If you need a client to export their text messages with TextExhibit Android App, the client installs the app on their own phone and unlocks it there. To cover the cost for them, send the client a digital Google Play gift card. They add it to their Google Play balance and use that balance for the in-app purchase.

How It Works

Workflow: Your office buys a Google Play gift card worth the app price plus sales tax and sends it to your client by email or text, with a heads-up message first. On their own phone, the client redeems the code in Google Play, taps Unlock Full Version in TextExhibit and pays with Google Play balance, then re-exports and sends the finished PDFs to your office.

Before You Buy: Choose the Right Amount

The gift card has to cover the whole purchase, including sales tax.

  • Check the price. Your client can see the current price in TextExhibit Android App on the Unlock the full version banner and the upgrade screen. Prices can vary by country.
  • Allow for sales tax. Google Play adds sales tax at checkout based on the client’s location.
  • A partial balance won’t help. Google Play only lets you combine a Google Play balance with another payment method for subscriptions. TextExhibit Android App is a one-time purchase, so if the balance is even slightly short, the client can’t use it and would have to pay the full amount another way.
  • Pick a value above the price plus tax. In the United States, Google Play gift cards come in $10, $15, $25, $50, $75, and $100 values. Balances add together, so you can also send two cards, such as $25 + $10, if no single value fits.

Any unused balance stays in your client’s Google account for other Google Play purchases. Once a code is redeemed, Google does not allow the balance to be moved to another account.

Step 1: Buy and Send the Gift Card

  1. Open the Google Play gift card page and sign in with your firm’s Google account.
  2. Under Value, choose an amount that covers the price plus tax.
  3. Under Delivery, choose Email (or Phone to send it by text message) and enter your client’s email address or phone number.
  4. Tap Continue and complete the purchase with your firm’s payment method.

Google usually delivers the card within an hour, but delivery can occasionally take up to 24 hours. The email comes from googleplay-donotreply@google.com or no-reply@giftdelivery.giftcards.com.

Prefer to send it yourself? Choose To yourself under Delivery. Then forward the code to your client in your own message along with your instructions. This also gives you a record of which code went to which client.

Good to know:

  • A gift card can only be redeemed in the country where it was bought. A U.S. card works only for a client whose Google account is in the U.S.
  • Google offers gifting in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
  • Google limits gift card purchases to $1,000 per day in the United States. Other countries have their own limits.

Step 2: Tell Your Client It’s Coming

Gift card scams are common, and a client may be suspicious of an unexpected gift card email. Contact your client first so they know to expect it. You can adapt this message:

Step 3: Your Client Redeems the Card and Unlocks the App

On the client’s phone:

  1. Run a free trial export first (recommended). Have the client install TextExhibit Android App and run a trial export to confirm the conversations you need appear. If messages are missing, see Some text messages are missing from my Android export before the client spends the balance.
  2. Redeem the code. Open the Google Play app, tap the profile picture, then tap Payments & subscriptions > Redeem code. Enter the code without spaces or dashes, tap Redeem, and confirm. The client can also open the link in the gift card email. On a computer, the client can redeem at play.google.com/redeem.
  3. Use the right Google account. The client must redeem the code into the same Google account that the Play Store on their phone uses, because the balance can’t be moved between accounts afterward.
  4. Unlock TextExhibit. Open TextExhibit Android App and tap Unlock Full Version. In the Google Play payment window, make sure Google Play balance is selected. If a different payment method is shown, tap it and choose Google Play balance. Then confirm the purchase.
  5. Re-export. Trial exports contain watermarks and redacted messages, so the client should run the export again after unlocking.

For the rest of the export steps, see the TextExhibit Android App Instructions.

Troubleshooting

  • The gift card email never arrived. Have the client check their spam or junk folder. If it still hasn’t arrived after 24 hours, see Google’s help article Buy, send & receive gifted gift cards on Google Play.
  • The code won’t redeem. Make sure there are no spaces or dashes and that the client’s Google account is in the country where the card was bought. See Google’s help article Fix problems with Google Play gift cards & codes.
  • Google Play balance isn’t offered at checkout. The balance is probably smaller than the price plus tax, or it was redeemed into a different Google account. Send an additional card to cover the difference, or switch the Play Store to the account that holds the balance.
  • The app still shows the free trial after purchase. Open the app menu and tap Restore Purchase.

Questions?

Contact support. We can’t see or manage Google Play balances or gift card orders, so contact Google Play support for problems with a gift card purchase.