Recalibrate the iOS Compass

Have you ever opened Google Maps or even Apple Maps on your iPhone and found that the compass was pointing the wrong direction? You're looking one way up the block but the compass says you're pointing the opposite direction?

Supposedly Apple put in a co-processor to keep the compass calibrated but my compass seems to always be wrong anyway. To fix this you need to recalibrate the compass.

There isn't a direct button or toggle for this so here's how to force iOS to recalibrate the compass:

Open Settings
Select "Privacy"
Select "Location Services"
Scroll all the way down and select "System Services"
Turn "Compass Calibration" off
Lock your iPhone screen / turn off the screen
Wake the screen up
Re-enable "Compass Calibration"
Go back to the app that is using the compass

May you never walk the wrong direction again! 🧭