Help with Tabata Stopwatch Pro

For more about the app and download links for your device, see here.

Frequently asked questions

A few common things we get are explained below and take less than a minute to fix.

Odd glitches.

If the app is just behaving strangely for you, voice getting stuck or delayed, beeps not working properly, music going haywire or pausing when interacting with other apps; as silly as it sounds just restart (completely power off and then power on again) your device once. 99% of the times something is just stuck in the iOS or Android operating system and phones these days do not get rebooted for months. The good old give it a whack really does help. It clears internal audio buffers, voice queues, stale processes and most things misbehaving internally in the operating system.

If all else fails deleting the app and installing it afresh does also help. Sometimes though with the millions of device, operating system updates and user customisations out there it is just not possible for things to work properly and there isn’t really much we can do here.

I paid for Pro Features but I am being asked to upgrade again, seeing ads and have no access to Pro options? (iOS)

You don’t need to pay again at all. The app checks purchases directly with the App Store on your device itself to ensure maximum privacy and all steps are completely at hand on your iPhone or iPad itself.

To fix your problem, in the app’s settings (not iOS settings) scroll down to the bottom and the section called Sundries. Press the Restore Purchases option, follow the prompts and that will bring your Pro status back. For this to work you must be signed in with the same Apple ID you made the purchase with originally. Also note, restoring purchases is only valid if your Pro Features purchase was made from inside that the app, i.e. an In-app purchase.

If you purchased the stand alone paid version of the app and not the free version with in-app purchases, there is nothing to restore, simply download it again from the App Store. The App Store should say Get or show a download arrow instead of a price when you tap the link below. Again, for this to work you must be signed in with the Apple ID you purchased with. You may download it here.

For more information on how to identify which version of the app you have please see Identifying your Tabata Stopwatch Pro purchase below.

I paid for Pro Features but I am seeing ads and no additional options? (Android)

You don’t need to pay again at all. To fix your problem, sign in to Google Play with the same Google Play Account you originally purchased the app with and simply download and open the app. Your purchase will be automatically picked up.

I am unhappy with my purchase can I get my money back?

Please request a refund. If you purchased a subscription please also be sure to cancel it as explained just after this.

How can I view or manage my existing Pro Features Subscription? (iOS)

Subscriptions are managed from your App Store account on your device directly and are completely under your control. Here is Apple’s help document on how to view or cancel app subscriptions and where to find everything if you are on iOS 17 and above. It is also possible to cancel your subcription on your iPhone, iPad, Mac and Windows PC as well. This other document by them is also helpful with general App Store management and has some useful information.

How can I view or manage my existing Pro Features Subscription? (Android)

Subscriptions are managed from the Google Play Store app on your device directly and are completely under your control. Here is Google’s help document on how to cancel, pause or change a subscription.

Can I transfer my purchase or subscription?

Our apps are priced on a per platform basis and it is not possible to transfer purchases between Apple IDs and Google Accounts, on or across platforms. Every purchase is permanently tied to the store account it was made from. If, for example, you have an iPhone and purchase a Samsung Android phone the purchase from your iPhone cannot be used on your new Samsung Android device and you will need to purchase it again on your new Android device.

The Tabata app checks Pro purchase status with the Apple App Store or Google Play Store directly on the user’s device itself and you will need to be logged in, on the store, with the same Apple ID or Google Play Account you purchased with for it to pick up your purchase. As long you are using the same Apple ID or Google Play Store account the app will be able to access your purchases, even on new devices but only of the same platform.

Presets are not saving for me?

Getting a few reports for this increasingly and trying to figure out what is causing this. This is most likely a bad install or corrupted settings and simply deleting the app and reinstalling it from the App Store will fix things.

Can I continue to use the app with the screen locked or when I open another app?

Working in the background, with other apps and with the screen locked is now available for all users of the app on both iOS and Android. You no longer need to purchase the Pro Features upgrade for this.

