Remote S: Tesla app for Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch

[MDK]

Hi Allen,
I like to display my current charge rate in kWh instead of kph. The official app is showing that depending on the setting in the car. Can you make that a setting in 3.0? Thanks!

No problem. What's the setting in the car that switches it?

In the car you change "Energy & Charging" from distance to energy

The API then changes "gui_charge_rate_units" from "mi/hr" or "km/hr" to "kW"

 

[Summitman7]

Excellent app and amazing work outdoing Tesla's app by so much in such a short time.

One simple request for some day - nitpick really: Could you change kph to km/h? km/h is the standard (SI) unit symbol and every place I've ever been that uses kilometres for distance uses km/h.

And I see the issue you mentioned where the charging current is incorrect when not on a supercharger. When starting charging on my HPWC at home that normally runs at 47A, the app shows the current ramping up to 23A and stopping there, even though the car actually ramps up to 47A. And the max/available current also increases to 23A and stops there - it should always show 47A when plugged into this charging station.

Thanks and best wishes for a continuing recovery.

My app also indicates 23A when charging. I was going to test it on my neighbor's HPWC for comparison.
I have been very impressed by the APP and also the forum for such helpful information.
Good luck with your recovery Allen!

 

[AllenWong]

Excellent app and amazing work outdoing Tesla's app by so much in such a short time.

One simple request for some day - nitpick really: Could you change kph to km/h? km/h is the standard (SI) unit symbol and every place I've ever been that uses kilometres for distance uses km/h.

And I see the issue you mentioned where the charging current is incorrect when not on a supercharger. When starting charging on my HPWC at home that normally runs at 47A, the app shows the current ramping up to 23A and stopping there, even though the car actually ramps up to 47A. And the max/available current also increases to 23A and stops there - it should always show 47A when plugged into this charging station.

Thanks and best wishes for a continuing recovery.

Okay. No problem.

 

[arg]

My app also indicates 23A when charging. I was going to test it on my neighbor's HPWC for comparison.
!

This was explained a few posts back - the app is reporting battery current (DC), while the car's displays and official app report AC current when charging from AC.

Since the battery voltage is higher, the current will be lower (and the battery current is also 'after tax' for the charger's inefficiency).

 

[xy46]

No, the info bubble is the bubble that appears when you tap on the red pin. Tapping on that bubble opens more commands such as grabbing the address of the pin and opening google maps/Waze to that location. The purpose was that in the future, I wanted to add all the superchargers/destination chargers in the map so that users can easily get directions to the supercharger that they want using Waze/Google Maps (since I find that they provide better routes than Tesla). And then I just use Tesla to tell me which supercharger I should be going to next on my road trips. One user reported that tapping on that white bubble crashes the app.

Thanks for that clarification, Allen. When I tap on that bubble, the app does indeed crash for me, too.

 

[Phil K]

iPhone 6 with IOS8.4. Did not clash when I tapped on the bubble, but my car stationary and there was only 1 red pin(forgot to try it when driving).

 

[LLWS]

I think Elon should PayPal you a fair sum for Remote S and use it as the replacement for the current OEM App. Excellent bit of coding my friend.

 

[AllenWong]

iPhone 6 with IOS8.4. Did not clash when I tapped on the bubble, but my car stationary and there was only 1 red pin(forgot to try it when driving).

It shouldn't matter whether you're driving or not. I wonder if it's something else. Like if someone does or doesn't have Google Maps or Waze installed.

 

[faughtz]

It shouldn't matter whether you're driving or not. I wonder if it's something else. Like if someone does or doesn't have Google Maps or Waze installed.

I have 8.4, google maps, and Waze.
The app crashes for me when I tap on the arrow in the white bubble.

 

[Andyw2100]

I think a user guide is a great idea. And I think it would be fantastic if the TMC community could write a draft of one while Allen is recovering, and present it to him so that he can then edit or tweak it as he sees fit, but so that he doesn't have to do the bulk of the work involved in writing it from scratch.

