Using Flexkeeping on iOS and Android devices while offline

Flexkeeping is designed to function efficiently, even when your mobile device is offline. This ensures that users can continue their tasks without interruption and that updates are reflected once the device is back online. However, there are a few conditions and limitations that users should be aware of regarding how changes are synchronized and how media uploads (such as photos or documents) are handled in offline mode.

How Flexkeeping works offline

When a device is offline, users can still interact with the app and make updates. For example, a housekeeping staff member can update the room’s cleanliness status even without an internet connection. Once the device reconnects to the internet, these changes will be synchronized. However, there are important details to keep in mind:

Changes sync when working offline

 

If you're working offline and make changes, those changes will be updated for everyone once you reconnect to the system. However, if someone else made changes after you but before you reconnected, your changes won’t count.

 

Example: You marked a room as "inspected" while offline, but it didn’t update for others. Later, another worker marked the room as "for inspection." Since their update happened later, when you reconnect, your change will be ignored, and the latest update ("for inspection") will stay.

• If another user makes changes to the same data (for example, the status of a room) while the original device is still offline, the latest change will overwrite the previous one. This means that, if the housekeeper updates the room status to clean while offline and another user changes the same room’s status to dirty after that, the last update will take priority in this case dirty, and be displayed in the system once both are synchronized.

Uploading photos and documents:

• On Android: When offline, attempts to upload photos or documents will not be successful. Users will see an indication that the upload failed. Once the device is back online, users can manually retry the upload by clicking again on the attachment and retrying to upload it.

!! Important note for Android users: If the user does not manually retry the upload after reconnecting to the internet, the failed upload will be lost after you log-out from the app.

• On iOS: Currently, there is no "Retry" option for failed uploads. If a user attempts to upload a photo or document while offline, the device doesn't save it temporarily to offer a retry. The attachment is lost immediately.

Offline notifications and alerts

Flexkeeping provides several layers of notifications to inform users when their device is offline:

• Immediate alert: Upon losing an internet connection, a small red-orange network banner will appear at the top of the screen.

  

• 5-Minute alert: If the connection is not restored within five minutes, a large orange network banner will appear, indicating that the app is still offline. Users can close this banner by tapping the "Last time online" text.

• 30-Minute alert: After 30 minutes of being offline, a small offline dialog will appear, which users can manually close.

• 1-Hour alert: After one hour of offline activity, a large offline dialog will appear. Unlike previous alerts, this dialog cannot be closed and will remain on the screen until the device reconnects to the internet. 
  

Best practices for using Flexkeeping offline

• Regularly check connection status: Keep an eye on the network banners to ensure your device is connected. This helps to avoid lost data or changes.

• Retry uploads on Android: If you’ve uploaded media while offline, remember to manually retry the upload once the device is back online.

• Avoid offline uploads on iOS: Since iOS devices do not have the retry option yet for uploads, avoid attaching photos or documents while offline to prevent losing important information.

By understanding these details, users can make the most of Flexkeeping's offline capabilities and minimize the risk of data loss or synchronization issues.