Articles on: Core Features

Using Similia Offline (Beta)

Offline mode keeps Similia working when the connection drops. With offline mode turned on, the installed Similia app keeps your cases, notes, repertories and materia medica books on the device. Changes are saved there and sync by themselves when the connection returns, while the app is open. Offline mode is labelled Beta.

Availability: Offline mode is a Pro feature. It works only in the installed app, never in a browser tab, and is not part of any free trial.

You will find it in the app under Settings › Offline ("Set up and check offline use on this device."). The card's How offline mode works link opens a page with more detail.

Who can use offline mode

Pro, outside a free trial. Offline mode is part of Pro, for example an active Pro subscription or Lifetime Pro. It is not part of any free trial: a subscription that starts with a trial includes offline mode once the subscription is active. During the free trial of a Pro subscription, Turn on stays disabled and the card says "Offline mode starts once the subscription is active: it is not part of the trial." Other free trials do not include offline mode either: in the installed app, Turn on then opens an upgrade prompt ("Offline mode is part of a paid Pro plan.").
Not on the Free plan. On Free, the card shows a Pro badge, and in the installed app Turn on opens an upgrade prompt ("Offline mode is part of a paid Pro plan.").
Only in the installed app. Offline mode runs only in Similia installed from the browser, never in a browser tab. In a tab, Similia keeps working online as usual and Turn on is disabled.
Set up on each device. Offline mode is turned on separately on each device. Use it only on a device you control. On a shared computer, use Similia in the browser.

Without offline mode (on the Free plan, during a trial, or in a browser tab), Similia needs an internet connection.

Lifetime Pro includes offline mode. Premium repertories and books are not part of Lifetime Pro itself. Those the account holds, such as Lifetime Pro add-ons, download for offline use like the rest. Jan Scholten's materia medica series, which Pro and Lifetime Pro include, is handled like the premium books offline (see "Premium repertories and books offline" below). See "Lifetime Pro: Pay Once for Similia Pro".

Supported devices and browsers

iPhone and iPad: Safari, Chrome, Edge or Firefox
Android: Chrome, Samsung Internet, Edge or Firefox
Mac: Safari on macOS Sonoma or later, Chrome or Edge
Windows, Linux and ChromeOS: Chrome or Edge

Offline mode does not work with Firefox or Opera on a computer. Installing needs no app store.

Turning offline mode on

Open Similia in a supported browser, sign in and go to Settings › Offline.
Under Install the app, follow the steps shown for the browser you are using. Examples: Add to Home Screen in Safari on iPhone, Install and create shortcut in Chrome on Android, File › Add to Dock in Safari on a Mac, or the install icon at the end of the address bar in Chrome on a computer. Where the browser offers it, an Install button on the card does this for you.
Open Similia from the new icon on the home screen, the Dock or the desktop, and sign in if asked. On iPhone and iPad, the installed app has its own sign-in. In Chrome and Edge on a computer, Similia opens in its own window straight away.
In the installed app, go to Settings › Offline. The card estimates the download ("About … of repertories and books …, plus the app and the cases. Wi-Fi recommended."). Select Turn on. The app reloads and starts setting up the device.
Keep the app open and connected until the card shows Ready to work offline. Each part shows its own progress: The app, Cases, and Repertories and books. The first download can take a few minutes, and you can use the app meanwhile.
Check What works offline on the same page before relying on the device without a connection.

Turning offline mode on needs a connection.

What is downloaded

Turning offline mode on downloads:

the app
your cases and notes, including My Notes
every repertory and materia medica book the account includes, through the plan or through add-ons

Classic books download in English and in the app's language. Premium books download in English only. Repertories and books added to the account later download by themselves.

As a guide:

The app takes about 12 MB.
The seven classical repertories take about 6 MB.
The 21 classic books take about 30 MB in English, plus about 20 to 25 MB for their translations into the app's language.
Each premium repertory adds up to about 8 MB per language, and each premium book up to about 7 MB.

