23 replies to this topic

[thill]

As far as creating a demo, why not just make a "lite" or "free" version that stops operating after a period of time, and then requires a purchased license key to continue operating. PowerAmp does this with their Android music player. I used the free version until it expired, and then I bought the key for it because I came to rely upon it.

I second this idea. If the App proves to be good enough to the point that you rely on it then you'll gladly pay the license fee.

[Xpendable]

I bought the myKeypad app but have not been able to get it to work yet. After I edit the settings in the "Edit panel" screen save click the save icon, it says it is connecting to the Elk and then it says "downloading zone definitions". This timesout after several minutes and then gives me a non-descript error that says "Error Configuring Panel". I'm getting frustrated by this.

[Xpendable]

I bought the myKeypad app but have not been able to get it to work yet. After I edit the settings in the "Edit panel" screen save click the save icon, it says it is connecting to the Elk and then it says "downloading zone definitions". This timesout after several minutes and then gives me a non-descript error that says "Error Configuring Panel". I'm getting frustrated by this.

[Xpendable]

Something is really fishy here. When this thing tries to connect, it kills internet access for the rest of the phone and can also sometimes cause the phone to lag real bad. I think it even caused my phone to reboot last night.

EDIT: I was able to contact the developer via email (it took awhile to find his email address because it is not listed anywhere on his website, go figure) and let him know about the issues I was having. He responded to say that there is a known issue with using the login information that causes it not to work. A temporary work-around would be to remove the login information from the M1XEP (not recommended if exposed to the Internet). I haven't tried this. He said that a fix would be coming out in about a week. Hopefully that will rectify the problem. I also emailed him about a few bugs that I found just in the configuration screen.

Edited by Xpendable, 25 February 2011 - 06:57 PM.

[Xpendable]

Okay, here's the latest. Just as a test I decided to go ahead and remove the login username and password from my M1XEP and reconfigured myKeypad to only use the passcode as per the myKeypad author's suggestion to get around the "login" bug they have in the app that causes the panel configuration download to fail. I first tried it against the secured port 2601 from the external Internet using my dynamic DNS domain name. Didn't work. I tried port 2601 on the internal network using the internal IP. Didn't work. I tried the unsecured port 2101 on the internal network. This time myKeypad was able to download the entire panel configuration successfully. Finally, we're getting somewhere! Well no, not quite. On the main screen, clicking the panel only shows "Can't connect to panel". Great. Talk about useless.

So the bottom line is this... This app does not work one bit. It is 100% broken and non-functional.

DO NOT BUY THIS APP! At least not until these issues are resolved. (EDIT: Developer has released version 1.2 which addresses all of the bugs that prevented the app from working for me. I can now recommend the app to those who need an inexpensive way to arm & disarm their Elk alarm panel from their Android device)

There is currently no way that I know to make this app work. The developer promises a fix within a week. I really hope the developer gets his act together and makes good on his promise. I don't know how anybody could upload an app that is so obviously non-functional that it isn't even possible to do anything with the app. I mean... how did they not catch the fact that this app DOES NOT WORK? As of this writing, there are only 2 reviews of the app. The first review was 5 stars and was given by the developer's roommate. Obviously a biased review and doesn't reveal the fact that the APP DOES NOT ACTUALLY WORK. The second review is mine. For obviously reasons, I can only give it 1 star. I would give it 0 stars if the Android Market would let me. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt that they will get this fixed. I'll be honest with you, if it weren't for the fact that they responded to my email, I would guess they were trying to scam people into buying a non-functional app. I'll see if they release a fix in the next week. If they don't soon, then it will be my responsiblity to report them to Google. Stay tuned.

Edited by Xpendable, 26 February 2011 - 11:33 PM.

[Dan (electron)]

Good luck and keep us posted. Would be great if the Author would post in here as well (assuming he is serious about this app).

[Stoyan]

I have just posted an updated version of the app that takes care of the issues people were having with the username and password. We spoke to engineers at Elk and got things resolved. I am sorry for any inconvenience this has caused people.

Xpendable, as per the connection issues you have been having, a few others and I have tested the app several times under different configurations and it works each time. I am not sure why it is not working for you but please verify all of your router and connection settings. As far as the other bugs you emailed us about, those were also fixed with the new release.

If anyone has any more feedback please don't hesitate to email us, we would be happy to help and want to make sure that the app works for everyone. Also as per the Android description page if someone wants a free trial of the app please email us.

[Xpendable]

Believe me, I verified my router settings, the M1XEP configuration, and the app settings at least 5 times. The 1.1 version simply did not work for me. I confirmed that the alarm app I have on my iPod Touch worked just fine with the same settings, so I know it wasn't my setup.

The good news is I have just downloaded your update 1.2 and tested it with the secure port, external IP address, and login information and now it appears to be working perfectly! Whatever bugs you had that prevented me from connecting to my panel have been resolved and now the app works as advertised. I thank you for your quick response in getting an update out there for those of us trying to use your app. It is much appreciated. I also appreciate you sending an email to all users letting them know about the update and your apology for the inconveniences. That definitely shows good faith and I commend you for that. I was a little disappointed that almost everything else besides arming & disarming is going to require users to purchase separate & multiple plugins. I guess I didn't read the description carefully enough and didn't realize that. That's okay, though -- I only really needed to be able to arm and disarm my alarm panel, so it does what I need it to do, and for a reasonable price. I probably would not buy any of the plugins. I know the $9.99 is a temporary price and you intend to raise the price in March. I think $9.99 is about the right price for what you get in the base application. If I were you, I'd keep it at that price unless you plan to include more functionality. Just my opinion for whatever it's worth. Anyway, thanks again for the bug fixes.

[Xpendable]

I have noticed that after I have connected with myKeypad and then later disconnected, my ISY-99i goes on the fritz. I am unable to connect to the ISY-99i until I reset it by unplugging power to it. This happens every time after I have tried to use the myKeypad app. I did recently just upgrade to the latest release candidate firmware for the ISY-99i, but I think the problem is somehow caused by the myKeypad app. The ISY-99i is configured to talk to the alarm panel via the unsecured port on the internal network while the myKeypad app is configured to use the secured port. I don't know if this is some sort of limitation of the M1XEP or what. One thing that is weird is the ISY-99i will still activate timer-based programs, but programs that require interaction with the alarm panel cease to function.