Some partners reported problems when signing up customers using the Jump Android App. They would get through to last part of the sign up process, but when the customer tried to enter their address, they would get an error message.
This proved to be a software bug, that has now been fixed and uploaded to Google Play on 6 November 2023.
Thank you to the partners who reported this problem.
At times, a customer’s email address may already be linked to a Skinny service, and signing-up for Skinny Jump will require the use of a different email address. If your customer uses Gmail, there is a handy solution for utilising their existing Gmail account.
Gmail provides a feature known as ‘plus addressing.’ With this feature, they can add a ‘+’ symbol followed by any word or number of their choice to their email address, and emails will still be delivered to the original Gmail inbox. For example, if the customer’s email address is mike@gmail.com, they could use:
All of these email addresses will reach their inbox, and the Skinny Jump platform (both browser & app) will recognise it as a separate email address from the original.
An extra bonus of ‘plus addressing’ is that it simplifies tracking the origin of spam emails. By creating a distinct email address for any online account or service, Gmail users can readily determine which website is the source of spam by examining the ‘from’ field in an email they’ve received. This method allows them to take action to prevent spam and maintain a clutter-free inbox.
So, the next time a customer’s Gmail address is not accepted during the Skinny Jump sign-up process, try adding a + and any word/number that works for them @gmail.com and the verification email will go to their existing Gmail inbox!
The Skinny Jump team has advised that a new Android version of the Jump App has been published this morning in the Google Play Store and is available for download. This addresses the problem reported last week where Android users could not top up from their phones.
I received two inquiries yesterday from partners who are consistently getting the ‘no coverage’ message on the Skinny Jump address checker in some areas of their communities. Both raised the same question – how can we get the capacity boosted on the cell towers serving these communities.
The short answer is that this is outside our (DIAA) control and even outside the control of the Skinny Jump team. The Skinny Jump network is part of the Spark cell network and when towers reach capacity they must await their turn for upgrading.
The Jump address checker is updated with cell tower capacity information every night, and as the customer base is changing all the time, things can change literally overnight. So what can you do about it?
(1) When you encounter a customer in a ‘no coverage’ area, you can complete an online application and this signals to us there is demand at this location. We re-check the address and if it still has no coverage we transfer the application to a ‘no coverage’ database.
(2) We then recheck this address again 1-2 weeks later and if there is still no coverage we send an email to the customer, encouraging them to re-check themselves from time to time in case capacity becomes available.
(3) We aggregate the ‘no coverage’ data by location and share this with the Jump team, who in turn alert the Spark network team. But we know the Spark team will already be aware of towers that have reached capacity and will most likely already have an upgrade plan.
(4) Since the start of this year, we have had 411 customers register through this process, just 3% of all Jump requests. What of course we don’t know is how many customers are turned away without completing an online application form.
(5) The suburbs that have experienced the most cell tower capacity constraints are:
| Suburb | No coverage |
| Auckland – Henderson | 20 |
| Auckland – Manurewa | 16 |
| Auckland – Papakura | 9 |
| Dargaville – Dargaville | 9 |
| Rotorua – Victoria | 9 |
| Auckland – Otara | 8 |
| Levin – Levin | 7 |
| Napier – Onekawa | 6 |
| Auckland – Papatoetoe | 5 |
| Auckland – Ranui | 5 |
| Rotorua – Glenholme | 5 |
| Auckland – Massey | 4 |
| Kaitaia – Kaitaia | 4 |
| Lower Hutt – Naenae | 4 |
| Rotorua – Owhata | 4 |
| Auckland – Mangere East | 3 |
| Auckland – Mt Wellington | 3 |
| Auckland – Pukekohe | 3 |
| Christchurch – Shirley | 3 |
| Hamilton – Claudelands | 3 |
| Kaiwaka – RD 2, Kaiwaka | 3 |
| New Plymouth – Marfell | 3 |
| Rotorua – Fairy Springs | 3 |
My previous post celebrated the launch of the new Jump Android App that included a bug fix for the shorter broadband numbers. But unfortunately, another bug has emerged with the Android version of the Jump App.
When customers click on ‘top up’ in the App, the App closes – thanks to Noha from Porirua Library who first reported this.
The good news is that the app team has already isolated the issue and submitted code to fix it – and it is only affecting the Android version. The not so good news is that we don’t know how long it might take before the App can be updated on the Google Play Store. This update has to be approved by Google and is outside the control of the Spark app team.
