404 error code when attempting download of routeFORUMS HOME SEARCH FORUMS

The issue with downloading a route from within the Facebook app is not something we can easily address - we can't guarantee that all Plotaroute features will work when it is used inside another app, as we don't then have full control over the user experience. It's something we'd need to look into.

Michael - can you provide more information about the problem please? Many thousands of routes are downloaded from the site every month, so if you're experiencing an issue it may be connected with a particular route, device or certain download settings. Can you share an example where the problem occurs? 

Similar to the below, download of gpx file is not working on other platforms - this has happened at least 3x now, so I think this is directly related to plotaroute issue - need a remedy please.

Downloading on desktop, using Chrome.

I've hit the same 404 issue when downloading and it's been repeatable on the five different phones I've tried.

• Open facebook on an Android phone.
• Search for Colin Bathe.
• Look for a test post with a plotaroute link on it (Arc of Attrition 2024).
• Click on the link to open plotaroute.
• Hit the download button.
• Hit download this route.
• Hit continue to allow opening in external app.
• Get 404 error.

The same link works fine when using facebook on desktop. From what I can make out, the issue is that weblinks accessed from the facebook mobile app are opened in a web browser built in to the app. This app broswer doesn't appear to allow downloading so download links are offloaded into an external browser on the phone and this breaks the session tokens which are used to define what is being downloaded. On desktop, everything is run in the same browser so the session tokens are all fine and the download works. I've not tried this on an apple phone.

Have fun sorting that one out!

Work around:

• Click on the link in facebook.
• Click on the three dots top right to bring down the menu.
• Click on Open in external browser.
• Continue download as normal.

If you can't find my test post on facebook then here is a link to it:
https://www.facebook.com/colin.bathe/posts/pfbid0eAJQNezbME5XCFV93qbnt7xb38w9NQcSmVLxt8poHEkM9joWeNV78M2raYGKNEAvl

I would guess however, that a link from facebook to any plotaroute map would have the same issue.

That's great - thanks for cofirming that Dave, as I suspect this solution may work for others experiencing the same issue.

Hi thanks for advice,

I removed the app and reinstalled it via chrome and now it works fine. No longer any problems downloading routes I've plotted. No longer any 404 error codes. 

Thanks again, Dave.

Hi Robert,

Can you provide some further information please so we can investigate, as it's working OK for us here on an Android device? 

Are you using the web app or the opening the website in a browser?

If you're using the app, did you install it with Chrome or another browser?

What type of device are you using? 

Thanks.

I'm having the same problem. I'm using the same Android phone I've always used without any trouble. The only way round it is to download the gpx file on my desktop pc and then copy it to my phone. A bit of a nuisance. 

Hi Dave,

Did you install the app using Chrome?  If not, can you remove it an reinstall it please, as that might help. You can find installation instructions here: https://www.plotaroute.com/mobileapp

If that doesn't help, I think it could be your new device doesn't support Progressive Web Apps in the same way as other devices. You could try opening the site in the Chrome browser and downloading the route from there instead. 

Can you confirm what model of device you're using please? 

Hi I'm unable to download routes I've plotted on the app on my ( new to me) samsund note 9 and get a 404 error code at every attempt. There were no problems with my previous Huawei phone or even now with  plotaroute via our desk top computer. Any solutions welcome, Dave.