MNHQ: Our new mobile apps are out now!

[AmeliaPMumsnet]

Hi all,

The new version of our mobile app is now available on Android and will be available on iOS over the next couple of days. All users will be logged out when the update happens and will need to log in again to access the new app. You can continue to use the current app if your device doesn’t automatically update (some do), but we’ll be stopping support for this version at the end of the month, so we’d recommend downloading the new version from the App store.

We know this has been a long time coming for some, and we really appreciate your patience. Thank you to everyone who has been part of the beta testing group, your input has been invaluable. This is very much a first release that won’t include everything we want to include just yet. But we’re going to be making ongoing improvements, and we’ll continue listening to your feedback to shape future updates.

What’s new?
Here’s what you can look forward to in the new app:

• Nested quoting – You can now quote a post that already contains a quote—just like on the website—making it easier to keep up with discussions.
• AIBU? polls – You can now vote on AIBU? polls and even create your own.
• Thanks – Show your appreciation for helpful posts by thanking other users. You’ll also be able to see when someone thanks you!
• Edit your posts – You can now edit your posts from the app without heading to the website.
• See all posts by the OP – Android users can now filter posts to only see replies from the original poster, making it easier to follow their updates in a thread.
• Follow topics – Curate your own personalised feed by following your favourite topics, so you can easily find the discussions that matter most to you.
• More images – You can now upload more images in a single post than before, making it easier to share moments and information.
• GIFs – Sometimes words aren’t enough—now you can post GIFs to react, express yourself, or just add some fun to conversations!

What’s coming next?
We know there’s still work to do. Some features you’ve asked for aren’t in this first version, but that doesn’t mean we’re ignoring them. Here’s what we’re already working on for future updates:

• Links via emails – Email links will currently open in your browser to start with but we are investigating forcing them to open in the app.
• Dark mode – A long-requested feature! We’re working on bringing dark mode to the app for a more comfortable viewing experience, especially at night.
• More reactions – Right now, you can thank posts, but we’re planning to introduce more reaction options so they match what’s available on the website.
• Better push notifications – We’re making push notifications more useful and adding different types of alerts, so it’s easier to stay updated on the things you care about most.
• Notifications centre – We’ll be introducing a dedicated notifications hub in the app, making it easier to catch up on all your notifications in one place.
• PMs – We know many of you have asked for PMs to be included in the app. This is on our radar, but it will take some time to get right. We’ll keep you updated on our plans!

Let us know what you think - your input really helps to fix any initial glitches and help us keep improving. And thanks again for sticking with us - we can’t wait for you to try the new app! 💜

Still no capital letter at the start of the line/sentence.
page freezing when looking at threads I’m on or active.
threads showing either number in bold or the new New Posts bit. Older threads show it in bold like the old way.
changing my username doesn’t always work and it changes itself back as I post.
hate this bloody app now.

Hi @LegoTherapy can we just check if you're using the app (and if so, iOS or Android) or if you could possibly be using the mobile site? Some of the issues you've raised seem more like web issues than app ones so we just wanted to be sure we're on the same page (or same version of the site, at least!)

@JoMumsnetI'm on the app on iPhone and it’s up to date. I’ve had issues right from the start.

This app is doing my head in

The ‘thanks’ button seems to have stopped working on the app.

Seems ok on mine but the app is weird and does weird things constantly!

@JaneJefferah, thanks for checking for me. Does it show you the posts you’ve liked, or just yours that have been liked by others?

I can see that you have thanked me but when you’ve thanked someone it’s only viewable on the mobile site - the app won’t show it

You still don’t get a capital letter on the next line after a full stop.
I hope it gets fixed soon.

There is still a very annoying problem where you can’t continue to edit a post if, for any reason, you have tapped the little keyboard icon at the bottom right of the iPad keyboard. There are several reasons you might need to do this - to check information on a thread, to switch back from using emojis etc. The post you’re composing shrinks to one line at the bottom of the screen and you can’t get back in no matter how many times you tap on it (or batter your screen in frustration at losing a particularly long post.) I did start a separate thread about this issue on Site Stuff some time ago, but nothing changed. I really don’t like the new app at all. I preferred the old one, perhaps with a few additional features. I have tried using the browser instead, but it just isn’t for me. I always liked the pared down nature of the app. But this one has far too much going on in my view. Oh and when I try to change to an old username before posting, it tells me it has changed, but posts under my current one. Very annoying when I’m posting on a long running series of threads and want to be consistent.

