Ahoy!
I got a new phone yesterday. I also use a wheelchair. The wheels have an app called “e-motion M25” which I used on my old phone. I patched it using lucky patcher since most functions (turn wheels on, cruise control, remote to drive the wheelchair to my current chair) are behind an incredible expensive paywall.
Since I don’t own the wheels (they’re technically still insurance property) and the software isn’t super reliable, I won’t pay over €300 just to use my wheels.
But I can’t seem to patch it on my new phone, even when sharing the patched app directly from my old one. The store simply won’t open. I’ve not been rooted since forever and prefer not to root at all, since it was possible to do so on my old phone.
Would anybody care to help me out or give me some tips on where to look? Thanks in advance!
UPDATE after spending my entire morning on the floor, I installed older versions of the app until I found one that worked with luckypatcher. I know it’s a small chance but if someone using the same wheels finds this post, you have to figure out how to download luckypatcher and use this version of the app. In lucky patcher create a multi patch APK and make sure to turn off “billing” in the second screen. When opening the store, be careful not to scroll to the complete bottom or else the app wil crash. Buy each pack individually and lucky patcher will handle things from there.
To every commenter: thank you. Lemmings are the best and capitalism is the devil.
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Never I thought I’d be reading about a wheelchair locked behind paywalls. What a ridiculous world we live in.
Edit: I’m glad you figured something out and that those profiteers won’t get a cent out of it.
I’m imagining your shock when I tell you the cost of my entire wheelchair, which is a manual wheelchair with push assistance (like an e-bike).
Si what you’re saying is that we need open source wheelchairs?
For fucks sake why isn’t all assitive devices open source already. Making profit over disabled people misery is such a evil thing ! The capitalist are so fucking out of touch it’s crazy. Kids dying, disabled people pressed for every penny they have etc… how the fuck did we let things go this bad.
Captive market. Easy prey.
Call it what you want, those with no morals have no boundaries. This is what laws are supposed to prevent, but y’know, the sociopaths have normalised greed and gluttony, and made it the “dream” of a nation.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the reason behind no open source is some stupid legislation for ‘reasons’.
My colleague built an ultrasound walking stick for his wife, but can’t even give units to the local sight-impaired community organization due to regulations… He’s given up on getting his design certified.
Open source wheelchairs; and a community of variously abled makers who can come together and build assemblies that are “not medical devices” but come together easily into something that could be used as such.
Speaking strictly for the US, and as a non-lawyer - I’m inclined to think that an open source wheelchair would probably sail right through the 510k process, but… Still doesn’t make that process cheap by any means.
I’ve had similar thoughts re: CPAP/APAP machines, neither the SW nor the HW is brutally complex / poorly understood. Pretty straightforward stuff mostly. But trying to distribute a thing like that even as plans is just asking for a C&D from the FDA, I’d expect.
Insurance companies: you wouldn’t download a wheelchair.
Mine is also manual, with a push assist(smart drive) its MSRP is 16k!
The software is also really stupid, you have to use a stupid smart watch to control it! You can get other controls(for some functions only) but they didn’t come with the chair without additional costs. The smart watch sucks and my better watch which is also WearOS can’t download the app from the store for some reason… I’d much rather be able to just connect my phone directly.
Most people in my disability community use the smart drive and always have issues! It’s why I didn’t wanna make the change, also the manual bit when the smart drive isn’t on is still too hard for me. But my wheels are like 20kg now which also suck. Anyway, I keep hearing my friends say the same about the smart watch and then it breaking and others recommending letting them build a button on the chair for the drive because the watch KEEPS BREAKING. I have so many strong feelings about all of this honestly.
I may have had a mental breakdown when I still hadn’t found a cute backpack after 5 years, that I truly loved and was my style. Lol.
Or indeed a wheelchair locked behind an app.
Oh gee we can’t be bothered to update our app any more. That’ll be all our chairs useless in 5 years.
There will probably be a new app for the new chairs. You’ll have to upgrade the chair to keep using the app support.
I’m sorry I don’t have any answer, but I just wanted to say I’m sorry you have to go through this to make your life easier. Also I fucking hate unrestrained capitalism.
