Electrical Certificate App: Can You Do EICRs With No Signal?
Most certificate apps work fine in the van. Here is a buying checklist for the cellar, the loft and the farmhouse with one bar of signal, plus a simple aeroplane mode test you can run on any app.
Most electrical certificate apps work fine in the van. The test is the cellar, the loft hatch or the farmhouse at the end of a track with one bar of signal. If an app needs a connection to save, to attach a photo or to hand you a certificate number, you'll find out at the worst moment, with the board dead and the customer watching.
This guide is a buying checklist for that problem. It doesn't rank apps (we've already done that in our roundup of certificate software) and it doesn't walk through building an EICR (see how to create an EICR digitally). It covers what to check before you trust any app with EICR, EIC, Minor Works or EV charge point paperwork. Zappy sells Zappy Pro Tools, so we'll say plainly where it fits, and we'll stick to what it does.
What "works offline" should actually mean
Plenty of apps claim offline mode. Few say what it covers. Before you commit, ask each of these:
• Can you start a new certificate with no signal? Some apps need a connection to create the record or assign a number.
• Does your business information load without a connection? Your signatory name, scheme and branding should already be on the phone.
• Can you add photos offline? Defect photos are the first thing to fail in a cellar.
• Can you leave the screen without losing anything? Closing the app, locking the phone or taking a call shouldn't wipe a half-finished inspection.
• Does it tell you what hasn't uploaded? Silent failure is the real danger. You want a clear marker, not a hopeful assumption.
Photos of defects are where most apps fall over
Text fields are small. Photos are large, slow to upload and easy to lose. For an EICR, a C2 or FI observation with a photo behind it is easier to back up if the landlord or letting agent queries it later.
Check what happens to a photo taken with no signal. Is it held on the phone and marked as waiting? Does it survive you closing the app? Does it upload by itself when signal returns, or do you have to remember to re-attach it?
Also check what removing a photo does. If deleting it from one certificate wipes it from your account, a copy of that certificate on another phone can lose it too.
Signing and sending: the step that must not skip photos
The nastiest failure isn't losing work. It's issuing a certificate that looks complete but is missing evidence, because the photos hadn't uploaded when you hit send.
A good app holds the download or send until everything attached has uploaded, and tells you it's waiting. Ask any vendor directly: can I issue a certificate while a photo is still on my phone? The answer should be no.
An app can fill in fields, but you're the one who inspected, tested and signs. Our piece on what AI can and can't do with certificates covers the same principle: software assists, the signatory is responsible.
How Zappy Pro Tools handles no signal
These are the behaviours Zappy Pro Tools has for working without a connection:
• Work saves on the phone. Leaving a certificate, quote or invoice with no signal doesn't block you. A message says it's saved on the device and when it will upload.
• Business details are kept on the phone. A certificate or quote started offline has your signatory, scheme and style filled in. Bank details are never kept on the phone, and signing out removes the stored details.
• Offline photos. You can add observation, appendix, board and Notes photos with no signal. Each shows "On this device" and uploads while the certificate is open and you have signal, or the next time you open it. If you close Zappy, a photo that hasn't uploaded stays on your phone.
• The "not synced" banner. It lists documents that haven't reached your account, with "1 photo waiting to upload" where that applies. Show all lists every one with its number (or New) and when you last edited it. Tap one to open it.
• No certificate without its photos. Download or send waits until every photo on it has uploaded.
• Numbers. With no signal, a new certificate's number reads "Given when synced".
• Unfinished work is surfaced. Starting a new certificate shows unfinished ones of that type still on your phone, so you can open one rather than duplicate it.
• Storage. Once you've saved work on the phone, Zappy asks your browser to keep its storage so it isn't cleared when space runs low. Firefox asks you first.
One limit: nothing uploads until the phone sees a signal again, and the app has to be opened for that to happen. Treat the banner as your end-of-day check.
Certificate types to cover
Check the app handles all the paperwork you actually issue, not just the EICR. Zappy Pro Tools covers EICR, EIC, Minor Works and EV charge point certificates. If you're unsure which of two to use on a job, our EIC vs Minor Works guide sets it out. For EV work, check the app supports several charge points on one certificate and the DNO details.
A quick buying checklist
Before you trust an app on site
• Can I start a certificate with no signal?
• Are my signatory and scheme details already on the phone?
• Can I add defect photos offline?
• Does a photo survive closing the app?
• Is there a visible list of unsynced work?
• Does send or download wait for photos to upload?
• Does it cover EICR, EIC, Minor Works and EV certificates?
• Can I check the certificate before issuing it?
Test it on the free tier first
Don't learn this on a paying customer's job. Zappy Pro Tools has a free tier, so you can run this test at home or on the drive:
• Sign up and open the app with signal, so your business details load.
• Switch the phone to aeroplane mode.
• Start an EICR. Fill in a few circuits and add two or three photos.
• Close the app fully, then reopen it. Check the work and photos are still there.
• Try to send or download. It should wait, not issue.
• Turn signal back on, open the certificate and watch the photos upload and the banner clear.
• Repeat once with a different phone if you work across two devices.
Run the same test on any app you're considering. If it fails at step 4 or 5, you have your answer.
If you want to see the rest of the toolkit, look at the wider Zappy Pro Tools.
FAQ
Can I issue a certificate with no signal? You can complete the work on site, but sending needs a connection. In Zappy Pro Tools, download and send wait until every photo has uploaded.
What if my phone dies before photos upload? Work and photos saved on the device stay there. Reopen the app with signal and the banner shows what's still waiting.
Does an app replace my own checks? No. You inspect, test and sign. The app records it.
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