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Task box bug after iOS 7 update.

Published by Rosie on September 21, 2013

Bug in cell expanding in iOS7

 

We’re aware that there is a least one bug that affects HomeRoutines after  you upgrade to iOS 7.

We had used some magic in the text cells for tasks, which allowed them to grow taller and fit more lines of text.

Unfortunately, some aspects of the way iOS 7 handles text fields have stopped this from working. As a result, you can’t read tasks longer than two lines long. Poop.

We are working on an update to fix this, of course.

If you find any other bugs that seem to have appeared after the update, do please let us know.

Thank you!

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HomeRoutines 2.5 Update

Published by Rosie on February 6, 2013

There’s a new update in the app store for HomeRoutines.

Nifty new features include:

  • New bi-weekly*, monthly and manual reset schedules for your routines
  • Choose which months of the year routines will appear – for seasonal routines
  • Support for iPhone 5 screen resolution
  • Improved iPad artwork for retina screens
  • Bug fixes for star resets, background music, timer sounds, routine reminders, bluetooth hotspots and more
  • HomeRoutines is now a universal app. Whether you originally purchased the iPhone or iPad version, it will now work on either device.

UPDATE, 8 February

We have identified a couple of bugs in HomeRoutines 2.5 (Special thanks to those of you who’ve taken time to let us know!)

The first affects the new bi-weekly routines. Only “Week A” routines are appearing , regardless of which week you have selected.   Bi-weekly reminders are also not appearing correctly.

The second bug is affecting the sync service.  Sometimes changes are sent up to the server but then decide to stay there, rather than coming back down to the app.  This means that syncing between two devices is not working consistently.

We are very sorry that these bugs are marring our new update, which we are otherwise very proud of. We have stayed up late and submitted an update to Apple, but it takes about a week for the App Store to review it and release it to the store.

We will keep you posted as we have any news, and apologies again if you’re affected by the bugs.

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Bug fix for iPad version 2.0.4

Published by Rosie on June 20, 2012

An update for the iPad version of HomeRoutines was released to the store yesterday, fixing a crashing bug. Unfortunately, we managed to introduce a new bug while fixing the old one.

Due to this bug, if you open HomeRoutines for iPad in portrait orientation, the Home button won’t be visible.  Fortunately, if you rotate your iPad to landscape, the Home button will reappear, and will stay there after you rotate back to portrait.

We have also submitted an urgent update  to Apple to fix this, and it should be available within a couple of days.

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How to fix the Timer and Reminders (not working after iOS 5 update)

Published by Rosie on November 8, 2011 2

Unfortunately, Apple included a bug in the upgrade to iOS 5.  This turned off local notifications for most apps, including ours, which means that the timer doesn’t work properly if you exit the app, and your routine reminders will not be working. This only affect customers who upgrade from iOS 4, not for new installations on iOS 5.

Here is how you can fix this by switching notifications back on for HomeRoutines.

  1. Open the Settings app
  2. Select “Notifications”.
  3. Scroll down to the “Not in Notification Center” section.
    You’ll probably see HomeRoutines in there.
  4. Tap the HomeRoutines line to enter its settings.
    • Turn on “Notification Center”
    • Set the Alert Style to “Alerts”
    • Turn on “Sounds”
    • Turn on “View in Lock Screen”

Sorry for the hassle – but it seems like there’s nothing we can do to correct this for existing customers who upgrade to iOS 5.0 at the moment except ask them to manually fix it. Apple are working on a fix, though.

Please let us know if we can help with anything else.

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HomeRoutines 2.0.2 Release – Available now

Published by Rosie on September 16, 2011

Our latest update,  HomeRoutines 2.0.2 is available now. Thanks to everyone who has sent us feedback and reports of the app misbehaving – it helps us get to the bottom of these pesky bugs.

Added Syncing for users of old iPod Touches and iPhones running  iOS 3.1

When we released syncing in HomeRoutines 2.0, we only made that feature available to people whose devices were running iOS 4 or later. iOS 4 is a free upgrade for all devices, except for the iPod (1st Generation) and the original iPhone.

While we were testing the 2.0 update,  we felt that on these older devices, syncing was too slow. We were also concerned  that the app could not automatically sync when you exited, only when the app opened and when it was running.

