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Troubleshooting

Note:

The Collector for ArcGIS (Classic) help site is retired and no longer being updated. To learn about Collector retirement and to find the latest information on data collection, see Collector retirement.

The following are some troubleshooting tips that Collector users may find helpful. For troubleshooting tips when authoring data collection maps, see Troubleshooting in Create Maps.

Why can't I sign in?

There are a couple of common issues that may occur when trying to sign in. Verify the following:

  • You've typed your user name and password correctly.
  • You have an ArcGIS organizational account that meets the ArcGIS account requirements. Contact the administrator of your ArcGIS organization for details.
  • You included the URL to your portal instance if you're using ArcGIS Enterprise. For example, https://myportal.mycompany.com/arcgis.

I'm signed in. Why can't I see my maps?

Only maps for data collection appear in Collector. Your map must have an editable feature layer to appear. Additionally, Collector only displays maps you authored and those shared with groups of which you are a member. Maps shared with your organization but not a group don't appear. Maps excluded from Collector by disabling the map's Use in Collector for ArcGIS setting don't appear either.

Why can't I add or update features?

Your editing may have been restricted. If you don't see Collect New Collect New, the Collect here option when you long press the map, and the Edit option on features, talk to your administrator. Your administrator can fix this by granting you either the Edit or Edit with full control Features privileges.

If you are missing some of these options, talk to your map author about editing the permissions of the feature service. If the feature service is hosted in ArcGIS Online, the map author can see Allow others to edit in the ArcGIS Online help for details. If the feature service is hosted in ArcGIS Server, the map author can see Editor permissions for feature services in the ArcGIS Server help for details.

I'm trying to collect a feature. Why isn't its type listed when I select Collect NewCollect New?

Either the features that you want to collect are not visible on the map, or the Filter Related Types setting is on. Check the following when a feature you expect to collect is not available:

  • Visibility of the feature's layer—Check a layer's visibility by selecting More and selecting Layers Layers.
  • Scale of the map—Some layers have minimum or maximum scales, outside of which they are not visible. Zoom in or out on the map to change the current scale. Once the layer you want to collect a feature for is visible, you can collect that feature.
  • Filter Related Types setting—When the Filter Related Types setting is on, only parent feature types (for example, light poles) appear in the Collect a new feature panel. When the setting is off, both parent and child feature types (for example, a streetlight) appear. The Filter Related Types setting is enabled by default. To disable the setting, in the Map Gallery, select Action Action, Settings, and Collection Settings. Under the Collection Options section, disable Filter Related Types.

Why can't I add an attachment?

Not all data supports attachments. If you do not see Attachments Attachments, you can't add attachments to the feature. To enable them, work with the map author, and see How do I enable inclusion of photos during collection? in the map creation FAQ.

Why am I receiving a message Unable to synchronize replica. Sync is not enabled.?

The replica from the hosted feature layer is not present. This may be because sync has been disabled for the layer. Work with your administrator to resolve this issue.

Why can't I get directions, change basemaps, or measure?

If you don't have access to these capabilities, they may have been disabled by the author of the map. Talk to the author about enabling these capabilities by editing the map's details on your organization's website as described in Configure map capabilities.

Why are some of my basemaps not listed in the Basemap gallery?

Basemaps may be excluded from the Basemap gallery when they do not meet all of the following criteria:

  • The basemap's coordinate system does not match the map's coordinate system in your location profile.
  • When offline, the work area and the extent of the basemap do not overlap.
  • When offline, the basemap's coordinate system does not match the offline map.

How do I know the accuracy of the GPS positions I'm getting?

When you have a map open and My Location My Location with GPS on is on, displaying your location on the map, the Location Accuracy badge displays in the lower left corner of the map.

Location accuracy badge

This indicates current horizontal accuracy as well as whether the current accuracy is below the location accuracy threshold required to use the GPS to collect data. If the horizontal accuracy is valid for data collection, the badge is green; if the accuracy is not good enough to use the GPS for data collection, the badge is red. If no positions have been received, dashes appear in the badge where the accuracy is supposed to display. If you are not receiving any position information and are using an external GPS receiver, first verify that your receiver is turned on and connected to Collector. Then see Use high-accuracy GPS for details about how to configure your GPS receiver with Collector.

How can I get more information about my current GPS location?

If you have a GPS location and want to see the details of that position, select the Location Accuracy badge in the lower left corner of the map to display information such as the time that the position was received, vertical accuracy, and fix type.

Location accuracy badge