The suggested workaround for customers in the meantime is to use the dashboard on a PC to do the ‘top up’ or a browser on their smartphones. Of course, they can also top up using the Jump Interactive Voice Response front-end on calls to the Skinny Care Team (0800 475 4669).
The Jump team expects to have a definitive timeline next week for the update to be uploaded.
An updated version of the Skinny Jump App for Android (v1.1.1) was uploaded to the Google Play Store on 24 October 2023. This included a fix for the shorter broadband numbers that have been causing problems.
For new Jump customers, they will automatically get the new version when they download the App. Customers receiving a replacement for a faulty modem should be advised to delete their existing App and then download the new version.
The Skinny Jump app team have been investigating this bug on the Jump app and have verified the cause of the issue on the android version of the app, but has also identified another bug on the iOS version.
Android: Android app implemented a hard limit of 11 – 12 characters on the input field for the broadband number, therefore not allowing 10-digit broadband numbers
iOS: iOS app implemented the wrong logic where the broadband input field would accept any number of characters, therefore allowing 10-digit broadband numbers
The app developers are now updating the logic/code within the app to accept 10-digit broadband numbers. Once the updates have been made, they need to align to a weekly app release schedule, so they can “push” the new versions of the app onto the app stores. They expect this whole process could take another 2 weeks.
In the meantime, if you are signing up a customer with a 10-digit BB number (0204XXXXXX), we suggest you enter the number in this format: 64204XXXXXX. Both android and iOS versions of the app should then accept the BB number.
Another record month for Ciena Jump signups! 56 partners had signed up a whopping 619 families to the Ciena plan by the end of September (and already another 7 so far today – 3pm 2 October 2023).
This is a fantastic achievement. Linwood Library remains top of the leaderboard – in fairness they did have a sort of head start by collaborating with the Greater Christchurch Schools Network (GCSN) in 2022 and they did get the August Chocolate Fish award.
But with Ranui, Shirley, Hastings and Hornby libraries coming a close second for two months in a row, I think they deserve the sugar boost for September! So keep an eye out for the next courier delivery.
| 56 | 626 | |
| Total Issues | ||
| Linwood Library | 82 | 13% |
| Ranui Library | 57 | 9% |
| Shirley Library | 54 | 9% |
| Hastings War Memorial Library | 46 | 7% |
| Hornby Library | 43 | 7% |
| Wairoa Library | 31 | 5% |
| Otara Library | 29 | 5% |
| Manukau Library | 22 | 4% |
| Manurewa Library | 21 | 3% |
| Te Takere Levin | 21 | 3% |
| New Brighton Library | 20 | 3% |
| Glenfield Library | 14 | 2% |
| Kaikohe Library | 14 | 2% |
| Onehunga Library | 13 | 2% |
| Porirua Library | 11 | 2% |
| Rotorua Library | 11 | 2% |
| Glen Innes Library | 9 | 1% |
| Mangere East Library | 9 | 1% |
| Papatoetoe War Memorial Library | 9 | 1% |
| Wellsford War Memorial Library | 9 | 1% |
This shouldn’t be happening, but I get regular regular reports from partners that it is. Our agreed procedures for handing faulty and returned modems are clearly set out on our website.
The Skinny Care agents rely on a knowledge base to provide advice to customers when they call, so the Jump team went on an exploratory mission to find out where the agents were getting this wrong information.
And success! They discovered a rogue flowchart that was directing Skinny Care agents to some obsolete information that instructed them to advise customers with faulty modems to return them to a nearby Jump partner. Needless to say, this has been corrected. Thanks, River.
Thank you also to the partners who alerted us to this issue. We always welcome feedback on processes that are not working as they should. We can then try and fix them.
A few partners have raised questions this week about what happens to customers’ credit balances when they switch to a sponsored plan like Ciena.
Jump customers will be used to seeing the credit balance on their dashboard when they sign into Jump. However, when they move to a sponsored plan like Ciena this balance disappears from their dashboard. The Skinny Jump team has acknowledged that this shouldn’t happen and have some work in progress to get this re-instated.
The good news is that balances on customer accounts will remain for 12 months after their last plan renewal. However, for customers on multi-year sponsored plans who can not renew a data plan, this can be a problem, as they will eventually lose any credit balance.
Customers in this situation should contact the Skinny Care Team on 0800 475 4669 within 12 months to arrange a refund.
Digital Inclusion Alliance Aotearoa 