Questions tagged [compass]

A compass is a navigational instrument that indicates the direction to the magnetic poles. It's one of the sensors present in most Android devices.

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Google maps compass breaks when using underground public transport

Suppose I took a U-bahn/Metro/Subway. After the ride finishes, the exit the station and get back to ground level. Now I notice that the compass in Google Maps always points to a random direction as ...
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How can I disable my phone's magnetic field sensor or stop Android from using its data for `Sensor.TYPE_ROTATION_VECTOR`?

I've noticed that OsmAND's compass is much more accurate when forcing it to use the orientation sensor (Sensor.TYPE_ORIENTATION) instead of the magnetic field sensor (Sensor.TYPE_MAGNETIC_FIELD). ...
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Pointer on map apps wrong by multiples of 90°

I have a Xiaomi Redmi 10C running Android 12 SKQ1.211103.001 and MIUI Global version 13.0.0 Stable. I bought it new in Malaysia about 8 months ago in early/mid 2022. This phone does not have a built-...
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The 3D compass is unreliable on many Android phones. What can I do?

I'm writing a Wayfinding app which relies on the compass. But my Samsung Galaxy S9 seems to have an unreliable compass - both my app and the "Compass 3D" app don't reliably track magnetic ...
Tim Cooper's user avatar
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OnePlus 6T Compass Gets "Stuck" Until Placed on Magnetic Mount and Removed

My phone is a OnePlus 6T with Android 11 Oxygen OS 11.1.1.1. I am working on an app which (among other things) provides range and bearing to a particular spot based on GPS and compass. From time to ...
Brian Piccioni's user avatar
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Can Doogee Y9 Plus run AR apps?

I have recently bought a Doogee Y9 Plus. As I found out, the phone does not have a compass or gyroscope. I wanted to ask if the phone could still use AR apps. The phone isn't rooted, but I might even ...
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How Does Google Maps Detect Compass Accuracy?

Modern versions of Google Maps display a cone of various widths for the compass, depending on how accurate/in need of calibration the compass is. Given that the compass is simply a magnetometer and ...
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How to fix a compass that is turning in opposite direction?

I am having an issue with my GS4 's compass. It turns in the opposite direction, i.e., if I turn right, it turns right with me when actually it should turn left w.r.t the screen. I tried calibrating ...
Crimson's user avatar
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Is it possible to reset the compass calibration to factory settings?

My Samsung Galaxy S6 indicates constantly the wrong direction in Maps, compass apps, etc. as it shows the North always towards the left side of the phone. (This might be a long-term effect of the ...
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Calibrate accelerometer?

I'm developing an app that is supposed to measure vertical accelerations, and in the process I've discovered that the accelerometer seems to be uncalibrated. When the phone is lying perfectly ...
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Where is the compass chip on the Nexus 6p?

I just replace the screen+lcd on my nexus 6p and the compass stopped working (this is not just a calibration issue, it looks like the compass chip is dead). I think that I might have damaged the ...
newmathwhodis's user avatar
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Does Google Maps require a compass to show the direction you are facing?

On my old phone I used Google Maps a lot. One thing I found useful is the dot that indicated where you were had a little flashlight affect to show you the direction you were facing. Does this only ...
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Why is the looking direction often completely wrong while going by bus?

I noticed that the displayed "looking direction" of Google Maps is often (always?) exactly the opposite when I'm going by bus: This is astonishing for me, as it is most of the time correct when I'm ...
Martin Thoma's user avatar
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Huawei P7 Ascend Lollipop Compass pointing only North or South, even after calibrating. How to fix?

As it says in the title, my Huawei P7 Ascend running the latest firmware for it (Android 5.1.1) has something strange going on with the compass for the last year or so. I have already attempted ...
Bab's user avatar
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Retrieving my google contacts

My smart phone kept turning off and wouldn't power back up or stay on long enough to use it much unless I had it plugged into an electrical outlet; so I cancelled my cell phone service but continued ...
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Google Maps blue arrow does not appear on the blue location dot (to show direction)

My Google Maps app shows a blue dot to indicate my current location, but (unlike on all of my friends' Google Maps), the blue dot does not show a compass-based arrow to indicate which direction I'm ...
Ryan's user avatar
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Compass not working on Doogee T6

I have a new smartphone: Doogee T6. According to Sensor Box, it has both a magnetic sensor and an accelerometer sensor. My installed spirit level works fine, but no compass app seems to work. Any ...
Morten Repsdorph Husfeldt's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
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Google Maps shows constantly rotating direction despite other compass apps working correctly

Google Maps reports rotating direction (0.5 rotations / minute) with stationary phone. The compass is calibrated and works correctly in compass-specific apps. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...
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Difference between a gyro sensor and a compass sensor?

