How am I supposed to check my phone and follow the test rules at the same time?

Brian McElroy

So your exam can really be cancelled if you simply look away from the screen, even before the test begins?

I've been trying to take the online test for over an hour now, and I keep getting a variety of error messages from Pearson Vue...grrr.First I had problems with getting the workplace photos to work--even though I thought I had already taken care of that issue last night, it turns out that you have to do it all over again when the test begins. I tried over and over, and they were finally approved on the 3rd (or maybe 4th?) try. All I know is, Pearson Vue now has a ton of photos of me, my license and my daughter's room. : / I logged onto the test briefly, answered a single question confirming my identity, had some connection issues that got resolved, then, just as the test was about to begin, I was logged off by the proctor without any notice and locked out of the exam.Before that, there was a chat option available, but when I clicked on it, it just said something vague like "Thank you. A proctor will respond when available." I did get a chance to try out the online whiteboard and text editor, which was cool, but all I saw was a spinning circle while the test waited to load. I never even saw a single Quant question before the proctor closed the window and effectively ended the exam.Now I am no longer able to start / restart my exam from my mba.com account page, even though it indicates that the exam is "in progress":I tried over and over for this byzantine process to work, but it never quite did, even though I got very close. Just a bunch of mystery error messages, frozen loading screens, etc. I never even heard a proctor's voice on the other side. Neither did I receive a single chat message or phone call regarding any of my tech issues, even though the program said that the proctors would contact us by phone with any concerns. Disappointing to say the least.Also kind of weird that right before the exam is supposed to begin, they put you on camera and say "you must now obey all exam rules," but at the same time they tell you to check your phone for messages from the proctor.What a joke! Oh well. That's what I get for being an early adopter, I guess. I'l probably try again in a couple of weeks.Overall, this experience was highly discouraging and made my 6-hour long At-Home GRE on 4/5/20 seem fun by comparison. I would not recommend taking the just yet--there are currently too many bugs in the technology.-Brianp.s. I just explained to my wife everything that happened, and how the proctor logged me off just as the test was about to begin. She said, "maybe they saw that it wasand got scared."I picked the right gal, fellas.Update, 12:51 am PST:The saga continues...This gets more ridiculous by the hour. I was on camera waiting for the exam to start about 3 different times for probably 45 minutes total, so of course I looked off camera...to check my phone to see whether my proctors were calling me or sending me any messages about what was happening, as Pearson Vue had alerted me to do (see pics above). They weren't.Ugh. Give me the test center GMAT back.By the way, the email from Pearson Vue above was of the "**PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL**" variety. Get ready for the red tape...