Device Tracking using EarthRanger Mobile

Device tracking refers to the process of automatically recording a user's location data and movement over time, while using the EarthRanger Mobile app.

This data creates a digital path made up of “tracking points” that helps you and your team visualize the movements and activities of tracked subjects (wildlife, vehicles, etc.) within the protected area. 

 

When tracking is enabled, EarthRanger Mobile will continually attempt to submit the most recently recorded position to the EarthRanger system in real-time. 

  • Note: You must have an active internet connection for real-time tracking

Offline

  • Data is recorded w/o an internet connection
  • Stored locally in tracking database
  • Synced with your instance next time the device connects to the internet
  • Track points will sync as long as the device has an active connection to a cellular or wireless network.
  • If the device does not have an active connection, the data will still be recorded but will be stored in a local cache on the device. Once an active connection to a network is reestablished, EarthRanger Mobile will resume sending the data to the EarthRanger system.

Important: Loss of Pending Sync Items

If you sign off the device and log in with a different user, the database will be erased, and all pending sync items will be lost. 

Data will be locally cached if you do not sign off the device or if you sign off and sign in with the same user.

As long as there is cached data remaining on the device, EarthRanger Mobile will transmit it to EarthRanger whenever it has a network connection.

 
  • EarthRanger Mobile leverages your device's built-in GPS capabilities to automatically capture your location as you use the app, even when an internet connection is unavailable. 
  • EarthRanger will continue to record the tracks and sync them when an internet connection is available. 
  • Tracking is dependent directly on the GPS integration to work. 
  • You can see the pending tracks to be uploaded on the Status view.  

The cached tracking points will be uploaded in a batch. To optimize the upload performance when cached, batches are uploaded with a maximum of 25 observations per upload. 

 

Tracking/Patrol

The first time you open the app the default state of the Map View will be Tracking/Patrol. This is also the state if you log out and log in again. You have two options to start tracking by:

  1. Tap on the button Tracking at the bottom of the Map View.
  2. Tap on the Patrol button at the bottom of the Map View. This will start tracking associated with a patrol. 

While the tracking is off you will see the indicator of the user’s location moving, but tracks will not be recorded or uploaded to the EarthRanger system.

Start Tracking

Tapping the Tracking button from the Map View bottom sheet will initiate device tracking and change the bottom sheet context to your devices tracking status.

EarthRanger mobile will start capturing the device's position as the device's coordinates.

 

The tracking status bottom sheet can be expanded to allow you to start a Patrol at any time while the device is tracking. To initiate the full tracking status display, slide the bottom sheet up.   
 
 

Tapping the Start Patrol button will initiate the start patrol workflow in the app and allow all tracks from that point onward to be included as part of the patrol. 

Tracking Status

The Tracking Status display tells you about the current status of the tracking feature in the app:

  • Status: Tracking Live
    • Tracking is on
    • Internet connection available
    • Location points will be uploaded / synced in real-time
 
 
  • Status: Tracking On      
    • Tracking is on  
    • No Internet connection available
    • Location points cannot be uploaded in real-time, but EarthRanger caches all location points in database (they are not lost)
    • You can stop tracking while offline and all recorded data will be safely stored on the device (persisted) until it gets an internet connection
    • App will aggressively try to upload recorded track points to the server once connection is re-established
 
 

Current Tracks
  • Creates a track line from the generated track points.
    • Directional arrows
    • Not persisted
    • Tracks can be seen again when viewing on the web
  • Track observation points will be connected by a straight line representing a track. 
  • This line is not a true representation of the track of the device as it simply connects all observation points that have been recorded. 
  • Only the observation points, represented by the blue arrows, are uploaded to your EarthRanger site server.

Track Points

Tracking points are calculated based on a distance-to-speed relationship. 

When a user is in a helicopter, the distance between track points is larger resulting in fewer track points as speed increases.

You can adjust the tracking sensitivity in settings

End Tracking
  • App will stop creating tracking points. 
  • You will not see tracks for the subject for movement after the point at which tracking is disabled.

Coordinates Bar

The coordinates of the center of the map. They will display in the coordinates type selected in settings. Select the coordinate units that best fit your needs.

Basemaps
  • Basemaps are like the canvas of a map – they provide the background on which all other information is displayed. 
  • With EarthRanger, you can choose different basemaps to suit your preferences. From topographic view to satellite or street view. 

 

When Tracking Doesn’t Work as Expected

If EarthRanger isn't recording your movements or updating your location, the issue is usually caused by phone settings, not the EarthRanger Mobile app itself. Android devices limit background activity to save battery, which can interrupt location tracking.

Work through the steps below in order to ensure that Location Services are fully enabled and that the app is allowed to run continuously in the background. 

Note: Menu names may differ depending on your device brand (Samsung, OPPO, Xiaomi, etc.) and Android version. If you can't find a setting, search for "EarthRanger" in your device's Settings search bar.

Troubleshooting: Steps to take if tracking is not working (Android)

Work through the steps below in order.

1. Turn On Location Services

  • Settings → Location
  • Make sure Location is switched ON at the device level. If this is off, no app can track location.

2. Set Location Permission to "Always"

  • Go to Settings → Apps → EarthRanger → Permissions → Location
  • Select Allow all the time

Important: If set to "Only while using the app" this will stop tracking the moment your screen turns off

3. Enable High Accuracy Mode

  • Go to Settings → Location → Mode (or Location accuracy)
  • Select High accuracy. This uses GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular networks together for the best results.

4. Turn Off Battery Optimization

  • Go to Settings → Apps → EarthRanger → Battery
  • Select Unrestricted (or Don't optimize). This is the most common cause of tracking stopping unexpectedly.

