E-Tickets not working with Android WalletPasses app

[JennyL]

Hi all, I am after some advice.

I use e-tickets purchased through work to go to the office once or twice a week. I move the ticket into Android wallet passes.

But in recent months every time I get to Birmingham Snow Hill or Birmingham Moor Street, the e-ticket wont let me through and I get a "seek assistance" message.

I have turned the brightness up on my phone, even switched the tickets to my personal mobile and had the same issue.

It's really frustrating. Any ideas what is wrong?

 

[jfollows]

What precise e-tickets are you using?

If they're railcard-discounted tickets, the barriers may be set to reject them and require a human to verify that they're valid.

When you "seek assistance", is the end result that you're allowed through?

 

[Watershed]

Next to "seek assistance" there will be a 2 or 3 digit code displayed. If you can tell us what this is the next time you travel, it may enable us to determine the reason for the tickets being rejected.

 

[JennyL]

Standard day return tickets. I have to show to the ticket person and they let me through and nobody can explain to me why its not working on my phone. But I nearly missed a connecting train in Birmingham last week as as the ticket man was so busy doing everything but guarding the one barrier in Moor Street!

 

[alistairlees]

Standard day return tickets. I have to show to the ticket person and they let me through and nobody can explain to me why its not working on my phone. But I nearly missed a connecting train in Birmingham last week as as the ticket man was so busy doing everything but guarding the one barrier in Moor Street!

It could be any number of things. Why not try scanning the PDF instead of trying to use the Google Wallet app? Also, could you share the tickets here? And let us know what the error code on the gateline is. There should be enough info to help then.

 

[bkhtele]

Yes sometimes the original pdf works fine, I have seen this problem before with work tickets in wallet.

 

[Adam Williams]

There's a bug in version 1.3.2 of the WalletPasses app. Raileasy have proven that it generates completely broken Aztec barcodes for valid pkpass files with the correct E-Ticket payload (which render correctly in Apple Wallet), and have already informed the developer.
Stop using it, and use PDFs or Google Wallet instead.

E-Ticket rendered by WalletPasses:



How it should actually look:

 

[Vexed]

I have personally had no issues with the Android app PassWallet for pkpass files, though I do use ticket retailers that offer Google Wallet where possible.

 

[Adam Williams]

I have personally had no issues with the Android app PassWallet for pkpass files, though I do use ticket retailers that offer Google Wallet where possible.

Have you used it since v1.3.2?

 

[Vexed]

Have you used it since v1.3.2?

PassWallet and WalletPasses are different apps. There are so many on Google Play it is quite confusing. I've had recent success with PassWallet (including yesterday with both barriers and guards), which the OP may want to switch to if they want to keep using their current ticket retailer.

 

[Adam Williams]

PassWallet and WalletPasses are different apps. There are so many on Google Play it is quite confusing. I've had recent success with PassWallet (including yesterday with both barriers and guards), which the OP may want to switch to if they want to keep using their current ticket retailer.

Oh I didn't even realise there were multiple unofficial ones!

I'll maybe mention this to customers who ask for an alternative in future, thanks.

 

[JaJaWa]

Doesn’t the Google Wallet app supports e-tickets? Why would someone attempt to convert an Apple Wallet ticket to an Android format?

 

[Adam Williams]

Some retailers, like Railsmartr, don't support Google Wallet properly - so these unofficial apps (or displaying the PDF) are the only ways you can make use of your E-Ticket on an Android phone.

In other cases, we've had customers who dislike Google / don't have Play Services or Wallet installed, and want an alternative solution.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Oh I didn't even realise there were multiple unofficial ones!

I'll maybe mention this to customers who ask for an alternative in future, thanks.

There are lots of PKPASS apps due to Google failing to support this open standard in favour of their own. Google's own standard is to be fair better, but the situation was very VHS vs Betamax for a long time. Only now is support for Google Wallet becoming popular. Thus many people already have one of the third party apps.

Kind of odd that it's that way round - normally Google would be the open standard and Apple the proprietary one!

 

[JennyL]

PassWallet and WalletPasses are different apps. There are so many on Google Play it is quite confusing. I've had recent success with PassWallet (including yesterday with both barriers and guards), which the OP may want to switch to if they want to keep using their current ticket retailer.

Thank you I will download Pass Wallet. Also I will try the download version of the PDF.

 

[lookapigeon]

Cat amongst the pigeons here, but just get paper CCST. Stick through the barrier, walk out, job done.

It sounds like a load of faff having to mess around with different apps, standards, pdfs to your phone etc.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Thank you I will download Pass Wallet. Also I will try the download version of the PDF.

