Getting Started

The first step is to either install The Seattle App on your mobile device or visit the web app.

If you’re using the web app, that’s it. You’re done. It should just open in your browser and allow you to play with it.

For Android, visit the Play Store on your device. For iOS, visit the App Store. Check out our mobile apps page for more information.

Once installed on your mobile device, look for the black and white Space Needle icon. When the app first starts up, you’ll see this icon on a splash screen while the it loads.

Loading Images

The Seattle App contains a random selection of high-resolution photos of Seattle, which take some time to load. White you wait, the app will display a sketch of Seattle for your enjoyment.

Once the first two images have loaded, the refresh button at the bottom right becomes available. If you’d like, you can use this button to get started viewing photos right away. Once five images have loaded, a random photo will appear automatically.

The photos are cached with the app when it’s running. Closing the app completely and starting it up again will allow it to get the latest set of photos from the network server.

Viewing photos

Once the photos are loaded, tap on the red refresh button at the bottom right of the screen to cycle through the random selection of photos.

Since the photos are chosen randomly, even if a photo you’ve already viewed appears, press the button again to see more. The more you do, the more likely you are to see everything available.

Each photo has the photographer listed below it. If you tap on their name, it will take you to their Unsplash profile webpage, where you may see other amazing photos they’ve taken.

If you tap anywhere on the photo itself, you’ll be presented with a button that links to a website with more information about the photo’s subject and button that uses the photo’s location data to open your map app and show you where the photo was taken.

Simply tap on ‘close’ to return to the photo.

New photos are added weekly, and some older ones may be replaced. To get the latest updates, make sure your app has closed completely. When you open the app again, the updated photos will be there. If you’re on a mobile device, touch the bottom of the screen and slowly slide about half way up. All your open apps will be displayed. Scroll left and right until you find The Seattle App. Swipe it up, and it will close. For the web app, just close the page.

Getting App info

See that little ‘i’ in a circle at the top right of the screen? That’s an info button. Tap on that, and you’ll be presented with information about The Seattle App.

There’s a brief description of the app and links to the Unsplash License, our privacy policy, and WannaJava’s website. Note that on most screens, you’ll need to scroll to see the entire message.

Once you’ve read what you need, tap on ‘close’ to return to the current photo. 

Handling Issues

Things usually run pretty smoothly for The Seattle App, but there are times when issues arise.

The number one problem we see is a slow network connection. If you’re relying on a cellular connection instead of connecting to Wi-Fi, the app could sit at the “loading images” page for a while. After that, everything should load quickly. To solve this slowness issue, you’ll need a stronger cell signal or a good Wi-Fi connection.

The other issue is if you don’t have a network connection at all. This happens if you’ve forgotten that you’re in airplane mode or if you try to start the app while driving through a tunnel. In this case, you’ll see a new message across the top of the app that says, “A network connection is required.” To fix this, turn off airplane mode or get out of the tunnel, and then click the refresh button at the bottom right of the screen, even if it looks disabled. If all is well now, it’ll begin to load the photos. If not, it will politely tell you, “Connect Wi-Fi and try again.”