What To Know
- Your iPhone compass may not be working because of magnetic interference and various iPhone settings that need to be adjusted.
- A common fix is to calibrate your iPhone compass, which you can do by going into Location Services in Settings.
- You can also try disabling True North in the Compass Settings.
Why is my iPhone compass wrong? Most of us don't use our iPhone compass that often. Still, when those moments arise, the last thing anyone wants is a broken compass. There's a few reasons why the Compass app might not be working, so we'll walk you through how to calibrate your iPhone compass.
Jump To:
- Turn On Calibrate Compass on Your iPhone
- Make Sure True North Is Turned Off
- Turn Locations Services Off & On Again
- Restart Your iPhone
- FAQ
Get Your iPhone Compass App Working Again!
If you're exploring after creating a custom map in Apple Maps and your compass stops working, you could be in trouble. In the past, if your compass glitched, you'd need to go through an iPhone compass recalibration process. Now the iPhone compass automatically calibrates, but there are a few other things you may need to check if the compass isn't working. We'll walk you through the four steps to take to calibrate your iPhone compass.
How to Turn On iPhone Compass Calibration
The first thing to check when your iPhone compass is not working is to make sure that the Calibrate Compass setting is turned on. For more great iPhone tutorials, like how to share your location on the iPhone, check out our free Tip of the Day. Now, here's how to calibrate the compass on iPhone:
- Open the Settings app, and tap Privacy & Security.
![iphone settings screen with a red box around privacy and security]()
- Tap Location Services.
![iphone privacy and security settings with a red box around location services]()
- Tap System Services at the bottom of the page.
![iphone location services settings with a red box around system settings]()
- Make sure Compass Calibration is toggled on. When it is enabled, the toggle will be green and to the right.
![iphone system settings location settings with a red box around compass calibration]()
That's how to calibrate the compass on your iPhone.
Make Sure True North Is Turned Off
The next thing to check if the compass on your iPhone isn't working is the True North setting. Disabling True North makes your iPhone compass use Magnetic North instead and may clear up whatever is throwing your compass reading off. To do this:
- Open the Settings app, and tap Apps.
![iphone settings app with a red box around apps]()
- Find the Compass app by either scrolling through the list or using the search bar.
![iphone app settings with a red box around compass]()
- Toggle Use True North to the left, so it turns from green to gray.
![iphone compass settings with a red box around use true north toggle]()
You might be wondering what the difference between true north and magnetic north is. Well, true north is simply the North Pole. It's a fixed point on the Earth. Magnetic north is where your compass points based on the Earth's magnetic field. Disabling True North and using magnetic north should help to calibrate the compass on your iPhone.
Turn Locations Services Off & On Again
Another possible reason your Compass app isn't working is related to GPS errors. The best way to correct this is to turn Location Services off, then switch it on again to reset it.
Restart Your iPhone
If you've tried all the above steps and your compass readings are still wonky, it's time to restart your iPhone. This step often gets rid of unresponsiveness and glitches and may be the thing you need to reset your iPhone's compass. If this last step doesn't work, it will be time to contact Apple Repair, because you may have a hardware issue.
Hopefully, this article has helped you get your Compass app working again. Be sure to check out our other troubleshooting articles for any other problems you encounter with your Apple devices! Next, find out how to enable backtrack on Apple Watch.
FAQ
- Why is the compass on my iPhone wrong? The accuracy of your iPhone's compass can be affected by environmental issues or magnetic interference. Really strong magnets can mess up the calibration in your compass on the iPhone. There have even been reports that the magnets in iPhone AirPods can cause interference with the compass.
- How accurate is a iPhone compass? The compass is as accurate as its calibration. Because the iPhone's compass can be thrown off by magnets in and around the environment, it can deviate. Follow the steps above to recalibrate the compass for accuracy.
- Does phone compass adjust for declination? Yes, most smartphones correct for magnetic declination, or at least allow the option to correct for it.
