Quicken desktop works fine, why is Mobile always broken?

JoRhett

It's been over a year now, and Quicken Mobile still appears to be worthless.

All my accounts on desktop sync. All of my accounts are added to the mobile sync. And yet

1. It complains that 5 of my accounts need attention every time I open the app (they all sync perfectly fine). And says "swipe to fix" but there are no swipe actions in the IOS app for any accounts.

2. Recurring transactions I deleted from desktop stay showing on mobile, years after they were removed

3. Transactions I've edited or approved on desktop show both the fixed and the original on mobile

I have under Quicken's direction completely cleared out the mobile and done a full reset twice now. Upon sync every one of the exact same problems appear, so they are 100% repeatable

A financial app that shows me the wrong answers is worse that useless, it's dangerous.

JoRhett

oh, and two of my accounts won't sync because they say the password is incorrect. The password is fine, there is nothing wrong with the password. It syncs to the desktop just fine.

I've even changed it on the vendor site and resynced here. My vendor shows every attempted login to my account, so I know for a fact it's not actually contacting the vendor (Citibank)... but here's the key. I download and sync from the desktop every day. Why does it refuse to sync from the desktop to the mobile interface because it claims it can't login to the vendor site.

I don't want two completely separate logins to my bank accounts. Twice the brokenness for zero the fun! Just sync up what my desktop has so I can see it on the app... but no, it refuses to do that.

I'm not trying to rant... but WTF. Is there anyone here who knows better than Quicken support how to make this crap work?

Quicken_Tyka

Hello @JoRhett

Thank you for taking the time to visit the Community to post your issue, although I apologize that you haven't received a response.

We will need a bit more information to be able to assist. Please take a moment to review the information here and post back with the year and version of Quicken you are currently running.

Also, if you haven't done so already, please take a moment to review the steps and information available here.

The more information you can provide regarding this issue will help the Community to better understand and assist.

Thank you,

-Quicken Tyka

JoRhett

Quicken has been software as a service for 3... 4 years now? There are no versions. Please stop waiting for this answer when everyone is running the same subscription. People who are running the old versions do self-identify and should (and frankly should be given a different community)

I'm running the latest. I always update as soon as prompted.

You have pointed me at a bunch of things that will affect my desktop syncing without answering my question. My desktop syncing is not broken. How will these changes to my desktop syncing affect this issue?

This is my question:
> I don't want two completely separate logins to my bank accounts. Twice the brokenness for zero the fun! Just sync up what my desktop has so I can see it on the app...

Why should I do something that might impact my desktop syncing? Every time I've done this in the past it breaks things... like zeroing out all my paycheck categories! I had to fix 2 years of paychecks last time.

Chris_QPW

@JoRhett

Perhaps a bit of explanation of what is going on might help.

First you have Quicken Desktop and it downloads transactions from you financial institutions into its data file.

Next you have your Quicken cloud account on the Quicken servers.   Quicken Desktop "syncs" your data in the Quicken Desktop data file with that cloud account.

Quicken servers/Quicken cloud account also download transactions from your financial institutions into that cloud account.

The Quicken Mobile app and Quicken Web are the "GUIs" of the Quicken cloud account.

This leads to two basic questions.  One is "Why the Quicken server/cloud account need to download from your financial institutions?"  And the answer is for the case where you are away from Quicken Desktop for an extended period of time, you can continue to do at least the basic operations.

The other question is "Where does Quicken server get the information it needs to do log in and download transactions?"  And the answer to that is from the Quicken Desktop (during the sync).

Needless to say since both Quicken Desktop and the Quicken server/cloud has to log into your financial institutions, both of them can run into errors doing that.  And this is why steps outline by @Quicken_Tyka referenced article trying to find someway to "get the right information" to the Quicken cloud account.

And then on top of that these two have to communicate what each has done, which again can have problems.  And there is also the real possibility that the Quicken cloud account data could have got corrupted.  And that is why one troubleshooting step is to delete it and send it up again (called "Reset").

