Mobile App & Phone Tracking

Pointeron Mobile lets you view your organization on the map and optionally use the phone itself as a tracking device. This guide explains setup, tracking modes, background and offline behavior, and why the phone's blue location dot can move before its asset marker.

What the mobile app does

The mobile app provides two separate location experiences:

• Viewing Pointeron assets — see assets, trails, locations, alerts, and history from your organization.
• Using this phone as a tracker — capture the phone's location and send it to an asset in Pointeron.

Viewing the map does not automatically turn the phone into a tracked asset. Phone tracking must be set up, activated, linked to an asset, and started separately.

Set up this phone as a tracker

After signing in to Pointeron Mobile:

1. Open More > Tracking Settings.
2. Select Set Up Phone Tracker.
3. If activation is required, review the displayed monthly price and select Activate Tracking.
4. Create a dedicated phone asset or attach the tracker to an existing asset that has no device.
5. Choose a tracking mode.
6. Grant the permissions required for that mode.
7. For Balanced or High Fidelity, select Start Tracking. For On Demand, select Update Location whenever you need a new position.

The app creates a device-specific upload credential during setup. You do not need to create or paste an API key manually.

If you cannot create or attach an asset, ask an organization owner, administrator, or manager to complete that step. The phone tracker must be attached to an asset before you can expect that asset's marker and history to represent the phone.

How a phone location reaches the map

A phone update passes through several stages:

1. iOS or Android provides a GPS or network location to Pointeron Mobile.
2. The app saves the accepted point in a durable queue on the phone.
3. The app attempts to upload queued points over authenticated HTTPS.
4. Pointeron accepts and processes the point, updating current location and history.
5. An open mobile or web map receives the server update and moves the asset marker.

When online, the app normally schedules a newly accepted point for upload within about one second. GPS acquisition, operating-system scheduling, network conditions, server processing, and map reconnection add more time. With a clear GPS fix, healthy connectivity, and an active real-time map connection, High Fidelity updates should usually become visible within a few seconds. Tracking is near real time, but it is not a guaranteed fixed-second feed.

The local queue protects accepted points if the app is briefly suspended or the network drops. When connectivity returns or the app becomes active again, Pointeron attempts to drain the queue.

Choose a tracking mode

Distance settings are requested movement thresholds, not guaranteed reporting intervals. GPS accuracy, walking or driving speed, buildings, power-saving modes, and operating-system scheduling can all affect when a usable point is produced.

Balanced

Balanced is the recommended default for everyday phone tracking.

• Uses motion detection to decide when the phone is moving.
• Uses a baseline movement filter of approximately 35 meters; the operating system can vary the effective spacing.
• Can show Paused while stationary even though tracking remains armed.
• Normally enters its stationary state after approximately three minutes of detected stillness.
• Restarts active collection when motion is detected.
• Continues in the background and with the screen locked when background location permission is granted and the operating system permits it.

Balanced does not promise an update every few seconds. When the phone is stationary, repeated GPS noise is intentionally avoided.

High Fidelity

High Fidelity is intended for periods when closely following a moving phone matters more than battery life.

• Keeps the location provider in an active moving state.
• Disables automatic stationary stop detection and iOS automatic location pausing.
• Uses a baseline movement filter of approximately 5 meters.
• Continues in the background and with the screen locked when allowed by the operating system.
• Uses substantially more battery than Balanced.

High Fidelity does not mean one update per second or guarantee that the asset marker changes while the phone is stationary. Duplicate native deliveries are filtered, and the operating system still controls when GPS fixes are available.

On Demand

On Demand is a foreground, one-shot action rather than a background tracking session. Selecting the mode does not capture a location by itself; keep the app open and select Update Location when you want a new point.

For each request, Pointeron:

1. Stops any existing native tracking session.
2. Asks the operating system for a fresh location instead of accepting a cached position.
3. Requests up to three samples and can finish early when it reaches its approximately 10-meter accuracy target.
4. Waits up to 30 seconds for a usable location.
5. Creates at most one logical delivery from the selected fix and saves it to the phone's durable queue.
6. When online, schedules an upload attempt immediately; this normally begins within about one second.
7. Stops the native location tracker and returns the collection state to stopped, whether the capture succeeded or failed.

The 10-meter value is a target, not a guarantee. Indoors, underground, or between tall buildings, the best available point may be less accurate. If no usable location is available before the timeout, the app reports that the update failed.

If the phone is offline or the server upload fails, a captured point remains queued. The GPS session still stops; only the saved upload remains pending. Pointeron retries when connectivity returns or the app becomes active, and you can select Force Sync Queue from Tracking Settings.

When collection stops, the main status normally shows Ready. The separate Phone Tracker status can instead show Queued or Sync failed when delivery still needs attention. Repeated taps while a capture is already running share that in-progress request rather than creating parallel captures.

Changing from Balanced or High Fidelity to On Demand stops the active background tracking session immediately. Tap Update Location afterward to capture the first On Demand point.

