ActiveAlert Reviews

ActiveAlert does part of what it should do... I would give it 5 stars if the mapping system actually worked. For example, when clicking on the google maps button ActiveAlert uses what I’m assuming to be gps coordinates vs the actual address. Maybe times the gps coordinates are wrong. And because they are gps coordinates it is impossible to verify that you are going to the correct address because you’re comparing numbers vs the actual address text. The other issues when using gps coordinates is when you arriving at the location. If I’m driving and I want to confirm the house number via the google map app I can’t because it shows that you have arrived at the gps location vs saying you have arrived at t 123 Main St for example. Another issue is you can not copy text from the dispatch information and then paste that into google maps, ActiveAlert doesn’t allow you to copy information from ActiveAlert to put into other apps like google maps, Apple Maps, or any other app. This makes verifying the address extremely hard and annoying. If they mapping issues aren’t their fault they should allow people to be able to copy and paste the information so you can easily google the address and verify the information is correct.

It would be great to see an update that addresses how often the chat function crashes. ActiveAlert is designed and updated for fire fighters, not police officers. We have used it now for around three years snd the chat crashes have been an issue the whole time. And no, I don’t call the help line each time to report it since I simply don’t have that much extra time. Also, it would be great to see an update that gives the ability to attach a suspect photo for the police officers who use ActiveAlert. Ultimately, ActiveAlert serves as a glorified pager for us.

It seems like the chat function doesn’t crash as often, but there still has been no added functionality designed for police officers. The updates for ActiveAlert are always fire specific.

It’s great that we are able to use technology to quickly get responders to where help is needed, but there are a few things that you should be aware of.
1. When you have Do Not Disturbe turned on ActiveAlert will not alert you to calls. It has a setting to override that, but it does not work.
2. If you belong to 2 departments you have the option to pick a different ringtone for each department, but it will always play the 1st departments ringtone, even for the 2nd department’s calls.
3. Clicking on the responding does not always work. Sometimes you’ll need to click the “Resp” button several times before it sticks.
4. You don’t have the ability to change your own name.
5. Getting directions to your call is not always accurate. 3rd party Maps need to be improved in some areas. Also clicking the “directions” button on the map will give you step-by-step text you’ll need to read, rather than actual GPS assisted navigational help.
6. Alerts do not display correctly on the Apple Watch if you belong to 2 departments.

I love the new theme update. I have been waiting for the “night” theme on the iPhone for a long time. I love ActiveAlert . It is a must for public service.

That being said, ActiveAlert has become very slow to load and lags. Once ActiveAlert is opened and the calls load, everything runs smoothly but it takes it a lot longer than it used to. This isn’t a good thing when we need to plot the call or utilize the map in a hurry.

I hate the new app icon. I think the old one was perfect. I was a firefighter and am still a police officer and ActiveAlert is utilized for both departments. The new icon only resembles a Maltese cross to me and I’m just not a fan. Other than that, still the best app for public service.

ActiveAlert is great for the purpose it serves, however the repetitive notifications for the same event have gotten to be quite annoying and can quite honestly be a distraction. When responding to a call, I don’t need multiple notifications that reveal no new information. And it’s almost like the boy who cried wolf. Because the repetitive notifications offer no new information more often than not, I may miss important information assuming it’s a repeated alert.

ActiveAlert works fine alerting you to calls, switching over to maps for navigation, and providing initial call notes from dispatch. There is a lot of room for improvement beyond these basic functions. I would love to see new features like a toggle switch for choosing “On Duty” or “Off Duty”, and possibly have it placed at the top of the incidents list for better access. I never use the two other options and I believe those should be selected under a different menu.
The call notes do not update with dispatch as new information comes in or the call type changes, these updated call notes provide critical information for safely and effectively responding to emergency incidents and would greatly improve ActiveAlert.
I would also love the ability to save “favorites” for selecting responding units in my groups list. I work for a 15 station fire department and frequently have to scroll through the entire list of units to select the ones specific to my station. Please take these suggestions into consideration to improve the functionality of your app.

Don’t get me wrong I love ActiveAlert especially since our county updated our CAD system. I’m very Leary to download the new update because I have over 700+ calls since the day I started using ActiveAlert . I’m to the understanding that one you update you lose them can that be fixed please? I love being able to go back and look while having conversations as well as when I’m doing work for the department. Could you advise if this is fixable?

I love Active911, it is wonderful for routing us to calls and having some idea of what the initial call notes state.

Recently however I upgraded to iOS 13.2.3. Around that same time I updated Active911.

Since updating, two different alerts (only one of which I selected) sound simultaneously for one of my agencies. Even after selecting silent as my alert choice, if ActiveAlert is open a very loud audible alert sounds if that agency gets toned out. I can’t seem to find a way to shut off that extra alert sound - and it is very loud.

Related to that, there seems to be no volume control for the alerts. For those of us who need to monitor an agency while not being obnoxiously loud for everyone near us a subtle sound choice or some way to control volume would be greatly appreciated.

