Help for LabCast+
Support
Get help adding podcasts, moving your subscriptions, downloading episodes, or playing video.
Contact support
[email protected]
Include your device model, iOS or Android version, LabCast+ version (Settings › About), the podcast’s name or feed link, and what happened.
Adding a podcast
- Search: open Discover and search by show name. Results come from Apple’s podcast directory.
- By link: in Library, tap the link button and paste the show’s RSS feed, or a podcasts.apple.com link. LabCast+ looks up the feed for Apple Podcasts links.
- OPML: Settings › Import OPML, or Import OPML on an empty Library.
If Apple Podcasts says a show has no public feed, it is exclusive to Apple Podcasts and cannot be played in other apps.
Moving from Apple Podcasts
Apple Podcasts has no built-in way to export your subscriptions. You have two options:
- On a Mac, export an OPML file. The free command-line tool podcasts-tools reads the subscription list the Podcasts app keeps on your Mac and writes it out as OPML (see its instructions; it needs PHP and Composer). Open Podcasts on the Mac first, signed in to the same Apple Account as your iPhone, so it shows the same shows. AirDrop, email or save the file to Files, then in LabCast+ open Settings › Import OPML and pick it.
- Add shows one at a time. Search for each show in LabCast+ Discover, or in Apple Podcasts open the show, tap Share › Copy Link, and paste the link into LabCast+.
An OPML file carries your list of shows only. Your place in episodes and your played history do not transfer.
Moving from another podcast app
Most podcast apps, including Overcast, Pocket Casts, Castro and AntennaPod, can export an OPML file from their settings. Export it, then import it in LabCast+. To take your shows from LabCast+ to another app, use Settings › Export OPML.
Downloads and storage
Tap the download button on an episode to keep it for offline listening. Turn on Download new episodes on a show’s page to save new episodes as they arrive. Settings › Delete played downloads frees space once you finish an episode, and Settings › Storage used shows what downloads take up.
Video podcasts
Video episodes play on the Now Playing screen. Tap the full-screen button or turn your device sideways for full screen. If you lock the device or switch apps, the episode keeps playing as audio.
CarPlay and Apple Watch
Connect your iPhone to CarPlay and choose LabCast+ for your subscriptions, Up Next and downloads. On Apple Watch, the LabCast+ app is a remote for your iPhone: it shows what is playing, pauses and skips, and starts episodes from Up Next, In Progress or the latest episodes. Audio plays from the iPhone.
An episode won’t play
Episodes stream from the podcast’s own host. If one fails, check your connection, pull to refresh the show, and try again. If it still fails, email support with the show’s name and the episode title.