# ArcGIS Survey123 — user reviews > 91 indexed App Store user reviews of ArcGIS Survey123 by ESRI, rated 2.80/5 from 212 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/arcgis-survey123/id993015031/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/arcgis-survey123/id993015031.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 60 · 4★ 24 · 3★ 20 · 2★ 19 · 1★ 89 ## What do users think of ArcGIS Survey123? Overall sentiment: negative **Pros** - 💡 Offline map viewing capability - 🌍 Easy translation support - 📝 Solid core functionality for data collection - 🎨 Customizable forms when designed well - 📱 Works well on iPad with proper configuration **Cons** - 🔋 Severe battery drain from continuous location tracking - 🐛 Frequent crashes and app freezes - ⏱️ Significant lag and slow performance - 🔐 Authentication and login issues - 📸 Photo attachment failures and glitches - ⌨️ Keyboard interaction problems blocking form progression - 🗺️ Geopoint location accuracy issues - 📤 Submission errors with vague error messages - 🖥️ No macOS desktop support - 💰 Predatory pricing with poor support quality - 🔄 Slow bug fix response times despite known issues - 🎯 Clunky and unintuitive user interface - 📋 Cannot edit previously sent surveys - 🔌 Background location tracking despite app permissions **Commonly reported bugs** - Continuous location services polling even when app is closed - iPhone 17 photo capture causes complete app crash - Keyboard hangs during form data entry - App crashes on login attempts - Submit checkbox occluded by keyboard - Unknown error messages on photo/data submission - Geopoint displays incorrect location (Africa/Atlantic Ocean) - Paste answers from favorites feature broken - External CSV calculations not functioning after updates - Rating option displays radio buttons with misaligned star images - Map library shows no compatible maps found - Related tables cause send/edit failures - Refresh loop when exiting surveys - Account creation paradox (need account to create account) - Federated credential sign-in not supported - Duo 2FA not displaying properly in embedded browser **Most requested features** - Edit sent survey data capability - Multiple photo selection from library - Magic keyboard trackpad support for iPad - Previous answers dropdown for repeated data entry - Desktop/web-based survey completion - Submit button always visible (not hidden by keyboard) - macOS app compatibility - Video selection from photo library - Note section for additional details - Arabic language support - Improved keyboard handling and exit mechanisms - Most recent surveys shown first by default ## Newest reviews (17 of 91) ### 3/5 — Good, with bugs *2025-11-09, version 3.24.22* Solid overall functionality, but crashes when uploading photos on iPhone 17 ### 3/5 — Solid Tool *2025-10-26* Survey123 is a solid tool and part of many of our data collection efforts with my students. That said there are a few buggy aspects that seem to take a relatively long time to address. First there is the perpetual issue of data entry with a keyboard STILL often hanging up the advancement through the form. Most recently I discovered that (while doing a demo to my class as we were about to head out into the field with Survey123) my new iPhone 17 causes the app to completely crash if you attempt to take a photo. We replicated the issue with other students who also had new iPhone 17s. Again, a solid app, but the responsiveness/speed of revisions leaves much to be desired. ### 2/5 — Drains battery. *2025-10-02, version 3.24.21* App keep running in background draining huge amounts of power ### 1/5 — Worst app ever *2025-04-23, version 3.22.58* This app always wants me to sign in like I have an account already. It won’t let me set one up. ### 1/5 — Absolutely horrible *2024-08-15* Daily problems with this horrendous excuse of an app. IT and customer service are a joke. The very moment they think they have a system that’s semi functional, they roll out a new version and never ACTUALLY get it functioning “right.” If your company makes you use this for your time clock, I pity you. SURVEY123 is GARBAGE. Constantly crashing, never ending bugs, software is dated (yet the app is updated), never ending problems. I could write a book on why to NOT use this app. On the bright side… you don’t have to keep up with a time sheet or go punch a clock… woohoo. ### 1/5 — ابلكيشن خياااس *2024-08-05, version 3.20.69* لو مو الدوام چان ما شفتك بحياتي ### 1/5 — Drains battery quickly *2024-08-01, version 3.20.69* Location services polls continuously whether using app or not. Only solutions are manually killing the app or not allowing location services at all. This has been an issue for years and the devs haven't addressed it. Lame. ### 1/5 — Geography *2024-07-09* This app is extremely poor, I am not in Africa I’m in Oxford you silly Billy’s ### 1/5 — Unknown error *2024-07-02, version 3.20.68* Can’t submit anything, keep getting random unknown errors. First it says the picture had an error, removed it. Then it says it’s the amount, next attempt to submit says it’s the mileage. Ridiculous! ### 1/5 — Poor technology *2024-05-08, version 3.19.121* This app always has issues. Can’t wait until someone invents a new technology. More suitable for 2024. Not 1997. ### 1/5 — Fix glitches now *2024-03-14, version 3.19.120* This app is so glitchy its making me crazy. It jumps all over the place when selecting fields to type in. It freezes when loading pics. This app is costing me and countless others production. Take care of the problem ESRI you guys have the resources. ### 1/5 — Clunky junk *2024-01-06, version 3.19.114* I’d be embarrassed to choose this app for a program. Anyone looking for an app to implement data collection look elsewhere. This is garbage. ### 1/5 — Not compatible with macOS *2023-11-08* I am trying to utilize Survey123 on my laptop and the app does not work on my computer. My coworkers use Windows computers and are able to use the field app on their laptops. Please update the field app so I can use it on my laptop. I need to use this app on a daily basis and it is extremely frustrating to transfer data from my laptop to my phone to do my job. ### 2/5 — Was Working, Now it is Not *2023-11-02, version 3.18.145* The app used to work great. But now when I go to submit the photo report, all I get is an unknown Send error. Has anyone received something similar or know of a work around? ### 1/5 — Not user friendly *2023-09-26* Submit checkbox is often occluded by keyboard making survey submittal glitchy. Earlier versions had an option to edit sent survey data. The current version only allows you to view or copy sent data. The default sorting order for sent surveys is oldest to newest- the logical default would be to show the most recent surveys first. ### 1/5 — Eddie *2023-09-14* Eddie doesn’t like it styll ### 1/5 — Very ESRI like *2023-08-17, version 3.18.142* Using the Survey123 website gets very little done. To make even moderate level changes, you have to download this app. As a user/developer, this is very difficult to understand the rational of ESRI on this decision. They also seem to put uses last. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — God awful *2026-03-10* App was absolutely and utterly terrible ### 1/5 — Not good, and not getting any better *2025-12-19* I have a GIS degree. I’ve had the displeasure of using this app for the past 7 years for work both collecting field data and configuring forms for others. It’s a simple app that somehow remains very difficult to use due to numerous bugs, battery drain, lag, crashing, authentication loops, etc. These issues get exacerbated in areas of poor cell service, causing errors that only resolve by force quitting the app and re-opening in airplane mode. There have been basically no improvements to this platform or support which make the predatory pricing practices of ESRI even more egregious. A billion dollar company that can’t make a simple app functional. ### 1/5 — Potential held back by battery life and design issues *2025-12-11, version 3.24.23* It looks bad and runs worse draining your battery. The Survey123 app experience is even worse when developers don’t recognize or address its limitations. ### 1/5 — This is bad *2025-10-22* Very bad app ### 1/5 — bad *2025-08-22* It’s bad ### 1/5 — Terrible battery life. In traditional ESRI fashion, a monopoly leaves much to be desired *2025-06-30, version 3.22.58* All in all, the app is fine. Decent, even. It does what it is supposed to do. But it is held up by piles and piles of unoptimized spaghetti code, because they don’t really have any competition. The main example of this is battery usage. This app, if given necessary location permissions, will find your exact location indefinitely. It doesn’t matter if you scroll to a different app. It doesn’t matter if you set your permissions to only track location while using the app. It will keep draining your battery at around 10 times the standard rate. The only way to stop this from happening is to fully close the app and reopen it from scratch with every sample. People have known about this bug since *2019.* Users have submitted the code needed to fix the bug THEMSELVES. But those user forums are more of a suggestion, anyways. The day an open-source competitor is able to overcome the barriers ESRI has pulled up is the day that surveyors around the country forced to use this proprietary software will rejoice. ### 1/5 — Awfull *2025-06-29* Forced to install this on a geography school trip, bad trip app made it even worse 🫩🫩. Don’t install this ever it’s so bad ### 1/5 — Needs updating *2025-06-26, version 3.22.58* Doesn’t compare to browser collection - but in browser you cannot edit an existing survey. In the app you cannot select a video from photo library. Pages and suggested text not as functional as web browser ### 1/5 — Me no like *2025-06-16* It made me crash out ### 1/5 — Awful!!!! *2025-06-02* I’m really sad and deeply disappointed with this app—it let me down far more than I expected. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Wow *2026-07-14* Wowowowowiwowowowowo this is such an amazing app i don’t now how id function without it tbh ### 5/5 — love this so much *2024-06-06* i love geography ### 5/5 — Loved it *2024-05-07* Will Moore loved it ❤️❤️ ### 5/5 — JOSHHH *2023-07-06* Josh McPFC likes this app so 5 star ### 5/5 — Works well if customized correctly *2022-08-07* This app is awesome when designed well by the team who is customizing it. Many of the bugs reported by others are due to how it was customized, not due to Esri. Also they are constantly improving it! You can’t beat the ease of translations and ability to add offline maps to be viewed in the field, even while disconnected from the internet. ### 5/5 — Joke of the year *2020-05-08* Is this some kind a hoax can’t get past the green page server error looks like there’s a lot of negative feedback be best to uninstall this wipe it out and don’t look back I would have loved to have seen what very few good comments had seen just read an article that was posted today ; it recommended this app but it’s DOA-dead what a joke ### 4/5 — ترجمة *2022-12-10, version 3.16.113* إضافة لغة العربية ### 4/5 — Great app but fix location issue *2022-10-15* This is a great app overall, but the location services continue to be accessed whether or not the app is open (even if the iOS permissions set are only to allow location access when app is open). This could result in battery drain over time. On the ESRI forum this issue has been mentioned since at least 2018, please fix. ### 4/5 — Almost the perfect app *2020-09-17* Great app, I just wish that you could use previous answers in new forms. For example. If I collect something and call it Green Frog 1, the next time I open the form I’d like to be able to select Green Frog 1 from a drop down list called Previous Collections. I know that you can save favourite answers but that is not ideal when you make 100s of collections. I know I could update my Previous Collections list at the end of every day, upload and sync my form but when you want to apply that collection through the day and are working with multiple users it gets a bit messy. ### 4/5 — Add multiple pictures *2018-02-14* The ability to add multiple pictures from the iPhone would get a 5th star. Can we get that ability in an update, please? --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-19.*