Pause a trip (press Stop) when you’ll carry on with the same journey after a break. Save it when you want a record. Reset it when you want the next numbers to start from zero. In most GPS trip apps Save doesn’t clear anything, so at the end of each leg the order is Stop, Save, Reset, then Start when you set off again. Get the order wrong and distance either goes missing (Reset before Save) or gets counted twice (Save without Reset).
In a car with only Trip A and Trip B you get a similar result by hand: run Trip A all day and reset Trip B at every stop.
What does each button do? #
This is how the buttons work in Speedometer GPS, and most GPS trip meters behave much the same:
| Button | Distance | Top and average speed | Trip time | Recorded route |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Starts or resumes counting | Starts or resumes | Starts on the first press | Starts recording |
| Stop (pause) | Stops adding, total kept | Kept | Keeps running as clock time | Paused |
| Save | Copied to Trips, the on-screen trip keeps its value | Copied, kept | Copied, kept | Copied, kept |
| Reset | Back to zero, after you confirm | Cleared | Cleared | Cleared |
Live speed shows the whole time, whatever state the trip is in. Only the trip stats change.
Two details explain most “why does it say that?” moments:
- Trip time is clock time from your first Start. A 40-minute lunch pause is included when you resume. Moving time, shown with it, counts only the seconds you were actually moving, and average speed is worked out from moving time, so stops don’t drag it down.
- Save doesn’t reset. After saving, the trip is still on screen and still counting if it’s running. That lets you save partway through, but it’s the main cause of double counting.
Do you need to pause at red lights and short stops? #
No. A well-built trip meter handles short stops by itself. A parked phone’s GPS position wanders a few metres, and Speedometer GPS ignores movements under 5 m between fixes, or under 10 m once you’ve been still for a while, so distance doesn’t creep. The average only counts time moving, so a queue doesn’t pull it down. For traffic lights, drive-throughs and a quick fuel stop, leave the trip running.
When should you pause? #
Press Stop when the trip will continue later but you don’t want what happens in between to count:
- You’re leaving the vehicle for lunch and will pick up the same journey afterwards.
- You’ll walk around with the phone. Walking registers as moving, so it adds moving time and can add a little distance.
- You’re taking a detour you don’t want logged, such as a personal errand during a work trip.
- You’re switching vehicles partway through a day but want one continuous trip.
When you press Start again, the app picks up from your current position. It doesn’t draw a line from where you paused to where you are now, so anything you covered while paused isn’t added.
For a break of an hour or more, close the app instead. It autosaves the trip in progress and offers to resume it next time you open it, within 12 hours, and you don’t pay for GPS while you eat.
When should you reset? #
Reset when the next set of numbers should stand on its own: each new day of a multi-day trip, each leg of a multi-stop route, after a test on a measured stretch, or when you forgot to press Start at the right place.
Resetting doesn’t make GPS any more accurate. What it fixes is contamination between trips:
- Top speed is the highest value since the last reset, so yesterday’s highway run sits on top of today’s town driving until you clear it.
- Average speed blends everything since the last reset. A fast motorway leg and a slow city leg averaged together describe neither.
- Distance only means something if you know where it started, which matters for expense logs, fuel economy and route comparisons.
For fuel economy, reset at a fill-up and read the distance at the next one. GPS distance usually comes out slightly shorter than a car’s trip meter, because most odometers read a little long; either source works as long as you use the same one every time. Why GPS trip distance doesn’t match your odometer explains the gap.
Reset asks for confirmation and can’t be undone, so save first if the numbers matter. The free app sometimes shows a full-screen ad after a reset, which is one more reason to do it parked; a one-time purchase in Settings removes the ads.
How to log a multi-stop trip, step by step #
Every step happens while parked.
- Before you leave, mount the phone, open the app and wait for a good GPS fix. Starting in a garage or under a carport gives a poor first fix. Reset if the counters still show an old trip, then press Start as you pull away.
- At the end of the leg, press Stop, then Save. The leg goes into Trips with its distance, top speed, average, time, route and speed chart.
- Press Reset so the counter starts from zero.
- Press Start when you set off again.
- Repeat at each stop. At the end of the day, Trips lists each leg separately, each with a route thumbnail, and you can open one for the full route, a speed chart, a GPX export or a share card.
There’s no built-in grouping by day, so add up the legs for a daily total. The Trips screen also keeps a lifetime odometer that adds up every saved trip; GPS odometer app explains how that total works and its 100-trip limit.
Common reset mistakes #
- Saving twice without a reset. Save copies the running totals, so if you save leg one, carry on and save again, the second saved trip contains leg one as well and the lifetime total counts those miles twice.
- Resetting before saving. The reset clears the counters for good.
- Forgetting to press Start. Live speed shows the moment the app opens, but distance and trip stats only count after Start.
