18. Working Offline
Bee Inspector works without mobile signal. You can record inspections, add notes, and navigate between hives even when you have no internet connection.
18.1 How Offline Works
- Bee Inspector caches your synced data on your device, so it stays available once you have signed in and it has synced at least once.
- You can keep working with no signal — adding hives, recording inspections, logging treatments, and creating notes all save locally right away.
- When connectivity is restored — mobile data, Wi-Fi, or returning to cell range — pending records sync automatically to the cloud.
- An offline banner appears whenever you're viewing cached data instead of a live connection.
18.2 Before You Go Offline
Sign in and let the app sync at least once while connected before relying on offline use — this is what populates the local cache your device works from afterward. A first-time sign-in always needs a connection; there's no way to authenticate or load your account data without one.
18.3 What Is Not Available Offline
Not every action works without a connection. Some require reaching Bee Inspector's servers or an app store directly, including:
- Purchases and restoring purchases.
- Joining, leaving, or otherwise changing team membership.
- Weather lookups on a new inspection (you can still enter conditions manually and save the inspection).
- Signing in for the first time on a device.
The web version of Bee Inspector keeps you signed in between visits, and needs a connection to sign in and load. After that, any screen you've already opened while online stays available offline from your browser's cache.