Moodle Mobile FAQ

Students

How can I get the Moodle Mobile app?

The Moodle Mobile app is available for free from Google Play and the Apple Store. See Moodle Mobile downloads for links. You can also install the app directly from your mobile device by searching for 'Moodle Mobile' with author/owner 'Moodle Pty Ltd'.

I can't get the app to work. What do I do?

The Moodle Mobile app will ONLY work with Moodle sites that have been set up to allow it. Please talk to your Moodle administrator if you have any problems connecting.

What permissions does the app require?

The app requires the following permissions:

• Record audio - for uploading to your Moodle site
• Read and modify the contents of your SD card - for content to be downloaded to your SD Card for offline access.
• Network access - to be able to connect with your Moodle site and check if you are connected, and if not to switch to offline mode.
• Run at startup - to receive local notifications even when the app is running in the background.
• Prevent phone from sleeping - to receive push notifications anytime.

I can't see my course on the app. What do I do?

Check with your course tutor that you are correctly enrolled.

Why can't I upload my assignment on the app?

Check with your Moodle site administrator.

Why can't I sometimes access the app or submit anything to it?

This could be because of interruptions in your internet connection. Wait a while and try again. If you continue to have problems, contact your Moodle site administrator.

Is there a space limit on my files?

Assignments will have a size limit which you can see. For other space limit questions, check with your Moodle site administrator.

Who should I contact for help with the app?

Your Moodle site administrator can assist you in getting the app to work correctly.

When are activities completed offline synchronized?

See Moodle Mobile synchronization.

Teachers

How can I enable videos in my course to be downloaded?

See the section 'Media download for offline usage' in Creating Moodle Mobile friendly courses.

Which course format is it best to use?

Topics or weekly course format is best suited to mobile devices.

How do I make YouTube links open automatically in the app?

Add YouTube links as a URL resource.

Why can't my students see their courses?

If you or an administrator have correctly enrolled them in a course, they can see it in their mobile app. If they are correctly enrolled but can still not see their course, ask them to check with your Moodle site administrator.

I can't mark assignments in the app?

Grading assignments is on the roadmap and will be available shortly.

What communications tools can I use in the app to engage with my learners?

See Mobile app notifications. Chat, forums and messaging are all supported by the app.

My protected Vimeo videos are not playing in the app

See this forum discussion with a workaround: https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=327342

Administrators

I can't get the app to work. What can I do?

Assuming you have enabled mobile services on your site, please check:

1. If your site uses an SSL certificate, it must be a trusted certificate, not self-signed. Please use this tool or a similar one to check that your certificate is fine: SSL Checker. All the checks must be ok, including the "Certificate Chain Complete". Otherwise the app might work on iOS but not on Android.
2. Debugging is disabled (in Site administration > Development > Debugging)
3. The ADOdb debug option is disabled if you are using the external database auth or enrolment plugin (in Plugins > Authentication > External database and in Plugins > Enrolment > External database).
4. SHA-1 https certificates are not supported anymore in Chrome, this means that the Android version of the app won't work for your site. If your site doesn't work in desktop Chrome or Chromium it won't work in the Android app. See https://blog.chromium.org/2014/09/gradually-sunsetting-sha-1.html for more information

If you still have a problem, please post in the Moodle for mobile forum.

I cannot access with old users, but I can with recently created ones!

Please, do a "Purge all caches" via the Moodle administration settings, this will solve the problem.

I can't view the courses tab as an administrator

The Moodle Mobile app only displays courses you are enrolled in. If you want to view a course as an admin, you need to enrol in it.

My Moodle site uses a SSO auth method (Shibboleth, CAS, Google OAuth, etc) and the app is not working

You must install the Moodle Mobile additional features plugin.

I am having problems requesting an airnotifier access key

If you have registered your site but are still unable to request an access key, please fill in the Airnotifier access key manual request form. (If your site is hosted so you can't obtain your siteidentifier, enter "cannot obtain" in the field.) Your site registration will be checked and you will be sent an access key in a few days if everything is correct.

Error messages

'Cannot connect: Verify that you have typed correctly the URL and that your site uses Moodle 2.4 or later'

Please check:

1. Mobile services are enabled for the site.
2. The user is entering the correct URL for the site (see FAQ above)
3. For https sites, the certificate is valid (see FAQ above)

'We lost connection; you need to reconnect. Your token is now invalid.' on my custom version of Moodle Mobile

Please check:

1. You have followed all the steps listed in Moodle Mobile Developing a plugin tutorial
2. You have enabled the moodle/webservice:createtoken capability for the authenticated user

'No permission to create web service token for the service local_mobile' when attempting to log in as an admin

You need to create a token for the admin account (only) as follows:

1. Go to Site administration > Plugins > Web services > Manage tokens
2. Click Add
3. Enter the admin username and select 'Moodle Mobile additional features service' (i.e. do NOT leave it as 'Moodle Mobile web service')
4. Click the 'Save changes' button.

'Invalid response value detected' when accessing the site

The user quota global setting should be an integer. For more details, see the discussion How to enable Moodle Mobile App for all accounts.

'A required parameter (username) was missing'

This may happen if your site implements HTTP redirects; the request is redirected by the browser not passing the POST parameters.

Unfortunately, this is something we cannot control in the Mobile app (it can't be handled via JavaScript). For further information, see http://stackoverflow.com/questions/228225/prevent-redirection-of-xmlhttprequest and http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4168784/ajax-redirection-handling

The solution is to change the HTTP redirect and use an HTML page with a meta tag or JavaScript redirect.

I think I found a bug with the app. Where can I report it?

1. Log in to the Moodle Mobile tracker (you'll need to create a tracker account if you've not done so previously)
2. Check whether the issue has already been reported by doing a search
3. If not, report the bug by clicking the 'Create Issue' link at the top right of the page, selecting 'Moodle Mobile' as the project
4. Add a detailed description, then click the Create button
5. Attach the following files to the issue by selecting 'Attach Files' in the 'More actions' dropdown menu:
   • 'Device information' - this can be found in the app (Settings -> Development -> Device info, you can send yourself this information by email using the email button at the bottom)
   • App Log (Settings -> Development -> Show Log, again you can send yourself this information by email)

Any further questions?

Please post in the Moodle for mobile forum on moodle.org.