When something doesn't work the way you expect, you'll find the most common answers here. With most problems the cause is not in the app, but in an iOS setting, a permission or a focus mode. We go through them one by one.
Reminders don't arrive
Three common causes, check in this order:
- Notification permission: Open iOS Settings, Notifications, InnerPulse. Is "Allow notifications" on? If not, turn it on. If not present, turn the reminder in InnerPulse off and on once, then iOS will ask again.
- Focus mode: When a focus is active (Sleep, Work, Personal), notifications are often suppressed. Check Settings, Focus and put InnerPulse in the allowed apps of the focus where you need reminders.
- Delivery time: InnerPulse suppresses reminders when an entry already exists on that day or when the test was done in the last X days. That's intentional. Check Settings to see if smart suppression explains your reminder.
My entry wasn't saved
InnerPulse stores locally in a SwiftData database. Data loss on save is very rare. More common are:
- Entry overlooked in the list: the app allows multiple entries per day, distinguished by the time of day. If your entry isn't in the expected spot, scroll through the list or check whether you set a different day for the date.
- Storage full: if your iPhone storage is almost full, iOS can block write operations. Check iOS Settings, General, iPhone Storage and make room, then save again.
- App crash before save: if the app crashes during input, unsaved data is lost. Please report the crash via Feedback (see below).
The app no longer responds
Force-quit and restart solve most short-term problems:
- Swipe up from the bottom of the home screen and hold (or double-tap Home on older iPhones) to open the app switcher.
- Swipe InnerPulse up to dismiss it.
- Start InnerPulse again.
If that doesn't help, restart the entire iPhone. If the problem stays reproducible, send a bug report (see below) with a description of the steps.
Data gone after app update
After updates, a migration service runs on first foreground that brings older data formats to the new schema. In very rare cases this can fail, e.g. when the update was interrupted. If data is missing:
- Don't delete the app. That would be final.
- Restart the iPhone and open InnerPulse again.
- If iCloud backup is active and you have the current backup from before the problem update: via iOS Settings, General, Transfer or Reset iPhone you can restore the last backup.
- If you exported manually regularly, import the last CSV as described in the chapter Export your data.
If none of the steps help, write to us via Feedback. We'll check the migration path and come back with a fix.
Apple Health shows no data in InnerPulse
Most common cause: a separate permission is needed per data type, and Apple doesn't return which one is missing.
- Open iOS Settings, Apps, Apple Health, Data Access and Devices, InnerPulse.
- Make sure the relevant switches are on (Sleep Analysis, Workouts, Steps etc.).
- In the Health app itself, a data entry must exist. If you've never logged sleep, InnerPulse logically gets no sleep suggestion.
- Back in InnerPulse: refresh factor suggestions through a new entry or pull-to-refresh in the list.
More details on the integration in the chapter Apple Health & Weather.
Apple Health no longer sets a factor automatically
Since version 6, InnerPulse only sets clear matches automatically, for example Enough sleep or Exercised. Six factors only appear as a suggestion above the factor selection under Suggested by Apple Health: Slept well, Slept badly, Walk, Moved a lot, Water sports and Horse riding. Tap the plus to accept a suggestion. No exercise, Sedentary, Indoors only, PMS and Didn't drink enough no longer come from Apple Health at all; you pick them yourself. Details in the chapter Apple Health & Weather.
A factor or section is missing in the entry
You probably hid it in Customize Entry mode. Tap Customize Entry at the very bottom of the editor. Hidden sections appear there dimmed with a struck-through title; tap the eye to show them again. You find hidden factors under Hidden Factors at the end of the factor list or in Settings under Influence Factors. If the change was less than 30 seconds ago, shake your iPhone to undo it.
Voice dictation doesn't work
Voice dictation needs two permissions:
- Microphone: under iOS Settings, Apps, InnerPulse, Microphone on.
- Speech recognition: under iOS Settings, Apps, InnerPulse, Speech Recognition on.
If both are allowed and dictation still doesn't start:
- Check whether your iPhone's language (or the iOS dictation language) is supported. Apple Speech supports around 50 languages, but not all dialects equally well.
- Make sure no other audio is active (call, voice memo, other recording app).
- An iPhone restart often helps when the audio stack hangs.
Something is calculated wrong
InnerPulse analyses are heuristics, not clinical algorithms. If something seems odd to you:
- At least three entries are the lower bound for trends. With fewer data, charts show little meaningful.
- Confidence measures statistical certainty, not frequency. A factor with five occurrences and a very clear effect gets high confidence. A factor with 50 occurrences and an unclear effect gets low confidence.
- If you want to do your own calculations, export as CSV and load it into Excel or Sheets. The column schema is in the chapter Export your data.
Device sync doesn't work
The Device sync row shows its state. The most common cases:
- Waiting for the key: The key arrives via your iCloud Keychain and takes a few minutes on a new device. In the iOS settings under your Apple Account, iCloud, check that Passwords & Keychain is turned on.
- iCloud unavailable: Sign in to iCloud in the iOS settings and allow InnerPulse to access iCloud.
- Your iCloud storage is full. Sync can't store anything more. Free up space in iCloud or upgrade your storage. Your entries stay on the device in the meantime.
- Different iCloud account, sync paused: You signed in with a different account. InnerPulse sends nothing to the new account without asking, and your entries stay on this device. Turn sync off and on again to set it up with this account.
- Paused after many deletions: Choose Don’t delete or Delete everywhere.
How sync works is explained in the chapter Privacy & Security.
Photos don't arrive on the other device
- Is Sync photos and files turned on on both devices? The switch applies per device.
- If Upload only over Wi-Fi is on, the device where you attached the photo uploads it only over Wi-Fi.
- Files over 25 MB stay on the device where you attached them.
- If your iCloud storage is full, sync can't store any more files. Free up space or upgrade your storage.
Can I migrate from another app?
Theoretically yes, in practice often with manual work. Other tracking apps (Daylio, Bearable, MoodPath) export in their own schemas. The InnerPulse import automatically recognizes its own exports. For foreign CSVs:
- Open the foreign export CSV in a spreadsheet app.
- Convert the columns to the InnerPulse schema:
- Date (ISO format YYYY-MM-DD or full date with time)
- Mood (1 to 10)
- Factors (comma-separated)
- Note (free text)
- Save as CSV and import in the privacy center.
If you need a mapping table for a specific app, write to us via Feedback. We collect mappings for the most common sources.
How do I report a bug?
In settings under About you'll find Send feedback. Tap it and the iOS Mail composer opens with:
- prepared recipient address,
- automatic subject with app version,
- a footer with version, iOS version and device model.
Describe in the mail what you did, what you expected and what happened. Screenshots help a lot. You'll get a reply, usually within a few days.
Where do I find the privacy policy?
The detailed privacy policy is at mblome.com/innerpulse/privacy. A shorter summary of the most important points is in the chapter Privacy & Security.
Where do I go if I'm doing really badly right now
Straight to the chapter Help in Crises. There you'll find hotlines for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and other countries. They are anonymous, free of charge and reachable around the clock.
What to know
- Most "it doesn't work" cases can be solved by iOS permission check and app restart.
- Before you delete data or reinstall the app, always export a CSV as backup. More in the chapter Export your data.
- If your problem isn't listed here, write to us via Feedback. We take every request seriously and add common problems to this chapter.