Please help us improve the Android app
Thank you for trying the first test version of the Android app. It’s been fantastic to hear such good feedback for the app, but also so many ideas and features. We’ve already addressed a lot of the feedback, and will continue to work through the rest.
Please share any more feedback, ideas and features by clicking ‘Share Feedback’ above
Comments24
An Anonymous User
Aug 18
Overall a positive experience using the App.
I found that plotting a route and using “snap-to-path” is straightforward. The OpenStreetmap layout is clear. Saving the route is straightforward and it is intuitive to know which buttons to press on the screen.
One issue is that when I tried plotting another route using similar segments of the first route, the route was plotted using the same colour (blue) which caused some confusion - is there a facility to plot different routes using different colours?
I tested the app by walking the second route that I had plotted. The display showing the progress of my walk along the route was clear. However, regularly the display reverted back to the main menu and I had to enter into the walk again. My notes and photos were saved, but this affected display of my progress. My walking speed was much higher than actually displayed on the screen. During one segment of the walk, my progress had not been recorded and I was shown to have taken a shortcut which I had not taken.
Writing notes and taking/uploading photos was straightforward and intuitive, a definite plus. I tried to put a warning in, but this was not recorded as a warning just as a note. I like the fact that there is a display of how far has been walked and how much if left to walk, along with the percentage covered - although these numbers were in error towards the end of the walk.
Overall, a very good start and I like the layout and options.
An Anonymous User
Aug 19
Today i used the “Just walk!” Option to track my walk. It did this for a while then terminated tracking with walk segments being stored under “My walks”. I found the same problem yesterday when I followed a plotted walk.
Regarding the map, the OSM Wayfarer layer is very clear and more useful than the Ordnance Survey layer in urban environments.
An Anonymous User
Aug 20
I have experienced a similar problem with the android app closing and stopping recording whilst following a route. In particular, I noticed that this happened when I was trying to take a photo as part of a note. I start to create a note, write some text etc, then press the camera button to take a photo, but when I press the OK button, the app goes straight to the home page, without saving the note or the photo. However, this only happens if I take the photo with the phone rotated in landscape mode and press the OK button whilst still in landscape view. If I turn the phone back upright after taking the photo but before pressing OK, then everything seems to work as expected. Similarly, if I take the photo with the phone upright, and press the OK button it works. Also, I get the same problem if I try adding a photo from the library whilst the phone is rotated in landscape mode (although this is a much less likely scenario).
Andrew
Toby Twigger
Sep 21
Hi Andrew,
Thank you for taking the time to leave some feedback, and apologies for how long it’s taken for me to reply. We’ve recently released some fixes to make the app a bit more stable, and testing on my own Android phone the app no longer crashes in landscape mode. That said, Android phones can all be quite different, so please do let me know if it isn’t solved and we’ll continue to investigate.
I hope otherwise you’ve had success with the app!
An Anonymous User
Aug 22
I walked the route I created - an urban walk in Bracknell - today. Everything was working fine on my android phone apart from photos. I took two photos and saw them uploaded to the app right after taking them. However, when I come back to the route now, I don’t see the photos at all either on the website or in the app. I expected a miniature photos similar to how they are displayed on Slowways website.
Toby Twigger
Sep 21
Hello,
Thank you for the feedback, and sorry you’ve had issues with uploading photos. We’re well aware that, especially when out and about, photos don’t always successfully upload. Richard is working on a fix to make it a little more resilient.
Without getting too into the details, currently the app sends photos and notes directly to our website (the API). If this fails, it isn’t always clear it’s failed. We’ll be taking a more ‘offline’ approach - by making sure everything is immediately saved on your phone, and synchronised to the API as soon as you have a connection.
We’ll let you know when this work is finished, and hopefully we’ll find the photos to reliably upload!
Thanks again for your feedback, and for using Good Ways to walk!
An Anonymous User
Aug 23
Yesterday I managed to create a route using the web app and followed it on my Android phone. No problems to report, the app worked well.
Today, I used the app on the phone to just record a walk. It worked well until I paused the recording to go into a shop. I used the option to just pause the walk but resume it later. Unfortunately, there was no record of the walk when I wanted to restart it again. It is not in the “My walks” section. What should I have done? Thanks.
Toby Twigger
Sep 21
Hello!
Thank you for your feedback, and I’m glad the web app and app both worked well and let you record your journey.
You didn’t do anything wrong - the recording would still have been going in the background, but you have to go back into the route and click ‘Go’ again to resume. This is something I’ve found frustrating, and we’ve received a lot of feedback about this. In the next week or two, Richard is going to make sure it’s a lot easier to find and resume your walk, and we have some longer term ideas around how to make it as friendly as possible.
Thank you again for taking the time and for being a part of Good Ways!
An Anonymous User
Aug 23
Just providing some feedback after using the app for the first time, after designing a route based off of a part of a Slow Way.
After designing the route on the website, I found the whole process of adding photos and commenting whilst undertaking the route really intuitive.
I did however list a bunch of questions that came to me on the walk, ‘what if’s’ (maybe these are all features down the line - apologies if so!).