Once the device is ready, the card shows how many repertories and books are on the device, the space they use, and when it last checked for updates.

What works offline

Works offline

Cases and analyses already on this device
Creating cases and analyses
Rubrics, grades, prescriptions and patient details
Case and analysis notes
My Notes
Keyword search and browsing in downloaded repertories
Reading downloaded materia medica books and searching them by keyword

Needs a connection

AI features, Live Audio and dictation
Semantic search
Search filters and search operators
Adding images or audio to case notes
Deleting cases, folders or analyses
Settings, billing and the account

While the device is offline:

Dimmed buttons. AI buttons and the image and audio upload buttons in case and analysis notes are dimmed ("Needs an internet connection"). They work again once the connection returns. In My Notes, an image added offline waits on the device and uploads once you are back online.
Repertory search. Search reads "Offline · keyword search". In the repertory list, repertories that are not on the device are marked "Not on this device".
Analysis totals. If a premium repertory used in an analysis is not on the device, the totals leave its remedies out and say so ("Offline: remedies of … are not on this device, so the totals leave them out."). The full totals return with the connection.
Book search in other languages. When the app language is German, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch, Romanian, Turkish, Hindi or Greek, the classic materia medica books can be read offline but are searched online only ("In this language, the classic books are searched online only.").
Highlights. Materia medica highlights and notes are read-only offline, as they were at your last online visit to that page.

Changes made offline

Saved on the device. Each change is saved on the device straight away ("Saved on this device. Syncs when the connection returns.").
Synced automatically. Waiting changes sync by themselves when the device is back online, while the app is open.
Top bar icon. When the connection drops, an icon appears in the top bar ("No internet connection"). With offline mode on, it also appears while changes sync ("Syncing 2 changes…") or when some could not sync ("2 changes couldn't sync"). While changes are still syncing or some could not sync after the connection returns, its panel links to Offline settings.
Notes changed on two devices. If the same case or analysis notes were also changed on another device, both versions are kept. A banner says "These notes were also changed on another device", with Use this version and Discard. For My Notes, both versions are kept and the other version becomes a separate note. For other fields, the most recent change applies.
Changes the server refuses. A change the server refuses when it syncs is not lost. It stays on the device, marked "Couldn't sync: the server refused this change." Such notes are listed under Notes that couldn't sync, with Try again, Copy text and Discard.
Analysis deleted elsewhere. If an analysis was deleted on another device while its notes were waiting to sync, the notes appear under Notes kept on this device. Use Copy text to keep them.

Connecting at least every 30 days

The app confirms your plan whenever it is online. After 30 days without a connection, it shows Reconnect to continue before it opens offline again. Nothing on the device is removed, and changes made offline sync once you connect. If the account no longer includes offline mode, it turns itself off on each device once waiting changes have synced.

Premium repertories and books offline

Jan Scholten's materia medica series. The Scholten series, which Pro includes, is handled like premium books offline: it downloads in English only, counts toward the 3-device limit and is renewed each time the device is online (up to 30 days).
Device limit. Premium repertories and books work offline on up to 3 devices used in the last 30 days. Cases, notes, the classical repertories and the 21 classic books have no device limit.
Releasing devices. When other devices hold all 3 places, Settings › Offline says so and offers Release other devices, which needs a connection. Released devices keep cases, notes and the classic repertories offline. Their premium repertories and books stop working offline within 30 days, unless a place is free when they connect again. Turning offline mode off on a device also frees its place.
Renewal. Offline access to premium content is renewed each time the device is online and lasts up to 30 days.
Cancelled subscription or overdue payment. If the subscription is set to cancel, premium offline access ends on the date the subscription ends. While a payment is overdue, it lasts a shorter time.
Expired access. When access runs out, the repertory or book says "Offline access to this repertory expired. Connect to renew it." (or "…this book expired…").
Device clock set back. If the device clock is set back, premium repertories and books work offline again only after the next connection. If it is set back to before the app last confirmed your plan online, the installed app shows Reconnect to continue when it starts offline, until it connects again.
Premium items that can't be kept. When some premium items cannot be kept on the device, the card reads "Ready to work offline, except some premium repertories and books." It names them, says why and offers Check again. Those items keep working online.

