When you earn a trophy — and why one hasn't unlocked

What happens the moment you earn one, where the reward lands, and the honest reasons a trophy is still locked.

Updated Aug 28, 2026

Trophies and how you earn them explains the
shelf. This one is about the moment of earning, and about the far more
common question: why has this one not unlocked yet?

What happens when you earn one

Three things, in quick succession, and none of them need anything from
you.

  1. A small celebration appears — "Trophy earned!" with the
    trophy, and a Nice! button to dismiss it.
  2. A notification arrives: "You earned the '…' trophy!" Tapping it
    opens your shelf. It behaves like any other notification — see
    Reading, clearing and dismissing
    notifications
    .
  3. Any credit reward is paid in straight away. Nothing to claim.

If you miss the celebration — you were on another screen, the app was in
your pocket — nothing is lost. The trophy is on your shelf either way.

Rarity, and what it does

Every trophy carries a rarity: Common, Uncommon, Rare,
Epic, Legendary or Special. It changes how the tile looks
and, for the ones that carry a reward, roughly how many credits come
with it.

It does not make a trophy harder to get in any hidden way. A rare
trophy is rare because fewer people do the thing, not because the
unlock is randomised. There is no luck involved anywhere.

Credits from trophies

Where a trophy shows "+ credits", those credits go into your
wallet the moment it unlocks. They are ordinary credits and behave
exactly like any others — see
Credits and your wallet.

A trophy without that label is simply for the collection.

Why a trophy has not unlocked

Almost every "this is broken" report turns out to be one of these five.

1. The counter has not passed the line yet. Many trophies watch a
number. They unlock when it goes past the threshold, so sitting
exactly on it is not enough.

2. It is a time trophy, and time has not passed. Several depend
only on how long you have had your account. There is nothing to do but
keep it. These are awarded by a check that runs regularly rather than
at the exact second of your anniversary, so one may arrive a little
after the date you expected.

3. It is a "???" trophy. A blank tile with question marks is a
deliberate surprise, not a loading failure and not something missing
from your account. It shows its real name and picture the moment you
earn it.

4. It is not on the shelf at all. A few trophies are hidden
completely until earned, so the total you see is not the whole set.
That is why the "Earned x / y" number can move by more than one.

5. The app is showing you a cached page. Pull down to refresh, or
close and reopen the app. See
Troubleshooting the apps.

Things trophies are not

  • They are not public. Nobody sees your shelf on your author page.
    Sharing one is your choice, not the default.
  • They cannot be bought, traded or lost. Once earned, a trophy
    stays earned.
  • They are not a leaderboard. There is no ranking of readers and no
    comparison with anyone else.
  • They do not expire. Nothing decays if you take a few months off.

Still convinced one is missing

Write to us at /help/contact with the trophy's name,
what you did, and roughly when. That is enough for us to check the
counter behind it.

Related

Still need help?

If this article didn’t resolve your question, open a support ticket and our team will follow up.

Open a support ticket

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