The app is designed to generate crash reports whenever you experience a crash. Crash reports provide us with great detail on how to fix the problem you experience. There are a few things you need to do to make that work.

1) Your Android must be connected to the web in order to send a crash report.

2) You must close the Blunami app entirely and relaunch the app for the report to get sent. Here is a video on how to close an app on Android: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYI5zZA_Enc

If your Android is connected to the web when the Blunami app is relaunched, we will receive a crash report.

3) You need to document 4 things when you experience a crash:

Date-Time the crash occurred
Model of your device
Version of Android running on your device
Version of Blunami app you are using (3 dots in upper right – ABOUT)

We NEED this information to connect the crash report we receive with your description of the problem you had. Here is a video to help you find your device Model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPqd1aI-X10

If you provide us with these details, it goes a long way to helping us resolve the problem

Make sure your device is updated to the latest version of Android it supports.

One key to understanding a crash you may receive, is understanding the difference between Device specific issues and fixable issues in the app.

Your Android device is a computer with a certain amount of memory (RAM) and processing power. There can be a vast difference between an old $50 Android and a new $700 Android. If you exceed the abilities of your device, you can crash your device.

As an example, when you initially enter the train control screen in any session, the app will read 500 CVs from the decoder in ~ 5 seconds. The average Android device is well able to handle this. These CV-Reads happen concurrently, so if you connect to 10 trains and enter the Multi-Train screen, your device will attempt to read 5000 CVs in 5 seconds. Some devices can do this, others will struggle (and possibly exhaust the RAM in the device).

The point is, it is possible to overload the capabilities of your device and cause it to crash. Sometimes a crash in the app can be the result of exceeding the capabilities of the device - this is a “Device-specific” issue, and not necessarily a bug in the app.

Please be aware of this reality. Consider testing your issue on another device and seeing if the same crash occurs.

The PRIMARY way issues are resolved with an app, is if you provide us a way to reproduce your issue IN AS FEW STEPS AS POSSIBLE AFTER LAUNCHING THE APP.

“Actionable Information” to resolve an issue is:

1) a sentence describing the problem

2) followed by a list of steps we can take to reproduce the problem

If you are experiencing an issue, TAKE SOME TIME TO TRY TO RECREATE THE PROBLEM IN THE SHORTEST NUMBER OF STEPS POSSIBLE, so you can provide us with that list of steps.

Once you have identified this information, you can use this Bug Report Form to list the steps and send them to us.

Blunami Bug Report Form

Example:

ACTIONABLE: I did A, B and C, then D happened.

NON-ACTIONABLE: I did a bunch of unspecified stuff, then D happened.

If the decoder ever loses power, it will shut down and loco speed will go to zero. From the app’s perspective, there is NO detectable difference between intentionally power cycling a decoder and an accidental power loss. This can be particularly problematic if one of your loco’s experiences a power loss while consisting - that decoder will go to speed zero. To a certain extent a CurrentKeeper will help prevent momentary power loss, but given that the CurrentKeeper can take up to 90 sec to fully recharge, any loco traversing multiple sections of dirty track can experience power loss (even with a CurrentKeeper). It is important to keep your track clean and understand the impact power loss can have on controlling your Blunami (particularly while consisting).

Reduce the issue to its simplest form:

If you are having a problem that occurs running 10 locos in 4 consists,  simplify your setup down to 2 locomotives in a single consist, and try to reproduce the problem.  If you cannot reproduce the problem with 2 locomotives, try to reproduce the problem with 3 locomotives. The goal is to build up to the minimum steps required to reproduce the problem.

If you have access to a second device, try to reproduce the issue on another device.

If you can reproduce a problem on 2 devices, and provide us with a list of the steps to reproduce the problem, there is a good chance we can resolve the issue.

Combining this with Crash Reports is the best way to resolve issues in the Blunami app.