Traccar Client 9.3.0

With this release we added a few more configuration options to make the app more reliable for live tracking with frequent reporting. I also want to documentation all the settings in the app so that it is more clear on how and when to use them. Note that some of these settings are Android only and iOS doesn't have equivalent, mostly due to OS restrictions.

Settings:

• Device identifier - unique device id you should use on the server side
• Server URL - server URL (should be a full valid URL and not just host name); correct port in the latest version of Traccar is 5055
• Location accuracy - here are the rough guidelines of what each means, but there's no exact one to one mapping:
  • High - usually GPS, but can fallback to lower accuracy location if GPS is not available
  • Medium - typically WiFi + cell location
  • Low - usually cell only, but depends on the system
• Distance - main parameter that indicates that you want location every N meters when moving; exact result is not always guaranteed and depends on many factors, like battery optimization, GPS signal etc
• Interval - if distance is set to 0, Android supports time-based reporting; again, the result is not guaranteed
• Stationary heartbeat - the new app has a concept of two different states: moving/stationary; when moving, it will use distance or interval, but when stationary it will use heartbeat interval
• Advanced settings
  • Fastest interval - if you don't want locations to be too frequent, it's possible to restrict maximum frequency using this parameter
  • Offline buffering - store locations locally if network is unavailable and upload them to the server later
  • Wake lock - this option is available on Android only enabled partial wake lock when in motion; this means your device will not go into a sleep mode, so this will improve reliability, but will impact battery life
  • Stop detection - by default moving/stationary is detected automatically, but using this setting the automatic detection can be disabled; when disabled, there will be a switch on the main screen to change between there states manually

There's another small change on Android that should help with reliable background tracking. When you enable continuous tracking, the app will prompt to add battery optimization exception. This is needed if you want to make sure background tracking is reliably. Otherwise the phone can randomly go into deep sleep mode, which will result in large data gaps. Settings might be vendor specific. I recommend checking Don't kill my app! website for details on your specific device.

This helps a lot! Thank you, Anton. Regarding the "Active movement" option, can you explain how it is used? I guess it will detect movement of the device when this option is checked, then report a new location. But having this option, why do we need the "Stop detection" option under Advanced?

Active movement option is only available if you disable automatic movement/stop detection. In that case you have to set the state manually yourself. Active movement OFF means stop, ON means movement.

I also recommend reading this to understand what those states mean and how automatic detection work:

https://github.com/transistorsoft/flutter_background_geolocation/wiki/Philosophy-of-Operation

Thanks alot for the documentation it is indeed much appreciated. Here is a virtual high five for you :D

Will text v9.3 very soon as report the findings

Thanks for the explanations!

For "Stop Detection" does this mean that movement detection is "Stopped" or that the app detects your "Stops" when this toggle is turned on? I think the latter since on is default.

If I have "stop detection" turned ON, and "Interval" set to 10 seconds, should I be getting an updated each 10 seconds?

Stop detection switch affects the way stops and movements are detected. If it's ON, it's automatic. If it's OFF, it's manual switch in the app.

My oprimal tweaked traccar client setup config on version 9.3.0. Thanks to Anton for workable guide.

I'm seeing incorrect speed values on several devices running the new client. For example, when I'm driving at 100km/hr it reports at 50km/hr. When doing 80km/hr it reports at 43km/hr. Could the client be recording knots but displaying in km/hr?

I'm seeing the same issue in 9.3.0 on a Google Pixel 6a and 9.2.0 on a Samsung Galaxy A53 and Traccar server 6.7.1
The issue is not present in the old client on the same server.

Yes you should update to server v6.7.3. It contains a fix for speed (was saving mps instead of knots)

https://github.com/traccar/traccar-client/issues/17

As per my initial testing of v 9.3.0 . It appears to be an improvement in the right direction but it still is far less consistent and reliable than the old version in my opinion. Will post my finding later on alongside the logs and the supporting data

Thanks! I'll upgrade and see how it goes.

Antony please provide details on what settings you used in the old app and in the new app.

I now have version 9.3.1, and the client still sends poorly or not at all. Jumps of several hundred meters are only executed when I actively click on "Send Location." The distance is set to 100m, and the heartbeat is set to 3600s.

I'm missing the angle setting. That was there before, wasn't it?

Before if you set angle or distance, it will basically keep GPS always on. You should be able to achieve something similar just by setting low distance/interval.