The"compass" in Android seems to be a projection of the 3D magnetic field measured by a magnetometer : Having read https://electronics.stackexchange.com/a/22271/282833 I still have three questions: 1. Assuming the compass has been calibrated while quality testing before shipping, why is it needed to calibrate the compass again? Or in other words: Assuming that the magnetic sensor is placed the same with high precision on each device of the same series, why can't a "golden sample" be calibrated and the data set to all of the similar devices? 2. Assuming you calibrated the compass and you use it in more or less the same area (meaning: I know that the compass may need re-calibration when moving a significant distance, like a few hundred km), but same area means less than 50km), what are the reasons you must re-calibrate the sensor after some time? 3. Is the compass calibration global to all apps, or do individual apps require separate compass calibration? It seems some apps suggest re-calibrating the compass frequently, while others don't. Background for the question is that even after calibrating the compass, it started to "go mad", meaning north was almost 180° off.

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 yet how to launch the compass calibration wizard again. I found this question on Android.SE telling about the general process, as well as this Google support article , but I couldn't figure out how to launch that wizard again. Any ideas?

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 north, which is usually not correct. If I use any other compass app in my phone, they point the north correctly. Is it possible to fix the Google Maps?

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 ideas as to how I can get a working compass... and if possible a working AR on Pokemon Go where it tells me that it does not detect the orientation of the phone :-)

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 do it.

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). Other (more modern) apps use Sensor.TYPE_ROTATION_VECTOR however and according to [the Android documentation](https://source.android.com/docs/core/interaction/sensors/sensor-types#rotation_vector) , this combines data from the orientation sensors aswell as the magnetic field sensor. How can I disable the magnetic field sensor entirely or prevent Android from using its data for Sensor.TYPE_ROTATION_VECTOR?

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-in compass, neither did my two previous phones, both also Redmi phones that did not have this problem. The problem is that map apps including MapsME and Google Maps started pointing the arrow indicating my position in the wrong direction after I'd had the phone for roughly three months. In this screenshot I'm actually walking towards the destination marked by the flag. But the phone thinks I'm facing the other way so mainly shows the area behind me, making it look like it's in front of me: At first I only noticed it pointing backwards, exactly 180° opposite the direction I was facing and moving. But later I noticed it would also sometimes be 90° to the left or right. Initially I thought it was a bug in MapsME which I use most of the time, but it definitely happens just as often in Google Maps. Is this a known bug with Android, or with Xiaomi or Redmi phones? Maybe a regression on Android phones without compass as this never happened on my previous Redmi phones without compass running older Android versions. I've tried to search for this problem using various wordings and failed to find anything similar to my problem, so I turn to the Android experts here.

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 north...sometimes the compass works as I turn around slowly, but then the compass stops, and then it goes backwards. I'm constantly recalibrating, rotating the phone in 3 axes, but this doesn't fix the problem. I've tried it both within the case, which has a small magnetic clasp, and outside the case. The compass is maybe slightly better when the phone is held flat (horizontal) but my app needs the compass when the app is held vertical in landscape mode. I have a very cheap Samsung A31 phone which seems to have a much better compass. Every iPhone I've used also seems to have a good compass, even one attached to a very strong magnetic case. So I figured I just have a bad phone, and I went into a phone shop. The salesman had a brand new Samsung S21, his own personal phone, which he proudly showed to me. We downloaded the "Compass 3D" app and calibrated his phone. But it worked even worse than mine. So I ended up not buying any phone. But now I'm stuck. Any ideas, anyone? I need my phone to work better than the phones of the potential users of the app, because I'm creating content. More specifically, (a) are some manufacturers/models better than others? (b) do others experience this same problem? (c) is it true that some axes work better than others (holding phone flat=better)? (d) is there some trick to calibration, or how frequently do I need to recalibrate? (e) anything else I'm missing?

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 time (every week or so) I have noticed that the compass orientation freezes. I have installed a different compass app and, it doesn't freeze, but it is clearly giving a very wrong reading (for example, north indicated directly to the sun). Similarly Google Maps is showing the wrong reading. I am sure the bearing is wrong because if the sun was in the north we'd be really screwed. Plus I have another compass on my watch and it is OK, so I know where north really is. I suspect the reason my app is frozen, and the other app is not frozen, is just because of the different animation approaches. The root cause appears to be that the sensor is "jammed" even though it is in a solid state. I have tried recalibrating (maybe 40 times), shutting off the phone, resetting the phone, clear the app's memory, stopping the app, etc. I noticed today that if I place my phone on its magnetic mount, all of a sudden the compass started working again once I remove it from the mount. To be clear, I am out in the woods many kilometers away from my magnetic mount when it is jammed, but when I return to my car and put it on/remove it from the mount everything works fine again for a few days. I have never had an electronic compass behave like this. Unfortunately Google searches invariably point me to suggestions to recalibrate.

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" setting in Maps, but I couldn't find it. How can I calibrate the compass on my phone?

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=x6uOI5g8xbc **Steps to replicate:** After booting into Safe Mode and calibrating the compass via rapid figure-8's (or slow, or rotations on table), the direction in Google Maps slowly rotates. EDIT: I did a factory reset and, before logging in, Google Maps still has this error. I think it may be a hardware bug at this point. **Apps affected:** - Google Maps (Safe Mode and normal mode) - GPS Status (only available in normal mode) **Apps not affected:** - "Compass" (orange circle logo) - Sensors Multitool (shows correct magnetometer readings for X, Y, and Z. Confirms correct calibration) https://goo.gl/photos/SavNsaY2PyNPa17G8 **Troubleshooting steps I've tried:** - Calibrating compass - Rebooting in Safe Mode - Disabling/re-enabling Google Maps (includes data/cache deletion) **Specs:** - Nexus 5X - Android 6.0.1 - Google Maps 9.34.1

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 magnetic phone case.) Compass calibration is reported as "very good" and re-calibrating the compass by moving the phone in a 8-figure pattern doesn't have any effect. Is it possible to somehow reset the compass calibration to factory settings?

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 could be detecting either real magnetic fields external to the phone or calibration errors/magnetic fields coming from inside the phone, how does Google Maps know how accurate/well-calibrated the compass is at any given instant?

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](https://youtu.be/1bhzFKHX9XU) . I have checked other devices, including iPad Air 2 and they showed similar behavior. This is drastically differs from conventional compass behavior. Also, neither device show correct cardinal directions, except conventional compass. Why doesn't Android compass react to magnet? **UPDATE** Note, that magnetic field value definitely increasing when magnet is approaching. So, the actual question is how do they try to distinguish between Earth magnetic field and magnet's magnetic field? Also, note, that direction shown by compass is INCORRECT relatively to conventional compass.

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 it but the problem persists. Does anyone have any clue about what might be wrong ?

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 application would say me: Point to north, then press that button down there, but you can start at basically zero knowledge for the app, just by rotating your phone! How is that done? Also, do I need to enter a special calibration mode or can I draw these figures (like the 8) directly in Google Maps? How does Google Maps know that I am not just really moving the phone but want to calibrate the compass? Thanks for any hint!

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 sensor?

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, is that it? or is it just a smart use of other sensors?

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 compass chip while replacing the screen. Do you know where the chip inside the phone so I can check? I looked online for circuit labels, but could not find anything regarding the location of the compass. I hope it's not just embedded in the motherboard.

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 work with phones with compasses? I ask because I'm considering getting the motrola g4 plus which doesn't have a compass. Example: notice how triangular area points down and to right.