[OpinioNate]

Greetings!

Below is a list of updates for version 2.2 of the Geocaching for Windows Phone 7 Application. Given the scope of changes in this release it is recommended you reinstall the application and powercycle your device.


New features:

• Mark and navigate to new waypoints from within the app (helpful when seeking Multi-caches)
  
• Option in settings to allow the application to run under the lock screen
  
• Quickly download Pocket Queries in batches of 10, 20, or 30 caches to save time or limit data usage
  
• Italian and French language support

Bug fixes:

• Enhanced stability and addressed connection errors
  
• The compass now works with offline caches
  
• Application state now persists when you exit the app (this was an issue particularly with viewing PQs)

Next up: Favorites support!

Please visit our Feedback site if you have any ideas for future feature enhancements.

[JJnTJ]

Is there any chance Groundspeak would be willing to update the host of issues and bugs in their Android app? It's the most popular smartphone platform, and it's been more than two months since it's been updated.

[VaticanUK]

Wtf! This release adds an EULA which states that Groundspeak can revoke your licence to use the app at any time, and that they are under no obligation to provide support, fixes or upgrades.ci

Given that so far, no versions have actually worked, and the app was very expensive as far as apps go, I find this very disturbing and at that point quit the app rather than agreeing.

Pretty sure this also falls short of Uk consumer law for 2 reasons
1. If you pay for something, you are legally entitled to support.
2. Since the EULA has changed since i payed for this app, i should have the option of declining this change and getting my money back since any contractual changes must be agreed by both parties.

If the app was actually any good, the above 2 reasons might not worry me too much... But...

[Redfist]

It works great for me... *shrug*

Thanks for adding those features!

[Sillium]

Great News... but with the new Version I can't log in or search or anything.

In the search Tab I see: "User:"
And after a while a popup is shown: Network Error, Connection to server failed. Try again later.
When I select switch user I see the login mask. I login and... nothing is changed.. still no user is shown.

I'm using the Version 2.2.0.0 on a HTC Mozart (not branded).
OS Version: 7.0.7390.0
Sorry if the Messages are not 100% accurate... I translated them from German

This post has been edited by Sillium: 03 April 2011 - 10:35 PM

[wuliwup]

I hope, that in the near future Google-Maps will be integrated, becaus Bing-Maps does't work very well in some parts of Europe.
Nevertheless I like the app and I use it very often!

[VaticanUK]

Sillium, on 03 April 2011 - 10:35 PM, said:

Great News... but with the new Version I can't log in or search or anything.

In the search Tab I see: "User:"
And after a while a popup is shown: Network Error, Connection to server failed. Try again later.
When I select switch user I see the login mask. I login and... nothing is changed.. still no user is shown.

I'm using the Version 2.2.0.0 on a HTC Mozart (not branded).
OS Version: 7.0.7390.0
Sorry if the Messages are not 100% accurate... I translated them from German

This is why the EULA stating that groundforce are under no obligation to provide fixes is such a joke. You can't log in on the trial so you don't know that it doesn't work until you've paid, but then they won't necessarily fix it!

[Sillium]

VaticanUK, on 04 April 2011 - 02:48 AM, said:

Sillium, on 03 April 2011 - 10:35 PM, said:

Great News... but with the new Version I can't log in or search or anything.

In the search Tab I see: "User:"
And after a while a popup is shown: Network Error, Connection to server failed. Try again later.
When I select switch user I see the login mask. I login and... nothing is changed.. still no user is shown.

I'm using the Version 2.2.0.0 on a HTC Mozart (not branded).
OS Version: 7.0.7390.0
Sorry if the Messages are not 100% accurate... I translated them from German

This is why the EULA stating that groundforce are under no obligation to provide fixes is such a joke. You can't log in on the trial so you don't know that it doesn't work until you've paid, but then they won't necessarily fix it!

I already own the App. And it worked fine before the update.

[OpinioNate]

JJnTJ, on 01 April 2011 - 03:06 PM, said:

Is there any chance Groundspeak would be willing to update the host of issues and bugs in their Android app? It's the most popular smartphone platform, and it's been more than two months since it's been updated.

