Canvas - Troubleshooting Canvas (for Students)


Introduction

Canvas is Virginia Tech's learning management system (LMS). Students use Canvas to access learning materials, like assignments, quizzes, feedback, and grades.

  • Official courses are automatically created in students' Canvas accounts.
  • Canvas provides 24-7 support by phone (833-639-7621) and chat (click Help on any Canvas screen).

The Canvas Instructor Guide and the Canvas Student Guide have full instructions on using Canvas. These instructions are specific to Virginia Tech. To see other Canvas topics, please see:

Contents

Instructions

I Can't Log into Canvas

Is your Virginia Tech PID password working? 

Are you unable to complete 2-factor authentication (2FA)?

  • With the upgrade to enhanced 2FA in August 2025, less-secure methods of authentication, including verification by telephone call and SMS/text message, will be phased out later this academic year.  
  • See Duo 2-Factor Authentication - General Setup and Use for instructions to add and use approved methods for 2FA at Virginia Tech.
  • If you need assistance, contact 4Help by clicking Get Help on the 4Help portal.

Are you logging into the correct Canvas instance?

  • To access Virginia Tech courses that are on the Timetable, log into Canvas. 
  • To access professional development courses, log into PDN Canvas.

Are you a guest?

  • If you've forgotten your password, use the Passphrase Reset Request Form to reset your password.
  • If you cannot reset your password, your Virginia Tech Guest account may have expired or you've never set up a guest account. Contact 4Help by clicking Get Help on the 4Help portal.

Are you a visiting scholar? 

  • Visiting scholars don't get Canvas accounts automatically. Contact your sponsor and ask them to request an account for you. They can do so by contacting 4Help by clicking Get Help on the 4Help portal.

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Canvas Colors Appear Wrong

If Canvas is not Virginia Tech's maroon and orange, the High Contrast UI might be enabled. The High Contrast UI can also prevent some Canvas tools from appearing. To disable the high contrast UI:

  1. Log into Canvas.
  2. Click Account, then Settings.
  3. Scroll down to Feature Options.
  4. Below Feature Options and next to High Contrast UI, click the checkmark, then click disable to turn off High Contrast UI.

    Image of the above instructions

  5. Refresh your browser.

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I'm Missing One Canvas Course Site

  1. Check the All Courses menu by clicking Courses -> All Courses to see if your course is there. Your course may be under Future Enrollments and/or unpublished. Check with your instructor if you believe the course should be published.
  2. Make sure your course gets a Canvas site. If your course doesn't get an official Canvas site, your instructor may create a draft/manual course site. Check with your instructors if you have questions about this. Per department request, the following courses don't get Canvas sites: 
    • 5904 and 6904 (graduate project and report) courses
    • 5964, 6864, 7864, 7944, X974 (independent study) courses
    • X994 (undergraduate research) courses
    • VTC, VCOM, and REG courses
  3. Check your Registration and Schedule on HokieSPA to make sure you're enrolled in the course. 
  4. If you still don't see the site, contact 4Help by clicking Get Help on the 4Help portal.

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I'm Missing All My Canvas Course Sites

Blocks and holds cause you to lose all your Canvas sites for the current semester. 

To check for a Registration hold, see: Viewing Registration Holds and follow the instructions for your specific hold(s).

Courses should reappear within a half day of clearing the hold.

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I Can’t Access an Upcoming Course in Canvas

Official Canvas sites, with some exceptions listed in I'm Missing One Canvas Course Site, will show up in the Future Enrollments section of All Courses if the term has not yet started.

Virginia Tech will create Canvas sites around these dates for teachers to develop content:

  • Fall semester:                     June 15
  • Winter semester:                November 1
  • Spring semester:                December 1
  • Summer (all semesters):     March 15

Even though the sites exist a few weeks before the semester starts, you won't be able to access them until closer to the first day of the semester because: 

  • Sites have a default start date a week before the first day of a new semester.
  • Sites are set up to restrict students to view the course before the start date.
  • Sites must be published before you can access them.

