HFX vs Patient Controller RC
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HFX
Manage chronic pain with personalized relief. This app pairs with a spinal cord stimulator to learn your pain patterns and deliver tailored therapy. It offers features like progress tracking, favorite program saving, and proactive patient support.
- Personalized pain relief recommendations
- Proactive patient support
- Save favorite therapy programs
- Track pain relief progress
- Earn achievement badges
- Check device battery level
- Enable MRI Mode
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There's now a better way to manage your chronic pain. The HFX App pairs with the Nevro HFX iQ spinal cord stimulator to learn from your unique pain and deliver personalized pain relief from your smartphone. Join over 100,000 people who have been treated with HFX therapy. The HFX App is easy to use: 1. You complete simple check-ins 2. HFX iQ learns from your unique pain experience 3. Get your personalized recommendation With the HFX App you can: Get continuous pain relief. HFX iQ will learn from your inputs, preferences, and unique pain experience to deliver personalized pain relief. Receive proactive patient support within 24 hours. The HFX App will send alerts to your Nevro Care Team so they can proactively reach out to provide support when you need it. Save your favorite programs. Bookmark your favorite programs that you like to use or want to easily return to. You can personalize your favorites by giving it a name like “walking” and selecting a color. Track your progress. Better understand your pain level trends, review your relief over time, and how your pain responded to past programs. Earn badges. Collect badges as you complete goals, achieve more pain relief, or reach a milestone. Check your battery level. Your battery level is conveniently displayed on your Home screen. When your battery is low or empty, you will get a notification to recharge. Safely get an MRI scan.* Easily turn on MRI Mode so you can safely get a full-body MRI scan. *Within conditional parameters. Refer to https://www.nevro.com/English/us/patients/patient-manuals/default.aspx for detailed information on MRI safety and conditions. ________________________________________ The HFX App will work on select Apple devices: iPhone 8 and above running iOS 15 or later. To view the list of compatible devices, go to https://www.NevroHFX.com/resources/hfx-app/ The HFX App is approved for use with the Nevro HFX iQ Spinal Cord Stimulator within the U.S., English Only. The HFX App controls an implanted medical device only available if prescribed by a physician. You should consult your physician before using the Nevro HFX iQ Spinal Cord Stimulator (including the HFX App) or making medical decisions. The HFX App can change your HFX iQ therapy settings; use only as directed by your Nevro Care Team or physician. Nevro Corp. 1800 Bridge Parkway Redwood City, CA 94065 U.S.A. Provider and Patient MRI Questions p: +1-888-895-8105 HFX, the HFX logo, HFX iQ, the HFX iQ logo, NEVRO, and the NEVRO logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Nevro Corp. iPhone is a registered trademark of Apple, Inc. Bluetooth is a registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and Nevro’s use is under license.
Patient Controller RC
Manage your Abbott neuromodulation device programs from your smartphone. Control stimulation settings, monitor your device, and connect with your clinician remotely for adjustments and telehealth sessions.
- Turn stimulation ON/OFF
- Select stimulation programs
- Adjust stimulation amplitude
- Check device battery
- Monitor charging
- Remote clinician connection
- Secure in-app video chat
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This app is for use with Abbott rechargeable devices including the Eterna™ Spinal Cord Stimulation system and the Liberta RC™ DBS system. The Patient Controller (PC) Application was developed by Abbott for people living with chronic pain and movement disorders who are treated by Abbott neuromodulation devices. This application helps patients conveniently manage the programs prescribed by their physicians and uses Bluetooth® wireless technology to communicate between the implanted stimulator, Charger and the Patient Controller App. The Patient Controller Application runs on Abbott recommended devices (as mentioned below) and is easy to use, while the wireless interface provides patients the convenience of managing prescribed stimulation settings from a familiar iOS device. Some of the key functions available for patients include: - Turn stimulation ON/OFF - Select stimulation programs for changing therapy needs - Adjust stimulation amplitude - Check device battery - Monitor charging of the implanted stimulator - Adjust charger settings - Turn on MRI mode for MR Conditional systems - Activate and de-activate Surgery Mode In addition, NeuroSphere™ Virtual Clinic on the PC app enables users to connect with their clinicians for routine programming adjustments remotely. Secure in-app video chat enables telehealth sessions directly from within the PC application. THIS APP DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE, NOR SHOULD BE REGARDED AS COMPRISING MEDICAL ADVICE OF ANY NATURE. THE