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Unfortunately, when this occurs there are few solutions.
a) You can uninstall Mapeo Mobile from your cell phone, but YOU WILL LOSE ALL THE DATA you have collected so far. You will only be able to recover them if you have previously synchronized with another device.
b) You can contact Digital Democracy using our multilingual mapeo-users chat at Discord.
Check these links to solve the most common problems with the use of GPS in Mapeo:
To solve this problem, we suggest you explore the different solutions, in this order:
Confirm that the GPS sensors are enabled. For it:
On the GPS Details screen, make sure that in the Sensor Status section at the end of each line, it says YES.
First of all, make sure that you have GPS enabled on your cell phone. It will be different on each phone, but GPS or Location services can usually be found in the Quick Settings menu, which can be accessed by swiping down from the top of the screen.
Confirm that Mapeo Mobile has access to the GPS. The GPS details button at the top of the home screen will change from red to a green dot and the accuracy of the GPS signal
If you turn on the GPS on your device while using Mapeo, you may need to restart Mapeo for the app to recognize that the GPS is turned on and change the status of the GPS details button.
If the GPS details button at the top of the home screen remains red , make sure you have given Mapeo permission to use your phone's GPS. To learn more, see:
Click on GPS Details
In the event that one or more sensors are not activated or enabled, please check the manufacturer's manual for your device to activate it.
If you have managed to enable GPS in Mapeo but only manage to have a very weak signal, please visit
Common technical issues
Very important: If you uninstall Mapeo trying to solve problems, you will lose all data if you have not synchronized with someone before or you have not created a backup.
See additional information and troubleshooting steps for some common technical issues in the pages below:
Typically, this is because you have not given Mapeo permission to use the phone's camera, or the permissions have expired due to not using Mapeo for a long period of time. To change this, you have to follow these steps: I want to update Mapeo Mobile permissions
See the pages below for troubleshooting tips on some common Synchronization issues:
Normally, it happens when there is no good communication between the GPS and the satellite. There may be one or more factors that cause the problem: problems with low satellite coverage, being indoors or in places with a lot of vegetation, not having activated the phone's GPS, or damage to the device's hardware and software, among others.
To solve this problem, we suggest you explore the different solutions, in this order:
Confirm that the GPS sensors are enabled. For it:
On the GPS Details screen, make sure that in the Sensor Status section at the end of each line, it says YES.
If you still have a weak GPS signal, try these tips:
Locate in clear places or without vegetation.
In the field, if you have a bad signal, take the phone out of the case (especially useful for CAD phones, rugged phones, etc).
Perform a calibration of the GPS sensor. For more information check this link.
Validate that the date and time of your device are updated. For this, follow these steps:
Open the Settings app on your phone.
Click System and then select Date and time.
Click Automatic. If the option is disabled, check that the correct date, time, and time zone are selected.
In the event that it fails to update the time and date, turn off the Automatic date and time option, then manually change the corresponding time and date.
Activate the high-precision function in the GPS. For more information check this link.
If, despite having tried several solutions, the GPS signal does not improve, you always have the option of using another phone or GPS device to identify the GPS data and enter it manually in Mapeo. If the GPS signal at the time of saving the observation has an accuracy less than ± 10 m, Mapeo will automatically offer you three options. Click MANUAL COORDS to manually enter the coordinates you want to use.
You can choose which GPS data format you want to use to enter the coordinates. This is a useful option if you have a GPS or other phone device with better GPS signal accuracy.
Make sure you have Mapeo installed on your phone or computer. If you are not clear about the steps to install Mapeo, check:
2. Reboot your device and try again.
3. Make sure your device has enough free space available.
If none of this works, there are unfortunately few solutions:
a) You can uninstall Mapeo Mobile from your cell phone, but YOU WILL LOSE ALL THE DATA you have collected so far. You will only be able to recover them if you have previously synchronized with another device.
b) You can contact Digital Democracy using our multilingual mapping-users chat at Discord.
If you didn't allow Mapeo Mobile access to your phone's camera and GPS the first time you opened Mapeo, you won't be able to include pictures or GPS information in your collected data.
