Guide
Which Direction Am I Facing? How to Find Out
Point your phone the way you are looking and the compass tells you instantly which direction you face, in degrees and as N, E, S or W.
Updated October 7, 2026
Published by Online Compass · Accuracy and testing
“Which direction am I facing?” is one of the most common things people ask a compass, and a phone answers it in a second.
The quick answer
Open Online Compass on your phone, tap Start compass, and hold the device flat with the screen up. Point the top edge of the phone in the direction you are looking. The large number in the middle is your heading, and the letters below it are the direction you are facing.
- Heading near 0° (or 360°): you are facing north.
- Around 90°: east.
- Around 180°: south.
- Around 270°: west.
Anything in between reads as a 16-point direction such as NE (45°), SSE (157.5°) or WNW (292.5°). These labels describe sectors; the sensor’s accuracy is separate from the displayed precision.
Why “the top of the phone”?
A compass measures the direction of one reference line on the device. On a phone held flat, that line runs out of the top edge. So the heading always describes where the top of your phone points, which is the direction you are looking when you hold it naturally in front of you. Turn your body and the reading updates live.
Facing a wall, window or street
You do not need to be outdoors. To check a window or doorway’s outward facing, hold the phone flat and point its top edge outward through the opening. Keep away from metal frames and repeat the reading at nearby points. Do not hold the screen vertically against the wall: the heading calculation assumes the phone is flat.
True north vs magnetic north
Before location access, a supported sensor reading uses magnetic north. Tap True north and allow location access to calculate declination and convert to true (geographic) north. This applies to Safari’s compass heading as well as the supported absolute-orientation path. Declination can be substantial in some regions, so check the active north reference rather than assuming the difference is tiny.
A doorway example: facing versus location
Stand just inside your front door and point the top edge of the flat phone outward. This measures the door’s facing, not its position in the house. A door can be on the east side of a home but face north. To find its location zone, take a separate bearing from the home’s centre toward the door. Repeat both readings away from the door’s metal frame.
No sensor reading is not a north reading
If the tool shows Manual exploration, it has not measured which way you face. The heading stays blank until you drag the dial or enter a known value on the Vastu page. A manually selected 0° means you chose north on the diagram; it does not establish that your phone points north. See accuracy and device testing for compatibility and permission troubleshooting.
Getting an accurate reading
- Hold the phone flat and steady.
- Keep away from magnets, speakers, laptops, cars and steel, which bend the magnetic field.
- If the reading drifts, calibrate by waving the phone in a figure-8 a few times.
Once you know one direction, the rest follow: facing north, east is on your right, south is behind you and west is on your left. Learn more in our guide to compass directions and degrees.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know which direction I am facing right now?
Open a phone compass, point the top of the device the way you are looking, and read the heading. A value near 0° means north, 90° east, 180° south and 270° west. The compass also shows the cardinal label, such as NE or SW.
Can I tell which way I am facing without a compass?
Use a known landmark or an approximate sun or star method. Sun bearings vary with latitude, season and time; the noon sun is not always south inside the tropics. A compatible, calibrated phone can provide a sensor reading.