Realm Connect - For Our Church Hack 2023.16.0 + Redeem Codes

I really enjoy the Realm ecosystem and I’m so thankful that there’s an app like this that helps build and maintain a community.

A few meaningful updates would be INCREDIBLE:
- Better local database storage of posts and events: the app continuously needing to reach APIs for data that’s easily stored for rapid recall is frustrating

- Include admin functions in this app instead of deferring to the web app. This would be HUGE for helping community members without having to switch between the app and a browser

-The chat functionality seems flip-flopped. I might be the only one, but the I rarely get updates to my Inbox but always have chats updating. Even just having the option to specify tab order in the chat section would be helpful.

I LOVE Realm and think it’s a wonderful resource. Thank you for everything you’ve done thus far! I’m excited to see what else you all implement in the future!

I appreciate the convenience of Realm access on my phone. I use it every week to mark worship attendance, and our small group leaders mark weekly group attendance as well. The app is also great when I want to get a quick word out to the community, and I like having the ability to post a photo with the announcement. It helps a lot when it comes to lost & found items!

My only gripe is that occasionally I have to delete and re-download the app before changes made in the system will register in the app. And also sometimes the notifications badge stays on after I’ve opened and read all messages. No big deal! Overall, Realm Connect is a great app and ACSTechnologies is a wonderful partner in ministry.

One of the least intuitive apps I’ve ever used on desktop and mobile. Given that the audience of church members includes people who may not be comfortable with technology, this company should invest in product design. Right now, it’s not meeting the needs of its users, which really slows adoption and creates challenges for the customers who are forced to purchase it as one of the only solutions on the market.

Product flows don’t make sense (just one example, why are photo posts different from regular posts?) and permissions are hard to understand or don’t make a lot of sense (e.g. you can’t leave a group yourself, you have to email the leader to be removed).

The documentation is nearly un-googleable, not designed around user needs, and doesn’t include common information people need. Another area that is really important to invest in given the audience.

Realm has a very tight browser restriction for some reason—for example with Firefox they only support the latest version or the one previous to latest. I have one church member who doesn’t own a computer, she uses her computer at work to access Realm. At least she used to. After 4 months of successfully using Realm, she’s now blocked due to an unsupported browser. Her work computer is “locked down” so she can’t update her browser. Realm can offer no workarounds.

I didn’t detect this restriction when initially evaluating the system or we never would have chosen it.

Their browser restriction is, IMO, unnecessarily restrictive. We’ll have to evaluate whether we want to continue paying for a system that not everyone can use. And Realm is awfully buggy to boot. I’m sorry to say I can’t recommend Realm.

Though I appreciate and often utilize the services that Realm provides, it consistently shows badge notifications after I’ve opened the application. I’ve had a badge notification on the Realm icon for weeks now, and the last time the app offered an update was in late April. I understand the times can limit fixes to things like this, but this isn’t new. The app has proven to be buggy since its inception, including limitations on posting. If you try to make a post that fills the visible area of your screen above the keyboard, the screen will not follow the cursor once it gets too big. Therefore, you lose visibility on your typing, which is dangerous for devices that like to autocorrect! Three stars is probably being generous.

I cannot sign-in on my IPhone 7 Plus with software version 15.7.3. The option to skip the two factor ID did not appear on my phone and I’ve tried changing passwords, deleting the app and reloading, and even deleting the app on both phone and IPad. I can access the Realm with the IPad using my device’s security, but I have had no success with the iPhone and have deleted the app on the phone. I have heard of others in my church having the same issue and I understand that our church pays a subscription fee for the use of the app. Is this a known issue that is being corrected? Are there suggestions or steps to fix this? Your help is deeply appreciated!

I am blind and use voiceover on my iPhone to access realm. If the buttons are labeled and you tap on them nothing happens, you have to turn voiceover off and hopefully whatever you want comes on the screen. After tapping and turning voiceover off and back on you might be where you want to be. Our pastor posted an article and the only way to see this was to try that trick. Our church website is semi accessible making finding realm on the web difficult, once I did still could not navigate using Safari with voiceover. People disabilities are often excluded from church because elements are inaccessible. I am disappointed that is a person who is blind that this app which could otherwise connect me with people is another opportunity to exclude me.

I would like to be able to switch between this and other apps, copy from another email and paste here. If I’m in the middle of typing something and I have to switch to another app, I lose what I’ve typed, even though I left the app still open. I use it with my group all the time, and I like that if someone doesn’t have the app, they will still receive the message as an email. It would be nicer if they could receive it as a text instead.

The app has been pretty good so far except for recently (maybe post April 19 release?). Every time I open app I have to log in even though I have checked the option to keep me logged in. When I try to find info about this in Help section there isn’t any (just three general Help items that are helpful when first using app). When I tap support in this platform it takes me to a product page for this company that states the page doesn’t exist. There is no contact info to share issues with developer so I’m having to share it here. Your ‘See known issues’ link redirects to the same page instead of to a page that lists known issues. Hoping to get a solution. Thanks.

For this user this app makes no sense in how it works. Example: if I want to send a note to my group, I select News then click post (a pencil/paper icon). I don’t click on communications. But before I select news I need to find settings to ensure my post will also go to their regular email address as well as Realm because nobody looks at Realm otherwise. And if we need a reply to just me or to the whole group I need to ensure it’s selected. Looking everywhere. ZLeeClarke Too many things in too many places.

What I do like is the directory of church members.