For every Mapon user, one of the most basic and important aspects of using fleet management services is vehicle tracking.

If the vehicle position is displayed incorrectly on the map, it is only sometimes due to a technical malfunction of the device or the GPS antenna. Many causes are related to external factors or the vehicle itself.

Possible causes of the incorrect vehicle location

GPS signal issues

GPS technology has some downsides that cannot yet be completely prevented. If you receive vehicle data and the only inaccuracy is the vehicle's location, the following GPS performance factors might explain the issue may indicate the cause of a particular vehicle situation:

GPS signal loss or malfunction in mountainous terrain or in a tunnel;
the vehicle is near military objects or a technological construction (e.g. wind generator) where the GPS signal may be blocked on purpose;
poor GPS signal availability at the location where the tracking device or GPS antenna is installed in your vehicle;
use of additional in-vehicle devices that emit electromagnetic waves, such as transmitters, extra heaters for long-distance winter drivers, or mobile microwave ovens, may block the GPS signal.

Ignition detection issues

Since the Mapon platform tracks both vehicle location and movement, installed telematic device checks the vehicle's ignition or movement status to determine its routes.

The ignition status shows if the vehicle is driving, stationary with ignition on, or off. If ignition detection fails but the device physically is working, the vehicle's position will update on the map as "stopped," and no routes will be registered due to lack of ignition data.

📘 If you encounter such a situation, first check if your vehicle has been recently repaired, as the connection between your device and the on-board electronics might have been damaged.

If you are using a device that is connected to the vehicle's battery, check whether the battery is in good condition and also check whether the voltage of the battery has been decreased by connecting third-party devices to the battery power supply.

Mobile network issues

The most common cause of incorrect vehicle location display is loss of mobile signal. Standard tracking devices deliver data to Mapon servers via mobile internet and mobile communications.

In cases where the mobile signal is lost, the device and GPS signal may be fine, but the device is unable to send this data to the server for display, causing the vehicle to appear incorrectly on the map.

Loss of mobile network signal may be caused by the following factors:

lack of mobile network coverage in a certain area;
lack of stable mobile network signal near state borders;
technical maintenance on a mobile network base stations;
discontinued support of outdated mobile technologies (2G and 3G) in various countries and regions;
limited roaming options.

✅ If the power supply issue might be due to actions by a repair service employee or a malfunctioning vehicle battery, we recommend addressing these factors first.

Device power supply issues

Sometimes the issue may stem from physical connection problems between the device and its power supply.

Below are some of the most common reasons why your Mapon device may stop working or may not work properly:

use of the battery power switch (if this switch is permanently disconnected, the tracking device may not restart when it is turned back on);
blown fuses;
battery failure;
battery overvoltage;
battery connection failure (due to frayed wires or outside interference);
malfunction of the power supply module of the device.

✅ If there is a chance that the power supply issue is a result of a repair service employee actions or vehicle's battery malfunction, we advice you to prevent these factors first.

Device physical re-installation

When transferring the device between vehicles yourself, make sure to update the vehicle license plate in Mapon platform to avoid confusion.

In such situations, we recommend using either a different vehicle unit name (not the vehicle license plate number), as it is assigned to the tracking device and not the vehicle, or changing the license plate number before reinstalling the device.

📘 To retain historical routes or other vehicle-related data, please request device uninstallation by emailing our support team.

Historical vehicle data with the same license number enabled

Some clients like to keep their corporate license plates after utilizing or selling a vehicle in order to reuse those plates on new vehicles.

If you notice two vehicles with the same license plate on the map and one of them is black and not in the precise location, check the vehicle that is marked in black. If the vehicle's data panel shows a red indicator for no equipment installed on the vehicle, it means that this is the historical data of a vehicle that is no longer being tracked.

Incorrect location on mobile app due to network issues

In times you're using the Mapon mobile app for managers, there are three main reasons for the discrepancy in vehicle location data:

an outdated version of the mobile app that is no longer fully functional;
lack of or interruptions in the Internet availability (Wi-Fi or mobile data);
interruption or slowdown of the mobile internet connection during a phone call.