Backup & Sync
Protect your logbook with automatic backups and iCloud sync.
iCloud Sync
Block-Time syncs two things through iCloud — your flight database and your app settings. Both happen automatically in the background. Navigate to Settings → Backup & Sync to view the current status of each.
iCloud sync requires an active iCloud account. If iCloud is not signed in on your device, the status card will show "iCloud Not Available".
For sync to work across your devices, all three of the following must be true:
- All devices must be signed in with the same Apple ID.
- iCloud Drive must be turned on — go to Settings → [your name] → iCloud → iCloud Drive and make sure it is enabled.
- Block-Time must be toggled on in the Saved to iCloud app list.
- Your iCloud storage must not be full. If your iCloud storage is full, sync will stop working. You can check your storage at Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Storage.
Flight Database
Your entire flight history is synced automatically via CloudKit. There are no user controls for this — Block-Time handles it entirely in the background. The status row in the app shows a spinner when a sync is in progress, the time of the last successful sync, and any error if one has occurred.
Settings
App preferences are synced across all your devices using iCloud. When you change a setting on one device, it is uploaded to iCloud immediately. Other devices download the change the next time they come online. The following settings are included in sync:
- Default crew names (Captain, F/O, S/O) and saved name lists
- Recent names, aircraft registrations, and airports
- Flight position, flight number formatting, and aircraft registration display
- Approach logging settings
- Display preferences (local time, IATA codes, time format)
- FRMS configuration (fleet, home base, limit type)
- Automatic backup settings (enabled, location, frequency, max to keep)
Sync is based on modification times. If both devices have changes, the most recently modified set of settings wins.
Status indicators
Each sync row in the status card shows one of three states:
- Spinner — a sync is currently in progress.
- Relative time — the last successful sync, e.g. "2 minutes ago".
- Orange warning — a retryable error (e.g. network unavailable). Sync will retry automatically.
- Red error — a persistent error. Tap to expand details.
Automatic Backup
Automatic Backup saves a CSV file of all your flights at a schedule you choose. This is independent of iCloud sync — it is a file you can hold onto, share, or restore from at any time. Backups are off by default.
Each backup file is a standard CSV — it can be opened in Excel or Numbers if you ever need to inspect the raw data.
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1
Open Settings → Backup & Sync
The Data Backup card is at the bottom of the screen.
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2
Enable Automatic Backup
Toggle Automatic Backup on. The frequency and storage limit controls appear once enabled.
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3
Choose a location
The Location picker is always visible, even when automatic backups are disabled.
Option Where files are saved My iPhone / On My iPad The app's local Documents folder, accessible via the Files app under Block-Time iCloud Your iCloud Drive, in a Block-Time/Backups/folder, accessible across all your devices -
4
Set a frequency
Choose how often a backup should run: Daily, Weekly, or Monthly. A backup is considered due when a different day, week, or calendar month has passed since the most recent backup file was created.
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5
Set how many backups to keep
Choose 5, 10, 15, or 30. After each backup, older files beyond this limit are automatically deleted. The default is 10.
A scheduled backup runs when the app comes to the foreground, if one is due. A backup also runs when flight data changes, provided at least one hour has passed since the last backup and one is due per the schedule. If the backup is not due, neither event triggers a new file.
Backup Now
Tap Backup Now to create an immediate backup at any time, regardless of the schedule. The button is disabled while a backup is already in progress. The Last Backup row shows the date of the most recent backup file and a count of how many backups are saved.
What is included
Each backup file contains all flight records, sorted oldest to newest. App settings are not included — those are covered by iCloud Settings sync.
Files are named in the format Block-Time_Backup_YYYY-MM-DD_HHMM_Xflights.csv, where X is the number of flights at the time of the backup.
Managing & Restoring Backups
Tap Manage Backups in the Data Backup card to open the Restore screen. It lists all available backup files and lets you restore from either a saved backup or a file from another location.
Viewing a backup
Each item in the list shows the flight count, date, and file size. Tap any backup to open the Backup Details sheet, which shows the same information along with three actions: Restore, Share, and Delete.
Restoring from a backup
Tap Restore from this Backup to open the restore mode sheet. Choose how the backup data is combined with your current logbook:
Merge with Existing Data
Flights from the backup are added to your current logbook. Any flight that matches an existing record on date, flight number, and aircraft registration is treated as a duplicate and skipped. Your current flights are not removed.
A summary shows how many flights were restored, how many were skipped as duplicates, and how many failed.
Overwrite All Data
All existing flights are deleted first, then all flights from the backup file are imported. Use this when you want to replace your logbook entirely with the contents of the backup.
Overwrite permanently deletes your current flight data before importing. This cannot be undone. If you are unsure, choose Merge instead.
Restoring from an external file
The External Backups section at the bottom of the Restore screen lets you browse for a backup file that is not in Block-Time's backup folder — for example, a file you received by email or saved to a different location. Tap Choose File, select a .csv or plain text file, then choose a restore mode as above.
The external restore path accepts Block-Time backup files only. If you select a CSV from another app, use Settings → Import & Export → CSV Import instead, which supports custom field mapping.
Sharing a backup
From the Backup Details sheet, tap Share Backup File to open the system share sheet with the CSV file attached. Use this to send a copy to another device, save it to Files, email it, or store it in any location you choose.
Deleting backups
Tap a backup in the list and choose Delete this Backup, or swipe left on a backup row in the list. Both methods require confirmation before the file is permanently removed.
Photo Backup
The Photo Backup card contains a single toggle: Save ACARS to Photos. When enabled, any ACARS sheet photo you capture in Block-Time is also saved to your device's Photos library. This setting is synced across your devices via iCloud Settings sync.