Move to Lightning Data Service for Field Service Mobile
Lightning Data Service is an updated technology within the Field Service mobile app. Together with Lightning Web Components (LWCs), you get a powerful way to customize the app and use its latest features, all through using a simple setup.
Required Editions
| Available in: Lightning Experience in Enterprise, Unlimited, and Developer Editions. |
Lightning Data Service is a caching mechanism crucial for loading and displaying LWC components and new features in the app. We redesigned the app's architecture around this unified cache that powers all app experiences. To access the new architecture and features, you must enable the Lightning Data Service permission set, or enable it when you set up your org, even if you don't plan to create your own LWCs.
Lightning Data Service is enabled by default for all new orgs and sandboxes starting Winter ‘25. All orgs will be auto-migrated to Lightning Data Service by Spring ‘26. We recommend customers begin preparations and testing as soon as feasible.
Get Started
To take advantage of all Lightning Data Service has to offer, complete the steps in either of these options.
User Level Permissions
To access Lightning Data Service, users need to have Lightning Web Components enabled. Follow the steps in Define a Permission Set for Your Org and Assign the Permission Set to a Mobile User.
Org-Wide Enablement
Enable Lightning Data Service for your entire org in Field Service Settings. From Setup, in the Quick Find box, enter and select Field Service Settings. Under Lightning SDK for Field Service Mobile, select Enable Lightning SDK for Field Service Mobile.
Learn About the Benefits, Preparations, and Changes with Lightning Data Service
Lightning Data Service has many benefits and many Field Service features depend on its enablement, including AI features and Data Capture.
Key Benefits
These Field Service features are available only with Lightning Data Service.
- Data Capture: Use dynamic forms with field-level rules, branching logic, and custom UI support to streamline data collection in the field. Develop these forms quickly and easily in Flow Builder.
- AI features:
- Pre-Work Brief: Get a concise overview of the tasks at hand, with customizable prompts to fit your work processes.
- Agentforce: Add a conversational AI assistant to the Field Service app to boost productivity, reduce service times, and improve first-time fix rates.
- Document Builder: Create richly formatted and branded PDF service documents, translate them, collect signatures, embed images, and generate previews on the desktop site and the mobile app.
- LWC extensibility: Customize actions and create custom LWC tabs.
- Tab navigation customization: Add new list views and tailor tab navigation.
- Global search: Configure a new LWC tab in custom navigation to search against any object in the local cache, making it easy to find items in one place.
- Revenue generation: Use a flow template that guides mobile workers through creating leads and opportunities from the app, without contacting customer services.
- Performance and experience improvements: See Lightning Data Service.
Recommended Preparation
Lightning Data Service has many benefits, but you can expect some changes to the app after you enable the Lightning Data Service permission set. These changes can affect your preexisting Flow customizations. Be prepared to do additional testing and tweaking to some parts of the app that use Flows and data priming for offline use.
Make sure you’re ready for Lightning Data Service to achieve optimal performance.
- Check device requirements: As we add more advanced features and scale the app for offline use, we recommend using the devices listed in Field Service Mobile App Requirements.
- Review flow and priming changes: In some cases, small adjustments to your flows and
priming strategy are necessary.
- We recommend that you avoid flows on the Field Service mobile app that rely on Apex or record triggers. Record operations are routed through the Lightning Data Service draft queue, which is frequently processed in the background. How often it runs depends on a variety of factors, including available system resources. We cannot guarantee that the draft queue is processed instantly.
- Avoid depending on fields during flow execution that are updated by non-mobile sources.
- We recommend that you retest all of your flows. By doing this work in a sandbox environment, you can prepare your Field Service configuration for the latest app features. Also, review the flows section in Field Service Mobile App Considerations and Offline Considerations to ensure your flows and priming strategies follow the recommendations and limitations. If your LWC data queries are set up correctly, data requested by global LWCs and LWCs on work order and service appointment records are automatically primed. See Use the Wire Service to Get Data.
Developer Considerations
- Avoid using Apex: Instead, use GraphQL (GQL) or the Lightning Data Service wire adapter. See Use the Wire Service to Get Data. GQL updates data in the local cache, allowing LWCs to function offline. Remember, mobile connectivity isn’t always reliable, so GQL offers better performance in low-connectivity situations.
