# Livescribe+ — user reviews > 280 indexed App Store user reviews of Livescribe+ by Livescribe Inc., rated 2.10/5 from 52 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/livescribe-plus/id718731977/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/livescribe-plus/id718731977.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 6 · 4★ 7 · 3★ 3 · 2★ 5 · 1★ 31 ## What do users think of Livescribe+? Overall sentiment: neutral **Pros** - 🚀 Excellent handwriting recognition - 📝 Seamless integration with Evernote and OneNote - 🎨 Versatile note-taking capabilities - 🔋 Long-lasting battery life - 🤳 Convenient mobile app experience **Cons** - 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezes - 🔍 Inconsistent search and organization features - 🔌 Connectivity issues between pen and app - 📤 Limited export and sharing options - 🕰️ Slow sync and data transfer speeds **Commonly reported bugs** - App crashes when opening notebooks - Pen disconnects randomly during use - Handwriting not always accurately transcribed - Sync issues with Evernote and OneNote - Firmware update process is unreliable **Most requested features** - Customizable tags and notebooks - Improved cloud sync and backup - Native desktop app support - Enhanced audio recording and playback - Smoother integration with productivity apps ## Newest reviews (15 of 280) ### 2/5 — App and Pen Won’t connect *2025-02-07, version 2.9.9* I have the Livescribe 3 smart pen and have for years, it won’t connect to the app and the app crashes when I try to pair to the pen again. I hasn’t paired in over a year despite being connected to Bluetooth ### 2/5 — It works, sometimes *2024-12-22, version 2.9.9* First use was great. It did transcribe my couple of sentences. Then I added more and that worked. I added more and couldn’t get it to transcribe the text though it appeared in the page image. The software has no “force transcription” option. So, I wrote at the bottom of the page and that triggered a scan of the entire page. Other stability problem: when you are looking at a transcription and select “Share transcript text and then “Save to Quicknote” it does open Quicknote but it doesn’t transfer the text; it’s just an empty note. They have been making this produce for more than a decade, surely they could have improved the UI by now and its stability. ### 2/5 — iOS definitely is not supported now… *2024-06-17, version 2.9.9* This is pretty terrible for iOS…when I open up the app on iPhone nothing was there... Pages blank, functions unusable, and the pairing functions 😡😡😡😡i went in circles with the help pages to end up not getting connected to my phone. After I did the BT back & forth, still nothin. Kept getting that the device list connected was full but after removing old things from my phone, I figured it was the pens list ..I tried to update the firmware but could get it to work until I Decided to try my android.. and boom. App works, pen was found and I removed the devices from the settings. Really bummed because my office is Mac & iOS only :( ### 2/5 — Great, when it worked *2024-02-12, version 2.9.7* Although the pen is easy to use and provides a pleasant writing experience, the syncing process with the app is problematic. The connection to the app often fails, and when it does connect, it takes an excessive amount of time to connect. Additionally, the pen now records every movement on the page when I'm not writing, scribbling out my notes, rendering the captured notes useless. The notebooks available are very limited. Unfortunately, I have received some very nice notebooks as gifts, but they are incompatible with this pen. These issues detract from the overall quality of the system. I persist in using the app and pen, though ultimately, I wished I hadn't bought it. ### 1/5 — POOR SHOW👎 *2024-02-10, version 2.9.7* Dies not perform as the developer promises. Synchronising is a sheer disaster. Extremely user unfriendly. I send the “not so smart” pen back to Amazon! It’s a pity that LiveScribe fails to master a simple matter lije connected via BleuTooth(!) ### 2/5 — Unstable… *2024-01-19, version 2.9.7* Open the app and it crashes within the first minute. I can’t work fast enough before the crash. Makes my pen useless. ### 4/5 — Still the best around *2023-11-13, version 2.9.7* I’m a longtime Livescribe user through various pens, latterly the Echo II. It does what it says on the tin - recording and transcribing notes I’d be lost without it ### 1/5 — Worst Device and App Ever *2023-10-27, version 2.9.7* Do not buy the pen or use the app. It never works and customer service is horrible. ### 1/5 — Not pairing & No Customer Support *2023-09-24, version 2.9.7* It says contact Customer Support but there is none and pen is not pairing to any device. I’m at a lost… ### 4/5 — In 2023 with Echo 2 and Liv+ it seems better so far. *2023-09-18, version 2.9.7* Most of the reviews here are old, and while very valid for the older equipment and software described, their value now may be outdated. I say that having just returned to the brand, buying the current combination of E-2 and Liv+ software. The E-2 first appeared just last year under the new owner. I downloaded Liv+ for android and connected with the Echo 2 successfully first time. Trial recordings of audio and script worked and transferred without a problem and the sound quality was acceptable even at medium recording