Help and support

Tap “New match” and choose “Official match”, “Test match” or “Easy match”. An official match has rosters, officials and signatures. A test match is for practice. An easy match is unofficial: no rosters and no signatures.

An official match needs both rosters (at least 6 players each), the officials and the signatures. When you are signed in, it is saved to the cloud for the referee, the livescore and the backups. A test match has invented teams for practice. It stays on this device and never goes to the cloud.

The app always opens on Home. The card at the top shows the match on this device: the teams, the score, when it was last saved and its state. Tap “Continue match” to go back in. A reload of the page goes straight back into the match.

After 15 minutes or more in the background (another app, the screen off), the app shows Home. Nothing is closed or deleted: tap “Continue match”. Time with the screen on, such as a long set break, does not count.

“Scoring here”: this device scores it. “On another device”: another device took the match over. “Closed on the server”: the match is approved or closed. “Not checked”: the app could not ask the server (offline, signed out or no answer). “Unsent changes”: some changes are not on the server yet. A closed or moved copy opens read-only.

Tap “Delete match”, or “Delete” in the “On this device” list. An official match asks for the game PIN. This deletes the match on this device and on the server. A copy that is closed on the server or scored on another device is only removed from this device. The dialog warns you when the copy holds changes the server does not have.

When the same game is on this device more than once, Home tells you. “Clean up” removes only the extra copies that hold nothing of their own. It asks first, and nothing changes on the server.

Tap “Restore match”. Choose “Restore from cloud backup” (game number and game PIN, then “Search cloud backups”) or “Restore from local file” (“Select backup file”). Check the “Restore preview”, then tap “Confirm restore”.

The language is in the menu (☰) of the header. The other settings are in “Options”: on Home, or in the scoring screen under Match › Options.

Yes. On the “Match info” card, tap “Load match from schedule”. Choose the federation, the gender and the league, then the game. The app fills in the game number, the teams, the date, the time and the hall. It needs an internet connection. Then set the team colours and the short names.

On the “Match info” card, tap “Create match” (later “Edit”). Enter the game number, date, time, city, hall and league, the match format, and both team names with their short names. All of them are needed.

The 1st referee and the scorer, with the scorer's date of birth. The 2nd referee, the assistant scorer and the line judges are optional. The 2nd referee and the assistant scorer sign at the match end when they are entered.

The team names and short names are in the match info. On each team's card, tap the shirt next to “Select colour” to pick the shirt colour. The app warns you when the two colours are close.

Tap “Edit roster” on the team's card. In the “Add new player” row, enter the number (1-99), last name, first name and date of birth, then tap “Add”. A team needs at least 6 players, not counting the liberos, and at most 14.

In “Edit roster”, keep “Local” selected and tap “Upload PDF”. Choose the team's roster PDF, then tap “Import PDF”. Check what was imported: dates of birth, captain, liberos and bench officials.

Yes. In “Edit roster”, choose “Remote” and tap “Generate PIN”. Give the coach the game number and this upload PIN. The coach opens roster.openvolley.app, picks the game and the team, enters the PIN and uploads the roster PDF. “Roster uploaded” then appears (“Search for roster” checks for it): tap “Preview”, then “Accept” or “Reject”.

In the roster, choose “Libero 1” or “Libero 2” in the libero column. A team has at most 2 liberos. With more than 12 players it needs 2.

Tap “C” next to the player in the roster. Each team needs one captain.

In “Edit roster”, tap “+ Add bench official”. Enter the coach, the assistant coaches, the physiotherapist and the doctor. A coach is needed, and a team has at most 5 bench officials.

The game PIN is on the match info page (“Create match” or “Edit”), where “Send PIN by email” can send it to you. Keep it: you need it to delete or restore the match. The referee and bench PINs are in “Connect tablets”. During the match, Match › Show PINs shows them all.

When every card is complete, tap “Coin toss” at the bottom. If it is greyed out, the warning next to it shows what is missing.

Toss the coin with both captains first. Then set the result on this page: “Switch sides” puts each team on its side, “Switch serve” gives the first service to the right team.

Team A is shown on the left, Team B on the right. Tap “Switch sides” to swap them.

The ball shows the team that serves first. Tap “Switch serve” to give the service to the other team.

The coach and the captain of each team. Tap “Sign A” or “Sign B”, then “Coach” or “Captain”. They sign on the screen, or on their own phone with “Sign on phone”. An easy match needs no signatures.

A date of birth on 1 January often comes from a bad import. The app lists these people. Check them before you go on.

When the sides, the service and the signatures are done, tap “Confirm coin toss result”. The app checks the connection and opens the scoring screen.

On the scoring screen, before the first rally of each set. Tap “Lineup” on each team's side and enter the six players for positions I to VI. Liberos are not in the starting line-up.

The line-up dialog has “Game captain” (optional): choose the player who acts as captain. With “Manage captain on court” in the options (on by default), the app asks for a game captain when the team captain is not on court.

Before the first rally of the set, tap “Lineup” on each team's side. Type the number for each position I to VI, or tap or drag a player from the list, then tap “Confirm”. Both teams need all six positions.

Enter both line-ups first. Tap “Start set” for the first rally of a set, then “Start rally” at each service whistle.

When the rally ends, tap the point button of the team that won it. The app adds the point, moves the service and rotates the team that wins the service back.

Right after “Start rally” or a point button changes, the app ignores taps on these buttons for 450 ms. A double tap or a bouncing finger gives no second point and starts no new rally. The keyboard keys act at once. The options also have “Check accidental rally start” and “Check accidental point award”.

The ball marks the serving team, and the court shows each team's positions I to VI. The app rotates a team when it wins the service back. A wrong rotation is fixed in Match › Corrections with “Fix the line-up”.

Tap “Undo” and confirm. It takes back the last action of the current set: a point, a time-out, a substitution or a sanction. Tap it again to go further back.

After a point, tap “Decision change”: give the point to the other team, or replay the rally with no point. During a rally, “Replay rally” replays it. Older mistakes are fixed in Match › Corrections.

The points of the set, the sets won and the serving team. Each team's side shows its time-outs (TO) and substitutions (SUB) in this set. Match › Show sanctions and results lists every set.

Switch on “Keyboard shortcuts” in the options. The keys are A and L for a point to the left or right team, Q and P for a time-out, X and N to exchange the liberos, Backspace for undo, Enter to start the rally or confirm, and Escape to cancel. Change them with “Configure keys” in the scoring screen's options.

Yes. In the options, set “Screen mode” to “Auto” or the phone layout, and hold the phone upright. The score, the court, the time-outs, the substitutions and the point buttons fit on one screen.

Between rallies, tap the team's “TO” box. Check the dialog and tap “Confirm time-out”: a 30-second countdown starts. “Stop timeout” ends it early. Each team has 2 time-outs per set; a third request is an improper request.

Between rallies, tap the player on court and choose “Substitution”, then the player who comes in. Or drag a bench player onto the court player (long-press on a tablet). Then confirm.

Six per set. The “SUB” box counts them and turns amber at 5. A starting player can leave once and come back once, only for the player who replaced them. After the sixth, a further request is an improper request.

Tap the player on court and choose “Injury”, then a substitute. If no legal substitution is possible, the app offers an exceptional substitution. After an exceptional substitution, that player cannot play again in this match.

Tap a back-row player (I, V or VI) and choose “Libero”, or drag the libero from the bench onto that player. Not the player who is about to serve. A rally must be played between two libero replacements.

Tap the libero on court and choose “Libero out”: the replaced player comes back. When the libero rotates to the front row, the app takes the libero out and asks you to confirm. “Exchange libero” swaps the two liberos.

Tap the libero and choose “Unable to play”: declared unable, or injury or illness. If the team has no other libero, the app lets you designate another player as the new libero.

The circle marks the team captain, as on the paper scoresheet. A libero who is captain has the circle next to the L1 or L2 tag.

Tap the player on court and choose “Sanction”: “Warning” (yellow), “Penalty” (red), “Expulsion” (red and yellow together) or “Disqualification” (red and yellow apart). For a bench player or a bench official, tap them in the bench list. Then confirm.

Under each team's “TO” and “SUB” boxes are “Improper request”, “Delay warning” and “Delay penalty”. On a small screen they are under “IR & delays”. The app writes them on the scoresheet and gives the penalty point.

The sanctions follow the rules. A second improper request counts as a delay. A delay after a delay warning is a delay penalty. The dialog tells you before you confirm.

The opponent gets the point and the service. The app adds them and rotates the team if needed. A delay penalty given before the line-ups are entered is added once both line-ups are in.

An expelled player sits out the rest of the set, a disqualified one the rest of the match. A player on court must be replaced: the app asks for the substitution, an exceptional one if no legal one is left.

A team gets one warning per match. After it, “Warning” is greyed out for every member of that team. Further misconduct is a penalty or more.

If it is the last action, tap “Undo”. Otherwise open Match › Corrections: in the “Sanctions” card, edit or remove it, or tap “Add sanction”. The correction log shows the change to the referee.

At 25 points with a 2-point lead (15 in the deciding set), the app shows the set end with the score and the winner. Check the end time and tap “Confirm”. If the last point was wrong, tap “Decision change” instead.

The countdown starts when you confirm the set end. It lasts 3 minutes: change it in the options under “Set 2-3 interval duration”. “End set interval” ends it early. The referee tablet shows the same countdown.

No. The app changes the sides and gives the first service to the right team by itself. Enter both line-ups, then tap “Start set”.

The deciding set (set 5, or set 3 in a best of 3) goes to 15 points with a 2-point lead. Toss the coin again before it: set the sides and the service with “Switch sides” and “Switch serve”, then tap “Confirm set 5 setup”. At 8 points the teams change courts.

When a team reaches 8 points in the deciding set, the app shows “Court switch required”. Let the teams change, then tap “Switch courts”. If a correction takes the score back below 8, the app asks to switch back.

The set is safe on this device. Tap “Continue”: the set goes to the server when the connection is back. In a browser, the app can also download a backup at the set end (“Auto-download data at set end” in the options).

The app shows the match end with the result. Confirm the end time: the match end page opens for the signatures and the approval.

The results table shows set-by-set scores, timeouts used, substitutions per set, set durations, and total match duration.

First the two captains sign under “Team captains”. Then the officials sign in this order: assistant scorer (if any), scorer, 2nd referee (if any), 1st referee. Tap “Tap to sign” in each box.

Yes. In the signature box, tap “Sign on phone” and let them scan the code. Keep this window open until the signature arrives, then tap “Use signature”. It needs the internet or the hall network.

Yes, with an OpenVolley account. Tap “Approve with PIN” in the signature box: the official enters their account's email and their own approval PIN. It needs an internet connection and a match that is saved online.

When every signature is in, tap “Confirm and approve”. The app saves the match data (JSON) and makes the scoresheet PDF: keep the scoresheet window open until it is ready. The match is then approved and closed on the server.

“Retry” makes the PDF again. “Approve without PDF” approves the match now: save the PDF later with “Scoresheet”. “Cancel” leaves the match not approved.

Tap “Scoresheet” and choose “Preview”, “Print” or “Save PDF”. It works before and after the approval.

“Confirm and approve” saves the match data as a JSON file, together with the PDF. During the match: Match › Download game data (JSON). The file can restore the match.

After the approval, “Close match” marks the match final on the server and removes it from this device. Save or print the PDF first if you need a copy on this device.

Tap “Reopen last set” to go back to the scoring screen. All signatures are cleared and must be collected again. After the approval, only an admin can reopen the match (“Reopen match”).

During the match: Match › Corrections. At the match end: the “Corrections” button. Each correction is saved when you confirm it and listed in the correction log for the referee.

In Match › Corrections, tap “Add a missed point” for the team. It is added at the current score with its rotation and service, as the point button does. If the last point went to the wrong team, tap “Last point went to the wrong team”.

In the “Set results” card, tap “Correct final score”. Only the end of a set can change: a point added after the last point, or the last point removed. Points missed in the middle of a set cannot be fixed.

