A quick step-by-step guide to using 247Compass on your phone.
247Compass works best on a phone or tablet with a built-in compass sensor.
Allow the motion & orientation permission prompt if your browser asks for it.
Keep it level and away from metal - the red arrow always points toward true north.
If the heading looks off, wave your phone in a slow figure-8 motion a couple of times to recalibrate the sensor.
iOS is the pickier of the two - Safari won't hand over compass data until you actually tap the button and approve the prompt.
Not the in-app browser inside Instagram, TikTok or Facebook - those block sensor access. Tap the "..." menu in those apps and choose "Open in Safari" first.
A popup will ask for "Motion & Orientation Access." Tap Allow. If you tap No by mistake, just reload the page and try again.
Go to Settings > Safari > Motion & Orientation Access and make sure it's turned on, then come back and reload the page.
MagSafe cases and magnetic wallets sit right next to the sensor and throw it off. Take the case or card off for a second and see if it settles.
Android phones are usually more relaxed about this - most start reading the moment you tap the button.
Any modern Android browser works, but Chrome tends to play the nicest with the sensor.
On most Android phones there's no separate permission popup for this - it should just start working.
Some phones switch off motion sensors under battery saver mode to save power. Turn battery saver off, or add this site as an exception, and reload.
A handful of budget phones and older tablets simply don't have a magnetometer chip inside. If that's the case, no amount of permissions will fix it - the hardware isn't there.
Wave your phone slowly in a figure-8 a couple of times - this recalibrates the sensor. Also double-check you actually tapped Allow on the permission prompt and not Deny.
That's almost always a hardware difference, not a bug. Not every phone or tablet has a built-in magnetometer, and without one there's simply no signal to read.
Reload the page and tap "Enable Live Compass" again - on Android it usually asks right away, and on iPhone you may need to reset it under Settings > Safari first.
In-app browsers inside social apps often block sensor access completely. Open the link in your phone's actual browser (Safari or Chrome) instead.
Move away from metal furniture, speakers, laptops and magnetic cases, then recalibrate with a slow figure-8 motion.
Still not working after trying these? Contact me with your phone model and browser and I'll try to help you sort it out.