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Apps Runkeeper

I

iSimon

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 3, 2008
200
5
Glasgow
I have been a longtime user of Runkeeper and like how I get a map of my run/walk/etc. after the end of the activity, and I have enjoyed having Pebble support with it for a long time too, so obviously I was quite keen to see how its Apple Watch app stacked up. Well so far I'm a little underwhelmed...

First of all the app is very laggy both in terms of initially loading and also in responding to taps. The initial loading lag I appreciate isn't unique to Runkeeper and I would expect to improve once native apps are available, however the lag associated with tapping the watch screen I really can't quite work out. I frequently have to tap several times before the app registers that I have tried to either Start or Pause the activity, and just after a walk this morning it point blank refused to register me tapping "Stop". I had to fish out my phone in the end and stop it via the main app.

Unless I am missing something, it also seems to only allow you to start an activity of the same type you did last via the watch app - I tried pretty much every combination I could think of from scrolling the digital crown, swing up /down/left/right, and force pushing but it only seemed to give me the option of starting a walk. Not a major issue as these days it is mostly walking the dog I am using it for, but surely it would be simple to add scrolling through different activity types either on the screen or via digital crown?

Anyone else been using Runkeeper on the Watch? Is it time I tried one of the other fitness apps instead? Unfortunately the built in Apple app doesn't appear to map runs which I often like to review at a later date.
 
I have been using runkeeper for years. I always run with my phone and don't lock it so I can tap the time to hear my pace and also glance to see my stats. You're pretty spot on with the laggyness of the app. I start and stop on my runs to take piss breaks, stretch, and wait at stoplights. It was laggy but acceptable as I can now lock my phone and see the info I want. I was playing music from my phone over Bluetooth. Overall it was slightly delayed but I did not mind it that bad. I'm considering moving to another app but I love runkeeper training programs too much.

We're you using your apple watch for music over Bluetooth? I can only imagine using the watch for music could introduce even more lag to the updating.

Edit: wanted to mention that the watch app knew what my training plan run was for that day and I was able to start it from the watch, which I liked.
 
I wasn't using music no, but I had stopped to take some pictures during my run and when I had to go back to the phone at the end of the run to stop it with the main app, the phone opened on the camera app (think I had been using it directly from the lock screen), so perhaps the runkeeper watch app really doesn't like it when you are doing other things with the iPhone?
 
iSimon said:
I have been a longtime user of Runkeeper and like how I get a map of my run/walk/etc. after the end of the activity, and I have enjoyed having Pebble support with it for a long time too, so obviously I was quite keen to see how its Apple Watch app stacked up. Well so far I'm a little underwhelmed...

First of all the app is very laggy both in terms of initially loading and also in responding to taps. The initial loading lag I appreciate isn't unique to Runkeeper and I would expect to improve once native apps are available, however the lag associated with tapping the watch screen I really can't quite work out. I frequently have to tap several times before the app registers that I have tried to either Start or Pause the activity, and just after a walk this morning it point blank refused to register me tapping "Stop". I had to fish out my phone in the end and stop it via the main app.

Unless I am missing something, it also seems to only allow you to start an activity of the same type you did last via the watch app - I tried pretty much every combination I could think of from scrolling the digital crown, swing up /down/left/right, and force pushing but it only seemed to give me the option of starting a walk. Not a major issue as these days it is mostly walking the dog I am using it for, but surely it would be simple to add scrolling through different activity types either on the screen or via digital crown?

Anyone else been using Runkeeper on the Watch? Is it time I tried one of the other fitness apps instead? Unfortunately the built in Apple app doesn't appear to map runs which I often like to review at a later date.
Click to expand...
I also have been using RunKeeper on my Pebble. Installed on my watch with similar issues. I posted on their Facebook page and got a response to send in a support ticket. I have since uninstalled it and am waiting to see what happens.
 
iSimon said:
I have been a longtime user of Runkeeper and like how I get a map of my run/walk/etc. after the end of the activity, and I have enjoyed having Pebble support with it for a long time too, so obviously I was quite keen to see how its Apple Watch app stacked up. Well so far I'm a little underwhelmed...

First of all the app is very laggy both in terms of initially loading and also in responding to taps. The initial loading lag I appreciate isn't unique to Runkeeper and I would expect to improve once native apps are available, however the lag associated with tapping the watch screen I really can't quite work out. I frequently have to tap several times before the app registers that I have tried to either Start or Pause the activity, and just after a walk this morning it point blank refused to register me tapping "Stop". I had to fish out my phone in the end and stop it via the main app.

