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Tell The truth

V1 remote

instructions

Setting up the V1 Remote
Setting Up

Some things to note about your Bluetooth Remote when you first receive it:

  • The buttons have a layer of rubber sealant on top of them to prevent/remove the click. Some still click because we don't know how the button will react until the glue dries. Either way, when you press on the raised button pad, your phone (when connected) should react as if you are swiping in that direction. If your phone does not respond, email support@tellthetruthapp.com with your order number and we will help you out.

  • This remote has a 30 minute timeout, to preserve battery life. If you know the remote has been idle for that long, you can either press any button on the remote once to wake it up, and then the NEXT press will be sent to the device.

  • If your remote is named "TellTheTruth", in order to use the remote on iOS, you need to update the firmware in the remote. Instructions to do that are here. Please do not go any further until your remote is updated. If your remote I named "TELLTRUTH_Keyboard", your remote is updated and you can continue on in the instructions.
     

Let's start by setting up your Tell the Truth remote:

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  1. Inside the box you will find a remote and a CR 2032 coin cell battery. Take the coin cell battery out of the packaging.

  2. Turn the remote over so the + symbol is showing on the back, and pull back the rubber sleeve that the + symbol is written on slightly, exposing the battery compartment. Slide the battery inside the remote, and if the battery has trouble sliding into the holder, push down on the battery so it tilt down (the end of battery inside the battery holder will be pushed up). Slide the coin cell battery as far into the remote as it will go.

  3. Turn the remote over and look at the right side of the remote, you will see a small black switch. This is the on/off switch, using the flat part of your thumb or index finger, slide the switch up. You can also use any small plastic or wood piece to slide the switch to the on position.

  4. When you flip the switch, a small blue light should illuminate in the upper left hand corner of the remote. If you can't see it, pull the rubber sleeve surrounding the remote back slightly to expose the light (don't pull back too far or you'll damage the sleeve). The light will go to solid blue, then start flashing. This means the remote is in pairing mode.

  5. Go to your device's settings and open the bluetooth settings. You will see, in the list of available bluetooth devices, a device named either "TellTheTruth" or "TELLTRUTH_Keyboard".

    1. If your device is named "TellTheTruth", it is an old firmware version and must be updated, so click/tap here to go to instructions on how to connect and update the firmware. On Android, this update is not necessary and the remote can be left as-is.

    2. If your device is named "TELLTRUTH_Keyboard", it is the updated firmware and is ready for performance. Tap on it to connect. When the remote connects, the blue light will turn off. If it doesn't connect, tap on it again and it should connect on the second attempt.

  6. If your remote does not connect (timeout error, etc), turn the remote off, press the UP button (the button closest to the battery slot) and, while holding the UP button down, turn the power of the remote on. Once the blue light comes on, let go of the button and try connecting again (it should connect this time).​

  7. The TELLTRUTH_Keyboard remote is essentially a bluetooth keyboard. To test, open any app that takes text input (mail, notes, even the search bar from pulling down the icons on the home screen), and press the up button. If you see the letter b appear, it means your remote is connected successfully! Each button should trigger a different letter key, from a to f, so try each button to make sure each one is working.

  8. If you press down on the remote and you don't feel/hear a click, DON'T PANIC! Each remote button has a small amount of rubberized glue to prevent the remote from being too loud. As long as the phone responds when each button is pressed firmly, you should be fine. If the buttons do not respond, email us so we can help or replace your remote.

Some notes:

  • the remotes are NOT WATERPROOF! So, don't drop yours in a pool or refreshing beverage. They will withstand a reasonable amount of sweat from your palms, but if you're worried, put the remote in a small baggie before using (we can suggest/provide some if you need at no cost, just email us).

  • You can pair multiple remotes to the same device, so you can control it during your trick AND after you can leave your iPad/iPhone out, and someone else can control it as well from afar.

  • Your phone thinks your remote is a keyboard, so if you want to use the built in/iOS keyboard, just flip the remote OFF and the on screen keyboard will pop up. When done, flip the remote ON and they keyboard will hide/your remote will connect automatically.

  • The remote's battery will be ON and ACTIVE as long as the remote is on and paired. To avoid draining the battery, please turn the remote off when not in use (if you turn it on it will connect to your device automatically).

