ODK Collect v1.29 Beta: built-in audio recording, new deviceID value, automatic storage migration

ODK Collect betas are an opportunity to get community feedback on upcoming releases. If you have an ongoing data collection campaign, we recommend quickly verifying your form on a test device. The release will be delayed until all reported issues are fixed.

Joining the beta program
To join the beta program, find ODK Collect in the Play Store on your device (not in the web browser) and scroll all the way down. Please don't join the beta with a device or account actively used for data collection! In particular, note that joining the beta is account-based. If you use the same Google account across multiple devices, do not join the beta with that account.

Leaving the beta program
You can leave the beta program from the bottom of the Play Store at any time. Once you leave, you will get the next production update when it is released. If you need to go back to the previous production release, uninstall and reinstall the app. Your settings will be reset but your forms will remain (though backups are always recommended).

What to check in this release

  • Built-in audio recording. There's a test form on the default https://opendatakit.appspot.com server to try. In this beta, all audio questions will use built-in recording. For the release, we plan to ask users who have upgraded whether they would like to use built-in recording or continue using an external app. This would happen the first time an audio question is asked. If you currently record audio, we'd appreciate feedback on this approach.
  • Automatic migration to scoped storage. If you haven't already migrated to scoped storage, the migration will happen automatically on first launch of v1.29.
  • Media is no longer made available to device-wide galleries. If you believe this could be disruptive to your workflow, please describe your scenario below.
  • Change in deviceID value. Instead of sending a device-specific value like IMEI which Collect can no longer access, an installation-specific identifier will be sent. Read more.
  • Launching external apps. If you've ever tried to launch an external app and not succeeded, we now believe any app can be launched (though not all can return values to Collect).
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Yesterday we released the last beta we intend to publish. It makes a few small bug fixes but no major updates. We intend to release later this week unless we hear of any issues.