GE WattStation

My car won't even charge when I'm using this app! And I've met other people who have the same problem. On top of that the app is clunky and hard to use. I'd give it a 0 if I could

Terrible UI, asked to log in 3 times when trying to charge. Integrate Google Imprint to make this more streamlined!

The good: At least for me, so far, it "works" The bad: Forces me to log in for every use. Occasionally loses connection with the charger, so it stops updating status even though the website does show charging still occurring. The pins are hard to decipher. As others have mentioned, way too many steps to start charging. Zoom on the charging map is jerky. Seriously? There's an Android API For this; how do they get this wrong? So yeah. from my perspective it has the absolute bare minimum of functionality. But virtually everything that would make it "good" or "enjoyable to use" is either non-existent or broken.

You can't register from the app. It wants you to enter the capture picture shown, but there is no picture.

The app doesn't display a Captcha image, and thus doesn't allow me to register. There is no way to register on the website. Useless and extremely frustrating.

This app will kill your battery. I have installed it multiple times on multiple phones and each time it eats more than 10% of my battery in less than an hour. Have to uninstall to get my phone back to normal. Use plugshare.

This is a scam. Bait-and-switch. There are some charging station nearby and they are labeled as free but the QR Code won't scan and you cannot manually enter the station ID. Then it tells you to download EV Connect or call a number. With EV Connect, the same station is a pay-to-charge. Bait-and-switch scam.

Seriously General Electric? Looks like it was coded by a 3 year old. Fix the battery drain plz!!

Captcha image isn't showing on Galaxy S5. 2nd step to setting up account and you blew it.

Doesn't generate a Captcha Code so I can't even register... :-(

It amazes me that this is the app/interface that GE uses to make money from it's charging infrastructure. It is a pile of garbage. To sign up, it requires that you confirm a Capcha, and that image doesn't display on my device! You are better off to do everything through the GE webpage, this app has no business on your phone.

Why does map default to bay area then has to lock gps to find real location? Let user set default location and favorite stations. Pins are huge even when zooming in. makes it difficult to find available station.

Not only did the station not charge via the app, I was on hold waiting for assistance that never came through the customer service line. I waited about 30 minutes, reading a newspaper before I gave up. This is entirely useless.

Can't sign in even though I can sign in on my pc. Keep getting errors

☺work fine

Difficult to connect to charging station (have to install another qrcode app), and once connected can't following charging progress. Seems half implemented with no user testing. Surely GE has the resources to do better.

Have no idea why this app is using so much data and battery power. Seriously, it uses more data than my e-mail programs do and I use this app maybe once a week. Why does it need to install a separate Bar code scanner rather than have a built in one? Why do I have to log in every time I want to use the app to start charging. Uninstalled!

Lot better now. Saves login information. Very functional but UI needs drastic improvements. Still hogs the battery

This does not show all the stations in San Diego. Map on their website is more up to date. Why oh why?

Just installed app, but it doesn't link to PayPal which is the ONLY payment supported in North America. No pay, no charge. App is useless!

After you use the app, it'll continue to run indefinitely with the GPS on until you force close it. This kills the battery obviously. Please fix. Also, the app is incredibly cumbersome and complex to use. It actually takes 13 clicks/taps on various screens to get the charging started.

Terrible UI, asked to log in 3 times when trying to charge. Integrate Google Imprint to make this more streamlined!

Instead of checking the location and releasing the GPS, the app continually checks the location until you close it. That causes a major battery drain.

The chargers at my office require this app. That's the only reason why I have this app. If an alternative was an option, I'd use that. Bad design and terrible implementation.

The pinch zoom feature has a nasty bug where it shifts the center point. Workaround is to zoom in very slowly in 5-6 steps, re-centering after each. Also, should have a unique color code for disconnected so we don't have to get station detail one at a time for each possible charger. I don't care if it is no longer charging. I need to know if the spot is occupied. Between these two bugs, the app is unusable unless you have 10 minutes to figure out where to go.

You can actually see in the Android battery stats when this application is launched because your battery starts draining at twice the rate for the rest of the day. On top of that, to start charging your car you have to go through this whole process of scanning the QR code (which requires a separate app) logging in and agreeing to pay with your paypal account and then logging in to that... just let me skip all that and use the NFC on my phone like other apps do.

Lowering to 2 stars since GE hasn't updated the app in >6 months, but has plenty of fix and improvement recommendations in the store. Location: coarse location should work, but app insists I enable GPS for fine location resolution or else it forces manual zoom in from a world view. Accuracy: I usually have to push the refresh button to make sure I'm not viewing stale availability data from hours, days, or who knows how long ago. Access: I have to go to the website to view my charge status or history information. Consistency: Charger, website, and app each have different charge color status encodings.

The idea is right, but the implementation is awful. I have no less than 9 separate taps on the mobile device screen AFTER I've entered the station ID. Why deal with so many "continue" buttons? Just scan station barcode and ask "YES/NO" to authenticate and charge my account which I've already setup. Why not use barcode scan API from Google Goggles? (Not 3rd party app)

After you use the app, it'll continue to run indefinitely with the GPS on until you force close it. This kills the battery obviously. Please fix.

If I can begin charging within a minute of using an EV app, I'm happy. This accomplishes that perfectly fine.

Location: coarse location should work, but app insists I enable GPS for fine location resolution or else it forces manual zoom in from a world view. Accuracy: I usually have to push the refresh button to make sure I'm not viewing stale availability data from hours, days, or who knows how long ago. Access: I have to go to the website to view my charge status or history information. Consistency: Charger, website, and app each have different charge color status encodings.

What do you mean I have to link with paypal!! Hell no. Just take my credit card like 99.9% of all businesses do in 2014

Doesn't connect tho PayPal account. And seriously? I need a PayPal account? Will try once they get it working

This app is still immature. Today, for example, a new version (1.4.1) came out and it does not allow me to login. It forget login information, so you have to type it everytime... GE would be better off partnering with PlugShare.

Now if the sites would charge reasonable rates I might go thru the incredible hassle of using the app/charger to get a few kWh of charge.

The amount of time it takes to operate this app before you can start charging is ridiculous. It forces you to login each time! And the app is a battery hog! Make the app more user friendly and less of a battery hog. I will surely change my rating in that case.

While the wattstation works great at charging my car, the app has a few bugs that keep it from being awesome. If it kept me logged in in between uses and didn't require so many button presses it would be much better. Also- perhaps keeping a list of favorite stations?

With 11/7 app update for WattStation, I am once again able to log in and start charging my car. This app still needs improvements. It would be great if you did not have to log in multiple times a day. Also, when the app is closed, it should no longer need to access the GPS.

Super easy to register. Lose 3 stars because it constantly logs you out. Do they think somebody is going to steal my phone and use it to charge their car? Seriously? Let me stay logged in, or at least save my email address. Better to stay logged in.

Update 12/26/13 - Working now with a couple of bugs. When logging in, ignore the message "User not in network" as you are probably logged in. If you see a "log out" button, then you are most likely logged in. The second bug is procedural. You must scan the QR number FIRST (or type if scanner doesn't work) before you plug the car in if you are using an android phone. Otherwise the charge units are working for me. Customer support did keep on this until we came to an understanding of what the issue was. There will be a software update to solve this problem later. I'll upgrade my "stars" now.