I installed the app, but there's no GPS/WiFi/Cell/Bluetooth shown in the list view.

Most of the time, this is because you either have not granted permission to access these features (we ask on start-up, but the titles can be confusing), or Android has limited or revoked the permission. You can peruse and enable the relevant permissions in your Android "Settings" in the "Apps" section for WiGLE Wireless. These settings changes frequently occur after OS upgrades or "permission clean-up" services.
Other possible causes:

If none of these fix the problem, please contact us.

I tried to upload, but the app says that the "file would be empty"

WiGLE uploads are limited to geo-located points - since we're a Wireless Geographic Logging Engine, we're interested in position and signal. The data has however been logged to your local database and you can access it using the various tools in the "Database" activity in the application, or via ADB USB debugging.

Android Pie (9) seems to be scanning slowly/infrequently, or my device doesn't see as many networks after upgrading.

Google decided to limit scanning in Android 9 to protect user privacy and improve battery life. Sadly, they did it without leaving an easy way to disable the 4 scans/2 minutes throttle without taking exceptional measures. There are two techniques that can help circumvent this barrier, although the best option is to avoid Android 9 altogether:
using the Android Debug Bridge, you can issue the following command:

adb shell settings put global wifi_scan_throttle_enabled 0
This seems to work in about 50% of Android 9 devices.
You can launch the "connect to WiFi" Android settings tool in "split screen" mode with WiGLE Wireless. It's a hack an inconvenient, but it does work reliably.

Note that the app automatically sets scanning defaults in the Settings activity to prevent throttling the device on Android 9, so you'll have to change these limits yourself after fixing the scan throttle.

Android 10 (and higher) doesn't show me as many networks as I expect to see.

Google has responded to push-back against the throttle in Android 9, by adding a "developer" option starting in Android beginning in 10. In order to use this option:

If you find a device on which this doesn't work, please let us know.

I just installed the app, and there are SO MANY NETWORKS, RIGHT IN MY HOUSE / APARTMENT / CAR / PET. Have I been hacked?

That's where you first saw them. Go outside and carry your phone with the app running, the networks will be detected closer to their real locations. If you want to see networks around you, consider enabling the Map options in the Settings activity.

Your Android application asked to access my photos, are you stalking me or just evil?

That's Google's (misleading) prompt for "external" file access, which includes data meant to be shared between applications. It allows for larger files and easier access. The app will work if you deny it, but your data will be harder to access for other apps and copying off-device. We consider your scan data useful in multiple contexts, like photos or documents. This option will likely be removed in later releases due to Google's new file system policies.

I want to automatically start/stop scanning or exit the app when (something in the real world) happens.

Check our the "broadcast intents" built into the application the various ways of triggering them. There are two many possible triggers for us to build each one, but using intents allows us to support them all.

Why aren't WiGLE overlays on the application maps enabled by default?

Because making requests for map tiles can serve as a proxy for your location. These tiles come directly from our servers and we take your privacy seriously, but if you're worried, you should leave them disabled. We default this feature to "off" even though it's quite popular because we try and keep the app "privacy-preserving by default". Also, it may use cellular data, which some people don't appreciate.

I'd like to use your application, but you use all these proprietary Google libraries which I don't want to use

You're in luck - there'a FOSS branch in the repository, and releases in f-droid.

OK, great, but there are no maps in the FOSS version. Why don't you include OpenStreetMap tiles?

We used to include OSM support by default, but maintaining the OSM server-side infrastructure was too time-consuming for our small team. We recognize that there are commercial OSM providers out there, but urge you to consider the trade-offs in privacy and effort you make when using an external service like that (vs. the Google libraries). We would welcome a configurable external OSM integration in the FOSS branch if anyone has the inclination to submit the pull request!

Speaking of OpenStreetMap, why don't you support uploads to them?

We love the project and urge you to send them data. We haven't had the time to explore an integration, but would welcome code contributions.

I can't get past the registration captcha.

You are probably a robot. We're sorry to be the ones to break it to you.

Seriously, you're probably coming from an IP the captcha system has flagged as abusive, or are blocking the means Google's reCaptcha system uses to validate you. We include the captcha because of frequent abuse of the site that occurs without. If you're concerned about the captcha's privacy implications, use your favorite combination of public terminals, anti-tracking software, and VPNs to register and account, then simply log in using those credentials via the app. It's also important to note that most application functionality works without registration. If the app crashes when you load the registration page, try checking your support libraries to make sure they're up-to-date.

I get upload/stats failures due to authentication errors

De-authorize and re-authorize your client. Check your network connection.

I can't register via QR

Make sure you allow camera permissions to scan the QR code, and that your camera works. Last resort: type in username and password instead

Why should we trust you or this software.

Ultimately what and who you trust is up to you, but the app is open-source and built directly from the public tree. You can inspect how everything works in our GitHub repository. Issues, pull requests, and language files/updates are very much appreciated. We try to maintain language files as we go, but you will often be subject to automatically-translated prompts since we don't speak every language.

Why don't you provide a release for iOS devices?

Starting in 2010, Apple ceased allowing network logging software in the AppStore. If you can change their policy, we'd be delighted to release an iOS version!

Other OS Problems

If you don't see you problem here, let us know.

I get a scary error message:

Disk-full/can't write: Allow External Storage Access - "app" storage can be too limited and makes it hard to get your data.
Database corruption or can't write: Back-up your database and start fresh/uninstall-reinstall

My question is actually about the site or the project.

Check out our project FAQ instead.