January Update: All orders shipped and improvements to Windows.
over 2 years ago – Mon, Jan 17, 2022 at 01:36:24 AM

🎉 Happy New Year and Welcome to 2022!

Thank you to everyone who supported mütesync in 2021. We believe remote work is here to stay and we’re grateful we got a chance to make your workspace a little better. I wanted to share my favorite holiday photo from a customer, and old friend, who got vastly different reactions to his daughter’s Christmas gifts. Hopefully your mute button brought upon smiles and not the icy glare of disappointment.

📦  Crowdfunding Orders Are All Shipped

I’m happy to report that all eligible Kickstarter and Indiegogo crowdfunding orders were finally shipped and we’ll be wrapping up our crowdfunding campaigns. But the journey doesn't stop here. We are continuing to roll out software updates and improvements and add features. Heck we might even launch another product in 2022. If you’d like to continue to get updates, be sure to add your email address to our mailing list here.

🤷‍♂️ But Where’s My Mute Button?

If you have not received your button, feel free to contact us to help. International orders take up to two month to arrive and may still be in transit. Intl customers can use this FAQ to see how to hunt down alternative tracking ids that can often be used with your local postal service.
 

💻  Big Improvements on Windows

In early January we substantially updated our Windows app. If you are a Windows user who has had issues and hasn’t used mütesync in the past weeks, I urge you to give it a try. So far we’ve seen great results, but would love to hear if any issues persist. Your app should auto update to ​​Version 4.12.5 if it hasn’t already.

The new version includes:

• Our new SyncEngine technology which improves reliability and uses less resources
• Support for Windows 11
• Cross-desktop support
• Automated driver installation
• Support for the newest version of Teams
• A bug fix for color customization and brightness
   

Note: Zoom, Teams and Meet have all been upgraded but we're still finalizing the Windows upgrade for Discord.

⬆️  Update to the Chrome Extension

To accommodate the newest version of Teams we needed to make a small change to our Chrome Extension. If mütesync has suddenly stopped working for browser-based meetings (Google Meet, Teams via browser, etc) you may need to Re-enable the extension. Simply go to your Chrome Preferences and click on “Extensions” to find and re-enable mutesync.

🍎  Mac Upgrade In Progress

Similar to Windows, we’ll be releasing an upgrade to our Mac app that leverages our new SyncEngine. Our beta users will be getting the new versions in the coming weeks and we’re excited to get everyone updated. This fix should also address issues we’ve seen with the new Mac OS, Monterey, and issues with the M1 chip.

🗺  Roadmap Survey

We’re a small but mighty team and are always looking for new ideas and suggestions. After we release the features I described above, we’ll be adding more language support for our international users. Then we’ll revisit the pile of requests to get started on the next feature. We’ve captured many of the top requests in this brief survey if you’d like to rank them or add your own.

November Update on Shipping and Button Setup
over 2 years ago – Tue, Nov 30, 2021 at 11:55:37 PM

🙌  Once Again, Thank You!

Kickstarter is all about supporting entrepreneurs' crazy ideas and giving them a “kickstart” when traditional funding isn’t available because the company is too young, and the idea too risky. Tom and I (two software guys) certainly fit that description. We saw a real need in this new, remote-work world and decided to go for it. Tom and I certainly have made a lot of mistakes, but we learned a lot along the way and each week our company gets smarter and moves faster. We have a lot of improvements in the works and we want to thank you all for your support and for providing us with this opportunity.

😅 Almost All Buttons Have Shipped

I’ve been holding off on sending this update in hopes of telling you all preorders are completely shipped. But with only about 5 minutes left in November I really wanted to get this update out this month. Kickstarter orders are about 90% done and about 50% of the Indiegogo preorders just got packed up and labeled today. If things go smoothly,  all pre-orders will be shipped by the end of next week. If you're curious about some of the shipping hurdles read on!

🌍 International Shipping Complexity: 

We didn’t expect our button to be so popular globally. In fact, ~40% of our orders were sold outside of the United States. International customs laws are different in every country and some require Tax IDs, which we needed to collect. And of course, I messed up quite a few customs forms. Also, did you know some countries banned international shipping for COVID-related reasons? And some couriers won’t ship to international PO boxes? 

 📦 Global Shipping Crisis
I’m sure you heard the news about the backups at the LA ports and the lack of truck drivers. These issues also affected us. Our inventory was often broken up into smaller shipments, many of which sat in warehouses waiting for a freight pickup. In fact, we still have 180 mute buttons from our October shipment sitting in a warehouse somewhere in California trying to get on a truck bound for our warehouse in Utah. The crisis also raised shipping fees dramatically. The shipping fees we collected didn’t even come close to covering the cost of shipping. Right now it costs over $60 for us to ship one mute button to Russia!

