Survey123 Unable to submit survey - No errors just unable to send

Question

A weird anomaly has happened with one of our clients a few times but it's just that.... a weird anomaly and i'm just looking for some suggestions/ideas of what it might be and maybe some reliable work-a-rounds or troubleshooting steps.  So first of all the only thing odd with this survey via a discussion with the client is number of photos included in the photos repeat section.  26 which is pretty significant number.  Wondering how Survey123 stores the data prior to submittal if not offline without sync enabled.

The interest aspect of these inspections if data is recognized, the send button becomes blue, but the survey123 does nothing with the data.  The only option you can do is continue with the survey.  However, the user was able to submit the data at a later time.  The reason why troubleshooting this issue is important is because the client may have spent up 2 hours on just 1 inspection because of all the photo collection needed so the data can't be lost.  Is this maybe a memory issue? a temp data store issue?  a connection issue ( it doesn't sound like it though)?  Any assistance, suggestions would be appreciated.  Thanks.

CM_Bowen · Answer

Hi there,

I am relatively new to Survey123.  I have created a survey and deployed it to my students, so they learn how to use the Survey123 field app to collect data.   I logged into Survey123 app as a students, I collected data for one point, but I can't "send" the data.  I re-did the survey, with extra care, set up and sharing are properly done, yet, the same outcome.  Any ideas?

CN · Answer

Thanks for responding Phil.  My last request was rushed and not well explained.  So I am familiar with the local sqlite database storage of data nd attachments but what i failed to relay was "When" does that get written to sqlite.  In the issue we are experiencing, the data has just been added to the form and attachments associated with it.  At this point, is the data actually in the sql lite database or does that happen upon submitting?  Unfortunately the issue is not my issue...it is a client issue so no screenshots and hard to troubleshoot....the infrequency of the issue doesn't help either.  He is using an android smart phone and 98% of the time has had no issues.  The only issue he has appears to surface when he has an inspection with a large number of repeat section attachments (20+). With this issue, he fills in all required fields, takes and adds numerous photos but when he goes to hit submit it turns "blue" like it wants to submit but nothing happens.  the only option he has is to continue survey.  So this is why i was wondering it this was a temp storage issue maybe with Survey123 or the device? ArcGIS Online connection issue - have occasionally had these issues in the past?  What could be causing this behavior?  Like i mentioned, this might an extremely hard one to troubleshoot but i told the client i would look into it for them.

Anonymous User · Answer

Hi @CN,

When you are using the Survey123 field app either online or offline, the survey data is stored in a local sqlite database, and the photos taken with internal camera or added as an attachment are copied to the My Survey Attachment folder. There is a link between the survey record in the sqlite database to the filename of the attachment in the My Survey Attachment folder. When the survey records are submitted, the data from database and attachments are submitted to the feature service.

Can you explain further "The interest aspect of these inspections if data is recognized, the send button becomes blue, but the survey123 does nothing with the data.  The only option you can do is continue with the survey." Which exact screen are you referring to, can you provide screenshots?

It sounds as if they are offline, which means you can not submit surveys, but once they are online it works?

In either case, no data should be lost unless the survey is deleted from the device (the entire survey or individual records). If nothing has been deleted, then the survey data and attachments will exist on the device, and you can follow the instructions here to recover the data off the device if case of any issues: https://doc.arcgis.com/en/survey123/desktop/get-answers/troubleshootgetanswers.htm#ESRI_SECTION1_A972F8032F3541B1B1809D81B2D4BED9

Regards,

Phil.