- Switching apps mid-trip. Speedometer GPS uses location only while it’s on screen, so keep it in front for the whole leg.
- Fiddling while driving. Every step above happens parked. If you forget to reset before pulling away, carry on and sort it out at the next stop, or let a passenger do it.
Why does distance go missing? #
- Reset before Save. Once you confirm a reset, that trip is gone.
- Discarding a resumed trip. Speedometer GPS autosaves the trip in progress every five seconds. If the app is closed mid-trip, the next launch offers to resume it, as long as it’s less than 12 hours old and covered at least 50 m or ran for a minute. Tap Discard and it’s gone.
- A locked screen or another app. The app uses location only while it’s on screen, with no background tracking. Keep-screen-on is on by default; if you turn it off and the phone locks, distance stops counting until you come back.
- Long tunnels. With no fix there’s nothing to measure, and a jump over 200 m isn’t added when the signal returns. See GPS in tunnels and cities.
- Slow movement. Steps under 5 m between one-second fixes are dropped, so anything slower than about 18 km/h (11 mph), such as walking, crawling traffic or a slow bike, under-counts.
- The 100-trip limit and deletions. Saving the 101st trip drops the oldest, and deleting trips or clearing history lowers the lifetime total with them.
Why does distance get counted twice? #
Because Save doesn’t reset. Say you drive 12 km to work, press Save, and drive home in the evening without pressing Reset. The trip now shows 24 km, and when you save it, Trips holds two entries, 12 km and 24 km, so the lifetime total says 36 km for 24 km of driving. The fix is the habit: Stop, Save, Reset.
Quick guide: pause, reset or leave it running? #
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Red light, traffic jam, drive-through | Leave it running |
| Fuel or restroom stop | Leave it running, or Stop if you’ll walk around with the phone |
| Lunch break, same journey afterwards | Stop, then Start when you leave |
| Personal detour during a work trip | Stop during the detour, Start after it |
| Arrived at a destination | Stop, Save, Reset |
| New day of a multi-day trip | Save yesterday’s trip, Reset, Start |
| Long break of an hour or more | Close the app; it offers to resume within 12 hours |
| Forgot to press Start until halfway | Reset and Start, and add the missed part by hand if you need it |
How do you do this with a car’s Trip A and Trip B? #
A car’s trip meters can’t save anything, so you keep the log yourself:
- Reset Trip A as you leave. Leave it alone all day: it’s your total.
- Reset Trip B at the start of each leg.
- At each stop, note Trip B (a photo of the dashboard once parked is quickest) before resetting it.
- At the end, Trip A gives the day’s distance and your notes give each leg.
If your dashboard reset is fiddly, how to reset a trip odometer covers the common layouts. Riders tracking fuel range can use the phone and the bike’s trip meter as two independent counters; see motorcycle trip meter and fuel range.
Which approach suits which trip? #
| Trip | Best approach | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Deliveries or client visits | Stop, Save, Reset per stop in an app | One record per leg, with times and routes |
| A road-trip day with a few stops | Trip A for the day, app or Trip B per leg | Total and legs at the same time |
| Fuel economy per tank | Reset at each fill-up | The counter lines up with the pump |
| Comparing two routes to work | Save each commute as its own trip | Compare distance, time and average speed |
| An EV trip with charging stops | Save each leg between chargers | Shows your real range per leg |
For business mileage, a saved trip with a date, distance and route is useful supporting detail, but tax authorities and employers set their own rules, often including the purpose of each trip and odometer readings. Exporting trip distance for tax records covers what to keep.
Frequently asked questions #
Does resetting a trip delete my saved trips or my total? #
No. Reset only clears the trip you’re currently recording. Saved trips stay in your history until you delete them, and the lifetime odometer is the sum of those saved trips. A trip you never saved was never in the total, which is why you save before you reset.
Can I get back a trip I reset by accident? #
Not after a reset. If the app was closed rather than reset, it offers to resume the trip the next time you open it, as long as the trip is less than 12 hours old. Press Save first whenever you might want the numbers.
Does saving a trip reset the trip meter? #
No. Save stores a copy in Trips and leaves the trip on screen. Press Reset after saving if the next drive should start from zero, or the next saved trip will include this one’s distance.
Does pausing stop the trip timer? #
Not in Speedometer GPS. Trip time counts from your first Start, so it includes pauses. Moving time counts only time spent moving, and average speed is based on it, so driving 60 miles in 1.5 hours with a 30-minute stop shows an average of 60 mph, not 40.
Will my GPS trip keep counting if I lock my phone? #
Not in Speedometer GPS. It only uses location while it’s open on screen, so locking the phone or switching apps stops the recording until you come back. Keep it open in a mount with the screen on, which it does by default while tracking.