Open to testers
Test The Helm
The Helm is in testing before it reaches the stores. Anyone 13 or over can join: it takes a couple of minutes, and testers who stay for two weeks help it get there.
Joining the test
- 01
Android: join the tester group
Sign in with the Google account your phone uses, open the tester group below and choose Join group. Joining only gives you access to the test; the group has no posts.
- 02
Android: become a tester and install
Open the Google Play testing link below with the same Google account, choose Become a tester, then install The Helm from Google Play. It can take a few minutes after joining the group before Play lets you in.
- 03
iPhone: install with TestFlight
Install Apple’s TestFlight app, then open the public testing link below on your iPhone and choose Accept, then Install.
- 04
Commission your ship
Open the app, name yourself and your ship, choose up to five Duties and charter your first passage. No account is needed: your Log stays on your phone.
- 05
Create an account if you want one
To keep a copy safe, use more than one device or sail in a convoy, open the Ship’s Office (the anchor on your Watch) → Account & online service, enter your email and a password, and choose Create an account. Then open “The Helm: Confirm your email address” from noreply@ayeaye.com.au on the same phone, tap the link and sign in. Check spam if it hasn’t arrived after a few minutes.
- 06
Updates arrive by themselves
Most fixes reach the installed app automatically. Close and reopen The Helm now and then to pick them up; you will be asked to install a new build only when one is needed.
What it’s like right now
- It’s under active development. Expect rough edges and change.
- Feel free to share this page with friends. On Android, please stay in the test for at least two weeks: Google needs that before The Helm can go on general sale.
- Your data is handled as described in the Privacy Policy. There are no ads, analytics or tracking in the app.
- You can delete your account at any time; see Delete your account.
Where to focus your testing
-
Your daily Watch
Set your Duties, log them through the day with the Ship’s Wheel, the Sounding Tape or the Duty timer, and check that partly done Duties earn partial credit and finished ones count in full. Change a Duty before noon, then confirm it holds after noon.
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Across midnight
Log late in the evening, then open the app the next day. The previous Watch should close at midnight with a fair result, and nothing should be counted twice.
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Passages
Charter a passage on the globe, including one through ports of call. Watch your ship make way, round chapters and make landfall, then check the passage appears in the Log. Check that the Scheduled Arrival and distances make sense.
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Convoys
Form or join a convoy with a fellow tester, send a signal, and check that each of you sees the other’s progress, but not Duty names unless you share them.
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Accounts and offline use
Sign up, confirm, sign in on a second device, and try a password reset (“Lost your bearings?”). Log something with no signal and check it syncs when you’re back online.
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The rough edges
Small screens, large text, backgrounding and reopening, and anything that looks off or reads wrong.
How to give feedback that helps
Good reports are specific. Where you can, include:
- what you did, step by step;
- what you expected to happen;
- what actually happened;
- your device, its system version, and the app version and update shown under Ship’s Office → About The Helm;
- your timezone and roughly when it happened;
- a screenshot or screen recording if it’s visual.
For anything about miles, Merit or rank, note what you’d just logged. Results are calculated by the service, so a time usually lets us reconstruct what happened.
On iPhone, send reports through TestFlight’s feedback option. On either phone you can email support@ayeaye.com.au. Never include your password.