Only a decade ago we had to depend either on a magnetic compass or an expensive GPS device to navigate through an unknown region such as deep forests or vast oceans. Now we have access to apps such as Digital Compass that combine both a magnetic compass and the GPS data to provide you all the navigational details you would want.
With the help of Digital Compass, you can find both the magnetic north and the true north no matter where you are. But there are some basic requirements for this app to work. For finding the magnetic north, your Android device must have a magnetometer sensor. You can find whether you have a magnetic sensor using another app such as CPU-Z. Without magnetic sensor, Digital Compass may not give you magnetic north.
For finding the true north, it depends on the GPS data obtained from the GPS satellites revolving around our planet. For this, you must have a clear view of the sky on a cloudless day so that your device can fetch all the necessary data for pin-pointing your location.
In Digital Compass interface, you will find a real looking magnetic compass that points to the north. Near the bottom of the screen, it displays the magnetic field strength in terms of micro Tesla (μT). Sometimes when it is stuck or not displaying the correct direction, it advises you to make a big ‘8’ with your device, that is, move your device so that it makes a big 8. You have to make a big 8 many times for the app to calibrate the correct direction for you.
Since it uses the ambient magnetic field to find the directions, any stray magnetic fields around the device can change its accuracy. The developers advise not to use this app when your device is near magnetic or metallic objects including some covers that have magnets inside them.
You can get Digital Compass app for your Android device from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vincentlee.compass.