Signing in

The ways into Zen Reader, and what to do when none of them works.

This page is readable without signing in, on purpose — if you are locked out, you can still read it.

The ways in

Email and password. This is what the sign-in screen opens on. Type your email and your password.

A one-time code by email. Tap Use a one-time code instead, then Send code, and type the 6-digit code we send. It always works — there is no password to have forgotten — and it is the easiest route on a new device.

Google, Microsoft or Apple. Tap Continue with Google, Continue with Microsoft or Continue with Apple. Read the next section before you use one of these for the first time.

Create an account is on the same screen, for anyone who does not have one yet.

Children have their own email address and sign in the same way. What is different is what happens next: a child signs in, then types an 8-character join code from a parent to attach to the family. See Your family.

Signing in with Google, Microsoft or Apple — read this first

If the provider holds a different email address from the one your Zen Reader account uses, you will land in a brand-new, empty account. Your library and your children's work are untouched on your real account — but the app will look as though everything is gone, and it will offer to set up a family, which would make the empty one real.

It is easy to hit without doing anything odd. Your account might be on a Gmail address while Apple asserts the iCloud address on the same Apple ID. If you chose Apple's Hide My Email, Apple gives us a private forwarding address instead of yours, so we cannot tell either way.

Zen Reader now warns you when this happens, with Already have a Zen Reader account? above the family form. If you see it:

1. Do not fill the form in. Use Sign out on the warning, or Sign out and use a different email.
2. Sign in the way you did before — the email and password, or a one-time code, on your original address.
3. Then go to Settings → Account → Ways to sign in and add that provider.

That last step is the durable fix, and it is the only way to attach a provider whose address differs from your own: linking on the sign-in screen matches on the email address, so it never fires for exactly the people who need it. Once added, that button brings you straight back to the right account every time.

If adding it says the provider is already attached to a different Zen Reader account, that is the empty account it made earlier. Email support@zenreader.co and we will move it across — nothing in the app can do it, on purpose.

When the code does not arrive

1. Check the spam or junk folder. This is the answer most of the time.
2. Wait a moment. Delivery is usually seconds, but can take a minute or two.
3. Do not keep pressing send. There is a short wait between sends, and the button counts it down for you. If you press it too soon, the app says the previous code is still valid — that one, already in your inbox, is the one to type.
4. Codes last an hour, and the screen shows how long is left. After that, send a fresh one.
5. Sending a new code kills the old one. If you request a second code and then type the first, it will be rejected. Use the newest email.

If your address is at a workplace or school, its mail filter may be holding the message. Try a personal address instead.

"That email and password don't match"

Either the password is wrong, or you never set one — plenty of accounts have none, having been created with a one-time code. Use Use a one-time code instead; once you are in, add a password from Settings → Sign-in password.

There is no "reset password" email. A reset link cannot finish the job inside a phone app, so Forgot password? simply switches you to the one-time-code route and sends a code. Set a new password in Settings afterwards.

"Apple couldn't complete sign-in on this device"

This is Apple's end, not your password. Check you are signed in to your Apple Account in the device's own Settings, then try again — or sign in with your email address instead.

When there is no connection

Signing in needs the internet, and Zen Reader says so plainly — "Zen Reader couldn't reach the server. Check your internet connection and try again." — rather than leaving you to wonder about your password.

Once you are in, you stay in. Opening the app later with no connection at all takes you to your library rather than back to this screen, and a book your child has already opened can still be read and marked. See Reading practice.

"Zen Reader is finishing an update"

On Windows and Mac an update can land while you are at the sign-in screen. The app says it will restart in a moment; sign in again once it reopens, or use an email code. Nothing is lost.

"You've reached the device limit for this account"

This is not a password problem, though it reads like one. The full message asks you to sign out on another device first. Each person can be signed in on a limited number of devices — three on the usual plans. Open Settings → Manage devices on a device you still have access to, remove one you no longer use, and try again. See Managing your devices.

Signing in on this website

The website and the app share one account. Use the same email on both.

When you open the website from the app — "Manage subscription", or the Help and F1 links — you arrive already signed in, with no code to type. That hand-off link works once and expires quickly, so if you reload the page later you may be asked to sign in normally. That is expected.

Still stuck

Email support@zenreader.co from the address you are trying to sign in with, and say what you see on screen.