Maps & Location

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Learn how to integrate MapKit and Core Location to unlock the power of location-based features in your app.

Maps & Location Documentation

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A symbol on Apple Maps, how can I show it in MapKit
The easiest way to explain this is to show it. On any device, open Maps, set it to Driving (which will show traffic). Go to Baltimore Maryland. In the water just south east of the city there is a bridge (Francis Scott Key Bridge). . On Apple Maps the road is colored dark red. At certain zoom levels, there is a "button" (red circle with a white - in it). When you click on that "button", it says 1 Advisory (Road Closed). How do I show this "button" on my map. My map shows the dark red color, but no "button" appears. The only "advisory" that I've been able to find is when you create a route. Of course you can't create a route over a road that fell into the water. struct ContentView: View { @State private var position = MapCameraPosition.region( MKCoordinateRegion( center: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: 39.22742855118304, longitude: -76.52228412310761), span: MKCoordinateSpan(latitudeDelta: 0.05407607689684113, longitudeDelta: 0.04606660133347873) ) ) var body: some View { Map(position: $position) .mapStyle(.standard(pointsOfInterest: .all, showsTraffic: true)) .cornerRadius(25) } } Is this a WCDWAD, or is there a way to show the "button" (We Can't Do What Apple Does)
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442
Feb ’25
Offline Mapkit tiles
I'm currently developing an app with mapkit which I may submit to the Swift Student Challenge. So anyways, the app will be used completely offline. I was wondering if there was any way to include very low resolution map tiles with the app files. That way, the app never needs wifi. However, I'm not sure if this is possible, especially since the map would need to be under 20 mb. Thanks.
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299
Feb ’25
CMAltimeter becomes somehow uncalibrated: absolute locations not delivered anymore (temporarily)
Note: I have had issues with CMAltimeter since whats seems to have been a major undocumented modification since iOS 17.4. So I'm using the CMAltimeter absolute locations delivery. Sometimes, the altimeter seems to be in an uncalibrated mode and therefore, no altitude delivery happens. Is there a way to be inform of such state? Currently, it just doesn't work and I can't inform the user about this. They just think the app is broken What message should I give to the users to accelerate the calibration such that the CMAltimeter will work again? Also, users have reported that the CMAltimeter can temporarily stop delivering altitude updates, even though it should. So I guess my question resumes to this: Whats the best practice to handle an uncalibrated CMAltimeter? Thanks!
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328
Feb ’25
Checking Wi-Fi Status for Location Accuracy in iOS App
I am working on a duress app and would like to improve location accuracy by encouraging users to enable Wi-Fi. In Apple Maps, I noticed that when Wi-Fi is off, a dialog prompts users to turn on Wi-Fi to enhance location accuracy. I am looking to implement similar functionality in my app. Specifically, I would like to check whether Wi-Fi is enabled on the user's device (even if it is not connected to a network). Despite exploring several methods, I have been unable to determine a reliable way to check the Wi-Fi status. Can you guide me on whether it is possible to access this functionality in iOS, and if so, how I can implement it within my app?
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466
Feb ’25
Underground location (in subway) doesn't update properly
We (at the NYC MTA) are building a new subway/bus app and diving deep into location tracking on iOS. We’re encountering an issue with how Core Location functions in the subway, specifically regarding how long it takes to update a passenger’s location as they travel from station to station. As an example, please see this video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yaddkjyPEETvTEmClPAJ2wks8b-_whqB/view?usp=sharing The red dot is set manually (via a tap gesture) and represents the ground truth of where the phone actually is at that moment. The most critical moment to observe is when the train physically arrives at a station (i.e., when I can see the platform outside my window). At this moment, I update the red dot to the center of the station on the map. Similarly, I adjust the red dot when the train departs a station, placing it just outside the station in the direction of travel. The trip shown is from Rector St to 14 St. All times are in EST. I’d like to investigate this issue further since providing a seamless underground location experience is crucial for customers. As a point of comparison, Android phones exhibit near-perfect behavior, proving that this is technically feasible. We want to ensure the iOS experience is just as smooth.
