Relay
release notes

We're excited to announce the release of Relay 3.3, which brings a number of improvements to help streamline the sync process, including early release of phones and notifications for when Relay is waiting for you to enter a passcode. If you run into any problems, please reach out to us at support@reincubate.com. We'd love to help and hear from you.

• Feature Early release of phones from the sync process: Relay will now let you know when it has finished receiving files from your device so you can disconnect it even while it is still uploading files.
• Feature In modern versions of iOS you need to enter a passcode on your phone to complete a sync. Relay will now let you know if a passcode is needed by showing a notification on your computer and in the device's "Sync status".
• Feature If you step away from your computer while Relay is doing a sync you may miss a number of requests to enter the paascode on your phone, in this case Relay may wait a little while before trying again. We've added an option in Relay to make it retry the sync immediately.
• Improvement The vanilla version of Relay now has a brand new icon, we hope you love it as much as we do!
• Improvement On Windows, Apple has replaced iTunes with a brand new "Apple Devices" app for managing phones with your computer. Relay uses these apps to sync with your phone, and will now recommend users install Apple Devices if neither is installed.
• Fix We've fixed a bug on Windows which led to Relay becoming unresponsive if it had been left at the pairing screen for a long time before shutting down your computer.

Today's update is all about reliability, we've added automatic upload retries along with a bunch of other smaller fixes. If you run into any problems, please reach out to us at support@reincubate.com. We'd love to help and hear from you.

• Improvement Added an automatic upload retry mechanism. This should greatly reduce the impact on sync time of brief network issues.
• Improvement Improved logging: we've added log-levels to make it easier to focus on the important details, added incremental logging of large file uploads, and made a number of smaller tweaks to logging.
• Improvement Improved how Relay handles certain errors when creating a backup, which will make Relay more robust and better able to recover when phones get into an unexpected state.
• Fix Fixed a bug which led to an error being displayed with uninstalling the app on Windows.
• Fix Fixed a very rare bug which led to large syncs getting stuck at the end of the upload stage.

Today's update to Relay brings the ability to control whether Relay runs when logging into your computer, along with a couple of smaller bug fixes. If you run into any problems, please reach out to us at support@reincubate.com. We'd love to help and hear from you.

• Feature We've added an option in the "Advanced" menu to control whether Relay will run when you login to your computer.
• Fix We've fixed an issue involving some anti-virus software incorrectly blocking Relay.
• Fix We've fixed an issue which led to the app showing the incorrect time for when it will retry a sync.
• Fix We've fixed an issue which meant that text could sometimes be cut off in the "Reset settings" window.
• Fix We've fixed a bug which led to white-labelled versions of the app showing a the wrong email address for contacting support in the log.

We're excited to be launching Relay 3.1.9 today, which includes significant improvements to how we communicate the progress of syncs along with a number of smaller improvements and bug fixes.

If you run into any problems, please reach out to us at support@reincubate.com. We'd love to help and hear from you.

• Feature We've significantly improved how the progress of syncs is communicated. The "Sync status" column now shows which stage of the sync Relay is currently on, and makes incremental progress clearer.
• Improvement Details on how to grant permission for Relay to access pre-existing backups has been updated to match the design on the latest version of macOS.
• Improvement We've tweaked logging a little to add a few additional details, and fixed an issue which led to the logs including a Reincubate support email address in white-labelled builds.
• Fix We've fixed a bug which prevented syncs from completing if the user unshared and then re-shared a device while Relay was uploading files.
• Fix We've fixed a rare issue which a couple of Windows users had reported when copying the pairing code.

Today's update to Relay includes an upgrade to app's security. This release is for Relay on Windows only — it is not required for macOS users (they were already benefitting from these security advancements).

• Improvement Made the connection between Relay and our servers more secure.

Today's update to Relay includes a number of important fixes for Wi-Fi sync. This release is for Relay on Windows only — it is not required for macOS users.

• Improvement Relay's interface now shows whether the device is connected over USB or Wi-Fi.
• Improvement We now explicitly sync over USB rather than Wi-Fi when both are available.
• Fix We've resolved a problem affecting sync over Wi-Fi.
• Fix Better handling of timeouts from the phone when syncing.
• Fix Resolved a crash condition triggered by the iOS "trust" dialog.

Relay 3.1.5 brings support for iOS 14 and a number of internal changes. This release is only necessary for Windows: existing builds of Relay for macOS already support iOS 14.

• Improvement iOS 14 support.

