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Calibration on iPhone 5s Compass and Level Appears Incorrect

Just before they decide to market the M7 as a major feature of the new iPhone they decide to swap from their proven chip supplier to a new one with a well-documented lower quality specification. Sooooooo stupid.

If/when my iPhone has this problem when it arrives I will return it. If the M7 data is junk then a major reason to get the 5s is worse than useless - no data is better than wrong data.
 
It's always good to wait a month or two before buying some new model. You never know what hardware/quality issues could pop up in the initial batch of units. Like I said earlier, let's hope a software update can fix this.

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Khedron said:
Just before they decide to market the M7 as a major feature of the new iPhone they decide to swap from their proven chip supplier to a new one with a well-documented lower quality specification. Sooooooo stupid.

If/when my iPhone has this problem when it arrives I will return it. If the M7 data is junk then a major reason to get the 5s is worse than useless - no data is better than wrong data.
Click to expand...

What's the name of the chip supplier?
 
And...?

Pfft. I have a high-precision engineer's spirit level that can detect changes in inclination as small as a thousandth of an inch over a ten-inch span. Guess what - the instrument also requires calibrating from time to time, and has set screws built in for that purpose.

And who is seriously going to need to measure any other than the most rudimentary angles using a freakin phone?! If you need a level surface, buy a spirit level, and stop grumbling over the precision of the iPhone's pea-sized gyro-processor. And get a life.
 
Level Calibration

The Level tool provided in IOS 7 does not appear to include the required calibration capability that is included in other 3rd party Level applications. Take a look at the free app TiltMeter. My iPhone 5s works fine with TiltMeter after I complete the calibration process that the app provides. This calibration is required on all devices using 3-axis G sensors. The calibration is a software offset to accommodate the variations in mechanical assembly. Once calibrated, TiltMeter shows level in 0.1 degree increments where the IOS 7 tool rounds everything to 1 degree increments. There will need to be a software update for the IOS 7 Level tool. I prefer the display provided by TiltMeter anyway.
 
ElRojito said:
You should definitely all wait for the iPhone 6... wait, think of all the new problems you'll have when it's a new body... crap, maybe wait until the iPhone 6s, err. hmm. That one will probably have some new stuff too that won't work 100% great because they don't have Geniuses like you working on this stuff. . . Maybe wait for the 7? The 9? Dammit, maybe you should just buy an old Nokia.
Click to expand...


I feel embarrassed for people who try to make witty comments and fail miserably.

It's obvious there are hardware issues with the 5S, and there is zero reason for someone with a 5 to upgrade. Actually there are more reasons not to upgrade.

:rolleyes:
 
flat five said:
possible that I am missing something. dunno, I see a lot of people going 'mine's off by 4deg" "mine is 6!!" "mine is 2!! wtf".. that's what the picture in the OP is showing too.
is that not giving flying fs about accuracy?

what, exactly, isn't working in the way apple claims?
Click to expand...

Accurate to minute detail and reasonably accurate for everyday use are two different things.
 
There are spirit levels and there are spirit levels, like anything. I would not even begin to calibrate or check calibration of something like this with out at minimum a 6" Starrett machine level.

98-8
 
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iPhone 5S compass and level inaccurate

My compass is off by about 12 degrees after performing a calibration. The compass also seems to easily get interference. It is quite often off by random amounts. In one instance it was off by 180 degrees.

The level is off by 4 degrees when the 5S is placed on a known level surface. An iPhone 4S placed on the same surface read zero degrees.

iPhone 5S 16 GB space grey
iOS 7.0.2
 
djswartz said:
The Level tool provided in IOS 7 does not appear to include the required calibration capability that is included in other 3rd party Level applications. Take a look at the free app TiltMeter. My iPhone 5s works fine with TiltMeter after I complete the calibration process that the app provides. This calibration is required on all devices using 3-axis G sensors. The calibration is a software offset to accommodate the variations in mechanical assembly. Once calibrated, TiltMeter shows level in 0.1 degree increments where the IOS 7 tool rounds everything to 1 degree increments. There will need to be a software update for the IOS 7 Level tool. I prefer the display provided by TiltMeter anyway.
Click to expand...

Bingo, you nailed it. This proves it is a software issue and should be corrected by Apple in an upcoming release.
 
Exio said:
Accurate to minute detail and reasonably accurate for everyday use are two different things.
Click to expand...

The iPhone 5s sensors are not accurate enough for any use whatsoever. All they can do is feed wrong data to applications. With this level of error it would be better for Apple to program an option to disable them.

The entire purpose of the M7 chip is negated. Your fitness app might as well be a random number generator at this point. Congratulations, you accelerated faster than Usain Bolt and used 245,000 calories on your recent walk to work!
 
titankron said:
And who is seriously going to need to measure any other than the most rudimentary angles using a freakin phone?! If you need a level surface, buy a spirit level, and stop grumbling over the precision of the iPhone's pea-sized gyro-processor. And get a life.
Click to expand...

Yeah, what are people thinking, that they should expect common features to work as well as they have for years on earlier models.

Heck, I bet some even expect the digital clock to be correct within a minute. Or the alarm to work on New Year's Day.

:rolleyes:

My guess is that it's the software in the M7 coprocessor, since that's a new part. Or the code interface with it from the main CPU. I wonder if there's a way to update the M7 code.
 
Just went to 2 apple stores one in San Francisco and one in Corte Madera EVERY single iPhone 5s and 5c was off...EVERY SINGLE ONE! I showed them the problem and I had them replace my phone 3 times still not working properly I'm off by 5 degrees will try again at walnut creek on Sunday
 
Level OK, Compass Not So Good

I don’t believe the level function is a sensor problem. I tried the iHandy Level app; calibrated it to zero on a known level surface; and it will retain the calibration offset. Apple’s built-in level function does not appear to retain its calibration offset. If my observations are accurate Apple will be able to correct its software to fix this.

Now for the compass function, that is off by about 6 degrees with both Apple and third-party compass apps. Hopefully for Apple and 5S owners, this is just a problem with its new iOS 7 “pinball” compass calibration process and not a sensor hardware problem.
 
when I open compass, and it asked to calibrate with that ball inside the circle thingy, NOW it don't move when I tilt the screen. nothing happens until 10 seconds or so later and it will switch to the compass as if its calibrated. It used to show the ball going around and around. WTF?
 
kdarling said:
Yeah, what are people thinking, that they should expect common features to work as well as they have for years on earlier models.

Heck, I bet some even expect the digital clock to be correct within a minute. Or the alarm to work on New Year's Day.

:rolleyes:

My guess is that it's the software in the M7 coprocessor, since that's a new part. Or the code interface with it from the main CPU. I wonder if there's a way to update the M7 code.
Click to expand...
The new part is the 6-bit resolution Bosh accelerometer, that replaced the STM 16-bit resolution accelerometer.
 
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