago


I got a new phone and my Merlin app no longer has the colored birds when they pop up.

By Paul   1 year ago


Recently the Merlin drains the battery in an instant when I get to the last step to identify a bird in the "ID a Bird" feature. I confirmed this last time before opening Merlin I had 77% power. When I was scrolling through the possible birds to identify the screen went blank and I couldn't restart the phone. When I got home and plugged it in it had zero power. It is possible there is a correlation with the PocketCast app. I believe (not really certain) that each time it has happened it was while I was listening to a podcast and then I opened Merlin to identify a bird. It definitely happens at that last step of Bird ID though. I have Android 9 on a Samsung Galaxy S9+ Paul

By Robert Morrow   1 year ago


The app drains the battery even when not in use (only is an issue when the app has been used recently) Is there a setting to avoid this?

By Ray poggi   1 year ago


I cannot add a bird to my saved list…i identify the bird, the location and date are in and recognized. EWhen I press the next button the option to save the identified bird is not given….

By Yud   1 year ago


Sound id is stopped working on my phone. I have galaxy s10 with android 12. The sound Id worked fine but suddenly it stopped working. Now when I try to use it, no sound is recording any more. Seems like the app is not connected to the internal microphone any more. Other apps that use the microphone is working well.

By Karen Garst   1 year ago


I received “five day grace period over… check email to confirm. No email has come in and not in spam either.

By Meredith Spencer   1 year ago


When I turn on Merlin and push voice, it does not work.

By Cathe   1 year ago


The birds' photos are not showing in the app. Thanks.

By Roger Welch   1 year ago


After free trial the page keeps reverting to original page I’m unable to sign up

By Dan Beitz   1 year ago


The Merlin Bird ID app keeps crashing and locking up my iPhone (I have an iPhone 10). Usually, I can just kill the app then restart my phone and it works again. Two days ago, I tried the same method to fix it, but I was unable to power my phone back on after I had powered it down. When I would try to power up my phone, I would see the Apple logo briefly and then it would disappear and the screen went black. I was able to power up the phone after plugging in the charging cord. Today, I followed the instructions to delete the app and then reinstall it from the App Store. And I downloaded and installed 2 bird packs (Midwest and all US/Canada). It seems to be working now but I am afraid to use it because it may lock up my phone again and I may not be able to power up my phone afterwards. I like the app when it works, especially the Sound ID. But I really do not like how it locks up my phone sometimes when I try to use the Sound ID feature. Is there anything I or you can do to correct this problem, besides what I have already done?

By Tom Semple   1 year ago


I had merlin installed on my phone with a short list of sound id'd birds and the West coast and Rockyt Mountain packets installed. The installation disappeared. I did a search on the phone and I see that the birds I had on my list appear to be on the drive but they are not showing up after I reinstalled the program. I am new to the program so I do not have an extensive list of recordings but I would still like to see them on the app.

By Etienne   1 year ago


Hi there, I am a frequent user of the different features of Merlin apps, especially sound id. Yet, since a few weeks, I do not have any curve of frequency appearing on the screen while recording and no bird identification being made. Autorisation for microphone and camera are approved for the app. I tried to reinstall the app which is on the latest version without any success. If you have any idea how to solve this problem it would be great. Cheers, Etienne

By Marilyn Cripe   1 year ago


Merlin is stuck on “Explore bird” . Cannot cancel or go back to other ways to if birds.

By Jeanie   1 year ago


Am not receiving emails to confirm my email address

By Jonathan Perry   1 year ago


Microphone not recording in sound ID on galaxy s20. Appropriate permissions have been granted and mic works on other apps. Worked great on my old galaxy s7

By Wayne Preusser   1 year ago


Longer recordings will not load for playback.

By Betsy P   1 year ago


I received a message to confirm my email after the 5 day grace period expired but the email never arrived. I’ve submitted numerous requests and checked the spam folder as instructed. I have not received the email and cannot access the app.

By James M Williams   1 year ago


My merlin app drains the battery excessively even when I'm not using it

By Judith Hollowood   1 year ago


I tried to load the Likely Birds list on my older iPad. It just keeps churning and I can’t force a quit except by closing the app. Is uninstall my best option?- screen is unresponsive

By Kae   1 year ago


App is frozen

By Cecilia L Caldwell   1 year ago


It keeps telling me it’s sending me an email because my 5 day period is up, but I am not getting any emails.

By Marlee Rubenstein   1 year ago


I have the app, but I got a message from them that said my 5 day trial was up, and they needed to confirm my email. I pressed the confirm email button, but it wouldn't do anything. There was also a place on the message to resend, and that didn't do anything either.

By Lydia Kowalski   1 year ago


I downloaded the app and it worked for a week. Then I got a message I needed to check my email to continue. I have never received an email, and I no longer have a working app. I have an iphone. What to do?

By Chris   1 year ago


Will not send me a confirmation email

By Matthew Ryde   1 year ago


The app isn't recording sound at all unfortunately. Samsung galaxy s20 plus I have provided permission where I can think of but nothing :-(

By Susan Thompson   1 year ago


I can’t confirm my email after the 5-day grace period. I don’t get the email message to confirm from Merlin. I’ve checked my spam filters and created a contact for cornellbirds@redacted. Please help. I don’t want to lose the birds I identified during the grace period.

