Everything in quoting blocks below is the team's own answer, from the official Discord (https://discord.gg/gzaUPeZFnz). The “what the data says” notes are ours.
1 · Account linking & moving to a new device
By default, XP Hero saves your progress locally on your device. To keep it across a switch or a reinstall, link the game to a Google or Apple account first.
- Link it: Settings → link your account to Google or Apple.
- Before switching: Settings → Log Out — that pushes your latest progress to the server. Progress is not synced in real time.
- On the new device: sign in with the same account and pick “Load Existing Data” when prompted.
The fine print matters:
- One method only — Google or Apple, never both. If you can't remember which you used, check both.
- Cross-platform: a Google link transfers Android → iOS and back. An Apple link transfers iOS → iOS only. So if there's any chance you'll switch platforms, link Google.
- One device at a time. Playing the same account on multiple devices simultaneously can overwrite or roll back progress.
- The team's own advice: use linking for moving, not for hopping between devices all day.
2 · Guest accounts
Guest progress is local-only — no server backup at all. It is permanently lost (and unrecoverable) if you:
- delete or reinstall the game;
- switch devices or reset your current one;
- hit data loss or corruption during an update or a device issue.
The fix is the same as above: Settings → link to Google or Apple. And even after linking, still use Settings → Log Out before moving, since saving to the server happens at log-out, not continuously.
3 · “My progress went back to an earlier point”
Rollbacks happen because the game is designed to run offline — it carries a local save, and in three situations that save (or your restored copy) can be older than the progress you remember:
- Unexpected closure — a crash, a dead battery, the OS killing the game: the last stretch of play may never have been saved.
- Multiple devices — the other device's older server save can overwrite your newer progress. This is the reason for the one-device rule.
- Different account — signing in with another Google/Apple account (or as a guest) shows that account's progress, which looks identical to a “rollback” from the outside.
The checklist: verify the linked account in Settings, keep to one device per account, and log out properly before transferring. If progress is still missing after all that, contact support with your account details, device info and a description of the issue.
4 · Ads after buying Ad Removal
Purchase made, ads still showing? Here's the distinction the team draws, and it's worth committing to memory:
- Ad Removal kills forced ads only — the ones that fire automatically during gameplay. It does not remove rewarded ads, the ones you choose to watch for rewards (double rewards, chest openings).
- Subscribers get skip tickets instead: an eligible subscription grants 5 rewarded ad-skips per day — claim those rewards without watching. After 5, it's watch-to-earn again. Resets daily at 00:00 UTC (09:00 KST).
If forced ads still appear after purchase: fully restart the game, then Settings → Restore Purchases, and make sure you're on the same game account that made the purchase.
What the data says
Worth noting: every one of these answers matches what we've pulled out of the build, so this FAQ is confirmation, not news, to regular readers of this site:
- The local-save model. The rollback explanation is exactly the offline-first architecture behind the game — and it's why the “log out before switching” step exists at all. There's no continuous cloud sync to save you.
- The ad product, in the game's own strings. The locale we extracted already names the tiers: “Permanently remove all forced ads! Experience uninterrupted gameplay.” for the one-time removal, and ADS SKIP LITE — “Get daily Ad Skip Tickets! Claim rewards faster and enjoy the game!” with “Tickets are fully recharged every day at UTC+{0}” — for the ticket subscription. And the boundary between the two is stated verbatim in the data: “Remove forced Ads. Rewarded videos will still be optional.”.
- The 00:00 UTC reset. Matches the daily-grant cadence we decoded in the data back in the 26.2.0 write-up — the subscription plumbing and its ads perks were sitting in the tables before most players could buy them.
So when the official FAQ and the extracted data agree this cleanly, that's the system working as designed — including the parts players find annoying, like watch-to-earn surviving Ad Removal by design.
The pocket checklist
- New phone (or a reinstall) in your future? Link today — Google if you might ever switch platforms, Apple if it's iPhone-only forever.
- Switching devices right now? Settings → Log Out on the old device first, load on the new one.
- Guest account? You're one crash away from an unrecoverable wipe — link it before you invest more weeks into it.
- Bought Ad Removal and still see ads? If they offer a reward, skip the ad — that's by design. Otherwise: restart, Restore Purchases, check the account.
Source: the XP Hero team's FAQ announcements in the official Discord. “What the data says” notes are our own reads from the extracted game build (v26.2.0); XP Hero is developed by Supercent — XPHero Fans is unofficial, not affiliated with or endorsed by them, and all quotes above are from the team's own announcements.