Yes, we're currently wrapping up a new release of the Android app which will be in the store within a few weeks (if not sooner).

VaticanUK, on 02 April 2011 - 01:40 AM, said:

Wtf! This release adds an EULA which states that Groundspeak can revoke your licence to use the app at any time, and that they are under no obligation to provide support, fixes or upgrades.ci [...]

The EULA has not changed since the application was first released, so Groundspeak isn't asking you to agree to anything new. Although Groundspeak is technically "under no obligation" to fix bugs or update the application further, it is our full intention to continue doing so. It is our goal to deliver the best application for geocaching, period, and we will continue fixing bugs and updating the software until the app is reliable and fun to use.

Sillium, on 03 April 2011 - 10:35 PM, said:

Great News... but with the new Version I can't log in or search or anything.

In the search Tab I see: "User:"
And after a while a popup is shown: Network Error, Connection to server failed. Try again later.
When I select switch user I see the login mask. I login and... nothing is changed.. still no user is shown.

I'm using the Version 2.2.0.0 on a HTC Mozart (not branded).
OS Version: 7.0.7390.0
Sorry if the Messages are not 100% accurate... I translated them from German

I'm sorry you're having trouble logging in and seeking caches. We have had other bug reports from Mozart users and are working with European testers to discover the cause of these issues. If there is any additional information you can provide to aid us in tracking down the problem, please let us know. Thank you!

[VaticanUK]

ok - apologies for my rant.

Was getting very frustrated at not being able to log in and being apparently ignored on the other thread. Reading what appeared to be an attempt to absolve yourselves of any responsibility was the last straw.

Fwiw, I can now finally log in with the new version.

[Team Holse]

VaticanUK, on 05 April 2011 - 06:35 AM, said:

ok - apologies for my rant.

Was getting very frustrated at not being able to log in and being apparently ignored on the other thread. Reading what appeared to be an attempt to absolve yourselves of any responsibility was the last straw.

Fwiw, I can now finally log in with the new version.

I have the same issue on two different versions of the Samsung Phone. Omnia 7 and the US verison. Both i Denmark.

The app is now useless on any of my phones.

[Sillium]

@OpinioNate:
If you need anything just let me know. If there is some kind of log you need or something like that.
Currently I have no idea what else I could tell you about the problem. But I would be happy to help... if you have a test version I could create a developer account (I wanted to do that anyway) and install the xap on my phone to test it.

[OpinioNate]

Thanks Sillium. Unfortunately we're not setup to take on outside testers but we hope to be able to this summer. Meanwhile we have a Mozart on the way to us so we'll dig in to come up with a solution. Thanks for hanging in there.

[Sillium]

OpinioNate, on 07 April 2011 - 10:25 AM, said:

Thanks Sillium. Unfortunately we're not setup to take on outside testers but we hope to be able to this summer. Meanwhile we have a Mozart on the way to us so we'll dig in to come up with a solution. Thanks for hanging in there.

@OpinioNate: hmm.. it seems to be windows after all :-D Did 2 reinstalls but it did solve nothing. Did a reboot after a fresh install and... yeah works now. So rebooting any windows system still solves some problems

[OpinioNate]

Sillium, on 07 April 2011 - 08:59 PM, said:

OpinioNate, on 07 April 2011 - 10:25 AM, said:

Thanks Sillium. Unfortunately we're not setup to take on outside testers but we hope to be able to this summer. Meanwhile we have a Mozart on the way to us so we'll dig in to come up with a solution. Thanks for hanging in there.

@OpinioNate: hmm.. it seems to be windows after all :-D Did 2 reinstalls but it did solve nothing. Did a reboot after a fresh install and... yeah works now. So rebooting any windows system still solves some problems

Great news! Thank you for coming back to let me know.

[Sillium]

Unfortunately almost back to square one. Login is working now, but I can't do any searches. When I click the map on the opening screen I get:

Quote

Error Processing your Query. Please try again later!

