HandsFree Changelog

What's new in HandsFree 2.6.5

Nov 3, 2017
  • [Fixed] Issue where it was possible the text messaging feature would not work.
  • [Fixed] Issue where the call audio button would show phone instead of Mac for new outgoing calls.
  • [Fixed] Issue where the first attempt to connect through OBEX would fail. Now the app waits and tries once more which usually resolves it.
  • [Improved] Handling for closing phone connections. This should help with the potential issue to get into a connect/disconnect loop.
  • [Improved] Handling of errors when connections for phone logs or text messaging fail part way through setup.
  • [New] Using updated functions for publishing and un-publishing the HandsFree & Message Notification Server services.

New in HandsFree 2.6.4 (Jul 4, 2017)

  • [Fixed] Issues with potential crashes on app startup.

New in HandsFree 2.6.3 (Jun 24, 2017)

  • [New] Displaying the status of the phone below the name so it's more obvious what the app is doing, especially on startup.
  • [New] Added menu option to easily reconnect to the phone if it failed.
  • [Fixed] Issue where the app would not be able to connect to the phone.
  • [Fixed] Issue where if the app didn't have access to the Mac based contacts, the text messaging feature would be unavailable.
  • [Fixed] Issue where no suggestions would be displayed for contacts when sending a text message if the app didn't have access to the Mac based contacts.
  • [Fixed] Issue where the dial pad window would not have the name of phone as its title.
  • [Fixed] Crash if the app was unable to access the MAS (Message Access Server) on the phone for the text messaging feature.
  • [Fixed] Potential crash if the app disconnected from the phone.
  • [Fixed] Potential crash after a call was finished.
  • [Fixed] Second potential crash after a call was finished. This time it was a bug in macOS that we implemented a unique workaround for.
  • [Fixed] Minor memory leak when receiving a text message.
  • [Improved] The app will no longer beachball when downloading and parsing the phonebooks (contacts, missed + incoming + outgoing calls).
  • [Improved] The app is now using a custom vCard parser so it can still process the phonebooks if it doesn't have access to the Contacts framework.

New in HandsFree 2.6.1 (Apr 7, 2017)

  • [New] Text message notifications can now be replied to in-line without having to switch to the app (for phones that support sending over Bluetooth).
  • [New] Added warning dialog if Boom 2 is installed.
  • [Fixed] Issue where it was possible that the app could get stuck downloading the phonebooks on certain phones.
  • [Fixed] Issue where the app could crash in a specific case when disconnecting from the phonebook server.
  • [Fixed] Issue where the app could crash on startup.
  • [Fixed] Issue where the app could crash when showing the rate dialog.
  • [Fixed] Issue where the call audio output would not be synced between the menu and the call dialog.
  • [Improved] Connection notifications are now automaticaly hidden after a few seconds.
  • [Improved] Using better layout for the information in Missed Call and Connnection notifications.
  • [Improved] Using clearer icons in the call dialog to show which device the call audio is being output to (either Mac or phone).

New in HandsFree 2.6 (Feb 9, 2017)

  • [New] Contact phone numbers now have a text label for easier identification instead of an icon.
  • [Fixed] Potential crash when closing the outgoing call window.
  • [Fixed] Potential crash when the phone is disconnected suddenly (ex: out of range).
  • [Fixed] Issue where the option to send a text message would sometimes not appear after connecting to the phone.
  • [Fixed] Issue where connecting to an iPhone would sometimes fail, leaving the app in an unusable state.
  • [Fixed] Issue where the caller name would have garbage characters when using an iPhone.
  • [Fixed] Issue where the dial pad would quickly jump up then back down in height when a call was placed.
  • [Fixed] Attachment icon overlapping the text message subject in the menu item.
  • [Improved] Dial pad window now moves just below the outgoing call window for a better user experience.
  • [Improved] App stability across the board.
  • [Improved] Using a new and clearer icon for switching audio sources in the call dialog.
  • [Improved] Completely re-written engine that deals with getting the phonebooks (outgoing, incoming, missed and contacts), getting existing SMS, listening for new SMS and sending SMS. The reliabilty of these features should be quite a bit better now.

New in HandsFree 2.5.6 (Oct 22, 2016)

  • [New] Added button in send text message dialog to quickly show the Emoji chooser.
  • [Fixed] Issue where incoming text messages would hang the app when using certain Samsung phones.
  • [Fixed] Issue where the audio device could switch back to the built-in microphone and speakers after answering a call on the Mac.
  • [Fixed] Issue where it could be hard for the other party to hear you. The input gain for the microphone is now set to the maximum when a call is active. This also really helps when recording conversations.
  • [Fixed] Issue where searching for a contact using two words would show incorrect results.
  • [Fixed] Potential crash when showing a call dialog.
  • [Improved] The app will switch back to the chosen audio device when it's plugged back in. This is especially useful when using a USB headset that is occasionally unplugged.

