Does my mobile device have enough storage space for Fieldwire?

  • Reese Parsons-Field

Overview


Ensuring that your mobile device has enough storage space is essential for the smooth operation of the Fieldwire app. A single average-sized Fieldwire plan file uses 6MB of storage space (2MB-10MB is the typical range). If you have 1000 plan sheets in a project, that can fill 6BG of mobile storage space overall.

We recommend using Fieldwire on mobile devices with more than 30GB of storage; 64GB is generally enough even for users on multiple projects with several thousand sheets.

Our selective syncing option (more info here: What is selective syncing?) allows you to choose which projects and/or plan revisions you want to store on your mobile device at any given time. We recommend syncing only the projects you'll be working on offline when you're in the field with no access to wifi.

Fieldwire will only download high-resolution plans if your mobile device is connected to the internet, so always connect to wifi when you're syncing new and/or updated projects or plans to your mobile device. A wifi connection of 20 Mbps or more will ensure quick and smooth syncing. Go to www.speedtest.net on your mobile device when connected to wifi to confirm your network's speed.

 

Table of Contents

 

Is there enough space on my smartphone or tablet for Fieldwire Mobile?

 

Although the recommended amount of storage is 30GB+, you can use a device that has at least 3-6GB available. This should allow Fieldwire to sync at optimal speeds.

 

How to check if there is enough space on your iPhone or iPad

To identify storage space on an Apple device, view this Apple Help Center article. 

  • If you have less than 6GB of storage available for Fieldwire, consider removing unused apps or content (podcasts, videos, and photos) from your device to free up storage space. This article in the Apple Help Center explains how to clear some of your storage space. 
    • When a project is enabled, all of the project content will be stored locally on the device. Data such as files, photos, and forms are stored in the rolling cache, which means that Fieldwire will prioritize loading more recent content.

  • You can also review this Apple Help Center article to learn how to delete high data apps.

  • If you need to free up more space, be sure to use our selective syncing feature to ensure that only the content you're actively using on mobile is stored on your device.

    • Note: When a project is removed from the device, Fieldwire ensures that no new content is being downloaded to that particular project. This means that the content that was downloaded still exists in the phone's memory.

      It might take several minutes for that downloaded content to 'clear' from the device's cache and release the storage space it occupied. However, if you'd like to clear this more expediently, you can reinstall the Fieldwire app.

  • If your device has 6GB or more storage available for Fieldwire but you're still experiencing a syncing issue, proceed to the troubleshooting steps here: Sync issues? Troubleshooting on an iOS device

  • You can periodically delete the cache from the 'Support' section. This will remove any temporary files from your device:   

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Note: Fieldwire currently allows content stored on iCloud and your native 'Files' app to be stored within the ‘Files’ tab of Fieldwire. 
 Photos will have to be downloaded to the device before you are able to upload them to Fieldwire from the camera roll (Settings > Photos > Download and Keep Originals).
 
However, to circumvent this, you have a few options:

  1. Free up device space, and download the photos. You can ‘clear cache’ in the Fieldwire app or offload any unused apps/content.
  2. Capture the photos directly through Fieldwire on iOS.
  3. Upload these photos on the web version of Fieldwire.

 

How to check if there is enough space on your Android smartphone or tablet

To identify device storage space and memory on an Android device, go to Settings > Memory. 

  • If you have less than 6GB of storage available for Fieldwire, consider removing unused apps or content (podcasts, videos, and photos) from your device to free up storage space.
  • If you still need more space, be sure to use our selective syncing feature to ensure that only the project content you're actively using is stored on your device.
  • If your device has 6GB or more storage available for Fieldwire but you're still experiencing a syncing issue, proceed to the troubleshooting steps in this article: Sync issues? Troubleshooting on an Android device

 

How much storage space does my mobile device use to cache photos and files?

 

Photos and other files you upload to your Fieldwire projects are "cached" (stored locally on your mobile device). The files and photos you most recently uploaded to your device and those you view most regularly are always at the top of your device's cache list for easy access. The amount of photo and file data your mobile device stores in this way depends on the brand of device.

Android devices cache up to 2GB worth of photos and miscellaneous files, regardless of your Android device's actual storage size. You can also opt to store content on an SD card utilized with your Android. For steps on how to do so, refer to this article: How to Save Files on an SD Card using the Android app

Apple (iOS) devices, on the other hand, use a proportionate amount of cache space according to a device's size:

  • 2GB of storage on 16GB devices
  • 4GB on 32GB devices
  • 8GB on 64GB devices
  • 16GB on 128GB devices, etc.

iOS devices also have the option to 'Store Files Permanently'. When this option is enabled, all of the project files will be stored in the device's internal memory, as opposed to the cache. You can choose this option for larger projects to ensure that you're able to quickly access older project content. Take a look at this article for more information: Permanent File Storage on iOS

 

Troubleshooting

More Information

Field Training Tutorial Videos

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Android

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