Upgrading from an earlier version (3.0+)

If you used Fresh Cards before version 3.0, the first time you launch a newer version on a device the app does some one-time work to bring your existing data into the format the current app uses. This is automatic — you don’t need to do anything — but the app shows status messages along the way, and on a device with a lot of data the process can take a while. This page explains what to expect.

Migration and reconstruction — both are normal

The upgrade has two phases that may run back to back, and you may see status messages at the bottom of the screen referring to either or both:

• Migration converts the data already on this device into the new format.
• Reconstruction picks up where migration leaves off: the app downloads any data from your iCloud account that isn’t on this device yet, and folds it into the upgraded library. This step ensures the app ends up with a complete picture, even if you’d been using Fresh Cards across multiple devices.

Status messages mentioning “Migrating database…”, “Migrating: … (Reconstruction DB)”, “Reconstructing database: N / M”, “Setting up iCloud sync…”, or “Uploading N files to iCloud…” are all expected during this period. None of them indicate a problem — the specific details don’t matter, but the words migration and reconstruction are the ones to recognize.

“Sync may be slower than normal…”

Once the local migration and reconstruction finish, the app has to push the upgraded data back up to iCloud. For users with a lot of cards that’s a lot of data. iCloud (CloudKit) applies rate limits, and when the app is being throttled it shows:

Sync may be slower than normal…

A few things to know about this state:

• It’s normal, especially on the first upgrade. The app will sort itself out.
• It can take a while. A few minutes for small libraries; a few hours for very large ones.
• Other devices may lag. While this message is showing, changes you make on this device might not appear on your other devices right away. The other devices will catch up once the throttling lifts.
• Don’t uninstall or reinstall. This won’t speed anything up, and it can make things worse — a fresh install has to re-download everything from iCloud, which adds time and bandwidth without solving the underlying queue.
• Just come back later. Close the app and return in a few hours. The status will clear on its own.

If the message has persisted for many hours with no other activity changing, see Sync isn’t working.

When to worry

Almost never. The upgrade is safe and resumable — if you close the app or your device sleeps, the upgrade continues the next time the app is active. Contact support only if a status message stays the same for many hours with no other activity, and the checks in Sync isn’t working don’t move things forward.