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iPhone 5s accelerometer/gyroscope/compass values incorrect
- Thread starter tharepairguy
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I've had my 5S since Monday, but finally tested the compass this evening.
It also shows a similar issue to others, 4-5degrees wrong for the level. And the compass North is also somewhat wrong approx 10degrees wrong.
I submitted feedback to apple...
Production week: 37 (September)
Model introduced: 2013
Capacity: 64GB
Memory - flavour: xx
Factory: C3 (China)
It also shows a similar issue to others, 4-5degrees wrong for the level. And the compass North is also somewhat wrong approx 10degrees wrong.
I submitted feedback to apple...
Production week: 37 (September)
Model introduced: 2013
Capacity: 64GB
Memory - flavour: xx
Factory: C3 (China)
iPhone 5s compass/accelerometer is a joke, if you ask me. It's the only major flaw in the device… 
Which one is right? I have no idea….
All I know is, the -6 degree iPhone 5s is mine, and it's impossible to play accelerometer-based games. The -1 degree is a new iPhone 5s picked up today. The -4 degree 5s is my wife's, picked up the same day as mine.
BEFORE anyone says anything, those results are the same whether the phones are next to each other OR NOT!!!
Which one is right? I have no idea….
All I know is, the -6 degree iPhone 5s is mine, and it's impossible to play accelerometer-based games. The -1 degree is a new iPhone 5s picked up today. The -4 degree 5s is my wife's, picked up the same day as mine.
BEFORE anyone says anything, those results are the same whether the phones are next to each other OR NOT!!!
I would not worry about navigation. When moving the iPhone and most devices use the GPS for the compass. Only when sitting still or close to it does the magnetic compass kick in.
S
syd430
Guest
I can't believe that outside of the 2-3 threads covering the issue here + one thread over at the official Apple support forums, there is virtually nothing else on the issue when setting up filters on Google to search for results in the past week. No small time Apple blogs, nothing. I wonder when someone is going to finally cover this given that it seems that 80-90%+ of 5S's have the issue. Nothing that I can find says that 4-7 degrees off is within normal tolerance so i'm not sure why blogs are hesitant to cover this. Maybe someone just needs to pass this thread on? The quicker someone covers it, the quicker we will hopefully get some kind of clarification from Apple.
The problem is most people don't care about the gyro/compass etc or even use it. As long as they turn their phone 90 degrees and the browser flips they are happy. My sister and a few friends didn't even know the iPhone has these features. Most of us here are technical power users and this is a clear issue that we understand. Average person goes and buys a 5S and may play a game or 2 and notice their car or plane veers off but just assumes thats the way it is and overcompensates for it or finds the calibrate feature some apps.
Unfortunately this does affect most of the 5S but only about 50 of us on the internet seem to have a concern. Sadly I think Apple will just ignore it and fix it in the factories. Im just on going to sit it out and swap in a month or 2 if I hear of improvements. Even I do not play a lot of games but it bugs me that this awesome $850 piece of technology has these high tech crapy calibrated sensors in it that the previous models didn't have.
Unfortunately this does affect most of the 5S but only about 50 of us on the internet seem to have a concern. Sadly I think Apple will just ignore it and fix it in the factories. Im just on going to sit it out and swap in a month or 2 if I hear of improvements. Even I do not play a lot of games but it bugs me that this awesome $850 piece of technology has these high tech crapy calibrated sensors in it that the previous models didn't have.
I received my space gray 16gb 5s today. On my desk, which reads 0.0 on my iPhone 5, my 5s reads -2, so mine is clearly off as well. Kind of a disappointment but at this point I was prepared for it.
There is about a 15° difference between the compasses on my 5 and 5s.
There is about a 15° difference between the compasses on my 5 and 5s.
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I thought my compass was off, then I run across this thread.
After looking at it more closely, my compass seems to be wild, varies from dead on to off by 30 degrees, sometimes spinning on its own on a flat level surface without touching or going near it. Level may be a just little off.
5s 16GB Slate Production week 38
Edit: I tapped it a couple times while it was flat on the table and now its pretty well behaved and not that far off compared to a accurate magnetic compass.... perhaps it just needed to be burped...
After looking at it more closely, my compass seems to be wild, varies from dead on to off by 30 degrees, sometimes spinning on its own on a flat level surface without touching or going near it. Level may be a just little off.
5s 16GB Slate Production week 38
Edit: I tapped it a couple times while it was flat on the table and now its pretty well behaved and not that far off compared to a accurate magnetic compass.... perhaps it just needed to be burped...
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Mine is reading -2 both on it's side and while laying flat. Hopefully I won't have to take it back and it can be fixed with a software update. I thought mine was perfect and I have already applied the front and back screen protectors
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Prove it.
