What does “force quitting” mean?
On Android and iOS, force quitting is when you manually close the WorkPal app by swiping it away from your recent apps or stopping it through your phone’s settings.
This immediately terminates the app and all background syncing.
Unlike closing the app normally, force quitting does not allow WorkPal time to finish syncing or saving data.
Why people force quit apps
Most users force quit because:
The app feels slow
A screen has frozen
They are trying to get some information that is missing onto the app.
Completely understandable, but on mobile devices this can interrupt important background processes.
How syncing works in the WorkPal mobile app
The WorkPal Android and iOS apps continuously sync data in the background. This includes:
Notes
Forms
Photos
Asset Data
Even after you finish a form, add notes or upload photos WorkPal often needs a short amount of time to upload and confirm everything with the server.
This syncing may continue after you leave the screen or minimise the app.
What happens when the app is force closed
When WorkPal is force quit, all syncing immediately stops.
This means:
❌ Syncing is stopped
The app will not sync again until it is reopened and you may need to log out/back in again to resume syncing.
❌ Data may not be saved or could be lost.
Photos, Notes, Forms and Asset services might not reach WorkPal. Any data that was mid-sync will be interrupted and potentially lost.
When you force quit the app you will get a notification on your phone advising the app will no longer sync until the app is reopened. See screenshot below!
In simple terms: force quitting prevents WorkPal from completing its sync cycle resulting in potentially lost data.
Why WorkPal recommends avoiding force quitting
Because mobile networks can be unstable (switching between Wifi and mobile data, weak signal, etc.), WorkPal relies on background syncing to safely complete uploads.
Force closing the app removes this safety window.
Repeated force quitting increases the risk of problems appearing.
This is why WorkPal strongly recommends letting the app remain open briefly after key actions like calls or note updates.
What you should do instead.
If the WorkPal mobile app feels slow or unresponsive:
✅ Give it a few minutes.
Especially after adding notes or forms etc, allow time for syncing to finish.
✅ Check your connection
Poor signal can delay syncing.
✅ Log out and back in
This often clears temporary issues and can re-start the sync.
✅ Restart your phone
A full device restart is safer than repeatedly force quitting.
When is force quitting acceptable?
Force quitting is OK when:
The app is totally unresponsive
You cannot exit normally
All work has been completed, your shift has ended and all information has been synced across to the desktop.
If this happens regularly, please contact the support team so we can help investigate and go through some troubleshooting.