What happens if I lose internet during an event?

Soapbox Engage Onsite needs a working connection to do its work. Check-ins and payments are recorded on your Soapbox site as they happen, not stored on the device, so a device that is offline cannot record either.

Check-ins made while a device is offline are not queued and are not saved. When the connection drops, the app tells your staff member rather than accepting a check-in that would be lost. Wait for the connection to return and check the guest in then.

The same applies to payments: a donation or order cannot be collected while the device is offline.

Important: This is the one thing worth planning for properly before an event. A venue's guest Wi-Fi at the moment a hundred people walk through the door is not a connection you want to discover the limits of.

Before the event

1. Test the connection where your team will actually stand — at the door, at the merchandise table, in the auction room — not in the lobby where the signal is good.
2. Have a backup. A mobile hotspot, or devices on cellular data rather than venue Wi-Fi, is the simplest insurance.
3. Check the venue's Wi-Fi limits. Some guest networks cap the number of devices or drop idle connections.

If you lose connection during the event

1. Move to where the signal is better, or switch the device to cellular data or a hotspot.
2. Check guests in as soon as the connection returns. Nothing has been lost — those guests are simply not yet marked as arrived.
3. Keep a written list of anyone you admitted while offline so you can check them in afterwards and your numbers reconcile.

If a payment was interrupted

If a payment was in progress when the connection dropped, check whether it went through before taking it again. Ask the payer to check for a confirmation on their phone, or check your Stripe dashboard, rather than charging a second time.

Related articles:

• What you need before using Engage Onsite
• Checking in a guest by searching for their name