Creating a local Wi-Fi network is especially useful when it comes to synchronization since Mapeo allows multiple devices to synchronize with each other without the need for the internet, simply by using a Wi-Fi network. Here are two ways to create a Wi-Fi network:
An error message during synchronization between two Mapeo devices can occur due to several factors. In addition, the messages may be different depending on the situation. The most common are:
Errors with a yellow or red symbol with the message "Error sync terminated"
or "Error: read ECONNRES..."
, occur when one of the devices has lost Wi-Fi connection or left the Synchronization screen during the synchronization process and when the synchronization has not been successful.
The white screen with the text "Something is happening with the Mapeo database"
also indicates a failed or interrupted synchronization.
Make sure both devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Check that the Wi-Fi hotspot is working properly. You can see the Wi-Fi signal on the Synchronization screen of Mapeo Desktop. The higher the signal quality, the more secure the synchronization process will be.
Try to sync the devices again. It is very important that you do not close the Synchronization screen on any device while the synchronization is taking place.
If you still have problems, check the status of the database on Mapeo Desktop. To do this, click Help on the Mapeo Desktop top menu bar and select Database Status.
If Mapeo is not displaying the device you are trying to sync with on the Synchronize screen, start by confirming the following:
For two devices to sync via Wi-Fi, both need to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network. This Wi-Fi network does not need to have an internet connection.
Wi-Fi status for your computer may be displayed at the top of the Synchronize screen, under the "Available Devices" header.
Mapeo devices will only appear as available to sync if both devices have the Synchronize screen open. The Synchronize screen should be kept open until the sync process is complete.
See below for instructions on how to open the Synchronize screen:
In order for two Mapeo devices to sync, they must be using the same configuration. A Mapeo device using a different configuration file will not show up in the list of Available devices on the Synchronize screen.
See below for instructions on how to confirm which configuration is currently in use:
To confirm which configuration Mapeo Mobile is currently using, consult the white bar at the bottom of the Synchronize screen.
If you have confirmed all of the steps above and the device you are trying to sync with still does not show up on your Synchronize screen, try restarting Mapeo on both devices.
Creating a hotspot, or portable Wi-Fi area from your smartphone, can be useful when synchronizing. Especially, if you don't have access to a Wi-Fi network or a portable router, you can use a third cell phone to create a hotspot and create a network to which other devices can connect and sync.
You cannot create a hotspot and sync at the same time, so you will need an extra phone to create the hotspot.
To create a hotspot, follow the steps below:
On the main screen of your mobile, click on Settings
Click Portable Wi-Fi hotspot and turn it on using the toggle
On the main screen of your mobile, click on Settings
Click Wi-Fi. Activate it and check the list of Available networks
If the hotspot network created does not appear, click Refresh
Click on the hotspot network created and enter the password
Click Connect. The connection will start shortly
With this method, you can share your phone's mobile data with up to 10 devices using a Wi-Fi hotspot.
Important note: Make sure to turn off Mobile Data on the phone that creates the hotspot.
Your telephone company may charge additional fees for using this feature.
Some of these steps only work on Android 9 and later versions.
To sync with a sync file, the configuration the sync file was created with must be the same as the configuration used by the device you want to sync with.
First of all, check that this is the case. To do this, check what configuration the computer you want to sync with is using, and find out what configuration the computer that created the sync file uses. You can check the configuration used in Mapeo Desktop at the bottom of the Synchronization screen.
If the configuration is not the same, you have two possible options:
Option A: Change the settings on the target computer
On the computer where you want to sync the file, import the configuration used to create the sync file. For it:
In the popup window, navigate to the folder on the computer where you saved the configuration file (.mapeosettings
) that you want to import. Click the file, then click Open. You may see a white screen for a few seconds while the configuration is changed.
Try again to sync with the desired sync file.
Option B: Change settings on the source computer
On the computer where the sync file was created, import the configuration you're using on the computer you want to sync with and recreate the sync file. To do so, follow the next steps:
In the popup window, navigate to the folder on the computer where you saved the configuration file (.mapeosettings
) that you want to import. Click the file, then click Open. You may see a white screen for a few seconds while the configuration is changed.
Re-create the sync file, from the Synchronization screen, by clicking the Create Sync File button. Do not close or exit the Synchronization screen until the process is complete. Closing in the middle of the process could create a corrupt sync file.
On the destination computer, on the Synchronize screen, click Synchronize with synchronization file.
Browse the popup window until you find the desired file and click Open. Do not close the synchronization screen until you have finished the synchronization process. Closing in the middle of the process could corrupt data.