Been using the main app for years and have had almost zero issues with it. The Apple Watch app however, has been having issues syncing with the iPhone app. I have to essentially open the run on my iPhone first before being able to open it on my watch. I want to be able to just open the run on my watch without pulling my phone out. Otherwise ActiveAlert is great, hoping this issue is fixed in future updates.

At work we have been using active 911 for 3-4 years now. Some minor mapping issues have been noted. I would love to see a routing system that notes over 56,000 pound rated vehicles. In addition maybe yellow areas on roads that have size issues. Example roads that that are smaller than 2 opposing 8-10 foot lanes tight streets, alleys, and private drives listed in yellow as a hazard. Last suggestion the address portion of dispatch page place a column under comments and place google street view of address provided. In some instances it may assist in locating incidents or coming up with tactical solutions even at time of dispatch.

Just some ideas for the system. Overall it gets the info to you and gets you to where you need to go consistently .

Active911 is a great app for our VFD. We are a small volunteer organization and use active911 for dispatching our EMS, Fire and service calls. With active911 we get paged out with location and details. Before showing up on scene we have enough information to orchestrate plans and assignments. We use the features of active911 to label places based on last/long. As an example, our active911 maps show locations for hydrants, frequent fliers and known hazard locations. We are pleased with ActiveAlert. Great tool.

Me and several guys from my company all have the same issue; when you open ActiveAlert after receiving an alarm, wether it be 5 seconds after the alarm came out or 2 hours, the alert noise goes off again. Kind of annoying. Never was an issue until I got a new phone. I attempted fiddling around in settings and even deleting and reinstalling ActiveAlert . Anyway to fix this?

ActiveAlert is by far a lifesaver, call details, location and who is able to respond! It gets the job done!

Some stuff that would be cool to add would be a command screen, so when a call goes out it will show locations and ETA of all units en-route to the station as well as details of the call. That would be great to see when you roll in to the station. And integration in to Siri shortcuts. (When alerts are activated, turn on objects in my smart home like lights).

I wanted to write this review to say that ActiveAlert deserves a 5 star rating on ActiveAlert Store, and here’s why. I decided to look through the most critical reviews of ActiveAlert and the trend I noticed was that the developers replied to every single review and clearly explained why bugs were happening and how they were working on Fixing them constantly! I personally really appreciated this because they could have just as easily never updated ActiveAlert or never listened to the reviews and fix thing or changed aspects of ActiveAlert to work better for everyone. So to the hard working people keeping ActiveAlert running I just wanted to say thank you so much and I truly appreciate your effort and hard work that keeps uncountable amounts of people safe every year!!

Very very thankful for ActiveAlert, we cover the largest amount of roads in our county the majority of which are off the beaten path and out of cell service. Hit the location at the station and know your headed the right way. Knowing who is coming and from where is crucial so ActiveAlert truly pays for itself 10x over. The only beef I have is I agree with other reviewers, really liked the old icon better, fit FD and PD well, having said that I'm sure a new one will come before to long anyway.

I have absolutely loved having ActiveAlert everything from little details from dispatch to the ability to change the map and add things anywhere. The only thing I would love to see is the ability to have a favorites section for specific calls, it would be nice to just go back to certain calls and not have to fight through the hundreds to find a specific one of importance.

Our volunteer fire company uses ActiveAlert to manage our responses as well as who’s available and who’s not. Love the interface, love the logging of calls for record keeping. My only complaint is, I wish there was a settings shortcut to be able to switch from available/location services on to unavailable/location services off with a single button push. Since we’re volunteers, our status is fluid and it would be nice to keep it current without having to scroll through settings and change them individually. Otherwise awesome.

As a volunteer firefighter in a small town ActiveAlert itself has absolutely no down falls. It syncs perfectly with our current 911 center. Only issue that isn’t app related is our center is in desperate need of an update and pings most calls to near cell towers and the dispatcher has to manually activate the alert by entering the cad and completing it which is usually about 30 seconds to a minute slower than the pager tones. But that’s not the apps fault it’s just our systems. Great for when I’m at work and can’t wear my pager. Absolutely love the override silent feature. Can’t wait for when it and continuous repaging is available to be used together.

Very useful it’s been great to use active 911 on my volunteer dept. cause our dept is very out dated due to funding issues and we do not have MDTs or CADs in our trucks so we rely heavily on this for finding our way to calls and I must say 95% it’s on the mark a few times it’s not but that’s not ActiveAlert it’s google maps or Apple Maps that is messed up. Only suggestion I wish to see which is only a personal preference is ability to add in your created tone by your self. I made my depts Fire tone and have a file downloaded and would love to use it personally cause I’m used to hearing it from my radio for dispatch. I’m more accustomed to it and rather use it personally. But that’s not and wrong with ActiveAlert just would like it as personal preference of mine app is amazing and also the family sms for my family to know when I have a call is nice.

The map routing buttons need to have a larger contact area, an annoyingly high percentage of the time when I tap the Google or Apple map routing button on the call screen while starting a response, it sends me to the map overview instead of the GPS routing like it's supposed to. Might need to remap those buttons to have their functionality a bit easier to tap. Other than that, absolutely love it.

PS: it'd be swell if we could assign our own alert tones and not just the limited alert tones provided.