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531
Feb ’25
LookAroundPreview navigation not working on macOS
The code below using LookAroundPreview works fine on iOS (showing the preview image with a button saying "Look Around" at the top to enter full screen with navigation), but on macOS (15.3) there is no button and no way to navigate the view. Is this a bug or is there something I need to do differently on macOS? I have also tried using AppKit with MKLookAroundViewController and I don't seem get the button to launch full screen there either. import SwiftUI import MapKit struct ContentView: View { var body: some View { LookAroundPreviewView(coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: 37.33182, longitude: -122.03118)) .frame(width: 300, height: 200) } } struct LookAroundPreviewView: View { let coordinate: CLLocationCoordinate2D @State private var scene: MKLookAroundScene? @State private var errorMessage: String? var body: some View { Group { if scene != nil { LookAroundPreview(scene: $scene, allowsNavigation: true) } else if let errorMessage = errorMessage { Text("Error: \(errorMessage)") .foregroundColor(.red) } else { ProgressView("Loading Look Around Preview...") } } .task { do { let request = MKLookAroundSceneRequest(coordinate: coordinate) let fetchedScene = try await request.scene scene = fetchedScene } catch { errorMessage = error.localizedDescription print("Error loading Look Around scene: \(error)") } } } }
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365
Feb ’25
Location not tracking in background
I really need some help. I have been going back and forth with a customer of mine for weeks. Our app is supposed to track location in the background after a user starts it in the foreground. Every time I test it, it works. I can put the app in the background and walk around for hours. Every time he tests it, it doesn't work. He puts the app into the background and about a minute later, it stops tracking him. Then it starts again when the app comes back to the foreground. We have each tried it on two devices with the same results. I'm willing to post the rest of the details if anyone is interested in helping me, but the last couple of times I got no response, so I'm not going to bother unless I can get some help this time. Thanks.
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488
Feb ’25
iOS 18: startRangingBeacons Stops When Display is Off in Background (Worked on iOS 17.2.1)
Issue Summary After calling startRangingBeacons, the didRangeBeacons delegate method does not receive iBeacon scan data when the device display is turned off in the background. Expected Behavior On iOS 17.2.1 (iPhone 14), beacon ranging continues in the background even when the display is turned off. The same behavior is expected on iOS 18, but it is not working as intended. Observed Behavior On iOS 18, once the display turns off, beacon ranging stops, and the didRangeBeacons method is not triggered until the display is turned back on. • Location permission is set to “Always Allow.” • Background Modes are correctly configured (Location Updates enabled). Steps to Reproduce Ensure location permission is set to Always Allow. Enable Background Modes → Location Updates in Xcode settings. Call startRangingBeacons(in:) in the app. Put the app in the background and turn off the display. Observe that didRangeBeacons is not triggered while the display is off. Additional Notes • The issue does not occur on iOS 17.2.1 (iPhone 14), where beacon ranging continues even with the display off. • This behavior change is observed on iOS 18 across multiple devices. Could you confirm if this is an intended change in behavior or a bug? If this is expected behavior, what alternative approach is recommended to maintain continuous beacon ranging when the display is off in the background?
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530
Feb ’25
iOS location recording issues iOS 18
I’m facing an issue with iOS that I hope someone can help with. I developed an app a few years ago that records GPS tracks. Up until recently, everything worked fine—even when the app was running in the background, the recording continued without problems. However, since releasing an update compiled after the iOS 18 release, users have reported that background tracking no longer works. I’ve reviewed the iOS documentation but haven’t found any relevant changes or solutions. Before the newly compiled release the app was working well on iOS 18 devices as well. Some users have reported that switching to the location permission from "When Using the App" to "Always" solved the issue. This is not the case for all users. Has anyone else encountered this issue? Any recommendations or insights on how to resolve it would be greatly appreciated. Below you can see the code used for the location tracking. Before the issue happened the app was compiled with XCode 15.4. Now I am using XCode 16.2 locationManager.activityType = CLActivityType.fitness locationManager.desiredAccuracy = kCLLocationAccuracyBest locationManager.distanceFilter = 3 locationManager.allowsBackgroundLocationUpdates = true locationManager.pausesLocationUpdatesAutomatically = false if #available(iOS 11.0, *) { locationManager.showsBackgroundLocationIndicator = true } locationManager.startUpdatingLocation() if #available(iOS 17.0, *) { // Create a CLBackgroundActivitySession object backgroundActivitySession = CLBackgroundActivitySession() } Thanks in advance for your help!