JoRhett

> Quicken servers/Quicken cloud account also download transactions from your financial institutions into that cloud account.

Which works about as well as a dumpster fire. Turning this on corrupts accounts. It's been breaking paychecks for over a year now without any attention being paid by Quicken.

Thus my question: why not offer a feature to only sync from the Desktop? Minimize the complexity. KISS.

When you can't do 10 things well, sometimes it's best to try and do less.

> This leads to two basic questions. One is "Why the Quicken server/cloud account need to download from your financial institutions?" And the answer is for the case where you are away from Quicken Desktop for an extended period of time, you can continue to do at least the basic operations.

That's a fantasy land that Quicken has never inhabited. I've been using Quicken for 22 years. Devout follower, have tried every different iteration of their web/cloud offerings and none of them have ever worked.

If I could simply see in my mobile app the exact same information I see in the Desktop, it would be more useful to me than any of the cloud sync has ever, EVER been.
> this is why steps outline by @Quicken_Tyka referenced article trying to find someway to "get the right information" to the Quicken cloud account.

And yet, every time I do these resets I end up losing anywhere from 2 hours to in one case 30 hours manually fixing all the things Quicken corrupted in my desktop accounts. So understand why we are naturally hesitant to willingly undergo this breakage every time.

> There is also the real possibility that the Quicken cloud account data could have got corrupted.  And that is why one troubleshooting step is to delete it and send it up again (called "Reset").

Resetting cloud would be fine. But EVERY time we do this I have to take a day off work to spend on the line with your technical support who can't figure it out but usually lead me to figure it out for them and teach them how their own mechanisms work.

For example, I just went and unchecked the complaining accounts, and voila! Here is the new corruption:

JoRhett

22 years of dwindling support and continued incompetence are finally pushing me off the bus. I'm not done migrating yet, but I've put considerable effort into moving all my finances over to [removed - no soliciting]. 

Chris_QPW

Just want to point out that I'm just another Quicken user, and a Windows one at that.

And I do agree with you on a lot of points you made.  BTW I think there isn't a SuperUser that will touch Quicken cloud for anything other than testing or trying to find out how to help people on here.

JoRhett

Oh, and did I mention that tax time this year showed me that you've been entering scheduled transactions into CLOSED accounts?

Yep, I changed accounts. Changed the scheduled transactions, which have been going into the new accounts. But their clone twin has been entering into CLOSED accounts. These clones do not appear in the list of scheduled transactions. But they've been filling up these old rental accounts, and totally screwed up my taxes.

You know... my taxes being easy is YOUR ONE JOB ... right?

JoRhett

> @Chris_QPW said:
> Just want to point out that I'm just another Quicken user, and a Windows one at that.And I do agree with you on a lot of points you made.  BTW I think there isn't a SuperUser that will touch Quicken cloud for anything other than testing or trying to find out how to help people on here.

I'm a windows user too, since I have both rental properties and a schedule C. So my annual Quicken cost is the latest Fusion upgrade + the highest tier Quicken windows.

[removed - no soliciting]

Chris_QPW

@JoRhett When you first posted I certainly thought you were a Windows user, but that post you mentioned that other product (which they don't want us to mention) and that product only runs on Mac as far as I know, so that is why I thought you were a Quicken Mac user.

And just for the record there are many times that I disagree with what Quicken Inc (and Intuit before them) have done, but I also recognize that there are no "easy answers" or else they would have done them long ago.  Everything is plus and minus.  For instance without the long history of Quicken it wouldn't have the features it does.   But it is that same history means that they can't just change on a whim when the world decides that the GUI should look different or such.  Programs are built on a foundation just like a building, and you can't just sweep it away/changing it on a whim.

And Quicken Inc has some very demanding users some of which in the same breath make statements like "Why did you change XXX, I liked the way it was.  Oh an BTW  change/add YYY I for me".