Normally, the use of different versions does not cause problems when synchronizing, although if the versions are very different from each other, it can be problematic. If the sync file was created with a version of Mapeo that is very old or different from the one you use on the computer you want to sync with, you could have problems. To fix this problem, follow the steps below:
Make sure the sync file was created using the same version of Mapeo that the computer you want to sync with is using. In Mapeo Desktop, you can see the version used at the bottom left of the Mapeo modes panel.
If they use the same version, skip to the next step.
There may be a few factors that lead to a corrupt sync file. One of them could be leaving the synchronization page before the process of creating a synchronization file has been completed. Another could be that you have synced the file with a corrupted database. But there could be more factors.
To address this issue, follow the steps below:
If possible, create a new sync file and try to sync with the destination computer again. Do not close the synchronization screen until you have finished the process. Closing in the middle of the process could create a corrupt sync file.
To investigate on your own if the sync file is corrupted, you can use the following clues:
If when creating the synchronization file, Mapeo has been frozen for many hours, it is likely that you have corrupted data.
If when synchronizing with a synchronization file, Mapeo Desktop freezes for many hours in the synchronization process, without increasing the number of Data or Images, it is likely that the synchronization file contains corrupted data.
If there are observations with photographs in your Mapeo Desktop or Mobile database that you cannot open, it is likely that those observations are corrupted.
If in your Mapeo Desktop or Mobile database there are observations with dates that don't make any sense (for example, 1970), it is likely that those observations are corrupted.
See below for details on how to connect to a WiFi network:
The details may vary for each smartphone, but Wi-Fi settings can generally be found in the Quick Settings menu, which can be accessed by swiping down from the top of your screen.
Tap the toggle to turn on Wi-Fi, then tap the name of the Wi-Fi network you would like to connect to. Enter the password if required and tap Connect.
As you know, when synchronizing with another Mapeo user, ALL DATA is shared in both directions. When you sync with someone, you will receive all of the observations on their phone and they will receive all of your observations. All edits and deletions that have been made to data will also be transferred to the other device during sync. For example, if a person deletes or edits an observation and then syncs with other devices, this observation will be deleted or edited on all synced devices.
Let's give a practical example:
It can happen that someone misunderstood the behavior of data syncing and deleted some of the data they collected in Mapeo Mobile after having synced with their peers, thinking that data would already be safe in a central database. This is not how Mapeo works. What will happen is that the data you delete on your phone, will be deleted from everyone's phones after syncing with them.
How to prevent the data deleted on one device from being deleted from other devices after syncing?
There is a work-around to prevent this, but it can be very time-consuming. Mapeo sync works under the premise that if multiple users edit the same observation before syncing with each other, the changes that will prevail after syncing are the most recent ones.
Knowing this, before syncing with the person that deleted the data, you can explore your database in Mapeo Desktop, identify the observations created and deleted by the person that deleted data, and make a small edit to each of them. After that, sync your Mapeo Desktop device with the other person's device. This way, after syncing with the person that deleted the data, not only will your data will not be deleted, but the person that deleted the data will get the data back.
Here you have an example of an activity that you can practice with your team to clarify this behavior:
How can you prevent this from happening again?
We recommend using portable wireless routers of the TP-LINK type.
To connect to the router, follow the steps below:
Connect the router to a power source, such as a computer, using the USB cable.
Make sure the router is in 3G/4G mode (there is a button on the side of the router).
Enter the password on the cell phones and/or computers you want to sync. Now they should be ready to be able to sync Mapeo data.
First of all, make sure that you have GPS enabled on your cell phone. It will be different on each phone, but GPS or Location services can usually be found in the Quick Settings menu, which can be accessed by swiping down from the top of the screen.
Confirm that Mapeo Mobile has access to the GPS. The GPS details button at the top of the home screen will display a green dot and the accuracy of the GPS signal:
If you turn on GPS on your device while using Mapeo, you may need to restart Mapeo for the app to recognize that GPS is turned on and for it to change the state of the GPS details button.
Click on GPS Details
In the event that one or more sensors are not activated or enabled, please check the manufacturer's manual for your device to activate it.
Click Save once you have manually entered the coordinates to return to the Edit Observation screen.
