What factors have an impact on GPS accuracy?

Environment

A clear, open environment is vital for your tracker’s accuracy. This would be a zone without many obstacles for GPS signals. As for what could be categorised as an “obstacle” we can include buildings in densely populated cities (the signals would have a tendency to ricochet off the exteriors and as a result the precision could be reduced), trees in wooded areas, or even the weather (cloudy conditions make it more challenging to determine the tracker’s position) and the sun’s activity (solar flares can disrupt the GPS signals that penetrate the atmosphere).

The above confirms that the tracker is made for outdoor use. Indors the potential for inaccuracies is double: either the tracker will be unable to connect to GPS signal (like in a cave for example), or it connects to the GPS signal but the accuracy will be particularly poor (too many obstacles would interfere - your tracker might appear to be in the garden while it is actually sitting on the kitchen table).

If we could describe the ideal area for geolocation it would resemble the countryside as the path from the satellites to the tracker would be free from any obstacles.

Interval between each position

The second important factor is the frequency that the tracker sends its position. If it sends its position every 30 seconds the accuracy will be better than if it sends it every 15 minutes. Why is this? Quite simply because it will have an easier time maintaining contact with the satellites if it is in regular communication with them. This explains why it sometimes takes longer to get a position when the tracker has been indoors or off for a long time (the tracker must re-establish contact with the satellites in order to receive GPS signal again).

You can set this interval in the locator’s settings from the mobile application or your online user space. But be careful, the more regular the frequency, the faster the battery will be used. It is therefore necessary to make the right choice according to your needs. A good compromise could be a frequency of one position every 5 minutes with the use of the super live mode when you need to find your loved one quickly (the super live mode allows you to receive a position every 10 seconds for 5 minutes).

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