Spok Mobile iOS Release Notes

New Features and Enhancements 

• Enhanced messaging and inbox experience. The Spok Mobile application has been enhanced to support the improved messaging and inbox interface which will be available with the Spok Mobile 2025 R1 release. If the improved interface is enabled, then the application will include the following features and enhancements:
  • UI redesign and improvements. The Spok Mobile user interface has been rebuilt from the ground up for an improved user experience. For more information on the new UI and all UI-related changes, see the new Spok Mobile 25.1 for iOS 4.8 User Guide.
  • Group chat support has been added to Spok Mobile. Users can be added to a group chat via a directory search of current Spok Mobile users, existing groups, or on-call schedules.
  • Message history is now supported for all Spok Mobile devices, and for Care Connect Web. Users can log out of one device and log into another (or into Care Connect Web) and see all of their previous chats and messages.
    • NOTE: Messages presented under message history will continue to follow message retention settings.
  • Message priority can now be set by users. Users can now select a message priority when sending messages: High, Normal, or Low. The selected message priority will be highlighted with tags and color indicators in the recipients' inboxes.
  • Added a tag for site name. Messages now include a tag that shows which site a message came from.
  • Added visible indicators for user status. Users who have an available status will be highlighted in green, while users who have an unavailable status will be highlighted in grey.
  • Support for attaching PDFs to messages.
  • NOTE: Spok Mobile 25.1 or later is required to use these new features and enhancements. 
• New Care Connect Web Interface. Using Spok Mobile credentials, users can access the new Care Connect Web URL and utilize chat features via the web. This allows users working at a computer to communicate via the web rather than having to use a mobile device. Spok Mobile users can now communicate with other Spok Mobile users either via their mobile device or using the new Spok Care Connect Web interface.Note that Care Connect Web will only be available if the new messaging and inbox interface was enabled. For more information, see Using Spok Care Connect Web.

• Support for iOS 18 has been added.

Security Updates

• Updated Spok Mobile for iOS to reduce system vulnerabilities.

Fixed Issues

• DE35844: Fixed an issue that caused some users to get stuck in the "Sign In" screen during the registration process.
• DE35392: Fixed an issue that caused access codes with only spaces to not be removable or editable.
• DE35397: Fixed an issue that could cause the "No Network Connection" banner not to display, even when no network was available and the app had been restarted.

Known Issues

• Spok Mobile with Pager (SMwP) and Spok Messenger support. The enhanced messaging system and inbox is not currently available for SMwP or for Spok Messenger clients. This issue will be resolved in an upcoming release.
• Multi-site support. The enhanced messaging system and inbox does not currently support multi-site users or multi-site messaging. Support for multi-site functionality will be added in an upcoming release.
• Known issues in the new enhanced UI:
  • Notifications follow the latest logged in device. This means that if a user logs into Care Connect Web, they will stop receiving notifications on their mobile device until they log back into that device (or reactivate the device through the Registration option on the Settings screen). Likewise, if they log into their mobile device, they will stop receiving notifications on Care Connect Web until they log back into the web portal. This issue will be resolved in an upcoming release.
  • Swiping not supported. Swiping on a message to display menu options is not supported in the new UI. A user can instead long-tap on an individual message within a chat to see the menu options.
  • Display delays. The application may take several seconds to display changes in the inbox, such as changes in chat or message status (e.g., messages being read). Note that messages will still be processed and updated on the backend (e.g. marked as read) with the delay only affecting the display in the app.
  • User name sync. User names and names in the console directory are in sync at first, but may go out of sync if the user changes their name in Spok Mobile (or if their name is changed in the directory). This issue will be resolved in an upcoming release.
  • Possible empty chats. If you have a chat with one message and then delete that message, there will still be an open/empty chat in the inbox. Likewise, when you begin creating a new chat, add users to the chat, then click "Start Chat", a new chat message is opened in the end users’ inbox before you send your first message. 
  • Links. Links will not be available in the mobile apps: they will be viewable, but not clickable. This issue will be resolved in an upcoming release.
  • Message templates. Message templates will not be available in this release, but will be added later.
  • Recent contacts. Recent contacts are not supported in this release.
  • Spok Console message priority. Messages from Spok Console to Spok Mobile are always medium priority. This issue will be resolved in the next release of Spok Console.
  • Deleting first message glitch. Deleting the very first message in a chat scrolls the user down to the last message in the chat.