Unless I am missing something, it also seems to only allow you to start an activity of the same type you did last via the watch app - I tried pretty much every combination I could think of from scrolling the digital crown, swing up /down/left/right, and force pushing but it only seemed to give me the option of starting a walk. Not a major issue as these days it is mostly walking the dog I am using it for, but surely it would be simple to add scrolling through different activity types either on the screen or via digital crown?

Anyone else been using Runkeeper on the Watch? Is it time I tried one of the other fitness apps instead? Unfortunately the built in Apple app doesn't appear to map runs which I often like to review at a later date.
Click to expand...
Does Runkeeper work in parallel with the activity app on the watch or simply override it and not share data with it?So if i went for a run/walk with Runkeeper on the activity app wouldn't be kept up to date with that?
 
James Baldwin said:
Does Runkeeper work in parallel with the activity app on the watch or simply override it and not share data with it?So if i went for a run/walk with Runkeeper on the activity app wouldn't be kept up to date with that?
Click to expand...

Runkeeper can be set to sync with HealthKit so any activity on runkeeper should count towards the data the Health app stores. Certainly the brisk walks I have done with runkeeper count towards the daily exercise goal. I think the activity app automatically monitors movement regardless though, so even if runkeeper isn't sharing its data with HealthKit I would expect the activity app to work out for itself that you are doing exercise?
 
Has anyone tried tracking an activity with both Runkeeper AND the native Apple Watch Workout app? At the moment the Runkeeper watch app is essentially a remote, since it's not collecting any data from the watch. I've long been syncing my Runkeeper data with health kit and haven't had any doubling up on steps or distance since I started using the watch.

So I'm thinking I can use Apple Watch Workout app on my watch to keep track of realtime HR, pace, distance, etc. and Runkeeper on my phone to continue getting the route marking and analytics I like getting from the app. It's a bit of a workaround, but until Apple opens up the API's a little more for workout apps, it looks like we're stuck with the native Workout app if we want any realtime data.

Might try it today and see what happens. If it works, great. If not, 4mi becomes 8mi. Whoops?
 
spearsr7 said:
Has anyone tried tracking an activity with both Runkeeper AND the native Apple Watch Workout app? At the moment the Runkeeper watch app is essentially a remote, since it's not collecting any data from the watch. I've long been syncing my Runkeeper data with health kit and haven't had any doubling up on steps or distance since I started using the watch.

So I'm thinking I can use Apple Watch Workout app on my watch to keep track of realtime HR, pace, distance, etc. and Runkeeper on my phone to continue getting the route marking and analytics I like getting from the app. It's a bit of a workaround, but until Apple opens up the API's a little more for workout apps, it looks like we're stuck with the native Workout app if we want any realtime data.

Might try it today and see what happens. If it works, great. If not, 4mi becomes 8mi. Whoops?
Click to expand...

I used both yesterday and it worked just fine.
 
not got my watch yet, but I used to use Runkeeper with my pebble, but switched to ismoothrun.

The main reason for this was that with ismoothrun you can customise what is shown on the pebble watch (I have total time, total distance and HR usually, but occasionally swap HR for pace). Also, ISR lets you customise what gets posted to social media etc (it also exports to runkeeper so you can see your stats in both apps)

I'm looking forward to trying both apps on the watch to see which works better...and will report back my findings.
 
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I received my apple sport watch last friday. I was also a very loyal Runkeeper user for the past 2 years (over 400 runs on runkeeper) running with Iphone 5 and Polar HR strap.

I ran 5 times in the past week in a loop run with a known distance (5.35 km) :
Run 1 : Iphone 5 (gps) + Apple watch + using Runkeeper on watch/iphone + Polar strap + wired earphones (music + runkeeper info)
Run 2-3-4 : Iphone 5 (gps) + Apple watch + using Workout (Outdoor run) + wired earphones
Run 5 (tonight) : Apple watch standalone (distance based on stride length) + Bluetooth earphones (Jaybird Bluebuds X for music played from watch)

Some comments :
- The distance logged was between 5.30 to 5.39km with the longest for run 5.
- My heart rate from apple watch was apparently valid; probably not perfect but very usable. Refresh rate definitely faster with Polar strap.
- Runkeeper on watch is very very basic. The only use that I see is to start and stop the run; but even for that purpose the user interface is laggy. The real time data on the watch is very limited.
- Consequently, during run 2-3-4, I learned the basics of Workout app especially to set the data while running and to access it effectively (wrist detection + handoff)
- Workout app is now effective for me with fast start/stop response and with HR, Speed and Time (or distance) on the same screen.
- No map, elevation or heartrate graph with Workout app compared to RK.
- Run 5 was the one I enjoyed the most. I felt very light with all the data I need + music. Very impressive combo. That is why I bought apple watch and I am satisfied for now. Of course, that could only be a first impression effect on a new product ...

