The GPS Speedometer team · Apprexy StudioA GPS speedometer on iPhone needs three things from iOS: Location Services switched on, permission for that app to use your location, and Precise Location left on. Background App Refresh and Low Power Mode matter less than people think, but they are worth knowing about if a recording behaves oddly when you switch apps. If all of that is in order and the speed still stays blank, the usual cause is simply that the phone cannot see enough sky.
Menu names below are the ones recent versions of iOS show. Apple has moved a few of them over the years, so on an older iPhone a setting may sit one level higher or lower, or carry a slightly different label.
The four settings at a glance
| Setting | Where to find it | What it controls | For a speedometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Location Services | Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services | Location for every app on the phone | Must be on |
| Per-app permission | Same screen, then tap the app | When that one app may use your location | While Using the App is enough for most use |
| Precise Location | Inside the app's location screen | Exact position or an approximate area | Keep it on |
| Background App Refresh | Settings › General › Background App Refresh | Whether apps can refresh content while you are elsewhere | Helpful to leave on, not the main switch |
The first three decide whether a speed appears at all. The fourth is about what happens after you leave the app.
Location Services, the master switch
Location Services is the single toggle that sits above every app's own permission. When it is off, no app gets a location, however you have set it up individually, and a GPS speedometer has nothing to read.
To check it, open Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services. On versions before iOS 16 the same screen lives under Settings › Privacy › Location Services. The switch at the top should be green.
Below the switch is a list of every app that has asked for your location, each with its current permission written next to it. This list is the quickest way to spot a problem: if your speedometer says Never, that is the whole story.
A few things can turn Location Services off without you noticing:
- Restoring or setting up a phone. During setup iOS asks about Location Services, and it is easy to skip past.
- Screen Time restrictions. If Content & Privacy Restrictions are in use on the phone, location changes can be locked. Look under Settings › Screen Time › Content & Privacy Restrictions › Location Services, where the option to allow changes may be switched off.
- A reset of location and privacy settings, which puts every app back to asking again.
While Using the App or Always
Tap any app in the Location Services list and you will see up to four choices. Which ones appear depends on what the app has asked for, so not every app offers all four.
- Never. The app gets no location. A speedometer cannot work.
- Ask Next Time Or When I Share. iOS asks again the next time the app wants your location. This is also where you end up after picking Allow Once in the pop-up.
- While Using the App. The app may use your location while it is open on screen, and while it is continuing something you started in it, such as a recording.
- Always. The app may use your location at any time, even when you have not opened it recently.
For a speedometer, While Using the App is the sensible default. It covers the gauge on screen, and on recent iOS versions an app that began tracking while open can keep going after you switch to navigation or music. iOS usually makes this visible with a blue indicator behind the clock or in the status bar, so you always know when location is in use.
Always is rarely needed for this kind of app. If an app asks for it, read why before agreeing.
One choice catches people out: Allow Once. It sounds like a one-time setup step, but it is temporary. The permission ends when you finish with the app, and you will be asked again on the next drive.
Precise Location and why speed needs it
Since iOS 14, every app's location screen has a Precise Location switch. With it on, the app gets your exact position. With it off, the app only learns roughly which area you are in, a deliberately blurred location that is fine for a weather forecast and useless for measuring speed.
A speedometer works by following small, rapid changes in where you are. An approximate location barely changes from one second to the next, so the reading may stay at zero, jump in large steps, or never appear, while nothing in Settings looks broken.
To check it, go to Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services, tap the speedometer app and make sure Precise Location is green. You can leave it off for apps that only need to know your city.
Background App Refresh and Low Power Mode
Background App Refresh lets apps update their content while you are using something else, for example fetching new messages or data. You can find it under Settings › General › Background App Refresh, with a main setting at the top and a switch for each app below.
It is not the setting that grants location. An app tracking your position after you switch away relies mainly on its location permission. Still, leaving it on for apps you rely on removes one more variable.
Low Power Mode is the bigger factor. When it is on, iOS turns off Background App Refresh for all apps and cuts back other background activity to save battery. If a phone is low on charge and Low Power Mode has kicked in, background behaviour can change. For a long drive, keeping the phone on a charger is the simplest fix.
When the speed does not appear
Most "GPS not working" problems in an iPhone app are either a permission or a signal. Check the signal first, because no setting can fix it.
Give the phone a view of the sky
The GPS receiver in your phone listens for faint signals from satellites high overhead. Those signals travel in fairly straight lines and are easily blocked or weakened by roofs, concrete, metal and, to a lesser degree, the car body and some coated windscreens. The more open sky the phone can see, the more satellites it hears, and the sooner it can work out your position and speed.
That is why a first fix can take a while inside a garage, and why a phone in a dashboard mount usually does better than one in a bag on the back seat. Wi-Fi and mobile networks can help the phone get a rough position faster, but the speed itself comes from satellite signals.
Work through the settings
If you are outdoors with a clear view and still see no speed, go through these in order:
- Confirm Location Services is on in Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services.
- Tap the speedometer app in that list and check it says While Using the App or Always, not Never or Ask Next Time.
- On the same screen, make sure Precise Location is on.
- Check whether Screen Time restrictions are blocking location changes.
- Fully close the app and open it again, then wait outdoors for a minute with the screen on.
- Restart the iPhone. This clears many short-lived location glitches.
- As a last resort, use Settings › General › Transfer or Reset iPhone › Reset › Reset Location & Privacy. Every app will ask for permission again, so you will need to say yes to the speedometer once more.
If the speed appears but stops when you leave the app, check that Low Power Mode is off and that you did not swipe the app away in the app switcher.
How GPS Speedometer uses these permissions
GPS Speedometer asks for location access once, the first time you open it. Grant it, and the gauge locks on to your live GPS speed as soon as the phone has a fix. Choose While Using the App rather than Allow Once, otherwise iOS will ask again next time.
Live speed is free with the Digital Clean gauge. If you have Premium and record a trip, recording continues while the app is in the background, so you can open navigation or music at the same time. Closing the app fully, by swiping it away in the app switcher, stops the recording. Live Activity and the Dynamic Island keep the app close at hand while you are elsewhere.
The speedometer and trip recording do not need a data connection, because GPS works offline. Only the automatic speed-limit lookup needs internet. Premium also unlocks the other gauge themes, HUD mode, trip history, the speed-limit alerts, the drag timer and the Picture-in-Picture widget.
FAQ
Should a speedometer app have While Using or Always?
While Using the App is enough for most people. It covers the app on screen and, on recent iOS versions, a recording you started that continues after you switch apps. Always is only worth granting if an app clearly explains why it needs it.
Why does my iPhone app show no speed even with location on?
Check that the app's own permission is not Never or Ask Next Time, and that Precise Location is on for it. If both are fine, step outside or away from tall structures and give the phone a minute to find enough satellites.
Does turning off Background App Refresh stop GPS tracking?
Not on its own, since location tracking relies mainly on the location permission. Low Power Mode, which switches Background App Refresh off for every app, can still change how apps behave in the background, so keep an eye on it during long trips.
Does GPS work on iPhone without mobile data?
Yes. The satellite signals do not need a data connection, so a speedometer keeps showing your speed out of coverage. A network connection can only help the phone get its first rough position a little faster.
Written by the GPS Speedometer team with the help of AI. What the article says about GPS Speedometer comes from the app itself; menu names in other apps can change between versions.