diff --git a/core/checkcloudconnection.cpp b/core/checkcloudconnection.cpp
index b9a11046a..a80739829 100644
--- a/core/checkcloudconnection.cpp
+++ b/core/checkcloudconnection.cpp
@@ -52,18 +52,17 @@ bool CheckCloudConnection::checkServer()
 				mgr->deleteLater();
 				if (verbose > 1)
 					qWarning() << "Cloud storage: successfully checked connection to cloud server";
-				git_storage_update_progress("successfully checked cloud connection");
 				return true;
 			}
 		} else if (seconds < prefs.cloud_timeout) {
-			QString text = QString("waited %1 sec for cloud connetion").arg(seconds);
+			QString text = tr("Waiting for cloud connetion (%1 seconds passed)").arg(seconds);
 			git_storage_update_progress(qPrintable(text));
 		} else {
 			disconnect(reply, SIGNAL(finished()), &loop, SLOT(quit()));
 			reply->abort();
 		}
 	}
-	git_storage_update_progress("cloud connection failed");
+	git_storage_update_progress(qPrintable(tr("Cloud connection failed")));
 	prefs.git_local_only = true;
 	if (verbose)
 		qDebug() << "connection test to cloud server failed" <<
diff --git a/core/git-access.c b/core/git-access.c
index d7f971c54..dbb8dabd4 100644
--- a/core/git-access.c
+++ b/core/git-access.c
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ static int push_transfer_progress_cb(unsigned int current, unsigned int total, s
 	(void) payload;
 	char buf[80];
 	snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf), translate("gettextFromC", "Transfer to storage (%d/%d)"), current, total);
-	return git_storage_update_progress("push trasfer cb");
+	return git_storage_update_progress(buf);
 }
 
 char *get_local_dir(const char *remote, const char *branch)
@@ -432,7 +432,7 @@ static int try_to_update(git_repository *repo, git_remote *origin, git_reference
 
 	if (verbose)
 		fprintf(stderr, "git storage: try to update\n");
-	git_storage_update_progress("try to update");
+
 	if (!git_reference_cmp(local, remote))
 		return 0;
 
@@ -466,7 +466,7 @@ static int try_to_update(git_repository *repo, git_remote *origin, git_reference
 	}
 	/* Is the remote strictly newer? Use it */
 	if (git_oid_equal(&base, local_id)) {
-		git_storage_update_progress("fast forward to remote");
+		git_storage_update_progress(translate("gettextFromC", "Update local storage to match cloud storage"));
 		return reset_to_remote(repo, local, remote_id);
 	}
 
@@ -474,7 +474,7 @@ static int try_to_update(git_repository *repo, git_remote *origin, git_reference
 	if (git_oid_equal(&base, remote_id)) {
 		if (verbose)
 			fprintf(stderr, "local is newer than remote, update remote\n");
-		git_storage_update_progress("git_update_remote, local was newer");
+		git_storage_update_progress(translate("gettextFromC", "Push local changes to cloud storage"));
 		return update_remote(repo, origin, local, remote, rt);
 	}
 	/* Merging a bare repository always needs user action */
@@ -492,7 +492,7 @@ static int try_to_update(git_repository *repo, git_remote *origin, git_reference
 			return report_error("Local and remote do not match, local branch not HEAD - cannot update");
 	}
 	/* Ok, let's try to merge these */
-	git_storage_update_progress("try to merge");
+	git_storage_update_progress(translate("gettextFromC", "Try to merge local changes into cloud storage"));
 	ret = try_to_git_merge(repo, &local, remote, &base, local_id, remote_id);
 	if (ret == 0)
 		return update_remote(repo, origin, local, remote, rt);
@@ -514,7 +514,6 @@ static int check_remote_status(git_repository *repo, git_remote *origin, const c
 
 	if (verbose)
 		fprintf(stderr, "git storage: check remote status\n");
-	git_storage_update_progress("git check remote status");
 