Capitalism thrives off mobility aids. Anything decent, even a decent backpack, cost an arm and a leg just because it’s made for the cripples. I hate it here lol.
I understand. I use a cane due to severe inflammatory arthritis and a long list of other crap including a deteriorating spine that’s likely to land me in a chair myself in a few years. Trying to build my own ramp into my house a little at a time on good days because it’s several thousand dollars to have one built and eventually I won’t be able to do it at all. Solidarity in hating it here. I’m in Texas in the US which, well it’s run by regressive masochistic asshats.
And here I am in the Netherlands, taking trips to the Midwest sometimes and crying everytime because it’s so accessible and the ADA and what not. All from a tourist perspective, which is just… I can get into a restaurant and use the sidewalks.
I am blessed to have a ramp. And now I’m realizing I say blessed when we’re just human beings living our regular human being lives trying to get out of our house. I hope the regression will be a slow one for you and remember: a wheelchair isn’t something to be ashamed about. Ambulatory wheelchair users exist so if you feel like you can profit off of one, so you may take a longer hike in the mountains or whatever, don’t feel ashamed.
It’s funny you mention that. I barely make it 30 minutes at my art receptions of I manage to submit work in a slow. I’ve been thinking about it and remembering how much of a fight I put up before getting a cane and how much I wished I hadn’t waited so long. Probably time to talk to my doc. Thank you friend and I hope you get that chair hacked and at your command.
I got a lot of my freedom back by getting a chair. Good luck, friend!
The people who downvoted are complete silly billys.
Thank you, but it’s okay. I only see the positive total on my app. Some people just love the taste of corporate boot leather.
Must be an acquired taste. sorry shit sucks. (wrt this)
Hey Op, since you appear to be somewhere in the EU based on your mention of Euro pricing, would you be willing to name and shame the wheelchair manufacturer and/or model?
Without giving too much of my own personal information away, I might be in a position to cause a bit of ruckus for this particular company in terms of bad PR, possibly legislatively. I work for a company that profiles itself on doing this stuff “the right way” (secure practises, not screwing users this way, etc) and we are working on building a list of practises we are hoping to root out EU-Wide with some examples that are clearly exploitative.
I need nothing personally identifiable, just the brand and model, and I can pass it along to the team that can investigate further.
Sure thing: invacare is the company, the wheels are Alber e-motion M25. Their argument is the wheelchair is usable without the add ons, which I not only disagree with but why are these wheels 8k if they have an app only usable by upgrading? The older model is cheaper and doesn’t have an app which works in the same way then.
I am curious if something will get out of this! It’s difficult to explain but there’s so many hoops I have to go through, I literally can’t contact invacare myself. I have city council to grant me an indication of what I need, a company that delivers the stuff to me and does maintainance (but theyre extremely lacking), then there’s a company that imports the invacare stuff and deals with the company that deals with me.
We truly need to get some hard rules down in the Netherlands. I’m tired of it all.
Thanks! I will pass it along and hopefully we can push for a change. I can’t guarantee that anything will happen in the short term, but at the very least we can create some bad publicity for them.
literal predatory behavior against society’s most vulnerable members. God, disgusting.
Calling out this company that produces the e-motion, Alber GmbH. FUCK them.
You want to have both hands free while moving or an extra dose of speed to go faster? With the Mobility Plus Package you can activate a variety of clever additional functions in the Mobility App.
With the Mobility Plus Package you can increase the support speed from 6 km/h to 8,5 km/h and benefit from the Cruise Mode that allows you to keep a permanent speed with only one deflection on the push rim.
Holy fuck!?!? The wheelchair is actually actively crippled if you don’t pay?
If you are able to crack software, this is the time to stand up and do actual real good for humanity !
This makes me so angry.
Yea the fun stuff is that it’s actually manually operated but it straight up blocks at the 6km or the 8,5. The 8,5 is decent enough but even when turned off the wheels feel ‘blocked’ so I can’t do a quick running contest with my husband. Not the wordt but at 6km it’s just average walking speed which means I can’t take a sprint when crossing the road.
