Do phones have real compass?

Okay, we lied. Compass functionality in phones and tablets is enabled by something a bit more sophisticated — a sensor called a magnetometer, which is used to measure the strength and direction of magnetic fields. By analyzing Earth’s magnetic field, the sensor allows a phone to determine its orientation pretty accurately.
Does my phone have a compass?

Does your Android phone have a magnetometer? Yup, chances are that it does as most Android devices do. Even if you have an old or a cheap phone, there’s likely a magnetometer inside of it. And, there are a lot of apps out there that make use of that magnetometer to display a digital compass on your phone’s screen.

Now, some big name brands will include a compass app or function in their phones — for example, Samsung has a Quick Tools edge panel, with a compass widget embedded right on it, while Huawei’s latest-and-greatest have their own a separate Compass app. If you are not sure whether you have this on your phone, perform a quick search — the easiest way to look for an app is by tapping on the Google search widget on the home screen and typing in “compass”. Otherwise, see if your app drawer has a search bar, or just look for the app manually if you dare to do so.

To calibrate your Android phone’s magnetometer after launching your compass app of choice, hold it up and move it around in a figure 8 fashion. Several spins should do the trick. While calibrating, make sure you’re far from computers, electric fans, Wi-Fi routers, or other electronics as these may interfere with the magnetic sensor and its readings. Metal isn’t welcome either, so remove any rings or jewelry that are close to your phone. So now digital compass should be pointing (fairly accurately) towards the north pole.

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