Offline mode
What keeps working on the kiosk and guard devices during network and power cuts, how sync works when the connection returns, and how to prepare for dumsor.
Agoo is in early access. This page describes the feature as it ships to early-access organisations; screens are illustrative.
Network drops and power cuts are a normal part of the working week. The Kiosk app is built for them: it saves everything on the device first and syncs when the connection returns, with the original times intact. Visitors keep checking in and staff keep clocking in, and the screen says calmly that it's offline, so nobody at the desk panics.
Offline mode is part of the Kiosk app (iPad and iPhone in P5, Android in P6) and the Workspace app's clock-in.
What works offline
| Task | Offline | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Walk-in check-in | Yes | The kiosk keeps a copy of your hosts, forms and visitor types. |
| Scanning passes | Yes | Passes are signed, so the kiosk can check them without the internet. |
| Today's expected visitors | Yes | As they were at the last sync. |
| Photo capture and Ghana Card or passport scan | Yes | Photos upload later. Scanning the machine-readable lines happens on the device. |
| Check-out | Yes | |
| Staff clock-in (QR, PIN, NFC, face) | Yes | With trusted time, so changing the device clock doesn't move a punch. |
| Logging deliveries | Yes | From P8. |
| Watchlist screening | Yes | Kiosks and guard devices hold a protected copy, never names or numbers. Agoo screens every offline check-in again, names included, when it syncs. |
| Badge printing | Yes | If the printer is on Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or USB and still has power. |
| Evacuation list | Yes | Every kiosk keeps the current on-site list for roll call. |
| Telling the host | Later | Alerts go out as soon as the device reconnects. See the callout below. |
| Host approvals | Later | The host's answer reaches the kiosk when it reconnects. |
| Sending invitations, passes and reminders | Later | Sent by Agoo's servers, which don't depend on your site's connection. |
| AI ID scan (Pro, from P9) | No | Needs the internet. Agoo never depends on AI for offline check-in. |
| Pairing a new device | No | Needs a connection once. |
When the kiosk is offline, call the host
A visitor checked in while the kiosk is offline is recorded straight away, but their host isn't told until the kiosk reconnects. Train reception and guards to call or WhatsApp the host from their own phone while the kiosk shows it's offline. If your rules need host approval, reception decides at the desk.
How sync works
- Saved on the device first. Every check-in, check-out, clock-in and delivery is written to the device's own storage the moment it happens, with its time and place.
- Sent in order when the connection returns. The kiosk notices the network is back and sends everything it saved, oldest first. You'll see "3 check-ins synced" on the screen.
- Never twice. Each action carries its own unique ID, so if a send is interrupted and retried, Agoo ignores the duplicate.
- Original times kept. A visitor who checked in at 10:43 am appears in the Console at 10:43 am, not when the kiosk reconnected, and is marked as synced late.
- Updates flow back. Changes made elsewhere while the kiosk was offline (new hosts, cancelled visits, watchlist entries, form changes) reach it as soon as it reconnects.
Console → Devices shows each device's connection, when it last synced and how old its watchlist copy is, so you can spot a kiosk that has been offline for a while. When a kiosk's watchlist copy is older than your organisation's limit (24 hours by default), reception sees a quiet "screening list last updated …" note on the kiosk.
Watchlist screening offline
- What's on the device. Kiosks and guard devices (never staff phones) keep a protected copy of the watchlist for the sites each entry covers, in the device's secure storage. Names and numbers aren't on the device. Only plans that include the watchlist get it.
- A match offline is handled exactly like one online: the visitor is asked to wait for reception, no pass is printed, and security is alerted as soon as the kiosk reconnects.
- Removing someone from the watchlist removes them from every device at its next sync. Unpairing a device, or wiping it remotely, deletes the copy, and a revoked device's keys are replaced.
When two devices disagree
Offline devices can't see what other devices are doing, so occasionally two records overlap. Agoo keeps both on the visit's timeline and resolves them predictably:
| Situation | What Agoo does |
|---|---|
| A visitor is checked out at the gate and again at the offline kiosk | The first check-out stands; the second is noted on the timeline. |
| A pass was cancelled in the Console, then scanned at an offline kiosk | The kiosk accepts it, because it can't know yet. After sync, the visit is flagged for reception to review. |
| Someone was added to the watchlist after the kiosk lost its connection | The kiosk can't match them until it syncs. Agoo screens every offline check-in again on sync: a match alerts security at once, and the alert says the visitor entered while offline. |
| A staff clock-in looks suspicious (the device clock was off, or the phone's location and its check disagree) | The punch is kept and flagged for a manager to review. A phone clock-in from outside the geofence, and not on the site's Wi-Fi, isn't accepted: the employee clocks in at the kiosk. |
Preparing for dumsor
- Keep kiosks charging. A tablet on charge starts a power cut with a full battery. Check battery levels in Console → Devices after long outages.
- Back up the router and printer. A small UPS or inverter for the router and badge printer keeps check-ins syncing and badges printing through most cuts.
- Have a second connection. A tablet with a data SIM, or a mobile Wi-Fi device, keeps the kiosk online when the office internet goes down with the power.
- Lock down so restarts don't matter. If a battery runs flat, a fully locked-down kiosk (iPad with MDM, or an Android dedicated device) comes back to Agoo on its own. With Guided Access or screen pinning, someone needs to lock it again.
- Check the load-shedding timetable. If an outage is due during your morning rush, make sure devices are charged beforehand.
- Practise. Run the offline test from the go-live checklist every few months, so new staff know what offline looks like.