Venues have bad signal. The scanner is built for that: it downloads the attendee list once and then works with no connection at all.
Download the list
The first time you open the scanner it shows no viewfinder — just Download attendee list, and the reason: "After that, scanning keeps working with no connection."
Press it while you still have signal. The status bar then shows how many people are on the list.
Do this before the queue arrives
This is the only part of the evening that needs a connection. A scanner with no list cannot admit anyone, and the moment you discover that is always the worst one.
Refresh it when things change
The refresh icon in the status bar re-downloads the list. Use it when:
- Tickets were sold or refunded after you downloaded.
- Someone transferred their ticket and the name shown is the previous holder's.
- You get a "Re-download the list" verdict — that one is telling you directly.
What happens while you are offline
Every scan is written to the phone before any attempt to send it — even when you are online. That ordering is why a scan survives the app being killed mid-request, which is exactly what a struggling phone does.
The status bar shows Online / Offline, how many scans are waiting to sync, and how many you have served from this phone. When signal returns they go up automatically. You do not have to do anything, and you should not close the app while the counter is above zero.
Duplicate scans while offline
Two phones offline at the same door cannot see each other's check-ins. If the same ticket is scanned on both, both show green at the time — and when they sync, the second one is recognised as already recorded rather than treated as a failure.
After syncing: the banner
Occasionally the server rejects something a phone admitted offline — a ticket refunded after your list was downloaded, or one belonging to a different event. A banner then names each person, the reason, and the time, and stays until you dismiss it.
Read it. It is the only chance to notice somebody was let in on a ticket that should not have worked.
What is not cached
The scanner and an already-opened ticket page work offline. The rest of the site does not — including this help centre. If you need these instructions at a venue, load them before you go.
Next: ENTRY mode and FOOD mode about entry mode and food mode.