Tethering with no signal: what happens offline
Barns, basements, stadium dead spots, fields: what CloudTether does when the phone can't reach the internet — and how to prepare.
Short answer: keep shooting
Tethering doesn't need the internet. The link between camera and phone is a cable or the camera's own Wi-Fi, so shots keep coming off the camera and onto the phone with no signal at all. What waits is the upload. Each shot is kept on the phone, marked as waiting to upload, and sent automatically to its destinations as soon as the phone is back online Nothing needs re-doing.
What you'll seeApp 1.1+
In CloudTether 1.1, Home tells you plainly: “No internet. Keep shooting.”, with a line such as “12 shots are safe on this phone and will be sent to Dropbox, Google Drive when you're back online.” Each shot shows its state, so you can tell waiting from delivered at a glance, and the counts on Home tick over once the connection returns.
Before you lose signal
Sign in once while you have internet; after that you can tether offline in the field. Connect your destinations at home, and ideally create the shoot and point the camera at it before you leave signal, so everything is ready to send when you reconnect. Make sure the phone has room for the day's photos — waiting shots are stored on the phone until they upload, and RAW files fill space quickly.
The camera's Wi-Fi has no internet — that's fine
When the phone joins the camera's own Wi-Fi, that network has no internet, and the phone may warn you or offer to switch away. Tell it to stay connected. CloudTether uploads over mobile data while the phone stays on the camera's network, so live delivery carries on wherever there's mobile signal. If your phone keeps dropping the camera's network, use a USB cable instead: the camera link stays solid and the phone's Wi-Fi and mobile data are both free for uploading.
Weak signal rather than none
One bar of signal is often worse than none, because uploads crawl. Send less: switch on JPEG only so RAW files stay on the card, or send RAW later on Wi-Fi. Move the phone, not the camera — on a USB cable the phone can sit in a window while you shoot. And if the venue Wi-Fi works but blocks devices from seeing each other, keep the camera on its own Wi-Fi or a cable and let the phone use the venue Wi-Fi only for uploads.
Keep CloudTether open
Keep the app open while you shoot. In CloudTether 1.1, Pocket mode darkens the screen while the tether keeps running — tap Pocket mode on Home and double-tap to wake — which saves battery during long stretches with no signal. Don't lock the phone.
When the signal comes back
Waiting shots start sending by themselves. Check the shoot to see every shot reach its destinations. In app 1.1, “Not sent yet” lists any shot that still has no copy outside the app, and the shoot's settings have “Upload photos still only on this phone” if you want to nudge the stragglers. Your card still has everything, so it's a second copy throughout.
No cloud needed at all?
If the photos only need to end up on the phone — a personal shoot, or no internet expected all day — choose “This phone only” when the camera connects in app 1.1 (a phone album in 1.0) and shots save straight to the phone with nothing to upload later.
FAQ
Does CloudTether work without internet?
Yes. The camera-to-phone link doesn't need the internet. Shots are kept on the phone and sent automatically when you're back online.
Will I lose photos if my signal drops mid-shoot?
No. Shots waiting to upload are kept on the phone and resume sending when the connection returns. The camera's card also keeps its own copy.
Can my phone upload while it's connected to the camera's Wi-Fi?
Yes. CloudTether uploads over mobile data while the phone stays on the camera's network. Tell the phone to stay connected if it warns the network has no internet.
Do I need to be online to sign in?
Once. Sign in with internet before the shoot; after that you can tether offline in the field.
Tether your camera to the cloud with CloudTether
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