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680
Feb ’25
Background location tracking not reliable
I'm writing an app in which the user is expected to initiate location tracking, let the app track for a period of time (a few minutes to a couple of hours) and then discontinue tracking. We want the user to be able to switch apps or let their device lock while tracking without losing any location updates. My understanding is that this can be done with the "While in use" location permission and does not require "Always". We don't want to have to ask our users for the "Always" permission. I'm configuring the location manager this way: locationManager.delegate = self locationManager.desiredAccuracy = kCLLocationAccuracyBestForNavigation locationManager.allowsBackgroundLocationUpdates = true locationManager.showsBackgroundLocationIndicator = true locationManager.distanceFilter = kCLDistanceFilterNone locationManager.activityType = .otherNavigation locationManager.pausesLocationUpdatesAutomatically = false (The user is expected to be walking around in an outdoor location, stopping occasionally to take notes and pictures). I've tested this using both an iPhone and an iPad that relies on an external GPS device. It works. I can lock the device and see a continuous stream of location updates in the debugger for hours. I've also tested it while walking outdoors. However, my customer keeps reporting that the app stops tracking his location whenever it goes into the background. He says that it will track his location fine while in the foreground, but when he backgrounds it, it stops getting location updates. Then when it comes into the foreground again, it resumes. When we plot the locations on a map, you see a straight line between the place where the app went into background and where it woke up again. We know for sure that the app is just transitioning to and from the background and that it is not being terminated and restarted. I can't reproduce this result on my devices and can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. The customer says he has another app on his device (which is also an iPad with an external GPS) and that the other app does track him when it is in the background. My app does process all of the locations received in the didUpdateLocations method and not just the last one, so it's not that I'm getting the updates and ignoring them. I'm also not receiving any calls to 'locationManagerDidPauseLocationUpdates', 'didFinishDeferredUpdatesWithError', or 'didFailWithError'. The only explanation I can think of at the moment is that something changed in iOS. I know that the other app my customer is using is fairly old and built against an old version of the iOS SDK. Thanks for your help.
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477
Jan ’25
How to Reduce Geolocation Drifting Inside Buildings on iOS?
I am developing a Flutter app that uses geolocation data extensively. While the location accuracy is excellent under an open sky, I’ve noticed significant drifting when users are inside large buildings. This impacts the app’s functionality as precise location data is critical. I would like to know: Are there any specific configurations or APIs available in the Apple ecosystem to enhance indoor geolocation accuracy? Would combining GPS with other location technologies (like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth) reduce drifting effectively? Are there recommended practices for handling geolocation indoors on iOS? Any advice, examples, or guidance would be greatly appreciated!
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388
Jan ’25
MapkitJS Snapshot
I am having issues loading in a mapkit snapshot. I get an error saying that https://domain.com and they're expecting domain.com. I have no idea what could be going wrong here. I set the domains properly in the mapkit tokens. When I click on the link it opens a new tab and loads what the data properly, but somehow in the application on production this error comes up.
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371
Jan ’25
How can you determine if the map tiles in MapKit have successfully loaded?
We are developers of a golf app designed to assist golfers on the course. A key feature of our app is displaying a map of each hole, and we are currently transitioning to using MapKit and camera functionalities for this purpose. However, we are encountering issues with the downloading of map tiles when using the default satellite imagery. We have tried several approaches to diagnose the issue: We have tried several things to diagnose the issue: We implemented the mapViewDidFailLoadingMap delegate method. But it is inconsistent, sometimes triggering offline errors even when map tiles are cached. We implemented, the mapViewDidFinishRenderingMap method, but it always returns false when offline or you won't get the callback. Which doesn't let us know that rendering tiles has failed. We would appreciate your guidance on the following specific questions: Does MapKit provide a way to confirm if a map tile has fully loaded? Is there a method to detect if a portion of the map hasn't loaded or if a tile request has failed? Can we determine whether a map tile is cached, and if so, how long it will remain cached, similar to Cache-Control HTTP headers? Is there a way to trigger the preloading of map tiles when we know the user has a good internet connection? Please see the sample project for steps to reproduce the issue. Thank you for any assistance!
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479
Jan ’25
Background location tracking on iPad fails
My app needs to track background location for a period of several hours while the user is using it, and we want to allow the user to switch apps or lock their phone while this is happening. We don't need to track location permanently and because of this, we don't want to request the "Always allow" permission. The app requests "While in use" permission and it has the "Location updates" background mode enabled. The CLLocationManager has 'allowsBackgroundLocationUpdates' set to true, 'pausesLocationUpdatesAutomatically' false, kCLLocationAccuracyBest, kCLDistanceFilterNone, and .fitness for the activity type (we expect the user to be walking). The app also initializes a CLBackgroundActivitySession while it is tracking location and invalidates it when done. When I test this combination on my iPhone, it works fine. I get location tracking in the background for as long as I need it, regardless of what else I do with the phone. However, my customer says it doesn't work for him. He is using a Wifi-only iPad with an external GPS receiver called "BadElf GPS Pro". He says that the external GPS receiver works fine with other apps on his iPad. With my app, he gets background location tracking only for a short time, and then it stops. The app does monitor the "locationManagerDidPauseLocationUpdates" callback and posts a local notification if it gets called, but it doesn't get called. I've also confirmed with him that he is not force-quitting the app and the app is not otherwise being terminated by iOS. Is there something I'm missing?
