Google surprised us all with a new version of Google Maps which incorporated a new functionality of "guide by flashlight" , which is nothing more than an indicator that shows us the direction in which we are looking or advancing. This update of Google Maps was accompanied by the publication of a trick to improve the GPS location .
They have christened this trick as "the trick of the eight" and with a simple movement we can calibrate the compass of our device . If we calibrate the compass correctly, we will get Google Maps to signal us the correct direction with the new "flashlight guide".
So far, when we opened Google Maps and had GPS activated, our current position was signaled by a blue dot , which was sometimes accompanied by a small arrow pointing to where we looked, that is, to the front.
In this new version the arrow is dispensed with and a kind of fan or lantern effect is used , which tries to indicate with more or less precision, where we look. This is where the trick of the eight comes in, that if we do it, we will increase the accuracy of the flashlight.
The following image describes the process to perform the trick of the eight and calibrate the device's compass:
The process is to draw an eight in the air while holding the phone with your hand. We start from the initial position, which is holding the phone in a natural way, as if you were reading an article on the screen and then turn it to the right to describe the journey of an eight. If everything went well, we can see how the accuracy of our direction indicator increases.
I have done several tests in different places and I can say that in most cases I have managed to increase the GPS accuracy .
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