Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about GPS and location. This applies for Android and iOs devices.
Where to get more info on GPS?
Learn more about GPS accuracy: GPS.GOV
Also check out the article about GPS reception.
My location blob jumps away tens of meters sometimes?
This situation can happen when GPS signal accuracy is low and device tries to use the wifi network location for the positioning. Mainly on Android. See more in GPS reception on what signals are used for positioning.
Wifi based positioning is not accurate enough for Loquiz, so to avoid that, it is ok to disable in the device settings. Wifi location might be beneficial for other applications so do it with care. Go to Settings->Location->Mode and switch the Mode to Device only. This will only use GPS for positioning and not other signals.
Why don’t you improve the location within your app?
Loquiz gets the location directly from the system. Improvements to location quality the device reports are done by improving the satellite infrastructure (new systems, like Galileo), better hardware (satellite chips within phone) and better algorithms within devices operating system. We do very little filtering very cautiously to ensure we do not decrease the location quality.
Yesterday the location activated fine, but today I can not get it to open.
GPS satellites positions change in time relative to earth (Galileo is different as it uses geostationary satellites). Depending on the time of the day, the satellite positions are different so if a location is ok for GPS one day then it might be more challenging the next day. For example close to tall buildings the satellites might be blocked by the buildings on one day, but another day more satellites might be visible because of their changed locations.
In open places the effect is not noticed, but within city streets it can be a factor day to day.
I have two devices side by side, and their location is different by several meters.
It can happen that two devices side by side show slightly different location. This is due to several factors like positioning of the devices, but also past locations. It can be especially visible if the signal quality is not the best or accuracy is ok, but player is close to tall buildings.
It is normal, and unless it affects your gameplay it is nothing to worry about. If the anomaly is large (10 meters or more) then you should check if the location is suitable for the task.
I am within a radius of a location, but the location does not activate.
This can happen indoors or close to tall buildings.
Task will not be activated if location accuracy is lower than 100 meters. To understand the accuracy zoom out and check out the blue circle around the location blob. The bigger it is the worse the location accuracy. Even if you are within the location radius but your location accuracy is weak, location will not be activated.
To improve it do not place tasks activated by location indoors and close to tall buildings.
The blob is following me, but is off by some meters.
This might happen when you are moving on a narrow street and the blob shows you on the side of the street (on top of the building for example). This situation happens because on a narrow street all the satellites the device sees are in lined up. So it estimates signal accuracy as high, but the location is actually slightly off. Specifically the location is good in one direction (along the street), but might be off in another direction (perpendicular to the street).
What to do?
Avoid setting locations onto narrow streets with tall buildings.
If you need to do that make sure the radius is sufficiently big (20 or more meters).
Be warned that if the signal quality is low the location might not activate at all.
My location blob seems not to follow me or is slow to follow me.
This can happen if GPS signal quality is weak and therefore accuracy is low. To understand the accuracy observe the blue circle around your location blob. The bigger the blue area the lower the location accuracy. If the accuracy is worse than 100 meters then no tasks will be activated.
To fix it you need to make sure there is good satellite reception. If you are indoors, move outdoors, if you are close to tall buildings or on narrow street, move to wider street or open place. If you are in deep forest move to open places.
When building games avoid placing tasks into tight locations. If you absolutely need to do it, make the task radius larger. It will not guarantee the activation but might make it easier.
I have good internet connection but my location is still unreliable.
Good internet connection does not guarantee high location accuracy.
Loquiz relies on high accuracy location data. Mobile signal and Wifi positioning are usually not accurate enough to activate tasks within Loquiz. Having good internet connection enables fast downloads of satellite position information and helps to speed up the initial lock, but the satellite visibility is still needed to activate locations.
How do you know the location within Loquiz?
We ask for high accuracy location from respective services within device. This is compound information that combines GPS, mobile and wifi information into one and serves it to the app. The only filtering we do within Loquiz is that if location estimated accuracy is worse than 100 meters then we do not allow so activate tasks based on that location.
If your location seems to be incorrect within Loquiz it is adviced to switch from Loquiz to built in map application (Google maps or Apple maps) and see if the location there is the same. If it is then this is the best location information available for all the apps.
What is location radius?
Location is a point. Radius turns this point into an area. When player enters this area, task activates (opens).
By default radius for tasks is 10 meters. The bigger the task radius is, the easier it is to activate it, but the farther away from actual location it will activate. The smaller the radius is, the more difficult it is to activate it (because GPS is inherently inaccurate), but the risk of activating the task too far away is reduced.
In some cases you want to have really big areas for activation (when using locations on the road). If you need to guide players very close to an object use the intro (pre-clue) for that. Locations with radius of 5 meters or less are very hard to activate. Note that if you set radius to 0 meters, then it will not activate by GPS, but still activates on iBeacons or QR-codes.
My iPad does not activate any locations what to do?
To open tasks (activate locations) your iPad needs to be aware of your current location. This works through GPS system. GPS only works outdoors, please make sure you are outdoors with clear view to the sky.
Please check the following things:
- Make sure that you are not using Wi-Fi only iPads. These iPads do not have GPS built in and therefore can not be used for location-based games.
- Please ensure that your iPad is running iOS version 13 or higher. Loquiz does not support versions below that.
- Check Loquiz app rights. Go to “Settings” in your device, scroll down to Loquiz app and check if Loquiz has “always” access to Location. Loquiz should also have access to Photos folder, Microphone, Camera and Mobile data.
