Survey123 App Logging User Out

[JoshHabel]

Hello,

My field crews are having issues with the app logging them out and I am wondering if this is a known bug or if there is something else going on with the software or hardware we are using.  So far the issue seems to happen under the following circumstances.

1.   If the device looses cellular signal

2.   If the the crew member receives and answers a call or text

We are using a combination of the latest Ipads and Samsung Galaxy 7&8  phones.  The carrier is Verizon.  So far the only thing we can do is log back on which usually requires driving to a location that has a good signal.  This is very annoying for them and wastes time so i really hope there is a solution in the works.  Off line use is critical in our area where cell signal is spotty at best.

Thanks,

Josh

[NorthlandRegional_Council]

Hi Philip,

Sorry for the delayed response, we are using ArcGIS Online. The issue seems to be mostly affecting Samsung phones including A30 and galaxy note 8.

We have not logged an issue with Esri Support yet.

Regards,

NRC

[AdminAccount2]

This issue is causing major issues now as we have many more Survey123 users and this is happening more often. The username field is also being used to get the submitters email address from the Enterprise SSO login and then process the submission and send email through Integromat. If the username/email address is not populated because the user is not logged in when the survey is started , then no email address is available and the whole system falls apart. 

Since many users are beginning these surveys in the field without any valid connection (cell or wifi) then the only way this is going to be sustainable is if the users login information is properly cached and available to populate the username/email fields when the user has been logged out of the app.

Most of our users are all on iOS devices (phones and iPads) and should be using the 3.12 field app. I can confirm that no cached information is being saved if the user gets logged out then starts a new survey.

The only workaround I see right now is to have the users manually enter their name/email if they are logged out when they start a survey and do not have access to a valid connection.

Is there any news when this will be fixed? Hopefully ASAP.

[Anonymous User]

Hi @AdminAccount2,

Have you logged a support case with Esri Support? If so can you please provide the BUG number so we can take a look into the detailed information.

The details of your enterprise configuration, authentication methods, device etc will be key to resolving this issue.

Just an FYI - login information is cached and the app can be used offline and user is still signed in, provided at time of going offline they are still signed in. Problems can occur if during a check to remain logged in (token refresh) if that fails due to bad network, the user may be logged out unexpectantly, and need to sign in again on a valid network.

Regards,

Phil.

[kmsmikrud]

Hi @Anonymous User ,

One of users (and potentially others I'm reaching out) are experiencing this issue. We are using cellular iPads, but they do not have a cellular plan. We purchased for the internal GPS. Our users fly aerial surveys and completely offline. We are using Survey123 3.12.277 and ArcGIS Online. Survey123 is used in conjunction with Field Maps and survey form is linked to from the Field Maps pop-up.

The surveyor said they are constantly signed out and obviously if they are offline it won't let them sign back in and they experienced the same issue today.

Should I submit a tech support case? I was hopeful this had been fixed reading thru this thread, but appears this is an issue which is significant in our case where all surveys are offline.

Thanks,

Kathy

[kmsmikrud]

Update:

I did submit a tech support case regarding the survey123 app signing a user out. For them, it looks like when they are in the office and lose wifi connection the survey123 signs them out. It also happens when they are surveying offline they get signed out. We also use Field Maps and in the pop-up within the map, there is a link to the survey123 form. The user has also noticed that when the map freezes up in Field Maps and he has to close out the app, this also signs him out of survey123. This seems very quirky on why the user is getting signed out SO much. It doesn't seem to be an issue with other issues. Can anyone provide insight why this is happening? Why does causes the survey123 app to sign a user out? Is there a certain amount of time it tries for a connection or what is the trigger?

Thanks,

Kathy

[Anonymous User]

Hi @kmsmikrud,

Thanks for submitting a techsupport case. This behaviour sounds very odd. Are you saying this only happens to one user on one specific device, or does it happen to others also?

Can you confirm, are you using ArcGIS Online or Enterprise, and do you use a VPN or MDM management for the devices?

Survey123 is designed not to sign the user out, provided they are signed in when go offline, the user state will change in the app to stay signed in, in an offlien state, you will see the user profile photo goes grey. But if you restart the app, the user is still signed in. Using Field Maps or closing that app, should have no affect on Survey123, the sign in state and use of both apps are entirely seperate.

Have you tested the latest Survey123 3.13 beta builds available on the Early Adopter Community, to see ifthe same issue still occurs.

Regards,

Phil.

[kmsmikrud]

Hi @Anonymous User ,

I inquired with our current users and currently the one office that has 2 users has had the most issues, the other users (5 of them) have only been signed out once in using the app the past few months.

We are using ArcGIS Online and the iPads do have Mobile Device Management (Airwatch) software on them.

The office where the two users who have had the most issues does not have the best WiFi, but the other offices really don't have that great either. The two users said even in the office they are signed out at times from Survey123. I haven't experienced this, but I am not in the same office. One of the users has had the issue a lot for when they go offline they find they are signed out. I'm not sure if leaving the office WiFi and then transitioning to the airport WiFi or if a user has their phone on and they have previously used a hot spot connection that this is causing the Survey123 app to sign them out, but it hasn't been a good experience for the one user in particular. They fly aerial surveys in remote locations, so time is limited and technical issues such as being signed out of the app and not being able to enter records is stressful.

Today the user was going to try making sure they are signed in at the office and then move the iPad to airplane mode. I'm waiting to hear if this helped.

Thanks for the response,

Kathy

[Anonymous User · Accepted solution]

Hi @kmsmikrud,

Just wanted to check to see if you had tested the latest 3.13 beta builds from EAC to see if the problem still persists, and also if you had tried the workflow of placing the device in offline (flight) mode before leaving the office, and if the user was still getting signed out?

Regards,

Phil.

[kmsmikrud]

Hi @Anonymous User ,

Thanks for checking in. We didn't test out the 3.13 beta builds from EAC mostly because the user is another office and limited on time. However they did try the workflow of placing the device in offline mode or airplane mode for the iPad and then did not have the issue with the app signing them out again and said it was working great. So this was really good to hear since they were getting signed out so frequently when they were away from the WiFi.

Thanks,

Kathy

[GailTownsend]

Hi, has this been resolved yet? Is there a work around? We are still having ongoing issues with users being signed out whenever they lose mobile coverage. Unfortunately that is a lot of the time in our area. We are mainly using Samsung phones - galaxy note 8, A21 and A50 mostly. We are currently using Survey 123 version 3.14.242 but have had this problem through a number of versions.

Regards

Gail