However, we have received quite a few messages from people who want syncing to work on their older devices, so we have changed our mind and enabled syncing for these devices in HomeRoutines 2.02.

iPad users aren’t affected by this change, because HomeRoutines for iPad 2.0 and later requires the free the iOS 4.2 update. If you’re still running iOS 3.2 on your iPad 1, please do upgrade. iOS 4 fixes many bugs, and runs great on the iPad 1.

Fixed Bug: Saving Problems on 2nd Gen iPod Touch, and iPhone 3G

We’ve discovered a bug which specifically affects users with the iPod touch (2nd generation) and the iPhone 3G, who have registered for My.HomeRoutines. This bug can prevent recent changes being saved if you exit the app by pressing your device’s home button. We’ve fixed this bug in HomeRoutines 2.0.2.

In the meantime, press the power/lock button at the top of your iPod touch (2nd generation) or iPhone 3G when you’re done making changes in HomeRoutines, and your changes should be saved correctly.

We’d like to apologize to anyone affected by this bug.

Other Improvements

Version 2.0.2 also makes syncing faster, makes star reset when using syncing more reliable, and fixes a bunch of other bugs.

If you do have any problems with the app, please contact us at support@homeroutines.com. We’re happy to help.

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Known Issue: errors caused by moving rooms between zones

Published by Rosie on August 28, 2011

Update: we’ve now resolved this problem on the server — you can move and edit your rooms without any problems now. If you’ve had some problems with this in the last couple of days, and the app doesn’t seem to be syncing now, then drop us a line at support@homeroutines.com, and we’ll get you going again.

We have become aware of a bug that occurs when you move rooms between zones in the app. Because of an error in the way that the syncing works, you can end up with unexpectedly duplicated or deleted rooms, and this can also cause HomeRoutines to crash.

We apologize for this bug, and recommend that you avoid moving rooms between zones for the time being.  We are working on the code on the syncing website to fix the bug, today, and will keep you posted.

Thanks to everyone who reports bugs to us – it helps us track them down and fix them as quickly as possible.

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Squashing ALL the bugs (a small update)

Published by Rosie on August 25, 2011

We have identified some bugs in the HomeRoutines 2.0 update, and on the My.HomeRoutines website (sigh!), which we have fixed now.  We have submitted another update to Apple this morning.  In the meantime, if you haven’t updated your app yet, you might want to wait until the next update appears, or just be aware of the issues described here:

  • My.HomeRoutines website
    This morning we’ve updated the software on the My.HomeRoutines website. If you were having trouble editing data online when you first registered, try again.
  • HomeRoutines app
    If you’ve registered for My.HomeRoutines, and then add several lists in one go using the app, it can cause the app to crash. This sucks.  We have identified and fixed this bug and are submitting an update to Apple today, which will hopefully go through quickly. What’s more, a few people won’t be able to register for My.HomeRoutines at all. If you’re one of these people, hang tight, and the update should fix the problem within a few days.
  • iPad version of HomeRoutines only
    There is a bug in how HomeRoutines detects the version of iOS that your iPad is running, and this is causing the My.Homeroutines button to not appear on some devices. If you’ve updated HomeRoutines on your iPad and you can’t see the My.HomeRoutines button, please update to the latest version of iOS.  (Plug your iPad into iTunes and click Check for Updates)  Alternatively, wait until our next update is approved, as this will fix it.

As always, if you have any further questions or issues, please email us on support@homeroutines.com

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Introducing HomeRoutines 2.0 – with FREE Sync and online editing

Published by Rosie on August 24, 2011 2

If you wondered why we’ve been a bit quiet, it’s because we’ve been working very hard to get this awesome update ready for you!

Thank you so much to our beta testers who provided some excellent feedback and asked sensible questions – we couldn’t have done it without you!

FREE Multi-Device Sync

You can now keep all the devices that are running HomeRoutines in sync with our shiny new sync service.

This shares and syncs all your lists and the completion of tasks between the devices, so whether you’ve got your iPhone or iPod touch in your pocket, or you’re working with the family on your Saturday chores on the iPad,  they will all say the same thing.

Sync ALL the things. I can't draw stars.This is a poorly photoshopped version of one by the glorious Allie of Hyperbole and a Half from her story  This is Why I’ll Never Be an Adult. It’s funny because it’s true)

How to join up

To register for this free service, just scroll down the home screen and tap My.HomeRoutines.

Do this on your main device, if you have more than one; you want the syncing data to be based on your “best” version of HomeRoutines, where you’ve got it set up just so.

You will need to register, then confirm your email address.

