Job information not getting received

Okappy’s iOS and Android apps will work even if there is weak, intermittent or no signal.  The apps do this by saving information to the device and uploading it to our servers once a connection is available.

See more about our mobile apps.

Unfortunately however, even though a phone shows a good signal, it might not be able to transfer data for a period of time. Other factors can also slow down how quickly the device transmits. If the app is then closed before it has had a chance to update then it could take a while before the updates get processed.

The following yellow banner shows when there are pending job updates which have not been transmitted. If you see this, it’s best to keep the app open until the updates have been processed. Or remember to open the app again when you have signal in order that the updates can be sent.

iOS Updates Pending Screenshot

Read on for more troubleshooting tips to try when data is not being transmitted to, or from your mobile device.

Notes: If your network is slow or patchy, the job update might get delayed. If the app then tries to check for new jobs it might appear that your job has been set back to a previous status. If you leave the app open and refresh the jobs by pulling down on iOS or by clicking the Jobs menu at the top of the page on Android, the jobs should get updated both on the phone and in the office.

Reasons why devices cannot transmit

There are a number of reasons why a device might not be able to send or receive data, even when it shows a good mobile connection or WiFi.  This could include:

  • There could be too many connections in your area
  • The network signal may be weak or intermittent
  • The phone may be connected to a public WiFi connection which requires a log in before data can be sent
  • Your data plan may be running low, or out of credit
  • The phone may be trying to do other things
  • Your phone might be in a low power mode

Trouble shooting steps

If the network is slow, the phone battery is low or the phone is busy doing other things, then it may take longer to process job updates.

While the Okappy app is open, it will keep trying to send updates. Therefore, leaving the app open for a few minutes (longer if there is a lot of jobs or poor network) should allow the app time to process all its updates.

Refresh the screen by pulling down on the iOS version of the app or by clicking the jobs button at the top of the screen on the Android version. You can also ‘force download’ all jobs by clicking the Okappy icon from within the jobs screen and then selecting Check for new jobs.

ios screenshot app version

Check you have the latest version of the app by scrolling down to HELP / SUPPORT. About Okappy (vX.X) vX.X is the version number.

If there is a new version available you will be prompted to download it from the app store.

Note: It is always worth ensuring you have automatic updates switched on to ensure you have the latest version of the app.

Even though the phone’s display may show “full bars“, this is related to the quality of the voice network rather than the data network.  It is the data network which determines how quickly your device can send or receive data.

Check the quality of the data network by clicking the Okappy icon from within the app, selecting More and then selecting Test network speed. Alternatively, you can check your network through your devices browser and then navigating to a site like bbc.com/news to see if you have the latest news.  If the news is out of data or images are missing, then this would signify a poor network.

If the network is poor, move to a different location or check the following

  1. If you are connected to a WiFi network (particularly a public WiFi network), disconnect and try using the mobile signal instead
  2. Turn airplane mode on and then off to reset your phone’s network
  3. Force close other applications which may be sending or receiving data
  4. Open your browser and close any tabs
  5. Check your data plan to ensure you have enough credit
  6. Turn the phone off and then turn it on again

If the device is in “power saving” mode then it will restrict how data being uploaded or downloaded. Charge the device, temporarily turn of power saving mode or keep the app open longer in order that it has more time to process any updates.

From More options, click Job settings then scroll down to the bottom of the list to see whether there are any queued images.

If there are queued images, it’s best to leave the app open and in the foreground while the images upload.  For more troubleshooting tips on uploading images – see this support article.

You can also try keeping the job screen open and refreshing the screen periodically by pulling down on iOS or clicking the jobs button on Android.  Clicking into jobs and then back out to the jobs screen will also force the app to try to send and receive data.

If your phone is trying to do other things, this will slow down how quickly any updates can be processed.

Force close other apps and close any tabs which may be open in your browser to free up system resources.

VPN (virtual private network) can interfere with the security certificates and prevent data being sent. Try turning your VPN off in order to see whether that is affecting job updates.

If you have a lot of jobs, this will result in the device having to download lots of data. This puts strain on the device and network and can result in the device getting slow or even appearing to freeze as it tries to process all the jobs.

If you are an admin user, try filtering just your jobs by clicking the Okappy icon from within the jobs page and then selecting View my jobs only.  You can also ask the office to assign fewer jobs at a time. Rather than assigning every job straight away, jobs could be set as Not assigned initially and then assigned weekly or daily.

Assigning less jobs should improve performance, particularly if the device is old or is running out of storage space. Or if the mobile network is patchy.

If checksheets are very large with lots of different fields, this means more data for the app to process and send.

Minimising the amount of fields in a job checksheet not only improves performance, but makes it easier to update checksheets on the jobs.

If all else fails, you can reset the app which will clear its memory, refresh the queues and force the app to pull down all the latest information.

To reset the app on iOS and Android

  • Click the Okappy icon,
  • Scroll down and click More
  • Scroll down and click Reset app
  • A warning will be displayed. Check the warning and then
  • Click Reset
  • Log in again

Getting help

If your engineers are still having problems, and depending on your support package, to help us diagnose what is happening, please send a screen recording to support showing the following:

  • Your engineers jobs screen
  • The More options screen showing the app version details
  • Login details screen showing the registered email address which is being used
  • Network speed test results
  • Turning the My jobs filter on and off
  • Refreshing the jobs list by pulling down the screen on iOS or clicking the jobs tab on Android
  • The Job options and selecting Check for new jobs
  • The jobs screen again for at least 30 seconds.

Please also advise the make and model of phone and operating system.

Here is an example – Troubleshooting Jobs Updates

Download a one page guide

Download a one page troubleshooting guide Share our one page troubleshooting guide with your employees or subcontractors.

For further information

For further information search in our support pages or forum