Apps WorkOutDoors: New workout features

[pmxams]

When use WOD, I finally am seeing my running/walking workouts on the fitness app with the maps and the average pace after doing the whole process of reseting and restoring my iPhone and watch. But contrary to iOS14, I am not seeing the pace splits for every KM below the Avg Pace.

If I use the native app to track my running/walking workouts, I can see my pace splits.

Any reason for this or is this part of the overall iOS14 health issues?

 

[cfc]

When use WOD, I finally am seeing my running/walking workouts on the fitness app with the maps and the average pace after doing the whole process of reseting and restoring my iPhone and watch. But contrary to iOS14, I am not seeing the pace splits for every KM below the Avg Pace.

If I use the native app to track my running/walking workouts, I can see my pace splits.

Any reason for this or is this part of the overall iOS14 health issues?

This is part of the iOS 14 health issues. I don't know if it is related to the main bugs but it is certainly something that some users of all third party apps are experiencing: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251809580

 

[pmxams]

thanks for the quick reply... This app has the best support I have ever seen!!!!

Unfortunately the latest iOS 14.2 beta 3 does not solve this issues. Still waiting for the fix from Apple

 

[cfc]

thanks for the quick reply... This app has the best support I have ever seen!!!!

Unfortunately the latest iOS 14.2 beta 3 does not solve this issues. Still waiting for the fix from Apple

Glad I could help! The problem seems random, like the other health issues in iOS 14, so unfortunately it could be difficult for Apple to fix.

 

[xxBlack]

Same problem like last time. Transferred a gpx file to WoD and then I wanted to send to watch but nothing happens. Just „sent to watch“ but NOT on the watch. What’s going on? Before iOS 14 no problems. Restarted the app and the devices and Even tried to import the file completely new

 

[cfc]

Same problem like last time. Transferred a gpx file to WoD and then I wanted to send to watch but nothing happens. Just „sent to watch“ but NOT on the watch. What’s going on? Before iOS 14 no problems. Restarted the app and the devices and Even tried to import the file completely new

Unfortunately iOS 14 is unreliable. A few people have reported problems sending files from the phone to the watch. All but one of them were solved by rebooting both devices and trying again. However one person today had to resort to restoring his phone from a backup. This is Apple's recommended solution for one of their major bugs in iOS 14 (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211865), so I am guessing this may be related.

This is obviously a major step so you may want to try unpairing and re-pairing the watch first, which Apple also recommend.

Sorry about this. As I say iOS 14 and watchOS 7 are unreliable. At any other time of the year I think Apple would have pulled such flaky releases, but that probably wasn't an option with the new watch hardware (which I am guessing cannot run watchOS 6 due to the lack of force touch).

It's not the fault of Apple's developers - they are put in a very difficult position by Apple's (very successful) culture of prioritising hardware over software. It seems that if the hardware is ready then the software has to ship, whatever state it is in. The same thing happens most years (and this year is actually not as bad as last year in my experience). Things usually stabilise eventually so hopefully they will bring out more stable versions soon.

 

[Kridal]

No new beta? My app don't work anymore.. It is out of date!
Do I just have to download the regular app (not beta), or is there something else I should do?

 

[cfc]

No new beta? My app don't work anymore.. It is out of date!
Do I just have to download the regular app (not beta), or is there something else I should do?

Sorry - I should probably remind testers when the beta is about to expire. I will maintain a separate email list in the future.

Please install the version on the App Store. It is identical to the last beta and will simply overwrite it. You will not lose any data as long as you do NOT delete the beta first.

 

[maerz001]

Unfortunately iOS 14 is unreliable. A few people have reported problems sending files from the phone to the watch. All but one of them were solved by rebooting both devices and trying again. However one person today had to resort to restoring his phone from a backup. This is Apple's recommended solution for one of their major bugs in iOS 14 (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211865), so I am guessing this may be related.

This is obviously a major step so you may want to try unpairing and re-pairing the watch first, which Apple also recommend.

Sorry about this. As I say iOS 14 and watchOS 7 are unreliable. At any other time of the year I think Apple would have pulled such flaky releases, but that probably wasn't an option with the new watch hardware (which I am guessing cannot run watchOS 6 due to the lack of force touch).

