Installing the TMC PWA (Progressive Web App) on your mobile device

We will be shutting down our native TMC iOS and Android apps soon. As such, I wanted to take this opportunity to encourage users to install our PWA for both iOS and Android (the iOS PWA is actually necessary in order to receive push notifications on iOS).

iOS PWA Installation:​

You can install TMC as a PWA on your iOS device by utilizing the Add to Home Screen feature in Safari. Instructions for this can be found on the following Apple support page: Bookmark a website in Safari on iPhone​

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iOS Push Notifications:​

iOS 16.4 finally introduced push notifications for iOS devices. To facilitate this, you should first make sure that notifications are turned on in your Safari advanced settings. This can be done using the following steps:​

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone​
2. Scroll down and find Safari, and tap on it​
3. Scroll down to the bottom and tap advanced​
4. Tap on Webkit Feature Flags (also called Experimental Webkit Features on some versions of iOS)​
5. Scroll down and turn on the toggle beside "Notifications".​

Here is a video which shows this process.​

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Then you need to install the TMC PWA (instructions in the section above). When you access the PWA and log in, you should be presented with a prompt that says "TMC would like your permission to enable push notifications". You will be able to click on the "enable push notifications". If you do not see that prompt, then push notifications can also be enabled in your TMC account Preferences. You should then be presented with the default iOS prompt for notifications wherein you can "Allow Notifications" for TMC. If you don't see that, then go into your iOS Settings and tap on the Notifications submenu, then tap on the TMC PWA app listed there, and make sure "Allow Notifications" is turned on for the TMC PWA. There may be some additional options there that you can configure there if you like.​

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Android and Chrome on desktop PWA Installation:​

When browsing with Chrome on desktop or Android, the app can be installed via the address bar on both mobile and desktop devices. On supported mobile devices, we also display an "Install" button at the bottom of the off-canvas menu, which is accessed by clicking the hamburger menu icon on the bottom right of your mobile navbar (on our default style).​

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Android and Chrome on desktop Push Notifications:​

On most devices running Chrome, you will be presented with a banner at the bottom of the screen which says "Tesla Motors Club would like your permission to enable push notifications." You can tap on the clickable area to turn it on. Alternatively, you can go directly to your TMC account Preferences and enable it there. After one of the mentioned steps, Chrome may also present you with a browser permission popup asking if you would like to "Allow" TMC to send you push notifications.​

Once the app is installed, it is readily available in exactly the same way as a native app. On mobile devices, that means it can be opened via an icon on the home screen. On desktop devices, it can be opened by searching your system or even pinning the app to your taskbar or dock.

For most devices, we set the app to display a minimal interface. The elements of this interface also vary by browser, but most importantly include navigation controls, including pull down to refresh, and in some cases a floating back button.

Chrome-based apps support application badging, which allows the app to indicate unread messages or alerts directly on its icon.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

 

[brkaus]

It healed itself. Not sure what I did, if anything.

 

[Jones1]

Thanks. I might try that if it doesn't magically come back in the next few days.

Yeah. It’s working better now. I get notifications now also. I didn’t get them before.

 

[danny]

Well as far as I know, we haven't changed anything on our end which should have any impact on the PWA. But glad to hear things are working now. Please do let us know if there are any issues again. Thanks.

 

[Electroman]

No issues so far... loving it.

Although I miss Tapatalk :-(

 

[Jones1]

Well as far as I know, we haven't changed anything on our end which should have any impact on the PWA. But glad to hear things are working now. Please do let us know if there are any issues again. Thanks.

Works great now. Could have been the iOS 17.0.2 update.

 

[brkaus]

Is it just me? (I’m on iOS)

Go to this thread in the pwa and go to the pdf attachment.

Insurance paid out $7000 for scrape on Tesla Model 3 bumper...

Hi Tesla Motor folks! Wanted to get your thoughts on this. Situation: I live in a large urban city and I was parallel parking, going no more than 5 mph. I slightly scraped the tesla on the left bumper as shown in the picture below. I agree that I am 100% at fault for the scrape and I shared...

teslamotorsclub.com

Cannot get back to anything.

 

[xcyber]

So I'm a bit confused. On android, I could not find the app in Play Store.

Then I opened the TMC website in Chrome. The hamburger menu gave me option to install the mobile app.
I did and now I have an icon that behaves like the app when launched but it is a web-like interface though there is no address bar unlike a browser.

If it's not an app, what is it?

 

[Electroman]

So I'm a bit confused. On android, I could not find the app in Play Store.

Then I opened the TMC website in Chrome. The hamburger menu gave me option to install the mobile app.
I did and now I have an icon that behaves like the app when launched but it is a web-like interface though there is no address bar unlike a browser.

If it's not an app, what is it?

Welcome to world of “Web App”.

 

[israndy]

A shockingly LOW number of developers use it even though it was the original 2007 plan for apps in the Apple Ecosystem. Shame they don't include them in the App Store interface for installing and discovery

 

[xcyber]

A shockingly LOW number of developers use it even though it was the original 2007 plan for apps in the Apple Ecosystem. Shame they don't include them in the App Store interface for installing and discovery

I can see why not. When you install from the App store you have a little bit of assurance it has been vetted for malware. Further when Google (or Apple) becomes aware of an app with malware, they "retire" it.

