A missing phone setting usually shows up after the outing: the track stopped when the screen locked, Android killed the GPS overnight, no reminder rang, dictation did not work without network. MushMate could already read each of these settings, but in four different places. "Check my phone" reads them all, in one place, while you can still do something about it.
What changes
- An entry in Manage › Account and device › This phone, at the top: "Check my phone". Manage's search also finds it by "battery", "GPS", "dictation", "microphone", "notifications"…
- One line per point, each with its state (OK, To fix, Not checked) and a sentence that says what it would cost you on the trail:
- Battery (Android): MushMate exempt from battery optimisation — otherwise Android may stop the GPS with the screen off.
- Location: on, allowed "Always", precise — without "Always", the track stops when the screen locks; with approximate location, it comes out empty.
- Notifications: hydration, snack and step reminders during an outing, and on Android the notification that proves recording is running.
- Dictation: a real test. Tap "Dictate" and say a word: the screen shows what the phone heard, or why it heard nothing (language not available offline, microphone refused, no dictation engine). On Android, when the offline language is missing, the line says where to install it.
- Offline maps: does a downloaded map cover where you are?
- Sync: the last successful sync, what is waiting in the queue, a blocked entry.
- App version: against the minimum version required.
- "Fix" under a point opens the right system setting, or asks for the missing permission. When you come back to MushMate, the screen reads everything again: the line turns green without you touching anything.
- A summary at the top: "Your phone is ready for the trail", or "2 things to fix", and how many of them can stop your track from recording.
What others see
Nothing. Everything is read on your phone, nothing is sent, and the screen leaves no trace in the kennel. If you need help, "Send the report" opens your mail app with the usual diagnostic report and the result of the check at the top: you see what is sent, and what you dictated during the test is never in it.
What it does not do
- It does not nag you. No alert at launch, no notification: it is something you do, the day before a race or before a season.
- It does not ask for location on your behalf. That permission is asked when you start your first outing, after the explanation Google requires; if it has never been asked, the line tells you so and leaves it to the departure.
- It does not exist on the website. The settings it reads are this phone's.
- It does not guarantee the trail. It checks what the phone can say about itself; when it cannot know (no network to read the minimum version, unknown position for the maps), it says "Not checked" rather than guess.
Three choices made against the obvious
No automatic reminder. It would have been easy to show the screen at first launch. But the two points that can lose a track — battery and location — already have their guard at departure, where they matter. A third warning, earlier and elsewhere, would mostly teach you to ignore the other two.
Dictation is proven, not declared. Reading "microphone allowed" does not tell you whether dictation will work without network deep in the woods. The only honest test is the one you do: say a word, see what comes back. Until you have, the line says "Not checked", never "OK".
"Not checked" rather than "To fix". When a phone does not answer a question, MushMate does not blame it: a false red would send you hunting for a setting that does not exist, and that is how you learn to stop reading a screen.