Towards that end, I started a thread here: Community Creation Of A User Guide For Remote S, Version 2.0

Let's see if we can give a little back to Allen, by writing a draft Remote S User Guide that he can then make use of.

Thanks!

This has actually turned into a Wiki. The Wiki is in its infancy. If you'd like to help write it, here is the link: Remote S, Version 2.0 User Guide (Draft) - Tesla Motors Club - Enthusiasts & Owners Forum

Thanks!

 

[swegman]

Allen,

I'm glad other people on iOS8.4 are also experiencing the crash issue I reported to you. At least this shows it is not isolated to my phone.

I also note that your app indicates charging is proceeding at 23/40A, while the Tesla app and the car itself reports 40/40A. However, I think this issue may have been reported to you by other people already.

No matter what I do, I can not get the breadcrumb feature to work. This is a major disappointment, as it was the primary reason I bought the app. I did another 5 trips lasts night and not one of them gave me the breadcrumbs. Yes, the breadcrumbs feature was turned on (I would hit the icon, which would turn blue) and the lower portion of the display where the car outline is located will say "Breadcrumb tracking turned on". All I get is the pin at the initial location and the pin at the destination location. No pins in between, which I got the only two times the breadcrumb feature worked. BTW, I changed the refresh rate from 5 seconds to 8 seconds. Could there be a setup toggle that is not correctly enabled?

I also noticed another issue. My car entered the sleep mode overnight. When I started the app, it looked like it was connected, as it would indicate "Update PXXXXX stats" every (I guess) 8 seconds. However, the app also indicated that the charging of the car would be completed in 50 minutes. However, the Tesla app notified me at 2:30am that charging had completed with 235 miles range (I have charging set to 89%; I also note that your app indicates 234 miles when charged to 89%, which I assume is a rounding error). Your app would not give the correct charging data and range data until after I opened the Tesla app, which woke up the car. So it appears that at least for me, your app did not wake up a sleeping car and just provided "old" data info.

Still another weird thing. As I previously reported to you, tapping the red pin would bring up a white bubble, and tapping on the white bubble would cause the app to crash. Last night, when tapping a red pin (the initial car location), instead of getting the bubble, I got the bubble PLUS the window giving options for waze directions, google directions, etc, along with the notation that the car was 0.00 miles from my location. I was able to replicate this about 3 or 4 times before it stopped doing it.

I'm getting frustrated by these issues. I really want to like this app and use it over the Tesla app, but it just is not working correctly for me.

I have not posted a review with my issues as I don't want to affect your rating. I just don't know what to do anymore. I don't know whether all the issues are related to running iOS8.4 (in which case what will happen when iOS9 is released?). FYI, I have the waze app, the google maps app, the FoboTire app, the Amazon echo app, and about 120 other apps on my iPhone 6 Plus. None of these apps are causing problems with any other app. I also turned the phone off and then back on a few times to see whether that would make a difference. It did not.

In view of all the issues I am having, is there a way to communicate with you in private? I know you have put a great effort into making this app, and I don't want my problems (which have been publicly posted to date) to negatively affect other potential buyers of the app. I also realize that you will need time to get back to your normal self, so I may have to wait for you to find a solution.

 

[R²B]

Some feedback.

1. Great Update overall!
2. Max Cool should vent the roof as well on the watch.
3. The temperature adjustment buttons on the watch are VERY difficult to press for some reason. Version 3.0 will likely be out after the new watch SDK comes out and you can switch to using the digital crown for this. But if you do manage a small update before then, you should adjust these buttons.

 

[AllenWong]

I have 8.4, google maps, and Waze.
The app crashes for me when I tap on the arrow in the white bubble.

Okay, I'll try to figure it out when I'm in a better condition to continue working again.

