Help & Troubleshooting

The 2.0 update

The app looks different after updating

That's expected. Version 2.0 is a complete rewrite with a cleaner look — no photo behind the screens, and the Food Management panel now sits above the meal card instead of below it. Every feature is still there; the User Guide walks through the new layout screen by screen.

My history is missing after the update

The first launch of 2.0 copies your data across automatically, which can take a moment on a large history — give it a few seconds and reopen the app. If a day still looks empty, check the date at the top: the app opens on today, and older entries are one < tap away or visible in Trends. Your original data is kept on the device rather than deleted, so if something really is missing, get in touch before uninstalling — uninstalling removes both copies.

Which version do I have?

Scroll to the bottom of the Legal & Disclaimer screen (linked in the home-screen footer) for the version line, or check the app's page in the Play Store.

Logging & food values

The total or ring didn't update after I added a food

Make sure you tapped the + button to commit the entry — typing in the form alone doesn't add it. Also confirm the Amt field has a number and the date at the top is the day you meant to log. The ring and meal total update the moment an item is added.

A food's value looks wrong

Reference values are population-level estimates and vary by region and processing. If you have a better figure, open Food Management, type the food name, enter your value in the µg / 100g field, and tap Save to DB. Your value is then used everywhere that food appears. You can also tap the pencil next to any entry in View & Manage Food Database.

I picked the wrong meal, amount, or day

Every logged row has a pencil icon to edit it and a trash icon to delete it. Reopen the meal from the Logging selector to make changes. If the whole meal landed on the wrong date, use the move icon in the meal header to send it to the right day in one step.

The ring is green but Trends shows the day amber or red

Both use your Caution and Over-limit thresholds from Settings, so for a single element they always agree. The difference appears when you track both elements: the ring's color follows the element shown in the middle, while Trends colors a day by whichever element did worse and names it with a Ni↑ or Co↑ badge in the month view. Check the inner ring — the other element is probably the one over.

Search & lookups

A food isn't in the database

When you type an unknown food, a look-up row appears offering Find value online, Search in browser, and USDA site. Accept a value from the online search (Use or Just save to DB) and it's stored for next time. If what you're logging is a cooked dish rather than a single ingredient, tick Compound dish — build from ingredients and tap Find ingredients online instead, which pulls the dish's ingredients from TheMealDB. See the User Guide.

The app keeps asking permission before it searches

By design. Since 2.0, every online lookup shows a consent dialog naming what will be sent and to whom, and nothing leaves your phone until you tap Search, Scan, or Yes. The one exception is the automatic follow-up after a barcode or menu scan, which the scan's own consent covers.

The online lookup isn't returning anything

• It needs an internet connection — check you're online.
• Try a simpler or more common name (for example "almond" instead of a specific brand).
• After a failed run, tap Search deeper — it searches longer and tries more wordings before giving up.
• The lookup only keeps a reading that matches both your tracked element and the food's name, so it may return nothing rather than a value meant for a different food. When that happens, use Search in browser or the USDA site and enter the value yourself.

The online lookup offered a value that can't be right

Results pages sometimes contain other numbers near the food name. The lookup skips figures that belong to a sentence about daily limits or intake, and any reading above the AI lookup verify-above value in Settings is set aside — it can't confirm a value, and it is only offered, flagged in red, when nothing else was read at all. The result shows every reading, the ones it ignored, and the sentence the value came from. If it still looks off, tap No and enter the value by hand — nothing is saved until you accept it. You can lower the verify-above value in Settings to be stricter.

I don't see a "Search USDA" button

The direct USDA query only appears on builds that include a USDA API key. The USDA site link is always available and opens FoodData Central with your search pre-filled.

Can't find a food in the list

Search matches every word you type in any order, so you don't have to remember the exact phrasing — try just the main word (for example eggs). Each food is a single averaged entry rather than one row per country, so there's only one result to look for. Still missing? Add it with the online look-up (above) and it's saved for next time.

Barcode & menu scanning

The camera doesn't open

Scanning needs camera permission. If you declined it, enable it under Android Settings → Apps → Trace Elements → Permissions and try again. The consent dialog appears before the camera every time — tap Scan on it, not No.

"Product not found" after a barcode scan

The product isn't in Open Food Facts (or, on builds with a key, USDA's branded-food data). Build it yourself instead: tick Compound dish — build from ingredients, add the label's ingredients by hand, and tick Also save as a reusable recipe so next time it's a single search away.

The scanned amounts look wrong

They're estimates from the label's composition over one serving, so the first ingredients carry the most weight. Tap any ingredient to adjust it before adding — and because the product is saved to My Recipes with your tuned amounts, rescanning it later uses your corrections.

