If you're accessing Kritik from outside North America, whether as an international student or while travelling mid-semester, you may occasionally experience access or performance issues. The 5 tips shared below should help you get back on track.
Tip 1: Check your VPN Settings
Choose a VPN server that's geographically close to Canada or the US. A closer endpoint means a faster, more stable connection!
Prefer a WireGuard-based VPN over a free VPN. A WireGuard-based VPN is a newer, faster VPN technology that most modern VPN providers on the market offer. It's quicker and more reliable than older VPN protocols, making a big difference when using platforms such as Kritik. If your VPN has a settings option, look for 'WireGuard' and select it.
Tip 2: Use a Desktop Browser
For the best experience, we recommend using Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge on a desktop or laptop. Kritik's text editor and activity pages are built and tested primarily for these browsers, so they'll give you the smoothest performance.
While it might be extremely tempting to complete your activities on your phone or tablet, mobile browsers (such as Safari, Samsung Internet, and other built-in browsers) are not fully optimized for Kritik's text editor, which can lead to issues like frozen text fields, unsaved work, or pages not loading properly.
If you've been experiencing any of the issues above, switching to Chrome or Edge on a desktop or laptop will often resolve the issue right away.
Tip 3: Disable Browser Extensions
Browser extensions (such as ad and privacy blockers) can occasionally interfere with Kritik's text editor, making the page appear as frozen. Try disabling your extensions, or open Kritik in an Incognito/Private window (which disables most extensions by default).
Tip 4: Hard-Refresh the Page
A hard refresh clears any outdated cached version(s) of the page.
On Windows: Ctrl + Shift + R
On Mac: Command + Shift + R
Tip 5: Send Us a Screenshot!
If none of the tips above work for you, our team can pinpoint the cause quickly, but we would need your help. Follow the steps below:
Step 1: Open 'Developer Tools' by pressing the F12 key on your keyboard (or right-click the page and then click 'Inspect')
Step 2: Click on the 'Console and Networks' tab
Step 3: Reproduce the issue (type your response again)
Step 4: Take a screenshot of what appears
Step 5: Send your screenshot to our support team via live chat (found on the bottom right of your page), or email it to us at support@kritik.io
We know studying from abroad comes with its own set of challenges, and we want to make sure Kritik isn't one of them! If you've gone through these steps and are still running into issues, please don't hesitate to reach out through the live chat within Kritik or emailing us at support@kritik.io - we're always happy to help.