Blue dot vs asset marker

The map can show two locations for the same physical phone:

• Blue dot and accuracy circle — the phone's local position, supplied directly by iOS or Android to the map.
• Asset marker — the latest phone-tracker location that reached and was accepted by Pointeron, then processed and sent back to the map.

These are separate data paths. The blue dot can move first because it does not wait for the phone-tracking queue, network, server, or real-time subscription. The asset marker moves only after the complete phone-to-server pipeline finishes.

In On Demand mode, the blue dot can continue reflecting the local map location while the asset marker stays at the last requested update. In Balanced or High Fidelity, the asset marker moves only when the phone produces and delivers another accepted tracker point, normally after meaningful movement.

If the asset marker is behind by more than expected, check Phone Tracker status, Queue Depth, Last Synced, permissions, network connectivity, and whether the tracker is attached to the correct asset.

Background and offline behavior

When the app is in the background

Balanced and High Fidelity are designed to continue when you switch apps or lock the screen, subject to operating-system restrictions. Every accepted point is saved locally before its upload completes.

The mobile map disconnects its real-time connection while the app is backgrounded. When you return, Pointeron reconnects and refreshes the current asset data, so the marker can catch up to points uploaded in the background.

When the phone is offline

Locations are stored in a bounded on-device queue and uploaded in batches. Pointeron retries when:

• Connectivity returns
• A new online location arrives
• The app returns to the foreground
• The queue's periodic flush runs while the tracking runtime is active
• You select Force Sync Queue

Very long offline periods can eventually fill the bounded queue, at which point the oldest locations may be discarded. Check Queue Depth before a long offline journey when complete history is important.

Background does not mean force-quit

Moving Pointeron to the background is different from force-quitting it.

• On iOS, swiping Pointeron away prevents reliable background relaunch. Open the app again before expecting tracking to resume.
• On Android, using Force stop prevents background work until the app is opened again. Manufacturer-specific battery controls can also restrict background work.
• Restarting the phone, Low Power Mode, Battery Saver, revoked permissions, weak GPS reception, or operating-system scheduling can delay collection or delivery.

For reliable tracking, leave Pointeron running in the background rather than force-quitting it.

Required permissions

Balanced and High Fidelity

Allow:

• Precise Location
• Always on iOS or Allow all the time on Android
• Motion & Fitness or physical activity access when requested
• Notifications on Android so the foreground tracking notification remains visible

If background permission was denied, open the phone's system settings and change Pointeron's location permission manually.

On Demand

On Demand only needs foreground location access because it runs while you are using the app. Select While Using the App or the equivalent Android option and enable precise location for the best result.

Battery and privacy

Tracking frequency has a direct effect on battery use:

• Choose Balanced for normal all-day use.
• Choose High Fidelity for shorter, closely monitored journeys.
• Choose On Demand when you only need occasional check-ins.

Poor GPS reception can increase power use because the phone takes longer to obtain an accurate fix.

Phone locations are linked to the device, asset, account, and organization that set up tracking. Only use phone tracking with the knowledge and lawful consent of the person carrying the phone. For person and employee tracking requirements, see Tracking Consent and the Privacy Policy.

Troubleshooting

The blue dot moves, but the asset marker does not

1. Confirm Phone Tracker shows Ready, Recording, or Queued, rather than Not set up or Activation required.
2. Confirm the tracker is attached to the correct asset.
3. In Balanced or High Fidelity, confirm you selected Start Tracking.
4. In On Demand, select Update Location for every new point you want.
5. Check Queue Depth and Last Synced.
6. If points are queued, restore connectivity or select Force Sync Queue.
7. Leave the app open briefly so the map can reconnect and refresh.
8. Confirm the app was not force-quit.

No fresh location is found

• Enable Location Services and precise location for Pointeron.
• Move outdoors or near a window.
• Keep Pointeron open for the On Demand request and try again.
• Check that Airplane Mode is off or that Wi-Fi or cellular data is available for upload.

Background updates stop

• Set Pointeron's location permission to Always or Allow all the time.
• On Android, allow background activity and remove restrictive battery optimization for Pointeron.
• On iOS, avoid force-quitting the app and keep Background App Refresh available.
• Open Pointeron again after restarting or force-stopping the phone.
• Verify the selected mode is Balanced or High Fidelity; On Demand never tracks in the background.

Updates arrive late

A delay of several seconds can be normal. Balanced can also wait for meaningful movement, and On Demand never collects a new point until you select Update Location. Outside those expected cases, a delay of a minute or more usually indicates poor GPS reception, operating-system power restrictions, lost connectivity, queued uploads, a backgrounded map waiting to reconnect, or a force-quit app. Inspect Queue Depth and Last Synced in Tracking Settings first.

If the problem continues, contact support@pointeron.com and include the phone model, operating-system version, selected tracking mode, permission setting, queue depth, and last-sync time. Do not send API keys or full diagnostic credentials.

Related guides

• Quick Start
• Assets & Devices
• Live Map
• How Live Tracking Works
• Device Status & Presence
• Tracking Consent