 	if (git_branch_lookup(&local_ref, repo, branch, GIT_BRANCH_LOCAL)) {
 		if (is_subsurface_cloud)
@@ -535,7 +534,7 @@ static int check_remote_status(git_repository *repo, git_remote *origin, const c
 		else if (rt == RT_HTTPS)
 			opts.callbacks.credentials = credential_https_cb;
 		opts.callbacks.certificate_check = certificate_check_cb;
-		git_storage_update_progress("git remote push (no remote existed)");
+		git_storage_update_progress(translate("gettextFromC", "Store data into cloud storage"));
 		error = git_remote_push(origin, &refspec, &opts);
 	} else {
 		error = try_to_update(repo, origin, local_ref, remote_ref, remote, branch, rt);
@@ -559,7 +558,7 @@ int sync_with_remote(git_repository *repo, const char *remote, const char *branc
 	}
 	if (verbose)
 		fprintf(stderr, "sync with remote %s[%s]\n", remote, branch);
-	git_storage_update_progress("sync with remote");
+	git_storage_update_progress(translate("gettextFromC", "Sync with cloud storage"));
 	git_repository_config(&conf, repo);
 	if (rt == RT_HTTPS && getProxyString(&proxy_string)) {
 		if (verbose)
@@ -586,7 +585,7 @@ int sync_with_remote(git_repository *repo, const char *remote, const char *branc
 	if (rt == RT_HTTPS && !canReachCloudServer()) {
 		// this is not an error, just a warning message, so return 0
 		report_error("Cannot connect to cloud server, working with local copy");
-		git_storage_update_progress("can't reach cloud server, working with local copy");
+		git_storage_update_progress(translate("gettextFromC", "Can't reach cloud server, working with local data"));
 		return 0;
 	}
 	if (verbose)
@@ -599,7 +598,7 @@ int sync_with_remote(git_repository *repo, const char *remote, const char *branc
 	else if (rt == RT_HTTPS)
 		opts.callbacks.credentials = credential_https_cb;
 	opts.callbacks.certificate_check = certificate_check_cb;
-	git_storage_update_progress("git fetch remote");
+	git_storage_update_progress(translate("gettextFromC", "Successful cloud connection, fetch remote"));
 	error = git_remote_fetch(origin, NULL, &opts, NULL);
 	// NOTE! A fetch error is not fatal, we just report it
 	if (error) {
@@ -614,7 +613,7 @@ int sync_with_remote(git_repository *repo, const char *remote, const char *branc
 		error = check_remote_status(repo, origin, remote, branch, rt);
 	}
 	git_remote_free(origin);
-	git_storage_update_progress("done with sync with remote");
+	git_storage_update_progress(translate("gettextFromC", "Done syncing with cloud storage"));
 	return error;
 }
 
@@ -634,10 +633,9 @@ static git_repository *update_local_repo(const char *localdir, const char *remot
 			report_error("Unable to open git cache repository at %s: %s", localdir, giterr_last()->message);
 		return NULL;
 	}
-	if (!prefs.git_local_only) {
-		git_storage_update_progress("update remote repo");
+	if (!prefs.git_local_only)
 		sync_with_remote(repo, remote, branch, rt);
-	}
+
 	return repo;
 }
 
@@ -773,7 +771,7 @@ static struct git_repository *get_remote_repo(const char *localdir, const char *
 	if (verbose > 1) {
 		fprintf(stderr, "git_remote_repo: accessing %s\n", remote);
 	}
-	git_storage_update_progress("start git interaction");
+	git_storage_update_progress(translate("gettextFromC", "Synchronising data file"));
 	/* Do we already have a local cache? */
 	if (!subsurface_stat(localdir, &st)) {
 		if (!S_ISDIR(st.st_mode)) {
diff --git a/core/git-access.h b/core/git-access.h
index 395f5ed2b..6dec7a56b 100644
--- a/core/git-access.h
+++ b/core/git-access.h
@@ -30,8 +30,6 @@ int git_storage_update_progress(const char *text);
 char *get_local_dir(const char *remote, const char *branch);
 int git_create_local_repo(const char *filename);
 
-extern int last_git_storage_update_val;
-
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
 #endif
diff --git a/core/load-git.c b/core/load-git.c
index 01c231c77..8c39c494e 100644
--- a/core/load-git.c
+++ b/core/load-git.c
@@ -1675,19 +1675,19 @@ static int do_git_load(git_repository *repo, const char *branch)
 	git_commit *commit;
 	git_tree *tree;
 
-	git_storage_update_progress("do_git_load, find the commit");
 	ret = find_commit(repo, branch, &commit);
 	if (ret)
 		return ret;
-	git_storage_update_progress("git commit tree");
 	if (git_commit_tree(&tree, commit))
 		return report_error("Could not look up tree of commit in branch '%s'", branch);
-	git_storage_update_progress("load dives from tree");
+	git_storage_update_progress(translate("gettextFromC", "Load dives from local cache"));
 	ret = load_dives_from_tree(repo, tree);
-	if (!ret)
+	if (!ret) {
 		set_git_id(git_commit_id(commit));
+		git_storage_update_progress(translate("gettextFromC", "Successfully opened dive data"));
+	}
 	git_object_free((git_object *)tree);
-	git_storage_update_progress("done do_git_load");
+
 	return ret;
 }
 
diff --git a/core/save-git.c b/core/save-git.c
index 8f4e4ff0b..dae9cf6a2 100644
--- a/core/save-git.c
+++ b/core/save-git.c
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 #include "git-access.h"
 #include "version.h"
 #include "qthelperfromc.h"
+#include "gettext.h"
 
 #define VA_BUF(b, fmt) do { va_list args; va_start(args, fmt); put_vformat(b, fmt, args); va_end(args); } while (0)
 
