Pebble Watch stopped contecting : Golf Pad Support

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Bob Aldis posted about 2 years ago

Jeroen,

I was also installing the Pebble/Rebble side of things at the same time, so an awful lot of trying this and that, so just in case I've mixed things up, perhaps the GolfPadGPS Team could confirm whether the older version we are using "GolfPad_15.79.3_Pebble.apk" is 32 or 64 Bit as it doesn't contain the "lib" folder that various Internet articles point to as an indicator.

Bob

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Jeroen Verstegen posted about 2 years ago

Yes,
It worked before. I had the Golfpad APK installed, but after the last Android update connection kept getting lost while golfing and trying to reinstall the APK failed: with "You can not install the app on your device"
Where did you set these permissions exactly?

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Bob Aldis posted about 2 years ago

I had similar experience, but managed to give it the appropriate permissions and it's working, I believe to do with Android 13 withdrawing native support for 32 bit apps.

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Jeroen Verstegen posted about 2 years ago

I have Android Version 13 from October 5th.

When I try to install the APK by clicking on it it just says "You can not install the app on your device"

Well I concluded it is end of the line so I ordered a Garmin Vivoactive 4. But I now found out that Golfpad does not support Garmin. Pff.
Any chance that this will change in the future?

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The Engineering Team posted about 2 years ago Admin

Could you please provide us more details:

1. Android version on your Pixel 5 phone

2. What exactly happens when you are trying to install apk?

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Cindy Wren posted about 2 years ago Admin

Thanks for sharing your feelings. I'm sorry to hear the APK no longer works for you. I'll let the team know, but I don't think there is anything additional we can do. If I find otherwise, I will post here.

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Jeroen Verstegen posted about 2 years ago

The very much appreciated provided APK can no longer be installed on my Pixel 5! Is this really the end for my beloved Pebble/Golfpad combination? Such a waste to throw away a good working app and/or device, for no apparent reason. Silly world we live in.

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Jeroen Verstegen posted about 2 years ago

Since the last Android update, the app often lost connecting to my Pebble. I tried to reinstall from the APK file, but now my Pixel says App cannot be installed on your device HELP PLEASE

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Cindy Wren posted over 2 years ago Admin

Hi Brant - Thank you for being such an avid supporter. :)

Update from the team:

"We appreciate the offer, but open-sourcing a portion of our codebase or setting up the NDA and access is not feasible. We love Pebble too, but it’s time to move on to the newer watches. They come with many new cool features that were not possible on Pebble, and we’re focusing our efforts on making our watch apps even better. "

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Brant Peery posted over 2 years ago

Hey redirecting a dead thread to offer help. I am a software engineer and love two things in life, GolfPad and Pebble watch. I would be willing to do the development to allow Pebble to work on GolfPad. I am sure we could work out some way to open source that feature without opening up all your code. Or an NDA or something. Short of that, have you looked at the BangleJS watches. I have made several apps for those too. I could port the support to that

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Jeroen Verstegen posted almost 3 years ago

Oh, thank you guys! So happy. Now I can use my fav app again on my fav watch :-)) Maybe put this in your general Pebble instructions too, to avoid confusing?

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Cindy Wren posted almost 3 years ago Admin

The team delivered! For those of you who want to try to download an older version to try to restore Pebble/ Golf Pad compatibility. Here is a link to the file: https://www.dropbox.com/s/m8vl16lwneh7vd9/GolfPad_15.79.3_Pebble.apk?dl=0

You will need to uninstall the current version from Google Play first and disable automatic updates so this version is not overwritten. You may need to enable installing app from unknown sources: https://android.gadgethacks.com/how-to/android-101-sideload-apps-by-enabling-unknown-sources-install-unknown-apps-0161947/. You will miss out on all future app updates. We strongly encourage you to get a supported watch instead. Finally, this build may or may not work with Pebble and we can’t provide any support assistance if something does not work.

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Bob Aldis posted almost 3 years ago

Hi Cindy,

Thanks for the update, perhaps if I lay out some specific questions they can be answered individually:

1) When you say "Android changes", this doesn't really mean anything, it's your App, not an Android update that stopped the Pebble working unless you can provide a little more clarification, it looks like GolfPadGPS have decided not to support the Pebble, I can't see how Google has dictated this?

2) As previously requested could the pre-update APK be made available for us to side-load, so we can use our pebbles again?
This can be obtained on the Internet, but it would be safer to use one that was sourced from you?