APP IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE PROFESSIONAL JUDGEMENT AND TREATMENT BY A PHYSICIAN OR MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL. PATIENTS SHOULD CONSULT WITH THEIR PHYSICIAN PRIOR TO MAKING ANY MEDICAL DECISIONS. IF YOU SUSPECT YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY, PLEASE CONTACT EMERGENCY SERVICES OR YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER. Note: - This application will work on select Appleⱡ iPhoneⱡ devices running iOS 15.6.1 or later. - For a list of compatible devices see https://www.NMmobiledevicesync.com/cp - For the Privacy Policy see https://www.virtualclinic.abbott/policies - For the Terms of Use see https://www.virtualclinic.abbott/policies - ⱡ iPhone is a registered trademark of Apple, Inc. - Bluetooth is a registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: HFX at 3.5 against Patient Controller RC's 3.1. Patient Controller RC's advantage is review sentiment (22% vs 12%). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
HFX holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 3.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 71 and 112 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 12% of HFX's written reviews are positive against 22% of Patient Controller RC's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
HFX ships an update every 3 months, Patient Controller RC every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HFX | Patient Controller RC |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (71 ratings) — better | 3.1 (112 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 12.1% of reviews | 21.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 71 | 112 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.6.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 59 MB | 79 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Nevro Corp. | Abbott |
Customer experience
HFX
Patient Controller RC
User reviews
HFX
From 71 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Provides real relief
- 👍 Improves quality of life
- 👍 Device is terrific
- 👍 Great app
- 👍 Love the app and team
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy with connection issues
- 🐛 Stopped connecting entirely
- 🐛 App is a piece of trash
- 🐛 White screen issue
- 🐛 Repetitive app issues
Patient Controller RC
From 112 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ✅ Effective pain relief and device functionality
- 👍 User-friendly interface and easy control
- 🔧 Works well on supported iPhone models
- 💪 Reliable implant performance for chronic pain management
- 🤝 Good customer support in some regions
Room to improve
- ❌ Severely outdated iPhone compatibility (lags 2-3+ years behind current models)
- 📱 Forces users to carry multiple phones simultaneously
- 🐢 Extremely slow update cycle for new device support
- 🔌 Provided iPhone SE controller has poor battery life
- 🔗 Frequent app disconnections requiring restarts
Bugs and requests
HFX
Reported bugs
22 issues- Connection issues
- Stopped connecting
- Bluetooth connection problems
- White screen
- App not loading
Show 17 moreShow fewer
- App freezing
- Assessment alert not working
- App crashes
- Takes multiple attempts to connect
- Dropping off network
- App not working
- Syncing issues
- Upload error
- Low battery notifications not working
- Battery drain on iOS
- Difficulties staying connected
- Won't connect
- Doesn't sync with Bluetooth
- Can't find device
- Not phone compatible
- Charger shuts down quickly
- Stimulation changes without user input
Requested features
14 requests- Dark mode option
- Add an option to write notes
- Improve battery percentage display
- Improve pain rating system
- Add percentage to battery meter
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- Fix push notifications for low battery
- Option to write notes and communicate in own words
- Improve IQ mode functionality
- More attention to reliability
- Better system for daily questions
- Improve assessment questions
- Add ability to communicate with team advocates
- Improve connection stability
- Notification for app updates
Patient Controller RC
Reported bugs
6 issues- App incompatible with iPhone 15, 16, 17 series
- Frequent disconnections from device requiring app restart
- App crashes and won't open
- Password update rejection
- Incompatibility with iOS 18.3.2 and newer
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Battery indicator not displaying correctly on newer phones
Requested features
9 requests- Support for iPhone 15, 16, 17 and newer models
- Android app version
- Apple Watch app integration
- Sleep timer functionality
- User-adjustable intermittent pulse programs
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Screen brightness control for nighttime use
- Remote programming capability
- Faster Bluetooth connection speed
- Monthly bug fix and security patches
In-app purchases
HFX
No in-app purchases
Patient Controller RC
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is HFX free?
Is Patient Controller RC free?
Which has better reviews, HFX or Patient Controller RC?
Do HFX or Patient Controller RC have ads?
Which is updated more often, HFX or Patient Controller RC?
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