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Start with the tracked entity’s coordinates, not the map display. Home Assistant’s Map card can show an entity only when it has both latitude and longitude. If those coordinates are absent or wrong, check the integration or phone reporting them; if they are correct, check which tracker a Person uses and whether the dashboard includes it.
First identify what is missing
Are you looking at Home Assistant’s default Map dashboard, or a Map card added to a manually configured dashboard? A custom card may have a fixed list of entities that leaves out an otherwise working tracker. The Home Assistant Map card documentation explains entity selection and display settings.
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- If only one phone or person is missing, inspect that entity and the card’s entity list.
- If all markers are missing, check whether the entities have coordinates and whether the card is configured to show them.
- If a marker appears in the wrong place, verify the source coordinates before changing zones or map settings.
Check the source device_tracker coordinates
In Home Assistant, open Settings > Tools > States, search for the relevant device_tracker.* entity, and inspect its state and attributes. Look for latitude, longitude, and, when available, gps_accuracy. The device_tracker integration documentation describes tracker states and attributes. The presence detection walkthrough also shows how to find tracker entities under Settings > Devices & services > Entities.
- One or both coordinates are missing: The Map card cannot draw a marker for that entity. Troubleshoot the integration that supplies it rather than editing the map first.
- The state is
unknown: Home Assistant does not yet know the entity’s state.unavailablemeans the entity is currently unavailable. - Coordinates exist but are wrong: Check the source integration or the phone’s location reporting. The coordinates are the map’s location data; there is no single correction that applies to every inaccurate reading.
- The tracker comes from Wi-Fi, a router, or another connection source: It may report that the device is connected to a known network or zone, not provide a live GPS position. A connection tracker is not a substitute for a position tracker when you need exact location.
Check whether the dashboard includes the entity
Once the source entity has valid coordinates, check how the Map card chooses what to display. A manually configured card can list entities explicitly; include the relevant person.* or device_tracker.* ID in that list. Alternatively, show_all: true adds all entities with coordinates, while geo_location_sources selects geolocation sources. A working tracker can therefore be absent simply because the card does not include it.
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If you are using the default Map dashboard and previously took manual control of it, it will no longer automatically receive newly available dashboard elements. Home Assistant’s Map card documentation describes creating a new default dashboard if you want automatic updates again.
When the marker is a Person, verify its selected tracker
A person entity can use multiple assigned trackers and copies location information from whichever source it selects. Open Settings > People, select the person, and review the assigned devices and entities. Add the intended tracker if it is missing; remove an obsolete or stationary tracker if it should not represent that person. The Person integration documentation explains source selection.
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Home Assistant’s selection rules distinguish whether the person is home or away: connected connection trackers are prioritized while the person is home, then position trackers; away from home, position trackers are considered first, with tracker recency affecting the selected source. The Person’s latitude, longitude, gps_accuracy, and in_zones come from that selected tracker. As a result, the raw phone tracker and Person marker can differ when different sources are selected. Compare both entities’ attributes to see which location is being used.
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If the phone’s device_tracker is the Android Companion App, check that the app is allowed to collect and send location in the background. In the app, select the correct server, then open Settings > Companion app > Manage sensors. Enable Background location, Location zone, and Single accurate Location.
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- Grant the app location permission all the time. On Android 12 or later, allow precise location as well.
- Make sure the phone’s location service or GPS is on.
- Allow background activity and disable battery optimization for the app. Also check the phone maker’s own power-saving controls, which may restrict background apps.
- Allow unrestricted data for the app so Data Saver does not block reporting.
To find out whether updates are reaching Home Assistant, open the Companion App’s Troubleshooting > Location tracking screen and enable location history. Its log covers the last 48 hours and indicates whether reports were sent or skipped, including skips related to timing, accuracy, or duplicates. The Companion App FAQ says Android should receive location updates multiple times an hour; this describes expected update behavior, not a guaranteed interval for a map marker to refresh. See the Home Assistant Companion App troubleshooting FAQ.
If the log shows a valid location skipped for accuracy, compare the reported accuracy with the sensor’s configured threshold. The FAQ illustrates increasing a threshold when a location around 350 meters is skipped, but warns that larger values can produce inconsistent results. Treat that as an example, not a setting to copy: use the reported coordinates and accuracy in your own log to decide whether a change is appropriate.
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For the documented iOS location error
If the iOS Companion App reports the documented manual-refresh/location kCLError, its FAQ says to set the app’s location permission to Always under iOS Location Services. Android’s sensor and battery-setting checklist is not an identical set of iOS instructions.
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Check zones and the home marker after coordinates
Zones classify a location; they do not repair incorrect source coordinates. A tracker’s state may be the name of the smallest zone containing it, home when it is inside the home zone, or not_home when it is outside every zone. Its in_zones attribute lists the zones it is in, smallest first. Check these only after the coordinates look plausible.
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If the tracked point is correct but the house icon is in the wrong place, edit the home location in Home information. The Map card’s house icon represents the home zone. Add or adjust other zones separately through zone settings. The presence detection walkthrough covers setting up location and zones.
Quick Recap
Rule out map display behavior
- Overlapping markers: The card clusters nearby markers by default. Use its grouping control to turn clustering on or off.
- Map is centered elsewhere: Use Reset focus to refit the view to the displayed entities.
- No trail behind the marker:
hours_to_showcontrols the past-location trace and defaults to zero hours. A missing historical path does not mean the current marker is broken.
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