Install the mobile app (early access)

The mobile app is in early access, which means getting it onto your phone looks a little different than a normal app-store install — there’s no listing to search for yet, and the exact steps depend on which phone you’re using.

Before you start

You’ll need an early-access invitation first. If you don’t have one, request early access — approved requests get an email with next steps.

iOS — accept your TestFlight invitation

Invited iOS testers get an email invitation to TestFlight, Apple’s own tool for pre-release apps. Accept it, install TestFlight if you don’t already have it, and TestFlight installs Charyl for you from there. Updates arrive through TestFlight the same way.
Android — open your Google Play test link

Invited Android testers get a Google Play test link. Open it while signed in to the same Google account your phone uses for Google Play, join the test, then install Charyl from Google Play. Until the public listing is ready, Google Play may show the app as “com.singerhomes.mobile (unreviewed)” rather than “Charyl” — that’s expected. If it doesn’t appear straight away, give it a few minutes and refresh Manage apps and device in Google Play.
Open the app

However it arrived, opening it for the first time drops you on a pairing screen — the app doesn’t know which home is yours until you tell it.
Pair it to your home

Pairing connects the app on your phone to your specific home — scanning the QR code shown in the web app is what actually links the two. The full walkthrough, including what to do if your home hasn’t finished its own first-run setup yet, is covered step by step in its own guide.
Sign in

Once paired, sign in with your household account to reach the full app — chat, your inventory, and everything else.

Why it works this way right now

Being in early access means the usual app-store path — search, tap install, done — isn’t available yet for either platform. iOS testers ride on TestFlight, which is built for exactly this kind of pre-release distribution and handles updates automatically once you’re on it. Android testers use Google Play’s own testing track, which works the same way: you join once through the link, and the app comes from Google Play.

This is how it works today, not how it will stay. As public store paths open up for either platform, installing the app will get simpler, and this guide will be updated to match.

Watch for imitators

Charyl isn’t publicly listed on the App Store or Google Play yet. Install it only from the TestFlight invitation or the Google Play test link we send you.

Staying up to date

On iOS, updates arrive through TestFlight the same way the install did — keep TestFlight itself installed and new versions reach you automatically, without a separate step. On Android, once you’ve joined the test, new versions arrive through Google Play as ordinary updates — no new link, no reinstall.

Pairing a phone is also one of the later, skippable steps in your home’s own first-run setup — if you’d rather finish setting up the home itself first, that’s fine. You can always come back and pair a phone afterward; nothing about installing the app depends on doing it in a particular order.

What to expect once you’re in

The app you land in after pairing is the same home and the same conversation, not a trimmed-down preview (dashboards stay on the web for now) — the same proposals waiting for review and your whole household record. Early access describes how you got the app, not how much of it you’re getting.

If you’d like to see what’s actually in the app before you install it, a tour of the mobile app walks through every section. Once you’re ready to connect it to your home, pair your phone is the next step.