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Real questions inspectors asked our support team, with the answers. Tap a question to open it; each one has its own link you can share.

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Syncing and unsynced changes

Sync the inspections it names first. The Unsynced Changes Detected message lists the addresses that still have changes on your phone that haven’t reached Hive yet.
  1. Connect to good Wi-Fi or cell signal.
  2. Open each inspection the message lists, open the report and tap Sync.
  3. Wait until the button at the top right turns green and reads Synced.
Sometimes the message keeps naming an inspection that was deleted, or a report that already shows Synced. That is usually a leftover record on the phone. Before you clear anything, ask in the chat bubble in your dashboard and our team will confirm your work is saved. Then go to My Profile → Clear Cache & Data and tap Clear All Cache & Data.Clear All Cache & Data permanently deletes anything on the phone that hasn’t synced. Reports that already synced, including published ones, are safe and download again when you open them. If the confirmation says any unsynced changes will be lost and you’re not sure why, tap Cancel and ask us first.See Write reports on your phone.
Auto Sync is on by default and sends your changes about every 60 seconds while you’re working in a report and have signal. You can turn it off under My Profile → Auto Sync. Then nothing uploads until you tap Sync yourself.Check the button at the top right of the report:
  • Blue Sync means there are changes on the phone that haven’t uploaded yet. Tap it.
  • Green Synced means everything is saved to Hive.
Tap Sync and wait for Synced before you leave the report or close the app. Sync time depends on your connection and how many photos and videos you added. Large or long videos on a slow connection take the longest. If a report seems stuck syncing, keep the app open and try again on good Wi-Fi. Don’t delete the app or clear its data until the report shows Synced. If it still won’t sync, ask in the chat bubble in your dashboard.See Add photos and videos.

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Offline use, speed and updates

Start with these, in order:
  1. Update to the latest version from the App Store or Google Play. Many fixes ship as app updates.
  2. Fully close the app (swipe it away in the app switcher) and open it again.
Keep some free storage on your phone. The app warns you when storage runs low. Don’t delete the app or clear its data to speed it up: anything not yet synced would be lost. If the problem keeps coming back, ask in the chat bubble in your dashboard with the inspection address, the same day if you can.
Yes. Download the reports while you still have signal, and the app works fully offline at the site.
  1. Before you leave, open the inspection list in the app and tap the download button at the top right. Hive downloads the reports for your inspections scheduled for today.
  2. For any other job, open its report once while you have signal so it’s saved on the phone.
  3. At the site, take photos and write the report as usual. Your changes stay on the phone and sync when you’re back online.
While the app is open, it also downloads today’s reports on its own. You can change that under My Profile → Offline Download. Smart Add, Comment Assist and Comment Merge need an internet connection. Everything else works offline.See Add photos and videos.
Install the latest version from the App Store or Google Play. When the app shows Update Required, the update is needed to keep using the app.If the store doesn’t show the update yet, fully close the store app, open it again and check the Hive Inspect page. New versions can take a little while to appear. If something looks broken right after an update, check the store again later for a newer version, and tell us in the chat bubble in your dashboard.

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Photos, CYA and app settings

In the mobile app, under My Profile:
  • Camera Settings: aspect ratio, flash, Lock Orientation (keeps photos portrait or landscape no matter how the phone is turned), Date/Time Stamp with a time zone, Shutter Sound and Voice Shutter.
  • Annotation Settings: whether you’re asked to annotate new Information, Limitation and Defect photos, Show Multi-Image Preview, Default Shape and Default Annotation Color.
  • Gallery Save Settings: Save Captured Photos saves in-app photos to your phone’s gallery, and Save Annotated Photos saves the marked-up versions too.
Date/Time Stamp is off until you turn it on. Lock Orientation is only needed if your phone mixes up portrait and landscape. If you’re new to Hive, the default settings are a good place to start. If you don’t see an option, update the app.See Add photos and videos.
No, clients never see them. CYA photos are your own record of the property. They’re saved to Hive but not put in the report.
  • On your phone: in the report editor, open the menu at the bottom. One CYA button takes photos or adds them from your gallery, and the other opens your CYA gallery. You can annotate, caption and location-tag CYA photos.
  • On a computer: open the report in the Web Editor and click CYA. You can upload photos there too. To use a CYA photo in the report, drag it onto a comment.
There’s no limit on CYA photos. If photos you took on the phone don’t show on the web, make sure the app shows Synced, then refresh the browser.See Add photos and videos.
Yes. In the mobile app, go to My Profile → Comment Auto-Expand and turn off:
  • Auto-Expand Comments on Open to keep text and multiple-choice comments closed when you open a section.
  • Auto-Expand on Check so ticking a comment doesn’t open it.
Tap a comment’s header when you want to open it. Comments you jump to from search still open. This setting is for the mobile app only.See Keep comments collapsed by default on mobile.

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Smart Add and AI on mobile

Smart Add lets you describe a finding instead of tapping through sections. It searches the report for the closest comments, and if nothing fits, it drafts a new one with Comment Assist for you to review. Open a report in the app and tap the Smart Add button at the bottom. You can type or tap the microphone and say what you found.Smart Add is on by default for every company, like all the other Hive AI tools. If you don’t see the Smart Add button, update the app to the latest version. Business Tools → Hive AI in the web dashboard lists it with your other AI tools. If it still doesn’t show, ask in the chat bubble in your dashboard.Use Smart Add to add findings, not as your main camera. Take general photos with the camera icon on each comment. A hands-free AI co-inspector isn’t available yet. For dictation anywhere else in the app, use the microphone on your phone’s keyboard. AI tools need an internet connection.See Smart Add.

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Getting started on mobile

Yes. Use the Schedule tab in the app to book a new inspection or create a quote. Scheduling needs an internet connection. From an inspection in the app you can also reschedule it, change its status and manage additional reports.The inspection list shows confirmed inspections by default. Use the status filter to see drafts and other statuses. Do your first setup, such as templates, services, agreements and automations, on a computer in the web dashboard. After that you can run inspections from your phone.See Schedule inspections.
Get Hive Inspect from the App Store for iPhone and iPad (iOS 16.4 or later) or from Google Play for Android phones and tablets. Log in with the same email and password you use for the web dashboard.The same app runs on phones and tablets. It just lays out differently. To write reports on a phone or tablet, use the app, not the Web Editor in a mobile browser. The Web Editor is built for computers.See Mobile app basics.

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Web, phone and team inspections

Yes. When the app syncs, the Web Editor merges those changes into the report you have open in the browser, so you keep your own edits.The app doesn’t pull in web edits while you’re in the report. To switch safely:
  1. In the app, tap Sync and wait for Synced.
  2. Edit on the web. If the browser was already open, refresh it to load the latest version.
  3. Back on the phone, go back out of the report and open it again to load the web changes.
Working on one device at a time is the simplest way to avoid surprises. See Web and mobile edits merge automatically.
Changes don’t appear live. The app is built to work offline, so each phone sends its own changes when it syncs, and you see a teammate’s work the next time you open the report.
  1. Assign both inspectors to the inspection. Each person logs in on their own phone with their own account.
  2. When you want the latest, make sure your own report shows Synced.
  3. Go back out of the report and open it again.
If two inspectors edit the same comment and each add photos, everyone’s photos are kept on that comment. Don’t share one login between two phones. See Tandem inspections merge edits to the same comment.

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Still stuck?

Ask in the chat bubbleOpen your dashboard and use the chat bubble. Our team answers seven days a weekAsk the inspector communityOther inspectors answer in the Facebook group
Last modified on October 18, 2026