How does MileIQ determine a drive?
MileIQ uses the last known end point for one trip as the start point for the next trip.
MileIQ needs at least a half mile (0.8 km) difference in reported location to recognize a new trip. Depending on where the last known location data came from (cell tower, Wifi hotspot, etc.) and where the next data point comes from, there can be up to a mile (1.6 km) variance for MileIQ to know that a new trip has started. Drives under a mile (1.6 km) may occasionally be disregarded due to this variance.
Additionally, MileIQ uses complex formulas for measuring speed to help eliminate movement that might be a walk on the slow side or a plane ride on the fast side.
Once a drive has been detected, MileIQ takes roughly 15 minutes after the drive to 'settle' on whether you have come to a resting point. It is only at this point that MileIQ will record the drive and download a Drive Card to the app. Brief stops may be automatically joined together due to this settling time. Conversely, if you are stopped (either intentionally or due to heavy traffic) for 15 minutes or longer before a new location point is detected, a drive card will likely be created for that segment of the trip.
The behavior of disregarding drives or splitting up drives unintentionally is more pronounced if WiFi is turned off on your device. Even though it may seem counterintuitive, devices are designed to use hotspot proximity (and if you're in an urban area, you pass thousands of them a day) to register location information.
They did this because Wi-Fi is actually far more efficient on batteries than other location sources like GPS while at the same time providing more data points for calculating location more accurately. This is especially helpful for shorter trips or in heavy traffic as it may take a while for a drive to cross over between one cell tower to another, whereas passing between Wifi hotspots happens more frequently and allows MileIQ to more accurately detect continued movement.
Note: Your phone does not have to be connected to a WiFi signal, it just needs to be able to detect available networks.
If WiFi is not enabled on your device, turn it on and you should see improved performance.
In the event a drive is missed, you can easily add drives to your account at the MileIQ web dashboard (same email and password as the app). Choose "Add+" from the bottom menu bar and then enter your departure and arrival locations (from the drop-down menus) and the time and date.
Please know that we are constantly 'tuning' our formulas to get better at detecting drives. Thank you for your patience as we continue to develop this emerging technology.
Be sure to follow our Drive Detection Best Practices to ensure your device is setup properly to automatically capture drives.