Mobile app - Error when trying to retrieve data from network (occasionally)

[markinwaukesha]

Hello everyone - 

Some background:  

PowerApps Mobile app

Using SqlServer for the Data Layer

I have on the app level IfError to catch any exceptions 

I don't get a huge amount of data - it's very small and filtered - possibly 10 rows of data - 

I have also checked on the home screen the "Connection.Connected" status to make sure the user is connected.

But occasionally the user will be in an area where the data has issues retrieving, it could be coverage or other problems - 

many of the examples I've seen are consistent errors like filters.

I'm wondering if there's been anyone that has looked at using a TryCatch Retry logic on scenarios like this?  

Like --- try up to 3 times and then give up - but place a user friendly message on the screen to try again later or exit to the 

main screen?

I didn't see that on the Connections themselves (unless I missed something).

Please share your experience and steps you've taken, it's much appreciated.  

[Kuhlani]

As I recall, Connetion.Connected does not give you a good indication of signal quality. 

I've seen recently Connection.Sync popped-up (late last year) which can help you know more about the quality of the connection and make the decision to take the data/request in offline-mode then go online to sync when needed - or at least give the user a better offline mode indicator. 

There is good information about Connection.Sync here: 

View offline sync status - Power Apps | Microsoft Learn 

You can start from Mobile offline overview - Power Apps | Microsoft Learn

for deep-dive if you'd like to cover the topic end-to-end and explore new offline features.

[VishalJhaveri]

Working on Canvas Apps for more than 10,000 hours, I have faced this issue manier times and it is mainly because of the internal issues. This can be resolved on its own after closing and opening the application after certain interval of time.

[markinwaukesha]

Hi @Kuhlani   when I tried that solution I got the message that it's only available for apps that are

set for "offline mode"  which requires you to use dataverse.    My database and integrations are all

built into SqlServer so it would be a large life to move it over.    

I thought about building a custom connector but haven't taken that route yet that would probably be the

next step.     For now what I have done is added many "If Error" checks into all the Patch, Refresh, ClearCollect - 

basically anything over the network -  and also included timer and other behavior to check Connection connect

status.

Retry is built into the PowerAutomate connections I believe but not on the PowerApps mobile side yet. --  

There are advantages and disadvantages to using dataverse so for now I am sticking with the SqlServer db.

Thanks for your message 

[markinwaukesha]

Hi @VishalJhaveri   Agreed what I did, and I mentioned to @Kuhlani also is put checks onto any network

calls that can be made using IfError  - and also checking the Connection connect status   

I put a user message up notifying them of the status  - I put a check on Connection for the onVisible, and also

added a Timer check for it.    Then on the page for the "refresh, clearcollect, patch" events I put the try catch 

around it so I can gracefully handle it. 

I have many users also that never close the app, or they have changed their password however don't update

the Powerapps -  so I have some creative screens to try to handle such conditions.     Eventually I link them

to a SharePoint where I have a User Document and FAQ to help them out -  such as re-opening the app, closing

it fully, or even trying again later.    

Many of the users don't realize that the mobile app uses mobile data so there can be latency and connection

issues.   I saw the offline mode come available but I have everything built into SqlServer so I am unable to 

easily shift it there to take advantage of it.   

For now I am watching the Azure App Insights Dashboards and logs and it seems the Try-Catch I put in there 

and user messages is working out since the Error counts and traces have been reduced significantly.

Thank you for the reply, much appreciated

[Kuhlani]

@markinwaukesha I haven't played with the new offline sync. I did it the "classic" way. But what got my attention is that now we have more options for the connection quality. And I totally understand your use case where you have data store out of Dataverse.

Here is a possible workaround - keeping in mind that the objective here is just to get more signal quality options:

• Create one table in Dataverse (the sync table) - Let's say it just captures sync errors.
• If your app is in a solution, the new offline mode will be available to turn on.
• When you turn it on, nothing will happen until you add the Dataverse table that you can take offline (Keep the other data sources).

Now, the new Connection.Sync should be functional although just for the Dataverse table. My thought is that connection quality, is connection quality at the end point regardless of the endpoint you're working with. (big assumption 😄)  

The switch statement below is from the test I did - This was deployed automatically on a modern control (header) when I added the table.

Now you can try to use the Connection.Sync enum while processing the sync. I believe, the relevant ones to avoid sync when present are the ones underlined in the table below. The rest are more relevant for Dataverse.

Is it worth the efforts to get two more states of connection quality? "ConnectedWithWarning" and "ConnectedError"? Not sure of the effort you need to apply. Just a potential workaround that hopefully works for you.