I'll see in the next weeks what is my long term preference ...
Alex.
 
I used Runkeeper and Runmeter for years. The first time I tried the stock "workouts" app, I deleted both Runkeeper and Runmeter. They're just so perfectly integrated directly into the Activity monitor. I don't see much point in using anything else.
 
Hi guys, I wanted to regenerate this thread now that Runkeeper has updated its Apple Watch app to run native and is now using the heart rate monitor. Has anyone used the new app and what has been your experience?

I mainly do treadmill run workouts with the Apple Watch 'workout' mode but I wanted to switch back to RunKeeper.

Keen to know if anyone has used the new app released yesterday?
 
I'm happy someone started this thread. I was having issues with Runtastic, but Runkeeper is doing the same.

I installed it yesterday. It will not start on my Watch. I get the circle of death and then it finally stops and goes back to my home screen. I have tried the following:

1. uninstall and reinstall - repeatedly
2. I even did a watch restore last night and nothing.
3. Tried on wifi, cellular, and bluetooth
4. Powered the phone off an don
5. Powered the watch off and on

After the restore, sometimes it will bring up the running screen with the Go button. I cannot change the exercise form running. Nor can I press go. Other times, the circle of death.

This is the same with Runtastic. I just dont get it and getting frustrated and disappointed. And Runkeeper is not the only app doing this.
 
Yep, can confirm it's completely broken like the Runtastic app. The display on the screen will not update and any measurement on the Watch is completely wrong.

Apparently it's not the developers fault. It's Apple's ****** APIs making it impossible for developers to make a working app.
 
masands said:
Yep, can confirm it's completely broken like the Runtastic app. The display on the screen will not update and any measurement on the Watch is completely wrong.

Apparently it's not the developers fault. It's Apple's ****** APIs making it impossible for developers to make a working app.
Click to expand...


So I'm gonna try this from what I have read on the forum. It appears that if you remove all your music from your phone, make an encrypted back up, and sync it back, things work. I'm like what does music have to do with this, but many have found success:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/native-apps-do-not-load.1919307/page-23#post-22081767
 
I am so baffled by this - didn't run into any issues - ran it both once with iPhone off just to see it working and then tethered during the run for calibration - no issues with launch time or responsiveness. Really wonder what is causing the failure on some watches.
 
It is working for me but I miss the option to add it to Glances. I hope they add that feature back again in a future update.
 
Ok so I got it working. It recorded the right distance on the Watch and the iPhone (7.3km) however it only wrote 2.8km to the Activity app. The health app had 2 data sets, a correct 7.3km distance and a second 2.8km distance.

Also when I stopped the activity from the Watch and saved it, it did not stop on my iPhone. I had to press stop again and press save on the iPhone. I'm totally confused by this. What did it actually do on the Watch then?

Gosh, this **** is so broken. I lose all my runner high on trying to fix this crap every time.
 
It has been very buggy for me since the watch update. It doesn't write to the activity app at all. It loads incredible slowly. On one run, the app would not stay up on the watch, it kept reverting to the watchface screen so I couldn't see my time and pace. Very frustrating. Why is it so hard to make a good running app for the watch? I have been using Runkeeper for years now and I'd hate to switch.
 
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gorkt said:
On one run, the app would not stay up on the watch, it kept reverting to the watchface screen so I couldn't see my time and pace. Very frustrating.
Click to expand...

You have to set the watch to resume to previous activity after waking. It's a pity this is a global setting as you have to change it before and after each run if you prefer returning to watch face in general use.

Also, check the sources tab in your health app, you need to give runkeeper write permission.
 
Last edited:
Have been trying out Runkeeper for the last few weeks but it's Watch app is still buggy. Some cycling activities get saved as runs and the app on the phone seems to lag at times when you're trying to end an activity or make a comment on one once done. I've also had activities start on the watch and appear to stop, only for the phone to continue to track them but not know what sort they are.

Time to delete it and try something else.
 
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That's interesting. I use it on cycling activities and have never had it save it as a run.
 
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