Activating e-ticket on Trainline

[zend11]

Hey peeps, how do I go about activating a mobile ticket on the trainline phone app after purchase?

Apparently there is supposed to be an activate button but when I buy my ticket the button doesn't appear.

Or do they automatically activate themselves on the day? I have been buying the ticket on the same day when I departure.

 

[Starmill]

etickets don't need to be activated. Where did you read that they do? Check your booking confirmation emails - do you not see a ticket in one of them?

 

[zend11]

I seen it online that you need to.

I've been using the in-application code instead of the emailed one.

Whenever I scan my phone at Manchester Oxford Road it says that the ticket is invalid on the display.

 

[717001]

You’ve mentioned both e-ticket and mobile ticket - these aren’t the same thing. The Trainline website explains here how and when to activate a mobile ticket: https://www.thetrainline.com/en/help/question/4500/how-do-i-downloadactivate-my-mobile-tickets

This includes (sorry can’t see how to make it a proper quote):

Download ticket
You can then Download ticket to view the actual ticket on your device which includes an image of the barcode that will be scanned at the station. You can only download your Mobile Ticket to one device, so make sure you download it to whichever device you’re planning to take with you when you travel.

Activate ticket

You will need to activate your downloaded ticket before travelling, however this should only be done on the day of travel and once you are sure you will be travelling that day. Activating your ticket is irreversible, once it’s been activated it cannot be changed, refunded or moved so we recommend you only activate it just before boarding. Tickets should not be activated before 04.30 am on the day of travel, unless your train leaves before then.

Move ticket
If you’ve already downloaded the ticket but now are travelling with a different device then you can move it.

Open our app in the device you’d like to move your tickets to. Log in to your trainline account and then download your tickets to your new device. Just so you know, before you travel you need to activate the ticket on your device. However, once activated you can no longer move, change, or refund the ticket so it's best to wait until just before travel before activating.

 

[yorkie]

I seen it online that you need to.

But where online?

You have an e-ticket; these don't need activating.

Some people incorrectly claim they do, such as a Virgin Trains Guard a few weeks ago, but those people are confused between e tickets and m tickets.

 

[jawr256]

I seen it online that you need to.

I've been using the in-application code instead of the emailed one.

Whenever I scan my phone at Manchester Oxford Road it says that the ticket is invalid on the display.

That's quite common at the barriers there - I have regularly used (railcard-discounted) TransPennine Express advance tickets from Preston to Manchester since May at Oxford Road, in paper and digital formats, and always have to be let through manually as the barriers have not been set up to accept this ticket.