 

[rickgt]

I'm taping on the white bubble, and it works fine... gives me options to open in maps (shows dot as your car name - TeslaRossa)
Breadcrumbs also works great here. map keeps zooming in, making it hard to get a better overview, but going to a bubble and opening maps solves that. Don't see the inside and outside temperature like we used to... miss that.

Okay, I'll try to figure it out when I'm in a better condition to continue working again.

 

[SW2Fiddler]

I have 8.4, google maps, and Waze.
The app crashes for me when I tap on the arrow in the white bubble.

I only say this in hope that it makes the diagnosis easier. I would rather Allen get rest and effective pain relief...

iOS 8.3 and Google Maps and Waze and Uber Partner.
Crash behavior when pressing the arrow in the map's pin's bubble.

And delighted at the quick response from the car on everything! I waited until V2 but am not regretting getting the app.

Get well soon!

 

[swegman]

Have you tried removing the Waze app? I'd eliminate some of those variables, just in case.

I don't see why I should have to delete apps just to get Remote S to try to work properly. In addition, while the waze app is installed on my phone, it is not running or even loaded. Nor is google maps or most other apps running when I am running Remote S. The only exception so far has been that FoboTire has been running at the same time Remote S is running. I already tried terminating FoboTire and running Remote S with nothing else running on the phone and it makes no difference.

 

[Andyw2100]

Have you tried removing the Waze app? I'd eliminate some of those variables, just in case.

I don't see why I should have to delete apps just to get Remote S to try to work properly. In addition, while the waze app is installed on my phone, it is not running or even loaded. Nor is google maps or most other apps running when I am running Remote S. The only exception so far has been that FoboTire has been running at the same time Remote S is running. I already tried terminating FoboTire and running Remote S with nothing else running on the phone and it makes no difference.

I think EVenthusiast was just making a suggestion that he thought might help you temporarily solve the problem, until Allen is more available and able to dig into it again.

It definitely sounds like you are experiencing some real issues. That being said, is there any doubt in your mind as to Allen's ability and willingness to work to get them resolved once he is back to even 50%? (I was going to say 100%, but that's ridiculous.)

Perhaps until Allen is able to deal with this, it might be easier / less frustrating for you to pretend that you hadn't bought the app yet. I'm willing to personally guarantee that Allen will get your problems solved once he is back to working on things. And by personally guarantee, I mean if he can't, I'll refund what you spent on the app.

I'm not trying to make light of the issues you are experiencing. It's entirely possible others would be or are experiencing them too. As I've said, I don't even use the app, so I can't test your issues myself. I'm just confident that Allen will get this resolved for you.

 

[Lloyd]

I have the same configuration as the OP, Waze etc. and everything seems to be ok and working properly.

 

[AllenWong]

Allen,

I'm glad other people on iOS8.4 are also experiencing the crash issue I reported to you. At least this shows it is not isolated to my phone.

I also note that your app indicates charging is proceeding at 23/40A, while the Tesla app and the car itself reports 40/40A. However, I think this issue may have been reported to you by other people already.

No matter what I do, I can not get the breadcrumb feature to work. This is a major disappointment, as it was the primary reason I bought the app. I did another 5 trips lasts night and not one of them gave me the breadcrumbs. Yes, the breadcrumbs feature was turned on (I would hit the icon, which would turn blue) and the lower portion of the display where the car outline is located will say "Breadcrumb tracking turned on". All I get is the pin at the initial location and the pin at the destination location. No pins in between, which I got the only two times the breadcrumb feature worked. BTW, I changed the refresh rate from 5 seconds to 8 seconds. Could there be a setup toggle that is not correctly enabled?

