I’ve recently noticed that my Maps timeline isn’t logging where I’ve been as it used to, there are days where it’s completely blank and others others where it’s only recorded one or two places out of the many visited. In the past it would have recorded pretty much everything really accurately, even if I was home all day it would have an entry for there.
This seems to have been happening since the 15th of November.
My Maps version updated to 11.10.0 on the 30th of November, phone permissions remain as they’ve always been with Maps pretty much allowed to do what it wants, when it wants with precise GPS and approx network-based location options enabled along with being able to access my location in the background etc. Location history is enabled and hasn’t been deleted.
If I manually open a place I’m at and confirm I’m there it logs this but has stopped doing this automatically for some reason.
App reinstalled, data cleared, phone gets rebooted daily so I’m at a bit of a loss as to what might be going on and wondered if there was an issue behind the scenes rather than it being something with my device that, as far as I can see, hasn’t changed in any way since it last worked perfectly.
I’m a beta tester and also have Maps Preview (11.11.26.Q), both show the same issue.
Anyone else seeing issues with their timeline currently?
Is your GPS working ok? Maybe there is a hardware issue. You can check if the blue dot shows your position ok in Google Maps while in the Explore mode.
GPS was one of the first things I checked when I noticed the issue @MortenCopenhagen but I appreciate it’s often an overlooked factor - accuracy reports as high but I’ve also recalibrated it and scanned my surroundings to confirm things, the blue dot is right above me whenever I check it but one thing I’ve noticed is that if I open up Maps it doesn’t always jump to my current position but sits at my last one when I’ve manually clicked for it to focus in on me.
It’s almost as if the option that’s enabled (and has been for years when this has always worked) to have Maps be able to get my location in the background at all times suddenly stopped working. As a result I’m now not asked to review places I’ve visited automatically or submit photos I’ve taken there, it’s an odd one.
I’ve had no phone updates recently and made no changes to the settings on the device for a very long time yet on the 15th of November something odd seems to have happened.
I need to do some more tests and maybe use Maps for navigation instead of Waze to see if that logs my locations as I move around and see if having Maps open and on screen while I walk to and from places helps with this.
I was more curious to see if it was a wider issue but that doesn’t seem to be the case so I’ll continue to troubleshoot my device.
(I never know which mods to tag with things like this and don’t like to bother them :))
Thanks again @MortenCopenhagen - yes, location services are permitted when Maps isn’t in use, just as it’s always been - nothing appears to have changed on the settings side of things and the app itself updated weeks before the issue started, it’s a bit of an odd one.
I’ve reset it all again, reinstalled and now just need to go somewhere to test again with the app running and again with it in the background (or not running) to compare.
Another full reinstall, all files cleared, logged out / in - checked, double-checked and then triple-checked all settings… I still have no Timeline and when I do check in to two places manually it now seems unable to detect if I walked between them or drove in the car like it used to.
With Maps open I can see the blue dot accuracy is near-perfect, as is the compass element of the display which rotates with my direction, it doesn’t seem to have any bearing on the Timeline though if the Maps app is open and on screen vs running in the background (which always worked previously).
Any photos taken at particular places are identified as being there (or a place nearly as it’s always done) and all other GPS functionality seems to be working as it always has. Other GPS reliant apps are working just fine.
It’s just Maps refusing to link where I am with my timeline since the middle of November for no obvious reason and this obviously then has the knock-on effect of not prompting me to review places unless I remember to check in to them manually as well as me getting no place specific Google Rewards content any more.
Do any of the mods have any insight into this or any idea how I can escalate as I’m at a complete loss as to how to get this feature back again as everything phone-side seems to be correct and all the usual, and more extreme, troubleshooting isn’t having any effect - @DeniGu (I’ve tagged you but if there’s someone more appropriate please let me know)
The only vaguely Google-related thing that changed before this happened was that I added my wife to our Google Home setup on the 14th so she could access the Nest cameras, she hasn’t done so and I can’t see why this would have any impact on a Maps Timeline but I’m putting it out there as the only thing that I can think of.
