Handy Firmware 3.0.0

Handy Firmware 3.0.0

We are happy to announce the release of Firmware 3 for The Handy. It comes after months of work by our engineers to re-write the entirety of the Handy internal code and its associated online infrastructure.

The new Handy firmware comes with many improvements in speed, stability, and connectivity — the details of which you can find below.

We will be progressively rolling our Firmware 3 to our users over the coming weeks, with the first batch of users eligible to receive the update as of May 10, 2021. If you want to skip the line, you can update manually.

New Features

Stroke zone

You can now set the bottom point of the Handy stroke. This means that, together with the existing top point adjustment, you can now define zones within which the Handy stroker will move. For instance, you can now adjust the Handy to focus solely on the tip of the penis.

The bottom point of the stroker can be adjusted by pressing and holding the up or down buttons. The top point, as before, can be adjusted by simply clicking the up or down buttons.

The stroke zone can be adjusted in both offline and online modes.

Last used stroke

The Handy now saves your stroke settings from session to session. However, the speed of the Handy will always be set to minimum at the start of every new session.

Bluetooth connectivity

Handys using Firmware 3 will use Bluetooth connectivity for initial Wi-Fi setup. This will simplify the initial connection setup to the Internet.

A companion app to simplify the initial Wi-Fi setup process for Firmware 2 and Firmware 3 is available on iOS and Android.

Faster sync tracking

The Handy can now instantly follow the action of a synchronized video when skipping to different parts. Previously it would take a few seconds to re-sync when skipping ahead.

New LED status codes

The LED colors and related states have been simplified for better diagnosis. See the meanings of the new LED colors here.

Emergency stop with power button

In any operating mode, pressing the Power Button immediately stops the Handy.

Improved Responsiveness

With our entire codebase rewritten for firmware 3, you will find that the Handy is more responsive to button presses and with online connectivity.

Future-ready

The new firmware will allow us to develop additional features for the Handy in the future.

For Developers

We have improved our backend infrastructure and our hardware interfaces to allow for more and simpler development. You can take a look at our Developer Documentation for all our publicly available tools to help you work with the Handy.

  • The Handy Bluetooth interface allows for the development of local controls for the Handy without the need for Wi-Fi.
  • New REST API adds new protocols for controlling the Handy over the Internet.
  • We have added a proxy that translates Firmware 2 commands to Firmware 3, so existing Handy integrations should not be affected when users upgrade their Handys to Firmware 3.

Upgrading to Firmware 3

First, you will need to connect your Handy to the Internet. You can use the new HandyConnect app for iOS or Android to get connected quickly. Otherwise, you can use the manual upgrade process described here.

Once connected, you can simply visit HandyFeeling, click the Connect to Handy button, then enter your connection key, and the system will prompt you to update.

When you begin the update, the Handy will blink YELLOW and WHITE. After this, the Handy will begin a one-time upgrade procedure to finish Firmware 3 installation. The LED will blink GREEN during this period and will last for up to two minutes. Once this procedure is complete, the Handy will be ready to use.

Upgrading manually

Before upgrading, ensure that the Handy Wi-Fi connection is configured properly and you know your connection key.

After you’ve done so, follow the next steps:

  1. Ensure your Handy is configured to correctly connect to the Wi-Fi network of your choice
  2. While keeping pressed the ON button, unplug and then plug the Handy from its electric socket to restart it. Don’t release the button while restarting.
  3. When the LED starts blinking WHITE and YELLOW, also press the UP button without releasing it.
  4. Now release the ON button, then the UP button. If everything goes well, the LED will start blinking WHITE and BLUE. This means the upgrade is in progress.
  5. At the end of the process, the LED will blink GREEN and YELLOW. You can now press the ON button to restart the Handy with the new firmware.

Downgrade back to Firmware 2

You can manually downgrade back to Firmware 2 if you experience any issues with Firmware 3.

This is done by putting the Handy into Safe Mode and using a hotspot with a special name to download the old firmware. When downgrading, the Handy will automatically look for this hotspot and connect without additional configuration.

Steps

  1. Set up a Wi-Fi hotspot on your phone with the following credentials
    1.1 SSID: safemode
    1.2 Password: recovery
  2. With your phone nearby, plug your Handy to an electric socket while keeping the Wi-Fi button pressed
  3. When the LED pulses YELLOW, you are in Safe Mode and you can release the WI-FI button
  4. Press and hold the DOWN button until the LED begins to fade in a rainbow fashion. This means the downgrade to FW2 is in progress. The Handy will automatically restart when the upgrade is successfully completed.