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649
Dec ’24
CLMonitor related crash - EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV)
Hello I started using CLMonitor on my App, and I am noticing the following crash on Xcode Organizer for dozens of my app users: Exception Subtype: KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS at 0x0000000000000001 Exception Codes: 0x0000000000000001, 0x0000000000000001 VM Region Info: 0x1 is not in any region. Bytes before following region: …………. REGION TYPE START - END [ VSIZE] PRT/MAX SHRMOD REGION DETAIL UNUSED SPACE AT START ---> __TEXT ………-…….. [ 176K] r-x/r-x SM=COW /var/containers/Bundle/Application/.........../MyApp Termination Reason: SIGNAL 11 Segmentation fault: 11 Terminating Process: exc handler […..] Thread 4 name: Thread 4 Crashed: 0 libswiftCoreLocation.dylib 0x000000021680b4c8 @objc completion handler block implementation for @escaping @callee_unowned @convention(block) (@unowned CLMonitor) -> () with result type CLMonitor + 44 (<compiler-generated>:0) 1 CoreLocation 0x0000000196cdddd4 __76-[CLMonitorConfiguration vendMonitorWithIdentityAndAuthorizationAttributes:]_block_invoke + 216 (CLMonitorConfiguration.m:195) 2 libdispatch.dylib 0x0000000191138370 _dispatch_call_block_and_release + 32 (init.c:1549) 3 libdispatch.dylib 0x000000019113a0d0 _dispatch_client_callout + 20 (object.m:576) 4 libdispatch.dylib 0x00000001911416d8 _dispatch_lane_serial_drain + 744 (queue.c:3934) 5 libdispatch.dylib 0x00000001911421e0 _dispatch_lane_invoke + 380 (queue.c:4025) 6 libdispatch.dylib 0x000000019114d258 _dispatch_root_queue_drain_deferred_wlh + 288 (queue.c:7193) 7 libdispatch.dylib 0x000000019114caa4 _dispatch_workloop_worker_thread + 540 (queue.c:6787) 8 libsystem_pthread.dylib 0x0000000211933c7c _pthread_wqthread + 288 (pthread.c:2696) 9 libsystem_pthread.dylib 0x0000000211930488 start_wqthread + 8 Does anyone have similar issue when using CLMonitor? How can I debug / fix this issue? Is it an CLMonitor API bug? Should I file a bug report?
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878
Dec ’24
Clarification needed regarding requirements for geofencing
In my app, I am using geofencing to perform an action when the user enter or leaves a specified location. The geofencing (CLMonitor) is active permanently, and should work across multiple app sessions or after the device is restarted. It should also work after the app was minimized or terminated. This worked perfectly with iOS 17 and prior, but with iOS 18, things changed. As soon as iOS 18 dropped, users were informing me that the app does no longer perform the entry/exit action reliably (without me making any changes to the app). Most of the times, events are missed entirely. Sometimes, after the user opens or resumes the app, duplicate events are delivered and/or events with the current time instead of the correct time of entry/exit. I am making sure that the app has the "Always" location permission before geofencing is enabled The gefocence radius is between 20 and 500m, but even with the max. radius specified, the geofencing is unreliable For the same user and geofence, the entry/exit event is delivered occasionally, but not always I am currently not using CLLocationManager.allowsBackgroundLocationUpdates (even though it's documented as "Apps that receive location updates when running in the background must include the UIBackgroundModes key (with the location value) in their app’s Info.plist file") because it wasn't necessary on iOS 17 and in my tests, using it didn't yield any improvements In my search for what could have caused this change, I found this WWDC video about location authorization: . It appears that with iOS 18, it is now required to have an active CLServiceSession to ensure that location updates are delivered to my app. Even though the video is long (and I've watched it multiple times), some things are still unclear. For example, the docs state: If your app actively receives and processes location updates and terminates, it should restart those APIs upon launch in order to continue receiving updates. Also, in the video it is stated that: ... So your job, ..., is to make sure that your process launch logic knows what features it has been tasked with pursuing, and re-takes session objects... But on the other hand it's also said that: you can only start holding one (a CLServiceSession) when your app is in the foreground and also ... CLMonitor.events won’t yield results when it is not in use, unless a session which was started in the foreground, .... To summarize my questions, for the geofencing to work as described above: when exactly do I need to create a CLServiceSession if the app is launched into the backgorund? Immediately in the applicationDidFinishLaunching method, even though the app is still in the background (applicationState is background)? Or later on, when the app is opened again by the user, e.g. in applicationDidBecomeActive (and applicationState is active)? do I need to specify the background mode capability as noted in the Handling location updates in the background article? do I need to create a CLBackgroundActivitySession as noted in the Handling location updates in the background article? does it matter, which of the four initializer methods I am using to create the CLServiceSession (with CLServiceSessionAuthorizationRequirementAlways)? does it matter if I specify NSLocationRequireExplicitServiceSession in the Info.plist or not when I already do ensure that the app has the "Always" location permission when the feature is being enabled Does a CLServiceSession last indefinitely and should it only be invalidated once the user disables the feature?
