How Media Syncs to the Cloud

When you take a photo or record a video in the Estimatics iOS app, it doesn't stay on your device — it uploads to the cloud automatically and syncs to the web dashboard in near-real-time. Your team can review media as you capture it, without waiting for the inspection to end.

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How the sync pipeline works

1. Capture — You take a photo or record a video in the app
2. Local queue — The file is saved locally on your device and added to the upload queue
3. Upload — The app uploads the file in the background, starting immediately if you have a connection
4. Finalizing — Once the bytes are up, the server registers the file: it records the SHA-256 integrity hash, reads the capture metadata, and writes the arrival into the job's evidence event log
5. Synced — The photo or video appears in the Capture tab on the web dashboard, visible to every team member with access to the job

AI analysis is not part of this pipeline. Nothing is sent to a model because a file finished uploading — you run the analysis yourself, from Analyze.

Total time from capture to web dashboard: 5–30 seconds on a good cellular or WiFi connection.

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Reading the sync state

Under the hood each file walks a five-step path — queued → uploading → uploaded → finalizing → synced — with failed as the one branch off it.

What the app puts in front of you is the job-level summary, and it has three states worth naming:

When there is nothing outstanding, there is no indicator — that's the state you want before you drive away.

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Offline capture

You can capture photos and videos without any internet connection. The app queues all media locally and uploads automatically the moment a connection is restored — no action required from you.

What works offline:

• Photo capture (high-volume)
• Video recording
• Dual Video recording
• Viewing previously synced media

What requires a connection:

• Uploading media to the web dashboard
• Viewing the web dashboard (separate from the app)
• Running the AI analysis — which is a thing you do later, from Analyze, not something the upload triggers

Tip: Before going to a property with poor signal, open the job in the app while you still have connection. The job data and previously synced media will be cached locally so you can work smoothly.

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Sync behavior on different connection types

The app automatically adjusts upload behavior based on connection strength. You don't need to configure anything.

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How the queue decides what goes first

The queue works across jobs, not just within one, and it rotates between them so a single enormous job can't starve the rest. The job you have open gets priority — that's the whole control surface, and it's automatic. Open the job you care about and its files move first.

There is no per-file "upload now" and nothing to configure.

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Background sync

Estimatics continues uploading in the background when you switch to another app or lock your phone. iOS may pause background uploads after extended periods — if you have a large batch to upload, keep the app in the foreground or plug in to power.

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Troubleshooting sync issues

A job shows a failed upload

1. Check your internet connection first — most failures are signal, and the queue recovers on its own once there is any
2. Open the job. The active job is the one the queue works on
3. Force-quit the Estimatics app (swipe up from the app switcher) and reopen — the queue survives the restart; that's what it's for
4. If it persists, reach support from the app and include the job ID

Photos are stuck on "Uploading" for more than 5 minutes

1. Check your connection — switch from cellular to WiFi or vice versa
2. Force-quit and reopen the app — the upload will resume from where it stopped
3. Large video files (1GB+) can take 10–20 minutes on a slow connection — this is normal

Photos synced but don't appear on the web dashboard

1. Hard refresh the web dashboard (Cmd+Shift+R on Mac, Ctrl+Shift+R on Windows)
2. Check that you're looking at the correct job
3. Check the area filter — the photo may be in a different area than you're viewing
4. If it's still missing after 5 minutes, contact support with the job ID

Upload stalled after restoring from background

iOS occasionally suspends background network activity. Open the Estimatics app — the upload queue will resume within a few seconds of the app being in the foreground.

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Data usage

If you're on a limited cellular data plan, capture on-site and upload over WiFi at the office or at home.

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Frequently asked questions

Does syncing consume battery faster? Uploading in the background uses some battery, but it's minimal for photos. Long video uploads are more demanding. For all-day field work with heavy video capture, bring a portable battery pack.

Can I sync from multiple devices simultaneously? Yes. Several people can capture into the same job at once, and the web dashboard updates live as their media lands.

What happens to local copies after sync? The device keeps its local copy after a file syncs — that's deliberate, so a bad connection can never cost you evidence. It also means a heavy inspection occupies real space on the phone until iOS reclaims it.

Is my media encrypted in transit? Yes. All uploads use TLS encryption. Media at rest in the cloud is encrypted at the storage level.

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Last updated: September 2026 · Questions? Email support@aiestimatics.com