👍 Yes, you can use Layer offline when your internet connection is spotty or unavailable. Layer still saves your data in Offline Mode. See Tips for Using Layer in the Field for additional guidance on collecting data.

Quick Reference: How to Go Offline

1. Click your initials or avatar in the top corner of the screen to open the User Settings menu.

2. Select Go Offline. Layer syncs your project data to your device before disconnecting. Open any Views, drawings, and files you will need on site first, so they are available while you are offline.

3. Work as normal. Any changes you make are saved locally and queued to sync.

4. When you're back on a stable connection, open the same menu and select Go Online (or click the yellow Go Online bar at the top of the screen).

👉 Tip: Go Offline before heading to a site visit so your project data is fully synced and ready before you lose connectivity.

Browser & Device Support

Layer can be used offline in any supported browser and device. For the best experience, we recommend using the Layer iOS app.

Limited Functionality

We are constantly working to improve and enhance the app's functionality in offline scenarios, but the following parts of the app require an internet connection and will be unavailable while offline:

• Model Views and views from the Revit model

• Editing Document Views (Document Views you have already opened can still be read)

• Exporting Reports, and exporting Drawing View PDFs with markups

• Creating new projects and new Views

• Projects you have not opened on this device before

• Views you have not opened on this device before — a View is only available offline if you have opened it at least once while online. The default View you get by clicking a Category title is always available.

• Files you have not already opened on this device — photos, PDFs, and attachments in File fields are not downloaded in advance (Drawing View PDFs and their markups are synced automatically)

👉 Tip: Before you head to site, open each Category and View you will need — along with any drawings or photos — while you still have a connection, then select Go Offline. Anything you have opened once will be there when you are offline.

Going Offline

To work offline, in your User Settings menu, select Go Offline. This syncs your project data to your device before going offline, enabling you to access and make changes without an internet connection. Your work will be saved locally in the app.

👉 Note: It is recommended to use Offline Mode if you have bad service to ensure there are no issues with your data upload

The Go Offline option inside the User Settings menu, used to sync project data locally before disconnecting.

To connect back, go to your User Settings menu and select Go Online. This will automatically sync your work to our servers for the rest of your team to access. You can also click the yellow bar at the top of the screen, where you will be prompted to Go Online.

The yellow Go Online prompt at the top of the screen for re-syncing data after working offline.

Limited or No Internet Connectivity

If you lose or have no connection, Layer may continue to work, but response times may be slow, affecting data input and user experience. You may have limited access to unopened views and recently added data. This can also cause interruptions in syncing your work back to the cloud. When you regain connection, your work will continue to sync but to avoid any issues, we recommend selecting Go Offline if you have an unstable connection.

Working Offline With Your Team

While working offline, any category, element, or field data you add to Layer will be saved to your device. Once you go back online, the data is synced with our servers. In cases where you and another team member update the same field, the update that syncs to our servers last is the one that will be kept. If two people work offline on the same field, whoever reconnects last will overwrite the other's change — so it is worth reconnecting promptly after a site visit.

Field Connectivity Tips

Field environments are unpredictable. A few practical tips to keep work uninterrupted:

• Sync before you leave. Open the project on the device you'll use on site, let it load fully, then select Go Offline from your initials menu before you lose Wi-Fi.

• Phone hotspot users: tablet hotspots often disconnect when the phone sleeps or locks. Either disable auto-lock on the phone for the duration of the site visit, or use Offline Mode so your work is independent of the hotspot.

• Cellular tablets are more reliable than Wi-Fi-only tablets paired with a hotspot. If your team does frequent fieldwork, prefer a cellular-capable iPad or Android tablet — see Supported Devices.

• iOS app: for the most reliable field experience, install the Layer iOS app rather than relying on a mobile browser.

• Don't push a weak signal. If you're on a single bar of service and trying to upload many photos, force Offline Mode first — partial uploads on weak connections can cause sync issues.

👉 We’ve created this PDF to share with your teams capturing our best practices for using Layer offline.

A downloadable PDF summarizing Layer’s offline best practices for field teams.