Devices

Watch this video or read the text below to learn about devices.

In Herdly, a device is a computer, phone, or tablet that Herdly is installed on with access to your ranch data. For the most part you don't have to care too much about the devices and Herdly can be installed on an unlimited number of devices. However, it can sometimes be useful to see when a device last synced. Also, you may also need to have a device wiped. Both these functions can be handled in the Devices window which is only available on the computer. Go to Setup > Devices to open this window.

This window lists all of the devices that have connected with your ranch. Use the search field to quickly find a device. The Archived checkbox can be used to toggle whether archived devices are included in the list. The following columns are shown in the list:

  • Nickname. You can give each device a nickname if you want. This will make it easier to tell them apart, especially when there are several similar devices on your ranch. Double-click a nickname to edit it.
  • OS. This column shows you whether the device is a Mac or Windows computer or an iOS device (iPhone or iPad). This can be helpful in distinguishing devices.
  • Last Logged In. This column shows who was last logged in on that device.
  • Last Connection. This column shows how long ago this device synced. It is important that devices are synced regularly.
  • Wipe Status. Shows the current device wipe status (if any). More on this below.

The Last Connection and Wipe Status columns will only display information if Herdly is connected to the internet when the window is opened. You can get the latest information for these column by clicking the Refresh Server Info button as long as you have an internet connection.

Device Wiping

If a device is stolen or lost, or if there is some other situation that causes you to worry about your ranch data falling into the wrong hands, it is possible to send a wipe request to that device. To do that, select the device in the list and click the Send Wipe Request button. A wipe request does two things:

  1. The device is archived and will not be allowed to sync any new data to the server.
  2. The next time the device tries to sync, the server will notify it that it should be wiped and Herdly immediately erases all of your ranch's data from the device.

If you select a device where a wipe request was just sent, you will see a button labeled Retract Wipe Request. When clicked, the server will un-archive the device and not send the wipe request to the device. However, this will only work if click this button before the device in question has a chance to sync.

When a device is wiped, it goes back to the state it was in when it was first installed. At that point a user can enter the ranch ID and their username/password credentials to gain access to a ranch's data. If your reason for wiping a device was not simply because it was stolen, but because you need to lock a user from having access, remember to archive the user as well (see Users). Otherwise, they can just log back in after the device is wiped.