Troubleshooting GPS Issues For Android Devices

In order to track your location accurately during a visit/walk, it is important that Time To Pet has permission to run in the background and has access to your device's location services. Most modern Android devices take a very aggressive, pro-active role in preventing applications from running in the background, which can limit our ability to track your location. This can result in sporadic route tracking and in some cases large gaps when no GPS coordinates are collected at all.

This help article will provide links and resources that will walk through some of the common debugging steps we can take to ensure Time To Pet is not being limited in the ways mentioned above. As there are so many different manufacturers and versions of Android and some of the instructions will vary for your particular device, please find your device listed below in order to be directed to the right help documentation. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to send us a message at support@timetopet.com. 

General GPS Guidelines

• It is important that your device has a clear, unobstructed view of the sky for the most accurate results.
• Avoid putting your device in a position where there is a significant obstruction to the sky, such as in a bag with thick books.
• Walks taking place in large cities with tall buildings are already at a disadvantage as these buildings significantly hamper the phone's ability to lock on to GPS satellites.
• Older and lower-end Android devices often come with less powerful GPS chips, and having an unobstructed view of the sky becomes that much more important.
• The longer it has been since your phone has used GPS, the longer it can potentially take to locate your current position the first time. 

Enable Location Permissions

To start, let's ensure we have given the Time To Pet application permission to access your location.

Google Pixel: Change App Permissions On Your Pixel Phone

Samsung Galaxy: How To Activate My Location And Change Settings For Location Permissions

Motorola Edge: Turn App Permissions On / Off

Motorola Razr: Turn App Permissions On / Off

OnePlus: App Permissions Setting

OPPO: Turn App Permissions On Or Off

Enable Precise Location Mode

Android devices can be configured to find your location in different modes. For best results, we want to ensure your device is set to use Precise Location or High Accuracy mode.

Google Pixel: Manage Your Pixel Phone’s Location Settings

Samsung Galaxy: Improving The Location Accuracy On My Samsung Phone

Motorola Edge: GPS Location Settings

Motorola Razr: GPS Location Settings

OnePlus: Manage Your Android Device’s Location Settings

OPPO: Turn GPS On Or Off

Power Saving & Battery Optimization

Every device manufacturer has their own terminology for this technology, and the instructions will vary slightly as well, but essentially we need to ensure that your Android device is not limiting Time To Pet in the background (when your screen is off or you have another app open, Time To Pet is considered a Background App).

Most Androids (including Samsung): How To Turn Off Your Android's Battery Optimizer

Extra Tips & Tricks

Once you've confirmed all of the settings mentioned in this article are correctly configured, use the following tips & tricks to help with the accuracy of your GPS tracking:

• Close out any other applications running on the device, specifically those that may be using location services, like safe driving apps from insurance companies or mobile timecard apps that also track GPS coordinates.
• Make sure you're not connected to a Wi-Fi network before the walk. It is ideal to turn off the phone's Wi-Fi so the cellular connection does not cut in and out.
• Make sure the device is not running in Battery Saver mode (this can vary from device to device, so check this Device Manufacturer list to get the steps for your device)