How does the Syncing Work?

Once you’ve created an account, and confirmed your email address, you will be able to sign in to that account with any other devices you wish to sync with.

The syncing works by sending a copy of your data to our web server, where it is kept safe and private.  (You can read our privacy policy, also under My.HomeRoutines on your app)

HomeRoutines will sync only when it is the foreground app (ie, the one you are looking at right now, not when the phone is locked or sleeping, or you’re using another app. While it is the foreground app, it will sync every minute, and also when you leave the app. Syncing sends a very small amount of data, detailing any changes to your lists or your completed tasks.

Although the data is copied and synced to the web server, it is still on your device, so if you’re out and about you don’t need internet or wifi access to view your lists.  (I’ve suffered through trying to get slow internet access in a supermarket to view my online shopping list enough times that I’m not inflicting that on you!)

But Wait There’s More! My.HomeRoutines.Com

Since we were getting all the data going to the web in order to make syncing work, we thought “What the heck” and decided to make it editable online as well. This is a special FREE service that is only available to users of the HomeRoutines app.

When you register for My.HomeRoutines on your device, you can use the same user name and password at http://my.homeroutines.com.  Online, you can edit your routines, to do lists and zone tasks.

You can also back up and restore your HomeRoutines data on the site.

The web version does not yet have all of the features of the app, so you can’t yet:

  • Change routine or zone schedules.
  • Edit your daily messages (although they are displayed).
  • View your accomplishments.
  • Use the timer
  • Also, scheduled routine and zone reset only happens when you run the app.

So, yeah.   We’re really proud of this update, and hope you enjoy it!

As always, if you have any problems or questions, send us an email at support@homeroutines.com

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HomeRoutines is One! (Appy Birthday!)

Published by Rosie on January 28, 2011

I can hardly believe it, but it’s now  a whole year since HomeRoutines was first for sale in the App Store.

To celebrate, we’re holding a weekend sale on HomeRoutines and HomeRoutines for iPad.  We’ll keep it going for three days as it’s a long weekend here (Auckland Anniversary Day!)

It’s been a busy year, while we talked with you and listened to your requests and ideas, and put them in place to make the app better.  Since we released that first version (HomeRoutines 1.0!) we’ve kept the updates coming.

Look at all these features that weren’t in the app when it was first released!

Apart from the separate iPad version, all those features were free upgrades, and we have even more upgrade awesomeness coming this year!

Another blast from the past is the old HomeRoutine icon:

It’s a front-loading washing machine. I know, right?

We made some early users sad when we changed it, but I’m pleased with our gold star icon.

It’s more colourful, that checkmark is like the Internationally Recognised Symbol for “This is a productivity app”, and the gold stars are what HomeRoutines is all about.

And here’s our “Before and After view of the home screen:

Thank you so much for all your feedback and kind reviews, and all your mentions on Twitter and your blogs. They’ve helped us keep developing the app and making it even better.

We have some tremendously awesome plans for the app this year, so keep watching that update screen!

Thanks again!

Rosie and Tim

HomeRoutines.com

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HomeRoutines 1.81 Update

Published by Rosie on January 20, 2011

We have just submitted a small update to the App Store.

Thank you for your support, feedback and your kind reviews on the app store. We appreciate it – especially when you update your reviews with a new version 🙂

What’s New for iPhone in HomeRoutines 1.81

This is a minor update to HomeRoutines to fix some bugs, but we have some awesome new features coming soon!

  • We’ve improved routine reminders: if you delete or rename a routine, the reminders are immediately deleted or renamed to match.
  • We fixed some bugs that occurred on iOS3 devices:
  • if you tried to copy without selecting something first, it made the app crash
  • if you pasted multiple tasks it caused a bug
  • We’ve improved the app’s performance on older devices, and fixed various other little bugs.

What’s New for iPad in HomeRoutines 1.81

  • You can now edit routines with your iPad in portrait or landscape mode (thanks for your patience with this one, it was very confusing!!!)
  • We improved routine reminders: if you delete or rename a routine, the reminders are immediately deleted or renamed to match.
  • We fixed a bug which meant that the date, daily messages and today’s routines weren’t refreshing properly each morning.
  • And we resolved a crashing bug that happened if you deleted a routine while you were viewing it.

We also fixed some bugs that occurred on iPads running iOS3:

  • if you tried to copy without selecting something first, it made the app crash
  • if you pasted multiple tasks it caused a bug
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