Mobile Field Troubleshooting & Diagnostics

This guide provides practical solutions for common issues encountered during fieldwork, diagnostic self-checks, and instructions for exporting diagnostic logs to your supervisor or technical support team.

1. Quick Troubleshooting Matrix

Problem	Likely Cause	Solution
Cannot log in	No internet connection on first login, or invalid credentials	Connect to Wi-Fi/cellular for initial sign-in. Confirm password with supervisor. Ensure tenant status is active.
"Sync Blocked" message	Offline lease expired (past 45 days) or tenant permissions changed	Connect the device to the internet and tap Sync Now to refresh your cryptographic lease and user profile.
Missing surveys on dashboard	Surveys not yet assigned to your role or not downloaded	Connect to internet, pull down on the Forms list to refresh assigned schemas. Confirm with supervisor that forms are published.
Submit button disabled	Unanswered required questions or constraint errors	Review the error badge on the Submit button (e.g. "Submit (2 errors)"). Tap it to view the error summary and jump directly to invalid fields.
Camera or microphone fails	Android/iOS permissions revoked	Open your phone's Settings → Apps → MQUAD → Permissions and ensure Camera, Microphone, and Location are granted.
GPS location timeout	Device indoors or GPS accuracy threshold too strict	Move outdoors with an open view of the sky. Ensure device location mode is set to "High Accuracy".
Media verification alert	Required choices or prompts failed to download	Connect to Wi-Fi and tap Retry Media Download on the survey card before commencing offline work.
Form looks frozen or slow	Low memory or large repeat group roster	Close unused apps running in the background. Restart the MQUAD application. Auto-saved data will resume seamlessly.

2. In-App Diagnostics Tools

MQUAD includes a self-service diagnostic suite to verify operational health without needing an IT technician:

Open Settings → Diagnostics.
Network Health Probe: Tests connectivity against the MQUAD API Gateway, authentication endpoints, and object storage buckets.
Database Health Check: Runs an internal PRAGMA integrity check on the encrypted SQLCipher local store to ensure no database corruption exists.
Sync Queue Inspector: Displays current queue depth, pending payload count, and the exact error code of any blocked transaction.

3. Exporting Diagnostic Logs

If an issue cannot be resolved in the field, MQUAD maintains an internal rotating log that records system events, sync transactions, and error stack traces (with personal respondent data redacted for privacy).

How to Export Logs:

Open Settings → Diagnostics.
Tap Export Logs.
Choose your sharing method:
- Send via Email / Messaging: Share the encrypted .log.zip file directly to your project support email or supervisor.
- Save to Device: Save the file to your internal storage to transfer via USB cable.

4. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Will I lose my collected survey responses if my phone battery dies?

No. MQUAD features continuous transactional persistence. Every question answer is saved to encrypted storage within 5 seconds of entry and immediately upon navigating between pages. When you recharge and reopen the device, navigate to Drafts to resume your interview from the exact question you were on.

Q: How long can I operate completely offline?

You can operate offline for up to 45 continuous days. Before this grace period elapses, the application will remind you to connect briefly to an internet network to re-validate your authentication tokens and sync pending records.

Tap the options menu (three dots in the upper right) and select Terminate Interview. Select the reason (e.g. Respondent Refusal / Withdrew Consent). MQUAD will seal the interview as terminated, record the audit paradata, and skip remaining questions.

Q: Can multiple enumerators use the same phone?

Yes. If two field workers share a device, each can sign out and sign in with their respective credentials. When signing out, MQUAD ensures all completed submissions are queued and local encryption keys are isolated per user profile.

Q: How do I know if my app is up to date?

Go to Settings → Updates. The app displays your current version and build number. If an update is available on the server, a Download Update button will appear. If enabled by your organization, updates can also download automatically in the background over Wi-Fi.