Use the “Time-outs”, “Substitutions” and “Sanctions” cards. Each has an add button, and each row has “Edit” and “Remove”. A preview shows what changes on the scoresheet before you confirm.

In Corrections: “Change who serves first”, “Switch sides” and “Reopen set”. “Fix the line-up” corrects a wrong rotation: rotate the team one position forward or back.

Open the “Teams” tab to change the names, short names, colours, players and bench officials. The “Match info” tab holds the hall, the date and the officials. Then tap “Save changes”.

Corrections are saved one by one when you confirm them. Changes in “Teams” and “Match info” are saved together with “Save changes” at the top. “Close” asks before it drops unsaved changes.

A correction that changes the scoresheet clears the signatures collected at the match end. Collect them again. An approved match is read-only: reopen it first.

Yes: Match › Edit home roster or Edit away roster. Changes after the coin toss are logged in the corrections and in the remarks.

Open the menu (☰) in the header and tap “Connect tablets”. Step 1: choose how the tablets connect. Step 2: choose the tablet. Step 3: scan the code with the tablet's camera and enter the PIN shown.

“Hall Wi-Fi”: the hall has Wi-Fi and this computer is on it. “Wi-Fi from this computer”: no hall Wi-Fi; the desktop app makes its own (Windows, Linux). “Internet”: the tablets have mobile data; you must be signed in. “Bluetooth” is a last resort, on Linux only.

Tablets on the local network need the OpenVolley desktop app (or a venue box) on this computer: it serves the referee, bench and livescore pages. In a browser, choose “Internet”.

Some hall Wi-Fis keep devices apart: choose “Wi-Fi from this computer” or “Internet”. On Windows, let OpenVolley through the firewall: Windows Security › Firewall & network protection › Allow an app through firewall › OpenVolley › tick “Public”.

That is normal: the laptop's Wi-Fi has no internet. Choose “Stay connected”, then scan the code of the tablet's role.

Step 3 shows the PIN of the chosen tablet. The links and codes never contain it. A tablet that is off is refused: turn it on in step 2 (“Let … in”). After too many wrong PINs, wait a few minutes.

The OpenVolley desktop app runs a server for the tablets on the hall network, with no internet needed. A venue box or the downloadable server does the same. With internet, the match also syncs to the cloud.

Only with “Internet”. Then you must be signed in, and the match must be synced (the status says Synced) before the tablets find it. On the hall network, no internet is needed.

Scan the referee code from the scorer's “Connect tablets”, or open referee.openvolley.app. Choose the game, enter the “Connection PIN” and tap “Enter”.

The scorer must have the match open with the referee tablet turned on (“Connect tablets”, step 2). Over the internet, the match must be synced first. Tap “Load games” to look again.

They turn the court to match where you stand: 1 REF for the 1st referee on the stand, 2 REF for the 2nd referee on the scorer's side. The score and the data stay the same.

The score and the sets, the serving team, both line-ups with the rotation, the time-outs and substitutions, the sanctions and the last action. Time-outs and intervals show their countdown.

The connection to the scorer dropped, so the score may be out of date. The tablet reconnects by itself when the network is back. If it does not, tap “Refresh” in the menu.

Open the menu and switch on “Keep screen on”. The fullscreen button hides the browser bars.

The scorer can call the referee with the bell in the header. The referee tablet then shows an alert and vibrates where it can.

Scan the team's bench code from the scorer's “Connect tablets”, or open bench.openvolley.app. Choose the game and your team, enter the team PIN and tap “Connect”.

The live match of your team: the score and the sets, the time-outs (TO) and substitutions used, the court with the line-up, the libero and captain marks, and the sanctions.

No. The bench tablet only shows the match. Ask for time-outs and substitutions as usual; the scorer records them.

Check the team PIN with the scorer. The scorer must turn the bench on in “Connect tablets” (step 2). After too many wrong PINs from one network, wait a few minutes.

The match starts on the tablet as soon as the scorer confirms the coin toss.

It rejoins its match by itself when the server is back, and waits for the scoresheet if needed. You do not need to enter the PIN again.

On roster.openvolley.app: choose the game and the team, enter the upload PIN from the scorer and upload the roster PDF. The scorer accepts it in the match setup.

