Troubleshooting

What to look at first when a form will not deploy, preloads are empty, a phone cannot connect, the checks stay quiet, an export is missing rows, or the server will not start.

Most problems in a survey operation are not errors on screen: a preload that reads blank, a check that never fires, an export with fewer rows than expected. Joripo says so wherever it can, but some of these can only be recognised by what they look like. These pages go from the symptom to the cause, and link to the page that explains the part involved.

If none of them fits, tell your organisation's owner, or, for anything about the server itself, its maintainer: Server administration › Server health shows the server's recent warnings and errors.

Forms and preloadsAn upload that is refused, preloaded answers that arrive empty, pictures that do not show, a compiler fix that did not reach a form, and a form ODK Collect will not open.
Phones and sign-inA phone that waits for approval, finds no forms, reaches nothing, is refused or keeps forms unsent; passwords that must be changed; lockouts; and a server whose address changed.
Checks, data and exportsChecks that never fire, one finding raised on every interview, an export with fewer rows than expected, masked answers, and Stata cutting a long text.
The serverFor whoever runs a server: a start that stops at a database upgrade or at the data keys, data that vanished after a redeploy, phones that see a new server, red backups, and submissions missing from the console.