Syncing on the app: what each status means, and where older responses go

What do the sync statuses in the app mean, and where did my older responses go?

Pending means saved on the device and waiting to upload; Synced means it is on the server; Failed means the upload will be tried again; Conflict means the server refused it, and that is the only one needing you — tap Retry, or Retry all at the top of the Responses screen. Separately, a response that has synced is removed from the DEVICE after 30 days. It stays on the server, in your reports and in your exports.

The Responses screen in the Survtapp app lists what has been collected on that device and the state each one is in. Four states, and the difference between them is the difference between "wait" and "do something".

The four statuses

• Pending — saved on the device and waiting to upload. This is the normal state with no signal, and it is also where a response sits if the account has hit a plan limit. Nothing is required of you: it goes up on the next sync.
• Synced — uploaded. It is on the server and visible on the web.
• Failed — the upload was attempted and something went wrong at our end. It will be tried again.
• Conflict — the server would not accept the response as submitted, or the device could not read its own saved answers. A conflict is the only status that will not clear on its own, which is why it is the one with a button next to it.

Getting a stuck response moving

When something is stuck the screen says so at the top — "2 stopped syncing" — with a Retry all button. Tapping it puts every conflicted response back in the queue and confirms with "2 queued — they will upload on the next sync." Individual conflicted responses have their own Retry button.

Retry is worth trying once. If the same response conflicts again, something about it is genuinely being refused — the usual causes are a form that has changed underneath it, or an account limit that has not actually been resolved — so check the form and your plan usage on the web before retrying repeatedly. Nothing is lost while you work it out: a conflicted response stays on the device.

One conflict is deliberate rather than a fault. If the app finds that a saved response’s answers are damaged and cannot be read, it refuses to upload it, and says so: "This response could not be read from this device (its saved answers are damaged). It was NOT uploaded, so nothing on the server was overwritten." That refusal is the right outcome — a partial upload would overwrite good data with bad.

Why older responses vanish from the app

This one gets reported as data loss, and it is not. A response that has synced is removed from the device 30 days later. It stays on the server, in your account, in your reports and in your exports — what goes is the copy on the handset.

The app tells you when it happens, in a plain note on the Responses screen rather than a warning: "4 synced responses older than 30 days were removed from this device. They remain safe on the server."

• Only SYNCED responses are ever removed this way. Anything still Pending, Failed or Conflict is the only copy that exists, and is never removed on age.
• It is a privacy decision as much as a storage one — a lost or stolen tablet should not carry a year of respondents’ answers.
• The practical consequence: the app is not your archive. Use Responses and Reports on the web for anything older than a month.

Taking a copy off the device

Settings, then Export responses to CSV writes out what is on the device and hands it to your phone’s usual share sheet, so you can email it to yourself or save it. With nothing on the device it says "No responses to export yet." It exports the device’s copy, so it is subject to the same 30 days — the full history lives on the web.

Frequently asked questions

My responses have disappeared from the app. Have I lost them?

Almost certainly not. If they had synced, they were removed from the device after 30 days and are on the server — sign in on the web and look at the form’s Responses. If they had not synced, they are still on the device; check the Responses screen for Pending or Conflict.

What do I do about a Conflict?

Tap Retry on it, or Retry all at the top of the screen. If it conflicts again, look at the form on the web — a question that changed after the response was taken is the usual cause — and ask support rather than retrying repeatedly.

Is it safe to uninstall the app or clear its data?

Only once everything shows as Synced. Anything Pending, Failed or Conflict exists nowhere else, and uninstalling takes it with it.

Does a plan limit lose the response?

No. It stays Pending on the device and uploads once the limit is resolved. See Plan Limits & Credits.