FAQ

Getting started with Tonido iOS App

This section provides information on initial setup of the Tonido iOS App to access your files in your computer or in TonidoPlug. The Tonido iOS App is a Universal App.

Basic Installation

Tonido iOS app can be used to access any computer or TonidoPlug device. In order to access your computer, you need to install and run Tonido server.

Tonido is free and is available for a majority of Operating Systems. Click on the following image to download and install the Tonido server.

Once you have installed and started Tonido server,  Download the Tonido iOS App from Apple Appstore.

Star the iOS App and Click on the  icon on the main page of Tonido iOS App to add a new account.

Enter the required credentials

Account URL: http://youraccount.tonidoid.com

Account Name: youraccount

Password: The account password

Remote Answer (Required only if you have set it up): your remote answer

Once the account is authenticated, you will be able to access the files in the computer or Tonido plug by selecting the account you wish to access. 

Account authentication security

The authentication information is saved securely in iOS's security infrastructure and cannot be accessed by any one even if your device is lost.

Furthermore the connection between your iOS device and Tonido server can be secured by using https:// instead of http:// (albeit at a cost of speed) and finally all access to the Tonido server in LAN (where your iOS device and the Tonido server are in the same network) are always direct access (your data is never sent outside the network in those cases).

Password lock for the Tonido iOS App

Tonido iOS App allows setting a 4 digit access code to allow access to the iOS accounts itself. It is available by clicking on the  icon in the main accounts page.

Is Tonido iOS App compatible with Tonido Cloud?

Yes. Tonido iOS App is fully compatible with all Tonido enabled devices (Tonido on Linux, Mac, Windows, Cloud) and TonidoPlug. However, the Tonido version must be upgraded to the latest Tonido inorder to use this App.

Trouble Shooting

iOS App is unable to access the Tonido account

This can be due to couple of reasons. 

1. Ensure that Tonido server is running in your target computer. You can check that by opening a webbrowser in the computer where Tonido is running and entering http://127.0.0.1:10001 (Assuming the port is still default) in the webbrowser address. If Tonido is running the web browser will show the Tonido login page.
2. If Tonido server is running, ensure that your target computer can access the internet. If firewall is running your computer and is preventing Tonido from accessing the internet, then you need to add rules to your firewall to allow Tonido to access the computer. You can check if Tonido can access the internet by entering http://<youraccount>.tonidoid.com in a webbrowser on the same computer where Tonido is running. If the web page opens and shows Tonido server, then Tonido is running
3. Ensure that your iOS device is connected to the network (Wifi or Cellular network) and can access the internet (Simply open safari and try to access a webpage )

If you need further help, please post in our support forums.

What does "This Device" folder contain? Why is "This Device" folders empty when the App is installed?

The "This Device" folder is an automatically created folder in Tonido iOS App and this folder will contain all the files that you download from any of the Tonido server.  Therefore, when the Tonido iOS App is first installed, the "This Device" folder's subfolders will be empty.

Once you add one or many Tonido Accounts to the app and download files, the download will be done directly to folders in the "This Device" based on the file type. 

Read about downloading from Tonido server using Tonido iOS app here.

Using Tonido app to access files in Tonido devices or Tonido Cloud

The Tonido IOS App will allow you to access files on any computer running Tonido server or from TonidoPlug device. Refer to "Getting started" section for more information on setting up the account.

Clicking on the file will show a "Preview" panel and provides context based options on the actions that can be performed on the file.

iPad Screenshots

iPhone/iPod Screenshots

Playing Audio Files Using Tonido iOS App

Tonido iOS App provides a rich audio playback experience in the form of a Music Player. Songs can be slected while browsing a folder or by loading a Playlist.

Supported Audio Formats in Tonido iOS App

The following formats are supported for playback in Tonido iOS APP. 

Mp3 and M4A files are supported natively by iOS device and therefore are not automatically transcoded. Transcoding is available if needed (to reduce bandwidth)

All other formats are transcoded for playback.

The following transcoding bitrate can be manually selected in the music player

Playlists in Tonido iOS App

Tonido iOS app allows the user to create, load new music playlists. The playlists can be created on the fly by adding music files to the "Music Player" . Songs can be added using "Queue" or "Play" on the individual song's preview pane or using "Play all Songs in Folder" or "Queue all Songs in Folder" options in the Actions menu. You can now save playlist using the following method

Save Playlist

iPad: Select the "save" button on the bottom of the Music Player to create and save songs to a new playlist or replace a playlist.

iPhone/iPod: Open the "playlist panel" by clicking the playlist button and click the "save" button to create or update a playlist.

 Once a playlist is created, it can be accessed from any of the Tonido Clients (Android, iOS, WebUI)

Playing songs in cellular network or low bandwidth network using Tonido iOS App

Tonido iOS App's music player will automatically select the best bitrate depending on the connected network.

