PouchDB using remoteDB and not local DB instance by default in online mode not not in offline mode - replication

Question

I have attachments saved in a CouchDB database server-side that I want to replicate on a client-side app using PouchDB.
In my app.js file where I handle my application logic, this is at the top:
import PouchDB from 'pouchdb'
var remoteDB = new PouchDB('http://dev04:5984/documentation')
var db = new PouchDB('documentation')
remoteDB.replicate.to(db).on('complete', function () {
// yay, we're done!
}).on('error', function (err) {
// boo, something went wrong!
});
When I turn off access to port 5984 in my firewall, my file can no longer be retrieved and I lose access to my index.html file.
What I am expecting is for all contents of the database 'documentaion' to be copied to my local browser storage -- including pdfs and such -- so that when I turn off port 5984 and then hit refresh, I should still have access to the contents. What am I doing wrong? (see edit -- I figured out that the db is actually replicating, but the local instance isn't being preferred)
EDIT:
I've determined that the database is actually being replicated, but the local storage is only 'preferred' when the browser is in offline mode. So when I refresh while in online mode, with port 5984 blocked, the page is not found. But when I do the same in offline mode (once the contents have been cached already, of course), then the contents can be retrieved.
It would not be an ideal solution to ask my users to always work in offline mode. Is there some way to make the local PouchDB instance the default, even in online mode?

Answer 1

I write to the local db first and "sync" that to a remote db if it's available.
And I use app.cache to provide offline functionality and configure the app to run "offline first".
I read last week that Apple has finally implemented Service Workers in Safari so I'll be looking into implementing that as well now.