GPS speedometer not working? How to fix it

A browser speedometer needs three things: permission to read your location, a device with location switched on, and a GPS signal. When one of them is missing, the speed never appears, sticks at zero, or jumps around. Work through the sections below in order; most problems are solved by the first one.

1. Allow location for this site

The first time you press Start, your browser asks whether this site may use your location. If you chose Block or Don't Allow, or location is off for the whole device, the speedometer says that access is blocked. Here is how to undo it.

iPhone and iPad

1. Open Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Location Services, and make sure it is on.
2. Scroll down and tap Safari Websites (or the browser you use, such as Chrome). Choose While Using the App, or the option to ask next time.
3. Turn on Precise Location. Without it, iOS gives websites only an approximate area, and no useful speed can be worked out from that.
4. If you blocked this one site in Safari, open the page menu in the address bar, choose Website Settings, and set Location to Ask or Allow.
5. Reload the page and press Start.

Android

1. Swipe down from the top of the screen and turn Location on.
2. In Chrome, tap the icon to the left of the web address, open Permissions, and set Location to Allow. You can also find it under Chrome's menu, Settings, Site settings, Location.
3. In the phone's Settings, under Apps, check that your browser has the Location permission and that Use precise location is on.
4. Reload the page and press Start.

Samsung Internet, Firefox and other browsers keep the same setting under their own site permissions.

Windows, Mac and Chromebook

1. Click the icon to the left of the address bar and allow Location for this site. In Safari on a Mac, it is under Safari's Settings, then Websites, then Location.
2. On a Mac, also open System Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Location Services, and switch it on for your browser.
3. On Windows, open Settings, then Privacy & security, then Location, and make sure location services and desktop app access are on.

Most computers have no GPS, so even with location allowed they find themselves by Wi-Fi. The speedometer will run, but the speed it works out is rough. A phone gives a proper reading.

2. Stuck on "Searching for GPS"

Permission is fine, but no position has arrived yet.

• Go outdoors. GPS signals do not get through roofs, and tunnels and underground car parks block them completely.
• Move away from tall buildings and out from under heavy trees, which block or reflect the signal.
• Give it a minute. The first fix takes longer if the phone has not used GPS for a while, or has travelled a long way since it last did.
• Turn off battery saver or Low Power Mode for a moment, in case it is restricting location.
• Restart location. Turn Location off and on again, then reload the page.

3. The speed stays at zero

Anything under 1.8 km/h reads as 0 on purpose, so the dial stays still while you are parked. If you are clearly moving faster than that and it still reads 0:

• Check Precise Location on iPhone. With only an approximate position, the phone reports no speed and the position barely changes.
• Check the device. A laptop, or a tablet without GPS, cannot measure speed, only estimate it from Wi-Fi.
• Look at the signal chip. If it says the signal is lost, the number is greyed out and will update once a new fix arrives.

4. The speed jumps around

A reading that leaps about almost always means a weak signal. The chip above the dial shows the accuracy of each fix: under 10 m is good, and readings worse than 30 m are kept out of your trip totals.

• Keep the phone where it can see the sky — on the dashboard, not in a bag, pocket or footwell.
• Some heat-reflective windscreens have a metal coating that weakens GPS. If the signal is poor in the car, try the phone near a side window.
• If a spike set an impossible top speed, press Reset trip.

5. It stops when the screen turns off

Browsers only send location to a web page that is open and on screen. Lock the phone or switch to another app, and updates stop until you come back. To prevent that, the speedometer asks the browser to keep the screen on while it is tracking, using the Screen Wake Lock API.

Some browsers do not support it, and battery saver modes can refuse it. If your screen still dims, raise the auto-lock time in your phone's display settings for the trip, and keep the phone on a charger.

6. "Location only works on a secure page"

Browsers only share location with pages loaded over HTTPS. If you see this message, check that the address starts with https://, or open speedometer.top directly.

Still not working?

Email us at hello@speedometer.top with your phone or computer model, the browser, and the exact message under the Start button. That is usually enough for us to reproduce it.