If you do not see your site, check that both conditions below are true:

  1. Your instructor has published the site. Unpublished sites will remain inaccessible, even if the term has started.
  2. The start date for the course has passed. Keep in mind that teachers have the ability to change the start date of a site if they want to release content sooner or later.

If you want access to the site sooner, you'll need to email your instructor to ask if they would update the site's start date or uncheck the box Restrict students from viewing the course before the start date.

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I Dropped a Course but it's still showing in Canvas

If you've dropped a course in HokieSPA but it still appears in Canvas, follow these steps:

  1. Log into HokieSPA and verify that the course has been dropped.
    • Take a screenshot of your enrolled courses in case further assistance is needed.
  2. After you drop the course, wait 24 hours for the enrollment change to sync with Canvas.
    • If more than 24 hours have passed and the course is still visible in Canvas, continue to the next step.
  3. If the course remains visible after 24 hours, your instructor may have manually added you to the Canvas course.
    • Contact your instructor and ask them to remove you from the course manually. For instructions, see: Remove User.
    • If your instructor tells you that they are unable to remove you, continue to the next step.
  4. Go to the 4Help Portal and click Get Help. A Canvas administrator will investigate your enrollment in the course. Include the following information in the incident: 
    • The Course Reference Number (CRN) of the course that you dropped.
    • The screenshot of your current course enrollments from HokieSPA.

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My Canvas Assignment Submission Is Missing

If you submitted a file-upload assignment in Canvas but your submission is missing, you can check whether Canvas saved a copy of your uploaded file.

When a file is successfully uploaded to a Canvas assignment, Canvas stores a copy in your Submissions folder for that course. However, finding a file in this folder does not necessarily mean the assignment was submitted successfully.

To check for your uploaded file:

  1. Log in to Canvas.
  2. Click Account in the global navigation menu.
  3. Click on Files.
  4. If you see a Switch to New Files Page button, click it before proceeding.
  5. Under My Files, click on the Submissions folder.
  6. Locate and click into the folder associated with your course.
  7. Review the files in this folder to see if the file(s) you uploaded to the assignment are present.
  8. To view the date and timestamp associated with a file, open the file and click Info.

If you locate your file in the Submissions folder, contact your instructor to explain the situation. Your instructor may choose to reopen the assignment or allow you to submit your file through an alternative method, such as email.

If you cannot locate your file in the Submissions folder, Canvas did not successfully save a copy of the file during the upload process.

  • If the assignment is still available, try submitting your file again.
  • If the assignment is locked or the submission deadline has passed, contact your instructor to explain the situation. Your instructor may choose to reopen the assignment or allow you to submit your file through an alternative method, such as email.

Important Information:

  • These instructions apply only to file-upload assignments and do not apply to other submission types, such as text-entry, media, or external tool submissions.
  • Finding your file in the Submissions folder does not necessarily mean your instructor can access it. It only tells us that Canvas stored a copy of the uploaded file.
  • Your instructor determines whether a missing or late assignment can be accepted. If your instructor agrees to accept the file, they may reopen the assignment or ask you to submit via another method, such as email.
  • The Submissions folder does not provide a history of unsuccessful submission attempts. If an upload or submission was unsuccessful, there may be no record of the attempt in this folder.

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I’m Having Trouble with Respondus LockDown Browser

See Troubleshooting Respondus.

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Canvas Content Isn’t Loading or Displaying Correctly

Some Canvas course content or external tools, such as Panopto, Zoom, New Quizzes, or Collaborations, may not load or display correctly due to browser privacy and security settings that block third-party cookies or cross-site tracking.

If you experience issues accessing or loading Canvas content, review your browser’s privacy and security settings by following the instructions in the article below:

If the issue persists, try updating your browser, clearing your cache and cookies, or disabling browser extensions that may interfere with Canvas.

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Getting Help

For instructions on resolving common issues with Canvas, see:

Instructure, the creators of Canvas, provide 24-7 Canvas support, including live chat and a support hotline.

To get Canvas help, click Help on any Canvas screen and choose from help options:

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