Support
The problems that come up most often, and how to fix them.
Get in touch
Mail goes to the people who made Storyball rather than to a support queue. Write to storyball@baansoftware.com and say which phone you are on and what the ball was doing when it went wrong. If it is a pairing problem, whether the ball appears in the phone's own Bluetooth list is the most useful thing you can tell us.
Troubleshooting
I can't find SB Speaker in the Bluetooth devices list
Turn Bluetooth off and on again, press "available devices" in your Bluetooth settings, and give the list about ten seconds to refresh.
Storyball won't turn on
Check the battery first — charge it with the USB cable from the box. Then make sure you are long-pressing the ON button rather than the side button.
Sound only comes out of my phone
Make sure you connected to SB Speaker and not to SB (number), and that your Bluetooth settings allow Media rather than only Phone.
Storyball does not recognise my movements
Turn the ball on and switch your phone's Bluetooth off, so the ball is not connected to anything. Throw it in the air: it should flash white. Then try shaking, twisting, tapping and spinning. There is a gesture tutorial in the app's settings. If the gestures produce no colour at all, write to us.
The sound from Storyball gets disrupted
Charge the ball, and check it is not too far from the phone. Bluetooth holds about thirty feet with a clear line of sight, and ten to fifteen through walls.
My Storyball won't charge
Try a different USB cable and a different socket before anything else.
My Storyball keeps disconnecting
Bluetooth holds about thirty feet with an open line of sight, and ten to fifteen feet when walls and obstacles interfere. A charged ball also holds the connection better than a nearly flat one.
How do I update the firmware?
Settings, then Firmware update. Keep the ball near the phone and charged while it runs, and do not turn it off part way through.
Charging
The ball charges over USB with the cable from the box. If it will not charge at all, try a different cable and a different socket before anything else; a failed cable is much more common than a failed ball. A nearly flat battery also causes symptoms that look unrelated: dropped connections, quiet or broken sound, and gestures that register late.
Firmware updates
If the app offers one under Settings, Firmware update, keep the ball close to the phone and charged while it runs, and do not turn it off part of the way through. A ball that has been in a cupboard for a few years may be offered one on its first connection.
Two Bluetooth devices, not one
The ball presents itself twice: as SB Speaker, which carries the audio, and as SB followed by a number, which carries the game data. If the stories are coming out of your phone instead of the ball, the phone is connected to the second one and not the first. Connect to SB Speaker in the phone's Bluetooth settings, and make sure those settings allow Media rather than only Phone.
Several children, one ball
The app keeps a profile per child, and progress, medals and playtime are counted separately for each. The who's-playing screen is where you switch between them; a child playing on somebody else's profile is the usual explanation for a score that has jumped.
Privacy and data
Nothing about your child leaves the phone. There is no account, no registration and no in-app purchase anywhere in the app. The privacy policy sets out exactly what is stored and where, and it is the same page the app's own Settings screen opens.
Still stuck?
Write to us, and say what you expected to happen as well as what did.
Free. No account, no in-app purchases, nothing collected about your child.