Does my mobile device have enough data capacity and available storage space for Fieldwire on Android or iOS (iPhone and iPad)? – Knowledge Base

Overview & background

A single, average-sized Fieldwire plan file uses 6MB of mobile storage space (2MB-10MB is the typical range).

If you have 1000 plan sheets in a project, that can take 6GB of mobile storage space overall.

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

Our Selective syncing options allow you to choose which projects and/or plan revisions you want to sync to your mobile device at any given time - we recommend syncing only the projects you'll be working on offline (not connected to WiFi) when you're in the field.

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 (before you go out to the field, if you'll be working offline). 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 your network's speed.

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

Whether on an Android or iOS, smartphone or tablet, we recommend that you allot 3-6GB of the storage device on your smartphone or tablet for Fieldwire to sync at optimal speeds.

Is there enough space on my 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 free up storage space.
- When a project is enabled, all of the project content will be stored locally on the device. Content like files, photos, and forms are stored in the rolling cache. This 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 delete an app you can always re-install it at a later time.
If you need to free up more space, be sure to use our Selective syncing to ensure you're only taking up space for the projects and plan revisions you're actively using on mobile.
- Note: When a project is removed from the device, Fieldwire ensures that no new content is being downloaded to that particular project-- meaning, the content that was downloaded still exists in the phone's memory.
  
  It might take several minutes for the downloaded content to 'clear' from the device's cache and clear up the storage space. However, if, for any reason, you'd like to clear this more expeditiously, you can opt to re-install the application.
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.
Choose to periodically delete the cache from the 'Support' section - this will remove any temporary files from your device:

Fieldwire currently allows content stored on iCloud & ‘Files’ app to be stored within the ‘Files’ tab of Fieldwire.

Currently, photos will have to be downloaded to the device before you are able to upload them from the camera roll ( Settings > Photos > Download and Keep Originals.)

However, to get around this, users have a few options:

Free up device space, and download the photos. They could choose ‘clear cache’ in the Fieldwire app and/or offload any unused apps/content.
Capture the photos directly through Fieldwire on iOS.
Upload these, post-fact, on the web since they are on iCloud

Is there enough space on my 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 even podcasts, videos, and photos from your device to free up storage space.
If you need to free up more space once that's done, be sure to use our Selective syncing to ensure you're only taking up space for the project content you're actively using on mobile.
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.

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 in your mobile device's "local storage"). 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 its brand.

Android devices cache up to 2GB worth of photos and miscellaneous files, regardless of your Android device's actual size. You can also opt to store content on an SD card on Android; take a look at this article for additional details: How do I store data on an SD Card using the Android app?

Apple (iOS) devices, on the other hand, use more cache space the larger the device:

2GB of storage on 16GB devices
4GB on 32GB devices
8GB on 64GB devices
16GB on 128GB devices, and so on.

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 devices internal memory, as opposed to the cache. So you can opt to enable this option for larger projects to ensure that you're quickly able to access older project content. Take a look at this article for more information: Permanent File Storage on iOS

More Information

These articles provide additional information on optimizing your mobile device for our Fieldwire mobile apps:

Troubleshooting

Field Training Tutorial Videos

These tutorial videos detail our best practices for using Fieldwire on iOS and Android devices:

On iOS

On Android