While playing audio using the Tonido iOS App, the playback may be interrupted in case of bad network connection or in the case of low bandwidth networks like Cellular networks. If you experience playback interruption, then select the 64Kb/s to minimize the bandwidth requirement but this will reduce the audio quality.

Playing Video Files Using Tonido iOS App

Tonido supports playback of a variety of video files. But this is dependent on the computer from which the video is being played.

Tonido will support playback of  iOS Native formats (MP4 files) including the DRM files (those purchased from iTunes provided the iPad was previously synced with the computer to allow the licenses to transfer) .

All  Versions of Tonido Desktop servers (Windows, Mac and Linux)  have the capability to perform "Live Streaming" of incompatible video formats to iOS compatible formats. This requires a sufficiently powerful computer.

 Tonido iOS app will automatically select the best method to play the video depending on the Server capabilities.

Does Tonido Support video Streaming on iPad, iPhone and iPad?

Yes. Tonido supports watching video that are in your computer without downloading to your iOS device. All Tonido devices allow streaming of natively supported formats of iOS (mp4).

Tonido Desktop versions  (Windows, Mac and Linux) of Tonido server also supports live conversion of video formats that are not natively supported in iOS. This requires the computer to be somewhat powerful enough to perform the encoding on the fly. For all other cases, you can do "offline" transcoding to convert the videos to natively supported iOS formats.

Supported Video Types in Tonido iOS App

Tonido will automatically transcode (if possible). 

What is Live streaming?

Tonido Desktop server has the ability to transcode a non compatible video file on the fly to allow playback of the file. This requires a sufficiently powerful computer to allow smooth playback.

How can I convert video types not supported by iOS using Tonido iOS App?

Tonido offers support to convert most video formats to iOS compatible format using the the "Optimize for Later Playback" function in the preview window.  This can also be done using the Web interface by selecting the video file and performing the "Create Optimized Video" function. Once the offline transcoding is complete (i.e. Optimized file is created), the file can be played in the iOS device.

Tonido doesnt play some of my video files

Due to the huge variation in the video source files, some video files might not be converted or cannot be played due to variety of issues (High bitrates, Unknown codecs). In those cases, we can help determine the problem if you post a ample of the video file in our support forum.

Playing DRM Videos using Tonido iOS App

Tonido iOS App allows playback of DRM files provided the iOS device is synchronized with computer's iTunes on which the movie was purchased to allow the licenses to transfer. Once that is complete, playing a DRM file will result in Tonido automatically launching mobile safari to play the video.

Viewing Photographs using Tonido iOS App

Tonido supports viewing variety of Photo formats and can display them fullscreen. Furthermore, Tonido also caches photos to allow faster retrieval of Photos after initial access. 

Supported Photo Formats in Tonido iOS App

Tonido has the ability to read and display variety of photo formats including RAW file types. 

Saving Photos to iPhone, iPod or iPad's Photo Roll

Any photo file, regardless of the photo format can be saved to the Photo Roll using Tonido iOS App. Tap on the Photograph to open the Preview window and tap "Save to Photo Roll" button to save!

Accessing Document using Tonido iOS App

Tonido iOS App will allow opening of common file formats such as txt, doc, pdf, xls, ppt etc. But specialized file formats such as CBZ are not supported. However, if there are other iOS apps that can handle those formats are installed, then the Tonido iOS Apps allows sending those files to the compatible Apps.

Opening document using other installed iOS App

Tonido iOS App allows opening of a file (regardless of its type) using other installed iOS Apps. Select the "open with" function to display the compatible installed applications.

How do I open a large file using the "Open with" feature?

"Open with" function on files that are not downloaded to the device is limited to 25 MB. If you want to open a file larger than 25 MB, you should download the file first and then go the downloaded file (Navigate to the file in "This Device" local folder) and then use the "Open With" on the downloaded file.

Download files from computer to the iOS (iPad or iPhone) device using Tonido iOS App

Files can be dowloaded directly to the iOS device to allow access when there is no connectivity. Simply tap the "Download" button in the preview pane to download a file . You can also select "Download Folder Files" to download all the files in a given folder. You can continue working while download is in progress. However, the App must be in foreground and you should not switch to a different server until the download is completed. 

The transfer status can be seen by selecting the "Show Transfer Status" option in the "Actions" dropdown menu.

The downloaded files can be accessed by selecting the "This Device" option in the main Accounts page. The downloaded files are automatically placed in one of the following four folders depending on the type of the file being downloaded.

a. Documents

b. Photos

c. Audio

d. Video

Upload files from iOS device to computer using Tonido iOS App

Tonido iOS App allows uploading the following files to Tonido server (provided sufficient privileges are provided in the Tonido server)

a) Photo files in iOS device album 

b) Video files in iOS device album

c) Files in the Tonido iOS App's "This Device" folder (Files that are previously downloaded or imported from other iOS Apps)

To begin upload in the current folder, select the "Upload Files to this Folder" option in drop down menu of the "Actions Button" . In iPhone, you might have to scroll down in the drop down menu .

