Troubleshooting

Check first: the camera is in active pairing mode (the menu shows a 6-digit code or a "waiting for connection" screen). Cameras only advertise on Bluetooth while explicitly in pairing mode — they're silent the rest of the time.

If the camera was previously paired, the cleanest fix is to forget the pairing on both sides and re-pair:

1. On the camera: Network → Bluetooth → Managed Paired Device → Delete iPhone.
2. On the iPhone: Settings → Bluetooth → tap the (i) next to your camera → Forget this Device.
3. Turn the camera off and on again, then re-pair through Geotag Alpha.

If you're pairing for the first time and discovery is empty, also try:

• Force-quit and re-open Geotag Alpha. iOS occasionally caches a stale BLE scan.
• Toggle Bluetooth off and back on in iOS Settings.
• Move the phone within 1 metre of the camera for the initial pair. After that, ~10 metres is fine.

Check first: location permission is set to Always, not While Using. iOS revokes background BLE access otherwise.

To check: iOS Settings → Geotag Alpha → Location. If it says anything other than Always, change it.

Check first: in the camera menu, Location Info Link is set to On. The camera receives our pushes either way, but it won't write them into EXIF unless this setting is enabled. The app turns it on during pairing, but a firmware update or factory reset can revert it.

• Verify the camera's status screen in the app shows recent pushes (last push within the last few minutes while shooting).
• Verify the camera's clock is correct. If the camera's clock is significantly wrong, it stores stale GPS rather than the live coordinate.
• Check a frame's EXIF directly with exiftool — sometimes Lightroom hides empty GPS fields and you assume they're missing when they're actually populated.

Two common causes:

1. Stale fix. The phone hadn't acquired a current GPS fix when the frame was taken (e.g. you walked out of a building and shot immediately). The camera writes the most recent coordinate, which can be a few minutes old. Check the home screen's Accuracy reading — if it's red, the phone is still warming up the GPS.
2. Wrong time-zone. If the camera's clock zone is wrong, the GPS coordinate is correct but the timestamp is wrong, which makes everything look off in catalogue tools that group by location-and-time. Enable time correction.

Time Correction and Time Area Correction are recent features and require a body running a firmware that supports the Creators' app. Both toggles are marked beta in-app; the camera silently ignores the request if its firmware doesn't accept it. Both run on camera startup, so power-cycle the camera after enabling.

If the toggle isn't doing anything, make sure the camera is running the latest manufacturer firmware.

Geotag Alpha is designed to be battery-aware, but a few things can drive higher-than-expected drain:

• You're in motion. The phone wakes the GPS more often when you're moving fast (driving, on a train), which costs more battery than standing still.
• Your phone has poor cellular reception. iOS uses cellular A-GPS to accelerate fixes; weak signal makes GPS work harder.
• Multiple paired bodies in standby. Standby is cheap but not free. If you have several bodies registered, removing the ones you're not using on this shoot helps.
• Enable Fast Connect is off on a camera that supports it. The app uses less energy in the background when all enabled cameras have it on.

Not exactly — but only one app can hold the active Bluetooth link at a time. If you open Imaging Edge or Creators' app while Geotag Alpha is running, it'll take over the link, and we'll be evicted. We reconnect automatically when the other app is closed, usually within a few seconds.

If none of the above fixes your issue, send us a note from the in-app feedback form. Open Help from the home screen and choose the feedback option, then fill in:

• Camera model and firmware version
• A short description of what happens and what you've already tried
• Your email so we can reply

The form sends your message directly to us — no photos or GPS coordinates are attached.

You can also reach us on Discord or by email at chendo@sproutcube.com.