When I enter my hometown for a search I get:

Quote

Connection to server failed. Please try again later!

I switched my Phone language to english (had another app that had problems with german) but still the same.

If I can provide you with any further info let me know!

edit: oh and rebooting doesn't help and using wifi or 3G makes no difference

This post has been edited by Sillium: 10 April 2011 - 08:52 PM

[ronake]

Was about to buy this for my Phone 7, but since it seems not to work so well I will wait a while.

[delleps]

There are a couple of issues I have found with this latest release (2.2). First, the initial location from which to search when powering up the app no longer is accurate. In the previous version, it was dead-on accurate and tapping the overhead view produced accurate close-proximity caches. It now requires me to wait until the location updates with a more accurate bead or I manually reset the search coordinates. This is a real usability drag.

Second, I noticed this today when I logged two finds from the field. Upon my return home I went to Search with Google Maps on the Hide or seek a geocache page and noticed the two recent finds showed as regular cache icons instead of smileys. My Pocket Query, however shows the two caches as "found" but some tag isn't getting set properly until I edit the log from my PC browser. Immediately after resubmitting the log the smiley icon correctly shows for the two caches. How's that for an edge case?

The WP7 I'm using is the Samsung Focus.

[Sillium]

And back to working again :-D
On the weekend I was at a family party and played around with the app. I rebooted, logged in again in the app and.... now it works.

[Back160]

I have a couple of issues that are really making it difficult to like this app, much as I want to:

- As described by delleps, the initial location on starting the app is woefully inaccurate, making the possibility of looking for nearby caches next to impossible. Lately I've also started getting the dreaded "There was an error processing your request. Please try again later." error on opening the app (this is regardless of the signal strength I have.)
- The above error is occurring for almost every action I take in the app that requires communication with the GS site.

Despite this I find that, if I persist and I know the GC code for the cache I'm looking for, I can get the app to work (but talk about frustrating!)

[finnfive]

How would one go about requesting a refund for this app? For the 3rd time since loading it months ago I once again today was chasing down an archived cache that showed up on my Samsung Focus. Of course I only realized this after 15 minutes of futile searching, and a logon to the website from home to see the archived status.

This was in addition to the 'me' beacon being off and taking over 5 minutes to calibrate. I am VERY frustrated at the lack of reliable information this expensive application fails to deliver.

I'm not impressed. Perhaps we were completely spoiled by the robust capabilities of the free GCZII application on my old winmo 6.5. I just don't see anything close being made available in this app anytime soon.

Please prove me wrong, or direct me to the refund.

[Kentish Hops]

Just purchased an HTC HD7 and installed the Geocache application............ Bad move!!

All i get when trying to tap on the location map is the following messages


Error Processing your Query. Please try again later!

Connection to server failed. Please try again later!

It has connected once but that was it, i have tried re-installs and rebooting, to no avail.

Please could you let me know how to fix or point me to the way of a refund.

[Back160]

Could a moderator please post on this forum and let us know if there are any planned releases for the WP7 app and, if so, what will be included in the release(s)? There's a lot of anger starting to build up in the GC community (or at least those with the WP7 app) and we're getting absolutely no feedback. In app development lifecycle terms, we want an application roadmap.

This is made worse when looking at the WP7 feedback pages - from the number and range of problems identified, most of which are several months old, it looks like this app has been badly neglected (perhaps in favour of updating the web site - that has just gone live so I'm hoping there will now be some movement on fixing WP7 app problems.)

Please respond to this post - at this stage it looks like the WP7 GC community are being ignored.

[tonnella]

I have problems with the pocket queries. Although it was said, with the update it´s possible now to download P.Q´s I´m still not able to.
I use the app on a german phone / german version (HTC Mozart) and everytime I ask to download a PQ it tells me, there are none for this user. Which is not true

Can you please help?

[tschemme]

OpinioNate, on 04 April 2011 - 11:10 AM, said:

Sillium, on 03 April 2011 - 10:35 PM, said:

Great News... but with the new Version I can't log in or search or anything.

