Mobile App Permissions

The Mobile app does require some quite specific permissions to function correctly with the Boundary alarm system. Generally, these permissions are to allow notifications to be sent to your phone in a timely fashion, we don't want you to miss anything!

 

Required Permissions

In order for all the Boundary alarm features to function correctly on your phone we need to allow:

• Access to your camera for scanning the QR codes on the sensors. You can type the code in but it is 40 characters long so using the camera is a lot quicker!
• Location services, we use this to allow the geofencing feature to work correctly. The app will be able to detect when you leave home and forget to set your alarm
• Notifications. We send various notifications to your phone such as the alarm activating, geofencing etc. If your phone is set to optimise battery usage then these might not come through.

The following sections will show you how to set these permissions up on your phone. Note that some of the screenshots might be different on your phone depending on what version on iOS or Android is running but the principles are still the same.

Android Permissions Setup

To access the permissions for the Boundary app, push and hold the app icon and it will "bounce" up and down with the following menu:

Tap the App Info icon to access the permissions

Camera and Location

The app will normally prompt you when you try and scan a QR code to allow access to the camera. If this needs to be set back up then:

1. Follow the instructions above to access the Boundary App Info screen
2. Scroll down and tap App Permissions under the App Settings section
3. If either the Camera and Location are in the Denied  section, tap them and
   1. For the Camera permission, set to Allow
   2. For the Location permission, set to Allow all the time

The location permission is important to set to Allow all the time as this will allow geofencing reminders to be sent even if the app is not currently being used. It saves you having to remember to wake the app up before leaving your home. You can read more about the geofencing feature in this article.

Notifications and Battery Optimisation

There are a couple of settings here to make sure notifications get through not you. The first is the actual notifications permission setting. If notifications aren't coming through your Android phone then this is the section you will need to check.

1. Follow the instructions above to access the Boundary App Info screen
2. Make sure the Show Notifications  option is enabled
3. You should also allow notifications from all the relevant categories as shown in this image:
   
   

If you run your phone using the optimised battery setting, some notifications and usage of background data may be restricted so this step makes sure we can still get notifications through to you:

1. Follow the instructions above to access the Boundary App Info screen
2. Tap the Optimise Battery Usage option
3. On the next screen, if the Optimise battery usage section is showing as Optimising battery usage then you need to disable this for the Boundary app. Do this by:
   1. Tap Optimise battery usage
   2. Select All from the drop-down at the top of the screen
   3. Scroll down and find the Boundary app
   4. Disable the option to optimise the battery usage

What this will do is ensure that the mobile app will continue to be available for notifications should be battery optimisation be switched on. The app draws next to no power when not in use so disabling the optimisation for the Boundary app will have little effect on performance.

Background Data Usage

The last section to check is to make sure the Boundary app can function whilst it is not being used or is closed:

1. Follow the instructions above to access the Boundary App Info screen
2. Tap the Mobile Data section
3. Make sure the option to Allow background data usage is enabled

And that's it! Your Android app should now function without any problems or missed notifications.

 

Apple iOS Permissions Setup

As with Android, there are a couple of permissions you need to make sure are enabled when using an Apple iPhone.

Camera and Location

The app will normally prompt you to allow permissions to the camera when scanning QR codes but just in case it doesn't, here's how to allow this feature:

1. Open your iPhone and go to Settings > Privacy > Camera
2. Scroll down until you see the Boundary app
3. Tap the toggle to allow camera access

For location data, it's a slightly different option:

1. Open your iPhone and go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services
2. Make sure the location services are switched on
3. Scroll down to find the Boundary app and tap it
4. Make sure that Allways is selected.

This will allow your iPhone to always know if it is within the geofence location you set when you activated your alarm system

Notifications

To make sure you don't miss any notifications when using an Apple iPhone, you might want to check the settings below:

1. Open your iPhone and go to Settings > Notifications
2. Scroll down to the Boundary app under the Notification Style section and tap it
3. Make sure Allow Notifications is enabled
4. For Alerts, make sure you have selected Lock Screen, Notification Centre and Banners
5. If you have selected Banners in the last step, we recommend you set the Banner Style to Persistent
6. Make sure the Sounds  and Badges are both enabled
7. Under options:
   1. Set Show Previews  to Always
   2. Set Notification Grouping to Automatic

Background Data Usage

You should allow background data usage for the Boundary app to make sure that it can communicate with our platform even if the app is closed. To enable this feature:

1. Open your iPhone and go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh
2. Scroll down to find the Boundary app and make sure the toggle is set to Enabled

All done! Your iPhone is now set up with the correct permissions for the Boundary alarm.