New in HandsFree 2.5.5 (Sep 20, 2016)

  • [Fixed] Issue where the menu text fields wouldn't work on macOS 10.12 (Sierra).
  • [Fixed] Issue where phone contacts wouldn't show up as tokens in the send text message dialog.
  • [Fixed] Crash when using a phone running Windows Phone 8.1.
  • [Fixed] Potential crash if there were no recorded calls.
  • [Fixed] Potential crash if a phone AT command timed out.
  • [Fixed] Potential crash if the phone is disconnected while downloading phonebooks.
  • [Improved] The way the app connects and attempts re-connects for an easier experience.
  • [Improved] Monitoring for changes in the recorded calls folder.
  • [Improved] Call dialogs so avatars for phone contacts are now displayed.

New in HandsFree 2.5.4 (Sep 12, 2016)

  • [Fixed] Issue where existing text messages without a name would have a blank sender.
  • [Fixed] Issue where incoming calls without a name would show "Unknown Number". Now it displays a nicely formatted phone number.
  • [Fixed] Potential crash if the phone sent back an error response when receiving the phone lists or contacts.
  • [Fixed] Potential crash when adding recorded call menu items.
  • [Fixed] Three separate crashes in macOS by using custom workarounds.
  • [Fixed] Issue where on 10.9 and 10.10.2 the app would not launch properly.
  • [Improvement] Immediately focus on the message text field when replying.

New in HandsFree 2.5.3 (Aug 22, 2016)

  • [Fixed] Potential macOS crash by turning off the code that auto focuses the dial text field in the menu.
  • [Fixed] Potential macOS crashes by adding a custom workaround for a bug in the Bluetooth framework.
  • [Fixed] Issue where the text alignment was a bit off for incoming text messages.
  • [New] Added a new preference to turn the above workaround off if necessary.

New in HandsFree 2.5.2 (Aug 11, 2016)

  • [Fixed] Issue where text messages sent through the app could be incomplete when received, depending on the phone used.
  • [Fixed] Potential crash when clicking on the menubar icon.
  • [Fixed] Potential crashes if the information from a phone was in an incorrect format and couldn't be decoded.

New in HandsFree 2.5.1 (Aug 5, 2016)

  • [New] Added link highlighting in text messages so a single click will open the URL.
  • [New] Text message reply button is hidden for phones that aren't capable of sending over Bluetooth (ex: iPhone).
  • [Fixed] Dramatically improved search times when typing in the contacts field
  • [Fixed] Potential crash if the phone returned a phonebook in a non-standard format.
  • [Fixed] Potential crash if the phone is disconnected while a phonebook is being downloaded.
  • [Fixed] Phonebooks will no longer be downloaded if the app doesn't have permission to access the Contacts framework. This is because it's needed for parsing the vCards for each person in a phonebook.
  • [Fixed] Potential freeze if the app was downloading a phonebook at the same time as an incoming call.
  • [Fixed] Issue where missed call notification would appear after answering a call.

New in HandsFree 2.5 (Jul 30, 2016)

  • [New] Phone contacts are automatically imported and shown along with the Mac based ones. Searching for a name looks through both sets of contacts.
  • [New] Added ability to view all existing text messages from the phone (supported on most phones except iOS).
  • [New] Added support for MMS messages (supported on most phones except iOS).
  • [New] Added text fied that gets automatic focus for quickly dialing a phone number when clicking the menu bar icon.
  • [New] Added AppleScript support! Dial a phone number, hang up or open the send text message window.
  • [New] Added PopClip extensions for dialing or send a text message to a phone number.
  • [New] Added Contacts app extension for sending a text message to a phone number.
  • [New] Added Send SMS service menu item.
  • [New] Added option to show incoming text messages either through the Notification Center, or show the regular dialog through the app.
  • [New] Added option for connecting the call audio before it dials - this may help audio issues in some cases.
  • [New] Using custom menu items for a better looking UI for call lists and text messages.
  • [New] Changed "No Name" to "Unknown Caller" if there is no contact that matches.
  • [Fixed] Issue where the play ringtone option checkbox wasn't working.
  • [Fixed] Issue where phone numbers wouldn't always get properly matched to a name.
  • [Fixed] Issue where it was possible that the phone could get into a connect/disconnect loop.
  • [Fixed] Issue where the app wouldn't always reconnect to the phone once it was back within range.
  • [Fixed] Issue where clicking a tel: link (ex: from a Safari search for a business) wouldn't work if there were certain encoded characters in the phone number.
  • [Fixed] Issue where non-audio files in the recorded calls folder would show in the menu.
  • [Fixed] Issue where the "Reveal Recordings" menu item might have have worked.
  • [Fixed] Potential crash when adding a new recording.
  • [Fixed] Potential crash getting phonebook dates when running on a non-English system.

New in HandsFree 2.2.1 (Feb 10, 2016)

  • [New] Updated Sparkle framework to 1.14.0 to resolve potential security risk (see article on Arstechnica for more info).
  • [New] Using HTTPS for updates to futher improve security.

