Find the message you are seeing, and this page tells you what caused it and how to fix it. Most upload messages appear on the sync pill in the project header — tap the pill any time to open the Uploads & storage sheet and see every capture individually.
Uploads and sync#
"Sign in again · N"#
Cause: your session expired, so the photos saved on this device cannot upload. The captures themselves are safe — nothing is lost.
Fix:
- Sign back in with the same account that captured the photos. Queued captures belong to the account that took them, so a different account cannot upload them.
- Tap the sync pill to open Uploads & storage.
- Tap Retry on a row, or Upload all now — either restarts uploads immediately.
"Uploads paused · N"#
Cause: uploads are paused by your connection preference. The default is Wi-Fi only, so on cellular, photos and videos wait on the device. The Keep on device preference pauses automatic uploads on every connection.
Fix: connect to Wi-Fi and leave the app open, or open the Uploads & storage sheet and switch the preference to Wi-Fi + cellular (this may use mobile data). On Keep on device, tap Upload all now when you are ready. Inspection answers are not affected — they sync on any connection. See Working offline.
"Storage full" — and the device storage dialogs#
Cause: your device is out of local space. FieldFaktor checks free space before every photo, video, room scan, and inspection start. You may see the pill Storage full · N, the queue message "Device storage full — wait for uploads to finish or remove failed photos before capturing more.", or one of these dialogs:
- "Device storage is low" (under 1 GB free) — capture still works, and the dialog offers Low-storage mode.
- "Not enough storage to capture safely" (under 250 MB free) — new media capture is blocked. Existing project answers and previously saved photos remain available; only new capture is stopped.
- "Device storage is full" (almost nothing free) — same block, more urgent.
Fix: free at least 1 GB — offload unused apps or old videos in iOS Settings — then tap Check storage again. When offered, Continue in low-storage mode is the fastest path back to work: it stops the extra copies to Apple Photos and switches uploads to Wi-Fi + cellular so media clears off the device sooner. Until Cloud confirmed appears, a capture in low-storage mode exists only on this device, and the button is disabled while offline.
"Recapture N"#
Cause: a local photo or video file went missing from the device before its upload finished. The queue message reads "Photo file is missing on this device. Remove it and recapture the photo." — or, for a video, "Video file is missing on this device — it was lost before it finished uploading. Remove it and re-record the walkthrough." In a browser, a page reload before a video uploads loses the recording; the iOS app stores video durably.
Fix: delete the affected item in Photo review and retake the photo or re-record the walkthrough. FieldFaktor first checks the cloud — if the file already made it up, the item is marked uploaded instead.
Video upload keeps failing#
Cause: large files on a weak connection. The queue message reads "Video upload keeps failing on this connection. It retries automatically — Wi-Fi or stronger signal will finish it fastest." If you instead see "Video is too large to upload — record a shorter walkthrough.", the take exceeded the upload size cap.
Fix: get on Wi-Fi and leave the app open until the upload finishes — retries are automatic. For an oversized take, re-record a shorter walkthrough; recordings stop on their own at 5:00 or the size limit. A still-uploading video never blocks report generation.
Camera and capture#
"Camera unavailable — check camera permissions for FieldFaktor in Settings."#
Cause: iOS is blocking FieldFaktor's camera access.
Fix: open iOS Settings, find FieldFaktor, and turn on Camera. For video recording you may also see "Video recording is unavailable — check camera and microphone permissions for FieldFaktor in Settings, then try again." — enable Microphone as well.
"Camera paused to save battery — tap anywhere"#
Cause: the camera stops itself after a minute of no activity so it does not drain the battery while you climb or take notes.
Fix: tap anywhere on the screen and it resumes where you left off.
"Camera stopped — tap anywhere to restart. If it will not start, another app may be using the camera."#
Cause: the camera could not restart — most often because another app (a call, a video app) is holding it.
Fix: tap the screen to retry. If it still will not start, close the other app that is using the camera, then reopen Guided Capture.
"Live camera needs the iOS app — this is a layout preview with capture disabled."#
Cause: you opened Guided Capture in a browser. The live viewfinder is iOS-only; the browser shows the layout with the shutter disabled.
Fix: capture in the FieldFaktor iOS app. The dashboard runs in any browser. The field app's screens also open in a browser, but capture features — the live camera, room scans, video — need the iOS app.
Room scan is unavailable or a scan was not usable#
Cause: room scanning needs an iPhone or iPad with LiDAR and the latest FieldFaktor build — on other devices you will see "Room scanning needs an iPhone or iPad with LiDAR and the latest FieldFaktor build. You can still add rooms manually." A scan can also finish without producing usable geometry: "Scan finished but the result was not usable. Try again." A failed re-scan keeps your earlier data: "Re-scan was not usable — kept the previous scan."
