For Google Maps to work as planned, the user’s location must be correct.
If Google Maps shows your location wrong, it is possible to fix it. Adobe Stock / AOP
Google’s map and navigation application Maps is a high-quality and versatile tool for finding different destinations, getting directions and navigating, for example when driving or walking. However, its reliable operation requires that the application knows the user’s location as accurately as possible. However, if the location seems to be wrong for one reason or another, you should calibrate the location in the application.
Calibration is easy on both Android and iPhone. First, open the application and wait a little while for the application to load the map and find the location in its own opinion.
You can see your location on the map (or satellite image) as a blue circle. Clicking on it opens a dialog box with a button Calibrate. If the circle is not visible, the application should focus the view back to the user’s location by pressing the crosshair-like button on the screen.
If Google Maps finds the location estimate unreliable, it can itself suggest calibration.
There is one way to calibrate on iPhone, two on Android. That iPhone-only way requires the user to be outside and surrounded by scenery that Maps has the ability to recognize. For example, a street or street corner with houses. In the middle of a field or forest, this probably won’t work.
When the calibration starts, the application opens the camera view and instructs you to aim the camera at the objects around it. Depending on the location, the right place can be found easily or by moving the camera view for a moment. The application recognizes the surrounding points and determines the exact location based on them.
Another option that can come up on Android in some situations is calibration using the phone’s built-in compass. The phone is held in the hand and, following the instructions, a figure-of-eight trajectory is moved horizontally so that the device’s compass calibrates itself and the exact location is thus determined.
When the application has completed the calibration, it will return to the normal view, where the user’s location should now be displayed accurately.