How to check if Google Maps shows your exact location

Sometimes when you open your Google Maps to know your exact location, it'll say “accuracy is low” as displayed in the image below. What I'm trying to pin point is that Google Maps uses a blue-circle dot to show your exact location but size of the circle tells whether the Maps app gets your exact location or it's just guessing.

However, if the blue-circle dot is pulsing, that means Google is confident about your exact location. Based on the signals your phone receives, Google Maps uses a combination of cecullar towers, GPS satellites, and nearby Wi-Fi networks to pinpoint your exact location more accurately.

If the signals are weak or obstructed, you will see the wide blue circle around the blue dot circle. But if the signals strengths are strong, the blue-dot will not be rounded by the big blue circle and the blue dot will be pulsing as shown in the video below.

There are two things you need to note:

• The small blue circle around the locator: If you see a small blue circle around the locator, as shown in the video above, that means the Maps pinpoint your exact location with more accuracy.
• The big blue circle around the locator: The big blue circle, on the other hand, shows that the accuracy is low. It only indicates that you might be somewhere within the area the circle has expanded to.

How to improve your Google Maps accuracy

There are lots of factors that hinder Google Maps from pinpointing your location. Factors like physical objects, entering into a building, or travelling underground are part of the major causes. If your GPS signals are instructed, it'll be difficult for the Maps to pinpoint your exact location.

However, here are ways to improve your location accuracy:

• Open Google Maps and tap the blue location dot. If the dot is tight and steady with a small accuracy circle around it, your location is precise. But if there's a large, fuzzy blue circle, that means the Maps only has an approximate location (based on Wi-Fi/cell towers, not GPS). This is why it's important to turn on your “device's location” for Google Maps to work well.
• You also need to set your device's accuracy settings. To do that on Android, go-to “Settings” >> “Location” >> “Google Location Accuracy,” and make sure that your “Improve Location Accuracy” is turned on. This uses GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth together for precision.
• To make a quick-real world test of this settings, stand somewhere you know the exact address (like your house) and open the Maps to see if the blue dot lands on your building or drifts to a nearby street or block. You will see a change in the accuracy. However, if it's off by more than 10-20 meters consistently, that means the accuracy is likely degraded due to the GPS being blocked by indoors, tall buildings, or a phone permission issue.

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