Socket & Steel
Know your machine.
Keep it running.
Support
Answers to the questions people actually ask, and an address for the ones that are not here.
Does it tell me when to service my machine?
Socket & Steel records what was done to your machine and tells you what is due on the intervals you set. It does not diagnose, it does not recommend a service interval, and it does not tell you a part is unsafe. The interval is yours, from your manual, your mechanic or your own judgment. The app remembers it and counts.
So no, and on purpose. A reminder says a job is past the interval you set. It never says the machine is unsafe to use.
Where does my data live?
On your phone. There is no server and no account, so there is nothing of yours on ours. Your phone's own backup copies it along with everything else. See the privacy policy for the full detail.
What does the app send anywhere?
Only requests to NHTSA's public vehicle database. When you add a machine, the app asks NHTSA for the makes and models that fit the type and year you pick. If you type a VIN, it sends that VIN when you leave the field so NHTSA can fill in the details. Leave the VIN blank if you would rather it stayed on your phone, and pick the details yourself.
I am getting a new phone. Does my history come with me?
Yes. Your history is part of your iCloud or computer backup (or your Google backup on Android), so restoring that backup onto the new phone, or moving across with Quick Start, brings your garage with it. You can also export a copy of each machine's history yourself at any time.
How do I get my history out?
Each machine's history exports as a PDF, which reads well and prints, or as a JSON file, which another program can read. Open the machine and choose Export. Your phone then asks where the file should go.
Settings exports the whole garage at once, every machine and every record, as one CSV spreadsheet.
My make or model is not in the list.
The lists come from NHTSA, and NHTSA does not list everything. Type the name into the list's search box, then choose the “Not listed?” option to use it exactly as you typed it. If NHTSA cannot be reached at all, the app says so and you can fill in the details by hand.
How does the list of maintenance jobs work?
A record can carry every job done on one visit, so the list stays open after each pick. Pick every job that applies, then close it.
The jobs you have logged on this machine come first, the one you log most often at the top. Everything else follows in alphabetical order, with Other at the bottom. The order follows your own history, so it changes as the history grows, and it can differ from one machine to the next.
If a job is not on the list, type it into the search box and choose the “Not listed?” option. It is saved exactly as you typed it, and it is on the list from then on, for every machine.
What does Needs Attention mean?
A machine is listed under Needs Attention when one of its reminders is Due or Overdue on the interval you set. The card says which job and by how much. A machine you have not set up yet shows Not set up instead, and does not count as needing attention.
What happens to my history if I delete a machine?
It is deleted with the machine, along with its reminders. Deleting cannot be undone, so the prompt offers Export first: take a PDF or JSON copy of the history, then delete the machine when you have the file.
A reminder did not arrive.
- Notifications must be allowed. Check Settings › Notifications › Socket & Steel and make sure Allow Notifications is on.
- Focus modes silence apps that are not on their list. Add Socket & Steel to the allowed apps of each Focus you use.
What happens if a subscription lapses?
There is no subscription. You buy the app once, and everything it records stays on your phone. If a paid sync option is ever offered, what happens to a synced history when it lapses will be written down before that option launches, and the history on your phone will not depend on it.
Contact
Questions, problems, or a make that should be in the list and is not: support@socketandsteel.com