Updates

Web app: old readings look old, and pages open on your data

Guide updated: 10 Nov 2026

A second round of fixes to the web app. Old battery and signal readings say how old they are, empty pages look further back on their own, and billing points out traps you pay for that are not reporting. The mobile app has not changed.

Traps and Overview

• Old readings look old. When a trap has not been heard from for more than a day, its battery and signal show in gray with their age, for example 23% · 26d ago. A trap that has never checked in shows —. See Trap control.
• Tiles that add up. The Overview tiles are Traps you can see, Online, Offline, Captured, and Flagged. The first tile's caption adds them up, for example "0 online + 38 offline + 1 manual". Captured is "Also counted as online or offline". When no trap is online, the lower list says "No traps are online. These were heard most recently."
• Flagged, explained. Flagged means offline for an hour or more, a billing issue, a low battery, or an old photo. Each flagged trap shows a flag and its reason, for example Battery critical.
• Repeats grouped. On Overview, the same event on the same trap is one row with a count, for example "Low battery ×2".
• Command menu. Traps in the search menu are listed by when they were last heard. A trap with a name no longer shows its device ID under it. You can still search by device ID.

Trap page

• Header first. Every tab starts with a Traps link, the trap's name with a pencil to edit it, and its status. A billing notice comes after the header. On a phone, the billing notice is one row with Manage billing. See Trap control.
• One reason. A trap that is offline with a canceled plan says "Subscription canceled. Restore it in Billing; commands then work when the trap checks in." See When commands are off (web).
• Settings. The sync line of an offline trap reads, for example, "Synced Oct 14 · trap offline 26d". On a phone, the section links are a Jump to section list. See Settings in the app.
• Activity and Images tabs. Repeated events are one row with a count, such as ×3. Photos show their date and time. Each tab says how many items it holds. See Logs.
• Charts. For a trap that has not reported in over a day, Charts shows its last data and says "The trap has not reported since."
• Sharing. When you invite someone, pick a Manager type: Manager or Full manager. See Sharing traps.

Images, Activity, Inbox, and Analytics

• Open on data. If nothing happened in the usual range, Images, Activity, and Analytics look further back and say so, for example "Nothing in the last 7 days. Showing the last 90 days.", with a button to go back. See Images and Logs.
• Inbox and Activity. The Inbox keeps alerts that need you, from the last 30 days. Activity keeps every event. An empty Inbox view offers View older alerts in Activity. See Notification settings.
• Filters on a phone. On a phone-sized window, Images and Activity put their filters behind one Filters button.
• Analytics. A range with no captures shows one panel with a button for a wider range. The Photo checks card is now Species identification, for example "OcuTrapAI has looked at 40 of 44 photos in the last 90 days."
• Map on a phone. The map fills the screen down to the tab bar. Search and the trap picker sit on top of the map, and the picker shows each trap's status, for example Ridge · Offline. On a wide window, the No location yet group starts closed.
• Notification bell. With nothing unread, the bell shows your 3 most recent alerts.

Billing, Settings, and Account

• Paid, not reporting. The Billing page points out traps on an active plan or free trial that have not checked in for 7 days or more. Show them filters the list to those traps. See Managing your subscription.
• Billing on a phone. The trap list comes before Payment method and Invoices. The list shows 20 traps, then Show N more. How billing works is at the bottom of the page, and a link near the top jumps to it.
• Clearer words. The row link reads Manage billing, or View billing for a trap someone else pays for. Trial is now Free trial, and Canceled and Paused are counted apart. A shared trap's Who pays reads Trap owner (shared with you). Invoice lines read, for example, Cellular plan, monthly.
• A trap's billing page is titled with the trap's name and has All billing and View trap details links.
• Settings has links to each part, puts Notifications first, and says "Changes save automatically."
• Account. The page no longer has its own Sign out button. Use Sign out in the menu. Sign out of all devices is unchanged.
• Organizations. The page title is Organizations, with your organization's name under it. Add owner traps is now Add traps. With no managers yet, an Invite member button opens the invite.

Web app: clearer pages on phones and desktops

Guide updated: 9 Nov 2026

The web app puts your traps first, says why a command is off, and names the filter when a list is empty. The mobile app has not changed.