4
10
1.2k
Nov ’24
Potential memory leaks in CLLocationUpdate.Updates
This is my first post here. Please guide me, if I need to provide more information to answer this post. I write a simple application, that monitors GPS position (location). I followed Apple documentation for LiveUpdates: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/corelocation/supporting-live-updates-in-swiftui-and-mac-catalyst-apps My app can monitor location in foreground, background or it can completely stop monitoring location. Background location, if needed, is switched on when application changes scenePhase to .background. But it is in the foreground, that memory leaks occur (according to Instruments/Leaks. Namely Leaks points to the instruction: let updates = CLLocationUpdate.liveUpdates() every time I start location and then stop it, by setting updatesStarted to false. Leaks claims there are 5x leaks there: Malloc 32 Bytes 1 0x6000002c1d00 32 Bytes libswiftDispatch.dylib OS_dispatch_queue.init(label:qos:attributes:autoreleaseFrequency:target:) CLDispatchSilo 1 0x60000269e700 96 Bytes CoreLocation 0x184525c64 Malloc 48 Bytes 1 0x600000c8f2d0 48 Bytes Foundation +[NSString stringWithUTF8String:] NSMutableSet 1 0x6000002c4240 32 Bytes LocationSupport 0x18baa65d4 dispatch_queue_t (serial) 1 0x600002c69c80 128 Bytes libswiftDispatch.dylib OS_dispatch_queue.init(label:qos:attributes:autoreleaseFrequency:target:) I tried [weak self] in Task, but it doesn't solve the leaks problem and causes other issues, so I dropped it. Anyway, Apple doesn't use it either. Just in case this is my function, which has been slightly changed comparing to Apple example, to suit my needs: func startLocationUpdates() { Task() { do { self.updatesStarted = true let updates = CLLocationUpdate.liveUpdates() for try await update in updates { // End location updates by breaking out of the loop. if !self.updatesStarted { self.location = nil self.mapLocation = nil self.track.removeAll() break } if let loc = update.location { let locationCoordinate = loc.coordinate let location2D = CLLocationCoordinate2D(latitude: locationCoordinate.latitude, longitude: locationCoordinate.longitude) self.location = location2D if self.isAnchor { if #available(iOS 18.0, *) { if !update.stationary { self.track.append(location2D) } } else { // Fallback on earlier versions if !update.isStationary { self.track.append(location2D) } } } } } } catch { // } return } } Can anyone help me locating these leaks?
4
0
689
Oct ’24
App Clips Advanced Experiences not showing up in Apple Maps and Siri Suggestions
Hello everyone, I’m experiencing an issue with App Clips Advanced Experiences and Apple Maps/Siri Suggestions. We have already contacted Apple Support before, but they are investigating the cause of this issue and it has not been resolved til date. The App Clip is bundled with the main app and has been already available on the App Store for several months. The business running the app has several physical shops and wants to offer the App Clip to show up in Apple Maps and Siri Suggestions at each location. The App Clip is correctly exposed in the AASA file, and it's also validated correctly by the AASA APIs available at https://app-site-association.cdn-apple.com/a/v1. { "applinks": { "apps": [], "details": [ { "appID": "TEAMID.bundleid", "paths": [] } ] }, "appclips": { "apps": [ "TEAMID.bundleid.Clip" ] } } (with TEAMID and bundleid being the team and bundle identifiers of the app) The App Clip is displayed correctly when loading the website and when scanning a QR code or App Clip code, but doesn't appear in the Maps app or in Siri suggestions. We have set up the App Clip Advanced Experiences on the App Store Connect page of the app, and each URL has been linked to a physical shop. All URLs are in the "Received" state, so they should appear correctly on Maps. Unfortunately, I don't see any "Order" button in Apple Maps at any location card. We tried with both iOS 17 and 16. According to feedbacks from people in the shops, they don't see the app suggested in the Siri Suggestions. I have just submitted a Custom Action Link on Apple Business Connect for one of the shops, but without success: the App Clip doesn't appear. Any idea why is this happening?
8
1
997
Sep ’24