SkieSkie for Enterprise · Problem
Offline devices, sync and reliability
Do the rules still work when the Wi-Fi is down, and how do I know devices are staying current?
Schools in poor-network areas and field teams in basements need controls that do not depend on a live connection every minute.
46 questions on this problem
- Can Skie work in a factory with no Wi-Fi?Rules are cached on the device, so allowed apps and security protections keep applying with no network. The dashboard will not see the device until it syncs, and you can set Due, Overdue...
- Do Skie rules work at remote sites with no signal?Allowed apps, the web filter setting and protections are stored on the device and keep working with no signal. Offline mode adds its own allowed apps and an organisation maximum, then ends...
- Can I limit how long a company device can stay offline?Offline mode carries its own allowed apps and an organisation maximum, and it ends by itself when the network returns. You can edit the Due, Overdue, Offline unusual and Breach thresholds...
- What do Due, Overdue and Offline unusual mean on a device?These are the stages a device passes through as its sync gets later. Skie shows them on the device and in the breach centre, and the thresholds are editable. Past the Due limit, an overlay...
- What does on latest policy tell me?When you change a policy, Skie signs the new bundle and devices verify it before applying. The on-latest-policy figure in Insights shows how many have it. Online devices take it quickly....
- What does on latest app mean in Insights?The Skie app updates itself with checksum verification, and releases are rolled out in stages to chosen organisations and can be paused. The on-latest-app figure in Insights shows how far a...
- What does the low battery figure in Insights show?A flat device cannot sync or report location, so Insights shows how many devices report low battery before they go silent. Skie only reports what devices say and makes no claim about its...
- Does Skie back up our policies and settings every night?Skie backs up your configuration every night, so a deleted policy or app list is not a lost one. You can download a backup, preview a restore, restore a missing item, or restore a previous...
- Can I see what a restore will change before I do it?Before a restore changes anything, Skie shows a restore preview of what would come back and what would be replaced. Read it through, confirm only if it matches your intent, and cancel if it...
- How do I restore a policy or app list that was deleted or overwritten?If a policy or app list vanishes, open the nightly backups, pick the night before the mistake, check the restore preview and restore that single item. The rest of your configuration stays...
- How do I go back to an earlier version of a policy or setting?Skie lets you roll a policy back to the version held in an earlier nightly backup. Compare it with the current one in the restore preview, restore, and devices pick up the older rules in...
- How do releases of the Skie app work: publish, pause and stage?Skie app updates are staged: the Skie team publishes a release, chooses which organisations get it first, and can pause the rollout. Devices update themselves and check a checksum before...
- Do schedules switch on and off by themselves?Once a schedule is attached to a group, each device changes its app set at the start and end of every window with no action from a teacher or warden. The schedule is cached on the device...
- Do schedules and policies keep working when a device is offline?The signed policy, app list and schedule are cached on the device, and it applies them from its locked clock, so schedules keep switching without internet. When the network returns it syncs...
- How often does a managed Android device sync with the dashboard?The sync interval is a setting the organisation admin can edit, so a busy school can check in more often and a quiet fleet less often. On top of that, the device syncs on its own the moment...
- What triggers an instant sync on a managed device?Two triggers are built into the Skie background service: internet coming back, and the screen turning on when the last sync is out of date. A student who walks back into Wi-Fi range or...
- What is the Skie presence alarm that runs about every 4 minutes?Skie sets a repeating alarm that fires about every 4 minutes and makes the device report that it is alive. The admin sees fresh last-seen times on the dashboard without waiting for a full...
- What is the watchdog in Skie and why does a managed device need one?Skie runs a watchdog worker beside the main service. If Android ends the Skie service to save power, the watchdog notices and starts it again. The user cannot stop the Skie app themselves...
- Why does Skie ask for a battery optimisation exemption on managed devices?During setup, Skie is exempted from Android's battery optimisation on the managed device, so nobody has to find that setting on each tablet. Alarms, presence reports and instant syncs then...
- What is the unlock gate overlay on a Skie managed device?When someone unlocks a device past its Due limit, an overlay appears and tries to sync first. If the sync finishes, the overlay clears and the device is used as normal. It only gates the...
- What is the Due limit in Skie and how do I set it?The Due limit is one of the thresholds in Skie that an admin can edit, along with Overdue, Offline unusual and Breach. Set it to match how your devices are really used, for example longer...
- What do Due, Overdue, Offline unusual and Breach mean in Skie?These four states give an admin a ladder instead of a single red light. Each threshold is editable, last-seen timestamps show how long a device has been quiet, and a missing check-in counts...
- What is offline mode on a Skie managed device?Offline mode gives a device its own allowed-app list for use where coverage is poor. The organisation sets that list and a maximum time. The device does not hand out a free pass: when the...
