Australia’s Covid-19 Contact Tracing App Doesn’t Work Properly on iPhones

Covidsafe contact tracing

Users running Australia’s Covid-19 contact tracing app on an iPhone may not be collecting all the necessary data. Problems have emerged with the Covidsafe app if iPhone users are not running it in the foreground or are using older models (via The Guardian).

Covidsafe contact tracing

Australia Turning to Google/Apple Contact Tracing Model

In total, 5.1 million people in Australia have downloaded and registered on the app across iPhone and Android. The Android version works fun if running in the background, but on iOS it works best only if it is open in the foreground and the device is unlocked. Older model iPhones also offered weaker Bluetooth

Randall Brugeaud, who heads the Digital Transformation Agency that led the building of the app, admitted the failure to a committee of lawmakers on Wednesday. He said:

What we can say is the quality of the Bluetooth connectivity for phones that have the app installed running in the foreground is very good. And it progressively deteriorates and the quality of the connection is not as good as you get to a point where the phone is locked in the app is running in the background.

Mr. Brugeaud said a further update is on the way to integrate the framework developed by Apple and Google and hopefully fix the issue. The UK could find itself facing similar problems to those in Australia. It is testing an app that was built not using the model put forward by Apple and Google.

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