Troubleshooting Apple's MobileMe Gallery app

We published a report last week about the release of Apple's new MobileMe Gallery app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Now shortly after that, Apple has released a series of knowledge base articles that you might have missed. We'll go over those here and discuss some other problems users have encountered with the app.

Removing the Gallery app from your iPhone/iPod Touch

Apple advises that removal of the Gallery app from your mobile device will only remove the app, its cache of files, and its settings. Data in your MobileMe Gallery, located at http://gallery.me.com/membername, is not removed.

After removing the app you might encounter this error "Cannot Open Page - Safari cannot open the page because the address is invalid" if you try to open a Gallery or album from Mobile Safari on your iPhone or iPod Touch. According to Apple this should only happen once, but if you continue to get the error go to the Settings app, tap Safari, and then tap Clear Cookies. The error should no longer appear.

Troubleshooting the Gallery app

Apple's discussion boards contain user complaints about some of the following problems, which we will summarize along with their resolutions based on an Apple knowledge base article.

MobileMe Gallery log-in problems

If you are unable to log in to your MobileMe Account inside of the app then:

• Check to make sure that that date and time are correct on your iPhone or iPod Touch.
• Enter your MobileMe member name using all lower case letters.
• Use the same MobileMe member name and password you would normally use when connecting to the MobileMe service using preferences panels in Mac OS X or Windows.

Media viewing problems

The app doesn't support viewing video very well according to one user who isn't having much luck over a 3G cellular connection--even though this is supposed to work. Another user was complaining about not being able to view video in his personal MobileMe gallery. Apple recommends:

• Check to make sure that that date and time are correct on your iPhone or iPod Touch.
• Check that the media you are attempting to view is supported by the iPhone and iPod Touch by checking their technical specifications to find out.
• If you want to view new or recently changed content in the app, you will need an Internet connection (cellular or Wi-Fi). If you are unsure about your connection check this support page for help with Internet connections.

Problems with friends' Galleries

The app has features that will allow you to interact with friends who also have MobileMe Galleries and unfortunately this is where you will encounter the most problems. Here are some of the most likely ones you will encounter with tips on how to resolve them.

Generic icon in Gallery list when adding a friend: A picture is only available if you choose a contact with a picture associated with him or her from your contact list. Other Galleries, including your own, will have a generic icon. If you add a picture the app will update itself later and the generic icon should disappear.

Friends added from your Contact list don't show the proper member name or do not appear at all:

• If the contact has multiple MobileMe or chat e-mail addresses in your address book, only one will appear in Gallery. You'll have to add any additional Galleries with the associated extra addresses manually.
• If contacts are missing and you know they have a MobileMe address, then check their entry in the Contacts app on your iPhone or iPod Touch. Add the missing @me.com or @mac.com address and then try adding them again.

Problems with a friend's password protected album: You will have to enter an album's password twice if you first access it with Mobile Safari, which will request the password, before it redirects you to the Gallery app where you will be asked for it again.

Friends' albums not loading properly: If you encounter a problem with loading albums in the app, make sure that they are not hidden and password protected. If both of these settings are applied to your album, Apple recommends the following:

• Delete the published album.
• Republish the album and password protected it, but do not hide it.
• After the album is published, log in to www.me.com/gallery and hide it.
• Send the new link to your album to your friends.

Albums missing from My Gallery

You can verify what galleries will appear in the app by going to www.me.com/gallery on your computer. If you cannot see your Gallery there, it will not show up in the app. Hidden albums will not appear unless they are enabled in the Gallery app by setting "Show Hidden Albums" to On in the app's Settings screen.

MobileMe Gallery app video

Apple provides a comprehensive video demonstrating the MobileMe Gallery app that can be viewed here.

Finally, if you need additional technical support for Gallery on your Mac, PC, iPhone, or iPod Touch, read through this collection of documents about the MobileMe Gallery on Apple's support Web site.