Relay 3.1.4 includes a fix affecting sync for some users and an ease-of-use change for white-labelling.

• Improvement The Windows version of Relay now uses PNGs for its white-label images, rather than SVGs.
• Fix We've resolved an issue causing sync stall for some users when many files are required in the sync.

We're pleased to be releasing Reincubate Relay 3.1.3 today. This rounds up a number of fixes, and includes a few behind-the-scenes changes in how we do things.

• Feature We've added a Forget device right-click option for paired devices. This option is only available when devices aren't currently connected over USB or via Wi-Fi.
• Improvement Relay now forwards on the number from a device's primary SIM; this data is available through the API.
• Improvement We've made a few improvements to clarify messages in the log.
• Fix Relay no longer raises unexpected device disconnection (InvalidArg) or repeated backup errors to the user. In the latter case, only a single alert will be raised.

Today’s release of Relay includes a large number of enhancements for reliability, speed, and easier use. These enhancements are the same as made to the 3.0 release last week, but are now also available for 3.1.

• Improvement Relay is now smarter in doing what it can to speed up the first sync of a device.
• Improvement Relay is now quicker when getting many files in a partial sync. One element of this was taking up to 15 minutes, but now takes only seconds.
• Improvement We now pre-load some data ahead of sync, reducing the overall sync time.
• Improvement When a device connects, if we want to sync it, we now start doing so almost immediately.
• Improvement Relay’s logs now include much more helpful information for diagnosing issues.
• Improvement We’ve pulled in a number of miscellaneous enhancements for dealing with synced data efficiently.
• Improvement We’ve added a warning popup if you try to run Relay 3.0 (API V2) with a settings.json file from Relay 3.1 (API V3).
• Fix We’ve resolved a bug whereby backups could get stuck after a Wi-Fi disconnection during a backup. This would prevent any more backups happening until Relay was restarted.
• Fix Sync could get stuck if the computer’s network connection went down during an upload. This would prevent the sync from completing until Relay was restarted.
• Fix Requests from the API would go ignored if the device was unshared and then shared again.
• Fix We’ve resolved an issue whereby the backup process would take a disproportionate amount of time for devices with an exceptionally large number of files.
• Fix Relay would delete its local cache if a device disconnected and reconnected during the backup process. This meant that the next backup would be a full one, and could be very slow.
• Fix Relay on macOS now prefers USB backups to Wi-Fi ones, because they are much faster. (Windows already did this.)
• Fix Relay would sometimes do a full sync where only a partial one was required.
• Fix We’ve resolved an issue whereby Relay could think a device is connected when it’s not (this could be caused after a device repeatedly jumped between USB and Wi-Fi, with both being available sometimes).
• Fix We’ve fixed some rare error message popups appearing when a device disconnects on macOS.

We’re aware of a small number of additional issues that we are planning to resolve in a future release. These are:

• (macOS only) Very occasionally on some machines, Relay can lose the ability to talk to the server. It recovers again after a while, but we are investigating this further.
• (Windows only) If you un-share and re-share a device during a sync at just the wrong time, it cause an error which will prevent further backups from working until the device is disconnected and reconnected.
• (Windows only) If the connection (USB or Wi-Fi) used to sync with a device disconnects during a sync, but the device is still available with another connection, then occasionally the next sync will be slow.
• (Windows only) When alerting about an invalid settings.json file, the alert text overflows the message window.

Today's release contains a pair of helpful enhancements for Relay.

• Improvement If the last check-in failed, the app now says so in its status bar.
• Fix Fixed a bug where connectivity issues could cause the pairing window to show, even if Relay has already been paired.

Reincubate Relay 3.1.0 brings with it a simpler, more robust interface, and integration with ricloud API v3.

This release is not backwards-compatible for clients using our v2 or v1 API, and clients with legacy integrations will need to upgrade. All functionality available in v2 and v1 is available in a simpler, more robust, and faster form in v3. v3 hugely simplifies the process of working with the latest version of our APIs for combined iCloud and device data.

• Feature We've overhauled the interface to simplify the main window and pairing code. It's now much clearer and easier to support onboarding users. Text in the interface has been made large.
• Improvement We've moved "Check-in now" to Relay's main menu.
• Improvement "Reset settings" has been added to the Advanced menu. This can be used to easily unpair Relay, allowing the pairing process to be started over.
• Improvement With the addition of "Reset settings", we've taken the opportunity to remove "Uninstall" and "Destroy cache" from the same menu. The app is uninstalled in the usual way on macOS and Windows.
• Improvement We've restored support for macOS 10.10, which we dropped in our 2.0 release.
• Improvement Device images now exactly match user devices.
• Fix Fixed a potential crash on launch affecting users who have manually modified their iTunes configuration.
• Fix Fixed a rare macOS-only crash occurring when a user pressed "Open" immediately after launching an un-paired instance of Relay.
• Fix Fixed a rare bug where Relay would get two pairing codes on launch, and show users the slightly older one, making it impossible to pair.