It wasn’t clear whether the route could be followed offline. I didn’t see any option, and starting in a village without signal meant I had to use my memory of mapping the route online for the first section.
Really liked the ability to add warnings, photos etc. on the route. Didn’t see a way of adding things to points earlier in the route or ‘drafting’ for upload later (see point above, might be useful outside of signal)
The photos don’t appear on the line afterwards, so I have no idea where the POI actually are or were recorded for making edits later or for others to see.
When uploading photos on the app, you have to wait till it’s uploaded before you can follow the route again. This I guess is a +1 for the idea of ‘banking’ draft pins, to upload later. I guess semi-related - There was a lag time before things would appear, both for the route markers / pins and the final review. It might be worth creating a notification so that users know things have been saved (especially reviews) as I thought it just hadn’t tracked it afterwards.
Having an ‘off track’ notification - this is one of the things I like best from the Slow Ways android app, which works reasonably well, and allows you to keep your phone in your pocket for longer if you’ve got a good gist of directions during long sections without decision making points (e.g. rural).
Toby Twigger
Sep 21
Thank you so much for your feedback, and I’m glad you found the app mostly intuitive! I’ll address your questions one by one:
Following a route offline: This isn’t yet possible, but it’s one of the next things on our roadmap for the app. In the meantime, you do need an internet connection to start a walk.
Drafting is a fantastic idea. We’ve got some changes to make to the ‘waypoint editor’ on the web app to make it easier to add information before a walk, but being able to leave private notes along the walk could be really helpful. I’ve added this to our backlog.
Photos not appearing on the line, and having to wait for them to upload, are both frustrating - and as you’ve correctly said, solved by drafting. Richard will be working on this imminently. It works beautifully in an office with fast wifi, but it’s very different out and about, so we’ll improve the experience
An ‘off-track’ notification is really useful in the Slow Ways app. I always think it’s important to let people enjoy the walk without having to look at their phones, and I know I far prefer walking if I know where I’m going. A small buzz when you’re off-track, or even as you come to decision points, would really help with that. We’re also toying with the idea of verbal directions, if we can make it work well.
Thanks again for your feedback - do leave more if you have any more ideas or problems!
An Anonymous User
Aug 27
I’ve added a short route using a gpx file. At first the website didn’t accept the gpx file so I opened it in another App and resaved and all was well. Saw the route in my Andoid App.
Toby Twigger
Sep 21
Hello! Thanks for the feedback - that is odd. I’ll play around with uploading different gpx files to see if we can make it more reliable. If you’re able to, it would be so useful if you could upload the file you had problems with here, or email it to us at hello@goodways.org, to help me debug the issue. Thanks again!
An Anonymous User
Aug 30
Hi, I’m a Founder Member who would like to test the Android app, but can’t until you provide an alternative to the Play Store for download. As discussed with Julian by email in July, I’m a GrapheneOS user, and would need to download it to my de-Googled Android phone via some source other than the Play Store. Many thanks.
Toby Twigger
Sep 21
Hello!
Thank you so much for getting in touch, and I’m sorry we haven’t yet provided you a way to download the app. As Julian would have mentioned, we all understand the importance of ensuring everyone can use the Good Ways app, not just those who use Google Play. Thank you for prompting us again.
I’ve added a link to download the apk file directly on the website, at https://app.goodways.org/app, and we’ll remove the Google Play lock with the next release in the next couple of days. I’ll make sure this stays up to date any time we do a release. You may have to allow installs from unknown sources, but please do let me know if you have any problems with it. I’d also love to hear how you get on with the app on GrapheneOS - we’ll fix any problems you come across.
Thank you again,
Toby
Toby Twigger
Sep 23
Hello! Good news - you can now download and install the Good Ways Android app without Google Play. Just head to https://app.goodways.org/app and click ‘Download the APK directly’.
Let me know if you run into any problems 😄
Hugh Hudson
Oct 4
I have tested a couple of short plotted routes and recorded a couple of other routes using the Android app in the last couple of days, and so far it seems to work quite well. However I am used to using the OS App without any tracking in battery saver mode, which probably means that the tracks I generate using the Good Ways app won’t be accurate enough to be meaningful unless I switch the phone on at every corner. I am also a bit worried about the amount of data my photos will generate if they are uploaded on the move because I can’t stop the phone taking very large photos, so I am likely to use this very sparingly in future.
Hugh Hudson
Oct 4
I have walked and reviewed a lot of Slow Ways routes but when taking photos for those I shrink them on the laptop before uploading.
Toby Twigger
Oct 7
Hi Hugh,
It’s absolutely fine if you use the Good Ways app to follow a route without actually tracking where you’re going! We don’t yet properly support this, but you can just not save your recording at the end of the walk.
It’s a really good point that uploading photos will chew through data usage, especially with modern phones that have such high quality photos. We’re working on being able to take the photo, but only have it upload later once you’re on wi-fi. Alternatively, you can take the photo and upload it directly to your route once you’re back home, just like Slow Ways allows you to do. That way, you don’t have to worry about shrinking the photos first!