I fully appreciate I’m talking to myself now with this one but I seem to have found the cause of the issue and resolved it so maybe it might be handy info for someone else in the future…
Open the Activity Controls settings on your phone or browser when logged in as the user with the issue.
Scroll down to “Location History”
Expand the “Devices on this account” section
On mine I had “VOG-L29” (Huawei P30 Pro) but it was “faded out” and showed as not being able to connect
I unchecked this option and rechecked it again and it’s worked since then.
I have no idea what caused it to “disconnect” - it was still there, it was checked, there just seemed to be something amiss when it came to my account and my phone talking to each other.
I still can’t work out what might have triggered this on that particular day but when I was going through all of the settings when trying to diagnose this one I saw that my device was listed but hadn’t registered that it was “faded” rather than how it now so check this if you have similar issues with your timeline.
@turbotapeworm You’re never truly talking to yourself on here! But a great find for a solution to your problem and I hope it will help others in similar situation! I just checked my timeline and it isn’t too bad. I find that the accuracy is somewhat lacking and if I’m on the move, the ‘polling’ of my location is not done frequently enough so between point A and B, it just draws a straight line like I literally flew over roads and buildings! That annoys me like crazy!
I know some folks might find it creepy but I want accuracy down to a meter, 24/7 so I can marvel and wonder at all the distances I’ve covered in any given day!
Also, side question but still related, I have, not one but FOUR devices sharing location: my phone, my backup phone (which I still have running on a UK SIM card although I don’t carry it with me), my ‘virtual’ device because I do use Bluestacks occasionally to run Android apps on my desktop (I’m so happy that it’s going to be fully supported by Windows soon) and I’ve just turned it on my iPad too (which I don’t carry with me). I’m guessing that as long as none of my 3 passive devices aren’t moving about, Google will use my active device that is moving about as my primary source of location history. Is that right? So far, I’ve not seen my location history jump from my active device to one of my passive device so I know it’s working as I want but just wanted to be sure! Thanks!
I’m not sure how Google handle multiple devices with location services enabled but, as you seem to be finding, I’d hope they’d be able to tell which was the “active” device out of the selection and use that one for logging your movements, it would be interesting to see what happens if you go one way with one of them and someone takes one of the others elsewhere.
As for accuracy, I’m not too bad but like you do get a bit disheartened sometimes when I look back at what was a fairly complex walk or ride only to find it’s been summarised by one straight line yet my fitness tracking app has detail so fine that I can tell which side of the road I was walking on. I presume it’s a balance between power saving and logging what’s needed but having lost my timeline for a month I can tell you I’m just happy it knows I’ve left the house right now
Oddly this broke again about 4 weeks ago (I only just realised) but the earlier issue with the missing / greyed out phone under “devices on this account” no longer applies.
It’s there and not greyed out this time.
As before if I manually check in its added to my timeline but nothing is automatically.
It’s also showing me as “moving” for hours at a time when I’m at home / work / static.
Anyone else having location history issues currently or is it just me yet again?
I am having the same problem with my timeline. I think it is not working since about a year. Of course I went through all the trouble-shooting steps mentioned here. I even changed my phone from a Pixel 3a to a 6a. Nothing works.
I believe the trouble started when I turned on the “auto-delete” for a while. But I am just guessing.
You responded in a years old thread. If you need help please start a new thread in the how-to section. Please include screenshots or a very detailed description of the symptoms.
Did you find the solution for this i am also in the same situation. Everything is turned on but my timeline logs are empty for everyday since november 2023… the only thing i did was i might have chosen auto delete once and then turn it off… maybe i did that i am not sure but my time line isnt working… !!
But a great find for a solution to your problem and I hope it will help others in similar situation! I just checked my timeline and it isn’t too bad. I find that the accuracy is somewhat lacking and if I’m on the move, the ‘polling’ of my location is not done frequently enough so between point A and B, it just draws a straight line like I literally flew over roads and buildings! That annoys me like crazy!
