Here is how you can check for GPS, see the available satellites, and ensure that Collect is able to detect your location successfully.

If Collect is unable to detect your location, it can be because of certain reasons like your device settings, problem in the GPS of your device, or lack of satellites around you. In this article, we will explain what you can do to fetch location.


Troubleshooting Location on Collect


Reason 1. You are in a closed area.

What to do: Mobile devices might face some issue in detecting your location when you are in a closed space like a basement. In that case, please try moving to an open area. You should be able to fetch location then.


Reason 2: Your mobile device or Collect don't have access to your location.

What to do: You can grant access to Collect by following these steps:

  • Enable the 'GPS'/'Location' for your device. You can do this by going to your device's 'Settings'. 
  • If you see a pop-up in Collect asking to enable GPS, click on 'Allow'. This will allow your device to start fetching your location. 

Reason 3: There are no satellites around you.

What to do: Getting your location is dependent on the number of satellites around you. If there are no satellites, Collect would not be able to get your location. Follow these steps to check the number of satellites available:

  • Go to your Collect app, go to the form you want to capture location in, and click on the 3-dots settings button on the top right of the form.
  • Next, click on "Check Satellite Link". You will be able to view "Visible Satellites".
  • If it is less than 3 satellites, try moving to a more open space.


If your device still won't detect your location, please check for these rare cases:

  1. Check if there are any resource management apps. Your device might have optimiser or booster apps that disable GPS (and other background services) to save battery or free up resources. Check if any of these apps are running, and disable them.
  2. Check if GPS is working on other apps. Try checking if another app (such as Google Maps) can fetch your location. If Google Maps is not fetching an accurate location either, you know that the problem is with your network. If Google Maps is able to fetch your location, then immediately try fetching location on Collect. It will work almost every time.