Canvas is a web application, so occasional errors or unexpected behavior can occur. This guide walks you through basic troubleshooting steps and how to get more help if needed. Check your Internet connection and browser. Try a different browser. Clear browsing history and cookies. Restart your device. Contact the UIW Help Desk. Step 1: Check Your Internet Connection, Browser, or Mobile App Settings Internet Connection Canvas requires a stable Internet connection. Run a speed test to see if slow speeds might be causing problems. A slow connection can affect navigation, downloads, uploads, quizzes, videos, and video calls. Browser Check Review the Canvas Browser and Computer Requirements to confirm your browser is up to date and supported. Take a screenshot of the results for support requests. Using Safari, or a Privacy-Based Browser? Safari and other browsers like Firefox and Brave are privacy-focused. They have some settings that block cookies and browser items that Canvas requires to run properly. If you are still having issues in Safari or a privacy-focused browser, try the following: Allow cookies for LMS in your browser Enable cross-site tracking for Safari and Firefox Student App Check The Canvas Student app for Android and iOS may block embedded content by default. It's recommended that you enable cross-site tracking within your device's settings area. Step 2: Try a Different Browser If one browser has issues, switch to another. For example, Safari on Apple devices may cause more Canvas problems than Chrome, Edge, or Firefox. Google Chrome: Download Chrome | Chrome basics Microsoft Edge: Download Edge | Edge basics Firefox: Download Firefox | Firefox basics Step 3: Clear History and Cookies Web Browser Your browser stores history and cookies to improve performance. Corrupt or outdated data can cause errors. Clear these regularly to prevent issues. If Step 2 worked, clearing your original browser may fix it. Learn how to clear cache, history, and cookies Canvas Student App If you are using the Canvas Student App for iOS and Android, you can clear the cache via your device settings. Learn how to clear the cache for the mobile app. Step 4: Restart Your Device A restart closes all processes and can resolve temporary glitches. Choose Restart instead of Shut down for a fresh start. Restart a Windows computer Restart a Mac Restart an iPhone | Restart an iPad Restart an Android device Restart a Chromebook Step 5: Contact the UIW Help Desk If the problem persists, contact the UIW Help Desk. Provide these details to help us investigate: Device and browser: Include a screenshot from the browser check. Canvas course location: Share the exact URL where the issue occurs. Action you’re taking: Describe what you were trying to do. What went wrong: Include any error messages. Steps you’ve tried: List troubleshooting actions you already completed. Example Help Desk Interaction Support: What type of device and browser are you using? User: Chrome on a Surface running Windows 11, browser is up to date. Support: What Canvas course location are you working in? User: Canvas Student Orientation, Assignment 2. View assignment. Support: What are you trying to do? User: Dragging a file to upload to the assignment. Support: What is going wrong? User: Receiving error “Error updating submission draft.” Support: What troubleshooting steps have you tried? User: Verified browser update, switched to Edge, cleared history, restarted computer. Same error in both browsers.

Did you copy a course and don't see the correct home page in the new course? The good news is that there is nothing broken! If you decide to copy all the content from your course, you’ll copy your home page. However, this won’t override the template home page of the course you copied it to. The home page is located in the Pages section of your copied course. To move your copied home page to the home page section of the course, follow the instructions below. Step 1: Copy Your Course and Open Pages Wait for the course copy process to complete before moving on. Then, click Pages in your course menu. Step 2: Open the View All Pages Index When you click Pages and the same Home page opens, this is due to it being selected as the Front page. You need to open the entire index list of Pages to change this by clicking View All Pages. Step 3: Locate the Correct Page and Open the More Menu Once you find the correct Page you want to use for Home, open the 3-dot more menu for that Page. Step 4: Select Use as Front Page From the More menu (three vertical dots), select Use as Front Page to stop the template page from showing and begin showing the page you want. To keep your course tidy, delete the one(s) you won't be using. Note: The page must be published to be selectable for a Front Page. If the option is greyed out, publish the page and try again Step 5: Confirm Your Selection Now click Home in your course menu to ensure your changes are correct. Depending on how you managed to make this change, sometimes Canvas resets the Home page differently than using the Pages Front Page. If you don't see the correct page on Home, confirm the setting by clicking Choose Home Page. Select Pages Front Page and then click Save.

