GPS Tracking FAQ

This article covers the meaning of high, medium, and low accuracy, what force closing is, and how it affects the ClockShark mobile app.

When reviewing the GPS Tracking you'll notice that ClockShark displays the accuracy of the GPS ping it receives. The ranges for high, medium, and low accuracy are as follows: High Accuracy is within 35 meters, medium accuracy is within 36 to 85 meters, and low accuracy is 86 meters or greater. The picture below shows a "High Accuracy" ping. This means that the GPS ping the ClockShark app received from the mobile device's GPS receiver was highly accurate - in this case, the person was within the 15-meter circle. The GPS pin icon is always located at the center of the circle, but the person could be anywhere within that circle (i.e. they are not necessarily exactly at the pin).
The accuracy of the GPS ping comes from the smartphone's GPS receiver (not the ClockShark mobile app). The workflow that happens is as follows: the ClockShark mobile app asks the smartphone's GPS receiver for a location > the GPS receiver sends the location to the ClockShark app > the ClockShark app determines the accuracy of the information it received (within X amount of meters) from the GPS receiver and displays that location for you to see.

There are different factors that can cause low-accuracy pings. Here are the most common:

  • Outdated technology: Older, refurbished, and lower-end smartphones tend to have subpar GPS receivers. These GPS receivers are often faulty and send less-accurate GPS information.
  • Location: If your job site is near a large body of water, in a metal or brick building, or underground, the GPS location that the GPS receiver sends the ClockShark app could be low accuracy.
  • Outdated software: Older operating systems and app versions do not work as well as updated versions. To fix this, update your iOS or Android OS and make sure that you're using the newest version of the ClockShark mobile app

People may have noticed gaps in the GPS Tracking. This is primarily iPhone-specific. When an iPhone user force closes the ClockShark app (this is when you swipe up from the bottom of the screen and then swipe up on the app you want to close), the ClockShark app no longer has access to request information from the iPhone's GPS receiver. Instead, simply minimize the ClockShark app and GPS Tracking can work as intended.