quality. I found that this pen does, by following the company’s directions, recognize and record on pages in old notebooks some of which I never used between 2008 and 2014 when I gave up on the older products. When the last pen died I’d stayed away from the brand for the past 9 years. I kept up with reviews written by other people with experiences similar to mine, and the old ones in this thread. I had really enjoyed the Pulse version until the OLED fade problem came up; and in a second Pulse, the battery failure. The usability of the Pulse for recording audio and script in practice, then transferring and editing/using the data were excellent. Like many other users I moved on hoping the Echo, then the Sky would function as well, while (hopefully) overcoming the problems I’d seen. But, like may other users I was disappointed by changes in connectivity and storage requiring Wi-Fi and Evernote, for example. Functionality was no better but the overall experience was worse. NOW - with E2 and Liv+ I bought back in. And to this point I am not disappointed. Look for a short update after I’ve used the pen enough to have a better feel for the results over time. JTK in 2023 Sept. ### 1/5 — Poor support *2023-09-16, version 2.9.7* My 3 month old pen started recording phantom stokes ( on not the iOS and windows app, so it’s clear it’s the pen). Reached out to livescribe. Zero response. I get plenty of promotional emails from them, so marketing works but support is non existent. ### 1/5 — Does not convert Audio *2023-08-02, version 2.9.7* This pen does not play audio on macbook or iphone. I am forced to connect to app and play audio on pen. This pen is very troublesome and not user friendly. I never received a response when I reached out to Costumer Support. ### 2/5 — Nun ja….. *2023-07-02, version 2.9.7* Habe mir den Smart pen jetzt neu gebraucht zugelegt. Schreiben, Koppeln und Teilen funktionieren gut, aus irgendeinem Grund kann aber keine andere Sprache angewählt werden als Englisch. Deshalb funktioniert natürlich die Handschrifterkennung auch nicht. Support konnte bisher auch nicht weiterhelfen. Wenn das noch funktionieren würde, gäbe es vier oder fünf Sterne, so, aber leider nicht. ### 1/5 — Autolock and phone calls cancel the recording *2023-06-15, version 2.9.7* Be careful, receiving phone calls, or auto-lock cancels your recording and it will be lost forever. you cannot get it back. you have to turn off the phone and auto lock before starting to record if you don’t want to lose your recording. Livescribe is supposed to fix this soon. We’ll see. otherwise I will give them 5 stars. This is a TERRIBLE app. Every single time that I open it I have to pair my pen to it as if it’s the first time. PLEASE IMPROVE THE APP ### 1/5 — Returning *2023-03-11, version 2.9.7* After a couple days of trouble shooting I’ve given up and will be returning the symphony pen because I’ve never been able to pair it with my iPhone and when I’m successful at pairing with my MacAir it looses paired connection within 30 seconds. I’ve also can’t figure out how to export writing from the pen to my google drive. I’ve connected the drive with the app but since I can pair the pen it’s impossible to export my notes. Very disappointing. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Horrible *2025-01-31, version 2.9.9* I use to love live scribe, not over the last few years the quality has become HORRIBLE. It is more hassle than it is worth. Stay away. ### 1/5 — Not maintained and not working *2025-01-05, version 2.9.9* Unfortunately it's an absolute disaster. It forgets my pen between each sync. I can't make custom notebooks. No updates. I love the concept of livescribe and used it successfully in the past so it hurts me to see it's useless now. I wish there was a third party app for my symphony pen syncing. ### 1/5 — Pen doesn’t connect automatically to the App and keep failing when connected *2024-10-04, version 2.9.9* I use echo II, the pen doesn’t automatically connect to the iPad app and when it get connected after several attempts the sync will fail and the app will crash, it is really frustrating. ### 1/5 — Excellent example of Anoto governance poor quality *2024-06-11, version 2.9.9* Update And I willl continue to update this review until this company fixes this garbage product. 1. If your phone goes to sleep, the app disconnects fro. The pen and you have to associate the pen to the app. You have to do this every time 2. The pen has difficulty recognizing livescribe Anoto notebooks Still a pissant peoduct that I use because I paid for it. Since Anoto bought this company, the product has declined. It’s just the same one recycled with a new body. No improvements over the one pen and no improvements with the app and decreased selections when it comes to paper selections Why do I have to sour my pen multiple times? If the goal is to bankrupt this the original company then this is an excellent plan. Someone bought this company to eliminate it as a competitor because before Anoto, the products were excellent! ### 1/5 — Horrible. What have you done to what was a good product *2024-06-02, version 2.9.9* I have been a long time livescribe user but you have totally wrecked a decent product with poor software. Did you even try the app with your hardware? The connectivity issues are horrendous rendering a $100-200 pen inoperable. I’m moving on…hope someone