Some of my pupils were experiencing problems using Safe Exam Browser on a MacOS, the browser just kept on loading continuously. Other pupils had no problems using Safe Exam Browser on a Mac, so not exactly sure what the problem is.
They were connected to the Internet, and the problems continued after a system restart. They were eventually able to log into the site (moodle), but had limited functions once they were at the test, since Safe Exam Browser just kept on loading (the loading icon on top never stopped).
Anyone with similar experiences who might know a fix?
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Do you know if the affected students are using the just releases new version SEB 2.3?
SEB 2.3, when running on macOS 10.15.4 or later uses the new built-in macOS single app mode (called "Assessment Mode" or AAC). I observed some loading issues myself while developing SEB 2.3, but I assumed that it was connected to running non-final debug builds). In my case, usually quitting SEB and starting it again solved the issue, sometimes it was also gone after restarting the Mac.
Please confirm if the affected users were running SEB 2.3 on macOS 10.15.4 or newer.
If quitting and restarting SEB (and maybe rebooting in addition) doesn't solve the issue, then you could change the setting mentioned below to use the classic SEB single app kiosk mode:
Optionally, the old SEB kiosk mode can be used also on latest macOS versions (see Preferences / Security / "Use Assessment Mode (AAC) if available", settings key enableAAC), as AAC doesn't support optionally enabling features like like screen capture/sharing, Siri and Dictation. Assessment Mode also cannot be used if you want to run a video conferencing solution in the background during an exam for proctoring.
Please let us know how and if one of these suggestions solved the issue, so we can help other SEB users.
Last edit: SEB Support 2021-03-03
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Perhaps not very useful input, but I just wanted to add that I too have noticed loading issues sometimes when starting SEB 2.3 on macOS 11.1, and it was always resolved by simply closing and reopening.
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It seemed to me that it usually only happened the first time after updating/installing SEB 2.3 and afterwards all pages were loaded. I suspect that's another issue of the relatively new Assessment Mode API. I will discuss it with Apple.
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I did not have time to check which version of MacOS the pupils were using, but they were using the newest SEB client (2.3).
Restarting SEB or even restarting the computer did nothing unfortunately, the issue persisted. Sometimes a reload or restart would allow the pupil to at least log in, but with the continuous loading, the site never properly loaded so they were not able to see the exam questions or other features.
I will try Assessment Mode and report back if that had any effect. My school is currently in the early phases of testing out SEB, so we do not require any "special" features just yet, (as long as all the pupils are able to use the basic functions of SEB) so losing out on Siri and screen capture etc is not a problem.
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You might have misunderstood, that new Assessment Mode is by default enabled when running on macOS 10.15.4 or newer, as it is more secure than the old kiosk mode. With the mentioned setting you can switch it off.
Last edit: SEB Support 2021-03-03
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Update: We tried unchecking the Assessment Mode, but this made the pupils unable to open the test (probably because the site picked up changes to Safe Exam Browser). Will try to test out a bit more, but for now I do not have any working solutions for this issue.
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If you're using Moodle 3.9 or newer (or the according new SEB plugin for Moodle), then you would need to use the option "Upload my own config" in Quiz Settings. If you're using the older SEB plugin for Moodle, then you would need to add a new Browser Exam Key (as displayed in SEB 2.3 Preferences/Exam for the SEB config file you're using) in Quiz Settings.
Also especially those students which are already using macOS 11, make sure they update to the latest version (which currently is macOS 11.2.3). As Martin wrote, it seems to work for his students with macOS 11 and it works for us, so it seems you are encountering some additional issues.
It may be that anti-malware software or additional third party software, which would be scanning the internet traffic for malware could cause such issues, as the new Assessment Mode prevents all other software besides SEB and the operating system from accessing the network during the exam. So it might help to disable such anti-malware or network protection third party software before starting SEB.
Last edit: SEB Support 2021-03-09
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Some of my pupils were experiencing problems using Safe Exam Browser on a MacOS, the browser just kept on loading continuously. Other pupils had no problems using Safe Exam Browser on a Mac, so not exactly sure what the problem is.
They were connected to the Internet, and the problems continued after a system restart. They were eventually able to log into the site (moodle), but had limited functions once they were at the test, since Safe Exam Browser just kept on loading (the loading icon on top never stopped).
Anyone with similar experiences who might know a fix?
Do you know if the affected students are using the just releases new version SEB 2.3?
SEB 2.3, when running on macOS 10.15.4 or later uses the new built-in macOS single app mode (called "Assessment Mode" or AAC). I observed some loading issues myself while developing SEB 2.3, but I assumed that it was connected to running non-final debug builds). In my case, usually quitting SEB and starting it again solved the issue, sometimes it was also gone after restarting the Mac.
Optionally, the old SEB kiosk mode can be used also on latest macOS versions (see Preferences / Security / "Use Assessment Mode (AAC) if available", settings key enableAAC), as AAC doesn't support optionally enabling features like like screen capture/sharing, Siri and Dictation. Assessment Mode also cannot be used if you want to run a video conferencing solution in the background during an exam for proctoring.
Please let us know how and if one of these suggestions solved the issue, so we can help other SEB users.
Last edit: SEB Support 2021-03-03
Atleast one of the pupils were using MacOS 11.0.1 and SEB 2.3 so i will try the old SEB kiosk mode.
Perhaps not very useful input, but I just wanted to add that I too have noticed loading issues sometimes when starting SEB 2.3 on macOS 11.1, and it was always resolved by simply closing and reopening.
It seemed to me that it usually only happened the first time after updating/installing SEB 2.3 and afterwards all pages were loaded. I suspect that's another issue of the relatively new Assessment Mode API. I will discuss it with Apple.
I did not have time to check which version of MacOS the pupils were using, but they were using the newest SEB client (2.3).
Restarting SEB or even restarting the computer did nothing unfortunately, the issue persisted. Sometimes a reload or restart would allow the pupil to at least log in, but with the continuous loading, the site never properly loaded so they were not able to see the exam questions or other features.
I will try Assessment Mode and report back if that had any effect. My school is currently in the early phases of testing out SEB, so we do not require any "special" features just yet, (as long as all the pupils are able to use the basic functions of SEB) so losing out on Siri and screen capture etc is not a problem.
You might have misunderstood, that new Assessment Mode is by default enabled when running on macOS 10.15.4 or newer, as it is more secure than the old kiosk mode. With the mentioned setting you can switch it off.
Last edit: SEB Support 2021-03-03
Update: We tried unchecking the Assessment Mode, but this made the pupils unable to open the test (probably because the site picked up changes to Safe Exam Browser). Will try to test out a bit more, but for now I do not have any working solutions for this issue.
If you're using Moodle 3.9 or newer (or the according new SEB plugin for Moodle), then you would need to use the option "Upload my own config" in Quiz Settings. If you're using the older SEB plugin for Moodle, then you would need to add a new Browser Exam Key (as displayed in SEB 2.3 Preferences/Exam for the SEB config file you're using) in Quiz Settings.
Also especially those students which are already using macOS 11, make sure they update to the latest version (which currently is macOS 11.2.3). As Martin wrote, it seems to work for his students with macOS 11 and it works for us, so it seems you are encountering some additional issues.
It may be that anti-malware software or additional third party software, which would be scanning the internet traffic for malware could cause such issues, as the new Assessment Mode prevents all other software besides SEB and the operating system from accessing the network during the exam. So it might help to disable such anti-malware or network protection third party software before starting SEB.
Last edit: SEB Support 2021-03-09