Using the Institute with no service
This guide is a draft and hasn't been reviewed yet.
Everything in the library, and every system you keep, works with no service: in a storm, on a trail, in a basement or in airplane mode.
What works offline
- The library. Every guide is saved on your phone the first time you visit the site.
- Your systems. They live on your phone. You can read them, tick checklists, edit them and start new ones with no connection.
- Pages you’ve opened. They open again without service.
Browsing other members’ systems, copying them and sending reports need a connection.
Install the app
Installing puts the Institute on your home screen like any other app. It is the same website: there’s no app store, no fee and nothing extra to update.
iPhone or iPad: open the site in Safari, tap the Share button (a square with an arrow), then Add to Home Screen.
Android: open the site in Chrome, tap the menu (three dots), then Install app or Add to Home screen.
Why installing helps
On an iPhone, Safari can delete a website’s saved data after seven days of using Safari without visiting that site, which would take your saved guides and any unsynced changes with it. An app added to the Home Screen has its own count, based on the days you use the app itself, so its data stays. Installing also gives it a better claim to storage space when the phone runs low.
Android phones don’t have the seven-day rule, but the installed app opens faster, full screen, and is less likely to be cleared when storage runs low.
How your changes sync
When you change something with no service, it’s saved on your phone first. The status line under My systems tells you where things stand:
- Saved on this phone. 2 changes waiting for a connection. Your changes are safe on the phone.
- Syncing… Your changes are going up to your account.
- Synced 2 min ago. Your phone and your account match.
If you edit the same thing on two devices while offline, the edit made last wins, field by field, and you’ll see an Edited elsewhere note saying what happened.
Before you log out
Logging out removes your systems from the phone (they stay in your account). If some changes haven’t synced yet, you’ll be asked first, so connect and let them sync before you log out.