Open livescore.openvolley.app and choose the game. No PIN is needed. Or scan the livescore code in the scorer's “Connect tablets”.

The team names, the score, the sets and the serving team. It shows no player data.

The scorer must be online and signed in, with the match started and synced. Test matches never appear on the online livescore. On the hall network, open the livescore address shown in “Connect tablets”.

Yes. Open the livescore on the screen's computer and choose the game: it fills the page. The browser's fullscreen (F11 on most computers) hides the bars.

The livescore lost its connection and shows the last score it received. It updates again when the connection is back.

Yes. An LED scoreboard in the hall, such as the Point Hub board, can follow the match on the hall network. It receives only the team names, the score and the set results.

On the new device, tap “Restore match” on Home. Under “Restore from cloud backup”, enter the game number and the game PIN, then tap “Search cloud backups”. Choose the newest entry, check the “Restore preview” and tap “Confirm restore”. The new device scores from then on.

On Home under “Game PIN”, on the match info page of the match setup (“Send PIN by email” sends it to you), and in the scoring screen under Match › Show PINs.

It shows “Scored on another device” and stops scoring. The match opens read-only there; its scoresheet can still be viewed. Changes it had not sent are set aside, never sent over the new score.

On the old device, tap “Take back scoring here”. It needs a connection. The app first shows the score on the server: compare it with the scoreboard, then tap “Yes, take back scoring here”. The other device is told and stops.

The desktop and Android apps save a backup file at every point and action: Options › Backup › Open backup folder. In a browser, use “Download backup now” in the options, or the download at the set end. When you are signed in, the app also keeps cloud backups during the match.

On Home: “Restore match” › “Restore from local file” › “Select backup file”. Pick the file, check the “Restore preview” and tap “Confirm restore”.

The match is closed on the server, so a backup of it cannot be restored. Load the official version with the game number and the game PIN instead.

Yes. Everything is saved on this device first, and scoring works fully offline. The changes go to the server when the connection is back.

It is in the header. “Offline” stops every connection to the cloud: nothing is synced until you switch back to “Online”. Scoring is not affected.

“Connected”: all is synced. “Syncing...”: changes are going up. “Offline (n waiting)”: no connection, n changes are waiting. “Local only”: the tablets run on the hall network while the cloud is out of reach. “Sign in to sync”: sign in first. “Error”: tap it to see why, then “Retry all”.

Some changes of this match are not on the server yet. They go up as soon as the device is online and signed in. Do not delete this copy before they are sent.

Scoring keeps working. Sign in to save the match to the cloud (referee, livescore, backup); the waiting changes are sent right after.

The match is approved or closed on the server. This copy can no longer be scored or synced. Open it read-only, load the official version, or remove it from this device. Only an admin can reopen the match.

Another device has taken the match over and scores it now. This copy opens read-only. Tap “Take back scoring here” only if you score on this device again.

The server refused this match, for example: the game is already scored by another account, your account waits for approval, or it is not a home game of your club. The match stays safe on this device. The notice tells you what to do.

app.openvolley.app works in a browser and keeps working offline once it has loaded. The desktop app (Windows, macOS, Linux) adds the tablet server for the hall and saves a backup file at every event. The Android app also saves every event.

On get.openvolley.app: the desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux, and the Android app (with F-Droid or as an APK).

SmartScreen shows this for a new download. Tap “More info”, then “Run anyway”. The installer asks once for an administrator, so the tablets can get through the firewall.

From version 3.0.19 the app is signed and notarized by Apple and opens like any other app, also without internet. If macOS still blocks it, you have an older version: install the current one from get.openvolley.app, or open it once, close the message and go to System Settings › Privacy & Security › Open Anyway. Start it from Applications.

Add the OpenVolley repository in F-Droid (see get.openvolley.app): F-Droid then installs the updates. An APK installed without F-Droid does not update itself, but the app can tell you about new versions.

It downloads updates in the background and installs them when you quit, never during a match. “Restart and update” installs one now.

Tap “Refresh to update” between matches. “Later” keeps the current version for now.