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Why an Employee's Location Isn't Updating & How to Fix It

Why an employee's live location stops updating in Teamsly and how to get it working again

If an employee's location pin on the Live Status map hasn't moved in a while, or if their route shows large gaps, their device has likely lost GPS signal or stopped sending location updates. Here's how to diagnose and fix it.

Why Location Stops Updating

The most common reasons an employee's location stops refreshing on the manager dashboard:

  • Location permission changed to "While Using" — If an employee updated their app permissions, location tracking may have stopped when the app went to the background.

  • Battery Saver mode is on — Both iOS and Android restrict background location access when Battery Saver is active to conserve power.

  • The app was force-closed — If the employee manually closed Teamsly, background location updates stop until the app is reopened.

  • Poor GPS signal — The employee may be in an area with limited signal — indoors, underground, or in a dense building. Location resumes automatically once signal returns.

  • Background App Refresh is off (iOS) — Go to Settings → General → Background App Refresh and make sure it's enabled for Teamsly.

  • Sleeping apps (Android) — Go to Settings → Battery → Background usage limits → Sleeping apps and remove Teamsly if it's listed.

Steps to Fix It

Have the employee try the following in order:

  1. Open the Teamsly app to bring it to the foreground — this forces a location update immediately.

  2. Check that location permission is set to Always (iOS) or Allow all the time (Android) in device Settings.

  3. Turn off Battery Saver mode.

  4. On Android, check that Teamsly is not in the Sleeping Apps list and remove it if so.

  5. On iOS, make sure Background App Refresh is enabled for Teamsly.

  6. Step outside to a location with a clear view of the sky to get a fresh GPS fix.

  7. If still not updating, restart the device and reopen the app.

💡 If an employee's location was updating fine but then stopped mid-shift, Battery Saver or a permission change is almost always the cause. Checking those two things first will resolve it in most cases.

Gaps in the Route Map

If you see gaps in an employee's route on the map — where their path jumps from one location to another — this means GPS signal was temporarily lost during that period. Teamsly resumes recording from the point where signal returned. The clock-in and clock-out timestamps are not affected by signal gaps.

What to Read Next

Need help? Click Book a Call in the top right of the app to talk with the Teamsly team.

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