The mobile app
One app for iPhone, iPad and Android phones and tablets. It connects to your school’s own Plugboard, by its address, and uses the same accounts, permissions and modules as the web. There are no separate app accounts and nothing to configure on the server.
Connecting to your school
Section titled “Connecting to your school”The first screen asks for your Plugboard address, such as
https://helpdesk.yourschool.org, or for a scan of a connection QR code. The
app shows where it is about to connect before it asks for any credentials.
- The address must be HTTPS. Your own domain, a private address or a local name all work, as long as the device trusts the certificate.
- The app is connected to one school at a time. Changing the address signs out and clears what was stored for the previous one.
- A connection QR code carries only the address, never a password or token. Scanning it does not sign anybody in.
Who it is for
Section titled “Who it is for”| What they can do | |
|---|---|
| Technicians | Home counters and what needs them; the ticket queue with replies, internal notes, canned responses, time and photos; approvals; scanning a barcode or QR code to find a device, person, ticket, repair or article; devices, loans, repairs, stocktake counting, stock issue, card checks, inductions, documentation and the assistant. Anything else opens the web page in the browser, filtered by the same permissions as the web navigation |
| Students and staff | The client portal: their devices and loans with due dates, booking and tracking a repair, raising and replying to requests with photos, opening the desk’s photos, rating, password help, purchases and the help centre |
| Parents | The parent portal: each child’s devices, loans, repairs, charges, requests and purchases, and contact preferences. Sign in with a password or an emailed link |
| Kiosks | A tablet reserved as a kiosk, set up by entering the six-digit code on the device. People tap a card on a keyboard-style reader or show its barcode to the camera |
Sections follow the school’s modules and each person’s permissions, the same as the web.
The camera
Section titled “The camera”The camera is used to scan barcodes, QR codes and card barcodes, and to take photos for tickets and repairs. It is the only device permission the app asks for. It does not record audio.
Security on the device
Section titled “Security on the device”- Sign-in is stored in the device’s secure storage (the Keychain on iOS, the Keystore on Android). Passwords and authenticator codes are never stored.
- While the app is in the background, its screen is covered, so the app switcher never shows a record. After five minutes away it checks the session again and reloads everything.
- Signing out ends the session on the server as well as on the device, and says so if either part fails.
- On a kiosk, each person’s session is held in memory only and ends on the kiosk’s idle timeout or session limit.
See our privacy policy for what the app handles. It carries no advertising or analytics.
Not yet
Section titled “Not yet”- Push notifications. Nothing is sent to the device; open the app to see what has changed.
- Signing in with school single sign-on or a passkey. These open the browser; use a password where your school allows one, or the web.
- Opening attachments other than photos. Use the web portal for those.
- A requester’s past loans, and approving a repair quote. Neither exists in the web portal yet either.
- The visitor register.
- Choosing another technician as a ticket’s assignee, unless you can manage users. Technicians can assign a ticket to themselves.