Wi-Fi Upload

Wi-Fi upload lets Pocket send new recordings straight to your Pocket account over a Wi-Fi network you choose. Your phone does not need to be nearby, and the Pocket app does not need to be open.

This is different from Quick Transfer, where your phone joins Pocket's own temporary Wi-Fi to pull files faster. For Quick Transfer issues, see Wi-Fi Sync Troubleshooting.

How it works

1. You save one or more Wi-Fi networks on Pocket from the Pocket app.
2. When you stop a recording, Pocket turns on its Wi-Fi, joins a saved network that is in range, and uploads the recording.
3. Pocket turns its Wi-Fi off again once there is nothing left to upload.
4. The recording appears in your Pocket app and is transcribed and summarized as usual.

If Pocket cannot reach a saved network, it leaves the recording for the app. The next time your phone connects, the recording syncs over Bluetooth as usual. Nothing is lost.

Requirements

• A 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network. Pocket cannot see or join 5 GHz networks. See Connect Pocket using your iPhone and Make your router's 2.4 GHz network visible.
• WPA2 or WPA Personal security (a normal home network password).
• Internet access on that network. Pocket uploads over a standard secure web connection (HTTPS). It needs no special ports or router settings.
• Up-to-date firmware. Wi-Fi upload needs Pocket firmware 1.8.5 or later and Wi-Fi firmware V10 or later. If either is older, the app shows Update your Pocket first. Update both from the Device page in the app.

Set up Wi-Fi upload

1. Keep Pocket close to your phone and make sure it shows as connected in the app.
2. Open Settings -> Device -> Wi-Fi upload. You can also tap the Set up Wi-Fi upload banner on the home screen.
3. Pocket scans for nearby networks. Choose your network. Only 2.4 GHz networks appear.
4. Enter the Wi-Fi password and tap Connect. Joining can take up to a minute.
5. When Connected appears under the network name, you are done. If an Upload access row appears with Set up, tap it so Pocket can upload to your account.

Make sure Auto Sync is on. With Auto Sync on, Pocket uploads after each recording whenever a saved network is in range. With it off, recordings wait until you ask Pocket to upload them, or sync them over Bluetooth.

The Wi-Fi password is stored on your Pocket only.

Saving more than one network

Pocket can remember up to 8 networks, for example home, office, and your phone's hotspot. Tap Add Network to save another one. Pocket tries the network that worked last time first. If that network is not around, it looks for the strongest saved network in range.

To stop using a network, tap Forget network. If it was your only saved network, recordings sync over Bluetooth until you add a network again.

When Pocket uploads

• After every recording. Uploading starts a few seconds after you stop recording. A short recording on a good network is usually in your account within about 30 seconds.
• When you ask for it. Tap Upload from Pocket over Wi-Fi in the app to send recordings that are still on Pocket.
• Never while recording. If you start a new recording during an upload, Pocket stops the upload right away, and the microphone always takes priority. The upload starts again from the beginning once you stop recording.
• Even while your phone is connected. Pocket tells the app which recordings it is uploading, so the same recording is not imported twice. While Pocket uploads, the app home screen shows a banner with its progress.

If an upload fails

Pocket retries a failed upload automatically, spacing the attempts further apart each time. If a recording still has not uploaded after several attempts, Pocket hands it back to the app, and the app syncs it over Bluetooth the next time your phone connects.

If no saved network is found within about 45 seconds of stopping a recording, Pocket hands that recording to the app right away. It then waits a while before searching again, so it does not drain the battery looking for a network that is not there. Starting a new recording, or tapping Upload from Pocket over Wi-Fi in the app, makes it look again right away.

Upload speed

Upload speed depends on your Wi-Fi signal and your internet connection. Pocket typically uploads at about 5 to 15 MB per minute, usually toward the lower end.

Add 10 to 30 seconds for Pocket to turn on its Wi-Fi and join the network before the upload starts.

A weak signal makes uploads slower. Moving Pocket closer to the router helps more than a faster internet plan.

Limitations

• 2.4 GHz only. 5 GHz-only networks do not appear in the network list.
• No Enterprise or captive-portal networks. Networks that need a username and password (WPA2/WPA3 Enterprise, many office networks), or a sign-in page (hotels, airports, cafes), do not work.
• WPA3-only networks are not supported yet. If your router has a "WPA2/WPA3" mixed or transition mode, use that, or plain WPA2.
• Hidden networks are not supported. The network name must be broadcast.
• Names and passwords can be up to 32 and 64 characters. Emoji and non-Latin characters count for more than one character each.
• A wrong password shows as "not found". Pocket cannot tell a wrong password apart from a network that is out of range. If you see Could not find this network, or the password is wrong, check both.
• Interrupted uploads start over. If the connection drops partway through, the whole recording is sent again on the next attempt, so very long recordings on a weak signal can take several tries.
• IPv4 and automatic addressing (DHCP) are required. IPv6-only networks and networks that need a manual IP address do not work.
• Recordings made before you updated to the Wi-Fi upload firmware are not uploaded over Wi-Fi. Sync them over Bluetooth as usual.