Turning offline mode off and signing out

Turn off. Turn off in Settings › Offline syncs waiting changes first. It then removes the offline copy of the app, the cases, and the downloaded repertories and books from the device. Everything stays in your account online.
Unsynced changes. If edits have not synced yet, Turn off refuses ("Some edits have not synced yet. Stay connected until they sync, then turn offline mode off."). If some changes could not sync, resolve them before turning offline mode off.
Signing out. Signing out also removes the cases and notes kept offline. If changes have not synced yet, Similia asks first ("Changes not synced yet"), with Stay signed in or Sign out and discard.

Reinstalling the app on iPhone, iPad or Mac

An app added from Safari never updates its icon or start page. When the app on an iPhone, iPad or Mac is out of date or not working properly, Settings › Offline shows Reinstall the app with these steps:

If offline mode is on, select Turn off first. Waiting changes sync, and the device's place for premium repertories and books is freed.
Remove Similia. On iPhone and iPad, first open Safari at similia.io and keep it open, then touch and hold the Similia icon on the Home Screen, tap Delete Bookmark or Remove App, and confirm. On a Mac, quit Similia and move it to the Trash from Applications in your home folder; removing it from the Dock alone keeps it.
Add Similia again from Safari, open it from the new icon and sign in.
If your plan includes offline mode, go to Settings › Offline and select Turn on.

The card shows the remaining steps only after offline mode is off and nothing on the device would be lost. Chrome, Edge and Android update the app by themselves.

Troubleshooting

You can't select Turn on in a browser tab. Open the installed app: offline mode works only there. In Chrome or Edge on a computer, or on Android, if offline mode is already on in the installed app, the tab says "Offline mode is on in the installed app on this device."
The page is open inside another app, for example from a link in an email or a social media app. That app can't install Similia. Open the page in Safari on iPhone and iPad, or in Chrome on Android.
"Not everything is on this device yet." Keep the app open and connected. Similia tries again by itself and may restart once to finish. The case copy and the downloads carry on from where they stopped. If it still can't finish, select Try again.
Not enough space, or the daily download limit. Similia does not retry these right away. If there is not enough space, free some up, then select Try again. Items over the daily download limit download the next day.
"Cases and notes are ready offline." Cases and notes work offline, but the repertories and books could not be downloaded yet, so they still need a connection.
"Cases and notes open offline once a data use is chosen", even though the card shows Ready to work offline. While connected, select Choose data use and pick Patient information or Study material. Until then, cases and notes don't open offline. See "Is my patient data secure?" for what each choice means.
My Notes are missing offline ("Notes are not on this device yet"). Open the app once while connected so the notes are copied to the device.
"Reconnect to continue". Connect to the internet so the app can confirm your plan, or confirm who is signed in if the device was last used with another account. Also check that the device's date and time are correct. Nothing on the device is removed.
"This browser does not let Similia keep the setting." Allow site data for Similia in the browser's settings, then try again.
"Close Similia and open it again to use premium repertories and books offline." Close the app and open it again.
Still stuck? In the installed app with offline mode on, go to Settings › Offline and, under Diagnostics, select Copy diagnostics and paste the details into a support chat. They contain no patient data. If offline mode is not on, describe the problem in a support chat instead.

Patient data on the device

Cases and notes. These are kept in the app's own storage on the device. Protect the device with a screen lock and its built-in encryption.
Repertories and books. Downloaded repertories and books are encrypted and tied to your account and the device.

For how Similia protects your data in its cloud, see "Is my patient data secure?".

Updated on: 11/10/2026

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