How sync works in the Keeplet app
The Keeplet app for Android and iPhone always saves to your phone first and then, if you have an account, sends the changes to the server automatically. In the Profile, on the Saving row, you read All saved when nothing is missing or, for example, 3 changes to send when something is waiting for the network.
How does it work with and without an account?
| Situation | Where your data lives | Sync |
|---|---|---|
| Without an account | On the phone only | None: there is no copy on the server |
| With an account | On the phone and on the server | Automatic, in both directions |
Without an account the Saving row does not appear, because there is nothing to send. To turn on syncing you create an account (see Save your progress): the notebooks, notes and cards on your phone are uploaded. Reviews already done as a guest are not carried over.
Where do I see the status?
In the Profile, under your name or email, the Saving row shows:
- All saved: the server has everything you have done on the phone;
- 1 change to send or N changes to send: some notebooks, notes or cards were created, changed or deleted, or some review ratings have not reached the server yet.
Changes waiting to be sent are not lost: they stay on the phone until the network carries them to the server.
What gets synced?
| What | Synced with your account |
|---|---|
| Notebooks (creation, name, deletion) | Yes |
| Notes and cards (text, answer, order, deletion) | Yes |
| Ratings given in review and dates of the next reviews | Yes, with the date and time of the rating |
| Language and daily goal | Yes |
| Theme, reminder and widget | No, they stay on the phone |
| App statistics and day streak | No: they are calculated on the phone, from the ratings given there |
When does it happen?
The app has no "Sync" button: it starts by itself at these moments.
- When you open the app and when you come back to it from another app. To avoid straining the network, reading from the server repeats at most every 30 seconds, unless there are changes to send.
- A few seconds after every change: when you create a card or a note, or rate a card, the app waits about 2 seconds to gather more changes together and then sends them.
- After a failed attempt: if the network is missing or the server does not answer, the app retries after 30 seconds, then after 1, 2 and 5 minutes, without you doing anything.
- After signing in, an Anki import or copying a shared notebook.
So a change made on the website reaches your phone when you reopen the app or come back to it, not in real time while you keep it open.
What happens without a connection?
Writing, creating cards and reviewing work as usual: everything is saved on the phone and queued. Each rating remembers the moment you gave it, so when the network returns the server receives the ratings in the right order and does not count them twice. See also Review offline.
What if I edit the same paragraph on the website and on the phone?
Before sending a paragraph, the app checks whether it was also changed on the server in the meantime. In that case it does not throw away either version: it keeps yours and puts the other right below, in a paragraph that starts with "Other version: ". A notice appears: "A paragraph was also edited elsewhere: the other version is right below." Then you decide what to keep.
For everything else, if something has already been sent, the server's version wins. If you delete a notebook or a note on the website, it also disappears from the phone at the next sync (unless the phone has changes not yet sent on that notebook: in that case it is recreated with those changes).
Can I use the same account on two phones?
Yes. Each phone keeps its own copy and goes through the server: a change made on the first reaches the second when you open it or come back to it. When you sign in on a new phone, the app downloads the account's notebooks and you find them after "All saved.". If you sign out of a phone, notebooks, notes and cards are removed from that phone but stay on the account.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a change take to reach my account?
With the network on, a few seconds. Without a network it stays in the queue and goes out as soon as possible: the Saving row tells you how many are left.
Can I force a sync?
There is no button. Opening the app, or closing and reopening it, starts a cycle. If something does not sync, read Keeplet app data not syncing: what to do.
What happens if I sign out with changes in the queue?
Before signing out, the app tries to send them. If it cannot, it warns you: "You have N changes not sent yet. If you sign out you lose them. Sign out anyway?". You can back out or tap Sign out anyway.
A notebook has too many items: what happens?
A notebook can have at most 250 items. If it is already full on the server, the extra items are not saved and the app says so: "A notebook already has the maximum of 250 items: the extra ones were not saved."