Why is Google Find My Device not accurate?


‘Find My iPhone' is a tool that leverages a combination of GPS, cellular towers, Wi-Fi signals, and Bluetooth signals to locate your lost device. The accuracy of this feature is influenced by several factors, including your phone's settings, battery life, and environmental obstacles such as buildings or bad weather.

Why is Find My Device so inaccurate?

‘Find My iPhone' is a tool that leverages a combination of GPS, cellular towers, Wi-Fi signals, and Bluetooth signals to locate your lost device. The accuracy of this feature is influenced by several factors, including your phone's settings, battery life, and environmental obstacles such as buildings or bad weather.

How accurate is Google Find My Device location?

Can Google location be inaccurate?

Regarding accuracy in location tracking, Google Timeline may fail to show the correct address for places you visit. You may need to separate or merge trips to get accurate results, which may be tedious.

Why does my phone location say I'm somewhere else?

GPS signal settings are turned off. The devices' screen has been turned off. The mobile device is held in a manner that blocks the antenna.

Can my phone location be tracked without my knowledge?

A device that is infected with malware or spyware can track your location even if your location settings are turned off. Malware can also record your online activities, allow cybercriminals to steal personal information, or slow down your operating system.

How accurate is the Find My Device app for Android?

Find My Device can never be accurate down to a millimetre or two. GPS accuracy within 10 metres is quite acceptable and is probably the best available in many instances.

How do I calibrate my GPS?

To calibrate GPS on Android, go to Settings, Location, and enable high accuracy mode, then open Google Maps to perform the figure-eight motion for accuracy. If you're an Android user, you may rely on your device for location tracking and navigation.

Which phone has the most accurate GPS?

Some Smartphones have great GNSS accuracy The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 clocks in an impressive 1.898 meters from the true location while the iPhone XR is ~22 meters away. Accuracy is shown to differ based on the manufacturer, the device's age, and the device's components.

How do I force Google to change my location?

Add, change, or delete a location On your Android phone or tablet, say “Hey Google, open Assistant settings.” Or, go to Assistant settings. Your places. Add, change, or delete an address.

Why is my location not accurate on my iPhone?

Why Does My iPhone Say My Location Is Somewhere Else? Your device may show inaccurate information due to several reasons. These could include a poor internet connection, outdated iOS, GPS turned off, location denied to a given app, etc. Ensure you fix these issues before reaccessing location information on your iPhone.

Why is location sharing not accurate?

They can't get an exact location, like a gps signal. If the cell towers are miles apart, like they usually are, it can report your location as far away from where you actually are. If the cell signal is bad, it's guessing at your location (based on where you were in that triangle) from the last time it ‘saw' you.

What is the Google location tracking controversy?

Google will pay $93m to settle accusations of misleading consumers on how and when their location information was being tracked and stored, a considerable payout for the tech giant that following a years-long investigation into its data practices.

Why is Find My iPhone not always accurate?

When your iPhone has a strong GPS signal, it can more accurately determine its location using GPS triangulation. However, if your device has a weak or no signal, the accuracy of Find My iPhone may be compromised. This is because the GPS accuracy depends in part on the number of satellites your phone can connect to.

Why isn't Find My iPhone accurate?

How accurate is the blue circle on Find My iPhone?

It means the location accuracy is not 100%, and the location is within that blue shaded area, but not exactly determined. Usually happens when the device is inside a building or something else obscuring exact location. The larger the blue circle is, the less accurate the location is.

Why is my location wrong on my Android phone?

If your location is still inaccurate, you may consider turning on high-accuracy mode. Open the Settings app, and then select Location. After switching the location on, tap Mode. Choose High accuracy to turn it on.

Why does Google think my location is Chicago?

Learn more. Normally, Google gets your location based on your IP address among other things, so you might see activity from locations that are approximate to your actual location. If your ISP or Carrier has their internet gateways in someplace a bit distant, that could show up as a possible location.

Why does Find My Friends location bounce around?

GPS accuracy depends on the number of visible GPS satellites. Locating all visible satellites can take several minutes, with accuracy gradually increasing over time. To improve GPS accuracy: Make sure that you've set the date, time, and time zone correctly on the device in Settings > General > Date & Time.

Can you tell when someone checks your location Find My Friends?

No. When sharing location with friends using Find My Friends, the other person doesn't know how many times their friends have looked them up. They don't get any notification or there isn't any log of lookup incidents made available to them. The location is sent from the friends device only when you request to see it.

How do you know if someone is tracking your phone?

Data usage that suddenly increases could be a sign of criminal activity because the spy app requires data to send information back to the perpetrator. To check data usage on Android phones, go to Settings > Network & Internet > SIMs > App data usage.

What is the 3 digit number to see if your phone is tapped?

Code to check if phone is tapped: *#21# Code to show unknown connections and tracking (for Android): *#*#4636#*#* or *#*#197328640#*#* Code to show unknown connections and if someone is tracing you (for iPhone): *3001#12345#*

How do you know your phone is been hacked?

Mysterious apps, calls, or texts appear: A potential telltale sign that your phone has been hacked is the appearance of new apps that you didn't download, along with spikes in data usage that you can't account for. Likewise, if you see calls in your phone's call log that you didn't make, that's a warning as well.

How accurate can a phone be tracked?

GPS Location Data GPS technology uses the time it takes for a signal to travel from multiple satellites to your phone to triangulate your location. This is similar to how a ship or aircraft navigation system works. The GPS technology is very accurate and can pinpoint your location to within a few meters.

Should I use Find My Device?

The Find My Device feature should be considered a must-have. Make sure your Android phone is signed into the service, so if your phone gets lost or stolen, the option to erase it is only a click away.

Can GPS tracking be wrong?

Many things can degrade GPS positioning accuracy. Common causes include: Satellite signal blockage due to buildings, bridges, trees, etc. Indoor or underground use.