5. Allow Background Activity

  • Go to Settings → Apps → EarthRanger → Battery (or Mobile Data & Battery)
  • Make sure Allow background activity is turned on.

6. Move to a Different Location

If you're indoors or near tall buildings, GPS signal may be blocked. Step outside into an open area and check whether tracking resumes.

7. Restart the App

Close EarthRanger fully (remove it from recent apps), then reopen it. If you see a session or login error, log out and log back in before starting a new track.

8. Restart the Device

A full device restart can resolve background process issues that a simple app restart won't fix.

9. Check GPS Signal

Install GPS Test (free on Google Play) to check satellite signal strength and reset GPS data. If the app shows weak or no signal even outdoors, the device may have a hardware issue.

Using a Samsung device with Android 14? Take these steps

  • Samsung includes a few Guardian apps that are tightly integrated with the phone on a low level, check the following modules:
    • Battery Guardian
      • Offers a few battery-saving controls, the option App power saving can close any app, if it uses an increased amount of battery (the system decides), turn it off
      • Good Guardians is a low-level Samsung optimization app. Its Battery Guardian module will aggressively close any app that uses battery in the background even if you told standard Android settings to leave it alone
        • Open the Good Guardians app on your device
        • Tap on the Battery Guardian module
        • Find the App power saving option and toggle it OFF. (Leaving this on allows the system to automatically put EarthRanger to sleep if it detects high GPS battery usage)
    • Keep Open
      • Samsung allows you to lock an app into the phone's active memory (RAM) so the system cannot terminate it, even if you accidentally tap "Close All."
      • Open the EarthRanger app.
      • Swipe up from the bottom of your screen (or tap the square navigation button) to open the Recent Apps menu.
      • Tap the EarthRanger icon located at the top center of the app's preview card.
      • Select Keep open from the drop-down menu.

Note: A small padlock icon will appear in the bottom corner of the app card, indicating it is now locked in the background. (On Android 14, Samsung usually limits you to keeping only 1 app open this way at a time).

Android 13? Take these steps

Step 1: Set Battery Usage to Unrestricted

This is the most crucial step to ensure the operating system doesn't kill the app to save power.

  • Go to Settings > Apps
  • Scroll down and tap on EarthRanger
  • Tap Battery
  • Select Unrestricted

Step 2: Stop the Device from Pausing the App

Android 13 has a feature that automatically revokes permissions and puts an app to sleep if it thinks you aren't actively interacting with the screen.

  • Go to Settings > Apps
  • Tap on EarthRanger
  • Scroll down to the bottom of the app info page
  • Turn OFF the toggle for Pause app activity if unused (on some slightly older versions, this may still say Remove permissions if app is unused)

Step 3: Disable Auto-Restart

Samsung devices often try to automatically restart themselves overnight or when idle to optimize performance. If your phone restarts while you are out in the field, your EarthRanger track will immediately stop.

  • Go to Settings > Battery and device care
  • Scroll down and tap Auto optimization
  • Turn OFF the toggle for Restart when needed

Android 11? Take these steps

  • Samsung will prevent apps work in the background by default unless you exclude apps from battery optimizations.
  • You need to tell the system not to optimize EarthRanger's battery usage so it can run freely.
    • Go to your device Settings > Apps
    • Scroll down and tap on EarthRanger
    • Tap Battery, then tap Optimize battery usage or Battery Optimization
    • Tap the dropdown menu at the top (it usually says "Apps not optimized") and change it to All
    • Scroll down the list to find EarthRanger and toggle the switch to the OFF position (Don't optimize) - Disabling this toggle means the app will NOT be optimized
    • Open Battery > Background usage limits and check the list 
    • Make sure Put unused apps to sleep is disabled 
    • Optional but highly recommended: Tap on Never sleeping apps, tap the + (plus) icon at the top right, select EarthRanger from the list, and tap Add. This guarantees Samsung will never force the app into a deep sleep while you are tracking.

Ulefone devices

If you are using a Ulefone device (such as the Armor series) and your tracking stops when the screen turns off, the device's aggressive battery-saving features are likely forcing EarthRanger to close.

Work through these four steps to ensure EarthRanger is allowed to run uninterrupted in the background.

Step 1: Whitelist EarthRanger in DuraSpeed (Most Important)

Ulefone devices use a system level task-killer called DuraSpeed. You must tell DuraSpeed to leave EarthRanger alone (whitelist it).

  • Open your device Settings
  • Scroll to the very bottom and tap on DuraSpeed to open the "Switch on to allow apps to run in the background" page
  • Scroll through the list of installed apps to find EarthRanger
  • Toggle the switch next to EarthRanger to the ON position (whitelist it)

Note: Alternatively, you can toggle the main DuraSpeed switch at the top of the screen to OFF to disable the feature entirely (which will also stop its constant notifications). However, on some Ulefone models, DuraSpeed may quietly turn itself back on when the phone restarts, so switching EarthRanger to "ON" is the safest method.

Step 2: Set Battery Usage to Unrestricted

Even with DuraSpeed configured, standard Android battery optimization can still put the app to sleep

  • Go to Settings > Apps (or App Management)
  • Find and tap on EarthRanger
  • Tap Battery or App battery usage
  • Select Unrestricted (or "Don't optimize")

Step 3: Verify Background Location Permissions

EarthRanger cannot record a track if it loses GPS access when you close the screen.

  • Go to Settings > Apps > EarthRanger.
  • Tap Permissions > Location.
  • Select Allow all the time. (If this is set to "Allow only while using the app," tracking will instantly stop as soon as your screen goes dark).

There may be more settings under terms like Adaptive Battery or Adaptive Power Saving to check and confirm optimizations are turned off. 

 

 

EarthRanger version 2.11.2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up Next: Explore Patrols Feed and Details in EarthRanger Web