Fun fact: it was stuck in 2,5km/h for months before I finally figured out the manufacturer manual because the actual wheelchair company didn’t know how it worked.
While I was reading this comment, I thought it was a sarcastic parody of a promotion for the software…
Then as I kept reading I realised that the lines in italics are not parody, but actually from the company.
Fuck those guys!
Fuck i didnt even realise its not a parody
Jesus fucking mother of Christ.
Ok, I’m going to skip my indignation.
I’m not an app developer or a wheel chair person. That said, we need some info to help you better.
- What phone? Android or iOS?
- link to the app (and a link it’s APK or whatever iPhones equivalent to an APK would be)
- instructions on how you register, e.g. is registration tied to your phone, the wheelchair, or both?
Here is some general hacking advice:
- check online for your wheelchairs “provider” manual. I “hacked” my CPAP machine a few years back. My doctor forgot to turn on heated tubing and the setting was hidden behind a “provider” menu. Chances are good that there will be a similar manual for your wheelchair.
- if you haven’t already, search for the make and model of your wheelchair and see if there are forums or discussion boards
- typically, physical access is the best access. Depending on how your phone communicates with the chair, you might able to spy on the signals that it uses. My guess is Bluetooth. It probably is encrypted but medical devices are notoriously easy skimpy on their tech security. Might be worth a try
- If you have the tools and the knowledge, consider taking apart the wheelchair to access the physical components. Information like the processor, chip set, etc will make it easier to understand how it works. While you might expect custom boards and software, more and more devices are going the Raspberry Pi or Pico route because they are cheaper to manufacturer than to do a whole custom board. If it’s a run of the mill consumer board, you have a lot more attack vectors.
Often settings like these are based on PKI(Public Key Infrastructure), meaning that the program on your wheelchair likely knows the public key for the company and will test any input to change the settings will require the private key. Again, generally speaking.
But also generally speaking, medical equipment, especially consumer equipment, has to deal with the lowest common denominator, meaning people who don’t have apps, who don’t know what a smart phone is, etc. Because of that, my hunch is that the setting is in plain text and you just need to change it.
You also have to remember that the people setting this up are often in doctors offices, which means it must be easy to do because time is of the essence. The doctor would not recommend their product if it takes more than a few minutes to set up.
I’m sorry I can’t give you better more specific advice but hopefully you can figure this out.
Thank you for the detailed reply! Details:
- Android (pixel 8)
- play store link
- When buying the pack, the functions are tied to the wheels itself so not a google or other account
I did find the mechanic manual a few years back so I could get into the “professionals only” menu and I was able to tweak the push sensitivity which my provider couldn’t figure out ironically. The packs however are a different add-on. The only thing I can find online are people asking if it’s worth the money, or people who bought it. Not really a popular hacking device it seems.
It sucks that I’m not technical enough to open up the wheels - i also find it a bit scary since I literally need this thing everyday and my provider is already neglecting their customers.
Edit: I just saw your edit. Great job fixing it! God I hate that you had to do this.
What is the make and model of the wheelchair and the wheels?
Links to their official website would be helpful.
Did your wheelchair come with a regular manual? A link to a PDF would also help.
If you want to go down a more…questionable route, you could call the wheelchair provider number. Use social engineering by saying you’re from a doctor’s office and you can’t get the wheels to activate.
It helps to have a friend do this for you. You want a buffer and you want your friend to say “I am not sure” or “I don’t know” a lot. That way the company gives him or her more information on what to do next before calling you back.
This is a terrible situation. Maybe your insurance will spring for the cost. It’s so infuriating that if I had access, I probably wouldn’t sleep until I figured it out and posted it everywhere.
300 to operate wheels that you don’t even own? That’s extortion, right?
I’m also disabled. We tend to refer to this as the “disability tax”. Anything that could potentially be billed to insurance or for which there are no other options is incredibly expensive. If we can’t afford it or don’t have insurance, we’re always welcome to go die under a bridge somewhere. Gotta pay for the owner’s yacht.
