Case Study

Seeing Every Crash, on Every Device

Remote diagnostics that report problems from the field, before anyone picks up the phone.

Every crash captured automatically
Offline safe report delivery
Silent failures now visible
One central view on the server

Our client's staff use a mobile app on handheld devices every day, across many sites. The devices are a mix of brands and models bought over several years, running different operating system versions. When something went wrong, the support team had little to go on. We gave the app a way to report on itself, from every device in the field.

1. The Challenge

Supporting an app on devices you can't physically reach is hard. Four things made it harder.

Problems reported second hand

Someone on site would say "the app closed" with no idea what screen they were on or what they had tapped.

Devices out of reach

Nobody could plug a cable into a device at a distant site to read its logs.

Some failures left no trace

Things that went wrong quietly, without a crash, were never reported at all.

Device specific issues

A problem on one model couldn't be reproduced on another, so it was hard to know where to start.

The client wanted to know about problems before staff called, with enough detail to act on them.

2. What We Built

We reviewed the app's architecture and added a remote diagnostics pipeline, all the way from the device to the server.

Something Goes Wrong

A crash, or a quiet failure the app recovers from.

Saved on the Device

A report is written before the app closes.

Sent When Online

Delivered in the background as soon as there's signal.

Confirmed

Removed from the device only once the server has it.

Central View

Filtered by model, version or time to spot patterns.

Automatic Crash Capture

The app catches any unexpected crash the moment it happens and saves a detailed report on the device before the app closes.

Reliable, Even Offline

Signal on site is often weak or patchy. Reports wait safely on the device and are only removed once the server confirms they arrived. Damaged files are cleaned up so they never block the queue.

Reports for Silent Failures

Diagnostic reports are sent at key points where something unexpected happened, even though the app carried on. They're rate limited per type, so one repeating issue can't flood the server.

One Logging Standard

We moved the whole app onto a single logging approach, so every screen writes logs the same way. That's what makes the log history in each report useful.

Light on Real Devices

Reports are kept small. Very long log lines are trimmed, and detailed network logging only runs on development builds, never in the field.

Central View on the Server

Every report lands in one place, linked to the device it came from. Support can filter by device model, app version or time and see patterns at once.

What Every Report Contains

  • The error and its full technical trace.
  • The most recent log lines leading up to the problem.
  • The device make and model, operating system version and app version.
  • Which part of the app was running.
  • The exact time it happened and a unique report ID.

3. The Result

Support moved from reacting to complaints to finding and fixing problems on its own terms.

Problems seen first

Crashes show up as they happen, often before anyone on site calls in.

Detail to act on

Every report has what's needed to investigate, without asking staff what they were doing.

Patterns by device

Every report is tagged by make and model, so device specific problems stand out.

Silent failures are visible for the first time.

Every fix is tied to a report, and confirmed when that problem stops coming in.

Why It Worked

  • Good support starts with good information: Instead of relying on staff to describe problems, the app reports on itself.
  • Built for the real world: Weak signal, mixed devices and busy staff were designed for from the start.
  • Safe by design: The diagnostics never get in the way of the app itself.

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