topic Re: Existing Feature Service (Layer) Does Not Have GlobalID So Cannot Create New S123 (also versioned so cannot sync) in ArcGIS Survey123 Questions

Existing Feature Service (Layer) Does Not Have GlobalID So Cannot Create New S123 (also versioned so cannot sync)

Teresa-AZ — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 19:48:45 GMT

Problem: Unable to create a new S123 that is created from an existing Feature Service and this error: "supportsApplyEditsWithGlobalID must be true"

Facts:

- Feature Service/Layer does NOT have a GlobalID and is versioned (probably Traditional) and therefore unable to simply "Enable sync" in Feature Layer/Settings. (Receive a 500 error)

- All suggests in this Esri Community (and such) have mentioned three (3) options if Unable to Sync and Versioned. 1) Unversion the Data (probably not viable), 2) Move to Branch versioning (this is why I think it is Traditional Versioning, even though Branch is recommended for ArcGIS Enterprise; and need a GlobalID, ugg, then publish, then sync) and 3) a Manual 'Force' (with GP Tools that will add a GlobalID, then index, then overwrite) --- OR move back to S123 v.2.9 (from 2018 so nope) OR create a non-versioned view (copy of data) and have a nightly Python script to sync the changes so nope)

Does anyone have a suggestion or solution or anything really at this point?

Thanks in advance,

Teresa

Re: Existing Feature Service (Layer) Does Not Have GlobalID So Cannot Create New S123 (also versioned so cannot sync)

RyanUthoff — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 19:56:01 GMT

Have you tried following the steps in this blog post so "supportsApplyEditsWithGlobalID" can be set to true? https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-survey123-blog/how-to-enable-supportsapplyeditswithglobalids-on/ba-p/893977

You said that you do not have GlobalIDs. GlobalIDs are required in order to enable supportsApplyEditsWithGlobalID.

Re: Existing Feature Service (Layer) Does Not Have GlobalID So Cannot Create New S123 (also versioned so cannot sync)

Teresa-AZ — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 20:02:13 GMT

Wow, Ryan! That was fast!

Yes, I read that one. And that is what I figured was needed, but wanted to check with everyone first before "asking" the GIS database person to Add GlobalIDs to at least that Layer via Pro and GP Tool. I believe this is the only way, even if we move to Branch versioning, IF we wish to create a S123 from a Feature Service. I do not believe they have done this in the past (or since v3.x) and only have had the S123Connect create a brand, new Feature Layer with the attributes. Thanks!

Re: Existing Feature Service (Layer) Does Not Have GlobalID So Cannot Create New S123 (also versioned so cannot sync)

RyanUthoff — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 20:08:29 GMT

Also, I missed the part about the versioned data. Versioned (traditional) data is also not supported (unless you use S123 Classic v2.9). Your data will need to be un-versioned in order to enable supportsApplyEditsWithGlobalID.

From the blog post, it must meet these requirements:

So just adding GlobalIDs won't be enough. You'll also need to un-version it, but be very careful about doing that. Un-versioning can potentially result in data loss if you don't fully compress the DB first, not to mention any dependencies on versioned data that might break. I'm not sure if it will work with branch versioning or not.

Re: Existing Feature Service (Layer) Does Not Have GlobalID So Cannot Create New S123 (also versioned so cannot sync)

ZacharySutherby — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 20:14:01 GMT

Hey @Teresa-AZ,

Please see the Feature layer requirements Survey123 documentation topic. Survey123 does not support traditional versioning and does require a GlobalId's to be enabled on the feature class.

An alternative would be to consider using ArcGIS Field Maps which has a number of form design elements to assist with field data collection

Re: Existing Feature Service (Layer) Does Not Have GlobalID So Cannot Create New S123 (also versioned so cannot sync)

Teresa-AZ — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 20:25:41 GMT

Thanks. I just ask if Trad or Branch (and it is Trad Versioning) and I read that too. Eek on losing data. I will Definitely keep that in mind and let him now!

Re: Existing Feature Service (Layer) Does Not Have GlobalID So Cannot Create New S123 (also versioned so cannot sync)

Teresa-AZ — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 20:27:17 GMT

Ooo! Thanks, Zachary. I read that link but never thought of Field Maps. I will let her know that is a possible route versus S123.