Open Letter to Linden Lab – Addressing Critical Failures in the Second Life Mobile Viewer
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MartinRJ Fayray
The Mobile Client has some major flaws:
- Avatar Deformation – Unsupported Attachments and Outfit Limitations
Certain attachments (likely Animesh) are unsupported, causing avatars to appear as horrific, glitchy abominations. The problem is compounded by the fact that the Second Life Mobile Client
does not allow for the removal of individual attachments
– only entire outfits can be swapped. To fix this,
I am forced to log in via Lumiya
– a third-party app that hasn’t been updated in ten years – just to detach the offending attachments. The fact that a decade-old app is required to perform such a basic task is beyond unacceptable. - Severe Avatar Glitches (Furry Avatars in Particular)
Many avatars – especially furry avatars – are deformed, with protruding, bulging eyes. But it doesn’t stop there.
Standing poses are often deformed as well
, with noticeable issues in leg spacing – the legs appear too close together, as if the avatar’s hip width isn’t rendered correctly. This exact problem also exists in Lumiya, which is
ten years old
and uses an entirely different rendering engine. How is it possible that the brand-new Second Life Mobile Viewer struggles with avatar skeletons at the same level as Lumiya?
This suggests either a lack of engine optimization or poor avatar skeleton support. Linden Lab must address this immediately – there is no excuse for launching with such glaring issues. - No HUD Access – A Basic Feature Missing
HUD access is essential. The inability to disable my scripted AO via HUD forces me, once again, to switch to Lumiya just to perform basic interactions like sitting on furniture. HUDs are a cornerstone of Second Life’s user experience – omitting them in the mobile client effectively cripples the app’s functionality.
- Broken Sitting Poses
When attempting to sit, my avatar lands in random positions, often nowhere near the intended sit point. This makes social interaction and basic in-world engagement frustrating and impractical.
- Invisible Camera Button – UX Disaster
The camera button is invisible while in use, forcing users to blindly tap around the screen to find it. Why does the entire screen not act as a draggable interface for camera movement, as Lumiya allows? This is basic functionality, and its absence severely impacts usability.
- Frequent Logouts – The “Fix” Is a Joke
The app logs me out after just a few minutes in the background. Previously, I raised a bug report about being logged out after one minute, which was marked as
fixed
. Now it’s five minutes. This is not a solution – it’s moving the goalpost. Do you expect users to submit a new report every time the timeout shifts by a few minutes? This demonstrates a lack of commitment to solving the root problem. - Other Avatars Disappearing Completely
Another glaring issue – avatars frequently vanish entirely when they sit on objects. This includes their nametags, making them fully invisible to others. This issue occurs consistently, creating a deeply frustrating experience for group interactions and social events.
Sincerely,
MartinRJ Fayray
Log In
Bridie Linden
Hi everyone - we have seen all of your feedback and will respond in early January. We are planning on hosting a monthly mobile user group where we hope we can answer many of your questions and respond to feedback. We’ve worked really hard on Second Life mobile this year and after the holiday break will be back at it!
Zeth Starlight
Logged into the mobile viewer and it seems to have gotten worse, now my mesh head and bom skin isn't even showing up anymore. Relogged and teleported to different sims, same thing.
Bridie Linden
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Zeth Starlight
These issues with avatar rendering have been reported multiple times dating back when it first launched since I was one of the first accepted into the Alpha testing phase. Even people not using animesh, who use mesh bodies like legacy were getting deformed horribly and LL simply chose to ignore it instead of fixing the problem. It's been reported multiple times by other users and myself giving examples both on here in the Canary threads as well as in the mobile app itself.
I have no idea who is in charge of the mobile project but clearly they need to reevaluate and get avatars rendering correctly before moving on to anything else. I'm not going to use the app if my avatar looks like a deformed disaster and neither are other residents. The app should not of been moved into an open beta with this major issue still lingering and other major functions missing.
Two, I fully agree, they need to get basic functionality working. Detaching/attaching objects, being able to pay people or rental boxes, being able to sit on objects/furniture correctly, being able to touch objects and get their text info in the local chat(to get remaining time on rental boxes as an example), Being able to close out group chat windows(or offer us a way to turn them off completely would be nice), Not getting logged out if you switch to another app or put it in the background, etc.
Lastly, they want everyone to start switching over to PBR viewers and want PBR to be used in the grid widley. However they have not added even the most simplistic PBR rendering in the viewer, just having it render only the diffuse material would be an improvement over blank white textures. Rendering comparisons between mobile and official viewer down below.
Overall, I feel the app still has a long way to go.
