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Current Location issue using Android App - jumping to streets and businesses


prskier17

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I'm relatively new to geocaching and am having an issue using the Geocaching App with my Motorola Moto G 2 running Android 6.0. I am typically geocaching in smaller parks that are near businesses and roads. My actual location on the map screen keeps jumping to streets or businesses near to my actual location. It's as if Google Maps assumes I'm on a road or at a business. Does anyone else have this issue? Is there a way to accurately display my current location? Also, as a test to ensure my phones GPS hardware is functioning properly I used an app called Polaris Navigation and entered the coordinates of a geocache. The Polaris Navigation app properly maintained my current location as I moved towards the geocache so I'm fairly confident this isn't a hardware issue. I have tried the c:geo app and have the same issue. Anyone? Thanks in advance for any help :).

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I'm relatively new to geocaching and am having an issue using the Geocaching App with my Motorola Moto G 2 running Android 6.0. I am typically geocaching in smaller parks that are near businesses and roads. My actual location on the map screen keeps jumping to streets or businesses near to my actual location. It's as if Google Maps assumes I'm on a road or at a business. Does anyone else have this issue? Is there a way to accurately display my current location? Also, as a test to ensure my phones GPS hardware is functioning properly I used an app called Polaris Navigation and entered the coordinates of a geocache. The Polaris Navigation app properly maintained my current location as I moved towards the geocache so I'm fairly confident this isn't a hardware issue. I have tried the c:geo app and have the same issue. Anyone? Thanks in advance for any help :).

 

switch your location settings to "gps only" or "device only". all the other options will include wifi and cellular , and be very poor.

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I'm relatively new to geocaching and am having an issue using the Geocaching App with my Motorola Moto G 2 running Android 6.0. I am typically geocaching in smaller parks that are near businesses and roads. My actual location on the map screen keeps jumping to streets or businesses near to my actual location. It's as if Google Maps assumes I'm on a road or at a business. Does anyone else have this issue? Is there a way to accurately display my current location? Also, as a test to ensure my phones GPS hardware is functioning properly I used an app called Polaris Navigation and entered the coordinates of a geocache. The Polaris Navigation app properly maintained my current location as I moved towards the geocache so I'm fairly confident this isn't a hardware issue. I have tried the c:geo app and have the same issue. Anyone? Thanks in advance for any help :).

 

switch your location settings to "gps only" or "device only". all the other options will include wifi and cellular , and be very poor.

 

Thanks for the response, I will try as you suggest. Interestingly, the setting the uses GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or cellular is the one labeled "High Accuracy"....

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The only one that is really high accuracy is GPS. The others are much less accurate.

 

"Assisted GPS" is used by phones to improve startup time. It doesn't really improve accuracy as such. The others are used to get an approximate location, which allows GPS to get an accurate location more quickly. But there can be a period where the system is still using the approximate location, before GPS has produced an accurate location.

 

Or you can have GPS turned off, in which case the others produce an approximate location, and that's all you get.

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The only one that is really high accuracy is GPS. The others are much less accurate.

 

"Assisted GPS" is used by phones to improve startup time. It doesn't really improve accuracy as such. The others are used to get an approximate location, which allows GPS to get an accurate location more quickly. But there can be a period where the system is still using the approximate location, before GPS has produced an accurate location.

 

Or you can have GPS turned off, in which case the others produce an approximate location, and that's all you get.

 

I'm pretty confident that the GPS is active and getting a solid location. I suspect that issue has to do with Google Maps forcing the location to "jump" to a street or business. When using the Polaris Navigation app in a park location it appeared to be giving my location extremely well. I'm going to to try what was suggested though! I want to take my daughters geocaching this weekend!

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I have seen situations where driving-oriented devices and apps have forced GPS coordinates to the nearest street address.

 

But since this is the forum for bug reports and feature discussions for Groundspeak's Geocaching app, I assumed that that is what you were using. If you're using something else, something designed for driving, then yes, you could get inaccuracies when the app moves the location from the coordinates you provided to the nearest street address.

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I have seen situations where driving-oriented devices and apps have forced GPS coordinates to the nearest street address.

 

But since this is the forum for bug reports and feature discussions for Groundspeak's Geocaching app, I assumed that that is what you were using. If you're using something else, something designed for driving, then yes, you could get inaccuracies when the app moves the location from the coordinates you provided to the nearest street address.

 

I am using the Groundspeak Geocaching app. The map type I'm using is listed within the app as Google Maps... I mentioned Polaris Navigation because I tested it (it does not use Google Maps) to ensure my device's GPS is capable of an accurate location reading.

Edited by prskier17
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I have seen situations where driving-oriented devices and apps have forced GPS coordinates to the nearest street address.

 

But since this is the forum for bug reports and feature discussions for Groundspeak's Geocaching app, I assumed that that is what you were using. If you're using something else, something designed for driving, then yes, you could get inaccuracies when the app moves the location from the coordinates you provided to the nearest street address.

 

I am using the Groundspeak Geocaching app. The map type I'm using is listed within the app as Google Maps... I mentioned Polaris Navigation because I tested it (it does not use Google Maps) to ensure my device's GPS is capable of an accurate location reading.

 

you're on the right track about applications that do weird things. Google maps is notorious for hopping a quarter mile out of the way.

 

"high accuracy" is a lie, it's really just to get you to allow Google to collect (and resell) positional data in real time to other companies like Waze/similar. think about it, how are Bluetooth or wifi going to improve positional accuracy? they can't. ;-)

 

cellular will only improve the initial startup speed, IF IT'S NEEDED to update regional data. cellular "help" through agps is always misunderstood, a lot of people still think it works all the time.

 

using just the phones GPS antenna means (device only) it calculates position instead of taking handouts (guesstimated) from wifi/similar.

 

if you haven't tried caching in airplane mode, give it a shot. you'll want to see the limits of whatever applications you're planning to use, before you lose connectivity and your child gets annoyed by the slip up. ;-)

 

future reference, the official app is pretty poor compared to others.

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