Corrected Issues

• : Fixed an issue with attachments on devices running iOS version 18. Previously, message attachments sent via the Spok Mobile application would open successfully, but using the back button to close the attachment would cause the Spok Mobile application to fail. This issue has now been resolved.

New Features and Enhancements

• Spok Mobile for iOS is now built with Xcode 15 in order to meet current Apple App Store minimum requirements.
• The minimum deployment target has been set to 12. The application is now compatible with iOS 12 and newer only.
• Added a privacy manifest file to provide transparency for app users about what data is being tracked and/or shared by the application.

Corrected Issues

•  Resolved an issue that would cause new user registrations on iOS 4.7.0 to hang at sign-in and existing user registrations to crash after upgrading to Spok Mobile Server 5.1.1.

New Features and Enhancements

• Spok Mobile now allows users to log out. This feature is only available when using Spok Mobile Server 5.1 or above, and the site mobile admin has enabled it for the user's device group. This provides secure device sharing. This functionality is targeted only for users who are not on call. Note that it is a recommended best practice to only use this feature for single-site users.
• Spok Mobile is now able to write a log file to the device for better analysis of reported issues. Users can now export log files to provide additional troubleshooting information such as events and device connectivity status.

Corrected Issues

• The iOS application has been updated to align the volume control functionality when mute switch override is enabled to the Android “do not disturb” configuration. Previously, users were unable to adjust the volume on an alert in this situation. A toggle button for each tone option (High, Medium, Low) has been added so the user can control the volume. Optionally, the site mobile admin can configure tone options for a device group. Server side changes were required to support this iOS application functionality. Spok Mobile Server 5.1.1 is required for this update to take effect.
• Corrected an issue which prevented the click-to-dial functionality from working properly when attempting to click a phone number in some Spok Mobile messages.
•  Resolved a security issue by providing stronger access control and enhanced web security. See the Security Updates section below for more information. Spok Mobile 5.1.1 or later is required for this fix to take effect.

Security Updates

• Stronger access control has been implemented for API endpoints to eliminate possible exposure of configuration information. Spok Mobile 5.1.1 or later is required for this fix to take effect.
• Web security has been enhanced to prevent possible exposure of data when the application queries the database. Spok Mobile 5.1.1 or later is required for this fix to take effect.
• Spok Mobile has a new security feature that prevents iOS from taking screenshots when the app moves to the background so that sensitive information is not stored locally on the mobile device.

Known Issues

• All messages are removed from the device when the user logs out.
• The app does not log events pertaining to Airplane Mode, Do Not Disturb mode, Silent Mode, or hardware device connections (such as connections to headphones or to Apple Watch). Additionally, logs related to APNS (Apple Push Notification Service) connectivity are lacking in detail.

• The "Auto Load Attachments” setting does not load attachments in chat-style messages.

New Features and Enhancements

• The font size in directory display has been improved to allow long entries to display.
• Spok Mobile now provides a validation message when a user sends a message while their device's internet is turned off.

Corrected Issues

• When using search on a Spok Mobile device, you have to select the record twice to select.
• Swiping down on an access code showed all messages without entering the access code.
• Cannot update first name or last name within Spok Mobile on iPhones.

Deprecated Features

• Users are no longer able to sign up for Spok Mobile for free.
• Support for Box attachments has been removed.

New Features and Enhancements

• Added change and forgot password enhancements.

