android beta
Olympiads on Android
Olympiads for Android runs on Android 10 or later. It is in internal testing on Google Play and reaches the store after review; there is no public listing yet.
What it does
Sign in once, add exams, sit them under supervision with the front camera, and keep your results and certificates. A tablet is the exam-day device; a phone works too. During an exam the screen is pinned to the paper.
Two things the app does not do on purpose. It never asks for the microphone: nothing in an exam records sound. And it does not take payment for an exam; an unpaid exam shows Payment pending until the payment has been recorded elsewhere.
Permissions
Everything is asked for at the readiness check before an exam, never in the middle of one.
| What the app says | |
|---|---|
| Camera | Camera permission is needed. This exam cannot be recorded without your camera. Grant permission, or use another phone as this camera instead. |
| Screen recording | Android will ask to record your screen. It asks every time, and it stops the recording if the screen locks. Allow it now so the prompt does not arrive mid-question. Then: When the dialog opens, choose "Entire screen". It offers "Share one app" first, and that records only that one app — not your exam. |
| Notifications | Asked once on Android 13 and later. Declining is fine — you still sit the exam. While an exam records, Android shows a notification: Recording your exam — Your camera and screen are being recorded. Keep the app open until uploading finishes. |
On Android 15 and later the system also shows its own recording chip at the top of the screen. Stopping the recording from there stops your screen recording; the app then shows Your screen stopped being recorded. Your cameras are still on. with Turn it back on.
During the exam
- Screen pinning. When you begin, the app asks Android to pin itself and Android shows its own dialog. Unpinning — holding Back and Overview together — is possible, and it is recorded, not blocked.
- Do not lock the screen. Locking the phone stops the screen recording, and Android will not resume it without a fresh dialog. The app keeps the screen awake for you; leave it that way.
- The clock starts the moment you begin, and it cannot be paused. Everything you answer is saved as you go. Essays have a Save button and show Saved at … or Not saved yet.
- Only one device at a time. Someone opened this exam on another device, so this one has stopped saving. Take it back here to carry on. Everything you had answered is still saved. — then Continue on this device.
- Offline for a moment? You are offline. Your work is saved on this device and will be sent when you are back.
Handing in asks Hand in your exam? You cannot reopen it afterwards. — and, if some questions are blank, says how many. Afterwards: Your recording is still uploading. Keep the app open until it finishes. When it says Your recording has finished uploading. you are done. Results are published once every paper in the session has been marked; you get a notification.
Your phone as a second camera
Sitting the exam on a computer or a tablet? The readiness check there offers Use my phone instead for a camera it cannot fill, and a Pair your phone screen: Open the Olympiads app on your phone and scan this, or type the code. It works once. The typed code has 8 characters and expires after a few minutes; the screen counts it down and offers New code. A new code adds another camera rather than replacing one already connected.
On the phone, scan the square code with the camera app. If Olympiads is installed the link opens in it; if it opens in the browser instead, that page works too. The phone then asks for the camera — This phone needs camera access. It is being used as a second camera for someone's exam. — and shows This phone is Camera 2 (or whichever position) with Prop it up so it can see you, and leave the app open until the exam finishes.
There is a Stop being a camera button. Do not press it during the exam: Stopping leaves a gap in the recording that cannot be filled in later.
Keep the phone plugged in and the app in front for the whole exam.
Trouble?
- "That code has already been used. Ask for a new one." or "This code has expired." Each code works once. Press New code on the exam device and scan again.
- "Your device's clock is wrong." This device's clock is wrong, which will stop your exam from being recorded. Turn on automatic date and time. The app offers Open date & time settings.
- "Could not confirm your connection." We tried a quick upload test and it did not go through. Check your connection and try again before you start. Move closer to the router or switch networks, then Try again.
- "Your screen stopped being recorded. Your cameras are still on." The screen was locked or the recording was stopped from the system chip. Press Turn it back on and choose Entire screen in Android's dialog.
- "An exam recording is still on this phone." The app was closed before a recording finished sending. Connect to the internet and press Upload now the same day — after about a day it cannot be recovered.