It's not the fault of Apple's developers - they are put in a very difficult position by Apple's (very successful) culture of prioritising hardware over software. It seems that if the hardware is ready then the software has to ship, whatever state it is in. The same thing happens most years (and this year is actually not as bad as last year in my experience). Things usually stabilise eventually so hopefully they will bring out more stable versions soon.

Just wanted to say that i also couldn’t upload maps to the watch under 14.0. But fortunately ios 14.1 fixed that 👍

 

[cfc]

Just wanted to say that i also couldn’t upload maps to the watch under 14.0. But fortunately ios 14.1 fixed that 👍

That is good to hear! When you had the problem with iOS 14.0 did you try rebooting both devices? This usually solves any communication problems, so if you didn't reboot then the update to 14.1 may have had the same effect.

I am improving the file transfer functionality in the next version, including adding a lot of logging. Communications seem less reliable between iOS 14 and watchOS 7 so I want as much information as possible to help me to solve any problems that people might have. Even if Apple have improved things in iOS 14.1 (and I hope they have!) then this should still be useful for diagnosing problems in the future. It will delay the next version slightly though.

 

[maerz001]

That is good to hear! When you had the problem with iOS 14.0 did you try rebooting both devices? This usually solves any communication problems, so if you didn't reboot then the update to 14.1 may have had the same effect.

I am improving the file transfer functionality in the next version, including adding a lot of logging. Communications seem less reliable between iOS 14 and watchOS 7 so I want as much information as possible to help me to solve any problems that people might have. Even if Apple have improved things in iOS 14.1 (and I hope they have!) then this should still be useful for diagnosing problems in the future. It will delay the next version slightly though.

Yes i tried rebooting without success.

good to hear you are trying to improve even if its apples fault. Thanks

 

[cfc]

Yes i tried rebooting without success.

good to here you are trying to improve even if its apples fault. Thanks

To be honest it may not be Apple's fault even if iOS 14.1 does improve things. It could be that WorkOutDoors is doing something slightly wrong and iOS 14.0 / watchOS 7 were less tolerant of it than previous versions of iOS / watchOS. I haven't found evidence of that yet, but I have seen it before with other issues in the past!

 

[aiatfe]

Have you had any luck at creating segments within Apple Health when doing intervals?

 

[cfc]

Have you had any luck at creating segments within Apple Health when doing intervals?

In short no. The app creates the intervals in Apple's Health system, but Apple's Fitness app does not show them. They are visible in Apple's Health app but not the Fitness app. Apple add "private" metadata to their intervals so I have tried adding the same metadata (even though apps are not allowed to use their private stuff) but that didn't work either.

At the moment iOS 14 is a mess so I am waiting to see if it settles down before investigating further. The Fitness app doesn't even show splits for most apps so it wouldn't surprise me if there is a bug with segments too.

In the meantime you can see all the interval data in great detail in the WorkOutDoors iPhone app.

 

[muzzgod]

Hi cfc,

Loving the app. One issue I'm having atm is my that my watch currently is not showing pace or cadence during a run (although pace splits are shown post-run). Could this be a iOS 14 issue or are there steps that I was supposed to have followed but missed?

Thanks!

 

[cfc]

Hi cfc,

Loving the app. One issue I'm having atm is my that my watch currently is not showing pace or cadence during a run (although pace splits are shown post-run). Could this be a iOS 14 issue or are there steps that I was supposed to have followed but missed?

Thanks!

It sounds like you need to give the app permission to see the pedometer. To do this go to the Settings app on the watch and tap Privacy and then Motion & Fitness. Then ensure Fitness Tracking is switched on for the watch and also for WorkOutDoors (so both switches are on).

In theory iOS should ask for this permission when you first use the app, but sometimes it can forget amongst all the other permissions that are required.

I hope that helps. Glad you like the app!

 

[muzzgod]

It sounds like you need to give the app permission to see the pedometer. To do this go to the Settings app on the watch and tap Privacy and then Motion & Fitness. Then ensure Fitness Tracking is switched on for the watch and also for WorkOutDoors (so both switches are on).

In theory iOS should ask for this permission when you first use the app, but sometimes it can forget amongst all the other permissions that are required.

I hope that helps. Glad you like the app!

