# Something isn't syncing

> If your entries aren't showing up on your partner's side, or the reveal won't open even though you've both marked ready, sync is usually the cause. Here's what to check.

Most sync issues are network or timing-related rather than something fundamentally broken. Here's the order to check.

## Symptom 1: I marked ready but the reveal doesn't open

The reveal needs both of you to have marked ready in the same week's check-in.

### Check 1: confirm both of you actually tapped ready

It's easy to assume your partner did. Ask them to confirm. Their check-in tab should say "Waiting for the reveal" (not "Mark ready when you're done").

### Check 2: confirm you're on the same week

If your phone clock and your partner's phone clock disagree about which week it is, you might both have marked ready in different week's check-ins.

**Fix**: make sure both phones have automatic time and date enabled.

- iPhone: Settings → General → Date & Time → Set Automatically
- Android: Settings → Date & Time → Use network-provided time

### Check 3: pull to refresh

In rare cases, the app misses the moment when both ready timestamps line up. Pulling down on the check-in tab re-checks.

## Symptom 2: my partner can't see my entries after the reveal

### Check 1: did either of you re-pair recently

If either of you re-paired (unpair → pair again) since the entries were written, the shared key changed. Old entries can't be unlocked with the new key.

**There isn't a fix for this.** Old entries from before the re-pair are unrecoverable across the change. New entries from this point forward will work.

### Check 2: pre-pairing entries

Entries you wrote before pairing were locked with your personal key, not the shared one. The reveal skips them on purpose. They aren't "missing" — they're appropriately private.

### Check 3: clock drift

If your phone's clock is off by enough, entries you wrote might fall outside the window your partner's app expects.

**Fix**: same as Symptom 1, Check 2. Auto-set time on both phones.

## Symptom 3: my own entries aren't uploading

Entries are written to your phone first, then uploaded. If the upload fails, the entry stays on your phone until the next attempt.

### Check 1: are you online

Toggle airplane mode off and on. Switch between cellular and wi-fi.

### Check 2: yellow banner at the top of the app

If you see a yellow "Couldn't connect to sync" banner, that's the offline indicator. Once you're back online, syncing resumes automatically — but you can also force-quit and re-open the app to speed it up.

### Check 3: did your account session expire

Force-quit the app and re-open. Open Heart silently re-establishes the connection on launch.

## Symptom 4: my partner's profile shows "Partner" instead of their name

This usually means a re-pair happened recently and the partner's profile was uploaded under the old shared key.

**Fix**: ask your partner to update their profile (Settings → Edit profile → save). This re-uploads it under the current shared key. Within seconds, your end should show their name correctly.

## If nothing works

Email hello@myopenheart.co with:

- Your account ID
- Your partner's account ID (so we can look at the same shared record)
- The week (e.g. "the week of May 5, 2026")
- A screenshot of your check-in tab

We can look at our side. We see your data as scrambled bundles, but we can confirm whether the structure is correct (whether both ready timestamps are there, whether the reveal opened, etc.).

## Related

- [The simultaneous reveal](/docs/features/simultaneous-reveal)
- [Couples mode (pairing)](/docs/features/couples-mode)
- [How your privacy works](/docs/privacy/how-encryption-works)