GPS Accuracy Test
Check how accurate your device's location fix is, in metres.
—m
Best accuracy
—
Fixes received
0
Altitude
not reported
Approx. position
—
Accuracy usually starts poor and improves over a minute as more satellites are acquired, so leave it running. Indoors you may never get better than a wifi-based fix of a hundred metres or more; step outside with a clear view of the sky for a real test. Only a rough position is shown, and nothing is sent anywhere — the reading stays in your browser.
Your test runs locally in your browser. No device data is uploaded.
How to use the GPS test
Allow location access and leave the test running for a minute. Accuracy usually starts poor and improves as more satellites are acquired, so the first reading is rarely the best one. Outdoors with a clear view of the sky gives a dramatically better result than indoors.
Reading the accuracy figure
The number is a radius in metres that the browser is 95% confident you are within. Under about 10 metres means a genuine satellite fix. Fifty metres or so suggests satellites assisted by wifi. Hundreds or thousands of metres means there is no satellite fix at all and your position is being estimated from nearby wifi networks or cell towers.
That last case is what people are usually noticing when they say their GPS is inaccurate. The receiver is often fine; it simply cannot see the sky.
Privacy, and what this test does not do
Only a deliberately coarse position is displayed, rounded to one decimal place, which covers about 11 kilometres. Nothing is recorded and nothing is uploaded — the reading stays in your browser and disappears when you close the page.
Most laptops and desktops have no GPS receiver at all and locate themselves purely from wifi, so a large accuracy figure there is expected rather than a fault. This test is really for phones and tablets.
Frequently asked questions
- What does the accuracy number mean?
- A radius in metres that the browser is 95% confident you are inside. Under about 10 metres means a real satellite fix. Hundreds or thousands of metres means it has fallen back to wifi or cell positioning, which is what people usually notice as their GPS being wrong.
- Why is my accuracy so poor indoors?
- Satellite signals are weak and do not pass through buildings well, so indoors your device often relies on nearby wifi networks instead. Step outside with a clear view of the sky and leave it running for a minute — accuracy typically improves a lot as more satellites are acquired.
- Is my location sent anywhere?
- No. Only a deliberately rough position is shown on screen, to one decimal place, which is about 11 kilometres. Nothing is recorded or uploaded, and the reading stays in your browser.
- Why does my laptop report a huge accuracy figure?
- Most laptops have no GPS receiver at all and locate themselves purely from nearby wifi networks. An accuracy of tens or hundreds of metres is normal and expected there.