Traps and Overview

• Traps first on a phone. On a phone-sized window, each trap is a compact row, and search, organization group and sort are behind one Filters button. The sheet's Show N traps button closes it.
• Photo age. When a trap's photo is older than its last check-in, the row shows how old the photo is, for example Photo 6mo ago.
• Billing words. The billing chip on a trap now says what is wrong: Past due, Suspended, Not subscribed, Canceled, or Paused.
• One count. The trap list and the Overview tile both say Traps you can see. On Overview, the lower list is Most recently heard, and it no longer repeats traps listed above it. When no trap is online it says No traps are online right now.

Trap page

• The tab you picked comes first. Images, Activity, Charts, Settings, and Sharing open under a compact header. The photo, Controls, and status tiles are on Overview. See Trap control.
• Why a command is off. A grayed-out command says why, for example "Trap is offline. Works again when it checks in." or "Subscription canceled. Restore it in Billing." See When commands are off (web).
• Last reported. While a trap is offline, its arm mode and door read Last reported: with how long ago.
• Settings links. The Settings tab starts with links to each section. Cropping and Door start closed. See Settings in the app.

Images, Inbox, and Activity

• All time. The Images date range adds All time. An empty page names the range, for example No images in the last 30 days, with Show all time. See Images.
• Empty Inbox. Unread reads Nothing unread. All reads No alerts in the last 30 days.
• Empty Activity. The Activity page reads, for example, No events in the last 7 days, with Show last 30 days. See Logs.

Billing

• Find a trap. Per-trap status lists payment problems first, and has a search field and All, Active, Trial, Payment issue, and Canceled chips. See Managing your subscription.
• Who pays. A trap someone else pays for shows View billing instead of Manage.
• Status counts. The Payment method card counts your traps, for example "30 active · 2 trial · 6 canceled".
• Honest prices. A canceled trap's old amount is labelled Previous price. The plans show today's prices.

Everywhere

• Analytics says which traps it counts: your connected traps. Charts with no captures say so, for example No captures in the last 30 days, and each percentage names what it compares with, for example vs previous 30 days.
• Map. The trap picker shows how many traps are on the map, for example 12 of 14 traps on the map, and lists traps with No location yet separately. The legend shows You for your location.
• Account. Your name, email, and phone show as text with an Edit button.
• Sign-in. Email me a sign-in code reads Sending code... while the email is sent.

Mobile app: a quieter Traps tab

Guide updated: 23 Oct 2026

Billing shows on the Traps tab only when a trap has a billing issue.

• Two tiles at the top. The Traps tab opens with the Total and Online tiles. The Images today tile is gone: the Images tab and the recent photos on the Traps tab already show your new photos.
• Billing issues only when it is real. The Billing issues tile appears only when a trap has a billing issue: a payment that is past due, a suspended trap, or a trap with no subscription yet. Tap it to open Billing.
• Needs your attention. The Offline, Captured, and Alert tabs always show. The Billing tab appears only when it holds a trap, and it lists the same traps the Billing issues tile counts.
• Billing is always in Settings. Open Settings, then Billing under Manage. See Using the mobile app.

App updates: billing, the trap list, alerts, and photos

Guide updated: 12 Oct 2026

Clearer billing, a Flagged list for traps that need a look, simpler alert switches, and easier photo filters.

Billing

• One free trial for each trap. A trap gets its 30-day free trial on its first subscription. A trap that has had a subscription before gets no new trial, even after it is transferred to a new owner. The checkout button reads "Start 30-day free trial" or "Subscribe", followed by the plan you chose. When there is no trial, the line under the button reads "You will be charged today."
• Next charge date. For the person who pays, the Billing page shows a Next charge date. During a trial it shows Trial ends with the date and "then billed". The status card counts your traps as Active, Trial, Payment issue, Not subscribed, and Canceled or paused. A Payment needs attention card appears when a payment has failed.
• Manual traps need no subscription. The billing page for a manual trap reads "No subscription needed".

Traps

• Flagged. In your trap list, select Flagged to see the traps that need a look. The app explains the list this way: "Flagged: offline over 1 hour, a billing issue, low battery, or no new photo in 7 days." Each flagged trap shows its reason. A trap with a canceled subscription is not flagged.
• Billing issues. This list holds traps with a payment problem and traps that are not subscribed. It does not hold canceled traps. In the mobile app, the full trap list has Flagged and Billing issues too.
• Unnamed traps. A trap with no name shows as "Unnamed trap" followed by the last four characters of its Device ID, for example "Unnamed trap (…A7B8)".
• Tabs first on the trap page (web). Overview, Images, Activity, Charts, Settings, and Sharing are now the first thing on a trap's page.
• Ping a trap that shows offline (mobile). On an offline trap, the third tile at the top of the trap's page reads "CONNECTION" and "Ping trap". Tap it to ask the trap to check in. If there is no answer in 15 seconds, the app shows Device offline. See Trap not sending commands.
• Clearer failed commands. A failed command names the command and the reason, for example "Snooze failed. Could not reach the trap. Try again."

