Site Entry and Exit Scanning: Troubleshooting Guide

This guide is intended to help troubleshoot common problems when volunteers scan into and out of your events.

Some of these steps also apply to scanning attendee tickets and badges.

There are three separate methods for attendance on site to be recorded:

1. Have volunteers scan the site entry/exit QR code with the badge using the camera app on their mobile, and either sign into their SignMeUp account or use their badge code and post code to record their attendance
2. Have an admin with access to the SignMeUp scanner scan the entry or exit QR code on the badge / ticket
3. Have an admin manually record the person as being on or off site within SignMeUp.

The methods all work alongside each other and can be mixed, so that more technically-confident users use the self-scan QR code posters, and admins can help other less confident users by scanning their badges. You can read more information about these methods in this separate article. 

Below, we will look at common issues and troubleshooting steps with the scanning methods.

A volunteer doesn't have access to a SignMeUp account, because someone else registered them

In this instance, they can simply use their badge code and postcode instead of signing into a SignMeUp account using a password.

A volunteer had a 403 or 401 error whilst scanning themselves onto site

There can be a number of causes for this. 

1. Ensure that the volunteer is actually scanning the QR code poster, and not their own badge. Only an admin can scan the QR codes that are printed on badges and tickets.
2. If the volunteer is trying to sign into a SignMeUp account, ensure that the account they are using is actually the one they registered for your event with. Some volunteers have more than one SignMeUp account, or it may be that a family member actually registered them for your event. Only the account that the registration is attached to can be used to scan into and out of your event. The badge code/postcode option is always available as a fallback.
3. If a volunteer has registered more than one person for the same event on their own SignMeUp account, they will need to specify which person they are scanning onto site.

A volunteer had some other error not listed above

Make sure the volunteer has a working internet connection on the phone they are using, with an up to date web browser, and that their phone's camera app supports QR code scanning.

The SignMeUp scanner app isn't scanning QR codes on badges and ticket correctly

The scanner relies on your mobile device's camera, and performance will vary according to your device. This is dependent on your mobile device, not the SignMeUp application. You can improve the reliability of scanning by following these steps:

1. Line the yellow box in the scanner up with the QR code, and then gradually move the phone away from the code until it focuses on the code and scans it.
2. Ensure no other QR codes appear in the viewing area. The QR scanner on some cameras can be incredibly sensitive, and even unintentionally scan codes that are several metres away, particularly the QR code posters which have large codes on them. Keep your mobile device pointing toward the ground and place the badge under it, rather than scanning horizontally, to avoid this issue.
3. If the badge is in a shiny plastic wallet, this can stop the scanner being able to see the code. Ask the volunteer to remove the badge from the wallet and then scan it.
4. If none of the above work, check for printing issues on the badge QR codes. The QR code image must be fully intact to be scanned. If any portion is missing or has rubbed off, this can prevent it from being scanned. You may need to re-print the badge in this case.