vring FAQ

Are you on an iPhone? On iOS, vring cannot access the hardware when it’s in the background. So, you’ll see received vrings logged at reception, but you won’t feel anything in real-time unless you’re active in the vring app. We know this sucks, and are working on it. Android phone Apps, however, do have access to the haptics in the background.

Here are some other trouble shooting tips:

Is the contact muted?

Is either cellular or WiFi enabled?

Is “do not disturb” engaged in your system settings?

If “System Haptics” is engaged in iPhone’s Sounds & Haptics System settings, this can interfere and block some of the vring abilities. We recommend disabling System Haptics and Keyboard Clicks (iPhone) and Touch Sounds (Android) for the best vring experience.

Finally, some devices just can't crank the sensation high enough to feel through a purse, a pocket, or sometimes a case. We recommend holding your device when in use, or storing in a skin-tight pocket!

No. You can use the free app with haptic Rudiments without paying at all. Just agree with your friend or whomever on the meaning of the Rudiment sensations, and send the vring! If you want to start exchanging vrings of your own design, that’s when you need to pony up for the cost of one cup of coffee per month.

In some older operating systems, the "Accessibility" settings may completely turn off 'vibrations.' Check that your phone isn't blocking things.

Also, your phone case’s design may be absorbing some of the sensation, or your clothing. Or both. We recognize the limitations of using your smartphone's vibration - and here's a perfect place to tease that we have a 10x better experience coming soon!

Like learning Braille, with usage you will be surprised at how quickly you’ll be able to distinguish finer and finer differences in vibrations – haptics is a whole new world that always been there and just needs some practice to perfect.

Longer vrings can have an huge impact on battery life. Therefore, each vring is like a contract: You need to ‘ask’ to control the power consumption on another person’s phone, and they need to agree. In late 2022 you’ll be able to set a condition for how and when the vring plays on the recipient’s device, say, for example, muting the vring if the recipient’s battery is below 10%.

Changing your handle is like changing your phone number – it’s your vring identity. Having to re-invite and connect with the people in your network is the best way to re-associate your handle. Pro tip: Keep your handle short and sweet.

If you end your subscription or allow it to lapse (for any reason), your vrings become the ownership of Distal Reality’s super-user, R Daneel Olivaw (with a respectful nod to Asimov).

In the future, you will be able to download vrings from the website, including those ‘owned’ by R D Olivaw.

If you're a subscriber and are having trouble, one thing we've noticed it that sometimes we left the 'name' blank.' That will prevent you from 'saving' your custom vring. Additionally, we sometime experience some lag with the backend database service that stops some actions. Please be patient!

In mid-2022, we’ll be releasing a new feature set that includes “¡motifs.” You’ll be able to initiate a vring without interacting with the screen. In late 2022, you'll be able to specify parameters for how and when the vring is played on the recipient’s device.

No. Your Handle is your screenless identity, and should be treated like your phone number.

Not on your individual subscription. Others will undoubtedly create vrings that have the same name as you, but they’ll be a different rudiment pattern, and will therefore be blocked from you accepting them. Both the name and the pattern must be unique amongst your network of contacts.

No. You can’t create a vring with an identical pattern to another vring that you either created or accepted. There are nearly infinite number of vring patterns - get creative!

No. Because we discourage using your real name for security reasons, you can never change your vring username – it will always be associated with the phone number you registered.

Nope. You can use vrings in your timeline to create new vrings, but you can not alter a vring once it’s made and sent. Ever.

Also, if you delete a vring that was used to create other vrings --<u>those other vrings delete as well</u>.

Not yet. Version 2 is slated for mid-2022 release, and will be ADA compliant.

Not yet. iPhones, Android Phones, Apple Watch, and tablets that can run the app are vring’s homes for now. The late 2022 release will expand vring to Tizen, wearOS, and other wearable systems.

The arrows point either to the left, meaning they were received, or to the right, which means sent.

Green arrow: vring was sent/received and played or accepted.

Red arrow: vring was sent/received and NOT played or accepted. (Blocked or rejected)

Yellow arrow: vring was sent but not yet received.

Blue arrow: vring was sent/received and is awaiting acceptance.

Combine two or more contacts into a group. If you send the group a vring, all contacts in the group receive the vring. It's like a vibration broadcast! Use it to announce your arrival at a party, or to initiate a flanking maneuver in the paintball arena.

To remove a vring, long-click on it in the manage page. Then press the trash can in the upper right.

<i>¡nfluencer</i> is a live count of how many times a vring that you created was shared by other people. It’s not a count of how many times you've sent or received it, but how wide it has spread to other users. If the logo is silver, your vring is among the top 25% of all vrings shared worldwide. If the logo is gold, your vring is in the top 10%. Visit vringapp.com for your vring’s rankings at any time. Reqards for top vrings will be rolled out in mid-2022.

All vrings are encrypted. Plans are to roll out ETEE in Revision 3, sometime in early 2023.

Privacy is very important to us at Distal Reality, which is why we have secured the login and registration process. Please refer to the EULA on the vring app and vringapp.com website for more details.

We store three things about you as a user: your username, password, and device phone number. Nothing else. We do track the <i>count</i> of all your vrings that your contacts share to calculate the ¡nfluencer rankings. Whereas the count is persistent, the content, sender, and recipient, and any exchanges are not. Please don't ask us who in the world has exchanged your very creative vring because we have no way of reconstructing that information.

No. We understand that every node on the HoT network are some of the most intimate, personal electronic devices our users posses. We will never sell your phone number. Furthermore, we don't care about your gender, race, age, or lifestyle and do not collect that information in the first place. In the future, we may sell ad space on vringapp.com for additional revenue, but those vendors are going to have to figure out our user demographics independently. Please thoroughly read our privacy policy at vringapp.com/privacy-policy.

Yes. This is a brute force attack, which is in violation of the vring user agreement, and is grounds for permanent removal of a user from the vring platform. Keep this in mind when accepting vrings from your contacts. Do you trust them? Several other safeguards are in place to prevent abuse, but hackers are clever.

No. The vrings you send to your family and friends are between you and them alone. But in terms of the ¡influencer count and public display on vringapp.com and the vring forum, Distal Reality has the sole, God-like ability to censor any vrings that violate laws or are being used for illegal activities or that Distal Reality deems has crossed a line. You agreed to this in the EULA. For instance, although you and your buddy can exchange a vring called “f*** you,“ you will never see “f*** you” displayed on the webaite as a top ten vring.

Since we collect information at registration, we gotta be extra careful about kids participating. Only persons aged 13 and above are legally allowed to download and participate. We’re working on making the app all ages, so stay tuned!