Collect a record on a phone

This walkthrough is best done with aeroplane mode on for the middle steps, so you can see how the app behaves without a signal.

Open the app and sign in. The Forms tab lists every form you can collect on. Tap one to download it. After that it is stored on the phone and stays there until you sign out.

Turn off the signal

Put the phone in aeroplane mode. None of the following steps need a network.

Fill in a record

Open the form. Answer the questions. Take a photo. Tap Submit.

The app confirms the record has been saved on the device and will sync when the phone is back online.

See where it is

Open the Sync tab. The record is listed as On this device only. That means nobody else can see it yet, and if the phone were lost, the record would be lost with it.

Turn the signal back on

Take the phone out of aeroplane mode. Within a few seconds the record uploads, its photo follows, and the badge changes to Delivered. On the web it appears under Submissions.

Before wiping or replacing a phone, open the Sync tab and check nothing is left. Anything showing On this device only or Not sent exists nowhere else and cannot be recovered from the server.

The delivery badges

These are the app’s own words.

Badge	Meaning
On this device only	Nobody else can see this yet. It reaches the server the next time this device syncs.
Changes not sent	The record is on the server, but what was changed here has not gone up yet.
Sending	On its way to the server now.
Not sent	This could not be sent. It is still on this device; sync again when you have signal.
Photos still to send	The record arrived; its files have not. Photographs are large and go up after the record.
Delivered	Everything is on the server.

For drafts, what happens to unfinished records over time, and handing a record to somebody else, see In the field.