Android app to automatically alert if compass is out of calibration

[Uriel]

I regularly use my phone as a satnav but it doesn't work well if the phone's compass is out of calibration.

Google have made the issue much easier to spot with their wide or narrow 'field of view' shown in Google maps. I prefer to use other nav apps though.

Is anyone aware of an app that either automatically calibrates the compass or alerts the user to when a calibration should be performed?

 

[Big Elf]

I don't know if the paid for version of 'GPS Status & Toolbox' will help. It will recalibrate the GPS sensors on a regular basis or on request (paid for version) but whether that will automatically fix the compass calibration I'm not sure.

 

[FlyingFish]

Perhaps I'm missing the obvious, but a compass should just work should'nt it? And there is no calibration, its just a sensor that detects magnetic North? I believe that if your phone doesnt have a compass then the gps will be used to calculate direction/heading but that would rely on movement/travelling.

Unless nearby objects are interfering with the magnetic sensor. But would calibration fix that?

 

[Uriel]

Just remembered this. A video on calibrating the compass on an Android phone.

What I'd like is something that would alert me to the compass being out of calibration before my navigation apps start to lose position.

Bizarrely I find that cheaper phones with no compass are often less problematic for navigation than ones that have one, due to the lack of calibration issues.

 

[Rroff]

Bizarrely I find that cheaper phones with no compass are often less problematic for navigation than ones that have one, due to the lack of calibration issues.

Yeah - I've a Smartwatch that has no proper sensor capabilities for orientation, heartbeat, etc. and fakes it up via basic GPS, the camera, etc. and for the most part is as close as makes no difference to most expensive smartphones I've tested it against and gives my Note 4 a good run for the money.