# How offline sync works

Last updated: 2026-11-09

> Where your phone keeps work saved offline, how it reaches the project when you reconnect, and what happens when two people change the same record.

Restoration Scope Field saves every record, edit and photo on your phone first, then sends it to the project when the phone has a connection. With offline turned on for your app, you can work for days with no signal. The app doesn't drop saved work because of an error or a check: if a change can't be applied as it is, it's kept for review, photos included, as the sections below explain.

To get a phone ready for a day without signal, see [Collect data offline in the field](https://restorationscope.com/docs/offline-field-app).

## Where your work is saved

- Records and edits are saved in the app's storage on the phone as soon as you tap save, with or without signal.
- Photos are kept on the phone as files until they have uploaded.
- Saved work stays on the phone when you close the app, restart the phone or update the app. The app never deletes it on a timer. Sync when you can, especially in a phone's browser, where the phone may clear stored data when it runs low on space.

## How it syncs

- The app sends saved work on its own: when you save, when the connection comes back, when you open the app again, and every minute while it's open. You don't need to reload.
- If the connection drops mid-send, the app tries again on its own, waiting a little longer each time. If a change still can't be sent, the Sync Center shows **What went wrong**, and you can tap **Retry** when it shows. See [Check that your changes synced](https://restorationscope.com/docs/sync-center).
- A photo goes after the record it belongs to. If that record's change can't be applied, our team keeps the photo with it.
- A change sent twice after a dropped connection is stored once.
- When several changes touch the same record, they are applied one at a time, in the order the project receives them.
- The sync icon and the Sync Center show what is still on your phone. See [Check that your changes synced](https://restorationscope.com/docs/sync-center).

## When two people change the same record

Each field is decided on its own.

- Different fields: if you change a tree's height and a colleague changes its health on another phone, both changes are kept.
- The same field: the change saved last, by the phone's clock, is kept, even if it reaches the project after the other one. If both were saved at the same time, the one that reached the project first is kept. No one has to choose between them. Keep phones set to automatic date and time.

Some older projects work differently: there, the change that reaches the project last is kept, and a change to a deleted record goes to our team instead of the review below. Ask us which one yours uses.

A record you created offline gets its ID on your phone, so it doesn't clash with anyone else's. A temporary record number shown while you're offline may change to the project's own number once it syncs.

## When a record was deleted while you were offline

Deleted records are never brought back by a late change, and your change isn't lost either. The app shows "This record was deleted before your change arrived. Your change was saved for review." Tap **Review**, or later **Review saved changes**, to open **Saved changes to deleted records**, then choose:

- **Restore & apply** brings the record back and applies your change, if your role can delete that kind of record. If it can't, leave the change saved and contact your project admin or us.
- **Discard** drops your change, after you confirm.

## When your access changed while you were offline

If your role changed and you can no longer make a change you saved offline, the change is still kept. It shows as **Held for review** in the Sync Center, and our team handles it. You don't need to enter it again.

## Signing out with work still on the phone

It's best to stay signed in until everything has synced. If you do sign out, the app tries to send your saved work first. Anything that can't be sent yet stays on the phone and syncs the next time you sign in there. If someone else signs in on that phone, the app sends your saved work too, and the project applies it as yours when it can; our team reviews what it can't. Until it's sent, the Sync Center lists it under **Work from another user on this device**.