Start-geopoint: what are all the conditions that can cause the value to be missing from a submission?

Support
1

1. What is the issue? Please be detailed.

I am using start-geopoint so that GPS is captured automatically at the start of the form, without the enumerator having to do anything. Before fieldwork begins I need to write the enumerator briefing and the device setup checklist, and for that I need a complete picture of every condition under which start-geopoint could return an empty or unusable value in the final data. I would rather ask openly than guess, so: what are all the reasons this value can end up missing, incomplete, or unreliable? And when it does fail, is that distinguishable in the data from a genuine blank?

2. What steps can we take to reproduce this issue?

3. What have you tried to fix the issue?

I have deployed a form with a start-geopoint row and confirmed it captures a location on my own device. I just want to know any possible things that could happend with enumerators tablets

4. Upload any forms or screenshots you can share publicly below.

2

Hi @Ricard_Hoxha

As the docs says:

If geolocation information is unavailable, the question will be left blank. Reasons for a blank value may include the enumerator turning off location providers, Collect not having location permissions, Google Play Services not being installed, the GPS not having satellite lock and more. No troubleshooting information is provided in the form submission.

To expand on the "and more", the ones that are not in the docs:

  • "Track location" is off - it is on by default, but the enumerator can turn it off from the ⋮ menu while filling the form.
  • The form is saved before a fix arrives - the capture runs in the background and can take several seconds, so a form completed quickly can end up blank even in perfect conditions.
  • Only the first opening counts - reopening a saved form does not retry, so a failed capture cannot be recovered later.

A blank always means it failed - you just don't get the reason.