Improve GPS Accuracy in Android – HOW-TO
2 min read
By over-riding some default settings in Android we can improve GPS accuracy. This is how to do it.
Battery Conservation – GPS Tracking
By default Android cycles GPS tracking on and off to conserve battery. For most users this is fine as this cycling happens every second so. More than good enough for navigation.
But if you are using a lap timer app like Time Trial 2 Basic or Time Trial 2 EVO, we want to measure location as accurately as possible, preferably down to tenths of a second.
The good news is we can turn off this duty cycling so the Android device can constantly receive GPS data.
In our experience and according to the Android operating system, by turning off duty-cycling for GPS tracking, we can get down to 1-2 meter accuracy. 60 mph is 26 meters per second, tracking to 1-2 meter at speeds like this, should give us very good GPS accuracy.
Improving GPS Accuracy – The Method
We need to activate Developer Options in our Android device. Go to Settings>About Phone. Click on the build number at least 7 times to activate Developer Options.
Go to Settings>Additional Settings>Developer Options. Somewhere on the screen will be the option “Force Full GNSS Measurements”. Activate that and the duty-cycling when receiving GPS data will stop. The device will constantly track GPS data, leading hopefully, to more accurate location data and therefore more accurate lap times.
Further Reading – Android GPS
There is an article here which goes into a bit more detail on what is exactly happening when the phone is cycling it’s reception of GPS data.
General information about GPS can be found from Garmin here
And more in-depth information on GPS here
FREE Lap Timer App – Time Trial 2 BASIC
MoviChip Time Trial is designed to be the same type of lap timer as in Gran Turismo. But for real life. As you pass the split point (chosen by you) the screen will show if you are plus or minus your fastest lap up to that point.
