Slow internet and no connection

The Requiply mobile app keeps working when the signal is weak, and with Keep data on this phone turned on it keeps working with no connection at all. On a weak connection, even EDGE or a 4G cell overloaded during a power outage, bookings and clients still go through: slower, but never lost and never created twice. With no connection, the screens you need at the counter open from the phone.

This works on iPhone and Android from version 1.1.7, on every plan. For the story behind it, see the blog post Slow and no internet mode for equipment rental businesses.

Two levels

Working on a weak connection is always on. Turning on Keep data on this phone is a choice each person makes for their own phone.

The badge on your avatar

A small badge on the corner of your avatar shows the connection. With a good connection there is no badge.

Without the switch, a weak connection shows no badge: the app simply waits longer. The red badge shows in both cases.

The connection sheet

Tap the badge to see what it means right now.

Keep data on this phone

The switch keeps an encrypted copy of your organization's data on the phone and keeps it up to date in the background.

Turning it on

Do this ahead of time, on a good connection.

1. Tap your avatar in the top right corner.
2. Turn on Keep data on this phone.
3. The app asks Keep data on this phone? and says what it will download, with your organization's numbers: products, units, clients and bookings, About {size} to download, {size} on the phone.
4. Tap Download. A spinner shows beside the switch and the avatar badge turns blue with a spinning ring until the data is ready.

With no connection the switch cannot be turned on: Connect to the internet to turn this on. If the first download fails, the line under the switch reads Not downloaded yet. It will retry automatically.

What is kept on the phone

Data your permission group does not allow you to see is never downloaded. Comments, conversations, documents and payments are not kept.

Size. A small rental shop takes a few megabytes. In our tests a catalog of 3,470 units took about 3.4 MB, and the first download over EDGE took 15 to 25 seconds. Product photos download only on a good connection.

Keeping it up to date

The copy updates by itself while the app is open:

• Changes your teammates make reach the phone within seconds.
• On top of that it checks every 5 minutes on a good connection and every minute on a weak one.
• When the connection comes back, when you return to the app, and after you create a booking or a client.
• With the app closed, the phone updates it in the background from time to time, when the system allows.

Security

• The copy is encrypted. Requiply issues a key for each phone and renews it on every update. The key is valid for 72 hours after the last update.
• Removed from the organization: the copy is deleted at the phone's next connection.
• Offline for more than 72 hours: the phone deletes the key, and the copy can no longer be read. When the connection comes back and the person is still a member, the key is issued again and nothing is downloaded twice.
• Not used for 14 days: the copy is deleted to free space.
• Turning the switch off asks Delete data from this phone? and deletes the copy. Sign Out deletes it too.

What works with no connection

A list that has nothing to show yet says No connection to Requiply or No internet connection with The list will load as soon as the connection is back. It loads by itself when the connection returns.

What needs a connection

• Saving a new booking and its exact total. Prices on the phone are a guide; the total with pricing tiers, discounts and deposits is calculated by Requiply when the booking is saved, and availability is checked at the same moment. With no connection Create is dimmed and tapping it says No internet connection. Check Wi-Fi or mobile data and try again. The draft stays, so tap Create again once there is a signal.
• Status changes, and confirming a pickup or return checklist.
• Editing dates, items or services, payments, refunds, sending emails and documents.
• Conversations, comments and the assistant.

On a weak connection

When Requiply answers slowly, the app adapts instead of freezing:

• It waits longer before giving up: up to two minutes for a new booking.
• It refreshes lists in the background less often and holds back photo downloads, so your booking gets the bandwidth.
• With the switch on, pickers, search and scanning answer from the phone, so typing and scanning cost no waiting.

The notice on the Confirm step

On the last step of a new booking, a weak connection shows Slow connection. Creating may take up to a minute. above the payment method. After you tap Create, the button shows a spinner until the booking is saved.

Bookings and clients are never lost or doubled

A new booking or client is saved on the phone before it is sent. If the connection drops, the answer gets lost, or the app is closed while it is being sent:

1. The app says No answer from the server yet. The booking will be sent again as soon as the connection improves. (for a client: ...without creating a duplicate.).
2. It sends it again when the app starts, when you return to it, or when the connection comes back.
3. Requiply recognizes the repeat and never creates a second booking or client.
4. When it lands, a message confirms it, for example Booking #29 created, even if you have left the booking screen.

Availability is always checked by Requiply when the booking arrives. If a teammate booked the last unit while your request was on its way, the booking is refused with the reason, for example Not enough "ATEM Mini Pro" for these dates: requested 1, available 0. A refused booking that was sent again later shows The booking was not created: {reason}.

Common scenarios

Quoting a price during a power outage

A client calls, the call gets through, but mobile data loads nothing. Open Inventory: daily prices and stock are on the phone. Give an estimate, then start a new booking and pick the items, dates and client. When any signal appears, tap Create; Requiply calculates the exact total with your pricing tiers and the client's discount.

Handing over equipment in a basement

Turn on Keep data on this phone in the office. On site, open the booking and its checklist. Each scanned code is found on the phone at once, and the tick is sent over the weak signal. If the signal is gone completely, step outside to one bar to tick the rest and Confirm the checklist.

The app was closed while a booking was being sent

Open the app again on any connection. The booking is sent again by itself and Booking #N created appears. Do not create it a second time and do not sign out until the message appears.

Tips and cautions