Why a feature is off in demo mode
A new account comes with a sample event, already filled with photos and voice notes, so the dashboard is not empty before you have created anything. It is read-only on purpose.
Every change to it is refused by the server, not just hidden in the interface. Create your own event and the controls unlock.
What the sample event is for
An empty dashboard tells you nothing about what a full album looks like. The sample arrives populated so you can see the album, the contributions and the layout before your own event has anything in it — which is the point at which most people decide whether this suits them.
It is seeded once, on sign-up, and it belongs to your account like any other event.
- Check which event you are in. The sample is labelled. Controls behave differently there than in your own event.
- Create a real event. It takes a name and an event type. Everything unlocks at once.
- Ignore the sample afterwards. It hides itself from the list as soon as you own a real event.
Why it refuses everything
The refusal is enforced on the server, not merely greyed out in the interface. A change aimed at the sample comes back as refused rather than being quietly accepted and dropped, which is the honest behaviour — a setting that appears to save and does not is worse than one that says no.
So there is no trick to editing it. It is not meant to be edited.
What is unavailable there
Settings, downloads and album curation. You can look at everything and change nothing, which covers the controls people report as broken. Downloading is disabled too, since the media is a sample rather than yours.
If a control looks dead, check the event name before checking anything else.
When it disappears
As soon as your account holds any real event, the sample stops appearing in the list. Nothing has to be deleted and no setting has to be found — it exists to fill an empty state and steps aside once the state is no longer empty.
That also means it cannot clutter a list of 30 events later on.
It is not a trial
The sample is a demonstration rather than a free trial with limits. Your own free event is the trial: 5 GB, 60 contributions, 30-second video clips and a 30-day album, with no card required.
So the way to try the product properly is to create an event, not to poke at the sample.
If a control is dead in your own event
Then it is the plan rather than the sample. The live wall belongs to Celebrate and Grand, package downloads to the paid tiers, and a custom domain to the top tier. Each of those is off rather than hidden.
The event name at the top of the page settles which of the 2 explanations you are looking at.
Common questions
Why can I not change anything?
You are in the sample event. It is read-only, and the refusal comes from the server.
Can I delete the sample?
You do not need to. It hides itself once you own a real event.
Is the sample my free trial?
No. Your own free event is: 5 GB, 60 contributions and a 30-day album.
Can I download from the sample?
No. The media is a sample rather than yours.
A control is off in my own event too — why?
That is the plan. The live wall, package downloads and a custom domain each need a specific tier.
Still open? Contact
Create your first event
The 2 required fields, and everything unlocks.
Find your way around the dashboard
What each tab does once it is unlocked.
Run several events at once
What happens to the list as it grows.
A guest album for a birthday
The first real event, in a few minutes.
It is not the sample event
Send us the event name and which control is dead. Then it is the plan, and we will say which tier it needs.