Met Office app FAQs
Do you have a question about the Met Office weather app? This page provides a selection of frequently asked questions about our app and our answers.
1. Why has the Met Office app changed?
2. How did you develop the refreshed app?
3. How can I get the Met Office app?
4. How do I receive updates to the Met Office app?
5. How do I provide feedback or report a problem?
6. Why isn’t everything available on the home screen?
7. Where can I find information like hourly wind gusts and UV?
8. Why does the rain map show the last six hours?
9. Where can I find more weather maps?
10. Is the forecast different from the old app?
11. Is the refreshed app accessible?
12. What operating systems does the refreshed app support?
13. Why is my location different to where I actually am?
14. Why do you have a beta app, and how is it different to the main app?
15. Why are you introducing a 14-day forecast?
16. Why don’t you provide weather symbols for days 8-14?
1. Why has the Met Office app changed?
Our legacy (old) app was built in 2016, and had reached the limits of its design and technology. Users also told us it felt cluttered and outdated.
While keeping the same trusted forecast data, we took the opportunity to modernise the look and feel of the app to make forecasts clearer and more usable. We also upgraded the technology behind the scenes to make future updates more efficient.
In January 2026, we launched our refreshed weather app on the app stores and for existing users.
2. How did you develop the refreshed app?
Following early rounds of testing, we released a beta version of the app. The feedback and insights we received from more than 18,000 users informed design decisions and guided improvements.
We made the refreshed app available to users gradually, so we could understand how people were using it and make further improvements, before we made it available to all users. Since the launch, we’ve made various enhancements, as detailed on our main app page.
3. How can I get the Met Office app?
You can download our app from the Apple App Store if you have an iOS device, or from the Google Play Store if you have an Android device.
4. How do I receive updates to the Met Office app?
You can get updates to the Met Office app automatically, if your apps update automatically. For an iOS device, you can check this in the App Store section of Settings, or on the Google Play Store app for an Android device. By allowing automatic app updates, you’ll receive new features, improvements, bug fixes and security updates when they are released.
If you don’t have automatic app updates enabled, you will need to manually update the app to get the latest version.
5. How do I provide feedback or report a problem?
If you would like to provide feedback or report a bug on the refreshed app, please click on the relevant button on the app and give details as requested. The ‘Feedback’ button is located at the top right of the home screen and the ‘Report a problem’ button is at the bottom. By providing feedback and reporting problems, we can make improvements to better meet your needs and fix issues.
6. Why isn’t everything available on the home screen?
Feedback on our legacy app indicated we had too much weather information in one place, especially for users with smaller screens.
Our refreshed app has been designed to make key weather information clearer and easier to access. Other information and features are available via the ‘Locations’ and ‘Menu’ sections, as well as various clickable sections.
7. Where can I find information like hourly wind gusts and UV?
More detailed information and additional features are available via clickable sections beneath the weather forecast table. This includes weather maps, as well as hourly wind gusts and UV information for the next 7 days.
8. Why does the rain map show the last six hours?
In addition to the forecast for the next 5 days, you can see the recorded rainfall for the past 6 hours. This helps you to track the path of the rain and see how heavy it has been.
9. Where can I find more weather maps?
Our refreshed app includes interactive map layers for rain, cloud and rain, temperature, and weather warnings. You can switch between these by clicking on the ‘Change’ button at the top of the weather maps section. You can also view additional map layers on our website.
10. Is the forecast different from the old app?
No, the underlying science and forecast data system have not changed. The refreshed app presents the same trusted information in a clearer, easier-to-read format.
11. Is the refreshed app accessible?
We want everyone to be able to access our weather app. The refreshed app follows modern accessibility standards, including clearer colour contrast, larger touch targets and improved spacing. We’re planning to make further improvements to ensure the app remains easy to use for as many people as possible.
12. What operating systems does the refreshed app support?
If you have an iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, you need version 15.1 or later. If you have an Android, you need version 7.0 and later.
13. Why is my location different to where I actually am?
We are aware of variations between the current location shown for some users and their geographical location. The forecast data displayed is aligned with the nearest weather station, and is normally similar to the user’s actual location. We are exploring ways to make this more user friendly.
14. Why do you have a beta app, and how is it different to the main app?
Real user testing is crucial to our understanding of how the app is being used and how features might need to be developed. Our beta app is where we test new features before they are added to the main Met Office app.
You can identify it by the blue 'blueprint' icon. Our main app uses standard Met Office green and black colours. Any new features in the beta app are also clearly badged with a blue beta icon and a nearby feedback button enables you to tell us what you think of the 'in-development' features.
You can download our beta app on an iOS device via TestFlight or an Android device via the Google Play Store.
15. Why are you introducing a 14-day forecast?
We’ve released a beta version of our new 14-day forecast for some website users and on our beta app. This feature is being introduced to test a new way of presenting longer-range weather information, with a stronger focus on explaining uncertainty and confidence.
While we’ve been able to produce longer-range forecasts for some time, we’re exploring how we can best provide weather information for days 8-14.
We will make iterative improvements on our website and beta app based on feedback and insights.
This feature isn’t available on our main app yet.
16. Why don’t you provide weather symbols for days 8-14?
Predicting the weather in detail more than 7 days ahead is difficult, because forecast certainty decreases over time. Although weather symbols can be helpful in the short term, they may be less accurate further ahead.
For days 8-14, we’re currently providing a daily outlook for temperature, rainfall and wind, with a range of possible outcomes and a certainty level. We will make iterative improvements based on feedback and insights.
Please contact us if you have any further questions.
This webpage was last updated in August 2026.