MileLedger

Applies to: Phone

Location permission issues

Automatic mileage tracking in MileLedger requires location access set to 'Always Allow' in iOS Settings. If tracking is not working, the most common cause is that location access has been set to 'While Using', 'Never', or has been reset by iOS. This guide shows how to check and correct location permissions.

Steps

  1. 1

    Open MileLedger location settings

    Go to Settings (phone Settings app) → scroll down and tap MileLedger → tap Location.

  2. 2

    Set location access to 'Always'

    On the Location screen, tap 'Always'. If you see only 'While Using the App' and 'Never' as options, you may need to select 'While Using the App' first — MileLedger will then prompt you to upgrade to 'Always' when you enable automatic tracking in the app.

  3. 3

    Enable Precise Location

    On the same Location screen, confirm that the 'Precise Location' toggle is on (green). Approximate location is not sufficient for accurate mileage tracking.

  4. 4

    Enable Motion & Fitness access (recommended)

    Go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Motion & Fitness and confirm that MileLedger is enabled. Motion data helps the app distinguish driving from walking or stationary activity, improving detection accuracy.

  5. 5

    Enable Background App Refresh

    Go to Settings → General → Background App Refresh → confirm the main toggle is on, and that MileLedger is enabled in the list of apps.

  6. 6

    Test with a drive

    After updating settings, take a short drive (at least half a mile) to confirm that a new trip appears automatically in the Drives tab within a few minutes of parking.

Why location access matters

MileLedger uses two location access modes: 'While Using' allows tracking only when the app is on screen; 'Always' allows MileLedger to receive location updates in the background, which is required for automatic drive detection.

iOS may reset location permissions after a major iOS update, after you reinstall the app, or if you restored your phone from a backup. It is worth verifying the setting if tracking suddenly stops working.

Expected results

  • MileLedger detects and records the test drive automatically.
  • No 'location permission' warning appears in the app.

Important notes

  • 'Always' location access is required for automatic tracking. 'While Using' will only track when MileLedger is the active foreground app.
  • iOS 14 and later adds a privacy indicator (orange dot) when an app uses location in the background. This is expected behavior — it confirms automatic tracking is working.
  • MileLedger uses location data solely for trip recording. See the MileLedger privacy policy for details on how location data is handled.

Common problems

The 'Always' option is greyed out or not available.

This can happen if you previously denied location access. Go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → MileLedger and change it there instead. If the option is still unavailable, check that Location Services is enabled at the top of the Location Services screen.

I granted 'Always' but iOS changed it back to 'While Using'.

iOS can downgrade 'Always' to 'While Using' if the app appears to be using location without a clear user benefit, or after an iOS update. Review the location setting periodically, particularly after iOS updates, and restore it to 'Always' as needed.

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