This happens when you turn your phone to landscape with the installed app open. A screen with a drawing of a phone covers the app, with the message “Please use your phone in portrait mode”. You don't lose anything: the page stays open behind the notice.
When it appears
The notice only appears when all four of these conditions are met:
- you are using the installed app, opened from its icon, in its own window without the browser bars;
- the phone is in landscape;
- the app window, in landscape, is up to 500 px tall, as the browser measures it and not in screen resolution;
- touch is the main way you use the screen, not a mouse or a trackpad.
In the browser, in a normal tab, the notice never appears, not even on a phone. It does not appear on a tablet either, because the window is more than 500 px tall, nor on a computer, which uses a mouse or trackpad. To learn what the installed app is and how to install it, see the App installation and internet connection category.
Why it happens
The installed app on a phone was made to be used in portrait. The rule applies to professionals and clients and cannot be turned off.
On Android, the installed app also asks the system to stay in portrait. When the system honors it, the app does not rotate at all and the notice does not appear. On iPhone there is no such lock: the app rotates with the phone and the notice covers it.
The MyFitnessClient “Accessibility statement” lists this limitation under “Known limitations”.
Steps
To get back to the app:
- Turn your phone to portrait. The notice disappears and the app is right where you left it.
- Optional: to stop the notice from coming back when you turn the phone on its side, turn on your phone's rotation lock.
If you need to use it in landscape
Open MyFitnessClient in your phone's browser, in a normal tab, instead of the installed app. In the browser, the page rotates with the phone. If the browser asks you to sign in, sign in with the same account.
Exception: full-screen video
The course lesson player, with an uploaded or YouTube video, and the player for the exercises' YouTube videos have a full-screen button. Once the video is in full screen through that button, you can turn your phone on its side to watch it in landscape and the notice does not appear. When you leave full screen, the app asks for portrait again.
Questions
Can I turn off the notice?
No. To use MyFitnessClient in landscape, open it in the browser instead of the installed app.
Does the store app also only work in portrait?
On a phone, the app from the App Store and Google Play also stays in portrait, but it does not show this notice. On iPad it rotates to every orientation.
I also can't zoom in on the page. Is that normal?
Yes. The installed app also does not let you zoom the page with your fingers. See I can't zoom in on the page in the installed app.
If this did not solve it
Outside the four conditions, the notice should not appear. If it stays on screen with the phone in portrait, or if it appears on a tablet or in the browser: if you're a professional, contact support; if you're a client, write to the MyFitnessClient team through the contact shown at the end of the Help Center home page. Include:
- the phone model and the system version;
- the browser you installed the app with;
- a screenshot of the notice.