Fix: on a non-LiDAR device, add rooms by hand in Interior rooms — photos and manual room details cover everything. On a LiDAR device, scan again; for a whole floor, walk it in one continuous pass so the rooms stitch together.
Working offline#
"No cached claims available offline"#
Cause: the device is offline and the project list was never loaded on this device, so there is nothing cached to show. If you instead see "Showing cached claims — will refresh when online", that is normal — you are looking at the cached list and it refreshes on reconnect.
Fix: reconnect once and the list loads. The habit that prevents this: open the app — and each project you plan to inspect — while you still have signal. See Working offline.
"Unable to load project" when opening a project offline#
Cause: this project was never opened on this device, so nothing is cached — the error reads "Inspection not available — open it online first to cache locally."
Fix: get a connection and tap Retry, or open the project once while online before heading out. Projects you have opened before load offline — your answers, the photo list, your own captures, and hail history.
Weather tab#
"This address is outside HailBrief coverage."#
Cause: HailBrief does not have hail data for this address. Hail history and the Hail Report are delivered automatically where HailBrief has coverage — for this project, they are not available.
Fix: first confirm the property address on the Details tab is correct; a typo can land outside coverage. If the address is right, there is nothing to fix — the rest of the project, including reports, works normally. See Weather and the Hail Report.
Other Weather tab status messages#
| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Add a property address on the Details tab to pull hail history." | The project has no address yet. | Add the property address on the Details tab. |
| "HailBrief is still verifying storm data for this area. This will retry automatically." | The report is being prepared. | Nothing — it retries on its own. |
| "Could not reach HailBrief. This will retry next time you open the tab." | A temporary connection problem. | Reopen the tab when you have signal. |
| "HailBrief is not configured yet." | A setup issue on our side. | Contact support. |
| "This project is not attached to a company yet." | The project has no company attached. | Contact support. |
Generating reports#
"The inspection isn't complete"#
Cause: required items on the Closing tab are still open. The banner spells it out: "The report can't generate until every required item on the Closing tab is complete or disregarded — N remaining", followed by the first few item names.
Fix: open the Closing tab and work the list — each item deep-links to the spot in the inspection where you complete it, or you can skip a required item with a written reason. If you see "Finish the Closing questions before generating.", the Report conclusion questions at the bottom of the Closing tab still need answers. See Closing and Final Pass.
"N photo(s) still need to upload before cloud generation."#
Cause: reports build in the cloud from uploaded photos, so generation waits until every report photo is up. Variants name the exact holdup — photos still uploading, failed and must be retried, or still only available on this device — and "Inspection changes are saved locally and must sync before cloud generation." means your answers have not synced yet.
Fix: get a connection, tap the sync pill, and let the queue drain — Upload all now forces it. Retry any failed rows first. Once the pill reads Synced, generate again. If the button says Not ready to generate while you are offline, or you see "You're offline — reconnect to send the report for generation.", reconnect first.
"This company has no project credits available."#
Cause: generating a project's first report package consumes one project credit, and the company wallet is at zero.
Fix: the Owner buys credits at app.fieldfaktor.com under Billing — $30 each, no subscription. Team members see "Ask your company owner to add project credits." — pass it along to your Owner. If you see "Your company owner has turned off report credit usage for your account.", the Owner can re-enable Use credits for you in Company Settings. See Billing and credits.
Signing in and email#
"That link has expired or was already used. Sign in, or request a new link."#
Cause: sign-in, password-reset, and invite links are single-use and time-limited — invite links expire in 7 days.
Fix: request a fresh one. For a password reset, use Forgot password? again. For a team invite, ask your Owner to resend it. If you already used the link once — for example, you already confirmed your email — sign in normally with your email and password.
The confirmation email never arrived#
Cause: it is usually sitting in spam, or the address was mistyped at signup.
Fix:
- Search your inbox and spam folder for FieldFaktor.
- On the sign-in screen, tap Resend confirmation email — there is a short cooldown between sends.
- Still nothing after a few minutes? Sign up again with the correct address, or contact support.
You cannot create your company until your email is confirmed. After you sign up, the app says "Check your inbox to confirm your email, then sign in."
Creating projects#
"That project number is already in use."#
Cause: another project in your company already carries that project number — numbers must be unique.
Fix: enter a different project number, or leave the field blank — it is optional. See Create a project.
Still stuck? Email support@fieldfaktor.com with the project number and the exact message on screen — a screenshot of the Uploads & storage sheet helps for anything sync-related.