"No priced dishes recognized" after a menu scan

The photo needs readable text. Get closer, fill the frame with one menu section, avoid glare, and hold the phone level. If your dish still isn't listed, type its name into the Food field and use Compound dish → Find ingredients online instead.

Recipes & compound foods

My custom recipe doesn't appear when I search

• Confirm you tapped Save in the recipe builder — a recipe needs a name and at least one ingredient to save.
• Recipes are tied to the element you're tracking. If you switched elements, recipes built under a different element won't show. Switch back to see them.

A compound food's total seems too high or too low

Built-in and online (TheMealDB) dish lookups use standard portions for each ingredient, so they're estimates. For a closer match, build your own version in My Recipes where you can set portions, substitute ingredients (the substitute list sorts lowest first), or remove ones you skipped — the running Total updates as you go.

A dish ingredient shows 0.0 µg

That ingredient couldn't be priced from your database, so the app keeps it visible at zero instead of dropping it. Tap Look up all missing (N) online to price the remaining ingredients from one online search, or tap the ingredient and enter a value yourself. Anything still at zero after the batch needs a manual entry.

I deleted a recipe or food by mistake

Deleting from My Recipes or Manage Foods is immediate and has no undo. A deleted built-in food comes back if you restore a backup file; a deleted recipe only if it was exported or backed up. Recipe exports are quick — worth doing before a clean-up.

I want to share my recipes or move them to another phone

Open My Recipes and use the export icon in the top bar to save your recipes to a file, then share it. On the other device, use import to load it — imported recipes are added alongside any existing ones without overwriting them. Recipes keep the element they were built for, so they only show while you're tracking that element.

Pro & locked features

A button shows a lock, or a dialog says "…is a Pro feature"

Cobalt tracking, menu scanning, PDF reports, and backup to file are part of Trace Elements Pro; tapping a locked control explains which, with a Not now button. Subscribe on the Pro & Tip Jar screen (home-screen footer, or Pro & tip jar… in Settings). Everything else — including restoring a backup — is free.

I had the app before Pro, but reports or backup are locked

Devices that had the app installed before the paid tier keep PDF reports and file backup free. That decision is made once, on the first launch of a paid build, and it survives the 2.0 update. If you reinstalled from scratch on a new phone, the device counts as new — Restore purchases won't help there, but restoring your data file is never locked. Get in touch if you think this applies to you.

"Isn't available from the store right now"

The Play Store couldn't be reached or hasn't finished loading prices. Check your connection, make sure you're signed into the Play Store, and reopen the Pro & Tip Jar screen. Prices show in your local currency once the store responds.

I subscribed on my old phone and Pro is missing on the new one

Sign into the same Google account and tap Restore purchases on the Pro & Tip Jar screen.

Backup, restore & data

How do I back up my data?

Open Settings → Back up to file… and choose where to save. The file contains your foods, favorites, recipes, daily logs, and settings, and can be stored on any service Android's file picker reaches (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or local storage). Since 2.0 your data is also included in your device's Google backup when that is enabled.

How do I restore, or move to a new phone?

With Google backup on, setting up the new phone with the same account brings the app's data back. Otherwise install the app on the new device and use Settings → Restore from file…, then pick your backup file.

Will an app update erase my logs?

Normal updates preserve your data, and the 2.0 rewrite migrated it automatically while keeping the original on the device. As a precaution before any major update — or before experimenting with restore — make a backup file so you always have a copy you control.

Old days are disappearing

Check Days of history kept in Settings. It defaults to 180; older days are pruned. Clear the field to keep everything.

Display & behavior

I'm looking at the wrong day's data

The home screen always reflects the date shown at the top. Use the < and > buttons to step between days — the cue above the date says Today, Yesterday, or how many days away you are. It's easy to land on another day after tapping one in Trends.

The Food Management buttons disappeared

View & Manage Food Database and My Recipes live inside the Food Management panel. Tap Food Management on the home screen to expand it and the buttons appear below the lookup fields. Tap it again (Hide Food Management) to collapse.

Where did the meal card go?

The meal card opens below the Food Management panel once you choose a meal from Logging: Select a Meal to Log. Closing it with the ✕ hides the card; your entries are already saved.

Numbers are in micrograms — can I change units?

Reference values are expressed in micrograms (µg) per 100 g for nickel and nanograms (ng) per 100 g for cobalt, the standard for trace-element content. Food amounts can be entered in grams, ounces, pounds, cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, milliliters, or pieces when you log a meal.

Contact & support

If you've worked through the relevant section above and still need help:

• Re-read the User Guide for the screen you're on — most questions are answered step by step.
• Check the FAQ for how values, Pro, privacy, and the disclaimer work.
• Email us at [email protected] — include your device model, the app version, and a short description of what you did and what happened.