I’m with you there. I would definitely review/modify any result on the laptop before sending it to the client.
Interesting Jordan.
I know I ca try the app for free. I might download it onto my current phone and do a pretend inspection. It is a big investment into a quality phone, subscription and app itself if I don’t save a bundle of time.
Larry, This is my 3rd year and your routine is 99.9% identical to mine. I do carry a small pocket size notebook to note the defects. I use a wifi Olympus TG5 camera with a 26’ telescopic pole for any roofs that I chooses not to walk on,
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We use it a little more now, but only because my son is shadowing me and can put in the info as we go. But normally I would use it as an easy way to have client and agent info handy just in case I needed it and also I would use it to enter Kitchen appliance brands (but I will still take photos of the brand or logos on the appliances as a back up. I just find that having something else in my hand (especially if it is larger like a tablet is unnecessarily cumbersome. Your phone can easily be left in your pocket so that is what The Companion is on. I like to travel light
Sounds like what I have found to be the most efficient also. I like to do the report sitting comfortably at the office and I also like that my photos can stay high res and separate from the report as you loose resolution as they either go into the companion or when you insert them into the report. Most of my pictures don’t go into the report but Are great for future refrence and or CYA…(that closet that may have termites but at time of inspection is full of junk) I just don’t see it saving you any time doing the report on site or as you go, you still have to stop and insert. I snap the picture and move on.
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It should work with your iphone. It always has been better with android devices, many do use iphones. Now with the recent Android update There is a known problem because we Android people won’t be able to use a third party camera app that will reduce the resolution to something manageable for HG companion to use. (As I understand it)
As a whole, do like the HomeGauge, and their Customer Service is Excellent…Expensive by comparison but you get what you pay for. I’m more than happy with it!
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@kmurphy7 One other tidbit to ponder…HG is promising to roll out some sort of web based report writer soon as well. If this is the case, I am guessing it will make the companion a thing of the past and you can log on with anything and simply upload. and report (If I understand it all from what I have read).
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I believe I have access to this already, as I recieved an email a week or so about it. I just have not had the time to check it out.
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Kaitlin, I have not experienced anything weird except for operator error on my part. I have been using an iphone and apple with hg for approximately 6 years. When I had a problem (my error) I would call hg and that would help me. When you call them be sure to tell them you have an iphone because there are only a few people there that work with apple. Good luck!
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We use both an android phone (ver. 10) and an iPhone. Both work fine they both have there quirks. Android files tend to be larger than the iPhone files so if you have sketchy data service the android will take longer to up and down load. I personally use the iPhone while my son uses the android. I don’t see changing my phone as it works fine. The real early version of companion for iPhone was real bad. Then it got useable, then 6.0 came along and was useless but with 6.1 it seems fine. There are a couple of caveats. Companion for iPhones does not, currently, like to import photos from the camera roll. But video must be taken by the camera app and imported into companion because if you take video from within companion it does not process the file properly when uploading to the desktop.
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We use companion and complete most of the report on the mobile device. I use a Moto g7 and for almost all items we have a canned comment. This is just a cheap prepaid phone from Walmart. We also use the android text features to speed up the process. For example type fc and its programmed to put: I recommend repair or replacement by a qualified contractor. I have spent considerable time optimizing the template which makes input much faster. I originally selected home gauge due to the Apple version coming out “any time”… they advertise that it works, but when I talked to them, they said we don’t really support it… it crashed on me when we were first trying it out so I just moved to Android. It’s prob better to have a separate device from phone anyways.
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Thanks Andrew. Much appreciated.
Here is the thing about using companion. HG teaches you nothing about how to set it up to work properly, which means most people give up. People that say it is crap have no idea how to use it. I use it everyday and it saves major time once set up. My template is a blend of systems and room by room, this helps eliminate jumping between sections too much and puts most defects in the locations they are found. I have also found it has more ways for inputting information than the other software products I have tested. I have 4 different ways of inputting information. One, the regular comment selection. Two, using the Category Filter (THE SINGLE BIGGEST FEATURE for making HG work properly). I would purchase Kenton Shepard’s template, some people do not care for all the comments, but the Category Filter is set up great as a starting point. Three, using the PASS/FAIL selection (hidden Easter egg there 
). Four, Styles and Materials, this section is also overlooked for what it can do for inputting comments. With what HG is doing right now I have looked around and have not found something better to jump to. I saw your request to join the FB HG Users Group (my group), lots of good info there also.
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Kaitlan … We use digital cameras for our pics
@kmurphy7 Kaitlin - Here is a first look at the web writer for me…Interesting, but not ready yet.
Web Writer Intro
Tap Inspect is totally dedicated to Apple only, heard they are great. We use spectora works with any device.
We use both android and iPhone. I use the iPhone and yes there is some weirdness, but there is also some weirdness on the android. On the iPhone pics need to be taken from with in the app. If you try to import pics from the camera roll the app misplaces them and generally screws things up. Videos however must be taken with the camera app and brought into companion because if you take them in companion they do not compress right when you transfer from the app to the desktop. The android files are generally much larger than iPhone files so data transfer rates can be an issue. Quite frankly we have no real problems using either but the iPhone transfer faster.
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It looks like I am very late to the discussion, but myself and my business partner both use Android and the Companion App for four years now. Very stable, very efficient and useful. We complete 90% of the report onsite using the camera’s phone and smart text as well as other built out comments. I use a Galaxy 9+, the other inspector uses the Galaxy Note. We love the companion app and could not imagine using a laptop onsite! We go back to the desktop to add the sub reports such as termite, sewer, and radon, and to highlight pictures if needed.
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None-the-less, welcome back to our forum William!..Enjoy!..The water is warm again, most of the time. 