After a hectic day of inspections the last thing you want is a syncing error.
Almost always, your data will sync seamlessly. For the rest of the time, please refer to this troubleshooting guide! After reading this section, you will have a good understanding of the Inspections app technical process and be able to troubleshoot on your own later.
Why do error messages occur?
An error can be caused by any number of issues because there are numerous parts involved in the syncing process.
Your data will not sync if there is a problem with any of these components:
Your device (and/or the iOS installed on it)
Your internet connection, which enables Inspections to talk to the Happy Cloud
The Inspections software
Our server: The Happy Cloud, where your data lives
All these parts work in harmony to enable syncing. We've done rigorous testing to make sure your data will sync seamlessly, but, every now and then, something doesn't go as planned.
Let's take a look at some steps you can take to troubleshoot your way to synced happiness.
Troubleshooting each component
1. Your Device
Power cycle: turn your device off and on
Power cycling, or turning your device off and on, can jumpstart the process you're having an issue with. It's an oldie but a goodie for technical issues.
Auto-Lock: is it set to a reasonable time?
On your iPad or iPhone, syncing can only occur while the screen is on. Therefore, please set your Auto-Lock to 10-15 minutes if you take a lot of photos. If the screen shuts off, your data has no way of uploading.
To find Auto-Lock:
Launch Settings from the Home screen.
Tap on Display & Brightness (or General on older devices)
Tap on Auto Lock.
Tap on the timing you prefer: 10-15 Minutes or Never.
iOS / Android OS: is it up-to-date?
Our app is designed to work with the latest version of your device's operating system. Some particular models of devices will have unique bugs that interact with apps in unpredictable ways. So, Apple releases bug fixes in each update. Check that your iOS is up-to-date. To find out what iOS version you're running, navigate to Settings General About and look at the Version. If you're unsure what the current version is, please visit this page.
Android background sync: is it off?
On Android devices, you will need to ensure that background sync is on so that the Inspections app can upload your data behind the scenes. This setting will be unique to your device, so if you're unsure, Google search: name of your device, "background sync." Here's a link for reference turn on background sync.
2. Your Network Connection
Internet: are you connected?
Please confirm you are connected to the internet. Open Safari on your iPad / iPhone and do a quick search on your browser. Did it return some results?
Upload speed: how fast is it?
If you have heaps of photos to upload, especially if they are high-res, and you're on a slow connection, they're going to take some time to upload. If you're on an iPhone or iPad, just set your auto-lock to Never, be patient, and wait for the data to sync. :-)
Wi-Fi: power cycle
Try turning the Wi-Fi on your device off and on again; this may kick-start the syncing process.
Launch Settings from the Home screen.
Tap on Wi-Fi
Toggle Wi-Fi off
Wait a few seconds and turn it back on. Repeat a few times.
3. Inspections
Keep up to date: are you using the latest version of Inspections?
Installing an update may solve your problem.
On iOS:
Open the iTunes App Store.
Tap the Updates icon at the bottom of the screen.
Click the Updates icon, located in the bottom-right corner of the screen. Look for Inspections updates.
On Android:
On your Android smartphone or tablet head to the Google Play Store.
Hit the menu button (three square dots) which is located at the top right hand side of the screen and select 'My Apps'
This menu is where you can see which apps on your device have available updates. Look for Inspections.
Whatever you do, please don't try to solve your issue by deleting and reinstalling the app, as this will delete your un-synced data forever. Please just update your app
Retry syncing: check Cloud activity
In the Cloud tab, is there a 'Retry' button at the top-right of the Cloud Activity window? If yes, tap it.
Slide each item in the Cloud Activity window to the left and tap Retry.
If there's no Retry button at the top of the window, try sliding each row in your window to the left. This should reveal a small, grey Retry button.
If you tap each row in the Cloud Activity window, a small pop-up may appear with the reason for the error. Take a screenshot of this and submit it to our team.
Enable sync: toggle off and on
Tap the Settings icon in Inspections and turn Sync off and on again to see if that will kick-start the syncing process.
Tap the initials icon
Tap Sync
Toggle Sync Enabled off
Wait a few moments and tap it back on again
Repeat a few times
Log out of Inspections and then log back in
Make sure you're connected to the internet.
Try logging out, force closing the app and then logging back in?
This is the black-belt of logging out and back in as it's like a simple log out and in, but involves a double-tap the home button and swipe up your app. This completely kills Inspections running on your device. So, please logout, force-close your app and then log back in.
4. Inspections (our cloud)
Check our status page
If our server is down, it's likely that our team is performing some maintenance on the server, and you can check this out our status page here: http://status.happy.co
Next steps...
If you've tried all these things and nothing works, rest assured, we can help you.
Take screenshots of the Cloud Activity window and any error messages you see and submit them to our team.
In your message, please include:
Description of the issue
What steps you took to encounter the issue, so we can recreate it
What you've already tried to solve it
Resolving Issues with Evaluation/Inspection Syncing
If you are experiencing issues with evaluations/inspections not syncing same day, causing them to sometimes fall off, this may be due to large inspections with many photos and data.
To resolve this, try turning off the setting on your device that allows it to sleep (screen going black) and keep it plugged in to a charge. This can help the sync process complete without interruption.
Additionally, ensure you are on the most recent app update, but avoid deleting and reinstalling the app, as this may delete any unsynced data.
Resolving Issues with Inspection Template Syncing
If you are unable to sync inspection templates within the mobile app, try deleting and reinstalling the app.
This should resolve the issue where the app keeps spinning and indicating that the inspections are downloading but they do not actually sync.
After reinstalling the app, you should be able to access the required inspection templates.
Resolving Issues with Uploading Inspections
If you are unable to upload inspections to the web site and print hard copies for record keeping, ensure you are connected to a strong WiFi network or cellular data connection.
If you continue to experience issues, try taking screenshots or providing an error log, which may help identify the root cause of the problem.
Resolving Network Timeout Errors
The issue you are experiencing is a network timeout error (NSURLErrorDomain (-1001)) when trying to authenticate with the HappyCo API.
This is likely due to a poor internet connection. To resolve this, try connecting to a strong WiFi network or ensuring you have a stable cellular data connection.
If the issue persists, you may need to provide additional information such as screenshots or error logs to help diagnose the problem further.
Resolving Issues with Starting New Work Orders or Inspections
If you are unable to see the plus sign in the upper right hand or bottom left of the HappyCo inspection app to start a new work order or inspection, try uninstalling and reinstalling the app.
This may resolve the issue if you do not have any pending items in your sync queue.
Ensure you are using the latest version of the app compatible with your device's operating system.