Octave Tuner support

The tuner is not picking up my instrument

1. Check microphone permission. Open the iOS Settings app, scroll to Octave Tuner, and make sure Microphone is enabled.
2. Get closer. Put the phone within a foot or so of the sound hole or pickup, and check that a case, stand, or your hand is not covering the microphone.
3. Quiet the room. Octave shows a noisy-environment banner when ambient sound is interfering. Turn off fans, TVs, and other players nearby.
4. Pick one string at a time. The tuner reads a single note, so strumming a chord will give unstable results. Mute the other strings and pick with a clear attack.

The note jumps between octaves

This usually means the string was picked very softly or is close to dead. Let the note sustain and pick a little harder. If one specific string is consistently unstable, check whether the string is old or the tuning peg is slipping — String Health in Octave Pro tracks this across sessions.

The reading is close but never reaches zero

Check your reference pitch in Settings. If it has been moved off A4 = 440 Hz, every target shifts with it. There is a Reset to 440 button directly under the slider. Also confirm your capo setting matches reality — a capo set in the app but not on the neck will offset every string.

Microphone access

Octave Tuner needs microphone access to hear your instrument. Audio is analysed on your device in real time and is never recorded or uploaded — see the privacy policy.

If you denied access the first time, iOS will not ask again. Re-enable it in Settings → Octave Tuner → Microphone. If Octave Tuner is not in that list, launch the app once first.

If another app is using the microphone — a call, a voice memo, or a recording app — close it and reopen Octave Tuner.

Purchases and restoring Octave Pro

Restoring a purchase

Sign in with the Apple ID you purchased with, open Octave Tuner, go to Settings inside the app, and tap Restore Purchase. Restoring is free and works on every device on your Apple ID.

I bought the app when it was paid

You get Octave Pro at no extra cost. The unlock is granted automatically based on the build you originally downloaded. If it has not appeared, tap Restore Purchase in Settings — see the FAQ entry on grandfathered purchases.

Refunds

Purchases are handled entirely by Apple, so refunds are requested through Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com. Octave Tuner cannot issue refunds directly.

Tunings and profiles

Creating a custom tuning

With Octave Pro, open the tuning list, tap the + button, name your tuning, and set the target note for each string. Custom tunings support 4 to 8 strings and appear in their own section of the list.

Instrument profiles

A profile saves an instrument together with its tuning and capo position, so switching guitars is a single tap rather than a reconfiguration. Profiles are part of Octave Pro.

Using a capo

Set the capo fret in the tuner screen and every target pitch shifts to match, so the string labels line up with the notes you are playing. Set it back to 0 when you remove the capo.

Accessibility

Octave Tuner supports VoiceOver on every control, Dynamic Type for all text, and Reduce Motion for animations. Talking Tuner, in Settings → Accessibility, announces your pitch deviation aloud so you can tune without watching the screen.

If something is not usable with an assistive technology you rely on, please tell us — it is treated as a bug, not a feature request.

Contact support

Open the support form

You can also report a bug or request a feature publicly on GitHub Issues.

Including the following makes a fix much faster: what you were tuning, which tuning preset was selected, your reference pitch and capo setting, and whether the problem happens on one string or all of them.

Looking for something else? Try the frequently asked questions.