09/17/2026
Are you prepared to provide your location coordinates should the need arise?
You could be stranded and need to provide them to a tow company, get lost and need assistance from search and rescue, or maybe you see something that needs to be reported to law enforcement. If one of these situations were to arise, and you didn’t have a traditional street address or cross streets to reference could you confidently look up your location coordinates on your mobile device?
Many people believe that if they call 911 the dispatcher will automatically receive their precise location – this is not the case. Initially, the 911 call taker is only able to see the device’s phone number and the location of the cell tower connecting the call. The 911 operator can rebid the location information to obtain an updated and more accurate caller location, which provides coordinates and a range of certainty, but this range ring may be very large.
Maybe you will have to walk away from your vehicle or drive away from the location that needs to be reported to law enforcement to obtain cellular network coverage – follow the steps below before you depart and take a screenshot of the coordinates at the exact spot so you can provide them later. GPS is completely independent of cellular network coverage. You can be in airplane mode and still use GPS on your device.
iPhone — Compass
Tap the Search field located right above the dock area on your home screen. Type in “compass”. If you can’t find the search field, alternatively you can locate and open the utilities folder that comes standard on every iPhone home screen. Open the built-in Compass app and look at the bottom of the screen. The latitude and longitude are displayed underneath the compass along with the nearest recognized city. Apple Compass displays coordinates in degrees, minutes and seconds. Simply relay the coordinates exactly as they appear on your screen.
Android User?
Unfortunately, Android does not have a universal built-in Compass app. There are, however, free compass and GPS apps available that display your latitude and longitude. We encourage you to download one, learn where it displays your coordinates and test it before the need arises.
If you choose not to download one, Google Maps can be your backup, though it relies on you as the user to be accurate when dropping a pin. Open Google Maps and tap the target button (lower right side of screen, looks like compass needle) to center the map on the current device location. Look for the blue dot. This represents where the device thinks it is. The light-blue circle surrounding it represents the uncertainty in that position; generally, a smaller circle means a better location fix. Press and hold directly on the blue dot to drop a pin. The latitude and longitude of the pin will appear in the search box at the top of the screen in decimal degrees.
Location Services Must be On!
Your device and the app you want to use must have permission to determine your location. If you don’t see coordinates or your position isn’t appearing correctly, Location Services should be one of the first things you check.
iPhone: Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services and make sure it is turned on. You should also confirm that the Compass app has permission to access your location.
Android: Settings → Location → Use location and make sure it is turned on. The exact wording may vary slightly between Android manufacturers.
