@Greg_Pommen the latest beta removes the exists check and tries opening the database anyway. If Collect truly can't open it, there'll be a dialog with an SQL error. If you are able to reproduce the problem pretty quickly and consistently with your devices, you could try this on a test device and see if there are any improvements. I don't recommend using the beta with production devices though so you can also wait until the production is ready some time next week.
See ODK Collect v1.16 Beta for beta details.