Known Issues

• Unable to access Box cloud account from the Spok Mobile app.
• App crashes if more than four attachments are attached while sending a message on iOS 14 and iOS 15 devices.

Corrected Issues

• Fixes for Backslash and other special characters issue in the message. Behavior of the application will remain the same as in iOS 4.6.2 release. For more information, see Special Character Support in Spok Mobile.

Deprecated Features

• Emoji Support in Spok Mobile was deprecated in this release.

Corrected Issues

• When the device was set to Dark/Night Mode in the Device Settings, some menus in Spok Mobile were not visible. Spok Mobile will now use a light theme, even if the device is set to Dark/Night Mode.

New Features and Enhancements in Spok Mobile for iOS 4.6.3

• Spok Mobile now supports iOS 14.
• Emojis are now supported in the Spok Mobile for iOS app. Note that this does not include emojis included in messages sent from consoles. In consoles, emojis sent from Spok Mobile will be displayed as Unicode characters. Emojis are not currently supported in cross-platform communications, such as communication from Spok Mobile for iOS to Spok Mobile for Android. For more information, see Emoji Support in Spok Mobile.
• The mute switch override feature only works in iOS if the Spok Mobile Premise Server is running version 4.6.0 or later. A pop-up now appears in iOS to notify users of this requirement.
  
  
• "Avaya Equinox" has been updated to "Avaya IX™ Workplace" in the Spok Mobile settings to match Avaya's rebranding.
• Apple has deprecated the UIWebView library.  Spok Mobile for iOS now uses WKWebView instead.
• Various performance and security fixes.

Corrected Issues

• When a user changed their profile name, previous messages in the Spok Mobile app still displayed the user's old profile name. Old messages will now automatically reflect the new profile name.

Known Issues

• The Spok Mobile app intermittently crashes when attaching content from a Box cloud account. This is caused by an issue with the third-party BoxContentSDK library; no fix is currently available from the SDK team.
• If you are using the iOS 14 public beta, when you use the "Select Photos" feature, the app does not limit the photos that are displayed, which makes them appear selectable. You will receive an error message if you choose any photos other than the ones picked with the "Select Photos" feature 
  

New Features and Enhancements in Spok Mobile for iOS 4.6.2

• Support for mute switch override feature for iOS versions 11 and above.
• Support for Do Not Disturb (DND) override feature for iOS versions 11 and above.

Corrected Issues

• When searching for a group by name, the search returns a department name instead of the group name.

Corrected Issues

• The Avaya Equinox app did not launch correctly.
• Text in a new message did not formatted correctly.
• After the user accepted or declined a message during the update process, the user was not taken back to the Messages screen.
• The wipe command did not remove messages on iOS 10 and iOS 11
• Pager Tone continued to play even after the user opened the app.
• The app did not prompt the user when the user tried to attach a video file.

New in Spok Mobile 4.6.0 for iOS

• Spok Mobile now fills the entire screen on notched devices.
• Spok Mobile now uses the Photos library.
• "Acknowledged" and "Received" events are now processed correctly, regardless of the order in which they are received.
• Improved support for iOS 12.

Corrected Issues

• Attachment previews did not appear in some cases; this has now been corrected.
• The "ignored message" toast notification now appears in iOS 11.
• When a notification arrives, the message will only be fetched from the Spok Mobile server once.
• Spok Mobile will no longer crash if you configure an access code on an iOS 12 device which does not have a fingerprint reader.
• Alarms will no longer continue after you accept or decline a message from the lock screen or on the Apple Watch.

Known Issues

• When using "Pager Tone" as your choice of alarm tone, this sound may continue to play even after Accepting/Declining or reading a new message. We recommend choosing a different tone for each tone priority from the app drawer > Settings menu. 
• On iPhone 5C running iOS 10.3, each rebeep produces a new message notification. To resolve this, re-register your iPhone 5C or update to a newer version of iOS.