  • This remote will work on both iOS and Android, so use it on either operating system. The setup guide to using the remote for other apps on both iOS and Android is below.

Flashing

Flashing the V1 Remote

If you own a Tell the Truth remote and it is not working on iOS 13.4 or newer, this is the instructions on how to update the firmware inside of the remote to work with iOS 13.4 or newer.

 

It is worth noting that, at the end of this process, the remote will not send swipes to the device, but rather will send keystrokes "a" through "f" depending on the button pressed.

 

Some things to note before starting the flashing process:
 

  • If you connect your remote to your phone and it shows up as "TELLTRUTH_Keyboard", your remote has already been flashed and you can skip all of these instructions and go back to the main instructions page.

  • If you need to flash your remote, make sure you use a BRAND NEW BATTERY in the remote and that your PHONE IS PLUGGED INTO A CHARGER. If the flashing process gets interrupted for any reason, your remote will not turn on and there is zero chance of fixing it.

  • The flashing process is a ONE WAY PROCESS and once your remote is flashed there is no way to return it to its previous state. If you are on Android and use our remote for other apps, there is a video on setting up your remote for Android on the main instructional page.

  • Make sure your phone is updated to 13.4 or newer before attempting this flashing procedure.
     

So, here is the procedure to flash:

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  1. Go to the bluetooth settings and make sure your remote is paired (put the NEW battery inside per our setup instructions and turn it on, then tap on "TellTheTruth".

  2. Download the remote programmer app by clicking here. If you get an error (the build is expired, etc), just email us so we can reactivate it.

  3. Once it is installed, turn OFF your remote. This is the last time you will turn it off until the flashing process is complete.

  4. Open the Tell The Truth app you just installed and turn your remote ON. You should see the name of it at the top of the screen. Tap the name.

  5. It will enter a screen with a button labeled "Flash Firmware". Tap that button.

  6. The flashing process will seem to quit. This is normal, your remote is in a mode that it will accept new firmware. Tap the "Go to Settings" button and tap the blue "I" next to the TellTheTruth remote, and choose "Forget This Device". Make sure to keep repeating this procedure until the TellTheTruth device is listed in the "Other Devices" section of the Bluetooth Devices.

  7. Return back to the Remote Updater app (Tell the Truth) and tap "Ok", then tap "Flash Firmware" again. Now, the firmware will begin to update. DO NOT POWER OFF YOUR REMOTE! DO NOT LOCK YOUR PHONE! DO NOT POWER YOUR PHONE OFF! LEAVE EVERYTHING ON UNTIL THE FLASHING IS COMPLETE! This process should take only a minute or two to complete and the status will show you the percentage complete as it flashes.

  8. Once it finishes, you will see a "Success" message. Return to the bluetooth settings page, and you should see it appear as either "OTA mode", "TellTheTruth", or "TELLTRUTH_Keyboard".

    1. If it appears and you tap on it, and it says "Connected" next to it with a blue (I) symbol, you are done and successfully updated.​

    2. If it appears and you tap on it, and it says "Connected" but there is no blue (I) symbol, flip your remote off and then back on, and then tap the name of it again to connect.

    3. If it doesn't show up at all, it is more than likely stuck in an updater state still. Don't panic, your remote is not dead, just email us at support@tellthetruthapp.com and we will help you out...

  9. Once the remote connects, it should rename itself "TELLTRUTH_Keyboard". Now, you can test it by going to the home screen and pulling down the top row of icons, and pressing the buttons of the remote. If you see the letters a, b, c, d, e, and f in the search bar, you are done and working :)

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That's it! You're now done! One other thing to know before you move on is that, if you try to connect the remote to another iOS or Android device and it doesn't show up OR it doesn't connect, you need to simply power the remote OFF, then hold down the UP button, and power the remote back on. When the blue light in the top of the remote flashes, release the UP button and try to pair (you should now be able to pair).

Using Remote with Other Magic Apps

Other Apps

Although we do not formally offer support, nor do we have any formal partnerships with any other app makers, both iOS and Android have methods to convert keyboard presses into swipes. So, any magic app that takes a swipe input to secretly control, you can use with our remote.