The worst thing that every happened to Quicken is something that if it didn't happen, Quicken probably wouldn't be around today, and that is Express Web Connect/Quicken Connect.

Having to log into financial institutions as the user without a standardized protocol is extremely error prone and labor intensive to maintain.  But without it because even at its highest only 4,500 financial institutions adopted OFX/QFX/Direct Connect out of more than 30,000 financial institutions in the US (now down to about 2,500), most people wouldn't be able to download their transactions and as such they wouldn't be using Quicken.

And the same mess is on the Bill presentment/pay side.  All because there isn't any standard.  Can you imagine what it would be like if there wasn't a standard for transfers (AHC and wire)?

JoRhett

> @Chris_QPW said:
> but I also recognize that there are no "easy answers" or else they would have done them long ago.  Everything is plus and minus.  For instance without the long history of Quicken it wouldn't have the features it does.   But it is that same history means that they can't just change on a whim when the world decides that the GUI should look different or such.

I understand. I work in software development arena myself so I understand the obstacles. This is why I've been so patient.

But there is a difference between "your UI sucks" (opinion) and "you keep zeroing out my paycheck splits" (broken) and ghost writing transactions into closed accounts--which are hidden so the user is unaware that these historic accounts have gone non-zero.

This is all about Trust. I'd put up with Quicken's crappy UI if they would start fixing the bugs. But instead they keep bragging about the features they've added, while I'm spending more and more and more time dealing with the problems they won't fix.



Trying out something that actually works reminds you that other choices are possible. Quicken Home&Business had no competition for over a decade... and now at least two other choices are coming to eat their lunch. They need to wake up.

JoRhett

> @Chris_QPW said:
> Can you imagine what it would be like if there wasn't a standard for transfers ( (AHC and wire)?

Off-topic but easy... why yes, yes I can. Because there aren't. There's at least 3 historic ways to do ACH and about 11 different proposed/implemented by at least one major bank prototypes of future ways to do it. It's fun! ;p

The idea that having standards would make it easier for everyone including themselves just flat out doesn't resonate with banks. They still believe that if they can force everyone to their implementation they can rule the world *sigh*

Wire transfers... it's like having a bunch of friends where there's equal friends and languages, and only 2 people in the room speak any given tongue. Any "seamless wire transfer" can transit 3-4 different services between any two banks. OMG it's nonsense. Here, there's 16 implementations mentioned here and it's just the tip of the iceberg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_transfer

So no... these aren't the "easy" use cases you are implying. They are crazy conflicting, demanding idiomatic implementations that require software developers to maintain a tremendous stack of metadata to navigate the swamp.

But... you don't know that. Because it usually Just Works (with minimal but often frightening misfires), because those of us who work in banking make sure it works. Not losing money is very important to banks.

Unfortunately Quicken has no such motivation. Why invest in software quality when Quicken doesn't bear the cost of the failures?

Chris_QPW

That's interesting about the wire transfers.  Naive me I thought there was a standard.  Boy and we trust our money to these jokers! 

But it is OK, after all we all want ever to be "free in this country".

As for the features and bugs and such I guess it is the perfect matching with a lot of Quicken customers.  They play to the Quicken users wanting this feature or that, and if it really works reliably or not doesn't really seem to impact their buying decision or Quicken Inc's decision to put it in.  Fixing bugs doesn't attract new buyers.  Saying " Quicken now supports new XXX feature", does.

I'm amazed that people find paying bills from inside of Quicken is such an essential feature.  Not mention all the other features that get like 5 votes in 2 years and the people voting for them say things like "Why hasn't this been implemented when so many people want it?"

JoRhett

Ditto on everything you said, but it really changes nothing. I just lost 6 hours rebuilding two years worth of paycheck data -- AGAIN.

Unless Quicken will step up to the plate and start addressing these bugs I'll have to find something else. At this point the pain level is so high that anything that almost kindof works will be better than dealing with the constant breakage.