Mobile Guardian bug issues gradually fixed for some students, others turn to pen and paper

SINGAPORE – Students’ devices affected by a glitch in an app installed on school-issued iPads are slowly being repaired, but some were forced to wait for hours in their schools’ IT departments on August 2.

Those who were unable to restart their devices had to revert to taking notes and doing homework with pen and paper due to a glitch in the Mobile Guardian app.

More than 1,000 students from at least five Ministry of Education (MOE) schools were unable to access the internet and teaching materials on their iPads due to a bug in an installed management app, The Straits Times has found.

The schools ST is aware of as being affected are: Methodist Girls School, Nan Hua High School, Nan Chiau High School, St. Nicholas Girls School and Bowen Secondary School.

As of July 30, students have reported that they are unable to turn their iPads on or off, while others have been unable to connect to Wi-Fi and are receiving the following error message: “The Guided Access app is unavailable. Please contact your administrator.”

A Ministry of Education spokesperson said on August 1 that Mobile Guardian had rolled out an app update to all iPad users and was working with schools to support students who needed further technical assistance.

Mobile Guardian did not respond to ST’s inquiries.

Students ST spoke to said the ability to use their iPads is gradually returning to normal with the latest update, but they first need to go to their school’s IT department to resolve any Wi-Fi connectivity issues.

One 16-year-old student at Methodist Girls School said neither she nor her classmates had any problems with their learning devices on August 2.

However, a 15-year-old student at the same school found that although she managed to get her iPad repaired after visiting the IT department, all data saved after July 29 was gone.

“There was a long line at the IT department,” she said. “They told me more than 1,000 students were having problems with their iPads.”

She added that some students had to wait for about an hour.

The 15-year-old student at St. Nicholas Girls School said some devices still cannot connect to the internet.

“Our notes and spreadsheets can no longer be accessed, so everyone has to use pen and paper,” she said. “The school has told us they are working on the issue and have tried to find solutions.”

The St. Nicholas IT department attempted to schedule a troubleshooting session for each grade level but was unable to reach all participants by August 2.

It is unclear how many schools have been affected by the fault. ST has contacted MOE for more information.