Or I can just use the setting 1 and setting 2 nu carrying a remote control on a lanyard constantly while there’s an actual app available but nooooo
Damn
300 for a button: very normal.
I’m infurated you have to pay 300 bucks for An app on this situation. Incensed beyond reason. Please link to the specific app in question, and then if you can’t get anything working contact me and I’ll buy the stupid thing for you.
I’d much rather make sure things like this never make any money for anyone. But not at the cost of someone in your situation having to wait any longer to access the tools you need. Man am I pissed about that kind of paywalling on medical devices. Holy hell.
This is the play store link and honestly: wow. You offering to pay is making my head spin. That’s incredibly kind of you. However I truly don’t want to buy it overall since it’s tied to the wheels, which I don’t own, and I might get other wheels in 5 years and then… I can start over. It’s the principal that I get a device with “cruise control” so I can cover more distance on my own but then the cruise control alone costs 100 bucks.
I’m in a country where people assume disabled people are taken care of. Quite the opposite.
I’m sorry bout your situation, but may I ask what country are you talking about? (So that I may never set a foot in it.)
It may shock you but: the Netherlands
It actually does. All I know about the netherlands is that Amsterdam = good, blame this guy. All his videos are basically the same. He tells you how bad something is (in city design), and tell you how good Amsterdam is. Basically promoting that city, guess he doesn’t talk about DLCs for medical utilities.
The irony that I absolutely despise Amsterdam and try to avoid that city at all costs since it’s once of the least accessible cities in this country in my experience. If I do have to go I absolutely need my husband to go with me to push me around which is dehumanizing and makes me feel like a burden. The cobblestones are an attack on my joints as well.
It’s why I often say my disability isn’t making me disabled but society is.
A totally different perspective, thank you.
I don’t mind if you have new wheels in 5 years. If you can’t get this working contact me and I’ll take care of it. Hopefully you can get it working without giving the greedy bastards anything though. =P
Lol. Looking into that app a little bit and what a shitshow. I’m even more pissed off than I was before.
I figured it out!!! I updated this post. And yea the app is like a student programmar trying to build something lol. Even the navigation part doesn’t work but I just use maps for that anyway.
Never stop being one of the most beautiful motherfuckers the universe ever made.
I’d never imagine that the first time I’d encounter an in app purchase that outrageously expensive, would be on a wheelchair app.
F me, why do companies have to extort people like this! Glad you got it cracked in the end.
It’s not a perfect solution but smart drive works really well for me. It’s very customizable.
If it comes down to it, I’ll split the cost with you. If we can’t get socialized medicine the way it’s meant to be, we’ll make it ourselves!
I have something in my eye. This community is so incredibly wonderful.
This brings a new definition to the term “crippleware”.
This is so damn wholesome. Thank you fellow humans for helping this person and even offering to pay. Why I am cutting onions this early in the day is a mystery.
Wholesome to see people help, but the main feeling I get is revulsion that this person can have a wheelchair provided with insurance but can’t even get proper functionality without paying.
It’s so we can keep up the act of being a country with social security without actually being it.
In case you haven’t seen them, i just wanna make sure you’ve heard of these guys; https://notawheelchair.com/
This looks like fun.
I’ve rode one of these badboys on my honeymoon in Colorado and I’ve felt incredibly American as an European hahahah
Is that the one started by the bloke on YouTube - Jerry Rig Everything?
This is so fucked up and sad. Capitalism is pure evil.
Jesus that sucks so much. It looks like you have a solution for now but I bet there are some folks here and elsewhere who would be all in on reverse engineering the shit out of any part of that system.
That’s why I updated the post with the link which version does work, just in case. There probably aren’t a lot of disabled pirates using this specific model wheels and that’s why there’s no solution on the Googles. I truly wish I was smart enough to learn all this crap just to start a community of helping people hacking their accessibility tools.
Fuck this company. Fuck these ghouls making this decision.
This is easily the most badass form of piracy I’ve ever seen. The right kind of rebellion.
Very pleased to see other users were able to help you out. Also disgusted at how you were in such a situation in the first place.
I am very grateful for the Lemmy community and specifically the pirates. Wonderful community!
