# Collect data offline in the field

Last updated: 2026-10-27

> Get your phone ready while you have signal, then add records, photos and GPS points with no connection. They sync when you're back online.

With offline turned on, you can keep working with no signal: open records, add and edit them, take photos and capture GPS points. Everything you save stays on your phone and syncs when you're back online.

Offline doesn't change what you're allowed to do: you can add and edit only what your role allows.

We turn offline on for each app. If your app doesn't have it yet, ask us to turn it on.

## Where offline works

- In the **RS Field** app for iPhone and Android, from the [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/restoration-scope-capture/id6742115032) or [Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.restorationscope.rscapture).
- In your phone's browser.

It doesn't work in a computer's browser: there, the app needs a connection.

## Before you go: get your phone ready

Do this while you still have a good connection, on the phone you'll take to the field.

1. Open your app and sign in.
2. Open each page you'll use in the field once, for example the map or your list of plots.
3. Wait until the project data has finished loading.
4. Tap your app's logo, then **Offline Check**.
5. Wait for the checks to finish. **All green.** means you're ready: you can close the app and reopen it with no connection.

Offline Check checks the page you're on, so run it from the page you'll use most.

If a line isn't green, it says what to do: usually stay online and open the page again, or refresh the app. Then tap **Run checks again**. If the checks still aren't all green, contact us before you go.

## In the field

- Open, add and edit records as usual. When you save with no connection, the app shows "Saved offline — we’ll sync when you’re back online".
- Take photos and capture GPS points: see [Take photos and GPS points in the field](https://restorationscope.com/docs/photos-gps).
- The sync icon at the top of the screen shows how many changes are waiting on your phone. See [Check that your changes synced](https://restorationscope.com/docs/sync-center).
- Stay signed in until everything has synced.
- If the app asks **Reload the app?** while you're offline, tap **Keep working**. The app may not load again until you reconnect.
- The map background and photos already stored online may not load without a connection.

![The offline sync icon, a globe with a cross and the number 2, over the Sync Center: Offline, 2 changes saved on device, each queued](https://restorationscope.com/docs/figures/en/sync-center-offline.png)

## Back online

When your phone has a connection, open the app: it sends your changes on its own, with no need to reload. The sync icon goes away once nothing is left to send or process. It also stays while you're offline, while a change needs attention or is held for review, and while a background job is listed, even a finished one: open the Sync Center to check each status.

Choosing a field app for your team? Read [Field-data apps for reforestation teams](https://restorationscope.com/blog/field-data-capture-apps).