buys your company that is more competent. ### 1/5 — Excellent example of Anoto governance poor quality *2024-05-08* Since Anoto bought this company, the product has declined. It’s just the same one recycled with a new body. No improvements over the one pen and no improvements with the app and decreased selections when it comes to paper selections Why do I have to sour my pen multiple times? If the goal is to bankrupt this the original company then this is an excellent plan. Someone bought this company to eliminate it as a competitor because before Anoto, the products were excellent! ### 1/5 — Absolute rubbish! *2024-05-02, version 2.9.9* The app is atrociously bad. The procedure to pair and sync the pen takes so long you might as well just type it all out yourself from the notes. I tried to use this to speed up the transcription of interview notes to typeface and I ended up swearing a lot because it wasted so much of my time. I updated firmware and the app. Followed all instructions and it honestly takes me about 1 hour to get it to finally connect. They it randomly stops recording what you have written. What a waste of money and time. I have two of the symphony pens and I’d call them something else which cannot be written here. ### 1/5 — Livescribe Echo 2 *2024-04-02, version 2.9.7* App doean not work! ### 1/5 — Can’t connect my pen… *2024-03-04, version 2.9.7* I started with the Symphony then moved to the Echo 2 to get in-pen audio recording. The pens are poor quality in that both models had cracks appear in the pen caps, and you can’t buy new ones. The app is a pain in the rear to connect to. I can only connect with my iPhone. It won’t connect to the app via my iPad or my iMac and I’m running the latest versions on everything. I sent an email to Livescribe for assistance and a week later I still haven’t had so much as a “well look into it” from them, complete radio silence. Tried looking up on line but all the videos I’ve found skip the trouble shooting element. If I hadn’t invested £120 on the thing I’d bin it completely. Don’t waste your money. ### 1/5 — Echo 2 Will Not Sync *2024-02-20, version 2.9.7* I have my Echo II paired with my iPad Pro (current edition), but my recordings and notebooks will not sync. I went to the website help page, but the “helper” app downloads but will not install onto my iPad. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Please continue *2026-08-13, version 2.9.9* Some of us oldtimers still love to write with a real pen (vs a stylus), so please continue to to make it work with the crazy iOS updates that apple does; absolutely love love this product and all the accessories ### 5/5 — Works as Advertised *2024-12-07, version 2.9.9* Not sure why all the bad reviews on this app. I downloaded the app, followed the directions, and it worked fine. This app and the pen that comes with it has made my work tremendously easier and more efficient. ### 5/5 — Simply life changing *2024-10-20, version 2.9.9* My wife bought the journal and pen for me maybe 8 years ago. Since then I bought 3 additional journals and it’s changed my total workflow. No more guessing.. “did I write it in my notebook? Or in my phone notes?”.. now it’s both! And I just went to the App Store to see what was new and saw the low rating.. I don’t know what anyone else’s experiences are but I just came to share mine. I absolutely love it. ### 5/5 — Excellent Program *2024-09-10, version 2.9.9* I run it on my Mac Studio and it works perfectly. I only to make the occassional change to the transcription. My handwritten text is accurately and quickly transcribed. ### 5/5 — Sehr gut geeignet für Studium, Meetings u. Brainstorming *2023-05-14, version 2.9.7* Der Speicher des Schreibgerätes ist im Zusammenhang mit IOS-Microfon excellence geeignet fürs Studium während Vorlesungen. Benutze es seit mehreren Jahren beruflich. Kann nicht verstehen wieso die Bewertung hier so miserabel ausfallen. Ich nutze einen Livescribe 3 Smartpen der heute nicht mehr im Vertriebsprogramm ist und 2GB Speicher hat. ZZt werden Stifte mit 8gb angeboten. Die Schreibminen die ich nutze sind aus einem normalen Schreibwarengeschäft. ### 5/5 — Digital writing *2021-12-17, version 2.9.0* When it comes to digital writing I love the Livescribe system. Always having a paper copy of what I write is an advantage over products like Remarkable. Moleskine is also a lovely system but the range of notebooks is decreasing. ### 5/5 — Great *2021-11-14, version 2.9.0* I have been using this app for a while , and even though it has had a few problems, fixed now, it so great to be able to store hand written notes in this way. ### 5/5 — Huge improvement *2021-03-15, version 2.6.2* The product has improved ten fold over the last two years. I’ve been a user for five years and I saw big improvement on stability. I use the product mainly for education purpose. ### 5/5 — Endlich stabiler *2020-12-10, version 2.6.0* Die Datenbankprobleme wurden endlich behoben. Löschen funktioniert ohne Abstürze. Reminder funktioniert auch ohne Crash. Ich hoffe die nächste Version kann auch neue Feature bieten. ### 5/5 — sehr Wertvolles Tool *2019-03-29, version 2.5.4* Meine Zettelwirtschaft hat ein Ende und nichts geht mehr verloren. Ideal für Meetings und Sitzungen. Leider funktioniert die App momentan nicht mehr unter ios 12.2 --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-15.*