Please add the option to set a different sound for the rest (or other) interval?

This is already in the app, on the screen where you set the duration, look up, the top right. Found it?

The voice stopped working, stop ruining the app.

Well jokes aside, this one is generally very simple. If you did not change your Voice Assist settings or turn off the Speaker setting, then just restart your device (as stupid as that sounds). Voice is a complicated thing and something somewhere just got stuck. The good old give it a whack will fix it.

Why did you change the female voice to a robotic sounding male one? (iOS 12)

We didn’t! iOS 12 seems to have made the change to a male voice as the default for the American English accent. We have a short help document on fixing this, Selecting different voices for your workout on your iPhone or iPad.

I cannot hear anything, the sound does not work. Help?

On iOS please check your device volume and mute switch. If those are fine then restarting your device or re-installing the app will fix this.

Android has different volumes for different things, for example, notifications have a different volume from music. The Tabata app uses the music volume for all its beeps, announcements etc. On the timer screen of the Tabata app pressing the volume buttons on your device will allow you to check and adjust your music volume so that it is not very low.

How do I edit a saved preset?

Load a preset, make a change, save as new preset, delete the older preset. Simple, easy and keeps the app settings clean.

Can I name different exercises?

We left this out on purpose because only a few people ever use it and it makes the app infinitely more complex for everyone. We have another app that does allow you to make custom workouts including naming exercises and setting custom durations, worth a shot Workouts+ Interval Timer.

How do I setup Apple Health? (iOS)

After you complete your first workout the app will prompt you for Health app permissions. Please answer yes. You can also check your permissions under Sources in the Health app. From iOS 13 onwards, the Sources tab no longer exists and instead in the Health app on the top right you’ll see your profile picture. Tapping that allows you edit and setup additional information. Under Privacy press the Apps option and then select the Tabata app to give it permissions for things you’d like to see recorded to Apple Health on your device. Please note, for estimated calories etc. to be written you must have your sex, height and weight entered in the Health app.

If you would like to learn more about using Apple Health, Apple has an excellent document on it.

Will my heart rate monitor (HRM) work with Tabata Stopwatch Pro?

We have some help on Recommended HRMs here .

Additional help

A little more detail on a few relevant things.

Identifying your Tabata Stopwatch Pro (also called Tabata HIIT Timer) purchase (iOS)

To find out which version of the Tabata app you have, you will need your purchase receipt (also called invoice in some countries). Here is Apple’s document on finding receipts in case you are unable to find the mail version they originally sent.

First to be sure you have our app check that the purchase is from Anuj Seth or Parabolic River and not from a different name in which case you do not have our app. We get a lot of support mails from people who have purchased some old and outdated app and are now using our app wondering where their purchase went, so please double check what app you have.

We have 2 versions of our Tabata timer app, generally called Tabata Stopwatch Pro on the App Store. The first is a stand alone paid version i.e. a paid app and the second is a free app with an In-app purchase upgrade for Pro Features. Most people have got the free version with In-app purchase option. An easy way to check which version you have is to see if there is a price on your purchase receipt from Apple.

Free version with In-app purchase:

If it says 0.00 then you have the free version of the app (the original download, the first time you tried out the app from the store). Please note, this does not automatically mean you have purchased the Pro Features upgrade, even just a download of the free version creates a zero value receipt. The actual Pro Features In-app purchase will be a separate entry in your purchases, often a different receipt altogether, with the amount you paid for it mentioned next to it, clearly mentioning it as an In-app purchase.

Paid version:

If you have the paid version of the app then you will have just one original download entry (in your purchase history or on your purchase receipt) and it will include a price right next to it.

Help on how to Restore Pro Features is available at the top of this page.

Get the app

You can download the best Tabata Timer and HIIT Timer from the Apple App Store for your iPhones and iPads. If you are on Android you can get the app from the Google Play Store to make your Tabata and HIIT style interval training workouts. Please note the app is free only within reason and on a self support model even when purchased.