Offline mode and syncing

Concrete walls, steel lifts, and dead-zone corners of the shop are no friend to a phone signal, and that is exactly where techs need the app most. Pista is built for it: your work saves on the phone and uploads automatically when the connection comes back. This article explains how offline mode behaves so a dropped signal never costs you an inspection or a ticket update.

How offline mode works

The app does not freeze the moment you lose signal. Instead:

1. Your inspections, notes, and ticket changes save to the phone continuously.
2. Photos and video queue for upload rather than failing.
3. When signal returns, everything syncs to the desktop in the background, in the order it happened.

So a tech can run a full inspection in a back corner with zero bars and watch it all appear at the counter once they walk back into range.

Good to know: Saving and syncing are two different steps. Your work is safe on the phone the instant you tap, even with no signal. Syncing just means it has reached the cloud and the desktop. A small pending or syncing indicator tells you something is still waiting to upload.

What works offline and what does not

Some things genuinely need a live connection.

Works offline:

• Continuing an inspection you already opened
• Adding notes and capturing photos or video
• Updating jobs and labor on a ticket already loaded

Needs a connection:

• Pulling fresh MOTOR labor data or live parts pricing
• Sending an estimate for approval or a customer message
• Taking a payment

A good habit: open the ticket and template while you still have signal, then walk to the car.

Force a sync

If something looks stuck after you are back in range:

1. Confirm the phone actually has signal or Wi-Fi.
2. Pull down to refresh on the inspection or repair order.
3. Watch the pending indicator clear as items upload.
4. If a large video lingers, keep the app open and on-screen until it finishes; backgrounding the app can pause big uploads.

Avoid sync surprises

• Do not sign out while items are still pending; let them upload first, or you risk losing the queue.
• Keep free storage on the phone so photos and video can save locally before they sync.
• On a flaky connection, finishing one inspection and letting it sync before starting the next keeps the queue tidy.

Good to know

• Two people editing the same ticket is fine; changes merge by timestamp and the RO timeline shows who did what. See Working a ticket on the go.
• If a store has chronic dead zones, a cheap Wi-Fi extender in the bay pays for itself in faster photo uploads.
• Still seeing a stuck sync after a refresh and a restart? Note the ticket and reach out from profile → Help so support can take a look.