When you install from a website, you are doing it without any assurance of it having undergone a security review. TMC was another story, but I will NEVER install an app from a random website. I may end up losing all my passwords, 2FA codes and Bank account !!!
How many users are tech aware of this fact?
Better to install from a known enemy than unknown!

 

[brkaus]

I can see why not. When you install from the App store you have a little bit of assurance it has been vetted for malware. Further when Google (or Apple) becomes aware of an app with malware, they "retire" it.

When you install from a website, you are doing it without any assurance of it having undergone a security review. TMC was another story, but I will NEVER install an app from a random website. I may end up losing all my passwords, 2FA codes and Bank account !!!
How many users are tech aware of this fact?
Better to install from a known enemy than unknown!

I don’t believe a web installed app has any more access than a web page? How is it different from going to a hacked web page?

 

[xcyber]

I don’t believe a web installed app has any more access than a web page? How is it different from going to a hacked web page?

Not different at all.
That is why I said a web installed app is inherently less safe than an app downloaded from the app store (or play store).

TMC saved the expense of maintaining a dedicated store app, but IMO it was a bad choice to use a web app.

 

[Electroman]

That is why I said a web installed app is inherently less safe than an app downloaded from the app store (or play store).

So that question still remains. We all use the mobile Safari browser all the time in our iPhones , anytime when a native App is not available. Given that this 'Web App' does not increase the security risk profile than going to same application through a website, why should this be a concern?

 

[xcyber]

So that question still remains. We all use the mobile Safari browser all the time in our iPhones , anytime when a native App is not available. Given that this 'Web App' does not increase the security risk profile than going to same application through a website, why should this be a concern?

Because modern browsers like Safari, Chrome etc. run in a sandbox. Which means they cannot access anything else outside of their sandbox on your computer/phone.

Apple goes a step further. Each TAB in safari is sandboxed, so a malicious script running on a website cannot even access a different tab in Safari.

When you have an app installed (whether from the app store or a web browser), it is not sandboxed any more.
You typically have to give it LOTS of permission and access to your local data (files, gps, Camera, contact lists, messaging, whatnot) in order to run. If this app is malicious, all your info is potential to leakage.
A native app goes through **some** due diligence when it gets onboarded to App/Play store (I hope - lol)

It is the same reason you are opening yourself to big trouble when you install Android apps from random "APK" files and not from a legitimate App store.
On iPhones, you cannot "sideload" apps like on Android (unless you jailbreak - but then you would know what you are doing anyway)

 

[danny]

So I'm a bit confused. On android, I could not find the app in Play Store.

Then I opened the TMC website in Chrome. The hamburger menu gave me option to install the mobile app.
I did and now I have an icon that behaves like the app when launched but it is a web-like interface though there is no address bar unlike a browser.

If it's not an app, what is it?

That is the PWA.

I don’t believe a web installed app has any more access than a web page? How is it different from going to a hacked web page?

AFAIK it doesn't have any more access than does a normal web page, as it is basically just a web page in its own window which makes better usage of system navigation.

TMC saved the expense of maintaining a dedicated store app, but IMO it was a bad choice to use a web app.

The native app required users to sign into the website, which has the same access as the webapp/PWA, so unless you preferred something about the native app in terms of its UX or UI, I don't think there's any meaningful advantages to the native app that we were using.

 

[Jones1]

That is the PWA.


AFAIK it doesn't have any more access than does a normal web page, as it is basically just a web page in its own window which makes better usage of system navigation.


The native app required users to sign into the website, which has the same access as the webapp/PWA, so unless you preferred something about the native app in terms of its UX or UI, I don't think there's any meaningful advantages to the native app that we were using.

“There’s an App for That”
Apple has indoctrinated the App into people’s minds.

 

[Electroman]

Because modern browsers like Safari, Chrome etc. run in a sandbox. Which means they cannot access anything else outside of their sandbox on your computer/phone.

Apple goes a step further. Each TAB in safari is sandboxed, so a malicious script running on a website cannot even access a different tab in Safari.

When you have an app installed (whether from the app store or a web browser), it is not sandboxed any more.

Thanks for these details. Appreciated

 

[Electroman]

That is the PWA.


AFAIK it doesn't have any more access than does a normal web page, as it is basically just a web page in its own window which makes better usage of system navigation.


The native app required users to sign into the website, which has the same access as the webapp/PWA, so unless you preferred something about the native app in terms of its UX or UI, I don't think there's any meaningful advantages to the native app that we were using.

I was one of the vociferous critic here when we lost TMC access to "Tapatalk" App. But now I am at peace with this TMC 'Web App'.

 

[StephenBrown2]

When you have an app installed (whether from the app store or a web browser), it is not sandboxed any more.

it doesn't have any more access than does a normal web page, as it is basically just a web page in its own window which makes better usage of system navigation.

This is the correct answer to the "sandbox" argument. It's still sandboxed, just without the browser UI elements around it.

As for giving web pages permissions to device features, Chrome has been on a long streak of integrating things like USB and serial access, which Firefox has refused to do, on exactly that argument: it makes the web less secure. Can't speak for Safari since I don't run any Apple devices.

 

[danny]

This is the correct answer to the "sandbox" argument. It's still sandboxed, just without the browser UI elements around it.

Yes, this was my understanding, though I do not claim to be an expert.