Once installed, you have to click on the Mapeo icon on your cell phone (Mapeo Mobile) or on your computer (Mapeo Desktop). If despite this, it does not work, go to the next point.
To change that, go to Settings on your device, then click on Apps, Manage Apps and select Mapeo. Click on App permissions and allow access to Camera and Location.
Check that your Mapeo database is not damaged. To learn more, see
If the problem is not resolved, please contact the Digital Democracy technical team via our multilingual mapeo-users chat on for advice.
For more info on how to connect to Wi-Fi, see .
On the Synchronize screen you can view your device's current Wi-Fi status. If connected to Wi-Fi, the name of the network will appear on the left-hand side of the navy blue bar. If your device is not connected to Wi-Fi, you will see a "No WiFi" message with a prompt to open your device's Wi-Fi settings.
If you are currently connected, you may see the name of the Wi-Fi network and the current strength of the signal. (Eg. FIOS 7S5YS **QUALITY: 70%
** ).
In some cases, Mapeo Desktop will not be able to access your computer's Wi-Fi information and no Wi-Fi details will be displayed on the Synchronize screen. This does not mean that your computer is not connected. For more on confirming Wi-Fi status from your computer's operating system, see .
To learn more about configurations, see .
To confirm which configuration Mapeo Mobile is currently using, tap Observations list on the home screen, then tap Settings. On the Settings screen, select Project configuration to view the name and version of the configuration in use.
For more on how to import a new configuration file into Mapeo Mobile, see .
For more on how to import a new configuration file into Mapeo Desktop, see .
Turn off Mobile Data on your phone. Details will vary for each phone, but Mobile Data settings can usually be found in the Quick Settings menu, which can be accessed by swiping down from the top of the screen. Click the switch to disable Mobile Data.
Click Set up portable Wi-Fi hotspot and edit or review the password and hotspot name (SSID). You can view the password by clicking View.
Currently, only computers with Mapeo Desktop installed can sync with a sync file (.mapeodata
). If you're having trouble syncing with a sync file, explore the various solutions, in this order:
On Mapeo Desktop, on the Top menu bar, click File and select Import Configuration.
Restart Mapeo Desktop.
On Mapeo Desktop, on the Top menu bar, click File and select Import Configuration.
Restart Mapeo Desktop.
Share the sync file with the computer you want to sync with. For more information on this point, see
2. If they are not using the same version, you will need to update Mapeo on the device that is using the older version. For more information visit
If it is not possible to create a new sync file again, or if you have tried it and it does not work, contact the Digital Democracy technical team through our multilingual mapeo-users chat on .
You can try deleting that data and creating a new sync file (.mapeodata
), but we think it's safer to contact Digital Democracy's technical team via our multilingual mapeo-users chat for advice.
Click on the Windows menu button, select Settings, click on Network and Internet. In the left menu panel, click on the Wi-Fi option. Toggle the Wi-Fi option to On to enable your Wi-Fi adapter. Connect to the WiFi network you prefer. You might be asked for the password.
A short path is to click on the Wi-Fi icon in the toolbar in the lower-left corner of your computer screen. If it isn't there, click the arrow to see if it's grouped with the other icons on your toolbar. Click on the larger Wi-Fi box that appears in the pop-up menu and select the WiFi network you want to connect to.
Mapeo sync can be a tricky and complex process and the functioning of the peer-to-peer database is not always easy to understand. It is important to create project synchronization protocols to ensure that all data becomes part of the project database. For more on that, see .
On the phones and/or computers you want to synchronize, search for the Wi-Fi network created by the router. The router has a label attached to it, with the name of your Wi-Fi network and the password.
SSID indicates the name of the WiFi Network, in this example, it is TP-Link_2088
KEY / PIN indicates the password, in this example, it is 57880457
You can back up Mapeo Desktop data using your operating system's file manager. Mapeo Desktop stores its data in the Mapeo/kappa.db
directory on your computer's default application data directory. The default application data directory location may vary depending upon your operating system.
The default application data directory locations are:
%APPDATA% or C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Mapeo\kappa.db
on Windows
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME or ~/.config/Mapeo/kappa.db
on Linux
~/Library/Application Support/Mapeo/kappa.db
on macOS
You can backup data by copying the kappa.db
directory to a new location. To transfer data to a new Mapeo Desktop application on a different computer, copy kappa.db
directory into the Mapeo
directory.