 

The way you can do this is with a feature in iOS know as "Switch Control". Switch Control is normally used by the handicapped to control their phone using an external device. However here, we will set it up to work with our remote.

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  1. Once your remote is connected, go to Settings > Accessibility > Switch Control and tap on the button labeled "Switches"

  2. Tap on "Add New Switch..." > External > and then press one of the buttons on the remote. A window will pop up asking you to name the switch, so name it appropriately (if it is the up button, name it "Up"). Press Save. Then, under the list of "Actions", tap on the action marked "Tap".

  3. Repeat step 2 for each button on the remote. When you are done, there should be 6 switches total. 

  4. Back out of the Switches menu by tapping "Switch Control" in the top left corner (you should now be in the main "Switch Control" menu) and tap "Recipies".

  5. Under "Recipies" at the bottom, tap "Create New Recipe"

  6. Tap on the Name box and turn your remote OFF (so the keyboard will come up), then name your recipe. This can be something generic like "Swipe Controls" or for a specific app like "TimeLine". Turn your remote back on and the keyboard will hide itself.

  7. Tap "Assign a Switch", and you will see all of the switches you just created. Tap the name of one of your switches you created in step 2 (for this example press the "Up" switch), then tap "Custom Gesture".

  8. The "New Gesture" window is where you will draw on the screen the gesture that will be duplicated when this switch button is pushed. So, for the Up switch, draw a quick up swipe motion on the screen. Whatever speed you draw it will be the speed it is performed on screen when the button is pressed. If you mess it up, you can press "Record" in the bottom right corner to redo the swipe. You can press "Play" to preview the stroke, and "Save" to save it. You can also tap parts of the screen as well as swipe if your app takes tap inputs.

  9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 until each key has its own custom gesture. For buttons that should just send a single tap, you can choose "Tap Middle of Screen" from the menu if you don't want to make a custom gesture.

  10. Once saved, tap on "Recipes" in the upper left corner (in blue), and tap "Launch Recipe", then tap the name of the recipe you just created.

  11. Once done, go back top the main menu for Switch Control, and ensure the scanning style is set to "Manual" and Auto-Hide is set to 1s. Tap "Accessibility" in the top left corner of the screen when done.

  12. Scroll to the bottom of Accessibility and tap on "Accessibility Shortcut". Tap "Switch Control" so it has a blue checkmark next to it.

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Switch Control is now set up! Now, to enable it before you use whatever app you want to use with your remote, press the home button 3 times quickly (on full screen phones like iPhone X, the button on the right side of the phone is the home button) to bring up the Accessibility Menu, then tap "Switch Control". When you do this, your device will say your recipe is active, and if you press the buttons on your remote, you will see a gizmo carrying out those gestures. This will apply to any app that is running on your phone. Once you are done performing, triple click the home button again and tap "Switch Control" to disable.

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NOTES:

  • When you enable switch control, the recipe will automatically be enabled. However, IF THE PHONE GOES TO SLEEP THE RECIPE WILL BE DISABLED! You can re-enable it by toggling switch control off and on from the Accessibility Shortcut triple click menu.

  • If you have Switch Control enabled and make changes to the recipes, switch control will not update the changes until it is turned off and back on.

  • Any gesture set up in the custom gestures will be replicated with one push of a button. So, if your app needs a long press gesture, set up the long press in custom gestures, assign it to a switch/button, and it will run when you press that button once.

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Obviously, before you perform, make sure to set up Switch Control and test with your app to ensure it functions correctly with our remote, and if you have any questions of how to make the Tell the Truth remote work with your app, contact the app developer or drop us a line at support@tellthetruthapp.com so we can chat and possibly add support for our remote to their app.

 

Also, although our Tell the Truth specific apps do not work on Android, you can still use our remote on your Android device to control it for other apps. This is outside our area of expertise, but we believe you can use a keyboard remapping app like Octopus for Android to set up keyboard to swipe conversion. There's a video below on the method we found to make it work with Octopus, but if you know a better way please let us know.

Still Need Help? Email Us!
support@thoughtcastmagic.com

Need Another Remote?

You can purchase an additional remote here if you already own the original Tell the Truth remote.

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