If you view it in the Adobe Reader app it should stay downloaded for later use.

 

[py_megapixel]

The approach I use (and I think this should work on iPhones as well, though I won't say for certain as I'm not that familiar with iOS) is to install* a file manager app which allows me to link to a specific folder from the home screen, then just save the PDFs in that folder.

* if you have a Samsung phone, you may not even need to install a separate app, as their file manager has this feature built-in. Annoyingly Google's "Files" app, which most non-Samsung devices use, doesn't. No idea about iOS.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The approach I use (and I think this should work on iPhones as well, though I won't say for certain as I'm not that familiar with iOS) is to install* a file manager app which allows me to link to a specific folder from the home screen, then just save the PDFs in that folder.

* if you have a Samsung phone, you may not even need to install a separate app, as their file manager has this feature built-in. Annoyingly Google's "Files" app, which most non-Samsung devices use, doesn't. No idea about iOS.

iOS now has a built in file manager app. Apple pretended for years it didn't have files, but it does and they've now admitted it

Stuff doesn't get put on the home screen of an iOS device in the same way as Android, though. If you want quick access, the way to do it is to use the PKPASS. No reason to use a PDF instead on an Apple device.

 

[trebor79]

Cat amongst the pigeons here, but just get paper CCST. Stick through the barrier, walk out, job done.

It sounds like a load of faff having to mess around with different apps, standards, pdfs to your phone etc.

+1
I will go through whatever byzantine route and links in tiny easily missed fonts to find a way to get CCST for collection at the station rather than any form of electronic ticket.

 

[infobleep]

It had never occurred to me that if someone didn't support Google I could use a different app on an Android device. In such cases I would just use the PDF.

I do helpfully have multiple file managers though on my Samsung Android phone and think nothing of going into it.

 

[grove]

Oh I didn't even realise there were multiple unofficial ones!

I'll maybe mention this to customers who ask for an alternative in future, thanks.

I was using WalletPasses so I'll switch to PassWallet

Is Google Wallet supposed to accept PKPASS tickets or not? I have never been able to work out how to load them from the email.

No, I don't want to use a PDF or print it on paper as that defeats to object of an eTicket!

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the debate.

 

[PeterC]

I was using WalletPasses so I'll switch to PassWallet

Is Google Wallet supposed to accept PKPASS tickets or not? I have never been able to work out how to load them from the email.

No, I don't want to use a PDF or print it on paper as that defeats to object of an eTicket!

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the debate.

Not sure how sticking to the KISS principle and simply opening the file that you were emailed is an issue but each to his own.

 

[skyhigh]

Is Google Wallet supposed to accept PKPASS tickets or not?

No.

 

[Deerfold]

I was using WalletPasses so I'll switch to PassWallet

Is Google Wallet supposed to accept PKPASS tickets or not? I have never been able to work out how to load them from the email.

No, I don't want to use a PDF or print it on paper as that defeats to object of an eTicket!

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the debate.

Not sure how using a pdf defeats the object of an e-ticket. It's what I almost always use.

I display it on my phone and WhatsApp it to my wife in case of problems with my phone.

 

[DeverseSam]

Is it not possible to simply take a screenshot of the ticket, that way you don’t need Internet access or to open specific apps?

 

[Haywain]

Is it not possible to simply take a screenshot of the ticket, that way you don’t need Internet access or to open specific apps?

You don't need internet access to open a pdf once it's been downloaded.

 

[sor]

Cat amongst the pigeons here, but just get paper CCST. Stick through the barrier, walk out, job done.

It sounds like a load of faff having to mess around with different apps, standards, pdfs to your phone etc.

well, unless the mag stripe has become corrupted or the barrier is misprogrammed and won't accept your ticket of course.

Never had a problem downloading to Apple Wallet, except for a problem with the GA "Hare Fare" (which is only available as e-ticket anyway) that seems to be very well known according to the gate staff that kept having to let me through. Some sort of problem with the ticket itself and not the delivery method

 

[jayah]

Is it not possible to simply take a screenshot of the ticket, that way you don’t need Internet access or to open specific apps?

You don't need Internet connection to display on the TOC App as long as it stays logged in.

You don't need connection to open a previously downloaded PDF - if it is an e-ticket not an m-tickey.

You don't need Internet connection to display a saved screenshot of it.

Why on earth there should be an app to buy it, a plethora of 3rd party apps to store it (which seem capable of mangling the QR code) and a third app for your railcard is beyond me.

The whole lot is due for a large dose of KISS.