A lot of inspection work happens where signal is poor or nonexistent. The Ekotrope ONSITE Inspection App lets you download everything you need for an inspection ahead of time, so you can work fully offline when you get to the site. This guide explains how that works.
What "Offline-Ready" Actually Means
When an inspection is offline-ready, the app has stored the following on your device:
• The inspection assignment details (address, scheduled date, inspection type, notes)
• The house plan data pulled from the server
• All the form definitions needed to render the inspection
This means you can open the inspection, fill out the form, and take photos with no internet at all. When you submit, the data is queued and uploads automatically the next time you have a connection.
Two Ways to Get Offline-Ready
The app prepares inspections for offline use two different ways, and you usually benefit from both.
| Method | When It Happens |
|---|---|
| Automatic | When you open the My Inspections dashboard while online, the app downloads data for your open inspections in a rolling window around today (yesterday, today, tomorrow). This happens silently in the background. |
| Manual ("Prep Offline") | You tap the Prep Offline button on a specific inspection card to download it right now. Useful for inspections outside the automatic window, or when you want to be sure before leaving. |
Reading the Readiness Badge
Once an inspection has been prepped, its card on the dashboard shows a green Ready Offline badge with a timestamp (for example, "Ready offline · 2 hours ago"). This tells you two things:
1. The inspection can be opened without a connection.
2. The data you have cached was downloaded at that time. If server data has changed since then, you are looking at the older version.
Tap the badge to re-download fresh data. This is a good idea if:
• You know the inspection assignment was edited (for example, notes were updated by your dispatcher)
• The timestamp is more than a day old
• The house plan has been updated in RATER
Manually Prepping an Inspection
1. Open the My Inspections dashboard.
2. Find the card for the inspection you want.
3. Tap Prep Offline at the bottom of the card.
4. Wait for the spinner to finish. The button is replaced by the Ready Offline badge when it is done.
If Prep Offline does not appear, the inspection is already cached — you will see the Ready Offline badge instead.
What If I Open an Inspection I Did Not Prep?
If you tap Open on an inspection that has not been prepped and you still have a connection, the app fetches what it needs on the spot. You may see a brief loading state. Once loaded, the inspection is automatically cached for future offline use.
If you tap Open on an inspection that is not prepped and you are offline, the app cannot fetch the missing data. You will see an error explaining that the inspection is not available offline. Your only option in that situation is to get back to a connection.
This is why prepping ahead matters. Ten minutes of Prep Offline on Wi-Fi can save a wasted trip.
A Reliable Pre-Departure Routine
Before leaving for a day of field inspections:
1. Log in on a reliable connection (home or office Wi-Fi is ideal).
2. Open the My Inspections dashboard and let it finish loading.
3. Scroll through every inspection you plan to work on today and tomorrow.
4. For each one, confirm it shows Ready Offline with a recent timestamp, or tap Prep Offline.
5. Check that the sync status indicator at the top of the screen is green ("Connected") with no pending syncs from previous work.
6. Keep the app open for another minute or two to let any background downloads finish.
Once everything looks green and ready, you can head out.
Storage Considerations
Cached inspections take up some space on your device, but it is typically small per inspection. In Settings > Storage you can see how many inspections are cached and how much disk space they are using.
Most of your device storage is used by photos, not cached inspection data. If you run low on space, the "Free Up Space" option in Settings cleans up orphaned data without touching active inspections. See Syncing and Data Issues for a full rundown of what is stored and how to manage it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do I have to prep every single inspection manually?
A: No. Just loading your dashboard while online automatically caches inspections scheduled for yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Manual Prep Offline is for cases outside that window or when you want to be extra sure.
Q: The Ready Offline timestamp is from several days ago. Should I refresh?
A: If you know the inspection details have changed, yes — tap the badge to re-download. Otherwise the cached version is still usable and your form answers and photos are independent of it.
Q: I prepped an inspection but now cannot find "Prep Offline" on the card. Did something break?
A: No. Once an inspection is cached, the Prep Offline button is replaced by the Ready Offline badge. That is the button for re-downloading.
Q: If I prep an inspection and then it gets reassigned to someone else, what happens?
A: Next time you refresh your dashboard with a connection, the inspection will disappear from your list. The cached copy remains on your device until it is cleaned up automatically.
Q: Can I prep for an inspection that is weeks out?
A: Yes. Just find the card (you may need to use the Upcoming section) and tap Prep Offline manually. Only today’s and tomorrow’s inspections are prepped automatically.
Q: I am at a site with no signal and the inspection is not prepped. What can I do?
A: Unfortunately, nothing from the app itself — offline work requires data to have been cached in advance. If a tethering or hotspot option is available, connecting briefly is enough to let the app fetch what it needs. Prepping ahead is the reliable fix.
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