Addendum: this whole thing may seem like beating the issue to death, so let me add that I am not particularly bothered "that" much by Carwings not working consistently for me, I just suggest that as a smart business play, maybe it's something Nissan should get on top of and investigate what percent of users are having real reproduceable problems, and if they really are, then address it. So, again, I'm trying to be meticulous to go through the exercise, not because I think this particular issue is hyper-critical.
cwerdna said:
RonDawg said:
I wouldn't rule out a bad cell connection though. Nissan USA uses AT&T Wireless for CarWings, so if their service is spotty where the car is parked, you can expect unreliable CarWings service too.
It would be interesting to get some stats from folks where Carwings does or doesn't work well for them like these:
- smartphone OS platform, version #, carrier, phone model (e.g. iOS 6.1 on AT&T iPhone 5, Android 4.1.1 on AT&T Samsung Galaxy III, etc.)
- Nissan Leaf app version (currently see 2.2.2 on https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nissan-leaf/id407814405?mt=8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aqsmartphone.android.nissan&hl=en" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false
- whether AT&T coverage is known to be good/bad in your area (http://www.nissanusa.com/electric-cars/leaf/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; mentions "CARWINGS™ requires compatible 2G GSM/GPRS cellular network...")
- your geographic area
- specific problems being hit
That would be a lot more actionable than just random problem reports and others saying they have no problem. (I used to test software for a living and always hated bug reports w/insufficient info that we couldn't repro or where we had to take lots of shots in the dark to attempt to repro, sometimes in vain.)
Hi, not that I think it's going to catch on, but to carry out the exercise insofar as possible, for me.
- smartphone OS platform, version #, carrier, phone model (e.g. iOS 6.1 on AT&T iPhone 5, Android 4.1.1 on AT&T Samsung Galaxy III, etc.)
- Samsung Galaxy SIII, Android, version 4.1.1 per a look at my phone just now, carrier: Verizon (the best coverage at my house, and also throughout many parts of the county where I regularly drive).
- Nissan Leaf app version (currently see 2.2.2 on https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nissan-leaf/id407814405?mt=8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aqsmartphone.android.nissan&hl=en" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false
2.2.2
- whether AT&T coverage is known to be good/bad in your area (http://www.nissanusa.com/electric-cars/leaf/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; mentions "CARWINGS™ requires compatible 2G GSM/GPRS cellular network...")
Roughly, AT&T I would estimate to have coverage not as good as Verizon coverage, but perhaps not the worst in the area. I have had visitors to my house who have been able to carry out cell phone conversations without interruption on AT&T. Outside my house, I'm not sure what the latest is on AT&T around here.
It's perhaps worth noting that my house is partially underground. The garage is conventional (wood roof) but concrete walls.
I do have Carwings update issues outside the house as well , but as of right now I don't know how to answer the important question of what percent of update attempts don't work out, outside the house.
Santa Cruz County, Arizona
Some limited driving in Pima County, Arizona
- specific problems being hit
- Sometimes updates cannot be done, or they may take more than a few minutes. It's not quite clear to me why they would need more than 10-20 or 30 seconds, but generally when I hit update I am pleased if I can get them back in a few minutes. I have not been meticulous noting if the problem is worse at my house or outside the house, nor have I kept a stop-watch on any,... these are all my impressions.
- I just performed an update and did not keep a stop-watch, but it seemed to take place in about a minute. This meant I did not reproduce the problem (everything seemed to go well), but it does illustrate that the issue is sporadic - sometimes the app seems to work very well, and sometimes not so much.
- As a seemingly separate issue, the app seems to hang on my phone a lot, meaning that I will touch the icon and it will just seem to not start up properly, and-or I will have to go in and hit "end" the application in the task manager. From there I can start it back up readily and that is usually part of the process of trying to coax an update out of it.
- Not a novice wintel computer user, but I am a total novice smart phone user.
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The "Leaf Manager" 3rd party app that someone recommended the other day is one that I have now bought and used and it seems to work. I also just performed an update with that, and it seemed to go well (under 1 minute I'd say). Overall, my undocumented impression is I may get a bit more reliability out of it, though there have been a few times when I tried to get an update from that app that didn't work out.
Overall, I don't start by assuming that my issues with CarWings extend beyond me except that it seems clear both from comments on the discussion boards and from direct conversation at the Phoenix Town Hall that some (impossible for me to estimate what percent how many, could be relatively small) other users seem to have similar issues.