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Compass WAY off.... (Pics)

Maclver

Maclver

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Nov 23, 2008
2,874
2,685
New Mexico
Ok I have two new iPhone 3GS and I put the phones in the exact same spot and they are waaaaaay off.....

anyone else have this problem

Phone 1

photo-1-2.png


Phone 2

photo-7.png


and they both were not even in the right direction

And i tried in google maps.. when driving east bound on a east/west road.. google maps compass highlight thingy showed us moving north!
 
My iPhone's compass seems to work fine. Maybe try a restore or be the first one to go to a Genius regarding a 3G S problem.
 
Try recalibrating it by waving the phone in a sideways "8" pattern. That popped up for me when I first launched the compass.
 
adamdodson said:
Try recalibrating it by waving the phone in a sideways "8" pattern. That popped up for me when I first launched the compass.
Click to expand...

Tried that (when it asked me to) and nothing

capitanbuzo said:
My iPhone's compass seems to work fine. Maybe try a restore or be the first one to go to a Genius regarding a 3G S problem.
Click to expand...

did that when I first got the phone this morning!

patrickdunn said:
There was small print on interference when calibrating, be sure to stay away from big electronics or other magnets when calibrating.
Click to expand...

I was outside!
 
Are you sure you're not 'Lost' on an island somewhere?

I hear they have huge problems with the magnetic field over there...it's probably throwing off your magnetometer :p
 
eheheh
sorry guys but i just informed that in the NEXT IPHONE you wouldnt need to callibrate the COMPASS
fail!
 
Not sure about the iPhone, but when I had my G1, the compass went out, so it's probably faulty if it's not a software issue.
 
you need to calibrate it using the figure 8 motion described when you open the app. Me and my friend just tried it, and at first they were way off, then we did the calibration, and they were the same. Hope this helps!
 
I'm having the same issue, not even remotely close. I tried the figure 8, it is almost off 100 degrees.

wtf?
 
ive done collaboration and all that. its still rubbish. its not too bad inside except when near computer. but in the car its rubbish. and surely thats the main point..
 
Try This

If it an electronic compass, then it is like the one in your automobile. When I worked with electronic compasses one year while dealing with satellite communication, one way to "reset" the compass was to do the following:

  1. Find an open area away from metal.
  2. Hold the compass(iPhone) about arm's length in front of you.
  3. Slowly turn 360 degrees over the course of a minute. (if you have an analog watch, hold it in your other hand and try to keep the second hand aways pointing at the same object..a light post for example.)
  4. By doing that you are allowing the compass to "feel" the magnetic field at all settings. That might be enough to rest your compass.

Hope that helps. Otherwise, you may have to contact Apple. They may have installed it sideways.:eek:
 
My compass is off as well...

Of course, I've been on the 12th story of an office building all day, so I'll try re-calibrating it once I get home/outside.
 
Mine went screwy while driving. Said I was going the opposite direction. I'm not sure how the calibration works, but seems like if you don't do it right it's going to be off. I turned power cycled it and it worked. Other times it was off a little bit, other pretty much on. If it gets close to something it doesn't like it wants to recalibrate and if it's not done well, it will be wrong. Seems a little flaky.
 
I got my 3gs today, took my unsinkable cruise ship across the Atlantic, and my ship hit an iceberg because the dumb compass was off!
 
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