Regards,

Bob

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Cindy Wren posted almost 3 years ago Admin

Bob (and all) - I've confirmed Pebble support was broken as a part of the latest Android changes. That's what broke compatibility. We can not fix this since support has been discontinued by Pebble for over 5 years now. - Cindy

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Bob Aldis posted almost 3 years ago

Hi Cindy, Thanks for the update on this and the WearOS side, let's hope your technical team can do something for us Pebble users, it's still a great device and going strong. As I say, even if they can share the last Pebble compatible APK it would help, ideally it would be different to the main one so doesn't prompt for updates, but that's a nice to have and icing on the cake. Cheers Bob

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Cindy Wren posted almost 3 years ago Admin

Hi Bob - I'm referring to the folks at Google Play. They forced us to update something that essentially broke the Pebble support we'd kept in place for the last 5 years. As I understand it, without the change, they weren't going to allow us to submit any future updates on our app. (I'm not part of the technical team, as you can tell. LOL) I have made the team aware of the request. I just don't know how it all fits together from the technical side.

As for WearOS - the "not all rosy" you mentioned are comments about standalone mode on the new OS. We are implementing those features - everything else is supported and compatible currently. Feel free to contact support if you have questions about that @Linda.

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Bob Aldis posted almost 3 years ago

@Linda,

Yes, apart from golf, I mainly use mine as a basic watch, not too many smart functions workable for me as my eyesight has gotten weaker over the last couple of years. But looking at the WearOS options they are very bulky and the battery life is pitiful, they are talking 2 days as being very good, I charge my pebble once a week normally Friday evening just before my Saturday game, even after owning it for a number of years, I bet the battery's on these WearOS watches will be even lower after a year usage!

I've also seen comments in the WearOS forum on here that there are issues with club/shot tracking, so not all rosy there either :(

Fingers crossed.

Bob

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Linda Gyngell posted almost 3 years ago

Thanks Bob for picking this up and getting a response from Golf Pad. There is still not another watch on the market as good as the Pebble - not every one wants a bulky sporty one.

Hopefully we can get the Pebble working with Golf Pad again Cindy.

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Bob Aldis posted almost 3 years ago

Thanks Cindy, Curious when you say App Vendor is that not yourselves? All we need is the last Pebble compatible APK, it is available from mirror sites, but would be good to have a bonafide version from yourselves. Regards, Bob

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Cindy Wren posted almost 3 years ago Admin

Hi Bob (and all) It seems the app vendor forced our hand on continuing support for Pebble. I'm awaiting additional info to see if there is a way to "roll back" the update...it doesn't sound promising, but I'll keep you posted on any new info I receive.

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Bob Aldis posted almost 3 years ago

Thank you.

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Cindy Wren posted almost 3 years ago Admin

Hi Bob - let me check with the team. I'll let you know.

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Bob Aldis posted almost 3 years ago

Hi Cindy, Thanks for the response and yes, very true nothing lasts forever, but unlike the cassette tapes and CDs you mention, this was actually within control of your company and your developers. The very least I would have expected was some notice starting you would be dropping compatibly from.... that way your Pebble using customers could have prepared or chosen not to install the last update, instead of being left high and dry at the 1st tee! Can my app be reverted to the last pebble supported version?

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Cindy Wren posted almost 3 years ago Admin

Thanks for posting this reply. We have had a posting on our support portal for several years, since Pebble announced the watch was going to be discontinued. See below from this support article.

I understand the disappointment. Eventually, technology changes and it would not be sustainable to stay compatible forever. The Pebble watch was discontinued in 2016. We've maintained support for as long as possible. We knew this day would come, but it was impossible to predict when. I have a case of cassette tapes I wish I could use and a laptop and a vehicle that don't offer CD's players. :) We appreciate each of you.

Check out this article for an updated list of supported watches.

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Bob Aldis posted almost 3 years ago

Basically the response from "support" was disappointing please see below:

Hello Bob,

I've confirmed with my team that Pebble sync functionality may be discontinued at any time, since the watch itself has been discontinued by the manufacturer years ago. Unfortunately, we can't provide one-on-one Pebble assistance or investigate issues as the team has to stay focused on newer watch models.

Regards,

Alyona Retunskaya / Golf Pad Support

I then responding the main part of the conversation being:

If you are stating that Pebble Sync is no longer supported, then it would help your customers if an official statement is issued and the option removed from the App otherwise I and other customers still expect it to be supported.

To which I received the below so it looks like GolfPadGPS have officially called it a day on Pebble support, a sad day for such an innovative product:

Hello Bob,

We'll update our support page with this information soon. I apologize for the inconvenience caused.

Regards,

Alyona Retunskaya / Golf Pad Support

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