Government Covid19 App

Have you updated to the latest software
14.0.1 ?

My Android phone is too old for the app too, so I can't download it. I can't say I'm unduly bothered because I don't go near anybody anyway.

It's of most value to people who regularly travel by public transport or are in situations where you don't know a lot of people. It can only tell you if you've been close to somebody who has tested positive, not whether you haven't, if you see what I mean.

Mine is on my iPad. There’s something appeared on my iPhone but it requires a password and I can’t remember what it is and can’t be bothered to look it up. The site does have some interesting additional information.

I have an iPhone 5S and the software GG13 mentions, no problems.

I only have a Samsung phone but it downloaded it OK.

I cannot download the software on my i-phone 5 either.

I have iPhone 6s. The app has downloaded. Check you have got all the updates.

I have an android phone and the app was downloaded easily.

Here's a link to the page on the government website which explains which phones and operating systems are compatible with the app.

faq.covid19.nhs.uk/article/KA-01167/en-us?parentid=CAT-01028&rootid=CAT-01024

Thank you everyone. I shall look into getting the update if that proves to be possible and have a look at the link.

IT depends which iPhone 5 you have. The older ones, like mine, will no longer upgrade the operating system so mine is 12.0.4 and quite a few new apps will not download. A friend has a newer iPhone 5 and is able to upgrade the operating system so can download the NHS App. There is nothing you can do, even if you go into settings to upgrade, you will still get a notice saying the phone is not able to upgrade.

I'm just waiting for my niece to get the PUK code to unlock her iPhone XR ( she has a new phone) so I can use it with my SIM card.

Incidentally, Apple will no longer be supporting the iPhone 7 soon so they too will become obsolete as they wont be able to upgrade. So if you are looking for a new phone that you want to be able to keep for years, go for something newer than the iPhone 7.

My phone, as I thought, isn't on the list. It's too old, but it does what I want and I have no intention of getting a new one, even if I could afford it.

Always amazes me how many (mainly older) people still only have a little Nokia phones. Not smartphone at all. Do wonder at any nationwide system that relies on people having this sort of expensive technology.

As usual it is so unrealistic - unless they (the government) intend to issue lots of those updated smartphones to people - but, even then, many of those would not really be able understand them enough to use them, or wish to pay out for monthly contracts for data. My old Nokia phone (when I had one) on Pay as You Go, probably cost me about £20 a year. Even though I have a very cheap monthly data with O2 it still costs £86 pa.

Yes, I have had it downloaded onto my Android phone, not sure if I will ever use it. Surely, the real concentration should be on more, far better and quicker testing.

Why does it amaze you? Do you get some kick out of feeling superior?

I have a Samsung - one of the first Android smartphones, so I was pretty cool when I got it. It does what I want it to do and that doesn't include having a desperate need to download the app.

In any case, what advantage would it be to me or anybody else? I could count on one hand the people with whom I've been within two metres of since March - my dentist, my GP and my son. I am confident than none of them was infected and I'm pretty sure they'd inform me if they were.

Nope, not able to get it on my bog standard just make a phone call phone. So that counts me out. I only mix with 2 friends (same household) on the odd occasion and my two children,

There are definite advantages with those old nokia little phones. Even if you drop them, or throw them they do not break, need no updating, cost virtually nothing to run and only usually need re-charging about once a week.
Took me a long time to venture into smartphones, but really started when I wanted to be able to take piccies of g.children and send them on, immediately, to their parent(s) if we were out somewhere.
As time went on, have found them useful as am able to do all my banking with them, which means I can quickly and easily check my bank account and my credit card account most days, which helps to reassure me that no untoward activity is taking place on it.
I still do use my car for long drives, and would never feel comfortable about doing one of these without a good phone with me.
But am very unsure of this new ap. Taking into account the other total balls-ups that this government has made of anything to do with technology (mainly because they continue to give highly costly contracts to their mates), do not expect it work properly even for those with phones suitable for it. And, of course, they have not taken into account that so many people do not have those.

I'm no fan of this UK government and the initial release of the contact tracing app has hardly been trouble free. But there's no point in blaming them for not being able to make old phones magically act like new technology. Contact tracing makes use of a technology called Exposure Notifications which does not work on older phones. There's nothing that can be done about it.

Not everyone will be able to use it, no. But as a method of contract tracing it complements the existing Test and Trace. Which needs all the help it can get, that's for sure. Undermining confidence in this app isn't going to help anyone.

I'm not blaming the government for having an old phone, not am I undermining confidence in it. However, I can't see that it would be an advantage to me and I'm certainly not going to rush out to buy a new phone.

I do think that relying on gadgets rather than boosting the capacity of local contact tracers was a huge and expensive mistake for all sorts of reasons. Only about half of people are actually contacted and of those who are told to self-isolate, only about 25% do. I believe community public health officials would be in a better position to contact people and to enforce self-isolation, providing support where necessary. No smart phone can ever do that.

I know you're not growstuff, but that does happen. Its not an either/or, and no-one is suggesting that we only rely on gadgets. As I said above, the app complements the in-person tracing. Its up to everyone to decide for themselves whether or not to use it.

Regarding what phones it works on, we can blame the government for a lot, but we can't blame them for the laws of physics

For anyone assuming that they will receive information or guidance if they sit on a bus with someone with Covid via the track and trace system, think again. Those operating the system have been instructed to only contact people in the event of multiple cases (see attachments)

Daftbag1

For anyone assuming that they will receive information or guidance if they sit on a bus with someone with Covid via the track and trace system, think again. Those operating the system have been instructed to only contact people in the event of multiple cases (see attachments)

To be fair, I think that's only education settings ie schools. A single case in a school isn't automatically reported to PHE, but to the DfE, which is supposed to give advice.

I have serious concerns about the virus in schools. "Bubbles" are no longer being told to self-isolate - only the three or four children sitting closest to the infected person. Apparently, that's to stop schools being almost permanently disrupted. Some teachers have been told to switch off their phones in class, so that nobody is contacted if they become ill.

There has been a huge rise in the number of 10-19 year olds infected. The curve on the graph is almost as steep as university students, but the media is being very quiet about it - presumably because school pupils can't be blamed for being in the situation they're in. There are currently over 2,000 schools with infected pupils and I have no doubt they are one factor in the increases we're seeing. Although the pupils themselves probably won't be seriously affected, they take it home to their families, who might have more vulnerable people.

The app downloaded onto my iPhone 6S but I believe it doesn’t work on anything older than version so won’t work on model 6 or older. I’ll stand corrected if I’m wrong.