Candidates
Candidate troubleshooting
Help a candidate who is stuck on their device, browser, camera, or microphone — the checks to run before escalating.
Candidate troubleshooting
Candidates do not create an account — they open their private link. Most things that go wrong for a candidate are on their device or browser. This page is a checklist you can relay to a candidate who is stuck, and the checks to run yourself before escalating.
The most common causes
| Symptom | First thing to check |
|---|---|
| The link will not open | The assessment must be Active. If a link was lost or forwarded, resend it — see Invite candidates. |
| Camera or microphone is blocked | The browser needs permission granted. The candidate should use a modern browser, not an in-app or private window. |
| The camera check will not pass | Good lighting and a centered, unobstructed face. A reflective surface can read as a second face. |
| The editor is slow or unresponsive | A stable internet connection and a single assessment tab. |
| The timer ran out | The test auto-submitted their latest code — this is expected, not a fault. |
What to ask the candidate to confirm
- Up-to-date browser (the latest Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari).
- Camera and microphone permissions granted for the assessment site.
- A quiet, well-lit space with their face clearly visible and unobstructed.
- A stable connection and no VPN or network proxy if avoidable.
- About 15 minutes of buffer before the window closes for the camera check.
What the candidate sees
The candidate experience is a briefing, a camera calibration, the editor with a live timer, and an auto-submit at expiry. See Candidate experience for the full walkthrough, and How proctoring works for what is recorded.
When to escalate
If the checks above do not resolve it, contact support and include:
- The candidate's email and the assessment name.
- What the candidate was trying to do and the exact message or behaviour they saw.
- What has been tried already (browser, device, permissions).
See Support for the full checklist.