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Prove it.
S
syd430
Guest
Yeah, this is sort of what I concluded as well. I loaded up a racing game and put the phone flat on it's side. I noticed that the car immediately swerves to side. When I picked the phone up and started controlling the car, I found myself overcompensating to keep the car in the right direction. The thing is though, had I not already known the gyro isn't calibrated properly, I doubt I would have consciously known that I am overcompensating, which is what I think is happening with millions of others that are oblivious to the issue - they simply compensate the difference and never know.
I also did another test though - changing screen orientation in Safari. What I found is that, as expected, it does take a bit longer for the orientation to change when moving it in one direction vs the other. The difference is probably around a 1/2 a second, but its there. I'm assuming it's because I have to move the phone further one direction vs the other to trigger the orientation change. Obviously most people would never notice, and if they did they would probably put it down to some kind of lag in the OS.
These things do have a real impact on the overall experience, whether the user consciously notices it or not. For this reason, I think that Apple really should acknowledge the issue in some form if it really is a hardware issue, even if it's just a note in their knowledge base / help files. I'm not expecting some big PR release. That's why i'm hoping that even a few small time blogs cover this, because I think the chances of Apple acknowledging the issue rises dramatically when this happens.
The level isn't a huge problem for me right now; it'll bug me but I can live with it until a solution comes out. But if my compass is so far off, I worry that my navigation is going to be borked, and that will be a huge problem for me.
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most of you are just holding it wrong!
K, not that funny when **** is this bad.
I also don't see a software resolution to this as its not the same on all devices. I hope apple makes it up to you guys, it was really hard to get your hands on a 5s and you all deserve the full unconditional support from Apple especially being early adopters.
K, not that funny when **** is this bad.
I also don't see a software resolution to this as its not the same on all devices. I hope apple makes it up to you guys, it was really hard to get your hands on a 5s and you all deserve the full unconditional support from Apple especially being early adopters.
Mine is reading -2 both on it's side and while laying flat. Hopefully I won't have to take it back and it can be fixed with a software update. I thought mine was perfect and I have already applied the front and back screen protectors
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Prove it.
Why? It says 0. Why would anyone make that up?
The 5S is an amazing phone and we are all glad to be early adopters. We are just trying to get an idea of how wide spread the issue is and to make Apple aware of it. I would not do it over if I knew the issue existed before I bought it. If anything I find this an interesting issue and I enjoy following it and being a part of it. It will get sorted out eventually. Maybe they calibrated all of the phones at "the mystery spot" haha. Its not far from Cupertino.
I may have missed this, but what does tapping the screen in the compass app do?
I just looked at my 5S and it's showing -5 laying flat on it's back, but if I tap the centre of the screen it changes to red then green and has a 0 degree reading. Tapping again it goes back to black and -5.
-2 on it's side, and 0 when I tap the screen.
The phone is a 32Gb Space Grey, Aus launch day model. When I check the serial number, all I get is week 35 for production, and C3 (China) for factory. No other details are shown on the chipmunk site.
I just looked at my 5S and it's showing -5 laying flat on it's back, but if I tap the centre of the screen it changes to red then green and has a 0 degree reading. Tapping again it goes back to black and -5.
-2 on it's side, and 0 when I tap the screen.
The phone is a 32Gb Space Grey, Aus launch day model. When I check the serial number, all I get is week 35 for production, and C3 (China) for factory. No other details are shown on the chipmunk site.
It just 0's it but does not calibrate or anything at least on the level. On the compass app if you tap the screen and move it, it shows you in red how much you have moved it degrees wise.
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Did you not read my post #100? Cult of Mac has it as an article now and sources Mac rumor forums.
iPhone 5s Compass Way Off Base, Users Say http://www.cultofmac.com/247282/iphone-5s-compass-and-level-way-off-base-users-say/ via @cultofmac
And, they have also tweeted about it.
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Yes please separate your devices in the middle of a room or field/yard when testing the compass app. Magnetometers work a little differently then gravity based sensors.
I went ahead and started said recalibration procedure that apple advised me to try a little early since this thread is gaining speed. Should have an answer around 12:30am CST. I also plan on gathering up some ios devices and putting together a video and pics with multiple flavors of iphones tomorrow. Should be able to compare a iPhone 4, 4s, 5, 5c and 5s. I really hope this calibration deal works. My phone appears to be flawless despite this issue at hand. I dislike wasting front and back protectors on defective devices, not to mention, $40 bux!
That suggested recalibration procedure seems highly suspect to me. Prepare to be disappointed. I will hold out hope for a software solution, but as others have pointed out, the results are all over the map, so a hardware solution seems more likely. How am I going to get this thing out of this Apple case now? It's really in there. I think they'll have to replace the case too.