How to Navigate to a Waypoint by Bearing and Distance (True, Magnetic or Grid North)

The problem

A line on a map app tells you to turn left in 200 m, but you’re off-road. What you actually need is which way, and how far, and to have it hold up when the bearing came from a map with a different north than your compass.

Steps

1. In Points, open a waypoint and tap Go to (or long-press the map crosshair).
2. Switch to Navigate. You’ll see the destination name, a big arrow, the distance, a bearing, cross-track and an ETA.
3. Turn until the arrow points straight up. Walk. Check the distance falling.
4. Near the target, the arrival alert fires once with a haptic tap.

The destination also appears as a tile on the Location screen, and can show in a Lock Screen/Dynamic Island Live Activity and on the Apple Watch.

Picking the right north

In Settings → Units → North reference:

• True: geographic north.
• Magnetic: true bearing corrected with the magnetic declination from an embedded WMM2025 model, so it works with no signal. Match this to your compass.
• Grid: true corrected by grid convergence, for map work.

A small T / M / G next to the bearing shows which reference you’re reading. You can also pick degrees or mils (6400).

What each reading means

• Distance and bearing are computed on the earth’s surface, not on a flat map.
• Cross-track is your sideways distance from the original straight line. Left or right of course.
• ETA uses your current speed, so it’s blank or ”—” until you’re moving.

If the arrow behaves oddly

• “North-up — compass unavailable”: no heading from the phone. Calibrate the compass (wave the phone in a figure of eight), keep it away from metal and magnets, or just use the bearing number with a separate compass.
• Arrow jumps while stationary: normal at walking speed or less; GPS heading is unreliable when you aren’t moving.
• Wrong by a fixed angle: check the north reference. It’s the usual cause.

Change the arrival radius

The default is 50 m. A smaller radius suits precise targets, a larger one suits vehicles.

Remember

This is an aid, not a certified navigation instrument. Carry a map and compass.

FAQ

How do I start navigating? In Points, tap Go to on a waypoint, or long-press the map crosshair to navigate to that spot.

Which north does it use? Your choice in Settings: true, magnetic (using an embedded World Magnetic Model, no network) or grid north. A T/M/G suffix shows which one the bearing is in.

What is cross-track? How far you are left or right of the straight line from where you started to the destination.

Why does the arrow say “North-up — compass unavailable”? The phone had no usable heading. The arrow then points relative to north instead of the way you face.

What does the arrival alert do? Fires once when you come inside the arrival radius (50 m by default), with haptic feedback.