Collect shows successfully submitted but can't find data

Support
1

Facing the same issue and lost several forms (almost 30 forms) with participants data, very important. Is there any possibility to retrieve at least text data without image files will save us. Expecting a positive reply and work around from someone. Thanks

ODK Collect Show Successfully Submitted Forms BUT No Data on ODKAggregate
2

Sorry you're having issues. Here's some information that should help with troubleshooting:

  • What version of Collect are you using?
  • Are the submissions in the Sent menu?
  • Do you use ODK Central or another server? What version of that server?
3

Thanks for your kind reply. Below are the details:

  • What version of Collect are you using? - ODK Collect V2025.3.3

  • Are the submissions in the Sent menu? - No, not showing up (most of them), and one id showing in sent menu and not available in DB

  • Do you use ODK Central or another server? What version of that server? - ODK Aggregate, v2.0.5

4

That means they haven't been sent from Collect at all. Are they in Ready to Send? What message do you see when you attempt to send?

5

Surprisingly it is not present in both menus, but the assessors are very confident and confirming that all these forms are submitted. Very strange and no clue to proceed further.

6

Are some of the submissions coming through as expected?

Could data collectors maybe have accidentally created multiple Collect projects? You can try seeing if other projects are defined and have the submissions they expect https://docs.getodk.org/collect-projects/

7

Hi Helen,
Yes, we have completed almost 13,000 submissions so far and about 30 forms are missing during this period of data collection. The tabs are configured by an admin and given to the data collectors, there is no way of creating new project by them.

I understand that the particular IDs form should be present in either Sent or Ready to submit/Draft. It's very strange as it is not present in any of these menus but the assessors are very confident that those were collected and attempted to submit.
Not getting no idea on how to move way forward to getting them back.

8

Helen, Any positive updates or resolution from your side?

9

I unfortunately don't have any concrete ideas -- this doesn't look like a problem I've encountered before.

Is this concentrated with a few data collectors or spread across many? Do any data collectors recall any errors or unexpected behavior> Can you get the tablets from them, connect the phones to a computer, and see if you find any instances using adb?

10

Yes, it is across many data collectors.

No, they haven’t come across any such different errors.
The data collectors sometime face regular errors such Generic exception/Timed out. (those usually addressed timely) which is not relevant to these missing ids.

I got the tab and checked - none of the file name starting with adb.

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Karthik

11

I was unclear! adb is one way to access files on a device but of course browsing to the instances folder as you have is generally going to be simpler.

Now that you have access to an instance folder, you could do things like see if the count matches what you see from the data collector on the server or if you have a sense of when the missing data was collected, look at the folder with that timestamp. You could also pull the submissions into Briefcase to help you try to find what you're looking for.

12

Yes understood, I have the submission dates from the assessor. I will cross check them with count and dates in the instances folder, hoping something will be positive. I will keep you posted after this activity.

-Karthik

1 Like
13

Hey! :waving_hand:

I've been in a similar situation before, so I just wanted to share a couple of non-technical lessons from my own experience, in case they're helpful:

  1. Building trust with data collectors can really help

    • In my experience, data collectors may sometimes hesitate to openly share difficulties they faced in the field - especially if they feel worried about being blamed / scolded / seniors aren't easy-going, etc. That's why it can be very helpful to build a friendly and trusting relationship with them, so they feel safe being honest if something goes wrong.
    • For example, I once had a case where a few forms were believed to be submitted, and the data collectors was very confident about it, but they were missing from the ODK ecosystem. Only after I became friendly enough with the data collectors, they felt comfortable to share that they hadn't actually submitted those forms. Once I understood the real issue, we were able to resolve it and fill in the missing data later.

  2. Sometimes we may be searching for the wrong record

    • Another thing I've learned is that sometimes the data is actually there - we may just be looking under the wrong identifier.
    • For example, I once spent several days searching for records under one household ID, only to later realize the correct ID was different. The data collectors had done the survey correctly - I was just checking / looking under the wrong reference for days.

Hope these experiences are useful in some way.

Wishing you a great day! :smile: