I use the tuner in the JG song app. I have a problem tuning the low E sometimes. When I pluck the string, the tuner bar which locks ok is not showing up and It is not clear if the string is slightly low or high to tune accordingly since the red bar does not show up. Then after a lot of struggle finally somehow it works. Is this a guitar issue or a tuner issue or is it normal. Has anyone faced this? Any insight will be helpful. Just curious.
Hello Pradeep,
sometimes I face same problem with my cheap clip-on tuner and on other apps too.
If I can recommend something outside JG… try to use Guitar Tuna tuner. Its free, just click out the subs plan out and you can use it.
Best for me is to hold guitar as usual for playing in sitting position and placing phone with opened tuner on my right thigh.
If you have guitar in good shape I always tune all strings to perfect spot one by one… after that I recheck it again and also check for 12th harmony sound (but for clip-on tuner) and I am aiming for being in tune on 0 and 12 the fret.
Bonus answer to your question: Sometimes I face the problem of catching of low E even on my built in guitar tuner so I have to go with phone or clip on and then its catching on build in too. Its strange. I think it should be something with quality of devices… like it cant catch that low spectrum of hz. I got my eye for Polytuner by TC Electronic now. Just digging more about that.
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Pretty normal for app tuners. They’re not very accurate. The best I’ve used is the Fender one - Fender Tune.
A better tuner is either a clip-on one (they tune through vibration), or a digital one for electric (e.g. in your amp or a pedal).
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Hi Pradeep
I have never used a tune app, but I have often read that people experience some problems, so it is time to shop 
… maybe the search “polytune” (13 results) will help you… there you will also find other tuners from fellow forum students that are good too,
I myself have the polytune clip-on and there tuner pedal, both of which are very popular and I don’t regret it for a day after having had other tuning devices before long long ago and having used something this weekend that was … uh 
Have fun , Greeting
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If a tuner has difficulty with the low E (it’s not uncommon) then using a 12th fret harmonic usually gives a more stable reading … pluck the string while very lightly touching it exactly over the 12th fret then quickly remove the finger - you’ll get a sound one octave higher than the open string.
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Wow I should be blesses somewhere to be in this group. What a wealth of information. Thanks to all of you 
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Yeah, app-based tuners are something I only use in a pinch if I forget/can’t find my clip-on (I’ve been using Snark ones for years and have been happy with them). My wife got a really cheap clip-on as part of a package deal with her first ukulele and that one isn’t very good, so I’d agree that cheap clip-ons can also be flaky. She now uses a Snark.
I’ve noticed the app-based ones being not as good as a clip-on. Haven’t used a pedal-based tuner before, but I’ve heard good things about them.
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Just out of curiosity, I put the Fender tuner app on my phone. I then checked my acoustic with the clip-on tuner which said all six strings were in tune. Then the app said strings 1, 2, and 3 were in tune, 4, 5, and 6 were sharp.
What to believe?
I guess it depends how sharp? Enough to be obvious when you’re playing? If not, I wouldn’t worry about it.
I use clip-on tuners now. But I find they can also get confused easily if the previously tuned string is still vibrating.
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Yeah, it sounded fine to me. I’m certain that tuners can detect variations that most people can’t hear. I just thought it was interesting that they agreed on the three highest-pitch strings and disagreed on the three lowest.
I always deaden the string before moving on to the next one
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You you dont want to tune you guitar under a ceiling fan either, if using a clamp style tuner. That can cause strange variations as well.
I found this out the hard way. I dont really trust the phone apps either. Only in a pinch.
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I just tuned my acoustic while simultaneously using a Boss TU-05 clip-on tuner and the Guitar Tuna app on my iPhone 13. They were basically identical.
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Oh, Tuning…
Also, it can be helpful to mute the other strings, so the tuner doesn’t listen to their resonances compared to when you leave them open. Can make a big difference sometimes.
When plucking with the right hand, I lay my left hand somewhere on the fretboard as if you grab the neck frm behind. Thumb mutes the strings more bassy than the one you chec , rest of the fingers mutes the higher ones.
Also, plucking on the 12th fret can help, you have less harmonics then. You’ll notice, on acoustic guitar, or maybe rather a classical then it sounds almost like a harp.
On smartphone I like smart chord for tuning, an app with quite a few tools.
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I also had problems with the Justin app tuner.
I switched to Guitar Tuna, and found it much easier to use and accurate than any of the others i tried. It’s free, but does keep nagging you to get some kind subscription every now and again, which is annoying.
I use the Fender Tune app for alternate tunings, but it sometimes has similar problems to the Justin app.
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I use a Peterson StroboClip HD Clip-On Tuner, it’s 100% reliable and very accurate but at a price. It is expensive but I’ve had mine since 2021 and never had any issues with it.
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I agree with all comments I use an expensive tuner and sometimes I still get a iffy reading mind saying that my ears can tell now because I have been playing for so long, I never thought I would be able to say that but it is true cheers HEC
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I vibration sensitive tuner is to prefer above some app or anything based on a microphone picking up the signal. Accuracy varies greatly can be like 5%.There are a lot of test on the net and they are rather cheap! Best ones are accurate to about 1 % , 2% is acceptable
Of course you can by a electronic floor tuner an connect the cable an get down to 0.2-0.5% but it comes with a price and do you hear the difference ?
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I discovered that the Fender tuner app differentiates between electric and acoustic guitar. The default setting is electric. I went into settings, changed it to acoustic, and then it was matching the results of the clip-on. Why that should matter I don’t know but it apparently does.
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well, overtones mix is different and depends on the strings. Especially the difference of the G string between acoustic (wound) and e-guitar (non wound) . That might be the reason? Still a good clip-on is more reliable and cheap. Try to train your ear as well, i.e. close your eyes and listen then look at the tuner and so on.After a year or so your ears will have improved!
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Hi Lars that is very true and it is good practice to cheers HEC