Resolving Technical Issues During Assessments

If you're experiencing technical problems during an assessment — such as unexpected pauses, screen recording failures, or forced submissions — follow the steps below to troubleshoot the issue. If the problem persists, we'll guide you on how to contact support with the right information to get a resolution quickly.

Troubleshooting “Webcam and Microphone Recordings Paused” Error

If you encounter the “Webcam and microphone recordings paused” error during your assessment, follow these steps in order:

1. Close all applications that can use your camera or microphone (such as Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack calls, or FaceTime), then refresh the page.

2. Click “Allow camera and microphone” when prompted, then choose “Allow” in the browser permission prompt.

3. On macOS: Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera and Microphone, then enable your browser for both permissions.

4. Verify you're using a supported desktop browser (Chrome, Edge, or latest Firefox). Disable any VPN, ad blockers, and browser extensions. Avoid Incognito mode. Clear your browser cache and cookies, then retry.

5. If the error persists, try switching to a different supported browser or device.

Troubleshooting “Connection Error. Please Perform a Clean Reload” Message

If you see a “Connection error. Please perform a clean reload to fix connection” message, follow these steps in order:

1. Perform a clean reload by pressing Ctrl+F5 (or Ctrl+Shift+R on Windows) or Cmd+Shift+R on Mac.

2. If the error persists, fully close all assessment tabs, then relaunch in a supported browser.

3. Continue with the general troubleshooting checklist below.

Troubleshooting “The Test Environment Failed to Load” Error

If you see “The test environment failed to load” error, follow these steps in order:

1. Perform a hard refresh by pressing Ctrl+F5 (or Ctrl+Shift+R on Windows) or Cmd+Shift+R on Mac.

2. Disable browser extensions, especially ad blockers, privacy blockers, or script blockers, then retry.

3. Clear cache and site data for the assessment domain, then retry.

4. If using Safari on macOS, follow these Safari‑specific steps:

   • Go to Safari › Settings › Privacy, uncheck “Prevent cross‑site tracking” and “Block all cookies” if enabled, then quit and reopen Safari before reloading the assessment.

   • Clear site data: Safari › Settings › Privacy › Manage Website Data, search for the assessment domain, remove it, then reload.

   • Disable content blockers: Safari › Settings › Extensions, disable any ad/privacy blockers. In the address bar, click “aA” › turn off “Content Blockers” for this site.

   • Try a fresh session using File › New Private Window and open the assessment link there.

   • Restart your router or test using a mobile hotspot if possible.

5. Try switching to Chrome or Firefox latest version.

6. Try a different network or turn off VPN.

7. Continue with the general troubleshooting checklist below.

Troubleshooting "Start Challenge" Button Not Activating

If the "Start Challenge" button remains grey and won't turn blue, or you're stuck on "Environment setup almost finished" with an inactive button, follow these steps in order:

1. Wait on the "Preparing your test environment" page until setup completes, then return to the "Before You Begin" screen to check if the button turns blue.

2. Perform a hard refresh by pressing Ctrl+F5 (or Ctrl+Shift+R on Windows) or Cmd+Shift+R on Mac. If it still stalls, fully close and reopen the browser, then try again.

3. Check whether your assessment shows a Paused status. A paused assessment can cause provisioning errors and prevent the environment from loading. If it is paused, contact support to unpause or re-provision the assessment, as this requires manual intervention.

Troubleshooting Coding Challenge Redirect Loops

If your coding challenge redirects back to the start page in a loop after you click "Start Challenge", follow these steps in order:

1. Close all non-Turing tabs and disconnect any external monitors or screen recorders.

2. Use Google Chrome in a normal window, not Incognito. Update Chrome to the latest version, then relaunch it.

3. Disable all browser extensions for work.turing.com and vetting-engine.turing.com, or open a fresh Chrome profile.

4. Clear cache and cookies for both work.turing.com and vetting-engine.turing.com, then sign in again.

5. Ensure a stable connection. If you are using a VPN, proxy, or corporate network, turn it off or switch to a home network or mobile hotspot.

6. Grant camera, microphone, and pop-up permissions specifically for vetting-engine.turing.com.

7. Start from your job flow page, click "Start Challenge" once, and wait up to two minutes without navigating away.

Troubleshooting Assessment Loading and Connection Failures

If your assessment is stuck on "Connecting... Please wait", keeps refreshing back to the start page, or shows a "no challenge found" error, follow these steps in order:

1. Perform a hard refresh by pressing Ctrl+F5 (or Ctrl+Shift+R on Windows) or Cmd+Shift+R on Mac.

2. Copy the assessment URL, open a new private window, and paste the link there.

3. Keep only one Turing tab open and close other resource-intensive tabs and extensions before retrying.

4. When prompted, allow camera, microphone, and screen-recording permissions, then click Next.

5. Try a different Wi-Fi network or a mobile hotspot, then reload the assessment.

Troubleshooting Errors When Advancing to the Next Question

If selecting Next produces an error, leaves you on a black screen, or does not load the next question, refresh the page once, verify your camera, microphone, and screen-sharing permissions, and wait for the question to load before selecting Next again. If the problem continues, capture a screenshot and contact support through Report a problem while the assessment is active.