By Gerald Maffeo   1 year ago


I also have a OnePlus 7T phone and have the message location not found. This started happening after the Android 11 upgrade. If I uninstall and reinstall Merlin, it will work once, but then it's completely unusable. I really like Marlin! Please fix this!

By Dana Wanger Lane   1 year ago


The screen displays a swirling "daisy" in a black square. I can's shut down the program and it's unresponsive to an attempt to open links in the upper left . Thanks for your help! --Dana

By Liz   1 year ago


Sound ID not working on iPhone

By Penny Sue Weber   1 year ago


The email never came

By Margaret Koenig   1 year ago


accidently recorded 50 minutes. used up all my data plan. question is where this recording went since it does not show under "my sound recordings" (I didn't wait for it all to be saved with the red circle indicator)

By Larry Joseph   1 year ago


"There was an error importing the file." What encoder options does Sound ID recognize?

By David Lennon   1 year ago


Hello Sorry to say getting no response from you. Sound ID not working on Samsung S10+ Otherwise amazing wanted to donate but really wanted the sound ID Dave

By Kim Bowers   1 year ago


It keeps freezing up, only way to access anything is from the first dropdown page then that freezes. Was going to delete and reinstall but don't want to be charged again?

By John Rudolph   1 year ago


Song ID isn't working with Android phone. Very, very few ID's in spite of loud bird calls. Works fine on my wife's apple phone.

By mr warren buckthorpe   1 year ago


app will not register or record any sound on samsung s21 android 12.

By Barbara Fisher   1 year ago


I have had this app for one week and I did confirm my email but now the message I’m getting is “You must confirm your email…” “Email sent…” I never received an email to confirm again and now the app will not open. I am still registered with the Cornell Lab.

By Karen Clements   1 year ago


Merlin has caused messenger to lose sound, so I can't have group chats.

By Debbie Fortin   1 year ago


The app was working for awhile but now it won’t open and says to check spam folder but nothing’s there.

By Richard Dotz   1 year ago


New install Bird pack will not download, stuck at 0% iPhone X My wife has iPhone 8, works fine

By John Whiting   1 year ago


Won’t open sends email verification pop up BUT email never comes I like this app when it works

By Yong Wang   1 year ago


I don’t receive the email to confirm after five day grace period. Have tried multiple times with three different emails, have checked spam folder. Please help!!

By Suzanne Sanford   1 year ago


I don’t receive the email to confirm after five day grace period. Have tried multiple times with two different emails, have checked spam folder. Solution?


Common dislikes about Merlin Bird ID app

- Limited database

- Doesn't let you ID birds it doesn't believe are in your area

- Doesn't let you manually ID birds by name in the event the search doesn't bring up your bird

- Doesn't allow you save your bird history

- No bird history/tracking function



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Common Merlin Bird ID Problems & Solutions. Troubleshooting Guide


   



  Contact Support

Some issues cannot be easily resolved through online tutorials or self help. So we made it easy to get in contact with the support team at Cornell University, developers of Merlin Bird ID.


100% Contact Match

Developer: Cornell Lab of Ornithology

E-Mail: [email protected]

Website: Visit Merlin Bird ID Website



About this app

Whether you’re curious about a bird you’ve seen once or you’re hoping to identify every bird you can find, the answers are waiting for you with this free app from the renowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology. • Expert ID tips, range maps, photos, and sounds help you learn about the birds you spot and build birding skills. • Merlin was created by bird experts for everyone. • Merlin is global—look up any bird at any location. • Keep track of your sightings—linked to eBird, a global database of more than 1 billion bird observations! • Powered by Visipedia, Merlin Sound ID and Photo ID uses deep learning to identify birds in photos and sounds.  Merlin learns to recognize bird species based on training sets of millions of photos and sounds collected by birders at eBird. org, archived in the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. • Merlin delivers the most accurate results thanks to experienced birders, who curate and annotate sightings, photos, and sounds, who are the true magic behind Merlin. • Choose bird packs that contain photos, songs, and calls, and identification help for anywhere in the world, including Mexico, Costa Rica, South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, India, Australia, Korea, Japan, China, and more. • It’s available in your language.  Merlin is unlike any other bird app—it's powered by eBird, the world’s largest database of bird sightings, sounds, and photos.  Merlin Bird ID helps you identify birds you see and hear.  Just like magic, Merlin Bird ID will help you solve the mystery.  Answer a few simple questions, upload a photo, record a singing bird, or explore birds in a region.  Merlin offers four fun ways to identify birds.  Merlin is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Hebrew, German, Japanese, Korean, Turkish, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.  Our nonprofit mission to improve the understanding and protection of birds and nature is made possible by the generosity of Cornell Lab members, supporters, and citizen-science contributors.  The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s goal is to help you and millions of others to learn about birds.  What's that bird?  Ask Merlin—the world’s leading app for birds. 



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