We analyzed 127 negative reviews from the top 5 Mastering Companion apps on the App Store. Here's what users hate most.
Ranked by frequency — how often each complaint appears in negative reviews.
35% of negative reviews mention this issue.
"The app stops playing as soon as the screen goes black when not in use. So, I need to co"
"after a minute of the screen going into sleep mode the audio stops. You have to reopen the device and restart the book"
28% of negative reviews mention this issue.
"It does not remember your place i"
"This app sometimes just loses your place, and with the mediocre navigation methods, it makes the app almost unusable"
32% of negative reviews mention this issue.
"The app keeps locking up on the log in screen. The only fix is to uninstall and reinstall the app"
"Constantly having to swipe up to 'force quit'"
12% of negative reviews mention this issue.
"The playback speed keeps on resetting to the default speed. I have it maxed out and indeed, I would preferred to even go faster, but even at the max rate, it still resets to default after eve"
"When listening to books at faster speeds the audio returns to normal speed when the screen turns on the iPhone and at the start of new book chapters"
15% of negative reviews mention this issue.
"I can easily login to the website but not the app"
"I attempt to login in via the school district, proceed to the next page, click on login with PISD Portal, then it redirects me to an error page"
18% of negative reviews mention this issue.
"App is not showing any added books and update library is not showing the books as well. This used to work fine earlier. When I login to website I see the books are in my shelf. But app is not refreshing"
"WANT MY MONEY BACK!!!! WHERE IS LEARNING ALLY AUDIO. I HAVE ALL THE BOOKS IN THE BOOKSHELF ONLINE BUT THEY NEVER SHOW UP IN THE LEARNING ALLY LINK APP"
Design and usability issues driving negative reviews.
Multi-step download process, complex navigation, and poor discoverability make the app difficult for intended users (students with learning disabilities) to use independently
"This is completely unusable. It's not user friendly at all. Then if you think your child can navigate it, forget it. It's a multi step process to download a book"
Users must keep app open to download books and cannot see download percentage without manual interaction
"The app needs to be open to download a book, you can't see your download percentage without pushing your download"
Narration quality issues where app repeats words or goes off-script during playback
"There are glitches where it will repeat a word multiple times before moving onto"
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