iPhone DashCommand 3.0.1 Issues

[Xtropy]

I am having numerous issues with Dash Command. Most are not show stoppers but make using the application troublesome. I’ve provided suggestions (where relevant) to improve the functionality for the end user experience.

Hardware:

Generic Kiwi Plex eBay clone WIFI OBDII adapter
GoPoint BT1 Bluetooth OBDII adapter
iPhone 4S (FW 5.1.1, not jailbroken)
iPad 2 (FW 5.1.1, not jailbroken)

1.   My phone and iPad 2 continually go to sleep while running DashCommand while connected to either the clone or BT1 since 3.0.0 and persist in 3.0.1. After the timeout threshold on the phone (2 minutes) the screen dims. If I press the screen quick enough, I get back to the fully lighted display for another 2 minutes. If I wait 30 seconds (or so) I am back at the lock screen. If I unlock, the same pattern returns. If I go back to the dashboard and close the app in the task list and re-launch, it usually fixes the issue and the display no longer dims. If I am not connected to the clone or BT1, DashCommand never displays this behavior and will always stay running. Issue only happens while connected to the OBDII device generating live data.

2.   Something I've noticed since I got the app early this year is when I view my "Trip" screens, my "Today" stats show almost a weeks worth of travel. Today I checked and it shows "350km" for my distance but I only drive 40km a day. When I click on "Previous Day", it shows a date of over 2 weeks ago. I checked and confirmed my date settings and it should reset at 3AM but it is not. I have tried resetting all data in Trips, Fuel Economy, re-validated PID's, tried BT1 and Kiwi WIFI OBD2 devices, etc but I still have the same problem.

3.   The Fuel Economy tab will stop logging information after running for over 4 hours of logging. I experienced this behavior over the last few releases but thought it was specific to the Kiwi clone. Since getting the BT1, the issue persists. Basically, I see all graphs full for 0-5 min, 0-30 min, 0-3 hours. While I drive, I see the “actual” bar fluctuate based on my driving, fuel level, range and fuel flow numbers all respond to real time but the bars don’t update. I’ve closed the app, hard rebooted my phone and after ½ hour, the bars don’t update with information. To fix, I need to reset the fuel economy tab and the bars all log normally going forward (until approx. the 4 hour mark when I need to reset again)

4.   Due to issue #3, all the meticulous logging I do to get accurate numbers in the Fuel Economy Tab get lost when reset. I then need to closely monitor every drop of fuel read by DashCommand and re-adjust. Unfortunately DashCommand reads about 1L/100KM less than what I actually get, making the Fillup tab essential to get accurate numbers. Without this adjustment, I am told I get about 5.5L/100KM and almost 1000km to a tank and I have never gotten over 750KM or 6.7L/100KM. Once I adjust the numbers in the Fillup tab, I get 100% accurate numbers in Fuel Economy which are lost every time I reset the Fuel Economy tab to fix the bar graph issue in #3 above.

Suggestion:

1.   The Fillup tab is convoluted to the end user. Why do we need to reset the Fuel Economy tab to reset data entered into a different tab (Fillup)? Can you add a “reset button” in the Fillup tab that is independent from the Fuel Economy tab? This makes it easier for the user to reset bad info entered in Fillup without having to read a manual, that is difficult to follow, and allows the Fuel Economy tab to retain separate data.

2.   Can you have the Fillup tab generate a number or display some information of how the calculation was made? Then have a manual entry field where you can enter this number without going through the Fillup tab process in the future?

Example:

DashCommand’s Fuel Economy tab shows 7L/100KM after monitoring all 400KM. I fill up and DashCommand says I used 20L. I actually put in 25L and enter that into the Fuel Economy tab. DashCommand does it’s adjustments to the difference of 5L. The difference is 1.25 (20L x 1.25 = 25L). So by given the factor displayed, I can enter “1.25” on the Fillup screen and the Fuel Economy tab will take that factor into account without having to monitor the Fillup screen for an entire tank in the future. If the numbers are off, you can enter 1.2 and get 24L. Basically this will give the user the ability to tweak the Fillup information manually rather than having to monitor a drive of 400KM+ to get accurate readings. Perhaps there is a better way to do this but the ability to get an actual factor from the Fillup tab (after all the hard work to get that information) and enter that number manually would help should anything need to be reset on the device (as in my case with #3) or vehicle deleted and re-added.

Just trying to get all my issues in one post. These are all persistent issues that have been going on for the last few months. I drive about 100KM a day and use DashCommand 99% of the time during my travels. The app works exactly as I need/wanted in a OBDII application and hoping these issues will be addressed and suggestions evaluated for implementation feasibility.

Thanks

[Xtropy]

Looks like issues #1 and #2 are being investigated although I don't know if anyone has found a bug with the daily trip information. Would you prefer if I repost this in 4 different posts? Doesn't look like this post is getting any acknowledgement or responses from PPE...

[John@PPE]

Sorry XTropy. We didn't respond but we have been looking into all of these.

We set our iPad to run 4 and a half hours until the battery died. But we haven't seen your issue yet.

[Cheule]

My iPhone 4 is exhibiting the same behavior.  It goes to sleep after 2 minutes, I have to constantly tap the screen the wake it up.