If you can't see your courses in Canvas, this is usually caused by one of three things: your course hasn't been published, your enrollment isn't active, or semester access dates are in effect. Quick Check: What Type of Course Are You Looking For? Current Semester Course (should be active now) Step 1: Confirm Your Enrollment Canvas only shows courses you're officially enrolled in through Banner, UIW's registration system. To check your enrollment: Log in to Cardinal Apps Open BannerWeb Self-Service Go to Student Services > Registration > View Registration Information If your course isn't listed, it won't appear in Canvas. Learn more about registration at UIW. Step 2: Check if the Course is Published Even if you're enrolled, instructors must manually publish courses for students to access them. To check: Log in to Cardinal Apps Open Canvas LMS Select Courses in the left menu Click All Courses Look for your course in the list: Published: No - The course exists but isn't available yet. Contact your instructor Published: Yes - If it's under Past or Future Enrollments, access may be restricted by date. Contact your instructor for access details Still Missing? If you recently registered, allow 2–3 hours for the Banner-to-Canvas sync. Still missing? Submit a Help Desk ticket for investigation. Future Semester Course (hasn't started yet) Courses are typically unavailable in Canvas until the official semester start date, unless your instructor opens them early. First-time UIW students: Access to Canvas via Cardinal Apps may not be available until 60 days before the start of the term. If the semester should have started and you still can't see your course, follow the steps for Current Semester Courses above. Past Semester Course (already ended) Past courses appear in the All Courses list under Past Enrollments: Log in to Cardinal Apps Open Canvas LMS Select Courses in the left menu Click All Courses Look under Past Enrollments If a past course has "disappeared," or doesn't appear in your Past Enrollments, the instructor may have unpublished it or changed access settings. Contact the instructor to learn more or to request access. The Help Desk is unable to provide access. How to Contact Your Instructor Find Instructor Contact Information BannerWeb Self-Service Your registration listing may include instructor info. If no email is listed, search their name on uiw.edu. Outlook Directory Log in to Cardinal Apps Open Outlook Click New Mail In the "To" field, type the name and select Search Directory Help Desk Support If you're enrolled but still can't find the instructor's info, email helpdesk@uiwtx.edu. Mention your course and the steps you've already taken.

If you have a course that has ended but still appears on your Dashboard, it's likely missing an end date in the course settings. As a student, you cannot change this setting, it's managed by the instructor. If a course has ended but still appears on your Dashboard, you can contact the instructor to ask them to set or verify the course end date in Canvas. What is the Canvas Dashboard? Your Canvas Dashboard shows both active and favorited courses. Active Courses: Courses that are published and currently within their set start and end dates, which are controlled by the instructor or institution. Favorited Courses: Courses you've starred from the All Courses menu. Learn more about using the Canvas Dashboard effectively. If you've dropped a course and it's still appearing on your dashboard, your enrollment status may take up to 24 hours to update in Canvas.

Note: This method is not guaranteed to recover everything. Some deleted items may not appear on the restore page outlined in this guide. Canvas does not have a dedicated recycle bin or trash folder where deleted content is stored. However, instructors can use a hidden URL feature to attempt to restore recently deleted items, including quizzes, assignments, discussions, announcements, and more. How to Try and Restore Deleted Items Open your Canvas course and select Home In the browser’s address bar, add /undelete to the end of the course URL. Example: if your course URL is https://uiw.instructure.com/courses/12345 > https://uiw.instructure.com/courses/12345/undelete Look for the item(s) you want to recover. Select Restore next to each item you’d like to bring back. If prompted by a pop-up, select yes to confirm the restoration. If the item you’re trying to recover doesn’t appear, you need assistance, or isn’t restoring as expected, contact Canvas support for further investigation. Be sure to include the course name, what was deleted, and when it was removed.