I’m unable to setup a project in ODK Collect directly via scanning the QR code generated by ODK central for an app user.
Importing the QR code manually works fine.
2. What steps can we take to reproduce this issue?
Create an app user. Then try to setup the project in ODK Collect using the QR code generated by ODK central. It does nothing.
3. What have you tried to fix the issue?
Well, the camera app of my phone detects the text represented by the QR code, and importing it, manually, works. I tried with other android devices and didn’t work.
I don’t know which details could be useful to debug this issue.
4. Upload any forms or screenshots you can share publicly below.
I don’t know which details could be useful, since the Collect App does nothing at the moment of scanning.
Can someone let me know if this is something with my setup, or someone else is having this issue too.
I’m scanning the QR code from within the ODK Collect app:
Add Project → Scan Configuration with QR code
I was pointing out that the built-in camera app of the device detects the text that the QR code is encoding and within Collect if I choose, import the QR code manually by loading the image from the gallery it works.
Can you please share some information about the device that you're using? What Android version does it have? What's the make and model?
We recently switched barcode scanning to use a library included in Google Play Services. Some devices don't have Google Play Services but we have a fallback for that case so I'm surprised you're not getting any scanning at all.
Is this what the scanning interface looks like or do you see something different like a red line in the middle? When you put a QR code in the viewfinder, do you see a yellow outline appear or no change at all?
it had Android 15, but now got an update and it’s at Android 16.
Google Play system update: September 1, 2025
Google Play Services 25.50.34
I’ve been using the app on both android versions, and the scanning feature didn’t work.
Disabling the Google Play Services app on this device, then opening ODK Collect, worked, the red line you are commenting is there. Then I enabled the Google Play Services and the red line is missing, so no scanning. I tested this twice and same behaviour: with Google Play Services disabled it works.
At this point I checked whether there is an update for Google Play Services, and it got updated to the version:
26.02.35
After update, the QR Scanning feature works on my device (red line).
Xiaomi Redmi 13C 5G
Android version 13TP1A.220624.014.
Does not include Google Play Services.
The behaviour in this Xiamoi device is not consistent, first time I used the app worked, but I opened the app more times to keep testing and now there is no red line. I unistalled the app and installed it again, and there is no red line.
Hi, thanks for your time, I started using the app a month ago, I don’t know about the old UI.
I tested again on the three devices:
Samsung A15 : Now it’s like before, no red line and no scanning. I tried disabling the Google Play Services. If I open the app with the Google Play Services disabled it shows the red line, and works. If I open the app with the Google Play Services enabled there is no red line, and there is no scanning.
Redmi 13C 5G : On this device doesn’t work.
Tablet : Red line is there, scanning works.
All the succesful scans were done via the red line method.
How do I know which UI (old or new) my devices are using ?
How do I know which UI (old or new) my devices are using ?
There’s a small difference: the new scanner no longer shows the red line, and the inner corners are now rounded. When a code is scanned, a yellow or green outline should appear.
I just wanted to make sure you’re not misled by the absence of the red line, which you might be used to from older versions of the app. If that were the case, you might be avoiding placing the code in the window because you think it’s disabled or something. But it looks like you’re trying to scan the code regardless of whether the red line is there or not, right?
Only the tablet device is using the old UI (not round corners). I’ve been trying to scan regardless of the red line. I didn’t know about the red line, until I talked with you. Thanks.
Thanks for the details. From your perspective, it shouldn’t matter whether the new or the old scanner is being used - both should work correctly with QR codes generated via Central.
We’ve been asking these questions to identify which scanner is in use and where the issue might be. Could you try scanning any other QR code (for example, one you find on the internet)?
Of course, such a QR code shouldn’t be accepted, but there should at least be a message indicating that a scan occurred and that the QR code doesn’t contain valid settings.
I tried other QRs (not from Central). The app does not show any messages. I’m aware this maybe not be useful, but I don’t know a way you can replicate the issue, so you can check what’s going on. Thanks.
@BritoAlv just a follow-up question on this: on the devices that weren’t able to scan the QR code, can you scan them successfully using Android’s standard QR code scanner (https://www.android.com/articles/how-do-you-scan-qr-codes-on-android/)? That won’t set up the project in Collect, but it’d be interesting to know if that scanner can detect and read the data.
When you do this do you see a long string of numbers and letters that doesn't make any sense or something else? Please don't share the actual value as it could be sensitive but just let us know the general shape of it so we can confirm that you are indeed scanning a project configuration code.
Would you be willing to send us a QR code privately? That would help us confirm that there’s nothing wrong with QR code data itself.
Ideally you could set up a dummy project or app user so that the QR code doesn’t actually give us access to anything in your server, and you can just delete the project/app user when we’re done testing. It’s important to also check that the new QR code shows the same problems on these devices. You can either DM me or @LN.
