How can we help?
Microphone & grading
Setup, permissions, and what to do when verdicts seem off.
Subscriptions & billing
Managing, cancelling, restoring, and refunds through Apple.
Progress & data
Where your progress lives, backups, resets, and deletion.
Learning with Sheng
How the method works and how to get the most from daily practice.
Microphone & grading
Sheng says it can't hear me. What do I check?
First, make sure Sheng has microphone permission: Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone → Sheng. If the toggle was off, turn it on and restart the exercise.
If permission is on but grading still fails: remove any case covering the bottom microphone, move somewhere quieter, and hold the phone at a normal speaking distance (about 30 cm). Bluetooth headsets with low-quality microphones can also hurt grading — try the built-in mic.
The tone verdict seems wrong. Am I being judged unfairly?
Occasionally, yes — grading is automated and background noise, very quiet speech, or speaking too fast can produce a bad read. If a verdict looks wrong, tap the replay button to hear your own recording next to the reference. Often the difference is audible; sometimes the app simply misheard.
If a specific word is graded wrongly over and over, please report it from the exercise (flag icon) or email us — real examples are the fastest way for us to improve grading.
Can I practice silently, without speaking?
Yes. Listening drills (Which tone, Tone sort, minimal pairs) need no microphone at all and are designed for trains, offices, and late nights. Your speaking queue will wait for you.
Subscriptions & billing
How do I cancel or change my subscription?
Subscriptions are managed by Apple: open Settings → your name → Subscriptions → Sheng, where you can switch plans or cancel. Cancelling keeps your access until the end of the paid period.
I bought Sheng on another device. How do I restore it?
Make sure you're signed in with the same Apple ID, then go to Settings inside the app → Restore purchases. Your entitlement comes straight from Apple, so no account or password is needed.
Can I get a refund?
Refunds for App Store purchases are issued by Apple, not by us. Request one at reportaproblem.apple.com — sign in, find Sheng, and choose “Request a refund.” If you get stuck, email us and we'll point you in the right direction.
Progress & data
Does my progress sync between iPhone and iPad?
Not yet. Right now Sheng keeps your progress on the device you practice on — there's no live sync between devices. If you back up your iPhone to iCloud, your progress is included in that backup, so it returns when you restore a device from it.
Built-in cross-device sync is on our list; until then, practice on one main device for a continuous history.
How do I reset my progress, or delete everything?
To start over: Settings inside the app → Reset progress. To delete everything Sheng has stored, delete the app — your data lives on your device (and in your iCloud device backup, if you back up your iPhone), so removing the app removes the data. Details are in our Privacy Policy.
Are my voice recordings stored or shared?
Recordings are analyzed to grade your tones and are not used to identify you or shared with third parties. Clips you choose to keep stay on your device and can be deleted any time. The full story is in the Privacy Policy.
Learning with Sheng
I'm a complete beginner. Where do I start?
Right at the beginning — Sheng assumes nothing. The first session introduces the four tones with the classic 妈 mā · 麻 má · 马 mǎ · 骂 mà family, trains your ear first, then asks you to speak. Fifteen minutes a day is the intended dose.
I already study with another app. Does Sheng replace it?
No — it completes it. Vocabulary and grammar apps largely skip pronunciation; Sheng does only pronunciation. Most learners run Sheng alongside their main course and use it to fix the tones their other app never graded.
Why does the app keep bringing back sounds I already passed?
That's the spaced review system working. Sounds return right around the time you'd otherwise forget them — slightly annoying by design, and the reason your tones stick. The better you do, the longer the gaps get.