Some Android devices feature a gyro (gyroscope) sensor. Some only have a compass sensor. Besides a gyro being 3D and a compass being 2D, what are the differences between a gyro sensor and a compass ...
End Anti-Semitic Hate's user avatar
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3 answers
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Pokemon Go without compass?

I'm planning to get a new android smartphone and have eyes on the Moto G4 Plus. I took a look at the specifications and noticed that there is no compass sensor. I would like to play Pokemon Go but the ...
Acrylic's user avatar
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Re-Calibrate Android Compass

I have a Nexus 5X and was in a bit of a hurry when I followed the setup steps. There was a calibrate compass wizard, which I skipped because I wanted to do this later. However, I've not figured out ...
DominikAmon's user avatar
13 votes
4 answers
3k views

Why doesn't Android compass react to magnet?

I downloaded Compass program for Android and tried to bring strong magnet close to it. The pointed remained stable, as if there was no magnet nearby. Here is the video proof on YouTube. I have ...
Dims's user avatar
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Is there a way to re-calibrate the compass on my Android Galaxy s6, with verizon as my carrier?

I need to re-calibrate the compass on the my Android Galaxy Edge 6s. I read that I must first go to the secret menu, which can be accessed through the code #0# being typed into the dial pad of the ...
user157140's user avatar
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compass in Google Maps stopped working (Xperia V CM 12.1)

In the Google Maps app the compass of my Xperia V (model identifier: LT25i | codename: Tsubasa) doesn't work properly anymore (only 180 degree flips). To be more precise the compass already stopped ...
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apps fail to access orientation & magnetic sensors

I've just started using a Doogee Nova Y100X Android-based phone (it's android 5.0). It seems that my apps can only access some of the phone's sensors: accelerometer seems to work, proximity and ...
einpoklum's user avatar
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Compass only working in GPS status app, not in any other apps

On my Nexus 5 (Android 6.0) the compass is working fine in the well known GPS Status & Toolbox app, but not in any other app like Google Sky Map. To debug the problem, I installed a dedicated ...
Overv's user avatar
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Compass feature in all Android phones? [closed]

Is there a compass sensor or a software emulating a compass in each Android smartphone? Or maybe is there a solution for it problem starting from Android 4.0 ICS?
eeadev's user avatar
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HTC explorer A310e - does it have magnetic sensor?

I want to use any compass app to my HTC explorer A310e model. But i am not sure whether it will work or not? Is it something related to hardware support to have magnetic sensor? And is there any way ...
Pradip Jasu's user avatar
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Magnetic compass correction

After updating to Android 4.4.3 the magnetic compass deviates by 90 degrees. This is more than a lttle bit and recalibrating did not help. Q1: Is this a common problem? Q2: Is there a fix or ...
Nils's user avatar
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How to calibrate magnetic sensors using Cyanogenmod?

I am using a Samsung Galaxy S4 mini with Cyanogenmod (11) and want to calibrate the compass / magnetic sensors. With the stock rom this was possible by "dialing" *#0*#. This is however not ...
Tim's user avatar
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Nexus 7: Compass drifts over time

When I use apps like Google Maps on my Nexus 7, I find that the compass drifts, with the indicated direction rotating counterclockwise over time (from north to west to south to east). As a result, I ...
bwDraco's user avatar
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6 votes
5 answers
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How do I get my GPS working in Android 4.1 Jelly Bean?

Recently I've been having all sorts of troubles with audio and GPS and the compass... I tried different ROMs, different kernels, different patches. The short story is that after a long time spent ...
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How does compass calibration work?

I am wondering how compass calibration works / why e.g. drawing an 8 or rotating the phone to all 3 axis works (or at least shall work) - I mean I would understand the calibration process, if an ...
me.at.coding's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
27k views

How can I get my compass pointing the right direction?

On my Samsung Galaxy S2 running ICS 4.0.4, my compass is off by 90 degrees. It shows west in the north position. I had a similar compass problem before, and had solved it by applying this patch. ...
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Compass north and south are reversed on my Samsung Galaxy 2

Since upgrading my phone to ICS, my compass is reversed, with the north end pointing south. I have tried waving the phone in a figure 8 pattern and flipping it over on all axis. What can I do to get ...
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2 votes
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Shaky, drifting compass an inevitability on Samsung Nexus S?

I bought a Nexus S off eBay and found that the compass direction wanders even with the device laying still. Likewise, the display in Google Sky shakes around even with the resting on a stable surface, ...
Edward Brey's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
10k views

How does an android compass application work?

I recently installed a Compass app on my phone (it's a HTC Wildfire S if it matters) and I'm curious as how it works. Found some answers online that the phone's hardware has a digital compass in it, ...
user8932748's user avatar
34 votes
4 answers
165k views

How can I calibrate the compass on my phone?

Google Maps sometimes asks me to calibrate my compass. Last time it did so, I was in a rush and didn't bother to, and now the compass does seem a bit off. I tried to find a "calibrate compass" ...
Nathan Fellman's user avatar