All content in this guide can be saved in PDF format or printed for use offline.
Choose one of the options from the Export as PDF window:
Only this page Export only the content of the current page
This page and it's subpages Export this page and all of its subpages (only available for pages with subpages)
Entire space Export all pages from the Mapeo Materials guide
Click on Export. Once your file is ready to be downloaded, click on Download to save the file.
Please note that when exporting multiple pages, the export preparation may take several minutes.
The resulting PDF file will be saved in your Downloads folder by default.
Once you have exported a PDF of the desired material, locate the saved PDF file on your device and double click it to open. Go to File and select Print.
See the sections below for different file sharing options:
Configuration files (.mapeosettings
)
Installation files for Mapeo Mobile (.apk
)
Base maps (folder .zip
)
Sending installation (.apk
) and configuration (.mapeosettings
) files with other apps encounter problems with the size and type of the files.
These are the most common Mapeo files that you will want to share from a Mapeo Desktop computer:
Configuration files (.mapeosettings
)
Installation files for Mapeo Desktop (.exe
, .dmg
, .zip
, .AppImage
)
Base map folders
Sync files (.mapeodata
)
You can use multiple platforms to share files.
Configuration files (.mapeosettings
)
Installation files for Mapeo Mobile (.apk
)
To transfer files using Android's Bluetooth:
On the Bluetooth settings screen, tap Pair new device and wait for the list of AVAILABLE DEVICES to populate. The screen of both devices should be open and unlocked to appear available for syncing.
Once you see the device you would like to share files with and confirm its identity, tap on the device name to pair.
Confirm the code and the pair request on both devices.
To save a PDF, click on the Page actions menu to the right of a page title and select Export as PDF.
If you have access to an internet connection, you can share files in multiple ways. The optimal way depends on the size and type of the file. Below are our recommendations:
Some Mapeo files can be tricky to share from a Mapeo Mobile smartphone, because of their special formats. We recommend using Telegram app, email, or Google Drive to share the following files:
To share and add base maps to Mapeo Mobile, we recommend using a computer and a USB cable, because it requires navigation inside the file system of the smartphone and pasting the base map elements in a specific location. For instructions on that process, see Adding custom background maps to Mapeo Mobile You can also share larger files (up to 2GB) for free via Dropbox, WeTransfer, or other online platforms.
We recommend using email apps such as Gmail or Hotmail for sharing lightweight files (smaller than 10MB).
We recommend using Drive, Dropbox, WeTransfer to share heavier files as they allow you to send up to 2GB for free. You can use the Telegram Desktop app to send up to 1.5GB.
If you do not have access to an internet connection, there are multiple ways to share files between devices.
For transferring files between computers without an internet connection, we recommend using a USB drive or a cable. Although most computers can also share files via Bluetooth with other devices that are nearby, commonly shared files for Mapeo Desktop can be very heavy (e.g. Sync files (.mapeodata
)) and Bluetooth could take much longer than using a USB cable or drive.
Example: In this example, we will share a Mapeo installation file from one computer to another one completely offline, using a USB drive.
1. Connect a USB stick to the computer where you already have the installation file and open it.
2. Localize the installation file on the computer, click on it with the right button of the mouse, select Copy.
3. Use the right button of the mouse to Paste the previously copied installation file into your USB stick folder.
4. Disconnect the USB stick from the computer and connect it to the computer in which you want to install Mapeo Desktop.
6. Open the USB stick folder and localize the previously pasted installation file. Click on it with the right button of the mouse and select Copy.
7. On the desktop screen of the computer in which you want to install Mapeo Desktop, click on an empty space with the right button of the mouse and select Paste.
Android devices that are near each other can use Bluetooth to transfer files without an internet connection. The Bluetooth transfer will be quicker for lighter weight files, such as:
Activate Bluetooth on both devices. Bluetooth settings can generally be found in the Quick Settings menu, accessed by swiping down from the top of your screen.
Locate and select the file you wish to send and tap Share. Select Bluetooth in the share options and tap the name of the other device in the list.
You can also use Android apps for Bluetooth sharing, including SHAREit or others.
For transferring larger files (bigger than 10MB) such as base map folders, we recommend connecting to a computer and transferring via cable if possible. For more on adding base maps to Mapeo Mobile, see #adding-a-base-map-using-a-computer.