Gone are the days when people used to carry a paper map and used to wander cluelessly around new places. In this digital era, they have smartphones with Google Maps in their pockets.

Google Maps is an excellent way of easily and quickly orientating yourself in unaware areas. And that could be more convenient if the Google Maps correctly shows you which direction you are facing.

Below, we will discuss what is the compass, how to use it and how you can calibrate it on Google Maps in Android and iPhone.

What is a Compass?

A compass is an important tool that helps you find out what direction you are facing. It contains a good quality geographical map of the area you're navigating, understanding how to use a compass ensures that you're never missed.

Basics of Compass

Learn to identify the essential components of the compass, take a precise reading of bearings, and start improving the basic skills of navigation with a few simple steps.

• Understand the basic layout of the compass: Different types of compasses have different designs, but they all include a magnetic needle that orientates itself to the directions and fields in the Earth. The basic compass is also known as a baseplate compass, which includes various effective features and components such as compass housing, the direction of travel arrow, degree dial, magnetic needle, orienting arrow and lines and many more that you should familiarize yourself with.

• Correctly hold the compass: The proper compass stance is placing it on your palm and your palm in front of your chest. Place the compass on a map placed on a flat surface when you are consulting a direction.

• Find out which direction you are facing: Turn the degree dial until the orienting arrow points towards North and find out which direction you are facing by finding out the direction of the travel arrow.

After learning the basics of the compass, let us find out how you can calibrate your map with compass and how you can use it.

How to calibrate the map with compass on Android?

Calibrating the map with compass might sound tough, but it isn’t, as it doesn’t consist of going into any settings, through some strange commands, or making changes to your phone. Follow below mentioned easy steps to calibrate your map with compass.

• Open Google Maps App on your Android phone and follow the prompts to get the correct location reading
• Tap the blue dot on the map
• Tap Calibrate compass at the bottom-left corner of the screen
• Tilt your phone in the pattern on the screen and follow the pattern three times to properly calibrate the compass
• Tap Done

You have successfully calibrated the map with compass on your android phone. It will display more accurate results now.

How to calibrate the map with compass on the iPhone?

Calibrating a map with compass on the iPhone is an easy task. Follow the 3 steps mentioned below and get this done right away.

Step 1: Enabling Location Services

• Open your iPhone ‘Settings’
• Tap ‘Privacy’ in the dropdown menu
• Tap ‘Location Services’ and turn them on
• Scroll down and tap ‘Google Maps’
• Select Location Preferences as ‘Always’

Step 2: Calibrating map with compass

• Open your iPhone ‘Settings’
• Scroll down and tap ‘Privacy’
• Tap ‘Location Services’ and turn them on
• Scroll down and tap ‘System Services’
• Turn on the ‘Compass Calibration’
• Open the Compass App, which looks like a solid black circle inside a larger circle
• Tilt your phone screen and move the red ball around the circle. Once it reaches its starting point, it’s done

You should now see the accurate direction using your compass on the iPhone, and you don’t need to continue with this method multiple times.

How to Use a Compass?

After learning the basics and how you can calibrate your map with compass, you should learn about how you can use it.

• Gather your bearings to know the direction that you're facing
• Continue to move in the same direction
• Focus on spots in the distance
• Change your direction of travel onto the map
• Learn to take bearings from the map
• Use the new bearing to navigate

In the beginning part of the article, you learned about how to calibrate your map with compass in either of the smartphones you have – Android or iPhone. And now you know how to use it and find out the directions that you are facing, or you want to go for.

Conclusion

Using Google Maps on your phones is way too simple and calibrating your map with compass becomes simple after you go through this article. The process is round about the same for both iPhone and Android users — wave your device frequently around in a figure-of-eight motion until your direction narrows down.

Once you’re done with a couple of these motions, the maps should perfectly respond to your movements. Wave your phone around carefully and make sure it doesn’t come flying out of your hand!

Calibrating your map with compass and getting the accurate directions is the start of the fun that you can have by using the world’s biggest navigation app. Go on!

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