I feel like it is a bug that has to do with being plugged into my car's USB port (so it won't die).  PPE mentioned that they had their iPad on until it died, leading me to believe their iPad was not plugged into a USB power source.  I think the bug lies there.

[John@PPE]

Sorry. It sounds like I was unclear. I will be a little more specific.

1) We have figured this issue out and will be issuing a fix for it. Yes, it does only appear to happen only when the iPhone is plugged in.

2) Weston said this sounds like a bug and he would look into it. I don't know the status on that.

3) We haven't seen this problem. We let the iPad run for 4.5 hours and it finally ran out of batteries, but we saw no issue with logging. Apparently DashCommand drains more power than the charger supplies.

4) These are good suggestions, and we are working on some improvements. But we haven't finalized the design. I don't know when the changes will be issued.

[Xtropy]

Any ETA on the next update and whether issues #1 and #2 will be fixed?

3) More info here. Issue hasn't happened in over a week. One thing I am doing differently is when I stop the car, I press the Home button on my phone and end the task running in the background. When I start DashCommand, it starts fresh and logs don't seem to freeze. I am wondering if this issue is because I have "reconnect after 30 seconds" selected for when I restore the background app. Again, closing completely and reopening hasn't caused the logs to freeze.

As an aside, is there a way to force DashCommand to completely close when you press the Home button on the phone? Whenever I relaunch the app when it's backgrounded I have issues like the 30 seconds of no communication with the OBDII adapter. If it could connect immediately (not 30 seconds) when re-opened or completely close the app, it would be a nice feature.

4) Looking forward to changes in this area. It's really a pain to monitor every drop of fuel just to have it lost on a reset.

Thanks,

[John@PPE]

I am not sure about the ETA on 1,2 and 4.

On #3, why do you think it is caused by the reconnect? Does it only freeze when reconnecting? Does it resume after connecting?

Seems like we might be able to detect when DashCommand resumes, and issue an immediate reconnect. I'll look into that.

[Xtropy]

That's the only thing I am doing differently. I noticed after the 30 second auto-reconnect time, all the numbers would display in real time but the bars would not update in the Fuel Economy tab (see my earlier detailed notes). Since noticing this, I have been diligent in closing the app completely whenever I shut off the car and starting the app from scratch when I get back in and have not noticed the logging issue I reported. Since this is the only thing I am doing different (and I had the logging issue previously on 4-5 separate occasions) I assumed the two were related.

[pigsy]

Not sure if this is related to anything above but when I use the fillup procedure all the data in the average fuel consumption screen is zeroed/reset (which is probably designed to do). But it then fails to record any further data. Instant and average data no longer works, 0-5m,0-30m,0-3hours graphs are all blank. The only gauge that works on this screen now is the fuel flow.

[Xtropy]

Just following up on the ETA for the sleep issue when the iPhone is powered. This is a troublesome issue that effects my use of the application daily and hoping to see a fix sent to the app store soon...

[John@PPE]

Unfortunatley I don't have an ETA at the moment. We're putting out a pretty substantial change in our Android version, and the iPhone version will come out some time after that. The Android version will hopefully be released in the next couple of weeks.

[hiles8500]

I suggest that if you have a known buggy product you pull it from the itunes site until you have it fixed.  Your android update is irrelevant.  I appreciate the cautionary review posted oln itunes.  I checked your forum to see if it had been fixed.  I find that you know about it.

In your next iphone update release note, tell people if you fixed this. I might consider buying at that point.

[Xtropy]

I suggest that if you have a known buggy product you pull it from the itunes site until you have it fixed.  Your android update is irrelevant.  I appreciate the cautionary review posted oln itunes.  I checked your forum to see if it had been fixed.  I find that you know about it.

In your next iphone update release note, tell people if you fixed this. I might consider buying at that point.

Although I have been really supportive of Palmer, I have to agree with hiles8500 post. Having known bugs and issues placed on the sideline for months to work on another platform isn't the best approach to customer service. Yes, I can run the iPhone without plugging it into a power supply but I get maybe an hour of use before the battery dies. I've tried to point out issues in a very specific way to assist in getting timely fixes but it appears none of these issues will be addressed for weeks which is a disappointment and appears to be discouraging future customers.

[John@PPE]

You have been supportive, and we appreciate that. I apologize this is taking so long. It is longer than we anticipated.

We haven't tried to sideline the iPhone development for the Android. Unfortunately, due to reasons I am not at liberty to explain, that is what has happened. I've been told that the Android app should be posted in the next day or two. After that, the iPhone version should be forthcoming.

[EliRider]

I'm new here... but it does seem that the iPhone 3.0.1 version does provide enough interesting information that I do find it useful. I'm not using the fuel management/monitoring feature yet but that does sound interesting.

I'm using the OBDLink WiFi interface with a iPhone 4S and the latest iPad without either going to sleep while plugged in for additional power. My drive to work is about 30 minutes where I've been testing my car. So not sure if this interface keeps DashCommand alive longer or not.

However... I do notice that my iPhone 4S does get hot when running this app. I assume it is performing a lot of computational work.

I would like to see OSX support for us Mac users.