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Don't have "True North" option for Compass Map

T

theorist9

macrumors 601
Original poster
May 28, 2015
4,144
3,294
I'm using an iPhone 13 Mini with iOS 18.3*. I went to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Compass, but didn't see the option to switch to from Magnetic North to True North.

I then did all four actions shown in the screenshot below: I reinstalled Compass, rebooted the phone, confirmed Location Services is turned on for the Compass app, and confirmed Compass Calibration is enabled. I also went to Settings > Cellular Data > Show All, and confirmed Compass was present and turned on.

Even with all that, there was still no True North option.

[*I'm on 18.3 because I just bought the phone, and that's what came on it. I did Erase All Content and Settings, but that doesn't affect the SSV. If needed I could attempt to do a full restore.....]

1737448142152.png
 
jazzzyJeff said:
Google AI sucks.

It’s in Apps->Compass. It was never in Location Settings.
Click to expand...
dotnet said:
Look under Apps > Compass.
Click to expand...
It's not just Google AI. I've read several articles on setting True North, and they all say the same thing as Google AI: That it's done under Settings, not within the app itself.

Further, when I go into the app itself I see the same thing shown in the Apple Support article (see screenshot, https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/compass-iph1ac0b663/ios ), except with my location. Note that there is no provision there for setting the app to use True North:


1737456944414.png


dotnet said:
Where did you buy the phone?
Click to expand...

I don't mind saying, but why would that be relevant here?
 
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theorist9 said:
It's not just Google AI. I've read several articles on setting True North, and they all say the same thing as Google AI: That it's done under Settings, not within the app itself.

Further, when I go into the app itself I see the same thing shown in the Apple Support article (see screenshot, https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/compass-iph1ac0b663/ios ), except with my location. Note that there is no provision there for setting the app to use True North:


View attachment 2474303
Click to expand...

Device Settings > settings for the compass app

Same way you would go to settings for other apps
 
OK, I found it. Here's the exact path:

Settings > Apps > Compass

Would have been so much simpler if that were listed in the Apple Support article.

[When you folks were telling me to look under Apps > Compass, I thought you meant go to the screens with all the Apps, and open the Compass app. You omitted the essential first step, which is to go to Settings. This is my first iPhone, so I needed an exact path to know what to do.]
 
theorist9 said:
[. . .] This is my first iPhone, so I needed an exact path to know what to do.]
Click to expand...
I had used BlackBerry for years. I'm only on my second iPhone. There is a learning curve, but there's a logic to it. Best thing you can do is sit down and explore, drill down in the settings, for the device and for each app. It's the same exercise for any new device, of course.
 
aihpcfl said:
I had used BlackBerry for years. I'm only on my second iPhone. There is a learning curve, but there's a logic to it. Best thing you can do is sit down and explore, drill down in the settings, for the device and for each app. It's the same exercise for any new device, of course.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the problem is seeing what the big-picture logic is, since I've not found anywhere that explains it broadly.

I'm coming from MacOS + Google Voice + flip phone, so this is my first smart phone. I really liked my tiny 3 oz flip phone, because I'm very active and don't like carrying anything big or heavy (that's why I got the Mini); and I like the breaks from being online when I'm outside the house. I see on reddit there's an entire sub devoted to people who've switched from smart phones to dumb phones. Guess I was ahead of the curve ;). But my university changed its security access to require the Duo Mobile app (or a YubiKey, which I didn't want to mess with), hence my need to acquire a smart phone.

Bottom line is that smart phone logic is new to me. In MacOS, for example, the logic is that anything that determines what the app has permission to access is done outside the app (in Settings > Privacy, etc), but all configuration settings for the app are done within the app.

In iOS, Compass's behavior suggests the logic is that even configuration settings are done outside the app (in Settings > App > [name of app]), perhaps to keep the app interface itself simplified, because of the small screen. Is that the general logic?

And there's still the logic of how to go to the previous screen in an app. Even among Apple apps, sometimes you swipe left, sometimes you hit an "<" at the upper L of the screen, and sometimes you hit an "x" at the upper R of the screen. I've not figured out the underlying logic there that tells you which of the three to expect (if there is an underlying logic).

Also, on some Apple apps you can landscape the keyboard by rotating the screen, and on others you can't. I don't see the logic that explains why you can't do that for all of them.
 
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pdxrevolution said:
I believe True North is only available in Edmonton. /s
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....or N. Korea:
www.imdb.com

True North (2020) ⭐ 6.9 | Animation, Drama

1h 33m
www.imdb.com www.imdb.com

Now I need to search youtube to see if any of the researchers at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station have posted video showing how the Compass app behaves there -- does it (correctly) always point N regardless of which way you turn, or does it get confused and just keep spinning?
 
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theorist9 said:
In iOS, Compass's behavior suggests the logic is that even configuration settings are done outside the app (in Settings > App > [name of app]), perhaps to keep the app interface itself simplified, because of the small screen. Is that the general logic?
Click to expand...
That’s how it is in general.
Each individual app settings can be changed by going into Settings->App. But if you’d like to change settings for a whole bunch of apps in one place then Settings app is the place you’d go.

Don’t fret! It’d get intuitive in no time.
 
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