🧪 Tester's Guide

For QA & Beta Testers
🚀 Getting Started
  1. 1
    Install: Get APK via Quick Share, Bluetooth, or a direct download link
  2. 2
    Permissions: Grant Location and Bluetooth/Nearby Devices
  3. 3
    Enable: Turn ON "Enable Murmur" in Settings
  4. 4
    QA Mode: Toggle ON QA Mode when the testing team asks you to
🔐 Privacy & Telemetry (QA)

QA telemetry is anonymous, but it is not perfectly private. Please understand:

  • IP address: The server will see the IP assigned to your phone by your carrier or Wi‑Fi ISP (dynamic and changes often).
  • Location: The app will collect device location during QA events to study movement and propagation.

This data helps us tune the mesh and validate propagation under real movement patterns.

📋 The Feed

Pull to Refresh — Forces scan for nearby peers

Trust Bar — Green = Friend, Yellow = Neutral

Heart ❤️ — Marks a message you like (affects sorting/filtering only)

👥 Build Critical Mass

Murmur doesn’t work in isolation. For meaningful tests, grow a nearby cluster:

  • Use Quick Share or Bluetooth to share the APK with friends.
  • Share the download link with people in the same area.
  • Try to get several people in the same neighborhood or workplace.
🗓️ Daily Use (Realistic Testing)

One‑time tests are not enough. Please use the app daily:

  • Post at least one message per day.
  • Walk/commute as usual so messages can propagate naturally.
  • Add friends nearby using BLE pairing when possible.
🔬 Test Scenarios

A Basic Exchange (Bluetooth)

Setup: Two phones with Bluetooth ON

Action: Phone A posts message → Place phones 1-5m apart → Wait 30-60 sec

✓ Phone B receives the message

B Wi-Fi Direct (Long Range)

Setup: Two phones with Wi-Fi ON

Action: Post message → Accept "Invitation to connect" popup

✓ High-speed sync of many messages

C Friend Trust (BLE Pairing)

Setup: Two phones within Bluetooth range (~10m)

Action: Both tap "Add Friend Nearby" → Each sees the other's 6-digit code → Both enter each other's code → A posts message

Security: Requires physical proximity (Bluetooth) AND visual verification of codes. Cannot be spoofed remotely.

✓ Message shows GREEN trust bar on B
🔧 Troubleshooting

"No peers nearby"

  • Is "Enable Murmur" ON?
  • Is Bluetooth ON?
  • Is Location Permission granted?
  • Within range? (BLE ~10m, Wi-Fi ~50m)

"Messages not arriving"

  • Be patient — discovery runs periodically
  • Pull-to-refresh to force scan

"App crashes"

  • Try: Settings → Apps → Murmur → Clear Data
  • May be needed if database schema changed
📻 Radio Settings (Advanced)

Murmur uses four wireless transports simultaneously. Each has different range, speed, and behavior. You can toggle them in Settings → Radios and see their status in the feed header.

● Bluetooth (BLE)

Range: ~10 meters | Speed: Slow (messages trickle)

How it works: Always scanning in background. When two Murmur users come near each other, their phones discover each other via BLE advertising. This is the primary discovery mechanism.

Status icon: Shows number of BLE peers currently visible (e.g., "2" means 2 nearby devices detected).

If disabled: You will NOT discover nearby peers at all unless another transport finds them first. Critical for mesh operation.

● WiFi Direct

Range: ~100 meters | Speed: Fast (bulk sync)

How it works: After BLE discovers a peer, WiFi Direct creates a direct phone-to-phone WiFi connection for high-speed message exchange. Does NOT require a WiFi network.

Popup issue: Some devices (especially Samsung) show an "Invitation to connect" popup. Users must tap Accept for the exchange to complete.

Status icon: Shows active WiFi Direct connections.

If disabled: Exchanges will be BLE-only (very slow, limited messages per encounter).

● WiFi Aware (NAN)

Range: ~100 meters | Speed: Fast (bulk sync)

How it works: Modern replacement for WiFi Direct. Creates direct connections WITHOUT the popup problem. Uses Neighborhood Awareness Networking (NAN).

Availability: Requires Android 8+ AND hardware support. Not all devices have it. Check Settings → Radios — if the toggle is grayed out, your device doesn't support it.

Status icon: Shows active WiFi Aware sessions.

If disabled: Falls back to WiFi Direct (may show popups).

● LAN (Local Network)

Range: Same WiFi network | Speed: Fastest

How it works: When both devices are on the same WiFi network (home, office, cafe hotspot), they can exchange directly over the local network. Uses mDNS/NSD for discovery.

Limitation: Only works if BOTH devices are connected to the SAME WiFi. Does not work across different networks.

Status icon: Shows peers found on local network.

If disabled: No LAN sync — only BLE/WiFi Direct/Aware will be used.

Troubleshooting by radio:

  • BLE not finding peers? — Check Bluetooth is ON in system settings. Check Location permission granted.
  • WiFi Direct popups annoying? — If your device has WiFi Aware, the app prefers it automatically. Otherwise, accept the popup to sync.
  • WiFi Aware grayed out? — Your device doesn't support NAN. This is hardware-dependent, nothing you can do.
  • LAN not working? — Both devices must be on the exact same WiFi network. Some corporate/hotel networks block device-to-device traffic.

⚠️ Important for Testers

Do NOT disable any radios unless specifically asked by the De Novo Group team. We need all radios active to test the full mesh behavior.

If asked to test with specific radios disabled, note which ones in your bug reports.

🐛 Reporting Bugs

Bug reporting is coming soon (in‑app report button).

For now, there is no in‑app reporting channel. Please wait for the built‑in feature.

Please include:

  1. Phone Model (e.g., Pixel 5, Samsung S21)
  2. Android Version (e.g., Android 13)
  3. What you were doing (e.g., "Adding a friend via BLE pairing")
  4. What happened (e.g., "App froze")
📡 Planned QA Messaging

We plan to send clearly marked QA messages over the internet to request specific tests.

This feature is not live yet.

Thank you for testing! 🙏