How to Fix: ISBN Scanning Not Working

wk293
Hi I used to be able to record in my Zotero app books I had bought by scanning the barcode on the book, but this Zotero function now stops working with all my three devices, Apple laptop, iPad and iPhone 13 Pro Max. Any idea how to fix this problem? It is time consuming and really annoying to input the book data manually. Many thanks, W
  • dstillman
    Can you provide an example ISBN and a Debug ID for trying it in Add Item by Identifier in the desktop app?
  • wk293
    Thanks, dstillman! However, I have tried but failed to get a Debug ID on my iPhone & iPad. When I recently tried to scan ISBNs for recording books I had bought using my iPhone and iPad, I end up with the error message with just ‘Failed’ in red. The two books that I tried have the following ISBNs: 0-7234-3248-1 and 978-1-80399-017-0. When I have tried to get a Debug ID on my Apple laptop, the Zotero app there has ceased to have an option to scan book ISBNs. Is this enough information for you to look into the problem? Thanks, W
  • dstillman
    When I have tried to get a Debug ID on my Apple laptop, the Zotero app there has ceased to have an option to scan book ISBNs.
    The desktop app never had an option to scan ISBNs. It has Add Item by Identifier.
  • dstillman
    And both of those ISBNs work for me in the desktop app.
  • wk293
    Thanks for trying the ISBNs on your desktop app. My problem is that my iPhone & iPad apps used to be able to scan the ISBN and fill in details during the scanning for the book record this scanning option automatically creates but they can’t do this anymore. Any tips or advice to get rid of the problem with my iPhone & iPad app? Thanks, W.
  • dstillman
    You mentioned the desktop app, so I'm asking for a Debug ID from that if it's not working for you.
  • dstillman
    But we can also look at a Debug ID for an attempt on iOS.
  • wk293
    So no hope to fix my iPhone & iPad app (as I only have a laptop, not desktop)?
  • dstillman
    edited August 31, 2023
    I just said that you can provide a Debug ID from iOS and we can look at that.

    But "desktop" means the Mac app — nothing to do with "desktop" vs. "laptop".
  • wk293
    Sorry to be thick. I can’t generate a Debug ID on my laptop as the Zoteto app on my laptop does not have an ISBN scanning option. On the iPhone & iPad app, there is no ‘setting’ to generate a Debug ID when trying to use the ISBN scanning. Is there another way to generate a Debug ID on any of my 3 devices? Thanks, W.
  • dstillman
    I linked to instructions.

    https://www.zotero.org/support/debug_output#zotero_for_ios
  • wk293
    Many thanks! I have now got a Debug ID which was generated at my iPad when trying to scan the book with ISBN: 0-7234-3248-1. The Debug ID is D323575239. Hope this helps, W.
  • wk293
    Hi distillman, I am wondering if you have now found a solution to the barcode scanning function of my Zotero app on my iPhone and iPad (see details in our exchange of messages over the last 11 days).

    You may also want to know that the barcode scanning problem has deteriorated from ‘failed scanning’ to ‘no scanning. The new Debug ID is D1584286955. The ISBN is 978-0-00-725092-9.

    Many thanks for your help and advice in anticipation. W.
  • istuetzle
    edited November 3, 2023
    I have the same problem. It has worked for many books and suddenly it no longer works. When I enter the ISBN on the desktop, the books are found. The debug ID is D1184694041 - Maybe it's a bug with iOS 17.1
  • wdeal
    Same problem. ISBN scanning on iOS 17.2 results in a red "Failed" indication.
  • MarkusOjala
    Hi,
    Same problem with the ios app, debug id D645112594
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