idea Field Maps - force cache deletion for all mobile users upon changes to Web Maps/Field Maps in ArcGIS Field Maps Ideas

Field Maps - force cache deletion for all mobile users upon changes to Web Maps/Field Maps

ThomasThorsen1 — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 14:19:16 GMT

There is an issue I've come across when I make changes to Field Maps and/or web maps

The Field Maps app caches a ton from what I understand. There doesn't seem like a way to clear caches from the app. I made changes to field maps and the web app that supports it and lost some symbology. I then fixed the symbology, but users can't see the correct symbology because they have data cached. There are a lot of users and they don't have admin credentials to add programs to their devices.

My request is for Esri to enable delete cache from field apps, and if possible enable a GIS professional to clear caches remotely for group members. That is, unless I have a misunderstanding of why deleting and reinstalling the app works for my issue.

Re: Field Maps - force cache deletion for all mobile users upon changes to Web Maps/Field Maps

VenkataKondepati — Sat, 27 Dec 2025 03:51:24 GMT

You’re not misunderstanding it — this is a real limitation today.

Field Maps aggressively caches maps, symbology, and layer definitions for offline/online performance, and there is no supported way to remotely clear or invalidate that cache. Reinstalling the app works because it’s effectively the only way to force a full cache reset on the device.

Best practices / mitigations today:

Version your web maps (save a copy with a new title/ID) and point users to the new map when major symbology changes are made.

Avoid changing renderer or symbol structure once a map is actively used in the field.

For critical updates, instruct users to remove and re-download the map inside Field Maps (not just refresh).

Keep symbology changes bundled and infrequent.

Your idea is valid and commonly requested:

A “Clear cache” option in Field Maps

Or a server-side cache invalidation / group-level refresh

This would be a big operational win for large field deployments. I’d strongly encourage posting this as an ArcGIS Ideas request — you’re definitely not alone.

Re: Field Maps - force cache deletion for all mobile users upon changes to Web Maps/Field Maps

PaulLohr — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 15:23:55 GMT

@ThomasThorsen1 , @VenkataKondepati :

Trying to clarify a couple of things.

A feature layer provided by ArcGIS Server or ArcGIS Online (hosted) displays data updates (geometry and attributes) in the Field Maps app without having to refresh the map. But if we change something related to map or data structure such as the legend, the user has to be notified to refresh the map. Not ideal especially when many users exist. To be clear, this is not a downloaded map.

I would not expect a downloaded map to receive updates without user interaction. Is that part of what we are talking about?