Scoring on the phone with no signal: which cards, and what it sends
At the range there is often no signal. For some cards the Shooter app finds the target and the holes and scores them on the phone, with no internet. In the target list those cards say “Works offline”.
This article goes through how a card gets that note, why the bullet you pick matters, and what the app still sends. The overview is in scoring a target from a photo, and the cards that need AI are in AI scoring from your photo.
What “Works offline” means
The phone does all of it
The app’s own detector finds the target, straightens the perspective and finds the holes. The scoring is then worked out on the phone as well. A scan needs no request to Shooter’s server, no account and no credits, and it does not depend on “Share target photos”. The app may still ask once whether it may keep photos to improve detection.
The scan still counts among your 10 free scans, like any scan. The result is a proposal: you check every shot, and you can move, add or delete shots before you save, as in the other article on scanning.
Which cards
A starting list, then decided by real scans
Each target in the list carries a note: “Works offline”, “Free AI” or “AI credits”. The app starts with a built-in list of cards:
- Four 10 m air pistol cards: ISSF, SPSF, DSB Nr.7 and USA NRA B-40.
- For 25 m: the ISSF 25m pistol, the SPSF 25m precision pistol, the DSB Nr.4, the FFTir 25m pistol, the NSRA 25m pistol PL7 and the ISSF 50m pistol, each with its practice insert where it has one.
That list is not fixed. After the app has been in contact with Shooter’s server, the list can change: Shooter can add or remove cards, and a card can be promoted to “Works offline” from real scans. How many cards are offline today is not something this article can state. The target list in the app shows the current answer.
The cards of all the bodies are in the target catalogue.
The bullet matters
4.5 mm and .22 on the built-in list
The built-in list applies to the bullet the card was tested with: 4.5 mm for the air pistol cards and 5.6 mm (.22) for the 25 m and 50 m cards. If you pick another bullet on the same card, the card is treated as an AI card for that scan: AI is offered when you are online and “Share target photos” is on, otherwise you place the shots yourself. Choose the bullet before you take the photo. If you pick no ammunition, the card’s usual one is used.
The note in the target list does not look at the bullet. A card can say “Works offline” and still be treated as an AI card once you choose a different bullet before the photo. A card that has been promoted from real scans is offline at any bullet.
How a card is promoted
From what shooters saved
When you save a scan, the app may compare what its detector found with the shots you saved. It sends Shooter only the result, as four numbers: the shots you saved, the holes the detector found, how many of those match your shots, and how many score the same ring. With it go the card, the app and detector versions, a random scan id and, if “Link usage data” is on, your random device identifier. It contains no photo, no shot positions and no scores.
A card is promoted to offline when enough scans from enough shooters show that the detector agrees with what they saved. It moves back to AI if shooters correct too many of its offline scans. The thresholds are rules for letting a card in. They are not a measure of how accurate the detector is, and what shooters saved is what they chose to keep after correcting.
These numbers are sent whether or not “Share target photos” is on. They are queued on the phone and sent later when there is a connection. Scope Mode scans and AI scans of an offline card are not part of it.
What leaves your phone
Nothing, while the card scores on the phone
- The scan needs no connection, and with “Share target photos” off, no photo leaves your phone.
- With sharing on, the photo of an offline card may still be uploaded to improve the detector, until enough photos are collected for that card.
- The four-number measurement above, usage statistics and crash reports go out as the privacy policy describes.
What it does not do
No guarantee, not every card
- It does not cover every card. The others go to AI scoring or to placing the shots by hand.
- It does not guarantee that every hole is found. The app gives no figure for how often it is right. If it finds fewer holes than the series needs, you place the rest yourself.
- If it cannot find the target it says so: retake the photo with the whole target in frame and evenly lit.
- A newly promoted card shows up only after the app has been in contact with the server again.
- It does not tell you whether your score meets any requirement.
Frequently asked questions
3 questions
Does it work with no signal at all?
The scan and the scoring do, for a card on the app’s list. The counting of free scans is kept on the phone too. If you have used your 10 free scans, the app may need a connection once to confirm that you have Pro. Reports and any photo uploads wait until you are online again.
Why was my offline card sent to AI?
Probably the bullet. The built-in list covers 4.5 mm on the air pistol cards and 5.6 mm (.22) on the 25 m and 50 m cards. On the built-in list, another bullet on the same card is treated as an AI card.
Is my photo uploaded?
Not if “Share target photos” is off. With it on, a photo of an offline card may be kept to improve the detector. A scan on the phone does not need the upload.