Can I use Buildsnapper on site with no signal?

The short version

Buildsnapper is built for builders on no-signal sites. A verified, signed-in user is never deliberately locked out in the middle of a working day: every online check the app performs (subscription, account status, terms) fails open within a grace window when there is no connection. Photos you capture offline are stored on the device immediately and the record syncs to the cloud automatically when signal returns.

What works offline

• Capturing photos — fully. The photo is written to the device the moment it is taken. The online record of it is queued and replayed automatically the next time you have a connection (you will see "Photo saved — will sync when you're back online" if the sync could not happen straight away).
• Marking items Not Applicable, adding or removing appendix PDFs, editing or deleting a photo — saved on the phone straight away and synced when signal returns; the app tells you ("N/A saved — will sync when you're back online").
• Cold-starting the app — if you were already signed in, killing and reopening the app on site works. The app trusts your last successful checks for a 24-hour offline grace window, and this survives a restart.

An offline banner appears at the top of the app whenever it has no connection, so you always know which mode you are in.

What needs a connection

• Signing in. The login itself talks to our servers and deliberately will not complete if it cannot verify your account — so if you have signed out (or been signed out), you need signal or wi-fi to get back in. Log in before you travel to a poor-signal site.
• Sending reports. The send button is disabled offline and labelled "Send Report/Photos (Offline)". Report generation uploads the PDF and the photo archive, so it has to wait for a connection.
• Creating a new project. The app fails fast with an honest message rather than hanging.

The grace windows, honestly

• Once signed in, the app will keep working offline for 24 hours from its last successful online check. Past that, it signs you out the next time it starts or you return to it ("Your session has expired. Please sign in again."), and signing back in needs signal. This exists so a cancelled or deleted account cannot keep using the app forever by staying offline, and 24 hours covers a full working day on site.
• If the app can't verify your subscription for more than 24 hours, even while online, you may see the subscription screen. Reconnecting and letting the check complete resolves it.

Locked out on site with evidence at risk?

A verified, paying builder locked out on site is a bug, not policy. If it happens, do not uninstall or reinstall anything — your photos are safe on the device. Contact support, choosing "Evidence at risk on site" — say which phone you are on and what the screen shows, and we will treat it as urgent.