In the search Tab I see: "User:"
And after a while a popup is shown: Network Error, Connection to server failed. Try again later.
When I select switch user I see the login mask. I login and... nothing is changed.. still no user is shown.

I'm using the Version 2.2.0.0 on a HTC Mozart (not branded).
OS Version: 7.0.7390.0
Sorry if the Messages are not 100% accurate... I translated them from German

I'm sorry you're having trouble logging in and seeking caches. We have had other bug reports from Mozart users and are working with European testers to discover the cause of these issues. If there is any additional information you can provide to aid us in tracking down the problem, please let us know. Thank you!

Hi, I am having the same problem with my HTC Trophy. I have recently updated my phone to the latest WP7 version (7.0.7392.0).
Tried to uninstall and re-install the Geocaching App. Still getting the same errors ...

[jasrice]

I just purchased an HD7 and I cannot search at all. It worked once about four days ago, but nothing is coming up now. It just says, "There was an error processing your request. Please try again later."

[Chris_FRA]

Device: Samsung Omnia 7

* No Map shown on the initial screen (just the pulsating blue point, white background, all the time, even on W-Lan)
* Position deadly INaccurate

When the next Update is coming? Paid well for this app

[hopmedic]

I'm having the same problem now. The app worked on the Samsung Focus I had, but I switched to Verizon today, and when I installed it on my new Trophy after erasing everything from the Focus, I can't log in. It acts like it's working, but after allowing access, the user field is blank.

[mouthsmasher]

I've been considering purchasing this app, but it looks like I'll hold off for now. One of the priciest apps I've found, and apparently, based on numerous sources of feedback, one of the least supported by its own developers. What gives?? Not only does it sound like the app doesn't work, it sounds like there isn't even a whisper of an excuse, explanation, or plans to fix it.

[hopmedic]

Mine started working (I happened to try it again), so the problem had to be on the server end. However, I cannot argue with you, mouthsmasher, having read this and other threads as well. It is the most expensive app I've seen, and the only one in that price range, and yes, not very well supported from what I've seen. I am a developer, published my first WP7 app 11 days ago, and I have already published one update, and have a second update submitted, and will be published as soon as Microsoft approves it. Groundspeak's support is seriously lacking. It seems Groundspeak isn't as much about geocaching as it is about money anymore.

[stretch182]

Can anyone provide an update on this? It's still not working on the HTC Trophy - same "network error" as everyone else and on the other forums it just says "we're looking at it" - well you're not looking very hard as far as I can see!

[Chris_FRA]

Quote

* No Map shown on the initial screen (just the pulsating blue point, white background, all the time, even on W-Lan)

So, what´s up? Any Updates??

[roelnigoel]

Working fine here, just having some understanding issues with the trackables handling.
What I would like to see, is a automatically orientating map and a bit faster compass.

Otherwise keep up the good work. I am using it regularly with success.

[Ross123456]

Thank you for your sharing...

[Datum Unknown]

I downloaded this app about a week ago and have since been able to connect to the server and actually make use of it maybe 10 times out of more than 100 attempts - Not Impressed! A serious re-work of this app is in order asap. I see Groundspeak is working on a number of user suggestions to improve this app but for crying out loud, if the very core of the application (connecting to their database/server) doesn't work who cares about all the 'bells and whistles.' I've even had to post to this forum because I cannot vote or make suggestions through the apps forum - unbelievable Like many of the other posters, I too have to power down and reboot the phone just to get a limited time connection to the server and even then about 50% of the time I get the message "No results returned, please try again." Really? I have never seen a piece of software with so many 'bugs' and 'issues,' not even from Microsoft Until this gets sorted I cannot in good faith recommend this app to anyone, please Groudspeak, get this fixed asap.

[Datum Unknown]

stretch182, on 23 June 2011 - 01:26 PM, said:

Can anyone provide an update on this? It's still not working on the HTC Trophy - same "network error" as everyone else and on the other forums it just says "we're looking at it" - well you're not looking very hard as far as I can see!

I agree! I have the same issue with my LG Optimus 7.

