Take and Upload Job Photos Using the Mobile App

Photos show the office what you found and what you did on a job. They also protect you if a customer questions the work.

The ServiceCore Mobile App saves each photo on your phone first and uploads it in the background, so you can keep taking photos with no signal. You can take photos with your phone’s camera, add photos from your photo library, and check that every photo made it to the office.

Before You Start

Here are a few things to know before you continue:

• To see if you have access to this feature in ServiceCore, please check out this article on user permission levels. 
• You must be logged in to the ServiceCore Mobile App and have a job assigned to you. Photos always attach to a job, so you can’t take one without a job open.
• Your phone must allow the ServiceCore Mobile App to use the camera.
• The “Add from Library” button only appears when your company allows it. Your office can turn this on in your ServiceCore web account by going to Settings > Company > Preferences > Mobile, selecting “Yes” for “Allow drivers to upload pictures from camera roll?” and saving the change.

Take a Photo 

The photo you take goes straight back to the job, so you don’t need to attach it later.

To take a photo for a job, follow the instructions below:

1. Tap “Take Photo” on the Job Detail, Complete Job, or Job Photos screen.
2. Take the photo with your phone’s camera.
3. Tap “Use Photo” on iPhone, or confirm the photo in your camera app on Android.

You can retake a photo before you save it. You’ll now see the photo as a thumbnail on the job, along with its upload status.

Use Your Camera’s Controls

Take Photo opens your phone’s own camera, so you get the same zoom, front camera, and flash you use for any other photo. What you see depends on your phone.

Camera controls come from your phone, so they vary by device and camera app, especially on Android.

Allow Camera Access

The ServiceCore Mobile App needs camera access before it can open your camera. If you tap “Don’t Allow” when your phone asks, the ServiceCore Mobile App shows a “Camera access is off” message with an “Open Settings” button.

iPhone asks for camera access once. Android can ask twice, and shows the message after the second “Don’t allow.” Android 9 and older phones also need storage access. 

To turn camera access back on, follow the instructions below:

1. Tap “Open Settings” on the “Camera access is off” message.
2. Allow camera access for the ServiceCore Mobile App.

Add Photos from Your Library

If a photo is already on your phone, you can add it to the job from your photo library. You can add up to 10 photos at once.

To add photos from your library, follow the instructions below:

1. Tap “Add from Library” under “Take Photo” on the Job Detail, Complete Job, or Job Photos screen.
2. Tap each photo you want to add, up to 10.
3. Tap the check mark in the photo picker to confirm your selection.

You’ll now see your photos as thumbnails on the job, along with their upload statuses.

The photo picker works a little differently on each phone:

Your phone doesn’t ask for photo access. The ServiceCore Mobile App only receives the photos you choose.

Photos stored only in the cloud need an internet connection before the ServiceCore Mobile App can add them. If a photo can’t be read, you’ll see the message “Could not add the selected photos. If any are stored in the cloud, connect to the internet and try again.”

Save and Upload Photos

Every photo is saved on your phone first and uploaded in the background. You can take photos with no signal and keep working, and the photos are sent when your phone has a connection. Photos also get smaller before they upload, so they send faster.

Wait for Photos to Save

A photo takes a moment to save on your phone. While it saves, the ServiceCore Mobile App holds the job’s buttons so a photo can’t get left behind.

• “Take Photo” and “Add from Library” show a spinner and stop responding on every screen for that job.
• On the Complete Job screen, “Submit” reads “Saving photos…” and waits until your photos finish saving. You can’t complete the job before its photos are saved.

The buttons return to normal once your photos finish saving.

Respond to the “Photos Not Saved” Message

Sometimes a photo doesn’t finish saving, for example when the ServiceCore Mobile App closes while a photo is saving. The next time you open the ServiceCore Mobile App, you’ll see a “Photos not saved” message with the job number.

That photo can’t be recovered. Open the job shown in the message and take or add the photo again. 

Check a Photo’s Upload Status

Each photo you take or add shows its upload status on its thumbnail. You’ll see the status on the Job Detail, Complete Job, and Job Photos screens, so you always know which photos made it to the office.

There are 3 upload statuses:

On screen	Status	What it means	What you do
	Uploaded (no label)	The photo is on the server, and the office can see it on the web.	Nothing.
	Queued	The photo is saved on your phone and waiting to upload, usually because you have no signal or it’s still sending. The ServiceCore Mobile App keeps trying on its own.	Nothing. The photo uploads by itself once your phone has a connection.
	Failed	The upload stopped. The photo stays on your phone until you sort it out.	Fix the photo using the steps in the next section.

A photo can read Failed for any of these reasons:

• ServiceCore refused the photo.
• The upload timed out three times in a row on a slow connection. After that, the ServiceCore Mobile App stops retrying on its own so your other changes keep syncing.
• The photo’s file is no longer on your phone.
• The photo never started uploading. 

TIP: A photo that reads Queued needs no action from you. You can also find it in the Sync Queue tab with the “Pending Sync” label. 

Fix a Failed Photo

A photo that reads Failed stays on your phone until you sort it out. The Sync Queue tab shows why the upload stopped and lets you try again.

To fix a failed photo, follow the instructions below:

1. Tap “Sync Queue” in the menu at the bottom of your screen. 
2. Find the photo’s “File Upload” entry with the “Error” label and read the reason shown.
3. Move to a place with a stronger signal, if needed.
4. Tap “Sync Changes” to try again. 

You’ll now see the photo’s entry change to “Synced” once it uploads, and its thumbnail on the job loses the Failed label. 

“Sync N Changes” retries everything waiting to sync, including photos that stopped after timing out. It needs a connection to work.

If a photo still won’t upload, try adding the photo again. 

Read the Sync Queue Labels

Each photo appears in the Sync Queue tab as a “File Upload” entry. Its label matches the status you see on the photo’s thumbnail.

A photo that timed out on a slow connection shows this reason: “This photo couldn’t finish uploading on a slow connection, so it won’t retry automatically. Sync again when you have a stronger signal, or discard it.” 

Please Note: If you log out with unsynced changes, the ServiceCore Mobile App asks if you want to sync first. “Sync and Log Out” also retries photos that timed out.

View a Photo

Opening a photo full screen lets you check that it came out clear before you leave the site.

To view a photo, follow the instructions below:

1. Tap the photo’s thumbnail.
2. Tap “X” to return to the job.

The trash icon to delete photos only appears for roles that can delete attachments. If you don’t see a trash icon and need a photo removed, ask someone in your office with that permission.

 

If you have any questions, please reach out to our Support team through the chat widget on the bottom of this page or by sending an email to support@servicecore.com!