Threads still aren't opening on the bookmarked post and I'm having to scroll for ages to find it. Defeats the purpose of bookmarks. It's getting very frustrating.

I sympathise ladies. Giveupmengetacat, that’s exactly the problem I’m having. I’ve contacted Mumsnet they’ve been helpful and suggested it’s because I’m not logging in ! Have logged in and it went back to the old format. But I dont want to have to log in every time I come on here. I was told if I log in once I should stay logged in but you don’t.

Seems an update was pushed last night, and now it's even worse. Constantly jumping about, no idea where my bookmarks are now. The app is becoming unusable.

You still haven’t sorted the capital letter after a full stop when you start a new line.
it’s really annoying.
why can’t you sort it ?

Bad update.
this morning, at least half a dozen times I’ve somehow - not deliberately - ended up with the Topics you’re following bit showing on the left of the screen, after which nothing works properly - the x doesn’t work to close it, clicking a topic opens it but then I can’t open any of its threads and I end up back with the topics bit still there. I have to kill the app and restart.
and just now I started writing this post and the app died on me.

Hi all,

Just to let you know, the latest release should have improved or fixed the following:

• Bookmarks not working consistently
• Usernames sometimes changing when posting
• Some devices getting hot and the battery draining
• Reply box not opening when using the the 'close keyboard' button in the bottom right hand side of the keyboard (on iPad)

@giveupmengetacat The release should have improved these issues, so could you please remind us which device you're using and if you could also share a screen recording of the jumping and bookmarks not working via [email protected].

@deeahgwitch We don't have fix for this as it's an issue with the third party tool that handles the text input, but we've been evaluating if there are any other options we could use instead. We'll share an update if anything changes.

@ErrolTheDragon Is this just happening when viewing the MN app and your device is in landscape or does it also happen when your device is in portrait? Please could you share a screen recording from when you open the app to the menu appearing so we can better understand exactly why it's happening. Please email it over to [email protected].

@LilyMumsnet- I’ve only seen the problem in landscape, I haven’t had my iPad in portrait orientation today, and not used the iPhone app today either. I don’t know how to do a screen recording … do you have instructions available? I’ve not seen the bug again since I posted though.
re battery draining …. It seems to have been doing that more today, I don’t think I’ve been on mn more than usual but I’m down from 100 to 15% and that’s 89%MN.

Ah, it just did it again. I’m pretty sure I’d just browsed a couple of other threads on my Watching tab, posted on one, then opened this thread and posted. Then hit < Watching to return to the list and got the menu instead.
I just tried the keyboard key, looks like that bug is fixed

Hi @ErrolTheDragon

You should be able to record your screen by following these instructions: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/102653

Regarding the battery draining - does the battery seems to drain more when you're scrolling on a long thread, or is it draining when you're just browsing around?

Ok, I’ll try that. I haven’t really noticed when the draining happened, just when it alerts for low power and then I checked battery usage.

Of course it’s not going to do it now I’ve got recording turned on. Teabreak over, I’ll try again later.

Hello. My battery has started draining massively when I use the app. It’s only started this last weekend so im not sure if it tally’s with the update.

Well, I managed to get a screen recording of the app freezing up as described, but it’s over 500MB and I can’t send attachments >25MB. Although the misbehaviour often happens a lot quicker than in this case, I think it’s fairly unlikely I’ll catch it in the act within that limit. Tbh it seems quite random so I’m not sure a recording will be very informative anyway. I develop software and have decades of experience tracking down weird bugs - I’ll let you know if I do find a sequence which reproducibly causes the issue.

Exactly this all week.

reading a thread, click back and the above happens.

I’ve given up, deleted the app and reinstalled it and it seems to be working.

Morning, everyone. We've made a change that we think should stop the issue of draining batteries. If you've had that problem (or your phone seems to be running 'hot') could you try opening up the app and quitting it again. You might need to do this twice in order for the update to work. Then that should resolve the issue. Please let us know if it's still happening after that.

@ErrolTheDragon - thank you so much for looking into these freezing issues. That's been really helpful. It might be that this update also solves that problem. Could you let us know if it's still happening after you've opened and quit the app a few times to force through the update? Thank you!