Location Services on mobile devices, more commonly known as GPS, is a useful feature that can help us in everyday tasks such as navigation, maps, etc. but can feel frustrating when they do not work as expected. Apps, such as ExakTime Mobile, do not create their own GPS data and instead rely on the data generated and provided by the device.
With ExakTime Mobile, there are instances where certain functions of ExakTime Mobile will not respond as expected. This can result in warnings such as "Location Services Required" or "Need Clear View of the Sky". There are a couple of things we suggest checking to see what could be affecting location service information and accuracy.
If you would like a better understanding of how location services/GPS works on a phone, you can learn more from the following dedicated article.
Table of Contents
- Environmental Factors
- Location Service Accuracy
- Location Permissions for Devices
- Location Services Enabled
- Battery Saver Modes
Environmental Factors
Some environmental factors can prevent reliable GPS/location service information such as, but not limited to:
- Mountains or Tall Buildings Blocking Signals - Mountains and/or tall buildings can block cellular and satellite signals from reliably reaching the mobile device. Valleys can also affect signals as the tops of valleys can block signals.
- Bouncing Signals off Tall or Nearby Objects - Cellular/satellite signals can reflect off nearby buildings/walls. The bouncing of the signal can delay the signal reaching your device and "confuse" it when it tries to calculate your position.
- Other Electronic Devices - Buildings with equipment that can cause signal interference can interfere with signals in general. This can occur with, but is not limited to, hospitals, government buildings, telecom & electrical infrastructure, and power stations.
- Being Indoors or Underground - Devices used in tunnels, parking structures, and large buildings (shopping malls, government buildings, etc.) can be hindered by dense or metallic material to the point of not receiving signals.
- Intentional Signal Blocking - While rare, there may be intentional signal blocking for safety around key government buildings.
Employees should make sure that they have a clear view of the sky to improve the accuracy of location service data. If your employees routinely work in a location that can prevent a reliable signal, they may need to clock in/out before entering and after exiting the building if you require a GPS signal before they can clock in/out.
If an employee cannot receive a reliable signal, you may want to reconsider having any GPS requirements.
Location Service Accuracy
To promote user privacy with apps, newer phone operating systems offer the option to limit the accuracy of location services information with "precise" and "approximate" data. "Precise" data can pinpoint an employee with accuracy up to a few feet, while "approximate" data will place a device within a ~3 square kilometer region. While we try to only allow "precise" GPS data to be used, operating systems can offer different options that we are not able to account for.
- Open Settings
- Go to Privacy.
- Go to Location Services.
- Look for and tap ExakTime.
- Enable Precise Location.
The steps for Android may differ depending on the version of Android and the manufacturer. The steps below are based on Samsung and may differ, but the overall idea is consistent.
- Open your App Drawer
- Press Settings
- Press Apps (May also be called Applications, App Manager, etc.)
- Press ExakTime
- Press Permissions
- Press Location
- Enable Use precise location
Location Permissions for Devices
Certain warnings from ExakTime Mobile can appear due to ExakTime Mobile not having permission to access location services.
This can result in certain functions not working as expected such as, but not limited to:
- GeoFence warnings and restrictions.
- Not being able to clock in if Location Services/GPS fix is required.
- Open Settings
- Go to Privacy.
- Go to Location Services.
- Look for and tap ExakTime.
- Select the appropriate location services option for GeoTrakker. We recommend selecting "Always".
- Enable the necessary permissions.
The steps for Android may differ depending on the version of Android and the manufacturer. The steps below are based on Samsung and may differ, but the overall idea is consistent.
- Open your App Drawer
- Press Settings
- Press Apps (May also be called Applications, App Manager, etc.)
- Press ExakTime
- Press Permissions
- Enable the necessary permission
Location Services Enabled
While ExakTime Mobile may have permission to access GPS information, the location services may not be enabled for us to utilize.
- Open Settings
- Go to Privacy.
- Go to Location Services.
- Turn on Location Services if it is not already turned on.
The steps for Android may differ depending on the version of Android and the manufacturer. The steps below are based on Samsung and may differ, but the overall idea is consistent.
From Settings
- Open your App Drawer
- Press Settings
- Press Location
- Enable Location Services
From Notification Menu
- Swipe down from the top of the screen towards the bottom to open your notification drawer.
- Swipe through the options until you see the Location icon/button
.
- Tap or hold down the icon to turn on Location Services.
Battery Saver Modes
iOS offers a power saver mode that will limit certain device functions but should not affect location services. The power saver modes for iOS cannot be adjusted.
Newer versions of Android and device manufacturers offer a variety of options to help increase the battery life of devices with options like "Battery Saver". This can result in certain device features being disabled, such as Wi-Fi, cellular data, and/or location services. Some versions of Android will automatically enable battery saver mode when the battery has reached a certain percentage.
The steps for Android may differ depending on the version of Android and the manufacturer. The steps below are based on Samsung and may differ, but the overall idea is consistent.
- Open your App Drawer
- Press Settings
- Press Device care
- Press Battery
- Turn off Power saving if possible