Shadow Siamendes
As someone else mentioned, the app is clearly labeled BETA, that means "still in development", "still in testing". In other words, the app isn't fully ready and issues are expected and I'm pretty sure the devs are very well aware about all/most these.
The app is just available to everyone for a thing called "open beta", similar to how some games are released as "early access" on some platforms, it's just a way to expand tests to catch things that might not be caught within a limited test group.
Your complaints are very valid and, again, I'm sure they are aware about all or most of those. But there are better ways to report about issues of a "still in development" (aka beta) app and surely something like "wtf fix tis naaaw" isn't one of the proper ways. Demanding, complaining or even badmouthing/cursing surely doesn't help devs at all.
To properly report issues with the, again, BETA app is what this very platform is meant for.
Oh and don't worry, the app won't be abandoned so soon, that's the very reason it was available as "open beta": to get help from community to get it ready and steady.
MartinRJ Fayray
Shadow Siamendes
Thank you for your input, but as I’ve already clarified, this isn’t about minor glitches or the fact that the app is labeled as "BETA." What I’m addressing here is
core functionality that should be present at even the earliest stages of development.
If the app cannot stay connected for more than five minutes, allow avatars to sit or stand correctly, interact with other avatars, access HUDs, or manage basic inventory functions – these are not "expected bugs of a beta" – these are
essential use cases.
No one expects perfection from a beta product. However, releasing a viewer that lacks even the most rudimentary Second Life interactions crosses a line between "beta testing" and showcasing a tech demo. A beta app is meant to refine and improve a product that is already functional – not introduce users to a feature-incomplete version that frustrates rather than engages.
The point is simple: if Linden Lab intends to label this as an Alpha or a technology demo, fine – but
marketing it as a Second Life Mobile Client, even in beta form, sets false expectations.
I’ve been in QA for 25 years, five of which were as a community helper directly for Linden Lab, and I understand the purpose and process of beta testing better than most. I’m sure the developers are aware of some of these issues – but that’s not the issue at hand.
The release timing, labeling, and communication around this product are the problem.
Furthermore, expanding the beta to the public shouldn’t equate to disregarding basic stability and usability standards. Many eager and qualified users were excluded from the initial closed alpha testing phase, yet the app was later released broadly in this non-functional state. That’s not how you build trust or gather meaningful feedback.
I don’t expect Linden Lab to abandon this project – quite the opposite. I expect them to prioritize fixing the critical problems raised here and acknowledge that some issues simply shouldn’t have made it past internal development, beta or not.
I appreciate your perspective, but I kindly ask that we avoid reiterating the same points about the definition of "beta." Let’s focus on addressing these concerns constructively.
MartinRJ Fayray
To clarify further – this isn’t just about “polishing” or expanding features. This is about
basic use cases that define the Second Life experience
– and the fact that they are entirely missing, even at this stage, signals a serious oversight. A core use case that
must
work from day one – even in internal alpha – is the ability to: - Log in and stay logged infor extended periods without being disconnected.
- Sit with a friend on a shared piece of furniture.
- Detach attachmentsdirectly from the viewer.
- Disable AO animations via HUD.
- Render avatars correctly without deformation or glitches.
Avatars are the core identity of most SL users. A significant part of the Second Life experience revolves around
customizing, refining, and perfecting one’s avatar.
If the app can’t reliably render avatars without glaring visual issues, it breaks immersion and undermines one of the platform’s biggest draws.
These are not advanced features – this is the
absolute minimum
that Second Life users expect to function reliably. If users can’t sit down, detach an attachment, or appear correctly without switching to a third-party app (like Lumiya), then this isn’t a mobile version of Second Life – it’s a
rendering showcase at best.
The fact that this was released
without these use cases working flawlessly
is not just disappointing – it’s unacceptable by industry standards. Beta or not, no user can rely on this app for real, practical use
without these fundamental features in place. This isn’t a fringe complaint – this affects every long-term SL user
who needs mobile access. I understand that the development team likely knows this. But I hope Linden Lab leadership understands that
without core functionality, this app simply cannot meet the needs of existing Second Life users.
This isn’t about feature parity with the desktop client – it’s about enabling the most basic forms of social interaction that make SL what it is. These elements are so ingrained in daily use that their absence turns the mobile viewer into something unrecognizable to regular users.
If Second Life Mobile is to succeed, prioritizing these foundational use cases cannot be delayed any further.
MartinRJ Fayray
Linden Lab should have developed a mobile client 15 years ago.
