Offline mode#
Offline mode is the city's content — routes, stops and finds — saved on your phone. Thanks to it the app reads descriptions without a signal, while completed stops and collected finds wait in a local queue and are sent on their own when the network comes back.
Where the app gets content from without a network#
- Offline content is a set of files with the city data: routes, stops and finds (no map tiles).
- It is downloaded on the Account → Offline pack screen. That screen shows whether the content is already on the phone (Not downloaded yet, Installed locally: vN, Locally: vN · update available), has the Download pack / Download again button, a file counter (N / M files) and, when it finishes, the text Pack vN ready — you can go offline (GPS on).
- Packs are versioned: newer content does not silently replace half of your files, it appears as a newer version to download. Until you download it, you have exactly what you saved.
- That screen is part of the Admin section today (see the box above). A regular player has no offline screen of their own and no “offline mode” switch — there is nothing to turn on.
What works without a network#
| Activity | Without a network | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| the last known statistics in Account | yes | kilometres, routes and finds from the last refresh stay on the phone and you see them when the server cannot be reached |
| the map | only the parts you have already viewed | tiles that had time to load come from the phone's cache; there is no “download the map in advance” feature, so areas you have not visited stay empty |
| opening a route and reading stops | no (without content on the phone) | the route has to be saved on the phone; without it the app asks you to download the pack (Routes, Route stops) |
| completing a GPS stop | no (without content on the phone) | the radius is counted by the app from the content saved on the phone and confirmed by the server after synchronisation (GPS and location accuracy) |
| collecting a find | no (without content on the phone) | as above — nothing is duplicated when the network comes back (Collecting finds) |
| answering a puzzle | no (without content on the phone) | the server decides whether the answer is correct, so it waits in the queue for a network |
| walking guidance along the streets (Navigate) | not in the app | without a network you see the straight-line distance and a suggestion to use Maps / Waze (Navigation) |
| logging in and creating an account | no | the first login and refreshing the session need the internet (Account and profile) |
| exploring together (lobby) | no | the lobby state is kept by the server (Exploring together) |
| a bug report from the app | yes, with a delay | the report is saved on the phone and will go out at the next start with a network (Reports and bug reports) |
The practical conclusion: without content on the phone, “offline” comes down to the map from the cache and the last known numbers in Account. To walk a route without a signal you need the content pack on the phone, and that is downloaded by an administrator account.
Action queue and automatic synchronisation#
- Every action — starting a route, completing a stop, collecting a find, abandoning a route — gets its own event number. That is why sending it twice does not create a duplicate: the second report is recognised as the same one.
- The queue is sent automatically when the network comes back — when statistics refresh and when you enter screens that ask the server. When something really is waiting, the row Pending sync: N actions with the Sync now button appears in Account; you do not have to “send anything manually”.
- Only what the app counted locally goes into the queue, and that needs the route content on the phone. Without the pack no pending action is created — instead of a queue entry you will see a request to download the pack.
- The last known state (kilometres, routes, finds) also lies on the phone, so in Account you see your results even without a signal.
- After synchronisation the server's version counts, not the local copy — it is the source of truth for rewards and progress (Account and profile).
What you will not do offline#
- You will not switch offline mode on with a toggle — there is no such setting; content gets onto the phone from the screen in the Admin section.
- You will not open a route that is not on the phone — new content from the server waits for a network.
- You will not complete a stop without content on the phone — not even standing exactly at the stop.
- You will not use walking guidance along the streets — the walking route is counted by the server; without a network you are left with the map and your phone's system navigation.
- You will not create an account or log in for the first time — logging in needs the internet.
- You will not join a shared tour — shared walks are kept by the server.
- You will not send a bug report right away — it is saved on the phone and waits for a network.
How to check what works without a network#
- A test without the pack (available to everyone): open the map once over Wi-Fi, then turn on aeroplane mode and check Account (the last known numbers stay) and the map (only the parts you have viewed are drawn). Trying to open a route ends with a request to download the content onto the phone.
- A test with the pack (an administrator account): download the pack, turn on aeroplane mode, open a route, tap Start, complete a stop, then turn aeroplane mode off and check the statistics in Account.
- The state of offline content has one place in the interface: the Offline pack screen (the content version and whether a newer one exists). Apart from the Pending sync: N actions row in Account there is no separate “actions to send” counter — do not look for it in other tabs.
This page has no frame from the app: the “Offline pack” screen belongs to the administrator section, so a screenshot of it would show something a regular account does not have in its menu.
Documented for app version 0.120.1 (updated 2026-09-26).
Machine translation — the Polish version prevails.