Use this module at the start and end of the shift, and whenever work appears stuck. Your captures live on the phone first and reach the office second. The app tells you which state it is in.
What to look for
A small status pill sits in the top-left of the map. It changes as you work, and while you have a connection it syncs both ways automatically, sending what you captured and pulling any configuration updates:
Syncing, with an orange dot, means it is sending.
Synced, with a green dot, means everything you have captured has landed.
Offline, with a gray dot, means there is no connection to send over.
Paused, with a yellow dot, means you have switched syncing off. See below.
There is also an error state, with a red dot. If you see it, report it rather than trying to clear it yourself.
It flips between syncing and synced constantly as you place objects, which is normal and not something to watch.
You can tap the pill to make it sync now, which is worth trying before you worry about it.
The switch beside it turns syncing off
There is a switch next to the status pill. It stops the app from sending your work.
Nothing on screen warns you, and it stays off until you turn it back on, including after you close and reopen the app. Tapping the pill to force a sync does nothing while it is off.
On a high-volume day, some fielders switch it off to save battery, since it stops the phone's radio from constantly searching for signal while they are heads-down capturing. That is a choice, not a requirement: leaving it on means your captures reach the office as you go, which some crews prefer. If you do switch it off, turn it back on once you are on Wi-Fi or have a strong signal, and wait for the pill to reach Synced before you finish.
Important: Do not sign out or delete the app while the pill says Paused or Offline. Your captured work is only on the phone until it syncs, and either action can lose it.
The habit worth building
Check it says synced before you leave a job, and before you go anywhere with no signal.
That is the whole discipline. Everything else about syncing takes care of itself, but a phone that never got a chance to send is how a day's work goes missing.
If the lock screen says work is waiting to sync
After you leave UtilityScout, the phone may show a notice that files or data changes still need to sync.
That notice means unsent work is still on the phone. It is not a sign-in problem.
Apple does not upload large files while the app is in the background. Open UtilityScout and leave it open until the status says Synced.
Important: This is not the signed-out banner. If the screen says Signed out, see When UtilityScout asks you to sign in again.
The notice may say Files Waiting to Sync, Data Changes Waiting to Sync, or Sync Incomplete.
If it says Sync Paused, turn the sync switch back on, then leave the app open.
If it stays on syncing
Check you actually have a connection. It is the quickest cause to rule out.
Check the switch beside it is on.
Tap the pill to push it.
Give it a minute. A backlog of photos is slower than a backlog of measurements, because photos are much larger.
If it will not clear, do not delete the app or sign out. Your work is on the phone and signing out risks it. Get somewhere with a decent connection and leave the app open.
If it still will not clear after that, tell us before wiping anything. See When something goes wrong out in the field.
When two people work the same pole
Important: Do not both measure the same pole. If two phones measure it, the later measurement overwrites the earlier one.
Two people can split the work. One person fills in details. The other takes photos. Those parts can merge after both phones sync.
Do not both take the same kind of photo. Two pole-tag photos become two pole tags.
If you both fill in the same detail, the later save replaces the earlier one on that field.