Missing the mobile trend isn’t just baffling – it’s outright insane. SL has always been about social interaction and user-generated content. Failing to provide mobile access for this long is a massive, missed opportunity.Shadow Siamendes
MartinRJ Fayray Yes, as I said your complaints are valid and I pretty much agree with them, I'm not even using it regularly yet because it still lacks some features I use most. But again, point is what I'm going to quote from what I said early:
_But there are better ways to report about issues of a "still in development" (aka beta) app and surely something like "wtf fix tis naaaw" isn't one of the proper ways. Demanding, complaining or even badmouthing/cursing surely doesn't help devs at all._
I'm also a dev myself so I see it from both sides. Surely they should have communicated better the app isn't fully ready yet but possibly it's some marketing/PR issue (also pretty much one of the reasons for the low ratings in Google Play Store).
My point wasn't about the issues themselves but about demanding a still in development app to be (almost) perfect, again there are better ways to report them to help the devs to fix them (if you had been in QA you should know it well). Sometimes even for fully released apps pretty basic and core issues can go unfixed for ages due hard to test/reproduce edge cases, so it's even more possibly to happen to alpha/beta apps, worse for mobile apps due the wide range of devices and OSes.
MartinRJ Fayray
Shadow Siamendes RE:
"surely doesn't help devs at all"
This is not aimed at the devs. Guess what: I've been a software developer myself for 25 years. If you read the Open Letter carefully, you'll realize that my frustration with this terrible experience is clearly directed at upper management.Bridie Linden
Hi everyone - we have seen all of your feedback and will respond in early January. We are planning on hosting a monthly mobile user group where we hope we can answer many of your questions and respond to feedback. We’ve worked really hard on Second Life mobile this year and after the holiday break will be back at it!
Monderas Bristol
From the app store description - "About this app
The Second Life app - now in Beta!" I've always been fully aware of the problems since the first time I used it, was aware of, expected, put up with problems , because...it's BETA software. I
don't
expect zero problems, I don't
expect full functionality. I expect the basics, chat, being able to see my surroundings and see other avatars (The full release notes for the mobile viewer explain the limitations with viewing the world and avatars)Lumiya, when first released, didn't have the ability to do everythiing you're asking for, it came over time. The Second Life mobile client has a roadmap too, at least we have something now. It's not meant to be a desktop replacement.
MartinRJ Fayray
Monderas Bristol As stated before, this is basic functionality. If the app
cannot stay connected online a mere five minutes, then don't release it, not even in Alpha.
This is not 2003 anymore. This is unforgivable.I can't sit, I can't stand with my avatar looking at least SOMEWHAT correctly. I can't click on another avatar, I can't see my HUD, I can't access my attached items to detach them. I cannot search.
This app lacks the most basic
core functionality
!It's a show-off that they can render avatars and implement chat. A demo at best.
But this should have never been released as a Second Life Mobile app, no matter the stage (Pre-Alpha or Alpha, Beta, ...).
This is merely a
Demo
and should not be marketed as anything else but exactly that.There are thousands of users who wanted to participate in the Alpha testing stage, but were kept out. There is zero need for making everyone a public test dummy.
And this has been in "Beta" for a full year!
MartinRJ Fayray
I want to emphasize that all of these issues happened during a
single session of less than an hour
. I was casually trying to spend some time with a friend on my sim, but it became impossible. I had to repeatedly relog using Lumiya just to access basic functionality – as a workaround for the Mobile Viewer’s shortcomings – only to be constantly logged out again, after I'd fixed those.I
need
a functional mobile client. I own multiple regions and manage rental properties, which means I often have to handle administrative tasks even when I'm not at my desktop – especially when my admins are offline. Alternatives like Lumiya are becoming less viable since they are no longer being developed.Please address these issues. A mobile viewer is essential for many landowners and active users, and the current state of the app makes it extremely difficult to stay engaged.
Gorgeous Aurelia
Everything is wrong with this app
MartinRJ Fayray
This is part of an open letter addressing critical issues with the Second Life Mobile Viewer. Due to the 5000-character limit here, I could only post the main list of issues. The full open letter can be found here:
The goal is not to see the mobile client abandoned, but to push Linden Lab to urgently fix these issues.
Silas Starforge
MartinRJ Fayray using language like ffs and wtf really works against you, because it's hard to take the letter seriously with that approach.
Do you honestly think LL isn't aware of these issues? I suspect they are making server changes to support the mobile viewer, but I don't have any proof of that.
I suggest you revisit the letter, and the hand written screenshots, to make it more professional, reflecting mutual respect.
MartinRJ Fayray
Silas Starforge Thank you for your valued feedback and suggestions, but since a “Please sir, would you kindly consider whether you might consider limiting your cooperation with the C-level executive in charge?” would not have the desired effect, I am afraid I must decline your suggestion.