Comparison

HFX vs Patient Controller RC

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Read full description

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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • Turn stimulation ON/OFF
  • Select stimulation programs
  • Adjust stimulation amplitude
  • Check device battery
  • Monitor charging
  • Remote clinician connection
  • Secure in-app video chat
Read full description

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

HFX4 screens
Patient Controller RC4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
HFX versus Patient Controller RC: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHFXPatient Controller RC
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.5 (71 ratings) — better3.1 (112 ratings)
Positive reviews12.1% of reviews21.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings71112 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6.1
Further details — not scored
Size59 MB79 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperNevro Corp.Abbott

Customer experience

HFX

All ratings71 ratings
Positive56.3%
Neutral8.5%
Negative35.2%
Written reviews58 reviews
Positive12.1%
Neutral29.3%
Negative58.6%

Patient Controller RC

All ratings113 ratings
Positive44.2%
Neutral13.3%
Negative42.5%
Written reviews92 reviews
Positive21.7%
Neutral14.1%
Negative64.1%

User reviews

HFX

From 71 App Store ratings

What 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 ratings

What 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 more
  • 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 more
  • 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 more
  • 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 more
  • Screen brightness control for nighttime use
  • Remote programming capability
  • Faster Bluetooth connection speed
  • Monthly bug fix and security patches

In-app purchases

None

HFX

No in-app purchases

None

Patient Controller RC

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HFX free?
HFX is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Patient Controller RC free?
Patient Controller RC is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, HFX or Patient Controller RC?
HFX is rated higher. HFX averages 3.5 out of 5 from 71 ratings, while Patient Controller RC averages 3.1 from 112 ratings.
Do HFX or Patient Controller RC have ads?
Neither HFX nor Patient Controller RC shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HFX or Patient Controller RC?
HFX ships an update every 3 months, and Patient Controller RC every 4 months. Most recently, HFX was updated on October 14, 2026 and Patient Controller RC on October 17, 2026.

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