How to troubleshoot Inform issues
- Steven Cooper
- Clare Ellis
Often our clients are looking for steps to troubleshoot member issues with our Inform product. We have a lot of documentation for isolated questions/issues across our documentation, and this page aims to provide a location to pull all the solutions into one place.
Helpful documentation to have bookmarked:
Basic steps to determine what the user is connected to and the data the user has synced with Validic
We’ll be using the Inform Rest API calls in the below steps. See the note below
NOTE: The Try It option in the docs linked below doesn’t work. You should run the calls in Postman or in your browser for the return. We don’t have an ETA on when the Try It option will be resolved
What sources is the user connected to?
Required to run the call:
UID: The unique identifier from the client end used when provisioning the user in the Validic system
Org ID: The Validic Org id the user was provisioned in
Token: The Org Access Token for the org the user was provisioned in
The return includes what sources the user is currently connected to, when the user connected to the source (if a cloud source), and the last_processed_at for that source.
This can answer the initial question of what the user is connected to and when they last synced with that source.
How do I see what data the user has synced with Validic?
You would first need to determine what endpoint the data you are investigating would be in. See this page for a list of metrics per source supported by Validic. You will see separate columns that denote the endpoint the metric can be pulled out of.
Isolate the metric the user is asking about, and then use the below endpoints to pull data back on the user. The required elements to run the calls are the same as what is noted for the Get User Profile call above, and all of the endpoints can pull up to 30 days of data per call.
The user’s data hasn’t synced in the Validic system. Why?
An app can’t work if the app is swiped closed…
One of the most common reasons we see users’ data missing from cloud sources and BLE-connected peripheral devices is that the users don’t have either the vendor app open for cloud connections or the client’s app with the Validic SDK enabled for the BLE-connected peripheral devices. You can see all of the sources connected to the Validic ecosystem on this page. Note the Connection Type column to determine what is cloud connection and what is Validic Mobile Bluetooth LE connection.
For the majority of cloud sources in the Validic ecosystem the vendor’s API connection is through the vendor’s proprietary app. If the user doesn’t have the vendor’s app open either in the foreground or background of their phone, then there is no way for the vendor’s API to sync the user’s data with Validic.
For the Valdic Mobile Bluetooth LE connections, the Valdic SDK has been built into the client’s proprietary app. Our SDK offers the ability to sync data when the app is in the foreground and in the background on the phone, but we have no solution if the user swipes the client’s app closed on their phone.
Did the user use the correct credentials in the Validic Marketplace?
We have seen many times users that have different credentials in the vendor app and in the Validic Marketplace. This creates a situation where Validic is trying to sync data for a user that isn’t the user the vendor app is tracking data on. The user would have to disconnect from the Validic Marketplace and then connect again with the correct credentials to resolve the issue and have the data on their vendor app match what is being synced to Validic.
Why isn’t the user’s BLE-connected peripheral not syncing with the client app?
Assuming you have already verified that the user is keeping the client app open on their phone, then there are some additional questions you can ask the user. See the bullet points on this page. You will also see on this page the explanation of what the different timestamps in the rest API calls denote. Often when there is something encountered that is listed on the page and it is resolved the time that the reading was taken will be in the past when compared to when it synced with the Validic system.
The user is having issues pairing their BLE-connected peripheral to the client’s app.
BLE is the universal solution, but it is important to note that BLE is basically open-source technology. Our Validic SDK does its best to make use of that technology as easy as possible, but there are often users that struggle with it. There are limitations to the BLE solution that are not something that can be controlled by our SDK as well.
Basic troubleshooting steps:
Make sure that Bluetooth is enabled on the phone.
On IOS open Settings < Bluetooth < Toggle the option to on
For Android, the instructions can vary depending on what Android phone you are using. If you don’t know how then add your phone’s manufacturer and model to the below phrase and search for it on google. Use that to find an appropriate answer to how to enable Bluetooth
<Phone Manufacturer> <Phone model> how to enable Bluetooth
Is the device you are trying to pair connected by Bluetooth to another phone? If so, then you will need to open up the Bluetooth settings on the other phone and forget the Bluetooth connection on that phone.
On IOS open Settings < Bluetooth < Click on the information icon to the right of the device name < Select Forget this Device
For Android, the instructions can vary depending on what Android phone you are using. If you don’t know how then add your phone’s manufacturer and model to the below phrase and search for it on google. Use that to find an appropriate answer to how to forget a Bluetooth device
<Phone Manufacturer> <Phone model> how to forget a Bluetooth device
Only pair your device to the client’s app. Do NOT pair it to the manufacturer’s app.
Make sure you don’t have the peripheral’s vendor app on your phone as well. Bluetooth only allows one BLE connection at a time, and trying to pair the peripheral with the vendor app and the client’s app can cause unneeded issues.
If issues pairing the device to the client’s app are encountered, taking the batteries out of the device, waiting a few minutes, and then adding them again is a useful troubleshooting step. This is a hard reset on the device. Attempt pairing with the device after this step is taken.
Turn the phone off, wait long enough for the phone to completely close, wait a few more seconds, and reboot the phone. Sometimes just restarting a phone will help to resolve some issues with Bluetooth connectivity.
Deleting the client’s app, adding it to your phone again, and logging in with the previous user is a good troubleshooting step.
None of this pointed to a solution for the user
Looks like it is time to open a ticket with Validic Support. Follow the instructions on this page to open a case in the support portal and ensure you have included all the information needed for the investigation of an Inform case as noted on this page.