Bringing this question from 2021 back to life that @RobertAnderson3 posed.
Original thread can be found here:
External Choice List not Updating when Survey123 Opened from Field Maps
Essentially, when using external choice lists, the only way to have surveys receive updated choice lists is to manually open the affected surveys in the Survey123 app. This was stated as expected behaviour as external choice lists are updated via a check on the info page.
Thus, if a survey is launched via URL from a source like Field Maps or Dashboards which bypass the info page, updated choice lists would not be received by the survey. I've also noticed that if a survey is updated, downloading survey updates do not include downloading updated choice lists.
Though the method of downloading updated choice lists is simple, if users are unaware/skip manual updating, they may not receive the updated choice lists before they are required. If those users are now in an area with no signal, they are now stuck using an outdated choice list.
At the very least, if checking for updating external choice lists could be incorporated in the process of updating surveys, that could help solve the issue.
There were comments in the original thread about this issue being on the radar, but it doesn't seem there have been any updates since 2021. Posting this to see if a fix is still on the radar and bring some awareness to this issue for those affected.
Thanks all.
Update: BUG-000141398 was logged in 2021 and brought up in a thread from 2022 with a similar issue. Unfortunately it seems there hasn't been additional progress since the bug was logged, but it has been elevated and another tech support case related to the bug was placed by @RobertAnderson3.
Update: Although the workaround provided by @fklotz marked as the solution doesn't solve the root issue, until an official update from Esri fixes the issue, this seems to be the best solution available!