New in HandsFree 2.2 (Dec 2, 2015)

  • [New] Improved overall app stability.
  • [New] Completely new preferences with dedicated tabs for each area.
  • [New] Option for automatically sending outgoing call audio to the phone instead of the Mac.
  • [New] Option for the incoming ring tone to be silenced between certain hours.
  • [New] Call dialog button to transfer the audio between the Mac and phone.
  • [Fixed] Resolved issue where contacts with only one name wouldn't appear.
  • [Fixed] Resolved crash when a call history did not have an assoicated time.
  • [Fixed] Resolved potential crash when recording a call.
  • [Fixed] Resolved issue where it was possible that "Send Text Message" wouldn't be available after a computer sleep.

New in HandsFree 2.1.11 (Oct 1, 2015)

  • [New] Improved compatibility with El Capitan (10.11), including when installing future updates.

New in HandsFree 2.1.10 (Sep 25, 2015)

  • [New] Improved overall app reliability.
  • [New] Added preference to use a keyboard hotkey for hanging up a call.
  • [Fixed] Potential crash related to reading the contacts from the Mac.
  • [Fixed] Potential crash related to showing a missed call notification.

New in HandsFree 2.1.9 (Aug 31, 2015)

  • [Fixed] Potential crash related to text messaging support.

New in HandsFree 2.1.8 (Aug 21, 2015)

  • [Fixed] Potential crash when the phone disconnects.
  • [Fixed] Issue with dialing certain numbers from outside the app.
  • [Fixed] Improved app reliability.

New in HandsFree 2.1.7 (Aug 15, 2015)

  • New: Improved reliability (translation: way less crashes).
  • New: Improved responsiveness on launch.
  • Fixed: Issue with dialing 12 digit numbers from outside the app.
  • Fixed: Issue with the Transfer Audio menu not updating properly.

New in HandsFree 2.1.6 (Jul 14, 2015)

  • Fixed: Issue with automatically starting at login.

New in HandsFree 2.1.5 (Jun 27, 2015)

  • Fixed: Improved reliability when the app doesn't have access to the contacts.
  • Fixed: Improved reliability when contacts from the phone can't be decoded.
  • Fixed: Issue where German phone numbers greater than 12 digits wouldn't dial.
  • Fixed: Issue where commas were not valid characters in a phone number.
  • Fixed: Improved memory management.

New in HandsFree 2.1.4 (Jun 6, 2015)

  • [Fixed] Potential crash when recording a call.
  • [Fixed] Potential crash when plugging/unplugging an audio device.
  • [Fixed] Issue where it was possible the name of an external microphone wouldn't be correct.
  • [Improved] Reliability of the auto recording feature.

New in HandsFree 2.1.3 (May 29, 2015)

  • [Fixed] Resolved issue with installing Address Book plug-in when the folder doesn't exist.
  • [Fixed] Resolved issue of not being able to submit a crash report if it unexpectidly quits on startup.
  • [New] Added a Buy Now menu item for convenience.
  • [Updated] Slightly tweaked the icon.

New in HandsFree 2.1.1 (Apr 6, 2015)

  • [FIXED] Potential crash when recording on systems running certain languages.

New in HandsFree 2.0.3 (Mar 12, 2015)

  • [FIXED] Improved stability on app launch.
  • [FIXED] Potential crash when disconnecting from a phone.
  • [FIXED] Dialing delay when using an iPhone.

New in HandsFree 2.0.1 (Mar 3, 2015)

  • [UPDATED] Service item has new title of "Dial with HandsFree 2"
  • [FIXED] License issue when running the website version of HandsFree 1.x.

New in HandsFree 2.0 (Mar 2, 2015)

  • [NEW] Initial release.

New in HandsFree 1.8.4 (Feb 25, 2015)

  • [FIXED] Issues related to hearing static on incoming or outgoing calls.

New in HandsFree 1.8.3 (Feb 10, 2015)

  • [FIXED] Issue on some Macs where there could be a lot of static when making a call.

New in HandsFree 1.8.2 (Jan 27, 2015)

  • [FIXED] The issue where some contacts wouldn't dial.

New in HandsFree 1.8.1 (Jan 16, 2015)

  • [FIXED] Using headphones that include a microphone are now labelled properly in the preferences.
  • [FiXED] Telephone URL links (tel:) now work with or without the double forward slash.

New in HandsFree 1.7.1 (Oct 25, 2014)

  • [FIXED] Contact search field and welcome popover on Yosemite.

New in HandsFree 1.7 (Oct 22, 2014)

  • [FIXED] Core Audio CPU spikes and audio issues.
  • [FIXED] Audio devices with built-in speakers and microphones now work.
  • [FIXED] Input device is restored properly.
  • [FIXED] Status icon staying blue on Yosemite.

New in HandsFree 1.6 (Jul 23, 2014)

  • [NEW] Feature to choose the input and output audio devices for calls.
  • [FIXED] Issue when searching contacts for first and last names together.
  • [FIXED] Characters + and ; are now usable in the dial pad.

New in HandsFree 1.5 (Jun 5, 2014)

  • Resolved issue with phone disconnections.
  • Improved the audio levels (input and output).