Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

There is a Diagnostics tool in Trail Sense to detect common issues and offer solutions. You can access it via Trail Sense Settings > Diagnostics.

Translations are missing or incorrect

Translations for Trail Sense are community sourced through Weblate, and I am unable to verify their accuracy (other than English and a very small amount of Spanish). Please use Weblate to add or fix translations. Alternatively, you can create an issue here / email me at [email protected] to provide the missing or corrected translation - or tell me to remove a translation so it can be re-translated by the community.

Use the following filter on Weblate to see which strings are in need of translation: state:<translated

Trail Sense sends too many notifications

• All notifications from Trail Sense can be disabled/re-enabled under their respective settings
• Android requires background processes that access your location or use a sensor to send a notification (ex. Backtrack, weather monitor, and sunset alert). On most supported Android versions, you can disable the "Updates" notification channel to hide these notifications. (https://www.howtogeek.com/715614/what-are-android-notification-channels/)
• The processes that you may see notifications from frequently are Weather, Sunset Alert, Backtrack, and Pedometer. All of these processes can be disabled in Trail Sense settings.
  • Weather: On the Weather tool, turn off Weather Monitor or hide the "Weather Monitor" notification channel (Android's settings)
  • Backtrack: On the Paths tool, turn off Backtrack or hide the "Backtrack" notification channel (Android's settings)
  • Pedometer: On the Pedometer tool, turn off the Pedometer or disable the "Pedometer" notification channel (Android's settings)
  • Sunset Alert: Under "Astronomy" settings in Trail Sense, disable Sunset Alerts

Will there be an iOS version?

No - unfortunately I don't have a Mac or iPhone, and wouldn't be able to develop and test an iOS version.

Will Wear OS support be added?

I'm not sure how difficult it would be to port it to Wear OS (I imagine it would be a significant amount of work/or some features would be left out). But, unfortunately, I do not have a Wear OS device, so it is not feasible for me right now. If I ever get one in the future, I will consider adding support.

Can I request a new feature?

Of course! See the Contributing section for more details - I will consider every feature request, and it will be more likely that your feature gets included if you provide some rational behind how it could benefit TS users in wilderness treks or survival situations. Even if your feature idea is beneficial to only a small percent of users, I may still include it (even if it is in an experimental tab, or unlockable through settings)

When can I expect new releases?

I try to create a release every month, but don't have a set release schedule. Translations through weblate get bundled into the main releases.

Why don't I see the weather tab?

In order to predict the weather, your device needs to have a barometer sensor. Not all devices have this, you can verify by using the Diagnostics tool.

The pressure graph isn't populating or is very jagged, how can I fix it?

This may indicate that readings are being missed due to battery restrictions. You may need to mark Trail Sense as exempt from battery optimizations: how to make TS exempt

Why does Trail Sense think a storm is approaching?

Causes

1. The pressure is falling rapidly, which is typically a sign of an approaching storm
2. Your altitude is changing quickly (ex. driving), which appears as a rapid pressure drop

Possible solutions

1. Try adjusting the forecast and storm sensitivity under Weather settings to make it less sensitive to pressure changes
2. Experiment with the "altitude outlier removal", "altitude smoothing", and "pressure smoothing" settings under the Barometer settings
3. Disable the weather monitor if you are travelling by car

The compass isn't working or is inaccurate

• Try restarting your device
• View the Diagnostics tool (Trail Sense Settings > Diagnostics) to see if it detects any issues. If your device is missing a magnetometer or accelerometer, the compass will be unavailable.
• Adjust the compass smoothing under Trail Sense Settings > Settings > Compass. Decrease it if the compass is unresponsive, increase it if the compass is jittering.
• Recalibrate the compass by rotating your device in all directions or in a figure-8 pattern
• If you are using True North, ensure your location is accurate (GPS settings) or you enter the correct declination for your location

The GPS isn't working or is inaccurate

1. Ensure you have a clear view of the sky
2. Open the Diagnostics tool to see if any GPS errors are detected. This will include a check for availability, permission, accuracy, and overrides.
3. If you choose not to grant the location permission, ensure the location override is properly set (Settings > Sensors > GPS > Location override).
4. Turn off the "require satellite fix" setting (Settings > Sensors > GPS > Require satellite fix).
5. Verify that high accuracy / precise location is enabled for Trail Sense. You can typically find this in your device's settings under location, privacy, or app settings.

The sunrise/sunset times are wrong

The astronomy tool needs to know your location to determine the correct times. Please see the FAQ for "The GPS isn't working or is inaccurate".

How can I report a bug?

Either create a new issue here or email me at [email protected]. Please include as much information as possible to help me reproduce the issue.

The tides are inaccurate

The tide tool is designed for you to enter tides from an official source. Do not rely on the estimated tides, as they may be inaccurate since tides are a very complex thing to predict without huge amounts of data.

I can't turn off the flashlight/white noise or they won't turn on

Please verify your notification settings for Trail Sense by long pressing the Trail Sense app icon, then opening App Settings, then opening Notifications. Ensure that Trail Sense has notifications enabled and that the Flashlight and White Noise channels are active.

Flashlight notifications don't go away instantly when I turn it off

Unfortunately, Android requires that notifications are present for certain services for at least 5 seconds, there is no way to get around this as it is a system "feature" On newer versions of Android, this problem may be resolved.