Today’s release of Relay includes a large number of enhancements for reliability, speed, and easier use.

• Improvement Relay is now smarter in doing what it can to speed up the first sync of a device.
• Improvement Relay is now quicker when getting many files in a partial sync. One element of this was taking up to 15 minutes, but now takes only seconds.
• Improvement We now pre-load some data ahead of sync, reducing the overall sync time.
• Improvement When a device connects, if we want to sync it, we now start doing so almost immediately.
• Improvement Relay’s logs now include much more helpful information for diagnosing issues.
• Improvement We’ve pulled in a number of miscellaneous enhancements for dealing with synced data efficiently.
• Improvement We’ve added a warning popup if you try to run Relay 3.0 (API V2) with a settings.json file from Relay 3.1 (API V3).
• Fix We’ve resolved a bug whereby backups could get stuck after a Wi-Fi disconnection during a backup. This would prevent any more backups happening until Relay was restarted.
• Fix Sync could get stuck if the computer’s network connection went down during an upload. This would prevent the sync from completing until Relay was restarted.
• Fix Requests from the API would go ignored if the device was unshared and then shared again.
• Fix We’ve resolved an issue whereby the backup process would take a disproportionate amount of time for devices with an exceptionally large number of files.
• Fix Relay would delete its local cache if a device disconnected and reconnected during the backup process. This meant that the next backup would be a full one, and could be very slow.
• Fix Relay on macOS now prefers USB backups to Wi-Fi ones, because they are much faster. (Windows already did this.)
• Fix Relay would sometimes do a full sync where only a partial one was required.
• Fix We’ve resolved an issue whereby Relay could think a device is connected when it’s not (this could be caused after a device repeatedly jumped between USB and Wi-Fi, with both being available sometimes).
• Fix We’ve fixed some rare error message popups appearing when a device disconnects on macOS.

We’re aware of a small number of additional issues that we are planning to resolve in a future release. These are:

• (macOS only) Very occasionally on some machines, Relay can lose the ability to talk to the server. It recovers again after a while, but we are investigating this further.
• (Windows only) If you un-share and re-share a device during a sync at just the wrong time, it cause an error which will prevent further backups from working until the device is disconnected and reconnected.
• (Windows only) When alerting about an invalid settings.json file, the alert text overflows the message window.

Relay 3.0.3 is a service release fixing an unusual sharing issue.

• Fix Checking "Share" in Relay before subscribing could cause sync to get stuck for 24 hours or until Relay was restarted. This would only happen if Relay completed its initial sync after clicking "Share" but before subscribing.

In our second update to Reincubate Relay 3, we're adding improvements for iOS 13 and a number of important reliability enhancements.

• Feature Added right-click menu to devices with "Remove encryption" and "Enable encryption" options.
• Improvement iOS 13 devices won't relay call history unless the device has been configured to create encrypted backups. Relay will now prompt users and guide them through this process. It'll only ask once, so if they choose not to, it won't keep bothering them.
• Improvement We've changed a few things behind the scenes in the way we prepare Relay for distribution.
• Fix Fixed a nasty edge-case bug where losing connectivity whilst syncing could lead to subscription permissions being reset.
• Fix Fixed an issue where Relay might silently closed if a particular sort of problem occurred whilst syncing, and fixed a related issue where corrupt sync data could cause a crash.

We're proud to be releasing Reincubate Relay 3.0.1 today. Here's what's new:

• Feature Reincubate Relay is now notarized by Apple, ready for macOS Catalina (10.15).
• Improvement We've improved the visuals in the Windows installer.
• Improvement We've removed a few stray legacy references to "iTunes backups".

