I’ve been testing a couple of compass apps from F-Droid because I wanted something open source, but I’m getting confused by the results. GPS locks pretty quickly and my location looks accurate on maps, yet the compass heading isn’t consistent.
For example, if I’m standing in the same spot, one app might show north at 8°, another at 18°, and another somewhere in the middle. If I start walking, sometimes the direction slowly drifts even though I’m following a straight road. I tried recalibrating the phone with the usual figure-eight movement, restarted location services, and tested outside away from cars and buildings, but I still see different readings.
I also checked an online compass to compare the results. A compass website is a browser-based tool that uses your device’s available sensors together with its GPS location to estimate the direction you’re facing. I know it’s only as accurate as the phone’s hardware and browser support, but I thought it would at least help me compare whether the problem was with the apps or my phone.
What I’m trying to figure out is whether these differences are normal. Do F-Droid compass apps process the sensor data differently, or should they all be showing almost the same heading? Is there a setting on Android that could affect this without me realizing it?
Another thing I’m wondering is whether the magnetometer can partially fail. GPS seems completely fine, but could a weak or poorly calibrated magnetic sensor make every compass app behave differently? Has anyone here had a phone where maps were accurate but the compass direction was always a little off?
If you’ve run into this before, which F-Droid app did you use to verify whether the issue was the app itself, the phone’s sensors, or something related to the ROM? I don’t mind spending some time troubleshooting—I just don’t know where to start because every app seems to tell me something slightly different.