Question photo geotag inaccurte by 1/2 mile

[erhard52]

android 13 on motorola moto G5 phone. i never had this issue with my older phone.
i see my correct location on google maps, then i take a photo with stock google app and check geotag location on google map and it is about consistently 1/2 mile off.
so the GPS has already locked on the location before i take the photo. how can it then be off?

 

[VidJunky]

I honestly don't pay that much attention to the geolocation of my photos. Google usually asks if I want to add them to my reviews of places so I assume they must be somewhat accurate but anyway.

I found this Google question about geolocation that sounds somewhat similar to yours, their issue was intermittent and you don't say about yours, but anyway. No one replied to their thread but luckily they replied with their findings. They said at least some of their issue was due to tower and data triangulation. Which makes sense to a point. Towers are always trying to triangulate your location, which they are usually pretty accurate, but I see how they could create a false location. Now why is this affecting your photos, even after you say it knows where you are, I'm not sure. You can read more here.

Photos Intermittently Contain The WRONG Geo-Location - Google Photos Community

 

[erhard52]

It sounds frustrating to have such a consistent geotagging error! Since your GPS has already locked onto your correct location, it’s surprising to see this half-mile discrepancy in your photos.

One possible reason could be how the Google Photos app geotags images right at the moment you take them. Sometimes, even when the GPS appears accurate in Google Maps, other apps like the camera may rely briefly on Wi-Fi or cellular data for location data, which can be less precise. This might especially happen if there's a slight delay in how the camera app interprets the GPS data.

A few steps to try: ensure that High Accuracy mode is enabled for location settings, and keep Wi-Fi active even if you’re not connected to a network, as it can help with location accuracy. Additionally, double-check app permissions to make sure the camera has full access to location services in case it’s relying on approximate data. Hope this helps, and let us know if it improves!

Thanks everyone for the reply.
I for sure never had this on my older moto g with Android 11, 12.
Because I was sitting under plain sky there is no reason that God is suddenly gone. I wish Geotag would contain the info of which location service was used. I have high accuracy enabled.
I never had this problem in the older phone which also means lower Android version

 

[VidJunky]

A couple of things.

First are you using the stock camera app? If you are, try a third party app, if you're not try the stock app.

Second and this may sound counterintuitive, but try approximate location see if you're any closer.

Third but not last, try in airplane mode.

I kinda feel like you might not be using the stock app but if you are and this is the result the next question would be is it the app or the device. By changing the app we can get a better idea of whether it's the phone or the app. If changing the app works, it's the app somehow. If the app doesn't matter, it could be the phone somehow. This will help narrow down other things to try.

If turning off precise location or turning on airplane mode works better, it could have something to do with your data or cellular signal. Airplane mode shouldn't turn GPS off. This line of thought kind of goes back to the thread I shared with you where they thought the towers were triangulating the signal slightly off from the devices actual location. Even though you didn't tell us if it's all the time or just occasionally, I'm still wondering which takes precedence for geotagging, GPS or carrier triangulation?

Let us know what you find and we can go from there.

 

[erhard52]

A couple of things.

First are you using the stock camera app? If you are, try a third party app, if you're not try the stock app.

Second and this may sound counterintuitive, but try approximate location see if you're any closer.

Third but not last, try in airplane mode.

I kinda feel like you might not be using the stock app but if you are and this is the result the next question would be is it the app or the device. By changing the app we can get a better idea of whether it's the phone or the app. If changing the app works, it's the app somehow. If the app doesn't matter, it could be the phone somehow. This will help narrow down other things to try.

If turning off precise location or turning on airplane mode works better, it could have something to do with your data or cellular signal. Airplane mode shouldn't turn GPS off. This line of thought kind of goes back to the thread I shared with you where they thought the towers were triangulating the signal slightly off from the devices actual location. Even though you didn't tell us if it's all the time or just occasionally, I'm still wondering which takes precedence for geotagging, GPS or carrier triangulation?

Let us know what you find and we can go from there.

thanks for the suggestions
yes, i use stock app. just took a pics with stock and all is fine - tough with non repeatable features.

i would assume that GPS has higher priority

just checked exif
no clear difference only thing i see the one with bad location reports GPS altitude as 0.00m which i interpret it did not have the info
the good one has like 37.2m

just took 2 pics, one with airplane mode ON one OFF - no difference give exact location. with airplane on there should be no tower triangulation.

i will try next time with 3rd party app when things don't work

 

[VidJunky]

So it's hot or miss when it's going to work. These are questions you can answer next time but.

Is it more often correct or incorrect?

Are these pics mostly indoors, outdoors, or equally both?

Looking back through your pics, do the incorrect ones mostly happen indoors or outdoors or equally both?

How long are you typically in a location, not specifically standing in one spot but generally in the boundaries of the area where photos are being taken? Like we're here in this park we've been here over half an hour and I just took my first pic, or we spontaneously pulled to the shoulder to get this pic of the sunset.

Since it's hit or miss, is there ever a time when some are correct and some incorrect in the same session? Which comes first or is it random even in that?

Just a couple of things I was thinking about after my last post. You mentioned that you've checked position prior to taking a pic only to find that it was incorrect. It sounded like you were doing this with Maps. Since Android is a sandboxed OS it doesn't allow cross communication typically, this would mean that each app would check GPS/location independently and whole I agree that it seems like if one sees you in a location the other should see the same position, I'm going to have to say this is not true just given the evidence you've presented. If you check and it says X marks the spot but the other app says T marks the spot this would indicate the two are not related. Which does kinda bring us back to the app. Why would the camera app see things differently? Redundant question, just thinking out loud. You've cleared the cache and data for the camera app correct? Did you happen to notice this begin after an update or has it been so long you can't remember?

I don't know just my 1:00 a.m. ramblings.

 

[erhard52]

So it's hot or miss when it's going to work. These are questions you can answer next time but.

Is it more often correct or incorrect?

Are these pics mostly indoors, outdoors, or equally both?

Looking back through your pics, do the incorrect ones mostly happen indoors or outdoors or equally both?

How long are you typically in a location, not specifically standing in one spot but generally in the boundaries of the area where photos are being taken? Like we're here in this park we've been here over half an hour and I just took my first pic, or we spontaneously pulled to the shoulder to get this pic of the sunset.

Since it's hit or miss, is there ever a time when some are correct and some incorrect in the same session? Which comes first or is it random even in that?

Just a couple of things I was thinking about after my last post. You mentioned that you've checked position prior to taking a pic only to find that it was incorrect. It sounded like you were doing this with Maps. Since Android is a sandboxed OS it doesn't allow cross communication typically, this would mean that each app would check GPS/location independently and whole I agree that it seems like if one sees you in a location the other should see the same position, I'm going to have to say this is not true just given the evidence you've presented. If you check and it says X marks the spot but the other app says T marks the spot this would indicate the two are not related. Which does kinda bring us back to the app. Why would the camera app see things differently? Redundant question, just thinking out loud. You've cleared the cache and data for the camera app correct? Did you happen to notice this begin after an update or has it been so long you can't remember?

I don't know just my 1:00 a.m. ramblings.

They are mainly taken outdoors. Even when I use Google map to navigate a city walking. So I know that I have good gps location and still the camera is off.
I also check often with God all and have full 3D lock and still camera can be off. Yes it seems hit and miss.
I do not recall if this was after an update etc.
I have not cleared the cache yet, will do. But it is on off