Short answer

Phones are supposed to update apps on their own, but they do it when they feel like it, and some people have turned it off. So a team can quietly end up on two or three different versions of the app, and whoever is behind will not see the newest features. You can force the update from the phone's app store in about thirty seconds, and it is worth doing across the team whenever a release lands.

Detail

We ship updates to the mobile app often, so version drift builds up faster than people expect. Whether a phone actually takes an update is decided by the phone, not by us.

Android — force the update:

  1. Open the Play Store.
  2. Tap your profile picture, top right.
  3. Tap Manage apps and device.
  4. Tap Updates available.
  5. Find Civic.ly in the list and tap Update.

iPhone: the same thing is possible from the App Store — tap your profile picture at the top, then look for Civic.ly in the list of pending updates.

You will usually see other apps waiting in that list too. Ignore them, or update the lot; it makes no difference to Civic.ly.

If someone still cannot see a feature after updating, it is not a version problem. Check their filters next: Why aren't my tasks showing on the mobile app? covers the settings that most often hide work that is genuinely there.

Watch-outs

  • Check the version before reporting a fault. "It works on her phone and not on mine" is far more often two different app versions than a bug. It is the cheapest thing to rule out.
  • A team on mixed versions gets confusing conversations. One operative sees a new field on the task card and another does not, and it reads as either a fault or as favouritism, when it is just an update sitting unclaimed.
  • Tell the whole team, not just the person who asked. Forcing one phone fixes one phone. A round with several operatives on it needs all of them current, or the next release lands unevenly again.
  • Personal phones are still the user's to update. Where staff use their own handsets, you cannot push an update to them centrally. Asking is the only route, which is another reason to make it a habit rather than a one-off.
  • Automatic updates may have been switched off deliberately, often to save data or storage. If someone falls behind repeatedly, that is usually why.