[Datum Unknown]

ChrisG2, on 06 May 2011 - 11:50 PM, said:

Could a moderator please post on this forum and let us know if there are any planned releases for the WP7 app and, if so, what will be included in the release(s)? There's a lot of anger starting to build up in the GC community (or at least those with the WP7 app) and we're getting absolutely no feedback. In app development lifecycle terms, we want an application roadmap.

This is made worse when looking at the WP7 feedback pages - from the number and range of problems identified, most of which are several months old, it looks like this app has been badly neglected (perhaps in favour of updating the web site - that has just gone live so I'm hoping there will now be some movement on fixing WP7 app problems.)

Please respond to this post - at this stage it looks like the WP7 GC community are being ignored.

Well said ChrisG2! Still waiting on that response

[hopmedic]

Personally, I think Groundspeak is no longer about geocaching, and is completely about money. $9.99 for an app that doesn't work and forums that get no response???

[finnfive]

Unfortunately it sure seems like geocaching.com is only interested in generating revenue. If you are considering purchasing this app... STAY AWAY! I probably wouldn't use it even if it was free.

I reverted to sending OpinioNate a message on the geocaching.com site in hopes to get some form of response. Also made four usability suggestions (in addition to the stability/reliability issues) that we can only HOPE someone at Groundspeak will act upon.

[hopmedic]

My hope is for the API to become public soon, then third party devs will be able to write their own creations. If I have time, I'll be one of them.

[Nelsoncu]

No forward movement yet. I just got HTC Trophy, have the most up to date software for it and just downloaded the geochaching app Saturday (before reading this forum!) and I get the same errors as everyone else. No server connection. Hello Groundspeak!!!

[Back160]

I received a Groundspeak email today announcing the release of v4.5 of the iPhone app - hopefully now that's out of the way they'll be clear to work on the WP7 app (but I'm not holding my breath after so long with no action and no communication - like others I'm bemused at the complete lack of feedback to the users!)

Let's face it, Groundspeak probably have at least 1,000 times more iPhone users than WP7 users - this is probably a simple commercial decision on their part to put the development effort in where there is going to be the greatest rate of return on their investment.

[hopmedic]

Well, with much communication on this thread, and none of it from Groundspeak, I have very close to zero faith that they will be doing anything soon to solve the problem. I have reached the point that I may not renew my premium membership that I have had since 2006 (if I remember right). This is ridiculous.

[finnfive]

I would agree that the development is going toward the #1 mobile OS (Apple), and the #2 (Droid)... as Chris stated, that's a huge base of users they need to satisfy by comparison the the WP7 pool. Of course that does not excuse the fact that there's been no response to the frustrations expressed in this forum. The least they could do is recognize this forum with a response and a road map defining the development items planned for WP7 and the anticipated timeline. I would hope Groundspeak has at least that much that can be shared with us.

[hopmedic]

Agreed. I reported my own post in order to draw attention to this thread, since there seems to be no one paying attention to it.

[Sandy]

The next version of this app is currently in production and our Mobile Engineering Team are mindful of this issue as they work on the build. We will release as soon as this version of the app is stable, which will likely be within the next three to four weeks.

Cheers.

[hopmedic]

THANK YOU!

You know, just that little bit of information would have prevented many hard feelings had it been given to us back when we started complaining about this. FYI.

[Sandy]

hopmedic, on 07 July 2011 - 01:05 PM, said:

THANK YOU!

You know, just that little bit of information would have prevented many hard feelings had it been given to us back when we started complaining about this. FYI.

Understood. We are aiming to communicate more effectively. Thank you for the feedback.

[finnfive]

Yes, Thank you for providing an update Sandy! I look forward to the update!

Is there anything I (we) can do to push for any particular enhancements?

This post has been edited by finnfive: 07 July 2011 - 06:29 PM

[Sandy]

Submitting content here is the best way to request these sorts of features and upgrades. Our team is constantly working to improve and enhance the app, so feedback of this nature - and constructive criticism - is useful.
Thanks!