Collector Classic Reviews

by Boobies0000

ESRI makes amazing software for the desktop, but fails at its iOS apps. Every time I go to collect data in the field something always goes wrong. Stops recording GPS location and then “jumps” leaving a nice straight line, now I cannot sync my field data due to bad credentials (I am logged in with CollectorClassic and now it won’t sync my work), and not to mention the inability to add point features while I am streaming a polyline.

I am giving up on the collector app and will be using other mapping apps for data collection. Days worth of work now stuck in limbo due to some issues with CollectorClassic. Worthless.

by Dom Aleksandr

Working on Puerto Rico and Texas for several hurricanes, CollectorClassic and ESRI itself has only given FEMA headaches attempting to sync offline dots and add online dots as well. It’s a slow service that requires more servers - how does it take minutes to upload a kilobyte file? Unacceptable.

No good prepopulation solution - the existing one is finicky and leads to one accidentally cancelling or dropping the dot in the exact same location rather than be useful.

by Gis Kiddo

Does not work if you download a map, it will simply crash.

So much for working offline....

by James16201

Won’t let you add a photo to a point using iPhone

by Athens1988

Unreliable and rife with glitches. Some major retooling needs to happen with CollectorClassic for it to be what ESRI touts it to be.

by Ptnvkk

Very confusing app and always hung

by Cino Fan Of Man

Map updates are poor to nonexistent .

by Pholeos

CollectorClassic suffers from two major flaws. First, CollectorClassic frequently requires a login which requires a network connection. This is an issue if you work in remote areas with spotty or no cell reception. This weekend I was doing fieldwork in such a place and even though I had my maps downloaded off-line within CollectorClassic on three different devices I was in able to use Collector because it was demanding login credentials and a network connection to verify them. I had hoped to prevent this scenario by logging into CollectorClassic before we left our hotel that morning.

Second, the process of creating a map, posting it to ArcGIS Online, and sending it to CollectorClassic is time consuming and tedious. I wish I could simply download a shapefile from within CollectorClassic and designate a base map and be all set. This would be a nice option for those of us who don’t have to worry about synchronizing real-time data across an enterprise.

Also, why can’t I delete a map when I’m through with it. ArcGIS Online says you must be an organizational administrator to delete a map. Because the map preparation process is so tedious it is easy to end up with maps that were created with errors or in a way you wish was different, but you end up being stuck with them.

Lastly, I wish it was possible to set up multiple GPS sources ( and the associated location profile) and then prioritize them. That way Collector could go down the list if the first one isn’t connected rather than requiring that I leave my map, go back to settings, and change everything. And, why is the settings menu hidden where it is. The first time I used CollectorClassic it took me forever to find that!

I suspect the people developing CollectorClassic have never actually done fieldwork or really tried to use CollectorClassic in a challenging setting,

by Protobiont

Good app over all and very useful. However, it needs to be updated for the iPhone X, and there seems to be a bug where the location “hangs” on my iPhone 10. After using it for a few minutes the location stops updating as I move around. If I switch to google maps, the problem persists. If I restart the phone and open google maps my location is super accurate again. As soon as I open collector the problem reappears. Not good for data collection.

by Lescoats

Most recent update (Sept 25, 2017 version 17.0.3) crashes when trying to open a downloaded map. Attempted restarting app & phone and removing basemap & features. Still crashing.

by Homer The Brave

Every time search button is pressed, app crashes. Please fix!!

by Joelmw

A great app that ties into ArcGIS Online, but currently in the latest iOS URL links aren't working.

by Redbull 3000

CollectorClassic works great, I just wish they supported the new iPad Pro feature with split screen. If you have CollectorClassic open and want to use another app at the same time you can open it but if you click the maps the split screen closes

by Thamora3

I tried this for the first time in my GIS for a couple of assignments. Works very well and it is easy to use. I think this is going to be a powerful tool our company can utilize.

by GIS Diva

Since CollectorClassic is a part of ArcGIS,maps that are authored there can be accessed through the Collector. Pretty neat stuff! Looking forward to seeing how this gets updated and the improvements that are being made! Go Esri! What a great tool to have!

by Pkd58

Very easy to create a mobile data collection app with mapping built in.
These low star reviews are often complaining about things unrelated to the purpose of CollectorClassic . GPS accuracy, come on, that's not a function of CollectorClassic but of the GPS data stream's source. You think an iOS device by itself is survey grade?

Unreal what some folks complain about. Write a collection app from scratch then come back and try Collector.

by Dual Analytics

I'm able to use Collector to view my data and maps while collecting information in the field. The disconnected option works great for days I'm working while out of cell range.

by Nowiwonder

CollectorClassic is another winner from Esri. Great app that makes data collection easy for anyone to use. I've had great success with the application. I've been able to teach non-GIS experts to collect data in 10 minutes. Very straight forward and syncs directly to my enterprise data. Best part is I didn't have to develop CollectorClassic , just downloaded and connected to my ArcGIS Online subscription and it worked.

by Coibes

This is a wonderful app for data collection. The phone is intuitive for the end user and the collector maps can be easily updated and deployed to the field from GIS. This allows for real time data collection and allows the team to see each others added features, attachments and updates. Can't wait for ESRI to complete the support for external GNSS receivers so we can use this for valves with a higher accuracy for the GPS location.

by GscoSA

CollectorClassic with an ArcGIS Online subscription makes field data collection so easy. In less than 2 hours, I setup a field survey collection which is normally a 2 page paper form that we used to hand jam into a database after the survey. Now I have immediate results and don't have to spend days hand jamming.