Help and support
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Your audiobooks
Adding books
Bookyeller plays audiobook files you already have. Put them in a folder on your device, such as Audiobooks, then tap Choose folder and pick that folder. Android doesn't let apps pick the top of your storage or the Download folder itself, so use a folder inside them.
Each folder of audio files is one book, and a folder of folders (for example, author then title) works too. Folders named CD1, CD2, Disc 1 and so on are joined into one book. A single M4B or M4A file is a book on its own.
File types
MP3, M4B, M4A, MP4 audio, AAC, FLAC, Ogg, Opus and WAV. Bookyeller can't play books with DRM, such as those bought from audiobook stores that lock their files to their own app.
No audiobooks yet?
LibriVox has thousands of free, public-domain audiobooks read by volunteers. Download a book's MP3 zip, unzip it into your audiobooks folder, and it appears in your library.
Text books read aloud
Bookyeller also reads .txt, .epub and .pdf files aloud with the voices installed on your device (Android's text-to-speech settings). Scanned PDFs are read by text recognition on the device. Your place, bookmarks and sync work as for audiobooks. Settings also offers cloud voices from OpenAI, ElevenLabs, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud, with your own account's key; these are off until you enter one.
In Settings, text books can leave out footnote numbers and pass over the notes at the end of a book (you can still open them), and Pronunciation teaches the voice how to say a name or word. These change only what's said, never your place.
Sleep timer
Set it from the player: a number of minutes, or the end of the chapter. The sound fades out first (10 seconds to 2 minutes, in Settings), and a soft tone plays a minute before. Shake the phone to start the time over, or within 2 minutes after it pauses to keep listening. Where it paused is kept in the book's Earlier places. Settings can start it by itself when you press play at night; turn it off and it stays off until the next night.
Headphones, Bluetooth and sound
A headset's play button pressed twice or three times can skip forward or back, change chapter, or add a bookmark (two buzzes say it's made). Settings can ignore the play some cars and speakers send as they connect, play again when headphones reconnect within 5 minutes of unplugging them, and boost quiet recordings, play in mono or shift the balance.
An audiobook and its ebook
Put the ebook in the audiobook's folder (or give both the same title and author) and Bookyeller shows them as one book. The player's switch button and Open the ebook or Open the audiobook go to the same chapter in the other one.
Adding books from a computer
In Settings, Add books from a computer shows an address and a code. Open the address in a browser on a computer on the same Wi-Fi, enter the code, and choose folders to send. It works only while that screen is open on the phone. Files already on the phone are skipped; a different file with a name that's already taken isn't sent, since Bookyeller never replaces your files.
Copying a book from your other device
With sync on, Books on your other devices lists what your other devices have. Choose one, then open Send to my devices on the device that has it. Both need to be on the same Wi-Fi, and the copy is encrypted on the way.
Files in Google Drive or other cloud folders
A folder from a cloud storage app works, but it's slow, and the app may download whole files as you listen. Bookyeller warns you when the folder you picked is one. For the best experience, keep your books on the device or its SD card.
Sync
How it works
Sync keeps your place, bookmarks and finished books the same on all your devices. Each device needs its own copy of the book. Your audio files are never uploaded. Everything is encrypted on your devices with a key only they have, and there's no account. See the privacy policy for exactly what's sent.
Pairing a device
- On your first device, open Sync (from Settings) and tap Turn on sync.
- Tap Add a device, then Show the code.
- On the new device, open Sync and tap Scan its code, or Type the code if it has no camera.
Up to 6 devices can be paired. When you open a book on one device after listening on another, Bookyeller asks whether to continue from where you left off. If you say yes and change your mind, tap Undo.
A different copy of the same book
Copies with the same audio are matched automatically, even if the files are named or tagged differently. Copies with different audio (for example, a different encoding) are matched by title, author and length, and your place is carried over by chapter where possible.
Keep the code safe
The pairing code is the key to your sync data. Anyone who has it can join your devices, so only show it to your own devices. Writing it down lets you restore sync on a new phone if you lose the others. If someone else may have seen it, choose Reset sync on the Sync screen: your devices get a new code and you pair them again.
Free trial and buying sync
Playing your books is free. Sync is free for 14 days from when you first turn it on, then a one-time purchase through Google Play keeps it going. There's no subscription and nothing is charged automatically. Buying it on one device unlocks sync on all the devices you pair with it, as long as that device syncs now and then (at least once every 45 days).
If the trial ends before you buy, the device stops syncing but keeps everything, and the changes made on it are sent once sync is unlocked. A purchase is restored automatically when you sign in to Google Play with the same account on a new phone.
"Sync stopped on this device"
This means sync was reset or deleted on another of your devices, or this device restored a backup without its key. Pair it again from the Sync screen. Nothing on the device is lost.
Turning sync off and deleting your data
Turn off sync on this device removes just that device. Delete my sync data (in Settings or on the Sync screen) erases everything your devices have synced from the sync service and turns sync off on all of them. Books, places and bookmarks on each device stay.