Frequently Asked Questions:
DOES OTTER COME WITH A SET OF INSTRUCTIONS?
Depending on what kind of smartphone you have, there will be a corresponding demo video available on our website for your operating system. If you check out the video and still have questions, please email us at info@OTTERapp.com and let us know what is going on so we can walk you through it.
HOW DOES OTTER’S GPS FEATURE PREVENT ME FROM TEXTING & DRIVING?
If you are not using OTTER's Parental Control Feature, you can still freely access all of the benefits of the GPS feature by just selecting the GPS Mode button before you start driving - or just leave it on all the time. While activated, incoming texts will be fielded by OTTER if you are in a moving vehicle. All incoming texts you received while driving will automatically get the reply: "The OTTER user is driving". GPS Mode will deactivate approximately six minutes after your car stops moving. Once you are ready to safely reply, all texts that came in will be marked as new for you.
CAN I EDIT OTTER’s STANDARD GPS REPLY THAT SAYS “The OTTER user is currently driving”?
Yes. Here again, if you are using the GPS Mode feature on your own to stay focused on driving and the Parental Control Feature has not been enabled, then you can edit this response by selecting it and choosing "edit".
I ENGAGED AUTO REPLY, BUT WHY ISN’T OTTER REPLYING?
Check to make sure the Enable OTTER button is also checked. This gives you the ability to quickly toggle your selected auto reply “on” and “off” by checking and un-checking Enable OTTER whenever you like.
CAN I USE THE AUTO REPLY FEATURE WHILE I AM DRIVING?
It’s totally up to you. OTTER puts you in control of managing your texts. When you activate the auto reply feature, all of your incoming texts will get an automatic reply whether you are driving or not. In auto reply mode, you always have full access to any of your customized responses.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR OTTER’s GPS FEATURE TO DEACTIVATE ONCE MY VEHICLE HAS COME TO A STOP?
This time can vary based on conditions but, in general, it's about six minutes.
WILL OTTER’S GPS FEATURE AUTOMATICALLY REACTIVATE IF I START DRIVING AGAIN?
If you leave OTTER’S GPS Mode feature “on” by leaving that box checked, the system will reactivate as soon as your smart phone’s GPS detects you are in a moving vehicle even if you closed the app.
CAN I JUST CHECK "ENABLE OTTER" WHEN I QUICKLY WANT TO SILENCE MY PHONE'S ALERTS & RINGTONES?
Yes - our users have discovered this added benefit. When you check Enable OTTER it activates the simple Manual Mode which silences all incoming text alerts, buzzes, and call ringtones. On most smartphones now days, it takes longer to silence all alerts while you are headed into a meeting or a movie theater. The nice side benefit of using OTTER in this capacity is that when you un-check the Enable OTTER box, all your volume settings will return to how they were before you checked it so you don't have to do it manually again.
WHAT IF I FORGET MY PARENTAL PASS CODE?
If you forget your pass code and are not able to disengage or engage OTTER, simply remove and then reinstall OTTER on your phone. OTTER accepts a new pass code after each session. You and your spouse can therefore have different pass codes to enable and disable OTTER's Parental Control Feature.
WHAT SMART PHONES ARE COMPATIBLE WITH OTTER?
- OTTER is available for smartphones running Google's Android platform - version 1.6 or higher.
- OTTER is available for Blackberry phones running the Blackberry operating system 4.5 and higher. * Your older Blackberry may be eligible for an upgrade to the newer OS at no cost. On your Blackberry phone go to: OPTIONS > ADVANCED OPTIONS > WIRELESS UPDATE - and look for available upgrades. Some phone have an "Wireless Update" icon to make this even easier.
- Some Blackberry phones may ask if your want to save OTTER's settings or permissions. Simply save these as presented and your OTTER app will load up and be ready to use.
- NOTE: If your Blackberry is an enterprise phone, you may need to see if your employer allows app permissions that OTTER needs. If your employer issued phones do not allow apps like ours on their phones, then you may get a repeating message that says something like: "OTTER is requesting changes to its application control permission". If you experience this, please let us know and we will contact your IT department to ask for the permissions you need.
- OTTER is available in Nokia’s Ovi Store and runs on Nokia smartphones like the N8, C7 and N-97 running Qt4.6 and higher
- We still have our eyes on Windows Mobile and the iPhone. To learn more about why Apple won't let safety / productivity apps like ours run on their system, please send us a note.
WILL MY INSURANCE COMPANY GIVE ME A DISCOUNT IF I USE OTTER?
We believe this is a viable request on your part. Please ask your agent to look into it and feel free to direct them to our email address: info@OTTERapp.com if they have specific questions that we can address.
DOES OTTER "LOCK DOWN" MY PHONE'S CALLING FUNCTION?
No. OTTER is strictly a text management system that allows you to focus on the task at hand and then respond to your texts on your terms. However, if you are using GPS Mode or Parental Control then once OTTER's speed detection senses movement above 10 miles per hour (16 kilometers per hour) all incoming call ringtones will be silenced unless you are using a wireless Bluetooth. This prevents the driver from fumbling for a ringing phone that is not set up with a wireless, hands free device. OTTER does not interfere with voice mail in any way. All your calls will go to voicemail and you can field them safely when no longer at the wheel.
DO OTTER'S GPS FEATURES DRAIN MY BATTERY FASTER?
Yes. According to our testing, if you leave OTTER's GPS Mode on all the time (like the owner of the company does) then your battery life is approximately 120% of your call time rating. For example, if your phone's stand by time is 12.0 hours and its call time is rated at 5.0 hours then a phone using OTTER's speed detection will net you about 6 hours of battery time including regular phone use. We think this is worth being 23 times safer on the road but here are some ideas that might help you if you don't have a charger or cradle at home and at work.
- GPS Mode is very easy to toggle on and off but you need to remember to do it.
- You can use our simple Auto Reply feature (instead of GPS based features) to silence incoming text chimes and call ringtones. You can easily toggle Auto Reply "on" and "off" and set a message for each commute like "Leaving office at 6pm - on the road until 7 or so". Many users of our OTTER-urban app (see description on Home page) do this.
- Download a free "App Killer" app like Advanced Killer Pro. This saves battery life on your phone and adds up to 10 to 12 percent of battery life while OTTER is running. OTTER is not effected by this and many other app killers. Advance Task Killer was one that did inconsistently turn off OTTER's GPS and so if you are unsure, just un-select OTTER in the app killer target menu.