I have a patron who's iPad is a bit older cannot upgrade to the standards for the Family Tree App.

Cheryl Granto

Is she just out of luck or are there any other Apps she could use?

MandyShaw1

@Cheryl Granto can the user access FS from the browser on her iPad, instead?

JohnBromby

@Cheryl Granto I have an Ipad using OS version 12.5.7; old but not that old. I can access FS using the Safari or Google browser - but like others apps too recent for Ipad (eg YouTube) the use is less flexible than the app itself. Opening the site via the browser is possible for me because maybe the app itself is still openable on my Ipad - though oddly I can’t open FamilySearch Community via the browser.

It’s frustrating that apps with recent updates no longer operate on older hardware as if we can buy new ones at the drop of a hat. I currently do my FS work on my oldish MacBook and I’m dreading the day when that can no longer open future updated FS version.

Regards

MandyShaw1

@JohnBromby my feeling is that removing a non-operational app altogether might help the browser behave - but that's a guess based on the fact that when I use FS functionality from my Android 'phone Chrome browser it keeps jumping into the app when I don't want it to.

Gordon Collett

Yes, it can be frustrating that as applications develop new features and security protocols that devices become obsolete but since we know that is going to happen (just trying working in FamilySearch on an Apple II) it is best to plan for this and start saving now for a new device. According to FamilySearch they continue to support the current version of the major browsers and the one just previous to it. (See: https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/which-internet-browsers-are-compatible ) For Safari, which I use, this would be Safari 17 and 18. Safari 17 was released September 2023. This does not mean that Safari 16 won't work, but that it will gradually work less and less well until it finally breaks altogether.

Alan E. Brown

@MandyShaw1 On an Android device with the Family Tree app installed, if you don't want the app to handle links, you can change that setting. Just open App Info for the app, scroll down to "Open by Default" and choose the setting to not have the app open links (how it is worded varies with device and OS, but it should be obvious). Then all FamilySearch links will be opened in your browser.

Áine Ní Donnghaile

@Alan E. Brown I have the App installed on my Android tablet, just to have it available when someone asks a related question. No matter the settings, it still will ask if I want to open in the App or in my browser. Every time, sometimes multiple times on a single record.

Alan E. Brown

@Áine Ní Donnghaile As long as your device is running Android 12 or later, you will be able to go to App Info and change the Open by Default setting as I described. If you're running Android 10 or 11, then the handling of web links was quite different, but very few people are still running such an old version of Android.

You can get to App Info by long pressing the app icon, then choosing App Info (on some versions of Android or iOS just a lowercase "I" in a circle). Another way is to go to Settings > Apps, scroll down to the Family Tree app, and select it. Then find the particular setting for ”Open Supported Links" or "Open by Default".