Release Notes

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whadmin
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Release Notes

Post by whadmin »

5-July-2019

• Worked around an issue that caused the app to think you are "away" while you're home. This can oddly still happen but it should be much more rare with this release. I've also seen the app not realize whether it's "night" or not. That's extremely rare and I have no idea how it could happen.

• Added an error display on the Home screen that appears when an error is encountered setting the thermostat. These errors remain an elusive mystery and this text may help track them down.

• Updated the support email destination to aircompare@bettertogethercoaching.com

• Misc. small changes to comply with modern Swift syntax, Mojave 10.14.5 and Xcode 10.2.1.

• Added a nag screen to encourage user reviews on the App Store.
whadmin
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Re: Release Notes

Post by whadmin »

Version 1.1 build 5.3(1) July 20, 2019

• Interface improvements particularly affecting devices with larger screens such as iPhone X
whadmin
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Re: Release Notes

Post by whadmin »

5.3(2) July 22, 2019
• Fixes that should finally eliminate the Home/Away indicator being slow to update.
• Fixed a bug that prevented manual entry of a location in Settings.
• Removed Wunderground as a choice for weather data. Service went blank 12/31/2018

To-do list:
• There are a number of free weather sources that have become available. I'll be adding these as options as time allows.
• An issue has been discovered that can cause errors when re-installing and restarting AirCompare. User preferences are normally stored to iCloud so that they can be shared across the user's devices and to enable quick recovery of all the settings whenever the app is re-installed. However, the saved values from iCloud arrive some time (which can be significant) after the app started, found no stored settings locally and thus began using factory defaults.
whadmin
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Re: Release Notes

Post by whadmin »

Version 1.11 5.4(8) July 30, 2019

• Added Accuweather as an option. Free service is capped. If you see no updating, the limit has been reached for the day.
• Fixed an issue that interfered with reinstalling the app

To-do list:
• Considering adding National Weather Service support.
• See https://www.aircompare.us/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=11 for a workaround to solve the re-installation crash problem.

Fixes in the next build:
• Removed the tiny "Error" text that occasionally appeared on the Home screen.
• Fixed a bug that could cause the green fan icon to spin on the Home screen without first making a valid connection to a HomeKit fan or Window.
• Added the ability to set a temperature increase at night, by selecting a negative value for "Nighttime cool-down °".
• Changed the Open/Close algorithm so that the advice to Open requires a more significant enthalpy advantage (of 0.3 BTU/lb) AND an outdoor temperature not more than 3° above (in summer) or below (in winter) the desired thermostat set point. Leaving the windows closed more often will leave the indoor conditions under HVAC control more often. The choices of 0.3 and 3.0 are arbitrary and may need tweaking.
whadmin
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Re: Release Notes

Post by whadmin »

Version 1.2 build 5.5(2) August 16, 2019

• Removed the tiny "Error" text that occasionally appeared on the Home screen.
• Fixed a bug that could cause the green fan icon to spin on the Home screen without first making a valid connection to a HomeKit fan or Window.
• Added the ability to set a temperature increase at night, by selecting a negative value for "Nighttime cool-down °".
• Changed the Open/Close algorithm so that the advice to Open requires a more significant enthalpy advantage (of 0.3 BTU/lb) AND an outdoor temperature not more than 3° above (in summer) or below (in winter) the desired thermostat set point. Leaving the windows closed more often will leave the indoor conditions under HVAC control more often. The choices of 0.3 and 3.0 are arbitrary and may need tweaking.
• The app now checks whether the user has disabled Background Refresh for the app or globally. If so, an alert will show when the user accesses the in-app Settings table.
whadmin
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Re: Release Notes

Post by whadmin »

Build 5.6(1) addresses a problem where a user without a HomeKit fan/window would be alerted repeatedly to open or close the windows, depending on the situation. There's no way for the app to verify the actual state of the ventilation, as there is for a HomeKit device. In this case, the app now assumes the actual ventilation setting matches the target setting, for instance the manual override choice.
whadmin
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Re: Release Notes

Post by whadmin »

5.6 (3) coming soon

[ update 10/10/19 Beta testing begins.
This release now supports the new iOS 13 code side-by-side with older code for earlier iOS versions. All comments below are still valid. Additions:
• More robust handling of HomeKit errors related to communication problems with Ecobee thermostats.
• Additional logging to track down errors caused by application state changes or hangs while changing state.
]


[ update 10/4/19 This release will be delayed because the code for a critical function, background fetches of web data, has been deprecated in iOS 13 and must be rewritten. Rewriting the code and testing it is not trivial. As I understand it, the older version will run in iOS 13 but not perform the background fetches. ]

• Fixes a problem created by a previous "fix" for users without a HomeKit fan/window. The thermostat would occasionally be unresponsive to switching the fan/window to manual override. The logic now calls for a HomeKit update/refreesh when the manual override switches are toggled.

• Compatibility with iOS 13 and the new Dark Mode.

• iOS 13 introduces tighter approval of geolocation and this may cause some problems. You the user cannot, in one step, give "Always" approval for location access. There is a new two-step process. Untested in AirCompare so far.

• Dark Mode support requires dropping iOS 10 support. Minimum version will be iOS 11.0.

• Improves the toggling into and out of Night Mode.

• Changes that may improve robustness of overnight operation in Night Mode.
whadmin
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Re: Release Notes

Post by whadmin »

5.6 (6) 10/11/19 New build enters beta testing

• Some additional Dark Mode interface tweaks

• Continued efforts to improve reliability of communication with Ecobee thermostats
whadmin
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Re: Release Notes

Post by whadmin »

5.6 (7) Started working on this build 10/14/19, after submitting the previous build to the AppStore.

• Set the reference humidity to 30%RH for Winter mode, leaving it at 50% for Summer mode. With just a single reference humidity (which had been 50%) I was observing humidity-adjusted thermostat settings that were too far away from the user's actual inputs on the Thermostat pane.
whadmin
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Re: Release Notes

Post by whadmin »

Version 6.1(13) is heading to the app store where it will be known as version 1.5.

This version includes a number of accumulated updates made over the spring to streamline and toughen the code for reliability while also improving a few interface features. Logging has been expanded to enable better diagnosis of rare failure events.

• Updated for new Com Ed pricing system
• Improved logging for diagnosis of problems
• Added tool for wiping cloud-stored settings
• Miscellaneous interface improvements including NightMode indicator
• Under-the-hood code streamlining and toughening
• Online help accessible within the app
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