The eBrevet web application (web app) is basically a regular website designed to look like a standalone mobile application installed on your phone. By using your mobile phone’s web browser the eBrevet web app does not need to be installed on your mobile phone.
Geofencing
The eBrevet web app uses geofencing for registration at checkpoints, which requires that the GPS on your phone is activated when in use. Please note that the web app does not track your location continuously. It is only active and sends information about your location when you press a registration button (see below). The web app will not drain your phone’s battery during an event and it will not send continuous data.
You will find login details for the web app in the email receipt that you receive when registering to an event (check your spam folder if you cannot find the email in your inbox). You can log in to eBrevet immediately after registering to an event and familiarise yourself with the route and checkpoints.
Tip: print your email receipt and carry the printout with you during events in case you get logged out.
In traditional brevets with paper brevet cards, the staff in shops, cafés and petrol stations confirm your visit to a checkpoint by writing the time of arrival in your brevet card.
As already mentioned, in addition to timekeeping, the eBrevet also confirms your geographical position when registering at checkpoints by using the GPS on your phone. For this to work you need to give the web browser on your phone permission to use location services, i e to use your phone’s GPS. You do this by pressing ”Allow” in the pop-up message that appears when you login to the web app.
During an event, press the registration button of each respective checkpoint that you visit. The first checkpoint that you check in at is the start checkpoint. Once you have pressed the registration button at the start checkpoint it becomes inactive. The same applies for the finish checkpoint which will also become inactive when pressed. In other words, you cannot undo your registration at the start and finish checkpoints.
If you are within 300 metres of a checkpoint, the registration button will turn green after pressing it (once or twice depending on the event) and the page will scroll down to the next checkpoint. If you are out of range of a checkpoint, the pop-up message ”You are not within range of the checkpoint” will appear instead.
NOTE! In some events, participants register both their arrival at checkpoints and their departure from them, like at hotels. In these events participants press the registration button twice per checkpoint, to check in and then to check out.
Tip: a useful rule of thumb is that the registration button should always be green when leaving a checkpoint. If the button is black, you have forgotten to register your arrival or departure, an easy mistake to make if you are tired or stressed. Therefore, establish the routine of confirming that the registration button is green before you leave each checkpoint. Make a habit pressing the registration button the first thing you do when arriving to a checkpoint, and if the event has check out, also the last thing you do when leaving each checkpoint.
Tip: to reduce stress before the start, make sure you are logged in and have checked in at the start checkpoint at least 15 minutes before the start. Timing will start when the event officially starts.
Tip: if you are at a checkpoint and click on the registration button and see the info message: ”You are not within range of the checkpoint” then put your mobile phone in ”Airplane mode” and reactivate it. The mobile phone should update its GPS position when connected to the telecommunications network.
Tip: after closing the web page, if the checkpoints aren’t visible when you open the web page again. Simply log out and log in again.
NOTE! If you abandon the ride, please press the red ABANDON BREVET button at the bottom of the web page which will notify the organiser.
After pressing the registration button at the finish checkpoint you can close the web app.
Live tracking & statistics
When you use the web app, live statistics for your ride are compiled in a virtual brevet card, an eBrevet card. See example of an eBrevet card here.
Try the eBrevet web app
If you haven’t used the eBrevet web app on the phone you intend to use during an event, please check that its settings allow you to use the web app for electronic registration. To avoid stress before the start, do the following test at least two days before the start date:
Visit the eBrevet website: www.ebrevet.org.
Log in to the web application by using the login details you received in the registration email. You should then see a pop-up message that the website ”vasterbottenbrevet.se” wants to use your phone’s location services, i.e. its GPS. If not then you have probably set the phone to ”Never use location services”.
Press the registration button at a checkpoint. If you have activated your phone’s location services, you will see the message: ”You cannot check in before startdate: … .”
If you do not see this message, you have not allowed the web browser to use the phone’s location services. In that case, change the settings of your phone’s web browser (Chrome, Safari, FireFox, Edge, etc.).
iPhone users
Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Safari Sites. Then select the options ”When the app is used” and ”Exact location information”.
Android users
Go to Settings > Location > App Location Permissions. Select one of the options ”Always allow” or ”Only allow when app is in use”. Activate the ”Use exact location” option.
If you need help and no one nearby can help you, email: info@vasterbottenbrevet.se. Include your login details in the email with information about the make and version of your mobile phone and the browser you are using.
Demo
Try a demo version of eBrevet on your mobile phone before an event. To log in to the demo (no timing, no data is saved) use ID ”1234” and password ”1234”. If you are in Umeå, the test is performed at Järnvägstorget near the railway station. If location services are activated on your mobile phone, see above, and you are within 300 metres of the pâtisserie Laure’s Fika, you can register at the intermediate checkpoint. You can switch between registering and undoing a registration. You can also switch between ABANDON BREVET and Undo.
If you aren’t Umeå, as already described above you can still perform the test which confirms that location services are enabled on your mobile phone. If location services are enabled, a pop-up message will appear telling you that you are out of range of the checkpoint. If location services are not enabled, the registration button will only flash briefly when pressed.
