Barcode Not Recognized in New Version of Survey123 v3.10

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08-27-2020 05:49 PM
Billy
by
Occasional Contributor II

Hi,

Before the recent update of Survey123, I tested successfully reading the barcode of our electric meters nameplate  using the Barcodes sample survey available in Survey123 Connect (version 3.9) and the android mobile app. This is the barcode that I'm trying to scan:

After upgrading to Survey123 Connect v3.10, I created a form hoping to use the barcode reading functionally of the app but now the barcode question doesn't detect the barcode. I also tried with the Barcodes sample survey again to no avail.

I read this blog post, from May-2016, about the Barcode Question: https://community.esri.com/groups/survey123/blog/2016/05/17/understanding-barcode-questions-in-surve...The post list the barcodes recognized by the app: Survey123 for ArcGIS supports a very specific subset of them: QR Code, Code 39, Code 93, Code 128, EAN 8, EAN 13, UPC A, UPC E, UPC EAN Extension, Aztec, Codabar, Data Matrix, ITF, MaxiCode, PDF 417, RSS14 and RSS Expanded. 

Also, the article mentions that: If scanning fails, the first thing to check is if Survey123 is configured to scan the type of barcode you are targeting.  Use the menu button in the top-right corner to configure the scanner.   You can configure the barcode scanner to scan any of the supported types if you like.

I selected all the options available in the menu option with no change in the result. I was surprised that I could not select all the types at the same time, as I tried to select them one by one some of the previously selected lost their selection. Also, the list of barcode type available after the upgrade is the same the was available before. So, it doesn't look like the barcode type I'm trying to scan was removed from the list.

In addition, I had another problem with the rotate camera button. After clicking it once the camera rotated to the front facing camera and it won't change to the back camera when clicking it again or closing and opening the app.

How I can solve these problems.

Thanks.

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11 Replies
by Anonymous User
Not applicable

Hi Billy,

I am looking into your issue and have done some initial testing with the two barcodes you provided. Using the field app 3.10 on a Samsung S20+ Android 10 and Samsung S8 Android 9 I am able to successfully scan both barcodes using the Code-39 barcode type. Tested with on screen and printed paper version of your two barcodes. I also can not reproduce the camera switcher issue, I am able to switch back and forth between both cameras.

Can you confirm what Android device you are using (make/model/android OS version) and is the device 64 or 32 bit (armv8/aarch64 vs armv7)? Can you share a screenshot of the About screen from the field app (press and hold on AppStudio button to expose additional details)?

As for the barcode chooser, all barcode types can be selected at the same time expect for Code-39 and PDF417. These two are mutually exclusive, as they are higher intensity and use a special scanning method. If you select one of these types then all other types are deselected. Note there is a small trick to select all quickly, press and hold on the "Select barcode types" to select/deselect all in one go.

Given you are seeing a difference between 3.9 and 3.10 field app, can you please log a bug with Esri Support so we can capture all the additional details, track the issue and have it assigned accordingly to the development teams required.

I will continue to work with you once you reply with above answers to my question, and having it logged officially will also help get this resolved quickly.

Regards,

Phil.

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Billy
by
Occasional Contributor II

Hi Phil,

Thanks for the quick reply.

The Android device is a Samsung S9 with Android 9. This is the same device that I used before when I was able to read the barcode.

I will log the bug tomorrow.

Here is the about page:

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by Anonymous User
Not applicable

Hi Billy,

Thanks for the additional information. I see you are using a similar device to what I tested on, however I notice from your screen shot that you do not have a valid location (exclamation mark in top right corner). Do you have location services disabled or are you working in flight mode? Has Survey123 been given app permission to allow access to the location services? I am wondering if this has something to do with the issue you are seeing, especially with toggling the camera in use and barcodes not scanning.

Something else helpful would be to capture the device diagnostics logs while you attempt to scan a barcode. You can enable this in the Settnigs Menu -> Diagnostics option, and record the logs to a file, and then email/share the file.

Regards,

Phil.

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by Anonymous User
Not applicable

Hi Billy,

Just an FYI, one of my colleagues has a Samsung S9 Android 9 and I asked him to test 3.10 with the barcode scanner and your 2 barcodes above, and he was able to scan them successfully and quickly, worked as expected.

It makes me think it is something specific to your device or maybe other apps you have installed?

Regards,

Phil.

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Billy
by
Occasional Contributor II

Hi Phil,

I uploaded a video showing the problem with the Galaxy S9. You will see in the video that Survey123 in the

S9 has all the permissions. I was able to capture the barcode but takes several tries, and also the problem with the

switching from front facing to back facing camera is shown as well.

The video also show the test with a Galaxy Tab S6. With the table the barcode is capture much quicker. Also, the 

camera can be switch to front and back with no problem. The tablet has the same version of Survey123 as the S9, as you can

in the picture below.

After recording the video I removed Survey123 from the S9, clearing the cache and the data, re-started the S9 and re-install

Survey123. The problem with switching the camera was still present in the Barcode sample survey, and the difficulty to scan

the test barcode persisted. Additional, I tried deleting the Barcode sample survey and download it again to the S9. This 

reset the camera to the back facing but when I clicked to switch to the front I couldn't switch it back.

Finally, I noticed that slightly tilting the S9 to one side while trying to scan the code improve the situation significantly.

It looks like the problem is related to this specific S9. I will test the Barcode survey in the other S9s that we have in the company

and I'll let you know if I get the problems.

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by Anonymous User
Not applicable

Hi Billy,

Thanks for sharing the video and additional information. It appears the problem could be related to this device only, and may be camera hardware or driver issue. You could try ensuring all drivers and OS updates are up to date, and even try a factory reset (if you are able to). We have seen with some devices that when the camera or GPS or other hardware built-in stop working as expected, a factory reset usually fixes it.

Regards,

Phil.

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HarkeeratKang
New Contributor II

Hi -

I am seeing this same issue where the iOS devices are not reading the barcodes that worked for the last two years and stopped working in Nov 2020. We are using Code- 39 barcode type. Is this a known issue/bug?

Thanks.

Harkeerat

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ClaireMWood
New Contributor II

Hi,

I m also seeing the same issue with Code 39 barcodes in Survey123 version 3.11.64, using a Windows 10 Panasonic Toughpad.  

Claire

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by Anonymous User
Not applicable

Hi @HarkeeratKang @ClaireMWood,

Can you confirm if you have selected the Code-39 type from the menu in the latest version, it is no logner selected by default, and all other types must be unselected for Code-39 to work.

Also, can you provide an example of the barcode, as a scan or clear photo in an image file or document, so I can do some further testing.

Regards,

Phil.

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