Update - 11/6/15, 3:30pm PST
This week our team did some swift and impressive work to improve the overall Whistle experience. We’re excited to head into the weekend by sharing these updates with you.
The following improvements are now live when you log in to the Whistle web app through your web browser (not in the mobile app):
Emails are back by popular demand! You can opt-in for emails by visiting ‘Notification Settings’ in your account. You’ll then receive updates with the following details:
When your pet leaves or returns to the Whistle zone
Updated locations after you refresh or start a tracking session
When the device is near the base station and in power save mode
Anytime Whistle is having difficulty locating your device
When the device has a low battery
Please note: Our product team is working on a future release that will allow you to customize email updates, but for now email notifications will include all of the details listed above.
You can now update your payment information under ‘Change Credit Card’ in your account.
We’re continuing to work hard to bring you and your pets the best possible Whistle experience each day! Log in to the web app here to opt in to email notifications or view your account details.
Thank you for being the amazing community you are! If you have any questions, feedback or need tech support from the Whistle team, please send us a note at support@whistle.com.
Update - 10/28/15, 6pm PDT
All Android Whistlers will notice a new mobile app ready for download this evening. This update includes all of the iOS improvements made on Friday as listed below. We’ve also made improvements to on-demand location updates and tracking on the platform to benefit all Whistle users.
Update - 10/23/15, 5pm PDT
As you’re gearing up for a great weekend with your pets, we wanted to share with you some of the important improvements we made to the Whistle platform this week. These updates are being rolled out as we type this note and so you should start to see these usability changes very soon. T-G-I-F!
Whistle iOS users will see an updated version of the app this evening and several people are already benefitting from the fixes we made to the entire platform. (Android users, an app update is in your near future as well.)
We’re continuing to improve and refine every aspect of the platform based on the feedback we’ve received from the community. Please stay tuned for more updates to come.
Thank you for your continued support!
iOS and Android app updates:
ADDED: Whistle will now remember the last screen you used as the default when you open the app. This means that anyone who uses the app primarily for GPS tracking can exit the app and re-open in the Maps screen.
ADDED: Now Refresh GPS and Track will display by default when you open the Maps screen. One less step to take when tracking your pet.
ADDED: You can now center focus the map on your location, in addition to a few more improvements to map interactions.
ADDED: Owners with multiple pets can now use an All Pets button to return to viewing all of your pets in the Maps drawer.
ADDED: We’ve improved the battery status indicators by adding them to the Maps screen, and displaying the battery life in percentage charged.
ADDED: New Maps button on your pet’s profile screen for quick access to view their location.
FIXED: We’ve listened to user feedback to make critical improvements to usability throughout the app. One example is a status screen that tells you if your pet is within or outside of the Whistle zone at-a-glance.
FIXED: In the previous version of the app, there was no visual indicator for a locations request, so many users weren’t sure if the “Refresh GPS” request had worked. We’ll now show you that we are updating the location at the top of the screen so you know that the app is searching for a new location.
Platform fixes:
FIXED: In the last two weeks, some users experienced an error that caused multiple attach and detach notifications. Let’s just say it registered high on the annoying scale.
FIXED: Some users reported that the app was continuing to track their pet even after they ended the tracking session. We found and squashed the bug causing that error.
Update - 10.16.2015, 5pm PDT
FIXED: Improved reliability for GPS tracking.
FIXED: Duplicate notifications for near base station messaging - we’ve fixed a bug that was sending multiple “back near the base station” notifications. This was extremely annoying and we’re sorry for all the pings.
FIXED: In some cases, the stop tracking button was not working in Internet Explorer 11. Now, it works.
FIXED: Location & powered-off notifications now appear in notifications feed, which is a feed of...notifications.
ADDED: New notification sent when you try to use Refresh GPS or Track when a device is turned off.
Thank you for your patience and continued support!
Update - 10/15/15, 3pm PDT
We are continuing to rectify known issues and tackle timely user requests (which are useful for making sure we add in the features you need to best track your pets). But we know that a big part of being a partner to our users is to communicate as often as we can.
We feel the next server update will make quite a bit of difference for users who are experiencing problems with their GPS tracking.
We wanted to share a list of known issues our team is currently working on:
Refresh GPS and Tracking issues
In certain circumstances, some users are having trouble starting a tracking session or refreshing GPS in the app.
Once fixed: In-app Refresh GPS and tracking will operate as designed - notifying users within 12 minutes, and updating every 3 minutes (as with Tagg’s previous system).
Notification error
Some users are receiving duplicate notifications in the app and via SMS and others are others are receiving false or delayed alerts that their pet has left their Whistle zone.
Once fixed: Users will only receive timely notifications as designated in their settings.
Haven’t seen Whistle in a While
GPS users are getting a notification that is meant for Whistle Activity Monitor users.
Once fixed: this message will not pop-up for GPS users.
Service Plan Details
Some Whistle users are not able to view their plan details in the mobile app at this time.
Once fixed: users will be able to see their plan details and make changes directly in the app.
Activity Data
Some users are seeing incorrect activity data. The fix will ensure that data in the activity screen will be accurate once synced.
Today we are taking additional steps toward a more streamlined approach to transparent communication by posting more regularly to our blog. We’re doing this for a few reasons. First, we wanted to quickly and clearly share with all of our customers the latest new updates that have been made to the product. Second, as a startup serving individuals across the country, sharing news to a large audience in a single place is important for communicating these types of changes.
Over the weekend and on Monday, our software team made the following updates to the Whistle platform and we continue to address important software issues to improve your experience.
Here are the updates we’ve made to our platform since our last blog post:
GPS
FIXED: GPS issue that caused a small set of customers to not be able to use the Refresh GPS or Track features in certain circumstances
FIXED: Added battery status to the web app and improved readability
FIXED: Updated the message when customers attempt to Refresh GPS when close to the base station, as you can update the location when in the Whistle zone but not when you’re near the base station
Notifications
ADDED: Last known location to both our locate and track related notifications
ADDED: "Tracker has turned off" notification when your tracker powers down
ADDED: Audio alert for iOS notifications
We are also continuing to work on a new version of the mobile apps to incorporate feedback from the community, coming in November*. Our Whistle Product Community page lists over 10 planned updates to these apps, including the features previously available in the Tagg platform. Using that link, you can vote on these features and share input directly to our product team.
Thank you for being such an engaged and passionate community. It has enabled us to quickly identify and and fix some timely issues. We’ve created the following resources to help point you in the right direction for your specific needs:
TROUBLESHOOTING - Whistle Support Center
TECHNICAL SUPPORT - support@whistle.com or 1-844-5-WHISTL (please note that we are experiencing longer hold times than normal)
PRODUCT FEEDBACK – visit the Whistle Product Community to engage with our product team on current and upcoming features
*As with any application on iOS, this requires review from the App Store team, so we are unable to give an exact date of release as it is dependant upon their approval timeline.