💻 Setting Up Your Mute Button
We have been supporting users of our prototypes for almost a year and overall, our users seem to think the setup experience is pretty smooth. Our users answer the question, "How successful were we at getting you set up?" with an 8.1 out of 10. And according to our setup guide data, 86% of our users have the mute button work without any further setup/troubleshooting.
 

Of course, if 86% don’t have issues, it means that 14% do! As we bring on 1,000+ new users you can imagine how busy we are trying to help get people setup and addressing issues. If you’re one of those people with issues, thank you for your patience. We know the app isn’t perfect but we’ll keep working on it until it is.
 

😭 Common Issues with Setup
Common issues are related to security limitations from IT teams, other apps that are blocking mütesync, USB cords not rated for data, missing drivers, underpowered USB hubs, computers that lack CPU, our lack of cross desktop support, unsupported operating systems like Linux, and unsupported platforms like Chime, Webex, Slack. We either have, or are working on solutions for most of these issues and have a major software update coming soon. If you’re reading this and have issues I urge you to read our FAQ as we update it every few days. You can also reach out to us at [email protected] so we can help.

🚀 Getting Ready for the mütesync App v5.0
While we continue to support the current mütesync app we have also been working for over two months on our new software version. We plan on releasing this upgrade to our beta users in December and this will decrease the CPU needs of the mute button, fix some integration bugs, make adding new platform support (Webex, Chime, etc) much faster, and enable the app to work in all languages, not just the handful we have implemented. We'll notify you via email, but you can also check our release notes.
 

🎁  Last Chance for Pre-Order Pricing 

We're happy to say that we sold through almost all of our 5,000 units. We have more mute buttons being manufactured but they won't be available until 2022.  As backers, we're offering you access to the remaining discounted buttons while supplies last.  If you're in the US and celebrate Christmas please order by the end of this week to ensure your buttons arrive by Christmas. 

October Update: Now Shipping!
over 2 years ago – Mon, Oct 25, 2021 at 05:21:17 AM

📦  Shipping Day Has Arrived!

I can finally give you a clear answer on when we’re shipping...now! But it wasn’t easy. The American logistics system is overloaded. Trucks aren't available. Warehouse staff are overwhelmed. After repeated delays, Tom just got in his car, drove to the LA warehouse and convinced the broker to give us some of our inventory. Now we are shipping pre-orders ourselves as we wait for the freight forwarder to get our mute buttons to Utah where our distribution center is based. So Tom and I have started printing labels, stuffing envelopes, and making trips to the post office.

👴🏻  > 👶  Working from Earliest to Newest

We're working from our earliest backers to more recent backers. Keep in mind we used multiple platforms (Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Backerkit, Shopify, etc.) to book preorders. Kickstarter backers were the first, so we're starting there and will move through other platforms. If you haven't already, you will get an email titled “Last call to update your shipping address.” No need to respond if your address has not changed. After that, you’ll get an email with your tracking number. If you ordered a large number of buttons, (20 or more) we’ll message you to discuss your shipping preference.

📅  When exactly will I get my button?
I can’t give you an exact date since Tom and I, even if we pack orders non-stop, are much slower than a professional warehouse with all the supplies on hand to move through orders quickly. For example, even if it only takes 3 minutes for us to print a label and then stuff and seal an envelope that means it would take 3,000 minutes (50 hours!) for every 1,000 buttons we need to ship. And we need to ship more than that. And we don’t have industrial printers, supplies or trucks... so we’ll be pretty slow until our Utah warehouse comes online. We were told our inventory is en route to Utah (we've been told that a few times) so they should be shipping orders as soon as next week. 

💭  What if I NEED my button now?

No lie, I dream of the question… “Where is my mute button?” First I want to thank you! So many of you start your emails and messages with “No rush; just curious” or “I know you’re trying your best, but I’m wondering when I’m getting the button.” I truly do appreciate the empathy. If you really do need your button now, just email me ([email protected]) and I’ll move you to the top of the list.

%  Pre-order Discount Ending Soon

Soon we'll be officially shutting down all our pre-order stores and only accepting orders on our website at the full retail price ($49).  If you've been holding off to order, this is your last chance to get a preorder discount on a mute button. 

September Update on Manufacturing, Shipping, and New Features
over 2 years ago – Sat, Sep 18, 2021 at 05:52:15 PM

😍 Thank You for Your Support!

Bringing the mute button to life has been a wild ride. It has been equal parts stressful and exhilarating and every day we’re exposed to something totally new. How do you register barcodes? How do you get just the right opacity on plastic? Should we add support for Linux? Taxes!? It’s only through your support as backers that we’re able to bring this product to life and, for that, we’ll be eternally grateful.

📦 When Does my Button Ship?

