If a device in the field has decent cellular reception (1+ bars) or is within WiFi range, it will sync with our servers and send data up!
Why won't my device sync (even with full bars)?
- Your device might be roaming when data roaming is disabled
- Your phone is configured to disallow mobile data (either phone-wide or FieldClock specifically. To check, head over to Settings > Cellular)
- Your phone has a connection to our servers but is so slow that it cannot complete a sync (if our sync operation can't sync within 30 seconds, the phone considers it failed). You can troubleshoot this by using the Speedtest app from Ookla
- Your phone is on a network that can't reach our servers (It may be blocked elsewhere in the network outside the phone). Test this by trying to access www.fieldclock.com from your phone's browser
IMPORTANT: If you're able to access our website from your mobile browser, and the site loads quickly, there's no reason the phone shouldn't be able to sync. In this case, it's likely #2 above. Solution is in the Settings app under 'Cellular', find FieldClock, and make sure 'Cellular Data' is enabled.
Determining WiFi speed
Syncing data from a mobile device to our servers (uploading), even on WiFi, may still result in sync errors. This may be due to poor WiFi speeds. In order to test you internet connection, please head over to Speed Test and check your upload / download speeds. Once in hand, please reach out to support with your results and whether or not you're able to sync devices quickly or not.
Further tips on syncing
- If cellular reception is spotty in the field, it may be worth putting your mobile devices in airplane mode. By doing this, then syncing before and directly after the workday, you may avoid confusion of un-synced data during working hours
- It is best to sync all mobile devices at the start as well as the end of each day
Additional Syncing FAQ
What is the correct syncing process?
Do not ever log out when the phone can't sync or you will lose data. (The phone will do its best to warn you of this, but it is still possible to override the warning and log out.
Where is data stored if I'm out of syncing range?
On the phone, until you log out, at which point it is deleted.
When do we need to sync?
It depends. First and foremost at login (You can't log in to the app without a connection to the server). After that, you need to sync whenever the phone needs data for the server (e.g. new employees or jobs added via admin site or other phones), or when you need to send your phone data to the server (e.g., after the day's work).
How do we get out of sync?
If the phone can't reach the server or can't get a successful sync through, it will just keep trying until it can. If it doesn't get a success message during a sync operation, it will attempt to send the same data on the next sync attempt as well.