Why installing beats using a browser tab
DoseRoutine works in any modern browser, but installing it to your home screen changes what the app can do. An installed app can deliver scheduled reminders when the browser is closed, opens instantly from a cold start because its shell is cached on the device, keeps you signed in between sessions, and runs full-screen without the browser toolbar eating vertical space on the dose list.
Installation is not an app-store download. The same web app is saved to your device as a standalone launcher, so there is nothing to update manually — you always get the current version the next time you open it.
What to expect on each platform
On iPhone and iPad, use Safari and choose Share, then Add to Home Screen. Notifications require the installed version on iOS, so if reminders are the reason you are here, this step is required rather than optional.
On Android, Chrome usually offers an install prompt directly; if it does not appear, the browser menu has an Install app or Add to home screen entry. On desktop, Chrome and Edge show an install icon in the address bar, which is handy if you plan your week on a laptop and log doses on your phone.
- Reminders keep working when the browser is closed
- Offline access to today's schedule, your protocols and your recent logs
- Faster cold starts because the app shell is cached locally
- Full-screen layout with no browser chrome
After you install
Grant notification permission when prompted, then set the reminder times that match how you actually take things — morning, with meals, or a specific injection day. Reminders are scheduled on the device, so they still fire if you are traveling without a signal.
Your account syncs across every device you install on. Log a dose on your phone and it appears on the web within seconds, which matters if you plan protocols on a computer but log them on the move.
If reminders still do not arrive
Nearly every missed-reminder report comes down to one of three things, and they are quick to check in order. First, notification permission: on iPhone this is granted from inside the installed app, and if you dismissed the prompt once you will need to enable DoseRoutine under Settings, Notifications. Second, on iPhone the app must be opened from the home-screen icon rather than a Safari tab — a tab cannot schedule anything once it is closed. Third, on Android, battery optimization frequently suspends background delivery; excluding the app from optimization fixes it.
Once permission is granted, send yourself a test reminder a few minutes out rather than waiting for a real dose. Confirming it works while you are sitting there is the difference between a system you trust and one you quietly stop relying on.
- iPhone: install from Safari, then allow notifications inside the app
- Android: allow notifications, then exclude the app from battery optimization
- Desktop: keep the installed window signed in for reminders while you work
- All platforms: send a test reminder before you depend on it
Installed app versus the store apps
The installed web app and the native iPhone and Android builds share the same account and the same data, so choosing one is not a commitment. The web install is the fastest route in — no store review, no download — and it covers reminders, offline access to today's schedule, the calculators and the full compound library. The native builds add tighter operating-system integration for notifications and camera access on the meal scanner.
A common pattern is installing on the phone for logging and reminders and using a desktop browser for the heavier work: building protocols, reading library entries, reviewing lab charts and exporting a report before an appointment. Everything stays in sync, so there is no wrong place to start.