I need to plead ignorance one more time. I’ve been fooled too many times by the manufacturing Gods to pretend I can give you a concrete answer. As of now we have manufactured everything and we are in final assembly and testing. I’ve shared updates and photos below and you’ll get your button...soon!

Hardware Update

⭐️ First Articles Look and Work Great

The first buttons to come off the finalized factory line are called First Articles. This box of twenty mute buttons was delivered to test users, inspected, and tested over the past several weeks to make sure they are perfect. After successfully passing our tests, we gave the ok to the factory to manufacture 5,000 units. They started cranking buttons out and are on schedule to wrap up production next week. Watch this video we posted on our Instagram page a few weeks ago.

📦 Packaging is done
Last update we were dealing with some issues with the legibility of the fine print and barcode on the box bottom. With that resolved we moved into full production. Now we have our final boxes and box inserts to hold the button above the USB cord.

✅ We are FCC Verified!
FCC certification involved passing a battery of Electromagnetic Compatibility tests to ensure there are no unintended electrical issues with the mute button. I don’t understand any of the complex details, but we passed all the tests and got FCC verified!

🤖 Printed Circuit Boards (PCB)
Last update we showed you the plastic injection machine manufacturing our button enclosures. Since then, we also finalized the circuit board manufacturing and testing process. In this video on Instagram you can see the machine that places the microchips and other components onto four circuit boards at a time. The circuit board is then photographed with special cameras to ensure the components were placed correctly and the soldered connections are strong. 

🏭 Assembly and Testing
The last mile for full production is the assembly. We need to put the circuit board in the enclosure, connect the USB plug, add the mütesync keyboard key, and affix the rubber base. Then we run every button through a test application that we custom built. The test application turns the lights on and off, changes the light color, and then tests that the click of the button actually sends the correct signal.

 
 Software Update

We've been hard at work on the software side of mütesync for almost a year. Many thanks to the hundreds of users who have been using the mütesync virtual button to help us test, refine, and add features. By the time you receive your physical button the software will be feature rich and well tested.
 

🎨 New Preferences Page with Auto-launch and Color Customization
By clicking on the preferences option in the mütesync menu you’ll see some new features. You can choose to have mütesync automatically start after you restart your computer, customize your icon (and mute button) colors, and control the button brightness.

👿 Advanced Tab for Troubleshooting
If the mute button isn’t working as expected we added an Advanced Tab to better determine where the problem lies. From here you can see what mütesync sees to make sure you are set up properly.

📞 Keep in Touch!
We publish these monthly updates on Kickstarter but also post more regularly to our instagram page. If you haven't already, be sure to follow us on Instagram for more frequent updates as we start shipping. 

Update on Manufacturing, Discord Support, and a Beta Program
over 2 years ago – Tue, Aug 10, 2021 at 10:58:14 PM

Manufacturing Update

⏰ When does the button ship?

I know this is on everyone's mind and I appreciate your patience.  As I've said before, I really wish I could give you a firm shipping date but 2021 has been a year of surprises. We overcame a global microchip shortage, disrupted shipping from a container ship that was stuck in the Panama Canal, and a global pandemic.  So let me fill you in on what's been done and where we stand.

📦 Packaging and Card Insert

Last update I shared a photo of the box samples. While they looked great on Instagram, the barcode on the box bottom wasn't scanning properly and we needed to have new samples made.  We should have proofs in our hand this week so we can go ahead with the full order of boxes. Each box will also contain a note from Tom and me. Here's a sneak preview!

😳 USB-C Cords Have Arrived

Each button will ship with a USB-C cord in the box. This is what 5,000 USB cords look like in our fulfillment facility. 

🏭 The Factory Line is Up and Running

Our mute buttons are now coming off the factory line. We finally got the translucency, button clearance, and weld lines all figured out. Here's one video of the mute button enclosure top that is coming from our plastic injection mold. Check out our latest Instagram post for a few more videos from the factory. We have these buttons undergoing a round of testing to make sure they are in perfect shape. 

Software Update

🎉  New Feature: Discord Full App Support 

We've added Discord Full App support for both Windows and Mac.  Prior to this update we only had Discord via the Chrome Browser and all our Discord friends yelled at us.  Here we are cheerfully testing Discord. 

🧪 Beta Program: Automatic App Updates

Our mütesync application powers a free virtual mute button and has thousands of downloads. It is also what powers our HomeAssistant integration, supports our older mute button model, and will run the new mütesync mute button. We've been lucky enough that many users have asked to help beta test. Until a recent release we had to send around links to download the beta version of our application each time we had an update.  Now we have an official beta program. Each time we roll out a new version of our application (we're adding updates every week or two) beta users will automatically get early access. Interested in being a beta tester? Email us to get added.

Questions?

Tom and I truly appreciate having you along for this adventure in mute button manufacturing and look forward to getting you your mute button soon. If you have any questions and need quick answers then please send us an email at [email protected]