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 Is the Wrong Color

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 a Canvas Course Site

  1. Check the All Courses menu by clicking Courses -> All Courses to see if your course is there. 
  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. 
    • If you recently added a course, wait a half day for it to appear in Canvas. 
    • If you're missing all of your courses, see I'm Missing All My Course Sites.
  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. 

Bursar Block

To check for a bursar block, see: Registration Holds. Courses should reappear within a half day of clearing the block. 

Other Holds 

To check for a hold: 

  1. Log in to Hokie SPA.
  2. Click the HokieSPA tab. 
  3. Click Course Registration and Schedule Menu. 
  4. Click View Holds.
  5. Follow the instructions for your specific hold(s). 
  6. For questions about other holds, contact your academic advisor. 

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I'm Unable to View a Future Enrollment Site

Official Canvas sites, with some exceptions listed in I'm Missing a 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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Troubleshooting Respondus

See Troubleshooting Respondus.

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Script Blocker Problems

Canvas uses JavaScript. However, browser security settings or security suite software increasingly block JavaScript by default. If JavaScript is blocked, Canvas will not appear and function correctly, for example: 

  • The Canvas Dashboard shows flashing courses.
  • Clicking Help and Courses do not show the menus.
  • Clicking Assignments, Announcements, Discussions, Grades go to a blank page.
  • The +Guests button doesn't appear in People.
  • Videos in Files don't automatically play.
  • SPOT doesn't appear on menus.
  • Kaltura videos won't play.
  • Instructors can't add files to Canvas. 
  • Students can't upload files to Assignments.

To fix browser and script blocker problems:

  1. Check/update your browser. We recommend using an updated version of Google Chrome. 
    1. Click [...] in the upper-right corner of your browser.
    2. Click Help->About Google Chrome.
    3. An automatic update may start. When it finishes, click Relaunch.
    4. To update, see Update Google Chrome.
  2. Check the Canvas URL.
    1. Click your Canvas bookmark in Chrome. Make sure it links to https://canvas.vt.edu, not the Instructure URL. If it links to the Instructure URL, update it to link to https://canvas.vt.edu. 
    2. If tools are malfunctioning in Canvas, check and make sure the URL is https://canvas.vt.edu. If not, go to https://canvas.vt.edu.
  3. Bypass/clear your browser's cache.
    1. To bypass the cache, go to the Canvas page where you should see the link to the LTI tool. Hold the Shift key while clicking the browser's refresh button.
    2. To clear the cache, see Clearing Browser Cache.
  4. Whitelist Canvas URLs in your script blocker; set your script blocker to allow JavaScript from Canvas and related URLs. 
    1. Go to your script blocker's settings for trusting/allowing/unblocking/whitelisting websites. Instructions for common script blockers:
    2. Set your script blocker to trust/allow/unblock/whitelist the following Canvas-related URLs:
      • vt.edu
      • instructure.com
      • amazonaws.com
      • canvas-user-content.com
      • inscloudgate.net
      • kaltura.com
      • ops.cielo24.com
      • evaluationkit.com
      • cloudfront.net
      • jquery.com
      • bootstrapcdn.com
      • iclicker.com 
      • smc-service-cloud.respondus2.com

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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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