Mobile Apps·525 discussions

App sync confusion

Tags: Tablets

At work we use an app for documentation and form completion. The app is installed on Lenovo tablets and will open up when users log in. The problem is that I can log in to the app and it will sync usually within 30-50 seconds. Once I log out another user will then log in, in the same location on the same tablet but it doesn’t sync beyond 20%. We’ve been on to the app development team’s support and our external IT support and neither of them have found a solution. What could be the issue?

Topic

The usual.

In reply to App sync confusion

1. Factory reset the tablet and re-test.
2. Since all we know is the issue is with this app then the issue is squarely put back to the app dev team. Your company would ship them this tablet along with logins for the failing account so they can work the issue. This is usually costly to fix but as it stands, the app seems to be in charge of the sync.

May I add…

In reply to The usual.

To elaborate. The app Dev team had me testing this issue over 8 weeks. On site and off site, with Wi-Fi speeds varying between 10 and 80 Mbps. With and without vpn. I’ve done factory resets, I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled the app multiple times. (Sometimes this actually works but we can’t expect our Quality team to do this on the production floor.) The confusion is around the inconsistency. Why will it work for me 9 out of 10 times but the next user logging in can’t get it work. Why will it work for me most of the time but then out of the blue fail? I suspect it is the set up. The client software sit on a virtual server on an SQL server. I just don’t know enough to work it out.

As it stands still the app maker’s problem.

In reply to May I add…

I don’t see any detail that puts it on your hardware or platform.

While I am an author and team member on so many apps over decades I’m not privy to this app’s code or much else. As it stands I am thinking about the sync failure and the sync is done in said app. That area of the code is what must be worked and without source code to insert debug statements or a code review the problem falls back to the app maker.

If they can’t fix it then you call it quits and begin the search for a new app and such.

Here’s a parting thought. Why is it a Virtual Server? Why not a full up server even if for a test run?

Probably cost

In reply to As it stands still the app maker’s problem.

I think the reason for the virtual server is location and cost. We have two sites and a lot going on. As for it falling on the app developer. Fair enough. If I have to go back to them I will. I just feel i:ll get nowhere with them and as the project lead feel it’ll fail and the business will have lost a lot of money, time and resource. Do you have any idea as somebody who has worked on apps what might cause a sync to stall at 20% and then suggests the server may be down if you tap the sync now button?

Re: sync

In reply to App sync confusion

With a tablet generally being considered a personal device and seeing it works with you and fails when somebody else logs in after you, I wonder what happens if you give other people their own tablet to login to in stead of having to share the device.

The same thing

In reply to Re: sync

We have 16 tablets. The same thing happens regardless of what one they try to sign in on.

Addendum

In reply to The same thing

For clarity. The app is Q Pulse. All tablets are linked to one Google account. So no individual log ins. Each user has a q pulse login. If I am logged in and it syncs all of our forms are visible and accessible. If another user is on a separate tablet in the same room and trys to sync using their app log in. It doesn’t work. Then maybe the next day they’ll log in and it works.

Remember until now I thought the APP was doing the sync.

In reply to Addendum

Putting all the devices on a single Google account can be a problem. I’m reading https://phandroid.com/2020/07/06/how-many-android-devices-for-each-google-account/

There’s more out there on this area but you will find companies and people trying to get around the usual 5$ a month Google tax.

Remember that as it stands this is something the APP developer should point out but maybe just maybe the developer wasn’t told about this all these tablets being on the same Google account. Remember that you don’t have to tell me but with more story I can think of reasons why it fails and here there is one.

That and this unknown virtual server setup. Our setups can go virtual eventually but if we suspect virtual issues we pop in a real server to find out. You mention cost but a server can be some spare laptop or desktop for the test run. CHEAP!! compared to downtime, paying employees to not work, fuss around and IT costs.

Late to the project

In reply to Remember until now I thought the APP was doing the sync.

To be honest I was late to the project and just kind of had the lead handed to me. Since then I’ve been back and forth between two tech departments both telling me this isn’t their problem. I will point them towards the Google accounts to see if we can set up a separate test account and see what happens. It’s just a pain in the… Again this morning I have attempted to log in with a different username and password it won’t move past the usual. Then I use mine and it syncs no problem. It’s not like it is only me. Other people can get it to sync but just not all of the time. It needs to be all of the time so they can do their job though. I will speak to our IT team and see if they can move it onto a server to test but I’m sure they said they did all of this before implementing it. Thanks for the advice.

Re: sync

In reply to The same thing

If it works for you 90% of the time and for everybody else 10% of the time, it seems more of a server issue than an app issue.

Maybe there is a maximum number of users allowed, and you’re often the first one logging in. How many simultaneous users were logged in during the stress tests you did as the project lead?

Licenses

In reply to Re: sync

For the actual Web client we have 20 secondary licenses and 5 primary. The Web client works fine for everyone but the most we’ve had on at once has been 7. It worked but we didn’t go any higher because of resource. The tablets and app have never had more than 3 logged in between the 2 sites. If I even knew what tests to perform then I would do them and report the findings back to both the app Dev team and our external IT team.

Re: license

In reply to Licenses

Give a few of those tablets (or completely similar ones) to the app developer, so they can reproduce it themselves, either in the production or in their development environment.

90% is not good enough.

In reply to Re: sync

This system should not make it to release.

It offers access on 3 platforms

In reply to 90% is not good enough.

The desktop client and web service both work but as a business we need mobility which is why we are trying to use the app. Unfortunately the Web service on the tablets lags for whatever reason otherwise it would be the perfect workaround for now.

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