This will display three options "Upload Photos", "Upload Videos", "Upload Local Files". Select the appropriate option to begin uploading.  The uploading will be done in background.

To check status of upload, you can select the 'Show Transfer Status" menu item in the drop down menu of "Actions" button. You can continue working while upload is in progress. However, the App must be in foreground and you should not switch to a different server until the upload is completed.  

Import a file from other iOS app into Tonido iOS App

Tonido iOS App can import any file into its local "This Devices" Folder. In order to import a file from a different iOS App into Tonido iOS App, Open the other iOS App and select the file to export and select "Open in" or "Open with" or similar option (this varies in wording).

In the option that is displayed, Tonido will be shown as well. Select Tonido. This will cause the file to be imported into Tonido. Once imported, the file is saved in one of the following four folders depending on the type of the file being imported. 

a. Documents

b. Photos

c. Audio

d. Video

Here is an example where a file is being exported from a different iOS App.

Edit (copy/paste/delete) files on computer using the Tonido iOS App

This function is currently available only when the Tonido iOS App is running in  iPad. Furthermore, the backend server can be configured to prevent file edits/deletes as well.

The edit function allows the user to copy, paste or delete files and folder in the remote computer. Care should be taken when using the delete function as it will result in permanent deletion of the file or folder.

To begin editing, click on the "Edit" button on the bottom of the folder that you want to edit. This will show three buttons (Delete, Copy, Paste). Select file or folder and click on one of the three options.

The Delete button will ask for confirmation before deleting the file or folder  permanently. Selecting copy or move will change the buttons to "Paste" and "Cance". At this point, you can navigate to the target folder and

select 'Paste".

How do I delete files in "This device" section in iPhone? How do I delete downloaded files in iPhone?

Tonido iOS v4.0.1 allows deleting downloaded files in iPhone by swiping the element that needs to be deleted.  Once you swipe the row of an element that needs to be deleted, a delete button will be shown to delete that item.

Guest access using Tonido iOS App

Tonido iOS App can log in using guest access credentials. In that case the app will disable functions that are available only for the admin user. All other functions will be available as is.

Share a file or folder

Tonido iOS App allows sharing of files and folder in the following ways

a) Create a direct link to the file or folder. This link can be sent via email to anyone who needs access to that resource

b) Email the file (Only available for files below 25 Mb).

To share a specific file, select the "Share" button in Preview pane  of the file and then select "Create Direct Link" or "Email" 

To share a specific folder, select the "Share" option in the Dropdown menu of the "Actions" button in the folder.

How do I jump to base  folder after navigating deep into a directory tree?

In Tonido iOS v4.0 onwards, the iPad version will allow jumping to base folder by tapping the "Files" option on the left column view.

In Tonido iOS v4.0.1 onwards, the iPhone version will allow jumping to the base folder by tapping the "Files" option on the bottom bar.

How do I refresh current view ?

In iPad, you can tap the refresh icon on the bottom of the screen to refresh a view.

In iPhone/iPod, you need Tonido iOS v4.0.1 app to do this function. You can "swipe" down to cause the view to refresh.

How do I save a photo to the iOS Photo Album?

Tonido iOS App v4.0.1 allows you to save any photo format (JPG,PNG, NEF, CR2 etc) directly to the photo album.

Tap the "Save to Photo Roll" button in the Preview pane of any Photo to save the photo.

Where do my downloaded files go? What happens when I tap "download" or "download folder files" actions?

Tonido iOS apps allow downloading files from your computer to your iOS device so that they are available when there is no connectivity or if you dont want to use phone bandwidth. When a file is selected for download, it is downloaded to the device and you can find it by going to "This Device" in the main screen.   The download status can be seen by selecting the "Show Transfer Queue" option in the drop down menu in "Actions" . 

Music files  go to the "Music" folder in "This Device"

Video files go to the "Video" folder in "This Device"

Image files go to the "Photos" folder in "This Device"

All other files go to the "Documents" folder in "This Device"

What does error "Unsupported Server" mean? 

Sometimes when attempting to add a new tonido account to Tonido iOS app, this error may be shown. 

"UnSupported Server" means the app got some unexpected data (the data received could not be parsed using any known/ expected format) when it tried to access the address provided. This typically happens if you have a proxy server in the middle or if your server was not running or your address is going to some other server. 

Try the following to check the setup. You can always post in our forums to get more help 

1. Make sure Tonido is running in your computer (open the browser in your computer and type http://127.0.0.1:10001 and it should show Tonido's web UI. You should be able to log in and when you go to "settings->General", it should show that the status is online

2. In your iOS device, open up the safari browser and enter http://yourid.tonidoid.com and see if it connects.

3. Make sure you have entered the address correctly when trying to add the account to your iOS device.
Note that your address is http://xxxxx.tonidoid.com (note that it is tonidoid.com and not tonido.com)