@@ -936,7 +937,7 @@ static int create_git_tree(git_repository *repo, struct dir *root, bool select_o
 	struct dive *dive;
 	dive_trip_t *trip;
 
-	git_storage_update_progress("start create git tree");
+	git_storage_update_progress(translate("gettextFromC", "Start saving data"));
 	save_settings(repo, root);
 
 	save_divesites(repo, root);
@@ -945,7 +946,7 @@ static int create_git_tree(git_repository *repo, struct dir *root, bool select_o
 		trip->index = 0;
 
 	/* save the dives */
-	git_storage_update_progress("start saving dives");
+	git_storage_update_progress(translate("gettextFromC", "Start saving dives"));
 	for_each_dive(i, dive) {
 		struct tm tm;
 		struct dir *tree;
@@ -978,7 +979,7 @@ static int create_git_tree(git_repository *repo, struct dir *root, bool select_o
 
 		save_one_dive(repo, tree, dive, &tm, cached_ok);
 	}
-	git_storage_update_progress("done creating git tree");
+	git_storage_update_progress(translate("gettextFromC", "Done creating local cache"));
 	return 0;
 }
 
@@ -1209,7 +1210,7 @@ int do_git_save(git_repository *repo, const char *branch, const char *remote, bo
 		fprintf(stderr, "git storage: do git save\n");
 
 	if (!create_empty) // so we are actually saving the dives
-		git_storage_update_progress("start git save");
+		git_storage_update_progress(translate("gettextFromC", "Preparing to save data"));
 
 	/*
 	 * Check if we can do the cached writes - we need to
diff --git a/mobile-widgets/qmlmanager.cpp b/mobile-widgets/qmlmanager.cpp
index 0c598bd37..fef7e72ce 100644
--- a/mobile-widgets/qmlmanager.cpp
+++ b/mobile-widgets/qmlmanager.cpp
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ static void appendTextToLogStandalone(const char *text)
 extern "C" int gitProgressCB(const char *text)
 {
 	static QElapsedTimer timer;
-	static qint64 lastTime;
+	static qint64 lastTime = 0;
 	static QMLManager *self;
 
 	if (!self)
@@ -58,8 +58,9 @@ extern "C" int gitProgressCB(const char *text)
 		qint64 elapsed = timer.elapsed();
 		self->appendTextToLog(text);
 		self->setNotificationText(text);
-		if (elapsed - lastTime > 500)
-			qApp->processEvents();
+		if (elapsed - lastTime > 50) { // 20 Hz refresh
+			qApp->processEvents(QEventLoop::ExcludeUserInputEvents);
+		}
 		lastTime = elapsed;
 	}
 	// return 0 so that we don't end the download
@@ -419,8 +420,7 @@ void QMLManager::retrieveUserid()
 		s.sync();
 	}
 	setCredentialStatus(VALID);
-	setStartPageText("Cloud credentials valid, loading dives...");
-	git_storage_update_progress("load dives with valid credentials");
+	setStartPageText(tr("Cloud credentials valid, loading dives..."));
 	// this only gets called with "alreadySaving" already locked
 	loadDivesWithValidCredentials();
 }
@@ -475,7 +475,7 @@ successful_exit:
 	// if we came from local storage mode, let's merge the local data into the local cache
 	// for the remote data - which then later gets merged with the remote data if necessary
 	if (oldStatus() == NOCLOUD) {
-		git_storage_update_progress("import dives from nocloud local storage");
+		git_storage_update_progress(qPrintable(tr("Loading dives from local storage ('no cloud' mode)")));
 		dive_table.preexisting = dive_table.nr;
 		mergeLocalRepo();
 		DiveListModel::instance()->clear();
@@ -941,7 +941,6 @@ void QMLManager::changesNeedSaving()
 void QMLManager::saveChangesLocal()
 {
 	if (unsaved_changes()) {
-		git_storage_update_progress("saving dives locally");
 		if (credentialStatus() == NOCLOUD) {
 			if (same_string(existing_filename, "")) {
 				char *filename = NOCLOUD_LOCALSTORAGE;
@@ -976,7 +975,6 @@ void QMLManager::saveChangesLocal()
 		}
 		prefs.git_local_only = glo;
 		mark_divelist_changed(false);
-		git_storage_update_progress("done with local save");
 		alreadySaving = false;
 	} else {
 		appendTextToLog("local save requested with no unsaved changes");
@@ -1007,12 +1005,10 @@ void QMLManager::saveChangesCloud(bool forceRemoteSync)
 	}
 
 	bool glo = prefs.git_local_only;
-	git_storage_update_progress("start save change to cloud");
 	prefs.git_local_only = false;
 	alreadySaving = true;
 	loadDivesWithValidCredentials();
 	alreadySaving = false;
-	git_storage_update_progress("finished syncing dive list to cloud server");
 	prefs.git_local_only = glo;
 }