Edge cases

• You start recording during an upload. The upload stops so recording is never affected. It restarts after you stop, and does not count as a failed attempt.
• You leave home with recordings waiting. Pocket hands them to the app, which syncs them over Bluetooth. If you come back after a long time away, the first recording at home may sync over Bluetooth instead of Wi-Fi while Pocket waits to search again. Tapping Upload from Pocket over Wi-Fi in the app makes Pocket try Wi-Fi again right away.
• Same network name on 2.4 and 5 GHz. This works as long as the router also broadcasts that name on 2.4 GHz. Pocket only ever uses the 2.4 GHz side.
• Mesh Wi-Fi systems. Pocket treats all access points with the same network name as one network, and joins one of them when it connects. It does not switch access points in the middle of an upload.
• You sign out of the app. Pocket keeps uploading over Wi-Fi to the account it was set up with, because its upload access is stored on Pocket itself. To stop Wi-Fi uploads, forget your saved networks in Settings -> Device -> Wi-Fi upload before signing out.
• You transfer Pocket to someone else. The transfer turns off the previous owner's upload access. Wi-Fi uploads pause until the new owner sets up Wi-Fi upload in their app, and recordings sync over Bluetooth in the meantime.
• You delete a recording in the app before Pocket uploads it. Pocket does not upload it again.
• The router's first DNS server is down. The first upload can be slow while Pocket switches to the backup DNS server. Later uploads in the same session are normal.

Best practices

• Use a strong signal. Charge or leave Pocket near your router after long meetings so large recordings upload quickly.
• Charge Pocket regularly. Uploading uses more battery than standing by. A 5-hour recording takes several minutes of upload time.
• Save the networks you use most. Add your home, office, and phone hotspot so Pocket can upload wherever you are.
• Keep Auto Sync on. It is the easiest way to make sure recordings upload without your phone.
• Keep firmware up to date. Updates improve upload speed and reliability. Install firmware updates when Pocket is not uploading.
• Prefer WPA2 Personal. If your router lets you choose, WPA2 (or WPA2/WPA3 mixed mode) is the most reliable choice for Pocket.

Connect Pocket using your iPhone

Your iPhone's Personal Hotspot is a handy network for Pocket when you are away from home. On iPhone 12 and later, Personal Hotspot can use 5 GHz, which Pocket cannot see. Turn on Maximize Compatibility to switch the hotspot to 2.4 GHz.

1. On your iPhone, open Settings -> Personal Hotspot.
2. Turn on Allow Others to Join.
3. Turn on Maximize Compatibility. If you do not see this option, your iPhone already uses 2.4 GHz for its hotspot.
4. Note the Wi-Fi Password shown on this screen. Your hotspot's network name is your iPhone's name, shown in Settings -> General -> About -> Name.
5. Leave Personal Hotspot turned on and switch straight to the Pocket app.
6. Go to Settings -> Device -> Wi-Fi upload, choose your iPhone's hotspot from the list, enter the hotspot password, and tap Connect.

Tips for iPhone hotspots:

• Your iPhone needs mobile data. Pocket uploads through your cellular connection, which uses your data plan. A 1-hour recording is roughly 15 MB.
• iPhone may hide the hotspot after a while when nothing is connected. If Pocket cannot find it, switch back to Settings -> Personal Hotspot for a moment, then return to the Pocket app and tap Scan again.

Make your router's 2.4 GHz network visible

Most home routers broadcast both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. If your network does not appear in Pocket's list, the 2.4 GHz band may be turned off or hidden.

1. Open your router's app or admin page. The address and login are usually printed on a label on the router.
2. Find the wireless or Wi-Fi settings.
3. Make sure the 2.4 GHz band is turned on and is not hidden.
4. If you want, give the 2.4 GHz band its own name, for example HomeWiFi-2.4. Some routers call this turning off Smart Connect or band steering.
5. Set security to WPA2 Personal or WPA2/WPA3 mixed mode.
6. Save, wait for the router to restart, and scan again from Settings -> Device -> Wi-Fi upload.

Your phones and laptops can keep using the 5 GHz network. Only Pocket needs the 2.4 GHz one.

Troubleshooting

If Wi-Fi uploads still do not work, sync over Bluetooth or Pocket Web Sync, then contact support with your phone model, Pocket firmware versions (from the Device page), router model, and what the Wi-Fi upload screen shows.