Minimum Requirements

FormsFly is available for Android, iOS and Windows. Any of these is a good choice. But what further factors should you consider when deciding what device you will use to run FormsFly?

Choosing a Supportable Device

Device Age

A key factor is the age of your device. Simply put, the older the device, the less likely it will be compatible with a recent enough operating system version or have sufficient processing power and memory to run the app.

For this reason, we do not officially support devices manufactured more than 3 years ago.

It’s possible that an older device might run the app, but it is likely that an app version update will cause issues in the future.

Processor and Memory

Also important is device processing power and onboard memory. As a rule of thumb, devices costing less than £200 generally have slower processors, poor quality GPS chips (if any), and limited amounts of memory.

An underpowered device can suffer regular app crashes and slow performance of the app due to its insufficient hardware.

We cannot support devices that are clearly not powerful enough to run the FormsFly app.

You should also consider the device operating system you use. This will vary depending on whether you use iOS (Apple), Android or Windows.

Android Devices

Android Operating System Versions

We aim to support Android operating system versions officially released by Google within the last 4 years.

See this list of Android versions and release dates to compare against your device’s Android version.

Unfortunately, Android versions are unevenly adopted by manufacturers.

We attempt to provide maximum backward compatibility as far as possible when we develop Android app changes. However, this consideration is a best-efforts approach, and not a guarantee.

Our Android development decisions are ultimately driven by the official support window above.

As such, when considering a device purchase, you should always aim for devices running the highest Android version possible.

Android Device Support

Devices must have the Google Play Store installed, and the app should be installed via the Google Play Store to ensure access to updates. While you can choose to “side-load” the Android app on most Android devices, we require Google Play Services to be present on the device.

Our apps have been confirmed as working on many different device models and manufacturers. Officially though, our internal tests are focused on compatibility with key manufacturers such as Samsung, HTC, LG, Asus, Sony and Motorola.

We require a minimum of 3Gb device RAM with more RAM being better.

We address device-specific issues as these are reported to our support team and aim to fix reported compatibility issues whenever possible. Due to manufacturer-specific modifications of Android, and general fragmentation of the Android ecosystem, we cannot guarantee that our app will run on every Android device.

Before any large/bulk device purchase, we strongly recommend that you fully test the app on the target device first to ensure compatibility.

Apple iOS Devices

iOS Versions

We officially support Apple iPhones and iPads running a maximum of one major iOS version backwards from the latest public release.

So if the latest iOS version is iOS 12, then we would support devices running iOS 12 and iOS 11.

It is possible that devices on older iOS versions will run the app, but these scenarios are not officially supported and the devices in question should be upgraded.

Note that Apple releases new major versions of iOS every year around September, so our backwards compatibility support follows the same annual pattern.

Microsoft Windows Devices

Windows Support

We officially support Windows 7 SP1, 8 and 10 on PCs and tablets that run Intel or AMD x86 processors.

This covers Microsoft’s Surface Pro and equivalent mobile devices, as well as regular desktop computers.

We also require .NET Framework 4.7.2 or higher to be installed on your device in order to run the app. If you have installed Microsoft’s recommended Windows Updates, then you probably already have this installed.

GPS/location functionality is provided using Windows Location services, which is must be enabled in order for the app to access these services.

If GPS accuracy is important to your needs, then we strongly recommend using Windows devices with onboard GPS chips to receive accurate location regardless of network connectivity. Windows 10 devices are also best in terms of ensuring compatibility.

For devices without an onboard GPS chip, Windows will use network information such as IP addresses to determine an approximate user location (usually only accurate to around 25 kilometres).

NOTE: The GPS chip on a tethered/hot-spot phone is NOT used since the chip is in a completely separate device. Similarly, an externally attached GPS receiver is not guaranteed to work, since there could be any number of Windows compatibility or driver issues involved beyond our control.

Hence our advice on using devices with integrated/onboard GPS if location accuracy is required.