[Android Apps and Games] brandall:
Troubleshooting & Bugs

Please note - This thread will be updated specifically for Saiy very soon - I've been busy! I hope you can follow along, replacing utter! with Saiy in the mean time.....

The Most Common Solution to Bugs:

Offline doesn't work!?

This is only available for devices running Jelly Bean at the moment. Please ensure your Google Search application is up to date by checking the Play Store. At the time of print, this was V2.4.10.626027. You'll need to make sure that you have downloaded the necessary English language, offline recognition files, from the Android Voice Search settings and then reboot. Further instructions are here

utter! doesn't speak to me!?

Go to the Android Text to Speech settings and press ‘listen to an example’ if it doesn’t work, switch to another voice engine and test that too. You may need to download additional files to get your preferred voice engine to work correctly. If you have recently upgraded your device, the existing files may no longer be compatible, it’s advised to clear them from the external storage, so the download will complete in its entirety again. Once you have a voice engine that is working by ‘listening to an example’ open utter! and turn it off and on again with the button at the top. Go to the settings page in utter! and select ‘English Voice Engine’ – choose the same as you just did in the Android settings. Try launching the recognition again.",

After utter! has spoken the intro, nothing happens?

Please follow the steps above to confirm your voice engine is functioning correctly. A small number of Galaxy SIII users report that this does not fix the issue - Im trying to work out why. If all else fails, kill utter! using a task manager.

utter! takes ages to start speaking

This is reported mainly by users of IVONA. It may sound great, but whilst it too is in beta, it can take 15 seconds to initialise, if it initialises at all! This is also a problem when switching between voice engines during translation. Try another voice engine and see the difference. Using the network synthesised voice results in two additional network calls. You can disable this in the settings.

Google Voice Search is returning rubbish in the results

Go to the Play Store and make sure both the Google Voice Search and Google Search applications are up-to-date. If they are, try uninstalling the updates in your Android Applications Settings, reboot, then install the updates from the Play Store. If it still doesn't work, search for a copy of the apk that matches your current version and install it over the top.Always check such side-loaded applications for viruses!

utter! uses a lot of device memory!

The application works as a Service and Android allocates a higher amount of memory for this type of implementation, usually around 20mb. In addition, the application binds to Google Voice Search and a Voice Engine, so you may see the total memory usage as a sum of all three of these applications. To flush the memory the application is using, say the command 'restart'.

utter! kills my battery!

If you are using shake-to-wake or wave-to-wake they will be resource intensive, due to monitoring the sensors on your device. Considering switching these off when they are no longer needed. You may notice an initially high level of drain whilst you are configuring and testing commands, which involves recording audio and using your data connection. Once you have set the application up as you wish, it will use minimal resource whilst lying 'dormant' in the background.

utter! said I have a Jelly Bean bug!?

You may be suffering from a bug in the latest Jelly Bean release, which is also appearing in custom ROMs. Until Google fix the problem, you need to open the Google Voice Search settings and change your default language from English (US) to English (UK).

Nothing happens when I open utter!?

utter! does not provide an in-app-experience, depending on your device it is activated in any one of the following ways:

• Shake-to-wake

• Wave-to-wake

• Wake-up-phrase

• Long-press-search

• Long-press-home [Select search icon]

• Clicking the notification

You can activate utter! anywhere on the device, whilst using any application. Alternatively:

• Launcher shortcut

Nothing happens when I activate utter!?

Your speech engine files may be corrupted. See above for instructions on how to check your custom voice engine installation. IVONA is known to be troublesome whilst in its beta stage. It often fails to initialise correctly, or take a long time to do so.

utter! doesn't recognise my commands!?

The speech recognition is powered by Google Voice Search. utter! uses advanced algorithms to analyse every sentence and individual word returned to try and piece together what you were asking, but if Google is returning rubbish, then utter! doesn't stand a chance... You can view the returned results utter! is receiving by saying ‘enable visual results’ or typing the command in the box above. In addition, you can test the accuracy of other Voice Recognition providers in the Recognition & Voices Tab. These providers will be available as separate plugins soon. You can create commands from the Customisation Menu, using words and phrases that Google always returns correctly for you. "

Forgive me, but I'll also have to ask you nicely to check the command list to make sure you are structuring the phrases correctly... Natural speech recognition will improve over time, but right now the commands are fixed, but configurable. Alternatively, this is more likely to be a problem with the Google Voice Search application that utter! uses to process its commands. Please read above for the suggested way to resolve this.

Sometimes utter! doesn't reply?

If you are using the Google TTS network synthesised voice, Google doesn't inform the application if it failed to produce the requested synthesis. Instead it sends back silence. Great, thanks Google...

Root features don't work?

You first need to accept the 'Root Disclaimer' in the Power User Settings. Do this by clicking on the Superuser link. If the root features still don't work, install Busybox Installer from the link and update to the latest version. Once you've done this, click the Superuser link again, exit the application, open the application - and all should be working!

The ticks & crosses don't update?