Settings and alerts

• Image Size. The options show the real size of the photo: Small (320×240), Medium (640×480), and Large (800×600).
• Outdoor temperature alerts are off until you turn them on. They are set on each trap. Turning on your other alert switches does not turn them on. See Cold weather.
• Alert switches cover all your traps. The six switches are Push Notifications, Email Alerts, Target detected, Animal captured, Low battery, and Device alerts. Each one sets every trap you can see at once. In the mobile app, a switch saves as soon as you flip it. "On for some traps" means your traps do not all have the same setting. See Notification settings.

Images, Inbox, and Map

• Images. The Animal in photo filter now lists species too, so there is one control to pick from. In the mobile app, tap Filters to open the filters. In the mobile photo viewer, View trap details opens the trap the photo came from. See Images.
• Inbox. Alerts are grouped by day under Today, Yesterday, or the date. Each title starts with the trap's name, for example "North fence new capture".
• Activity. The Heartbeats filter is now called Connection. See Logs.
• Map (mobile). Tap a group of traps to open a list of them, for example "3 traps here". Tap a trap in the list to open it, or tap Zoom to these traps. Fit all traps shows every trap, and My location centers the map on you.

Organizations

• One menu for each member (mobile). Tap the "…" button on a member's row to see what you can do: Promote to owner, Let them manage members or Stop letting them manage members, Demote to manager, Transfer ownership, or Remove from organization. The menu lists only the actions your role allows.

The new OcuTrap app

Guide updated: 30 Sep 2026

The new OcuTrap web app is live. This guide now matches it.

What's in the new app

• One Controls card for each trap. Set the arm mode to Unarmed, Scouting, or Armed from one dropdown. Use Open door and Close door right below it. See Trap control.
• Safer release. When a trap has captured an animal, the app shows Disarm & release and asks you to confirm before the door opens. See After a capture.
• Images. All your photos in one place, with filters for photo type and for whether an animal is in the photo. Photos can carry an automatic species label. It is an estimate and can be wrong. See Images.
• Delete a photo. Trap owners can delete a single photo from the image viewer. See Deleting an image.
• Clearer online status. A trap shows Online if it checked in within the last 30 minutes. Traps check in about every 20 minutes. Select Last heard to Ping a trap any time.
• Offline alerts for each trap. Turn on the Offline alerts switch in a trap's settings to be told when it goes offline and when it reconnects. See Notification settings.
• Sign in with an emailed code. On the sign-in page, select Email me a sign-in code to get in without your password. See Can't sign in to your account.

Firmware updates since v706

Guide updated: 14 Oct 2026

Firmware changes since v706, up to v1101: GPS you can schedule, clearer sensor messages, a startup photo, and better recovery from a flat battery.

How these updates install

OcuTrap installs firmware over the air, one trap at a time, so traps can be on different versions. To check yours, open the trap in the app, go to the Overview tab, and look for Firmware in the Trap info card. Each change below lists the version that brought it, so you can see what your trap has. See Updating firmware.

GPS

• Choose how often the trap checks its location (v1073). In the trap's Settings, set GPS Update Interval to Disabled, 3 hours, 6 hours (default), 12 hours, or 24 hours. Earlier firmware checked every eight hours.
• Faster first location after power-up (v1078). The trap starts its first GPS search about 30 seconds after it powers on, sends the first good location right away, and keeps improving it for up to 15 minutes.
• More accurate location on request (v1077). After you tap Location, the trap sends the first fix and then keeps looking for a better one for two more minutes.
• Startup photo first (v1101). When the trap powers on, it takes one photo before it starts searching for GPS, unless Time-lapse Interval is set to Disabled.

See GPS.

Arming and the distance sensor

• A dirty lens no longer stops you arming (v860). If the sensor can still read, the trap warns you and arms. See Distance, safety and alerts.
• Clearer message when the sensor cannot read at all (v1063). The trap refuses to arm and shows Sensor blocked or dirty. Clean sensor window, then try again. Clean the window and try again. On v1062 the same message ends with then power-cycle. instead.
• Sensor fault. Power-cycle the trap. now means only that the sensor failed its self-check (v1062). Power-cycle the trap, and contact support if it comes back. See Common issues.

