Guide Dogs NSW FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Pre-purchase Questions or skip to Support questions

1. Do I need a data plan?
2. Is the app self voicing?
3. Can I try the app before purchasing?
4. I am an existing Sendero GPS customer, do I get a discount?
5. What countries and languages are available?
6. Why doesn't Guide Dogs NSW have on-board maps?

1. Do I need a data plan? Yes, a cellular data plan is required to use this app because the maps and points of interest reside on a server
2. Is the app self voicing? The app uses VoiceOver, it is not self-voicing.
3. Can I try the app before purchasing? A one month trial version is currently available. Additionally, there are various Seeing Eye GPS Podcasts that give a good representation of how the app works.
4. I am an existing Sendero GPS customer, do I get a discount? Unfortunately, as much as we would love to extend a discount to our loyal customers, we are unable to discount this app due to the Apple pricing module.
5. What countries and languages are available? Guide Dogs NSW is available for purchase in Australia. If you are traveling to other countries, we also have maps for the US, Canada, Israel, the UK, Ireland, France, Germany and elsewhere in Europe. If your destination is not in our list, it won't hurt to try the app, but not all countries have full intersection descriptions. At this writing, other supported languages are Spanish, French and Hebrew although the manual is currently only available in English.
6. Why doesn't Guide Dogs NSW have on-board maps? As you might know, the rest of Sendero's GPS products exclusively have downloadable maps. We are well aware of the pros and cons of both solutions. On the iPhone version, the engine we are using doesn't yet support offline maps, we need their server to do the lookups, reverse geocoding, routing, etc. In addition to that, the map data and POI data licensing costs are prohibitively expensive for our smaller market.

Support Questions

1. When I go to purchase, I receive the following messages "Alert, Purchases, In-App purchases are not allowed" and "Alert, Warning, Could not connect to iTunes Store," what's happening?
2. How do I know if my subscription is saved?
3. Why can't I access my subscription information from the apps settings description button?
4. Do I have to use my iTunes account and password to save my subscription?
5. I am receiving a message "Invalid receipt" or "Unable to connect to iTunes", or "Connection Timeout," what is happening?
6. I just updated the app to the latest version and it doesn't stay loaded, it will open for a few seconds and then close, how can I fix this?
7. Does the app function while running in the background?
8. Why is the address numbering is totally off on a street? I am seeing addresses that don't exist.
9. When the app doesn't have the address numbering correct on my street, which is the best way to mark my home?
10. Why am I getting inconsistent Intersection announcements?
11. Something strange happened while I was on a route, what is the best way to troubleshoot?
12. When I search for a POI or address, the app doesn't find it. I know it is there, why isn't it showing up?
13. Are there any battery saving tips?

1. When I go to purchase, I receive the following messages "Alert, Purchases, In-App purchases are not allowed" and "Alert, Warning, Could not connect to iTunes Store," what's happening? To fix this problem you have to remove the restriction on In-App purchases. Go to your iPhone Settings then General and then Restrictions. Enter your passcode you set for your iPhone restrictions. Then under the heading "Allowed Content," navigate to In-App Purchases and turn this ON.
2. How do I know if my subscription is saved? Go into Settings/Subscriptions, if you don't find a Save Subscription button then your subscription has been saved.
3. Why can't I access my subscription information from the apps settings description button? There is an issue on all devices except the iPhone 5, that the subscription button is not fully visible on the screen even though VoiceOver can see part of it, you must use 3 fingers to swipe up to reveal the full setting page 2 of 2, at which point you can then double tap on the Subscription button to see your subscription.
4. Do I have to use my iTunes account and password to save my subscription? No, we strongly suggest you don't use the same email and password to save your subscription, at the very least use a different password if you must use your iTunes account email address.
5. I am receiving a message "Invalid receipt" or "Unable to connect to iTunes", or "Connection Timeout," what is happening? We are researching the actual cause of this problem, but we suspect it might be an issue with phones that have been jailbroken.
6. I just updated the app to the latest version and it doesn't stay loaded, it will open for a few seconds and then close, how can I fix this? Often, clearing the App Switcher will fix this problem, or try restarting the phone. If these actions do not help, try deleting the app and starting from scratch. As long as you are registered in our system, you will have no problem with the "Use Existing Subscription" link with the re-install.
7. Does the app function while running in the background? Yes, as of version 1.3, you can run the app in the background. Make sure you go to the app switcher to completely close the app when you are not using it to conserve battery.
8. Why is the address numbering is totally off on a street? I am seeing addresses that don't exist. The short answer is those addresses are geocoded and act like points of interest for every house number. Traditionally map companies like TomTom and NavTeq took the approach that the addresses on a given block ranged from 100-199 and it was up to the software to figure out that if you were 1/4th the way down the street you were probably near 125. But a geocoded address at 1/4th the way down the street may be 105.
   The long answer, most if not all map providers are now scrambling to catch up and replace their interpolated address ranges for a block with exact geocoded addresses, but this costs a lot of money not to mention a lot of extra memory. Most map providers charge a premium to get this point address information. Google and others have put in massive data collection by driving every street collecting this data, and it doesn't come cheap. Sure they will implement their own map product with this highly accurate geocoded address data, to convince others to switch from a certain phone or software to use their own, and will charge others a lot to use this data. The data is there or is getting there, but the trick now is getting access to this data for a reasonable price and in a format we can easily use.
9. When the app doesn't have the address numbering correct on my street, which is the best way to mark my home? We recommend setting it using the Current Position button rather than the By Address Function. This way your home location is coded to an actual place on the map, not just by your address.
10. Why am I getting inconsistent Intersection announcements? The intersections are only announced when you are within 150 feet of the intersection. When in a vehicle, the next intersection is announced when you cross the current one. For example, if you just cross Main street and First street is the next street, it will be announced. When walking, if the intersection is 200 feet from your position it will only be announced once. Additionally, there are a number of reasons why some intersections might not be announced. (1) If you have received an approaching turn message, the automatic intersection announcements will be suppressed until you make that turn and hear the "continue straight" message. (2) To be able to increase app responsiveness we have the program cache a one mile radius of all the intersections. If this cache doesn't download properly for whatever reason, intersections will not be announced. (3) If you issue a manual command, like shaking the phone, VoiceOver might override the auto-intersection announcement and you won't hear about that intersection. And (4) Double check your LookAround settings, specifically the LookAround Update interval and LookAround Configuration settings.
11. Something strange happened while I was on a route, what is the best way to troubleshoot? The most valuable feedback is the route logs, if there is a bug causing the behaviour, we will see it when you send the log and be able to fix it. This is a little like us having the ability to actually be there with you while you travel the route. Also power cycling or clearing the task switcher usually clears out strange behaviour. To send a route log, go to Settings/Routing Settings and select the Send Route Logs, please include a message as to what went wrong in the route.
12. When I search for a Point of Interest (POI) or address, the app doesn't find it. I know it is there, why isn't it showing up? Typically, when entering a POI or an address, it is best to enter the bare minimum of text, because the search engine can be picky sometimes. For example, searching POIs, if you search for Mel's Flower Shop by typing "Mel's Flower Shop" and it returns no results, try searching for "Mel" only.
13. Are there any battery saving tips? Please refer to the Battery Consumption Section in the manual. Also you can check out AppleVis Guide to improving battery life in iOS 7