Offline Mode, what is it, and how does it work?
If your internet connection is unstable or fails, you can still collect accurate scan data. Below are common questions about scanning or checking in attendees while offline.
What is offline mode?
- Offline mode is a VenuePilot Box Office feature, allowing you to continue scanning in your attendees even during a network outage.
- Offline mode occurs automatically whenever the internet connection is inadequate to securely retrieve order and sales order information.
*Offline Mode does not indicate whether VenuePilot is online, rather it informs you of your device's connection to the internet on your local network.
What causes offline mode?
- The VenuePilot Box Office will show offline mode once your device has not been able to reach an internet connection for 30 or more seconds. Every five seconds, it will automatically check if your connection has returned.
Can I scan tickets in offline mode?
- Yes, during offline mode you can continue scanning, as all attendees are already loaded on your device. You'll see a small icon appear next to names that have been scanned offline
Can I sell tickets in offline mode?
- No - Credit card sales are not available during offline mode. A stable internet connection is required to connect to our payment processor, Stripe, for any card transactions.
- Cash sales can continue while the Box Office App is offline
When / How do offline scans get synced?
- As soon as you are back online, the scans will update across all devices automatically!
I think my Internet is working again, how can I manually refresh the sync?
- If you would like to manually refresh & check your connection, tap into the attendee list and then tap the sync arrows just beneath the list header.
- If there is no update or the time increases, it is because the connection remains inadequate.
- The app will show the last time you were successfully able to connect your device to VenuePilot.
My other devices are online, why am I seeing offline mode?
- You may be online, but the connection may be poor enough that VenuePilot is unable to securely send and retrieve data, for example, if you're only sporadically connected, or there are other devices on the same network using a lot of bandwidth.
- To combat this, we recommend having a dedicated WLAN for your Box Office devices that no other devices share.
What's the best way to set up my internet for the best outcome when using the VenuePilot Box Office app?
- We recommend having a line of sight connection with a network device that is hard wired to a broadband connection.
- We do not recommend satellite or cellular connections as a primary network, but can be used as a backup.
- Cellular networks are prone to saturation during large events due to the large number of people attempting to send and receive data, and satellite has bad performance in cloud cover.
- We recommend having a dedicated wifi network for only your box office devices. Any other device connected to this network could produce deleterious effects to the connection quality.
*NOTE: We do not recommend using the Box Office app to sell tickets more than 100 feet from a network device. In open fields and outdoors, you may experience connection issues, especially near infrastructure like buildings, walls, or venues. You may be connected to the wifi, but that doesn't mean the signal is adquate enough to produce good results.