General Information:

What is myLINGO app?

myLINGO is a smartphone app that enables non-English speaking audiences to enjoy mainstream U.S. movies currently in theaters. Our app allows users to listen to a studio-quality recorded audio track of the film, in their own language. myLINGO plays the recording via earphones, in real time, while users are inside the movie theater. The first language on myLINGO is Spanish, available with select movies.

Who can use myLINGO?

Right now the Spanish audio is the first available language for download on myLINGO with select US movies, so myLINGO is for Spanish speakers in the United States. The overall vision for myLINGO is to shatter communication barriers all over the world, providing a solution to millions of non-native English speakers living in the U.S. who might not fully understand the language, for those outside the country who want to watch a movie in its original language, and even for those who are deaf or hard of hearing. We are working hard to soon support several languages beyond Spanish, and in several countries around the world.

So, is myLINGO a live translation service?

No, it's even simpler than that. Think about the “language selection” option on Netflix or your DVD/BluRay player. Movie studios already produce alternative language audio tracks (developed for foreign release), that are of excellent quality and readily available. The myLINGO technology automatically syncs these tracks to play in real time with the original source audio, without any disturbance or audio variations.

Can I use myLINGO for watching movies at home?

myLINGO only provides audio tracks for movies currently in nationwide theaters.

I thought we weren’t supposed to use our phones in the theater.

Actually, myLINGO is designed to operate without disturbing anyone in the theater. The app prompts the user once in the beginning of the movie to start the audio sync, and that’s it. There’s no need to touch the app anymore after that. Even more so, while the movie plays, the screen goes completely dark and the audio can only be heard through earphones – it won’t play through the smartphone’s speakers even if the earphones become accidentally unplugged.

The movie I want to go see in theaters isn't available on myLINGO/isn’t available on my language.

myLINGO is a new company, and in the coming months we’ll be working to include all movies playing in theaters available within the app, as well as provide more audio tracks in more languages soon. We’re focusing on an excellent customer experience, so that any movie you want to see, you will also be able to hear in your preferred language. Please email us here to tell us which language and/or movie you are looking for!

Does the app work with BlueTooth wireless earphones?

No. Due to the unreliability of bluetooth, myLINGO does not work with any kind of wireless or bluetooth headphones. Please use wired headphones that plug into your smartphone.

Technical/Usability Questions or Issues:

When I search for the audio track, I see a notification that location is required.

myLINGO requires the use of location to properly function. Please go into your phone settings and turn on location services for myLINGO. For Android users, make sure you use the most accurate GPS available.

I have my GPS turned on, and I’m still asked to turn on location services.

You are probably an Android user. Go into your phone settings and select high accuracy GPS. This should take care of the problem.

When I try to download I see a “Network error” message.

We apologize for the delay, it seems many people are downloading the audio file at the same time. Please wait 1-5 minutes and try again.

I’m having trouble downloading an audio file.

We highly recommend being connected to a strong WiFi network when you download a demo or full-length audio track; this will speed up the download process.

The movie started but the audio isn’t playing; I only hear the instructions “myLINGO is still determining playback position, audio playback will begin momentarily.”

It can take between 30 seconds to 1:30 minutes to achieve initial synchronization. This is because the movie may be going through a quiet/low audio part. This is normal, but don’t worry… myLINGO will always sync. We appreciate your patience.

During the movie, I received alerts that myLINGO cannot hear the theater audio.

Please make sure that your smartphone is exposed and not covered by anything. We recommend you rest your smartphone in the cup holder or on your lap.

My device is exposed, and I’m still hearing the message.

During quieter parts of the movie, you may hear this message. We are working to calibrate the audio sensitivity of the app so that this happens as infrequently as possible. As soon as the movie audio returns to normal levels, myLINGO should work again.

When is it time to start using myLINGO?

You can activate the app after the trailers end, right when the movie starts.

At the movie theater:

Can I use the Cinemode feature within the Cinemark app and myLINGO at the same time?

Yes, you can. Cinemode and myLINGO work together fine. We recommend that you turn on Cinemode first, and go to the myLINGO app afterwards.

Does the movie theater provide earphones for me?

Not yet, you’ll have to bring your own pair of earphones with you.

My phone ran out of battery, does the theater have an extra phone I can use?

No. But we recommend you arrive to the theater with your phone charged at least 20% full if you plan to use myLINGO with a movie.

I want a refund for my movie ticket because myLINGO didn’t work.

Please email [email protected] with subject line “Refund App Malfunction” along with the movie title and theater location. myLINGO will promptly respond requesting your app ID and phone number, and we will go through our logs to see what the source of the error is.