Why can't a candidate record new videos after I reinstated the exam?
A reinstated candidate who can see their earlier videos but can't record new ones has used up the question's recording attempts — reinstating doesn't give them back unless you turn on "Give back used attempts".
You reinstated a candidate's exam. They can sign in again and see the questions and the videos they recorded before — but they can't record a new video.
Reinstating reopens the session, but it doesn't reset everything inside it. The usual cause is the question's recording attempt limit.
Why it happens
Video and audio questions can limit how many times the candidate may record — for example, 2 attempts. Attempts already used stay used after reinstating. A candidate who used them all can open the question and watch their earlier recordings, but the recorder won't start a new one.
How to give the attempts back
- Open the Reinstate dialog for the session.
- A warning icon appears on every unlocked page that has video or audio questions with an attempt limit. It's highlighted when some attempts are used up.
- Click it to see each question's used attempts against its limit, then turn on Give back used attempts.
- Confirm the reinstatement.
The candidate gets their original number of attempts again: a question limited to 2 recordings that was used up becomes 4, leaving 2 new attempts. Earlier recordings are kept and stay visible to reviewers. Auto Configure turns this on for every page automatically.
Note: locked pages are skipped. A locked page is disabled after reinstating — the candidate can't navigate to it at all — so make sure the pages you want the candidate to work on are unlocked.
Already reinstated without this setting?
Only completed sessions can be reinstated. If the candidate is currently in the session, end it first, then reinstate it again — this time with Give back used attempts turned on. The candidate's answers and recordings are preserved.
Reinstating many candidates at once
When you reinstate several sessions at once, the dialog asks whether to give back used recording attempts. It's on by default and applies to every unlocked page of every selected session.
For the full walkthrough of the Reinstate dialog, see How to reinstate a test session.