SOLE Exam Troubleshooting for Students

Connection Error

If you encounter a connection error in the LockDown Browser where answers are no longer saving:

• Exit Password: Request the Exit Password from your instructor to exit the exam and re-establish your connection.

• Hard Reboot: As an alternative, press and hold the power button to restart your computer. After restarting, only answers that were saved (marked as green in the answer selection key) will be recorded in the exam.

• Important: Never ignore connection issues, and notify a proctor or instructor immediately if you receive a warning that answers are no longer saving. Questions marked in red are not being saved and will be lost after a hard reboot.

Computer Frozen

For a frozen computer, a hard reboot is necessary. Press and hold down the power button to shut off the computer, then press it again to restart. Log back into SOLE and re-enter the exam.

Saved vs Unsaved Answers

• Saved Answers: Only answers marked as green in the small box below the question number are saved in the exam submission.

• Unsaved Answers: If the box below a question number is red, the answer selection for that question has not been saved, often due to a connection loss. If unsaved, these answers will not be recorded, potentially resulting in a zero for those questions.

LockDown Browser

• Requirements: Ensure you have the latest version of the LockDown Browser. If needed, download it from the exam launch page in SOLE or refer to Install the SOLE LockDown Browser for instructions.

• Launching the Browser: Launch the LockDown Browser directly from within SOLE. Attempting to open it outside SOLE will lead to an error message. If you encounter this, exit the browser and relaunch the exam from within SOLE.

For additional information, see the Troubleshooting While Taking a LockDown Exam page.

Can’t Exit LockDown Browser

If you are unable to exit the LockDown Browser after submitting your exam:

• Perform a hard reboot by holding down the power button until the computer shuts off, then restart.

Error in Finishing Exam Message

Avoid logging into SOLE from multiple devices during an exam. Only one SOLE session should be active to prevent errors that can disrupt exam submission.

Disabling Zoom Virtual Background and Clips

For exams proctored via Zoom and requiring the SOLE LockDown Browser:

1. Disable Virtual Background: The Zoom Virtual Background should be turned off before launching a SOLE LockDown Browser exam.

2. Disable Zoom Clips:

   • The LockDown Browser detects conflicting programs and may prompt students to close them. Zoom Clips, a feature within Zoom, can interfere with the LockDown Browser. If enabled, students will see this message:
     "Some Blocklisted Applications are running. LockDown Browser will not run as long as the following applications are running: ZoomClips."

   • To prevent this, students must exit the LockDown Browser, disable Zoom Clips, and re-launch the exam.

Disable Clips for an Entire Zoom Account:

1. Sign in to the Zoom Web portal.

2. In the left menu, go to Settings.

3. Click the Clips tab at the top right of the page. You may need to click the arrow to show more options.

4. Toggle off the Clips setting.

For more information, refer to the Zoom Clips user guide.