# When the app misbehaves

The handful of things that actually go wrong on the phone, in the order they are worth trying.

Updated: 2026-09-12

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## It will not sign me in

The credentials are the same as the website's, so the quickest test is to sign in at
sparkfinance.ca in Safari on the same phone.

- **Website works, app does not** — close the app fully (swipe up from the bottom and flick it
  away) and open it again.
- **Neither works** — it is the password rather than the app.
  [Reset it](/help/resetting-your-password); the link in the email finishes the job in the app.
- **It says the account is deactivated** — somebody has turned that account off. Call us.

## It is showing me something out of date

Pull down to refresh. That works on the Applications tab, the Documents tab, the Team tab, the
Account tab, and an application you have already sent us.

An **unfinished** application does not pull to refresh — it is a form, and it refreshes itself as
you move between steps. Back out to the list and open it again if you want it reloaded.

## An upload will not go through

- **Too big?** Ten megabytes per file. A photograph is usually well under it; a full-resolution
  scan may not be.
- **Wrong kind?** The file picker offers PDFs, images and spreadsheets, but the final word is
  ours: PDF, JPG, PNG, WEBP, HEIC, CSV and XLSX are accepted and everything else is refused after
  it uploads. A TIFF or a GIF will be picked and then rejected.
- **Bank statements** want the PDF your bank produced. A photograph works for a paper statement
  it posted you; a screenshot of a banking app is not a statement. See
  [bank statements](/help/bank-statements).
- **On mobile data in a bad spot?** A ten-megabyte upload on two bars will time out. Try it on
  wifi.

## The ID check will not open, or will not pass

Two different problems, and the app says which.

- **"We couldn't open the ID check just now. Carry on, and your specialist will send you a
  link."** Ours, not yours. Nothing was checked. Carry on with the rest of the application.
- **"That check did not go through. Try again, or call us and we will sort it out another way."**
  It ran and could not confirm you: better light, the whole document in frame, no glare, and take
  it out of the plastic sleeve.

See [verifying your identity](/help/verifying-your-identity).

## I cannot edit my application

Almost always because it has been sent, in which case it is fixed on purpose — see
[changing or withdrawing an application](/help/changing-or-withdrawing-an-application). The other
possibility is a draft that passed its 45 days; the app says so, and the answer is to start a new
one.

## The button to send it is not there

Where the button would be, the app prints the one thing still outstanding. Read that line: it is
the answer. It is one of

- you are on the team as an employee rather than an owner (most common),
- there is no amount on the funding step,
- we have no bank statements,
- or your identity check has not passed.

Everything you have filled in is saved either way. See
[sending it to us](/help/sending-it-to-us).

## Nothing above fits

Close the app fully and open it again. That clears almost everything that is not a real problem.

If it persists, call us with your reference and tell us what the screen said. "It did not work"
takes a while to chase; "it said we couldn't open the ID check, twice, on Tuesday morning" takes
about a minute. The number and the hours are on the [support page](/support).