Offline mode for mobile
Summarize
Summary of Offline mode for mobile
Offline mode in the ServiceNow mobile app allows users to access and submit actions on records without an internet connection. This mode is essential when working in areas with limited or no connectivity, enabling users to download necessary data in advance, make changes offline, and synchronize updates once the device reconnects to the internet.
Show less
Enabling and Navigating Offline Mode
- Enable offline mode via the Settings tab by toggling on Offline Mode; if the offline cache is not yet downloaded, you will be prompted to download it before going offline.
- While offline, a banner displays across the app, and some actions may be disabled depending on administrator settings.
- Submitted changes in offline mode are visually marked with a patterned background until synchronization with the server occurs.
Synchronizing and Disabling Offline Mode
- To return online, toggle off Offline Mode in Settings or sync changes directly from the Outbox screen by selecting Sync All.
- After synchronization, the app deletes the offline cache, and your changes are applied to the ServiceNow instance.
Cache Management
- Administrators set a default cache expiration period; when expired, cached data is lost, and unsynchronized changes will not appear on the instance.
- Warning messages prompt users to synchronize before cache expiration to prevent data loss.
- Users should synchronize both before going offline and after reconnecting to maintain data integrity.
Resolving Synchronization Errors
- Changes that conflict with updates made by others during offline periods do not synchronize and remain in the Outbox.
- Error messages in the Outbox identify problematic cached records.
- Users can resolve errors by either fixing the issue or deleting the problematic change directly from the Outbox.
Scheduled Offline Caching
- Scheduled offline caching allows automatic background downloads of offline data based on the user’s work schedule.
- This feature can be enabled or disabled within the app’s settings and can be restricted to Wi-Fi connections only to manage data usage.
Access and submit actions to records in your mobile apps, even if you do not have an internet connection.
This video shows how offline mode works in your mobile apps. Learn how to download data, enable and disable offline mode, synchronize your outbox, and resolve synchronization errors.
Plan ahead when you use offline mode. If you will be working in an area with no internet access, download what you want to work on ahead of time while you are still connected to the internet.
When you are in offline mode, the changes that you make to your records are logged in your outbox. Your outbox tracks all the actions that you made on your cached records. After your device has internet access, you can synchronize your device with the instance. The cached changes in your outbox update to the instance.
Enable offline mode
Enable offline mode in your Settings tab. Tap Offline and then toggle on Offline Mode.
If you have not already downloaded the offline cache, you see a dialog box that asks you to download it. Tap Download and Go Offline.
Navigate the mobile app in offline mode
When you are in offline mode, a banner that reads "Offline Mode" appears across the top of all screens.
Depending on how your administrator configures the mobile app, you are unable to submit certain actions while you are in offline mode. These actions are grayed out on the user interface.
When you submit an action while you are in offline mode, the change gets marked with a patterned background. Changes remain marked until your device synchronize to the server.
Disable offline mode and synchronize outbox
To return online in the mobile app, navigate to . On the offline mode screen, toggle off Offline Mode.
- From the Offline Mode screen, toggle off the Offline Mode button.
- From the Outbox screen, tap Sync All.
Cache expiration
Your administrator configures a default length of time after which your offline cache expires.
When a cache expires, you lose all the data that you saved to the cache. If you do not synchronize the cache to an instance before the cache expires, none of your changes show on the instance.
Warning messages appear periodically to remind you to synchronize your cache before it expires. To avoid losing your data due to a cache expiration, always synchronize your cache before and after going offline.
Resolve synchronization errors
Problematic changes that you made in offline mode do not synchronize to the instance. They remain in the outbox until they are resolved.
You cannot synchronize changes that contradict changes made by other users while you were offline. For example, you may receive an error message if you try to synchronize changes to a record that another user closed while you were working in offline mode.
To view the errors in your cached changes, navigate to . Error messages indicate where errors occurred in your cached records while you were offline. You can resolve any of the listed issues directly from your outbox.
You can either tap Resolve to fix the error or tap Delete to remove the issue from the list.