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Passbook - I have no idea what I'm doing

U

uptownnyc

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 28, 2011
767
1,094
So I've got iOS6, and I've got Passbook ... and supposedly Starbucks is passbook-enabled. Their app prompted me to acknowledge it's settings, and I've specified my favorite Starbucks stores.

But I have no idea what's supposed to happen next.

Whenever I got to Starbucks, I'm still launching their app as I always have, and I'm never prompted to launch Passbook, or anything else. How is this supposed to work? Do I need to enable constant GPS in order for it to be of any use? And aside from that, what benefit is there to having their app (or any other company's for that matter) setup with Passbook? Maybe I'd understand better if it did whatever it's supposed to be doing, but so far I'm totally confused.
 
open passbook, click on the starbucks card, click the little "i" bottom right.
try "show on lockscreen" (you can always disable this later).
see if your "favorite stores" are listed.

next time you go to one of your faves...the app SHOULD pop up a window on the lockscreen (naming that store, ie "something street & something else street"...LOL, something like that.

go in, get on line, order something. swipe that window on the home screen and should take you directly to the card in passbook.

otherwise (if it's NOT on the lockscreen, or you DISABLE "show on lockscreen")...go to passbook, click on the card, hold it up to the scanner.

used it once so far; it worked, but didn't actually show up on the lockscreen until AFTER i bought my coffee...LOL.

definitely a work-in-progress, and sucks that there's no tutorial built INTO the app (like the trackpad preference pane on a macbook, for instance)...
 
When I open Passbook all I see is the start-screen about it being the simplest place to do yadda yadda - no starbucks card, and only the "App Store" button on the bottom is clickable which brings me to the screen showing apps I've already got installed.
 
Gotcha. Figured out that I needed to go to my Starbucks app and "Manage" my card there, which then allowed me to add it to my Passbook, and now it's showing up. It's not entirely intuitive unless you poke around the menus.

So if this is used instead of the normal Starbucks app, do things like their Rewards stars still get applied to my account?

Thanks for the help.
 
all this does is add your card to your lock screen when you're close to one of your favorite starbucks, so you don't have launch the app. It will show up like a text message, just slide the icon, and your card will appear.

it's just like using the app, except it's quicker. the same bar code appears either way.

for your favorite stores to be recognized, and appear on your lock screen, you must also have location services turned on, it's under settings->privacy.
without this turned on, you can still go into the passbook app, and access the card that way.
 
I thought about using it for Starbucks, but didn't see the point. Go through the steps to set up my card onto the app, then to passbook or....Or just pull Starbucks card out of wallet.
 
Gage said:
I thought about using it for Starbucks, but didn't see the point. Go through the steps to set up my card onto the app, then to passbook or....Or just pull Starbucks card out of wallet.
Click to expand...

and having to carry a physical card and pulling it out of your wallet is easier than launching a passbook app?

what's the logic in that :rolleyes:
 
I dunno. Works perfectly fine for me. Launch the Starbucks app, create a digital card, load it up with $, put it in passbook. When you walk into a favorite Starbucks, passbook brings it up on your lock screen and you pay. Couldn't be easier. It even automatically reloads the card if you reach a defined threshold if you want.
Same with American Airlines app. Throw your boarding passes into passbook from the AA app, and when you get to the airport - there it is.

----------
whsbuss said:
+1 and since you need to keep location service on for passbook to popup on the lock screen, battery life sucks. I keep that option off and battery lasts 20x longer.
Click to expand...

Hasn't affected my battery life one wit. It doesn't run location services constantly. It checks where you are briefly and occasionally, then lets you know when you're at the store.
 
I recently downloaded the Starbucks app to be able to use with Passbook. The one thing that I discovered, and that they don't tell you anywhere, is that you have to have an account with Starbucks for it to be used with Passbook.

Prior to "signing up," I had downloaded the app and added my Starbucks gift card. Within the app it showed that I had $20, but it wasn't showing up in Passbook. Instructions noted that an "add to passbook" button should appear but none did. Then I read someone had posted that one needs to have an account. So, I signed up -- don't know why they need all of my info -- and voila, the button appeared. Now Starbucks money is in passbook.
 
Ah. Nevermind. Now it shows up. At least I don't have that pesky list of apps again. Of course, it figures that the airlines I use most often don't have this yet :)
 
Last edited:
This is such a useless feature. How many seconds are we actually saving? Like 5 seconds? Don't you have to stand and wait in line also? Why use passbook for starbucks when you can use the official starbucks app. The app actually has a passcode so people who steal your phone will not steal your gift card.
 
AbyssImpact said:
This is such a useless feature. How many seconds are we actually saving? Like 5 seconds? Don't you have to stand and wait in line also? Why use passbook for starbucks when you can use the official starbucks app. The app actually has a passcode so people who steal your phone will not steal your gift card.
Click to expand...

The idea is that you'll have all your passes in one place and they'll pop up when required rather than you having to delve into your wallet all the time.
 
Dear customer
Could you please hang on there for some time? We are working on Map right now and we have so many things on our hands right now.
Can passbook just wait? We have put it on the list.

Best regards,
Tim Cook
 
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