Getting started

How do I start my first walk?

Short answer

Open Walkable, allow it to see your location while you use it, and start. You can ask for a route of roughly the distance you feel like, or skip that entirely and simply begin recording where you go.

Updated · 3 min read

Walkable's home screen: the map of what you have already explored, and a card set to a 5.0 km loop — roughly 6,500 steps, about an hour — above a Start walk button.
Walkable's home screen: the map of what you have already explored, and a card set to a 5.0 km loop — roughly 6,500 steps, about an hour — above a Start walk button.

You do not have to plan anything

The most common way to use Walkable is the simplest: press start, walk wherever you like, press finish. A route is an option, not a requirement.

Give the GPS a moment

A phone's first position fix outdoors can take twenty or thirty seconds, longer if you have just come out of a building. Starting a walk before the fix settles is the usual reason a route appears to begin a street away from where you actually were.

Step by step

  1. Open Walkable and allow locationChoose 'While using the app'. That is all Walkable needs: it follows you only while a walk is actually running. Background location is asked for in one place only, and never here — if you later switch on Auto Walk Detection, which is off by default.
  2. Decide whether you want a routeIf you want somewhere to go, ask for a route and say roughly how far you feel like walking. If you already know where you are heading, skip this.
  3. Press startThe walk begins recording from where you are standing.
  4. Put the phone awayWalkable keeps tracking with the screen off. If you asked for a route, it will speak and vibrate at turns, so the phone can stay in a pocket.
  5. Finish when you are donePress finish. The walk is saved to your phone immediately, with its distance and time.

What happens next?

Your walk appears in your history straight away, with its path, distance, duration and step count. You can add photos, videos or notes to it during the walk or afterwards, and nothing about it leaves your phone unless you choose to share it.

Common problems

The walk started in the wrong place

The first GPS fix had not settled. Stand outside for half a minute before pressing start, with a clear view of the sky.

Nothing is being recorded

Check that location permission is granted and set to at least 'While using the app', and that battery optimisation is not restricting Walkable.

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