How to Solve Respondus LDB or Monitor Issues Reported by Students

Monitor Issues

When students see the above errors “Webcam must be used” when taking Canvas exam, they indicate there is either a problem with the exam’s title, the exam’s settings, or possibly with the navigational route the student is taking to the exam.  The possible solutions are below.

• If Respondus Monitor is not meant to be enabled for the exam, ensure that the word “Webcam” is removed from the exam’s title in the exam’s settings.
• If Respondus Monitor is required for the exam, open the Lockdown Browser Dashboard for the course and ensure the Web Monitor is deployed.   Tutorial: How to deploy Canvas exam with LDB & Monitor.

• If the problem persists after performing the above steps, ensure the student accesses the exam by navigating to the course and then going to the appropriate test or content area.  The student should avoid accessing the exam through a link in the reminder, calendar, notification, or a page link to the exam.
• Students must also ensure that their computer/network permits access to the Respondus Monitor server. One way to check this is to open LockDown Browser, log in, and navigate to a course. If the student sees the “Help Center” icon in the LockDown Browser toolbar, then access to the Respondus Monitor server is likely not being blocked.

Respondus support has provided the following link to give additional reasons that might cause the error.

Exam title states a webcam must be used, but the exam settings don’t indicate its selected – Respondus Support

Lockdown Browser Issue

When students see the above errors when taking the Canvas exam using Respondus Lockdown Browser (LDB,) they indicate that LockDown Browser cannot retrieve the necessary settings.  The possible solutions are below.

• The exam was copied from the previous semester or another course, and you have not yet deployed the LDB.  Tutorial: How to deploy Canvas exam with LDB & Monitor.
• In the Respondus Lockdown Dashboard, you see an error displayed for your exam.  You should click on the “Fix it” button.
• If the problem persists after performing the above steps, ensure the student accesses the exam by navigating to the course and then going to the appropriate test or content area.  The student should avoid accessing the exam through a link in the reminder, calendar, notification, or a page link to the exam.
• The Student’s computer, ISP, or network might be blocking access to the Respondus servers. Temporarily relax all anti-virus and firewall software on the computer and try the exam again. If the problem persists, try using the computer on a different network, or using a different computer on your main network. Keep in mind that the block could be in the router itself. Bypassing the router and plugging it straight into the modem may help.

Respondus support has provided the following link to give additional reasons that might cause the error.

“There is a problem with the settings for this exam” – Respondus Support