How Your Data Updates
Some things arrive once at sign-in, some arrive the moment you open a screen, and some stream in continuously.
REDENES keeps a working copy of your agency's information on the device and refreshes different parts of it in different ways. Knowing which is which explains a lot: why your theme survives a reinstall, why a list looks stale until you pull it down, and why a message can sit for an hour before anyone sees it.
Three Speeds of Update
| Speed | What moves this way | You notice it as |
|---|---|---|
| Once at sign-in | Your agencies, your preferences, alert rules, module icons, map and reference data | The Downloading Data progress ring |
| On demand | Lists and records - incidents, messages, rosters, inventory, forms | A brief loading state when you open a screen, or when you pull to refresh |
| Continuously | Live conversations, audio rooms, and positions on the map | Messages and markers that update without you doing anything |
What Arrives at Sign-In
Signing in does more than check your password. The app pulls down the settings that shape the whole experience, so the app already looks and behaves like yours by the time the dashboard appears.
| Loaded at sign-in | What it controls |
|---|---|
| Your agencies and their templates | Which agencies you can switch between |
| Default agency and default start screen | Where the app opens |
| Measurement units | Metric or imperial readings throughout the app |
| Appearance theme | Light or dark |
| Default date view | How every date and time is formatted |
| Keep screen awake | Whether the display stays on while the app is open |
| Screensaver timeout | How long until the Screen Saver appears |
| Home widgets and shortcuts | Which modules appear as widgets and shortcut icons |
| Compass true north preference | Whether bearings use true or magnetic north |
| Offline translation languages | Which languages are downloaded for offline translation |
| Mute state and expiry | Whether alerts are currently paused, and until when |
| Notification rules and custom sounds | Your alert levels and sounds per duty state |
| Your certifications | What appears on Certifications and in command |
| Module icons, map layers, notification sounds | The artwork and audio the app draws and plays |
Map layers, weather, and language packs keep downloading quietly in the background after the progress screen closes, so some layers may keep filling in for a short while after you reach the dashboard.
Because these preferences are stored on your account rather than only on the phone, turning on Sync Settings Across Devices in App Defaults carries them to your other signed-in devices.
What Is Fetched On Demand
Most day-to-day content is fetched when you ask for it. Open the Incidents List and it loads incidents; open Messages and it loads conversations; open a form and the server sends its current layout.
Ways to force a refresh:
| Method | Where it works |
|---|---|
| Pull down on a list | Most scrolling lists |
| Leave and re-open the screen | Anywhere |
| Switch agency and switch back | Reloads that agency's dashboard data |
| Bring the app back to the foreground | Triggers a general catch-up, including sending anything queued |
| Sign out and back in | A full re-download, the heaviest option |
If a screen looks out of date, pull it down before assuming something is broken. If that does not help, check your connection indicator on App Settings - it reports your current internet status in plain words.
What Updates Live
A few screens hold a connection open so information arrives on its own.
| Live feature | What arrives without you asking |
|---|---|
| Chat and incident comms | New messages, reactions, and read state |
| Push-to-Talk and Live Audio Streaming | Who is speaking, who is connected, and the audio itself |
| Map and unit positions | Personnel and unit markers moving on the map |
| Video Streams | The live picture |
| Active incident timers | The running clock on an open incident |
| Unread badges | Counts on tabs and tiles as activity lands |
Live features need a working connection at that moment. They are the first thing to stop when coverage drops and the first thing to come back.
What Is Kept on the Device
The app stores a local copy of a surprising amount, which is what makes it usable with no signal.
| Kept on the device | Why |
|---|---|
| Your agency lists and records you have already loaded | So they can be read offline |
| Your preferences and alert rules | So the app behaves correctly before it reaches the server |
| Downloaded map layers and offline maps | So the map still draws with no coverage |
| Reference data files - map layers, radio codeplugs, QR codes, property lookups | So look-ups work in the field |
| Notification sounds and module icons | So alerts sound and screens draw instantly |
| Offline translation languages | So Translate works without a connection |
| Message attachments you have opened | So photos and files reopen instantly |
| Anything you created or edited that has not been sent yet | So nothing is lost |
How Your Edits Are Sent
When you save something, the app writes it to the device first and then sends it. With a good connection those two steps happen so close together that you never notice. Without one, the change waits in a queue.
The app tries to drain that queue whenever conditions are right - in particular when you bring it back to the foreground, and whenever it notices it has a connection again.
What can wait in the queue
| Queued item | Notes |
|---|---|
| Chat messages, including photos, video, audio, and PDFs | Files upload first, then the message record |
| Your user settings and preferences | Sent as one bundle |
| Agency settings, if you are an administrator | Sent as one bundle |
| Alert rules - app-wide, per agency, default sounds, and mute | Each part tracked separately |
| Map folders and saved map items | Counted individually |
| Calendar events | Counted individually |
| Directory groups and contacts, including deletions | Counted individually |
| Notifications you cleared | Re-applied to the server when you reconnect |
| Inventory changes - categories, items, locations, manufacturers, templates | Counted per area |
| Profile and agency information you edited | Sent as one bundle |
| Support issues, support tickets, and feature requests | Sent in the order you made them |
| Completed forms and checklists | Uploaded as a batch in the background |
Message states
Messages carry a state so you always know where they stand.
| State | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Not sent | Written and stored, still waiting for a connection | Nothing - it will go by itself |
| Sent | Delivered to the server | Nothing |
| Failed | An attempt was made and rejected | Check your connection, then resend |
A queued change has not happened yet as far as everyone else is concerned. If you write a critical message or update a status while offline, confirm it has actually gone before you rely on anybody having seen it.
App Settings includes pending-upload and pending-download views that list exactly what is still waiting, area by area, with a count for each. It is the fastest way to answer "did my change go through?"
When Something Will Not Update
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| A list is stale | It has not been re-fetched | Pull down to refresh |
| Your change is not visible to others | It is still queued | Reconnect, then check the pending list |
| A message shows as failed | The server rejected the attempt | Resend once you have a solid connection |
| A photo never appears | The attachment upload did not finish | Reconnect and let it retry |
| Your preferences reverted | Settings were changed on another device | Turn on settings sync in App Defaults |
| Requests keep timing out | Slow or missing connection | See Session Timeout |
| Nothing loads at all | Your agency data did not finish downloading | Sign out and back in on a good connection |
Related Pages
⬅️ Previous: Agencies, Roles & Permissions | Next: Working Offline ➡️