CASPer Technical Issues: Exactly What to Do When Something Breaks

Contact Acuity support through the chat bubble on the test screen immediately — that is the action that matters, because support can pause your test and assess the situation while it is happening. What you do before opening chat depends on which section you are in: refreshing is the first step during typed scenarios and the wrong move during a video recording or upload. If you cannot reach support during the test, email support@acuityinsights.app within 24 hours of your test date.

Triage: find your symptom, take the first action

Work down the first column. In every row, opening the chat bubble is part of the response — the middle column is what to do while you wait for someone to answer.

One detail worth internalising: Acuity asks applicants to avoid starting multiple chat conversations, because doing so slows down its ability to help. Open one thread and stay in it, even if the reply takes longer than feels comfortable.

What support can actually do

More than most applicants assume. Acuity states that if you contact it immediately through the chat, it can pause your test and assess the situation. Its webcam and microphone troubleshooting guidance adds that support can confirm whether your response recorded properly and can provide additional test time where needed.

That is the whole argument for reporting an issue the moment it happens rather than pushing through and hoping. A pause you request at minute three is a solvable problem. A disruption you describe two days later is a claim someone has to evaluate without evidence.

If your video response will not upload

Acuity publishes a specific ordered sequence for a failed video upload or submission. Open the chat bubble first, then work through it while you wait:

1. Refresh your browser.
2. Update your browser, or switch to Chrome or Firefox.
3. Restart your computer.
4. Use an incognito or private browsing window.
5. Test your internet speed — the stated minimum is a bitrate of 1.5 Mbps.
6. Clear your browser cache to rule out compatibility errors.

Note the tension with the video-section rule above: refreshing is step one for a failed upload but is the wrong move during an active recording or an in-progress upload. The distinction is between a recording that is still running and an upload that has already failed and stopped. When in doubt, ask in chat before you refresh — that is what the chat is for. The one-take structure of the video section is covered in CASPer's one-take video response rules.

If your webcam or microphone fails

Acuity's ordered fix is: refresh the browser, update or switch browsers, restart the computer, try an incognito window, then check your internet speed. Its underlying advice is about setup rather than recovery, and it is worth acting on before test day rather than during it:

• Close Zoom, streaming software, webcam filter tools and any other video or audio application.
• Use wired devices where possible; disconnect external peripherals and use the computer's built-in webcam and microphone.
• Avoid wireless headphones or microphones such as AirPods, which can disconnect or run out of battery.
• Speak directly into the microphone at a steady volume rather than softly or from across the room.

One specific hardware note from Acuity: two-in-one and hybrid laptops such as the Microsoft Surface may have webcam problems, and for dual-camera devices Acuity recommends using Firefox for CASPer.

The requirements that prevent most failures

The majority of test-day technical problems trace back to a setup that was never going to work. Acuity's current published requirements:

Upload speed is the requirement people skip. Most home connections advertise a download figure and deliver a fraction of it upward, and the video section is the part that needs upward bandwidth. Test both directions, not just the number your provider markets.

Pre-test hardening checklist

Run this in the six-hour window before your test, on the exact computer, browser, room and connection you will use:

1. Complete Acuity's system requirements check on the real setup — not a different laptop or a different room.
2. Test download and upload speed at fast.com and confirm both meet the minimums.
3. Restart the computer, then open only the test.
4. Quit Zoom, Teams, OBS, camera filter apps and anything else that can claim the webcam or microphone.
5. Disable browser extensions — Acuity names Grammarly specifically — and turn off any VPN.
6. Install your backup browser now, so “switch browsers” is a 10-second action rather than a download.
7. Plug the laptop in. Use a wired connection if one exists.
8. Have a phone hotspot ready as a fallback network, powered off and out of the room until needed.
9. Silence notifications at the operating-system level, not just in the browser.
10. Log in about 30 minutes early so a problem surfaces before the clock starts.

The last one is the highest-value item on the list. A failure discovered 30 minutes early is a support conversation; the same failure discovered at your start time is a lost sitting. Our CASPer test day guide covers the rest of the room and setup routine.

What Acuity says is beyond its control

Acuity states plainly that some issues — device problems, unstable internet, malware — remain outside what it can fix. That framing matters for expectations. Support can pause a test, confirm a recording, and grant additional time in some circumstances. It is not positioned as a guarantee that any disruption will be remedied to your satisfaction, and there is no published appeal process for a technical dispute beyond contacting support.

The practical implication: your leverage comes from prevention and from reporting fast, not from a policy that will make you whole afterward.

If the test is genuinely lost

If a failure ends your sitting entirely, the 24-hour email window is your route: support@acuityinsights.app, within 24 hours of your test date, with the specifics. Acuity does not offer phone support, so there is no faster channel to escalate to.

Separately, Acuity notes that fee waivers for rescheduling may apply in cases of verified technical or medical issues. If you end up needing to rebook, the rules and costs are covered in what happens when you miss a CASPer test and how to reschedule a CASPer test.

Bottom line

Prevent what you can in the six hours before the test, know that refreshing is section-dependent, open one chat thread the moment something breaks, and keep the 24-hour email window in mind as your backstop. Then get back to the answer — the timer is still the thing most likely to cost you points.