I also noticed another issue. My car entered the sleep mode overnight. When I started the app, it looked like it was connected, as it would indicate "Update PXXXXX stats" every (I guess) 8 seconds. However, the app also indicated that the charging of the car would be completed in 50 minutes. However, the Tesla app notified me at 2:30am that charging had completed with 235 miles range (I have charging set to 89%; I also note that your app indicates 234 miles when charged to 89%, which I assume is a rounding error). Your app would not give the correct charging data and range data until after I opened the Tesla app, which woke up the car. So it appears that at least for me, your app did not wake up a sleeping car and just provided "old" data info.

Still another weird thing. As I previously reported to you, tapping the red pin would bring up a white bubble, and tapping on the white bubble would cause the app to crash. Last night, when tapping a red pin (the initial car location), instead of getting the bubble, I got the bubble PLUS the window giving options for waze directions, google directions, etc, along with the notation that the car was 0.00 miles from my location. I was able to replicate this about 3 or 4 times before it stopped doing it.

I'm getting frustrated by these issues. I really want to like this app and use it over the Tesla app, but it just is not working correctly for me.

I have not posted a review with my issues as I don't want to affect your rating. I just don't know what to do anymore. I don't know whether all the issues are related to running iOS8.4 (in which case what will happen when iOS9 is released?). FYI, I have the waze app, the google maps app, the FoboTire app, the Amazon echo app, and about 120 other apps on my iPhone 6 Plus. None of these apps are causing problems with any other app. I also turned the phone off and then back on a few times to see whether that would make a difference. It did not.

In view of all the issues I am having, is there a way to communicate with you in private? I know you have put a great effort into making this app, and I don't want my problems (which have been publicly posted to date) to negatively affect other potential buyers of the app. I also realize that you will need time to get back to your normal self, so I may have to wait for you to find a solution.

The charging thing was already mentioned. I was the first person to mention it actually. I didn't have a regular charger when I coded version 2.0. That's why I never noticed. The second grey number is the charging amps anyway, so you can just ignore the white number and you'll get the same number that the Tesla app is reporting.

As for waking the car, is your car not set to Always Connected? I never had to wake my car up before. I do have a wake car button in the Apple Watch app. But I can wake the car up in the iPhone app automatically in the next version.

As for the rounding error, it's lack of rounding that you are seeing. If you turn on the more precise stats in the app settings, you can see the rest of the range up to two significant digits. So it's really more like my app provides a more accurate number while Tesla rounds numbers up.

For the breadcrumb feature, are you leaving the app running the entire time? My app can't run the background. No app can, unless it's a GPS app or other things. It sounds like breadcrumb tracking does work, but you aren't leaving the app running in the foreground.

I have to look further into the crashing bug, because I never experienced it. It might related to the fact that I am looking up the address of the location when you tap on the white bubble. Maybe it's crashing when it can't find the address. If that's the reason, I could fix that.

Don't get frustrated with these issues. Keep in mind that I only started working on this app in May 2015. So I spent less than two months on it while Tesla had many years, multiple test cars and resources. Just keep reporting the issues and I will fix it in the next version.

- - - Updated - - -

Some feedback.

1. Great Update overall!
2. Max Cool should vent the roof as well on the watch.
3. The temperature adjustment buttons on the watch are VERY difficult to press for some reason. Version 3.0 will likely be out after the new watch SDK comes out and you can switch to using the digital crown for this. But if you do manage a small update before then, you should adjust these buttons.

1: thanks! I worked hard on it.

2: I'm worried that people might not know this will happen, and I don't have room to explain that this vents the roof. I guess that I can code it to do it, and then eat the bad reviews from people complaining that the roof vented without them knowing?

For 3, try tapping with the tip of your finger and not your whole fingerprint. I used to press Apple Watch buttons with my thumb but found out that the surface area was too big and it confused the Watch as to where you were pressing. Try using the very top of your index finger to press the buttons and see if that fixes your issue.

 

[wayner]

And that's what's overloading the servers. Remote does have thousands of active users.

Didn't you speculate when first discussing an Apple Watch app that you might only sell a few dozen apps? Sounds like it has been orders of magnitude better than that?