Thanks so much for your help. This did the trick! For some reason, Workoutdoors was the only apply that Motion & Fitness had not been given permission for (possible sabotage by Apple?).

Enjoy your week mate!

 

[ben902]

Hi,

is there a way to prevent the app from running in the background (and using) gps instead of doing a force quit With the button and digital crown?

 

[cfc]

Hi,

is there a way to prevent the app from running in the background (and using) gps instead of doing a force quit With the button and digital crown?

The app uses the GPS for a few minutes after you use it, so that it doesn't have to reacquire the GPS if you briefly drop your wrist. It seems that watchOS 7 is treating this in the same way as it does a workout, and somehow keeping the app always active. However it only affects a few people.

With watchOS 7.0 you could fix it with the following workaround: Go to Apple's Watch app on the iPhone, or the Settings app on the watch. Tap General, then Wake Screen, then WorkoutDoors. Then select Custom and then Always.

However I have heard reports that this doesn’t work with 7.0.1 or 7.0.2 (no feedback on 7.0.3 yet). If the workaround does not work then please remove the app from the dock (if it is in it) and switch off background app updates for it. To do that go to the Settings app on the watch and tap General and then Background App Refresh, and then switch it off for WorkOutDoors.

If that doesn't work then I suggest killing the app off by the side buttons as you are doing. In case anyone else doesn't know how to do this: press and hold the side button until the power off menu appears, and then press the crown until the app disappears.

I plan to release a version which does not keep the GPS on (or at least where it is optional), but I will wait for a while because Apple are clearly changing the way the background GPS works with each flaky release, so I will wait until things have settled down. Hopefully it is a bug they will fix rather than a deliberate change.

 

[johnl1275]

@cfc Is there a way on the workout summary tab on the iPhone app to keep a different sort as default? Also is there a way to add a second layer of grouping? For this page I would love to see Total running milage by month and then total biking miles by month. I can set it up with a single grouping to show running miles by month, but then when I open up the app again it goes back to just listing the workouts individually. Also it would be super sweet to be able to show that info like total miles in an iPhone widget.

Second question is, is there a way to add a screen for music controls? I always listen to music and would like to just swipe over to change the song.
Thanks!!

 

[cfc]

@cfc Is there a way on the workout summary tab on the iPhone app to keep a different sort as default? Also is there a way to add a second layer of grouping? For this page I would love to see Total running milage by month and then total biking miles by month. I can set it up with a single grouping to show running miles by month, but then when I open up the app again it goes back to just listing the workouts individually. Also it would be super sweet to be able to show that info like total miles in an iPhone widget.

Second question is, is there a way to add a screen for music controls? I always listen to music and would like to just swipe over to change the song.
Thanks!!

The sort/group/filter functionality for workouts is a temporary way to calculate totals. I may make it remember the settings each time you use the app, but to be honest very few people even mention that part of the app, so I am not sure how many people actually use it!

I am avoiding widgets until iOS 14 is more stable. As you say it makes sense to revisit the grouping and filtering functionality when I am looking into what information to show for widgets, so I will bear that in mind when I do. I also plan to look into more functional complications on the watch when I look into widgets. None of this is high priority at the moment though. Sorry about that.

In terms of music you can configure the app to display the Now Playing screen in response to any gesture you wish. To do this press/touch the watch screen and tap Settings then Commands then Shortcuts. Then choose a gesture (e.g. swipe left/right, tap 1/2/3/4 times, press both side buttons, menu option when pressing etc). Then set that gesture to the "Now Playing" command. Then whenever you perform that gesture it will show the music controls.

 

[NME42]

Installed iOS 14.2 GM yesterday and my GPS tracks in Apple Health appeared again. Also those from the past.

 

[cfc]

Installed iOS 14.2 GM yesterday and my GPS tracks in Apple Health appeared again. Also those from the past.

That is promising. Let's hope they have fixed all those issues without anyone losing any data.

 

[NME42]

That is promising. Let's hope they have fixed all those issues without anyone losing any data.

Yes. Glad they fixed it.
For the impatient: no issues with 14.2 GM. So not a big deal joining the public beta and installing it right away.

 

[pmxams]

I also have 14.2 GM installed and my old maps still do not appear. Did another reset and restore from iCloud after 14.2 GM and still nothing 😡