Support

Thanks for playing. Switchback is made by one person at Swank Labs, so when you write in, you are writing to me and I read it myself.

support@swanklabsgames.com

I answer most messages within a couple of days. Weekends can run a little longer.

What to tell me

A short note is fine. If you can include these, I can usually find the problem on the first try.

• Your device and its software version, like “iPhone 13, iOS 18.2”
• Which park you were in
• What you were doing just before it went wrong
• A screenshot or a short screen recording, if you managed to catch one

Saves and progress

Where are my parks kept?

On your device, inside the app. Switchback has no accounts and no sign-in, and your parks are never sent anywhere. Your work stays with you, and it stays on the one device you built it on.

I got a new phone. Can I bring my parks over?

Not today. Progress does not travel between devices yet, and it does not survive deleting the app. If you are about to reinstall, know that you will be setting out fresh. Moving saves between devices is something I want to add.

My parks have disappeared.

Deleting Switchback takes its saves with it, and so does clearing the app’s data. If the app is still installed and a park is missing, write to me and tell me which park it was and roughly when you last played it.

The game says a save failed.

That almost always means the device is short on space. Free some up, then reopen Switchback and make a small change to your trail so it saves again. You can also clear out old runs you no longer want from the arrows under the map at the trailhead picker.

Can I keep more than one attempt at the same park?

Yes. Every park holds several saved runs. Use the arrows under the map sheet in the picker to page through them, and start a new survey whenever you want a clean sheet.

Buying and restoring

I bought the game and it still shows as locked.

Open the Store from the main menu and tap Restore Purchases. That asks Apple or Google what your account already owns and puts it back. It costs nothing and you can do it as often as you like. Check that you are signed in with the same Apple Account or Google account you used to buy.

A tip I sent did not come back after restoring.

Tips are one-off gifts and they do not unlock anything, so there is nothing for a restore to return. Nothing has gone missing. Thank you for sending one.

The buy buttons are greyed out.

Usually the store could not be reached. Check your connection, then close Switchback fully and open it again. If purchases are turned off on the device under Screen Time or Content and Privacy Restrictions, the buttons will stay off until that is changed.

I would like a refund.

Refunds go through the shop that took the payment. On iOS, use reportaproblem.apple.com. On Android, use your order history in Google Play. If something in the game caused it, I would still like to hear about it so I can fix it.

Ads

Why am I being shown an ad?

Switchback is free to download, and the ads are what pay for the parks that are free. Most parks open after one short ad that you choose to watch by tapping “Play with Ad”. Nothing appears between screens, and nothing interrupts you while you are building. Buying the game turns ads off everywhere.

The ad did not load, or it stopped part way.

The park opens anyway. An ad that fails to arrive never stands between you and playing.

I saw an ad that was not right for this game.

Please send it to support@swanklabsgames.com with a screenshot if you can get one. I pass those on to Google and I can block whole categories, so a report from you genuinely changes what gets shown.

iOS asked whether I would allow tracking.

You can answer no and the game plays exactly the same. The only difference is that the ads you see will be less tailored to you. You can change your mind later in Settings, under Privacy and Security, then Tracking.

Performance and display

The game runs slowly, or the device gets warm.

Open Settings from the main menu and lower Graphics quality, and set the frame rate target to 30. Switchback also watches its own frame rate and quietly eases off detail when a device is struggling, so it should settle on its own after a minute or two in a big park.

The screen is black, or the park never finishes loading.

Close Switchback fully and open it again. If it keeps happening, write to me with your device model and the park you were opening, and I will look into it.

Can I use a controller?

Yes. Connect a controller and it will be picked up on its own. The sticks move the camera and walk your hikee, and the face buttons work through the menus. Xbox, PlayStation and Switch Pro controllers all show their own button labels.

Settings worth knowing about

• Sound. Music, ambience and effects each have their own switch, and there is a master volume above them.
• Temperature. Readouts follow your region by default, and you can pin them to Celsius or Fahrenheit.
• Light and dark. The app follows your system setting unless you tell it otherwise.
• App icon. If you own a pack that comes with artwork, you can choose which icon Switchback wears on your home screen.

Privacy

Switchback collects nothing itself. There are no accounts, no analytics, and your saves never leave your device. The advertising in the free version is served by Google, which does collect some information in order to do that, and the full details are in the privacy policy.

Read it here: Switchback Privacy Statement

Anything else

Write to me at support@swanklabsgames.com. Ideas and requests are welcome as well as problems. I keep a list, and a fair few things in the game are there because a player asked.

Happy trails.