LDS Reverent Mode (Android only)

Oliver84
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LDS Reverent Mode (Android only)

#1

Post by Oliver84 »

Hey, so I made a simple android app a while ago that would silence your phone when you would walk into any LDS chapel. It would make use of the standard SSID that we use in most chapels. It was a very simple app that I made using tasker but I've now re-written it from scratch. It's the first android app I've written on my own and I'd like some help/feedback on it.

Currently I'm testing the beta version and hope to have it ready to be released publicly before the end of the month. It's an incredibly simple app so there isn't much to it but I would like to test it on as many different phones and Android versions as possible to find any gotchas. One of the reasons I had to write it from scratch was due to the way that a recent Android upgrade handled permissions. That completely broke my app for anyone that would upgrade.

If you're willing to join the beta program, use the link below and send any feedback that you can. Things to look for tomorrow would be how soon the app will engage/disengage, battery consumption (should be very minimal), modes working as expected, and the effect of low/bad wifi signal while inside the church. The last one is one that has me a bit worried. I haven't accounted for the fact that some buildings have very poor wifi reception in certain areas of the building. If this is an issue, I'll have to think of a way to address this.

Oh and I'm sure the Android only thing will come up so let me explain. Currently there is no possible way to control the ringer on an iPhone programatically. I've spoken with Apple and they will not allow it. So until that changes, this will unfortunately only work with Android phones.

Thank you for your willingness to help me. I thought this would be a neat project that many members would appreciate.

Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... verentmode
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sbradshaw
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Re: LDS Reverent Mode (Android only)

#2

Post by sbradshaw »

This is a great project!
Samuel Bradshaw • If you desire to serve God, you are called to the work.
russellhltn
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Re: LDS Reverent Mode (Android only)

#3

Post by russellhltn »

Nice! What about adding the option to include day or time in the decision process? For example, mute if it senses the SSID on a Sunday, but not on a weekday. Everyone's situation is different, so it would have to be adjustable. Perhaps it needs to be silenced during seminary, but not the evening basketball game.
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Oliver84
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Re: LDS Reverent Mode (Android only)

#4

Post by Oliver84 »

An earlier version had settings for days of the week but I removed it. I'm trying to keep the app as simple as possible so I went with just adding a disabled mode instead. The type of user I made this for is someone who wouldn't really want/know how to configure apps. The idea was that all you need to do is install it, run it once, and then forget about it.

We'll see though, the day selector feature may come back in future depending on feedback.
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Mikerowaved
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Re: LDS Reverent Mode (Android only)

#5

Post by Mikerowaved »

Hey, that's gnarly! I'm always trying to remember to silence my phone in church. Equally as bad, I forget to turn it back on when I get home. :oops: I imagine it won't work very well for those living close to a church-owned building that uses the standard SSID.
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Oliver84
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Re: LDS Reverent Mode (Android only)

#6

Post by Oliver84 »

That's great to hear! Hope it works well for you. Regarding those that live close by, I doubt the wifi signal will reach that far. Normally it barely reaches the parking lot. During my testing, I've seen it activate while I'm parking and deactivate while I'm pulling out of the parking spot. I'm sure it won't always be that precise, but that's part of the reason I need testers. =) I'd like to see how it works with different types of phones and in different types of chapels.
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hiltonc
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Re: LDS Reverent Mode (Android only)

#7

Post by hiltonc »

My last house was located kitty-corner from a chapel. I could reliably use the chapel's wi-fi from half of the house. Totally an edge case though, I wouldn't worry about it.
Oliver84
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Re: LDS Reverent Mode (Android only)

#8

Post by Oliver84 »

So the first thing I've noticed from today's reports is that the app isn't compatible with Android 7.0 yet. Nougat doesn't scan wifi in the background anymore and I depended on this for my broadcast receiver. I'll have to figure out a way around this for any phones with Android 7.0+. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, I welcome them. =)

Other than that, reports have been positive. Seems to be working and working pretty fast too with very little battery consumption.
russellhltn
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Re: LDS Reverent Mode (Android only)

#9

Post by russellhltn »

Well, somehow Android still searches and finds wifi automatically. Perhaps you can check what network the phone is attached to.
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Mikerowaved
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Re: LDS Reverent Mode (Android only)

#10

Post by Mikerowaved »

I installed the app and checked it when I got to church. Sure enough, it put my phone on vibrate, which was my option. While still at church, I accidentally bumped the volume button which overrode your app and put it back on ringer. Nothing I did could get your app to change my phone back to vibrate. I even powered down my phone and powered it up again, but it still showed the ringer was on. I didn't have a chance to uninstall and reinstall the app to see if that fixed it, but that was next on my list.

Galaxy S5
Android 6.0.1
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