Troubleshooting Display, Plugin, and Connected-Application Issues

If questions appear as question marks or garbled text, a required plugin fails to load, or you cannot access a connected application, use the latest supported Chrome or Firefox browser, disable extensions and content blockers, clear site data, and reload the assessment. Confirm that required pop-ups and permissions are allowed, then sign in to the connected application in a separate permitted tab if the assessment instructions require it. Contact support with screenshots if the content remains unreadable or the application still cannot be opened.

General Troubleshooting Steps

Work through the following checklist before reaching out to support. Many common issues can be resolved by addressing one or more of these items:

If you refresh, wait for the assessment to reconnect and confirm that your saved responses are still visible before continuing.

1. Check your internet connection speed. A minimum of 4 Mbps is required to run assessments smoothly.

2. Use a desktop or laptop computer. Assessments are not designed for mobile devices.

3. Use a supported browser. A Chromium-based browser such as Google Chrome 74+ or Microsoft Edge 79+ is recommended. The latest version of Mozilla Firefox is also supported and may offer better performance than Chrome in some cases.

4. Disable all browser extensions (e.g., Grammarly, coding assistants) before starting your assessment, as these can interfere with platform functionality.

5. Do not use Incognito or Private Browsing mode. To exit incognito mode, press Ctrl + N on Windows or Cmd + N on Mac to open a standard browser window.

6. Clear your browser cache and cookies, then refresh the page before starting the assessment.

7. Ensure your system time and timezone are set to automatic. Incorrect time settings can cause connection issues.

8. Grant all required permissions — screen sharing, microphone, and webcam — at both the browser and operating system level. These are mandatory for most assessments.

9. Disable any VPN, ad blocker, or privacy software as well as any third‑party desktop applications that may interfere with the assessment platform. If connection errors persist after disabling these tools, test on a different network (such as a mobile hotspot) to rule out firewall or proxy issues.

10. Keep your device plugged into a power source for the duration of the assessment to avoid interruptions caused by power‑saving modes.

11. Close any applications running in the background that may be using your camera or microphone. If the issue persists, restart your computer and try the test again before opening any other applications.

12. Ensure that you have a working physical camera and microphone connected to your device.

13. If you are using a laptop, keep it connected to a power source throughout the test to ensure a smooth experience.

14. Verify your WebSocket connection is not blocked. You can test WebSocket connectivity at https://websocketstest.com/ or https://libwebsockets.org/testserver/ before taking an assessment.

If the issue continues after going through the checklist, try switching to a different browser or a different device entirely to rule out a local system or network problem.

Screen recording issues: Check that your browser and operating system allow screen recording, then allow the assessment to share your entire screen or the required window when prompted. Close other applications that may be using screen capture and retry in a supported browser. The assessment timer continues running while you troubleshoot recording problems, so use Report a problem promptly if the issue prevents you from continuing.

If Issues Persist: How to Contact Support

If you've completed the troubleshooting steps above and are still experiencing problems, please reach out to support with the following information. Providing these details upfront will help us investigate and resolve your issue as quickly as possible:

During an active assessment: If you encounter technical issues while taking an assessment (such as videos failing to load, server errors, or IDE problems), immediately use the “Report a problem” option within the assessment interface. This allows support to review the issue in real‑time and potentially reset the assessment if a legitimate technical problem prevented completion. Note that assessment resets are only available when technical issues prevented completion — general reassessment requests without documented technical problems cannot be accommodated.

For complex technical issues requiring specialized review, your case may be escalated to our technical team. The typical initial response time for escalated cases is up to 48 business hours. To avoid delays, do not open multiple tickets for the same issue — if you haven't received a response within the expected timeframe, reply to your existing ticket to follow up.

Assessment Resets: If a verified technical issue forcibly submitted your assessment or prevented you from completing it, support may reset the assessment after reviewing the case. Assessments cannot be reset for convenience or general reassessment requests. Once an assessment has been started, do not leave it unattended: inactivity can cause automatic submission and may trigger the 90-day cool-off period before another attempt. Reset requests must include the challenge name or challenge ID, the assessment date and time, the error details, and supporting screenshots or recordings. Support may verify the issue through proctored session recordings. Approved resets are typically processed within 15–20 minutes after verification, but you must wait four hours after the reset is processed before attempting the assessment again. Access the reset assessment from the Submissions tab at https://work.turing.com/dashboard/applications/. Your new submission will overwrite the old one when reviewed.

• Your name and email address associated with the account

• The assessment link or title, challenge name or ID, and associated application

• The date and approximate time when the issue occurred, including your timezone

• Your operating system and version (e.g., Windows 11, macOS Ventura)

• Your browser name and version (e.g., Chrome 124)

• Your network type (home, office, VPN, proxy, or mobile hotspot) and whether a firewall was active

• Whether you were using a normal browser window or had attempted Incognito/Private mode

• Whether you were sharing your entire screen or a specific window

• Any VPN software, browser extensions, content blockers, or other relevant plugins that were active

• A detailed description of what happened, including the exact error message and the step or question where it occurred

• Screenshots or a screen recording showing the specific error, permission prompts, black screen, garbled content, or relevant settings pages

• A HAR file captured from your browser session during the issue, if available

Accessing a reset assessment: After support processes an approved reset and the required four-hour waiting period has passed, open the Submissions tab at https://work.turing.com/dashboard/applications/ to access the assessment again.

With this information, our support team can perform a thorough investigation and advise on next steps, which may include a manual review or assessment reset where applicable.