GPS issues Android

Android devices have various battery-saving features to extend battery life. If you're experiencing issues such as poor distance tracking or the app freezing during trip registration, follow the steps below to improve the performance of the Gekko Trips app.

Make sure your phone allows GPS usage for apps

1. First, ensure that your smartphone is not blocking GPS access for apps.
2. Turn off battery-saving features and add Gekko as a ‘protected’ app

Note: Keep in mind that no GPS is 100% accurate. This means that distances recorded for the same trip can vary slightly between users.

Check out our tips for getting a strong and stable GPS signal.

Seeing a straight line between the start and end of your trip? Read here what that means.

1. Turn off battery-saving settings and mark Gekko as a “protected” app
To ensure reliable tracking, make sure your phone does not restrict GPS usage for the Gekko app. Each phone brand has its own settings. Refer to our battery optimization guide to adjust this for your device.

HTC:
Settings > Battery > Power saving mode > Battery optimization > Select Gekko > Don’t optimize > Save

Samsung:
Battery settings > Power saving > Details > Gekko > Set to Off

Huawei:
Set Energy Settings to "Normal" and add Gekko to "Protected apps"

Other devices:
See the list at the bottom of this page for more examples.

2. Optimize battery settings manually

In addition to general battery saving, most Android devices include battery optimization that can interfere with GPS tracking. If the app is closed or the distance is not tracked correctly, disable battery optimization for Gekko:

Note: These steps may look different depending on your Android version and device manufacturer.

Samsung devices (Android 6 and higher, excluding Samsung A5)

Settings > Apps > Tap the three-dot menu (top right) > Special access > Battery optimization > Find Gekko and ensure it is not selected.

Huawei devices (Android 6 and higher)

Settings > Apps > Advanced (bottom of the screen) > Ignore battery optimizations > Allow > All apps > Find Gekko and set to Allow.

HTC devices (Android 6 and higher)

Settings > Battery > Battery optimization > Don't optimize > All apps > Find Gekko > Select Don't optimize.

Sony devices (Android 6 and higher)

Settings > Battery > Tap the three-dot menu (top right) > Battery optimization > Select apps > Find and select Gekko.

LG devices (Android 6 and higher)

Settings > Battery & power saving > Battery usage > Ignore optimization > Enable ignoring optimization for Gekko.

OnePlus devices

Settings > Battery > Battery optimization > All apps > Find Gekko > Select Don't optimize.

Motorola devices (Android 6 and higher)

Settings > Battery > Tap the menu (top right) > Battery optimization > Tap "Not optimized" > Select "All apps" > Find Gekko > Select Don't optimize.

Other Android devices

There are many different Android phones, and settings may vary. If your device isn’t listed here, try to find similar options under Battery or App Optimization settings.