- Is there a maximum time for offline mode, and who sets it?The organisation maximum is set by the admin and caps how long any device may stay in offline mode. Pick a window that suits your sites, such as a field trip day or a shift in a basement....
- How does offline mode end on a managed device?Offline mode ends by itself in two cases: the network comes back, or the organisation maximum is reached. The device then returns to its normal allowed apps and syncs. Admins do not have to...
- How do last-seen timestamps work in Skie?Every device carries a last-seen time that updates on each full sync and on the regular presence report. The dashboard shows it per device and feeds the Due, Overdue and Offline unusual...
- Do Skie rules keep working with no internet because they are cached and signed?Each policy bundle is cryptographically signed, stored on the device, and checked before it is accepted. With no internet, apps, schedules, filtering and hardening keep running from the...
- What happens to managed devices if the Skie server is down?Devices carry their rules with them, so a server outage does not open anything up. Apps, schedules, DNS filtering and hardening continue from the signed cached policy. What pauses is change...
- How does a Skie-managed device prove it is in a good state?After every policy apply, the device reads each protection back from Android and reports what it actually found, not just that the command was sent. The dashboard turns those readings into...
- What does the Skie compliance score measure?The score reflects how many of the protections a device should have are confirmed in place after Skie reads them back from Android. Admins can view it per device and as an average per group...
- How does the Skie app update itself on managed devices?The Skie app updates itself on managed devices. Each update is verified against a checksum before installing, and releases roll out in stages to chosen organisations. IT staff do not need...
- What are staged and paused releases in Skie?Skie releases go to a few chosen organisations first and then to more, and a release can be paused if something looks wrong. For you this means fewer devices see a new version at the start...
- What does it mean when a managed device goes silent?Skie tracks the silent share of devices in Insights, with last-seen timestamps per device. Silent usually means flat, off or out of coverage. If a device stays quiet past your Offline...
- Why does a managed device show offline on the Skie dashboard?Offline means no recent report has reached the dashboard. Last-seen time tells you how long. Open the device, check it against your Due and Overdue limits, and try a sync. If the tablet is...
- How do I force a sync on a managed tablet?Open the device on the dashboard and press sync. The device checks in, fetches current rules, applies them and reports back. You can also sync from the breach centre at device, group...
- What should I check when a managed tablet will not sync?Start with power, Wi-Fi and whether the device is on. Then open the breach centre to see how long it has been quiet, and press sync. The network check wizard can test the school network...
- How fast does a rule change reach managed devices?Online devices pick up a change quickly, and offline ones receive it at the next sync, triggered by internet returning or the screen waking on stale rules. Use the impact preview before you...
- What happens to a managed device if the SIM is removed or the network is lost?Rules are cached and signed on the device, so apps, filtering and hardening stay in force with no SIM or network. What pauses is reporting. If the gap passes your Offline unusual or Breach...
- How do we find which school tablets are offline or have a problem?The breach centre lists devices that are Due, Overdue, offline or missing a protection, rolled up from device to group, branch, school and organisation. Last seen times are shown, a missing...
- What happens if a student switches the device off or takes out the SIM?Rules are cached on the device, so switching it off or removing the SIM does not lift them. The dashboard shows the last seen time, and thresholds named Due, Overdue, Offline unusual and...
- If the Skie server is down, do the rules still apply on devices?Rules are cached on the device, so the filter, app lists, schedules and hardening carry on without the server. When the connection returns, the device syncs straight away. Admins can set...
- How are Skie app updates verified, and can we hold one back?The Skie app updates itself, checking each update with a checksum before installing it. The Skie team rolls releases out in stages to chosen organisations and can pause them, which is the...
- Can I download a backup of our Skie configuration?You can download backups from the dashboard to hold your own copy of the configuration. A complete export of all data is not available yet, and the team is working on it. Today you can...
- What do the release stats show?The release screen is run by the Skie team, not by customer admins. For your own devices, the on-latest-app figure in Insights shows how many run the latest Skie app. Since releases are...
- What happens if a Skie update goes wrong, and is there a rollback?Skie limits the damage by rolling out in stages and being able to pause a release, so a fault should appear while few organisations have it. Checksum verification also rejects damaged...
- How long does a Skie sync take?Skie does not publish a sync time because it depends on the network, the device and how much changed. Sync runs as a background task. If a device is past its Due limit, the unlock gate...
Students distracted by phones and apps in class · Hostel night-time phone use and curfew rules · Tampering, factory resets and bypass attempts · Unsafe websites, other browsers and VPN workarounds · Managing hundreds of devices, classes and branches · Setting up and rolling out devices quickly