Using Your Phone’s Motion Data to Improve Drive Detection
MileIQ uses your phone's motion data (iOS) or physical activity (Android) to improve the accuracy of automatic drive detection. Enabling this setting helps the app better distinguish between real drives and other types of movement—like walks, bike rides, or quick stops.
🚗 Why Is Motion Data Important?
Motion data helps MileIQ:
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Prevent long drives from being split into multiple short ones
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More accurately determine when a trip starts and ends
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Avoid logging non-driving activities (e.g., walking or cycling)
Enabling this permission ensures more reliable, hands-free tracking of your drives.
You can pause automatic drive detection at any time from the MileIQ app.
📱 For iPhone Users
When you open the MileIQ app, you'll be prompted to enable Motion & Fitness Tracking if it’s not already on.
✅ How to Enable Motion Data on iOS:
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Open the MileIQ app
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Tap Enable Now when prompted
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You’ll be redirected to your device settings
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Toggle Motion & Fitness to ON
Can't toggle it on? Motion & Fitness might be turned off at the system level. To fix this:
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Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Motion & Fitness
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Toggle Fitness Tracking and MileIQ to ON
📍 Why “Always” Location Access Is Required
To detect drives even when MileIQ isn’t open, you need to set your location permission to Always:
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When prompted, choose Continue if you see the message:
“MileIQ has been using your location in the background. Do you want to continue allowing this?” -
Selecting Don’t Allow will disable location services and may cause drives to be missed.
⚠️ Important: Starting with iOS 16.4, Apple changed how third-party apps access background location. Motion data is now required for accurate tracking. Make sure it’s turned on.
🤖 For Android Users
When launching the MileIQ app, you’ll be prompted to enable Physical Activity if it’s not already set up.
✅ How to Enable Physical Activity on Android:
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Open the MileIQ app
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Tap Fix in Settings when prompted
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You'll be taken to MileIQ’s app permissions page
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Tap Permissions, then scroll down and tap Physical Activity
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Select Allow
And that’s it! Your app is now ready to capture drives more accurately.
Still Need Help?
If you're unsure whether motion data is enabled or you're having issues with drive detection, please visit support.mileiq.com for further assistance or troubleshooting tips.