❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Here are answers to some common questions about ulives, organized by topic.
About ulives & LifeUp
Why are ulives data and Premium Access separate from LifeUp?
This is a great question! Here's the breakdown:
- ulives is a Spiritual Successor, Not a Port: Think of ulives as a brand-new app inspired by LifeUp, but specifically built and optimized from the ground up for the iOS platform. It's not simply LifeUp moved to a different store.
- Completely Re-developed: While sharing the core gamification philosophy, ulives features a completely new codebase with significant underlying architectural changes and upgrades compared to LifeUp.
- Future-Proofing: This new foundation allows us more flexibility for future development, including potential integration with AI technologies down the road.
- Different Development Teams: Due to various reasons, the progress of a LifeUp iOS version was slow. We have reassembled a team specifically for ulives (although currently just one person), allowing us to complete the development of ulives more quickly and flexibly.
- Platform Ecosystems: The App Store (for ulives) and Google Play (for LifeUp) operate as independent ecosystems. This includes their payment processing, account systems, and purchase management. Due to these platform differences, data and licenses cannot be directly transferred or shared between the two apps.
Therefore, ulives requires its own data management and its Premium Access is a separate purchase managed through the App Store.
Purchases & Premium Access
How is the Premium Access license bound?
Your ulives Premium Access is handled directly through Apple's In-App Purchase system.
- Tied to Your Apple ID: The purchase is securely linked to the Apple ID you used when you bought the Premium Access.
- Restoring Purchases: If you get a new iOS device or reinstall the app, you can easily restore your Premium Access using the "Restore Purchase" option within ulives, as long as you are signed in with the same Apple ID used for the original purchase. Apple manages the verification process.
Additional notes based on recent questions:
- Using multiple Apple IDs: Premium Access is bound to the Apple ID used at purchase. Switching the App Store login to a different Apple ID may prevent ulives from recognizing your subscription benefits. Please confirm you are purchasing with the Apple ID you plan to keep using. The current strict validation follows Apple's in-app purchase mechanisms; we are exploring looser checks so that benefits remain available after Apple ID changes. If you are experiencing issues today, contact us and we will help.
- Purchase not activating immediately: Sometimes Apple's in-app purchase system takes a little longer to acknowledge the transaction. Give it a moment, restart the app, or try re-authenticating with the App Store. If the delay persists or you have any concerns, please reach out to us for assistance.
Data & Sync
Does ulives support real-time cloud sync across devices?
Currently, ulives uses offline storage with data saved locally on your device. We only support manual synchronization of the entire database through iCloud backup.
Why not real-time sync?
- Server-based Limitations: Most apps with real-time sync rely on server infrastructure, which comes with high costs and potential privacy/data loss risks.
- iCloud Sync Protocol Limitations: While iCloud offers sync protocols, our research shows they have limitations including stability issues (with reported data loss cases) and restrictions on data types.
- Stability Focus: We chose a more universal and stable local database approach to ensure data reliability.
Future Plans
We may evaluate combining iCloud sync protocols with our local database system to achieve near real-time synchronization effects. However, this requires extensive research and technical evaluation, and it's not a high priority in our current development roadmap.
Our early development focus remains on core app functionality and features. Cloud sync improvements will be considered after establishing a solid foundation for the app's primary capabilities.
What should I do if ulives shows "iCloud unavailable"?
If you're seeing an "iCloud unavailable" message in ulives, this is typically due to iCloud Drive being disabled or ulives not having the proper iCloud permissions.
Quick Solution:
- Enable iCloud Drive in your device settings
- Grant ulives permission to access iCloud
For detailed step-by-step instructions, see our comprehensive iCloud Troubleshooting Guide.
Tasks & Penalties
How do I trigger penalties in ulives?
In ulives, penalties are designed to help you build discipline and accountability. Penalties are triggered only when a task is explicitly moved to the "Abandoned" status.
Task advancement modes and penalty triggers
ulives offers two task advancement options to accommodate different user needs:
| Advancement Mode | Behavior on Overdue | How to Trigger Penalties |
|---|---|---|
| Manual Mode | Tasks remain in current state | Manually abandon the task |
| Auto Mode | Overdue tasks move to "Pending Confirmation" state | Manually confirm abandonment, or batch-process pending confirmation cycles to "Abandoned" state |
Currently, the Auto mode is relatively lenient and requires user confirmation before triggering penalties.
Custom penalties and future plans
You can also create your own penalty systems using:
- Negative experience values on items
- Item quantity effects to customize penalties
We're planning to introduce the following features for stricter enforcement:
- Allow Auto mode tasks to directly advance to the "Abandoned" state upon overdue and automatically trigger penalties
- Support negative rewards (penalties) directly on tasks and subtasks