This is an annoying bug I've yet to be able to solve... I'll be changing the layout entirely soon, but until then, they will only update when the page is refreshed.

Twitter authentication gives me a black screen?

This is resolved by rebooting your device and trying again. I'm afraid I have absolutely no idea why!?

Proof reading text messages doesn't work?

Some manufacturers have changed they way they are handling this. Please go to the Power User Settings and tick the SMS Body Fix

Error communicating with Tasker?

This is an Android install order issue where permissions are not correctly detected by the application installed second. The only solution to this is to reinstall utter! and then Tasker will acknowledge the permissions. I've asked the Tasker developer kindly to apply a work-around, which I hope will be sorted soon!

My Bluetooth headset doesn't work?

Due to earlier Android OS limitations, this is currently only configurable on Honeycomb devices. I'm working on a fix for Gingerbread which I hope to release soon along with other A2DP profiles. Other problems can be resolved by having your headset connected to the device and turning utter! off and on again from the button in the ActionBar on the main application page. This appears to bind the headset successfully.

utter! can't pronounce my name right!

In the box above you can enter commands manually. Try spelling your name phonetically by entering 'call me phonetic spelling'

Google Music search returns no results?

The search giant that is Google does not support searching your music library by album and artist...? Don't believe me? Open your Google Music console on your PC and try it. Ridiculous! Unfortunately you are left to search by just album or artist, but even then it does not support streaming of the full album, so a random track will be chosen to play. I can only hope Google up their game!

Why is there a permanent notification?

utter! runs in the background of your device and if the notification wasn't there, Android doesn't know that it's not supposed to kill it! This may not be such as problem for the latest devices, but certainly on dating hardware Android was killing utter! mid-command! There is an option to remove the notification in the Android Application Settings for Jelly Bean devices.

Sometimes I think I'm a Snowman?

This has been reported by a number of users. Try standing on your head and rebooting your device eleven times. If this doesn't work, seek medical advice.

utter! is slow at processing commands

There are two reasons why this could be happening:

• A poor network connection

utter! initially displays a 'listening' notification, which remains in the notification bar until the speech results are returned from the Google Servers. The time between the end of your voice instruction and the notification changing to 'working' is a reflection on your network connection speed. If you are using a WiFi network, you should expect the voice results to be returned almost instantaneously after you finish speaking. If this isn't the case for you, please don't hesitate to email me so I can investigate the cause further. *Note* Weather, time, knowledge base and localised queries will use additional network requests to resolve the commands.

• Your device has low hardware specifications

To avoid potential criticism of the algorithm speed of the application, certain devices and older Android versions really should be excluded as incompatible. I didn't want to do this though... Instead I've chosen to make it open to as many devices as possible and added in this 'disclaimer'! utter! will work older devices very, very hard, as it relies on pure processing power to run though every eventuality to accurately identify your command. The latest devices, with good hardware (and network speed), should expect utter! to begin its vocal response in under one second after the voice data is received. Don't forget, rebooting your device can often clear out the cobwebs!

The weather/time gets my State wrong

The weather & time provider I'm using is hopeless.. I'll be changing it to a better one very soon!

Wave-to-wake doesn't work?

I made it deliberately difficult to activate this function to prevent it happening by accident. Pass your hand back and forth in a windscreen-wiper motion across the front of your device, about 1cm away from it. Start off quite fast and gradually slow the rhythm down until hopefully you hit the sweet spot! Both wave and shake functions are disabled when the display turns off and configurable in the Settings Section.

Why are features disabled?

If only everything that works flawlessly on my device worked as well on others... Did someone mention fragmentation? I certainly didn't... Now the framework is complete, I can add in feature after feature and I'm sat on plenty of them. They'll be available to test soon. If you can't wait, hit the XDA developers link in the main menu to catch all of the test releases before they make the Play Store.

Skype ID's aren't detected?

In order for utter! to detect the contact's Skype ID, you need to make sure this is held within their contact information. It should be entered under the 'IM' field heading, with the label option set to 'Skype'.

Shake gets activated in my pocket!

You can adjust the sensitivity of this feature by saying:

• Set shake to very low

• Set shake to low/medium/high/very high

Or alternatively:

• Turn shake off

That should stop your trousers talking to you!

Can I ask utter! any question I like?

Not yet I'm afraid... Such knowledge-based responses will rely heavily on Wolfram Alpha. This feature is currently being tested on XDA Developers and is coming soon!

Will utter! be multilingual?

It will indeed! I'll be reliant on the utter! use-base to help me translate the application. A link to how you can help will be in the application in the next release! You can already configure utter! to use in your native language with a bit or work. Click on ‘user-guide’ in the main menu and follow the link for instructions. Separate language packs will be available to download and install soon, to keep the application size to a minimum.

Can I do localised searches?

This feature is ready and sat waiting to be activated... However, some results will of course involve you making a selection and therefore a user-interface is required.

• How can results be displayed when utter! doesn't have a UI!?

A unique solution has been found! It'll be out to test soon...