Photos and Scouting Mode

• Faster scouting photos (v1015). While scouting, the trap sends fast photos and takes one full-quality photo when an animal reaches the trigger distance (the Scout Trigger photo).
• Fewer repeat scout events (v1014). The same kind of scout event repeats at most once a minute during a visit. Photos keep coming.
• Status check while scouting (v1025). Press the User button on a scouting trap and the LED alternates yellow and blue. Earlier firmware showed solid blue, which looks like an unarmed trap. See Using the trap buttons.

See Image cadence and Scouting mode.

Battery and power

• Recovers from a flat battery by itself (v946). After an automatic low-battery shutdown, the trap wakes on its own to re-check the battery instead of waiting for a button press. See Power modes.
• A clear sound for a flat battery (v1070). If you connect a battery that is too low to run the trap, it plays three falling tones and shows a red LED, then powers down. Earlier firmware made clicking sounds. Charge or replace the battery.

Connection

• Tries another carrier when the usual one fails (v908). If the trap cannot connect after several attempts, it tries other cellular carriers before going back to automatic selection.

If you're checking with support, the newest firmware described here is v1101.

Reliability, Battery, and Image Improvements

Release date: 4 May 2026

Quieter LEDs, no more lost capture photos, faster image uploads, low-battery alerts you won't miss, and live photos while an animal is in the trap during Scouting Mode.

How the update installs

This version is delivered over-the-air (OTA). It downloads and installs automatically the next time the trap reboots or powers up. No manual action required.

Check the version
Settings → Trap Info → Firmware should show v706 or newer.

📷 Image capture

• No more lost approach photos. If the animal moved closer while your trap was still sending the previous photo, the next photo used to be silently dropped. The trap now holds onto the most recent approach moment and sends it as soon as the camera is free, so you see the most useful frame.
• Faster image uploads on cellular. Photos finish transferring noticeably faster, especially when the trap is sending many in a row.
• Live photos while you scout. During Scouting Mode, the trap now sends a photo when an animal first enters and then a steady photo about every 15 seconds for as long as the animal stays in the detection zone. You can watch activity unfold instead of seeing only the entry shot.

🔋 Battery life

• No more red LED during sleep. The status LED used to stay solid red while the trap was in deep sleep, slowly draining the battery. It's now off, which saves power.
• Low-battery alerts you won't miss. If your trap loses cell service when it tries to alert you about low battery, the alert now waits and delivers as soon as the trap reconnects. No silent dead-trap surprises.

🛠️ Reliability

• If the trap has trouble going to sleep, it retries automatically instead of staying awake and draining the battery. Cellular connection also recovers more reliably after sleep.
• More reliable restart after power glitches. The trap now comes back up cleanly after unexpected power loss.

Scouting Mode is now documented

Full customer documentation for Scouting Mode is now live in the docs at Getting Started → App → Scouting Mode. Use it to observe trap activity without closing the door. The page covers how to start scouting, what alerts and photos to expect, when to use it instead of Armed mode, and troubleshooting.

Version note

If you're checking with support, the firmware version for this release is v706.

Scouting Mode Beta

Release date: 3 Apr 2026

This feature shipped publicly with the v706 release on May 4. See the entry above.

Scouting Mode lets you observe the trap without closing the door.

What's new

• Added Scouting Mode for watching trap activity without capturing
• The door must be fully open before scouting can start
• You'll get an alert when an animal reaches the pre-capture distance
• You'll get another alert if the animal reaches the trigger distance
• The door does not close while in Scouting Mode
• After the animal leaves, scouting resets and waits about 5 minutes before sending a new round of alerts

Version note

If you're checking with support, the firmware version for this release is v632.

Firmware v1.12.7‑250: Release Notes

Release date: 21 Apr 2025

Faster GPS, clearer battery readings, sharper images, and assorted stability fixes.

How the update installs

This version is delivered over‑the‑air (OTA). It downloads and installs automatically the next time the trap reboots or powers up (for example, after a battery swap). No manual action is required.

Check the version
Settings → Device Info → Firmware should show v1.12.7‑250.

General improvements

• Faster location fixes & steadier GPS reporting
• Smoother, more accurate battery percentages and voltage readings
• Sharper, better‑timed images in all lighting conditions
• Overall stability and performance enhancements

New Update: Dark Mode and UI Improvements on OcuTrap

1. Dark Mode Added: A new Dark Mode option is now available, reducing screen glare and making the website comfortable to use in various lighting conditions.
2. UI Enhancements: The user interface has been improved for better navigation and responsiveness across devices.