We're thrilled to release version 3 of our Relay tool today, and as we do so, we're renaming it: asrelay is now Reincubate Relay. We've done this in part as we make our product naming simpler and clearer. Reincubate Relay 3 brings a significant change:

• Feature We now synchronise with devices directly rather than relying on iTunes backups, and can do so over USB or Wi-Fi. Users of the API can request data from a device on demand, and the API will request data every 24 hours unless instructed otherwise. 🎉 For more on this, check out the API docs or reach out to us directly.
• Improvement Added date of last sync and sync progress to the UI (sync progress is an estimate).
• Improvement Startup is now faster because Relay no longer needs to load and decrypt all known backups on launch before it is possible to interact with the app.
• Improvement Double-clicking the system tray icon on Windows now opens Relay's main Window.
• Improvement Application properties are now better formatted on Windows.
• Improvement Reincubate Relay is no longer shown as asrelay.views.WPF in Windows 10 notifications.
• Fix Fixed a bug where Relay wouldn’t trigger a notification asking for the new password if a backup’s password changed.
• Fix Fixed a bug where device images and names only updated after a check in with the API.
• Fix Reincubate Relay could look wrong on macOS when dark mode was enabled for some users. We've resolved this now.

asrelay 2.0.2.1607 has a round-up of fixes, most importantly address an upload issue that some users have encountered.

• Fix Fixed upload fail condition when a very large number of files were requested.
• Fix We're corrected a small number of typos.
• Fix Assorted text fixes for white-label builds.

asrelay 2.0.1 is our first point release for asrelay, addressing a silent crash and a number of smaller issues.

• Improvement Added vertical scroll bar to the list of backups on Windows.
• Improvement asrelay's log now collects a little more data, including build version.
• Fix Solved a silent crash that had been introduced in the 2.x release.
• Fix Tightened up error handling on macOS, to more robustly capture exception reports.
• Fix Handled a number of remote update issues on macOS.
• Fix Fixed a small typo on the macOS build's security panel.

We're pleased to be shipping version 2 of asrelay. Here's the Windows version to accompany the macOS release earlier. After this build, we'll revert to our usual practise of shipping Windows and macOS builds simultaneously.

• Feature Windows build of asrelay 2 to accompany the macOS build.

We're pleased to be shipping version 2 of asrelay for macOS today. This new version includes a number of substantial changes.

• Feature Brand new user interface to streamline on-boarding and use.
• Feature New visual identity and branding for the un-white-labelled build.
• Feature New permissions window for users of macOS Mojave.
• Feature "Log to email" feature has been added to the main menu to aid troubleshooting.
• Improvement We've resolve a potential duplicate snapshot issue that could affect users of multiple, similar iOS 12 devices.
• Improvement Many changes behind the scenes in how we build and release asrelay.

This release includes a number of compatibility fixes.

• Improvement Includes the Windows Store iTunes search path by default.
• Improvement Assorted enhancements have been made to the relay's error reporting, making remote diagnosis of problems easier.
• Fix Resolved crash where LaunchAgents wasn't present.
• Fix Rotated signing certificate.

Our 1.0.0.320 release builds on the previous one, and adds further improvements to remote diagnosis of problems.

• Fix Ack failures are reported back to ascollector so that it can determine the best course of action programmatically.
• Fix More error data is collected where problems occur.

This release improves our ability to remotely diagnose issues that end-users may encounter.

• Improvement Better reporting of issues.
• Fix Fixed "Value too large for UInt" that reported by some users

We're closing the week with a set of enhancements around timezones. As with the prior release, we're not pushing through the default auto-updater.

• Improvement Included timezone data in the local log.
• Improvement Included additional logging data on device list uploads.
• Fix Assorted fixes for timezone mismatches, and the rescanning behaviour that this led to.

Update 282 for asrelay includes reliability fixes to address edge-cases encountered by some end-users. It contains a known issue where the latest backup date shown in the interface may not update, and as such it is not being pushed through the default auto-updater.

• Feature Synchronisation of all client white-label builds on the same version number whilst still being able to control remote updates client-by-client.
• Fix Resolved over-eager detection of backup changes that was present on some macOS systems.
• Fix Resolved under-eager detection of backup changes that was present on some systems.
• Fix Fixed startup error affecting some installations on macOS.

Today's release includes an enhancement to the white-label mechanism, providing greater visibility when supporting clients.

• Improvement User-agent update when reporting.

Today's release includes a number of important fixes.

• Fix Reduced memory usage over time which could lead to pressure.
• Fix Fixed crash where iTunes backup directory didn't exist.
• Fix Fixed edge case crash with deleted backups.
• Fix Updated terms & conditions generation and macOS installer background for white-label clients.

Our new asrelay tool has left beta, with a first public release. Thanks to our beta users for their support!

• Feature First public release for both Windows and macOS.