Cortana Location Reminders are Too Unreliable Hit and Miss

[Jules W]

Basically I am finding that Cortana is pretty unreliable on getting Reminders on Placed Locations, like Work or Grocery market. This in part is down to Mobile Map App being so awkward to set actual Pin Locations from the map as Favourites, and the error tolerance being too tight.

The problem is the sensitivity to GPS alignments, means that Cortana is not reliable at recognising actual locations. Can anyone suggest how the user can widen the Location Geo Gate, to a wider circle, to make location recognition more reliable. Getting to within 25 meters of the actual GPS believed position makes Cortana very unreliable. Need 50 or even 100 meter circles to make Cortana more robust to GPS errors. How do we widen the Location circle on Windows Phone ?

Setting up Place Favourites is easier for those of us with Windows 8 PCs . But I cannot see that this WP8 Maps + Cortana arrangement will work for the average Windows Phone User. Getting reliable map Favourites on the map is too difficult, and then Cortana is too slow to realise that it is in region of the Favourite Location.

Not Good.

 

[RumoredNow]

I'm searching for actual addresses that go into Geofenced reminders. No problems for mine working. Also though, I use Here +, not Maps.

 

[anon(8555314)]

They are working pretty well for me. I know that Talderon said that MS was working on the algorithm used to ID locations and it was in the works to provide the ability to identify a larger area such as a mall or college campus as one location. So I do believe that improvements are on the way. Right now it seems to cast a fairly wide net, as I will get the reminders when a block away at times.

One thing you might play with is put a few extra pins around the work location and giving them all the same nickname and identify them as "work."

And do use the feedback mechanism in Cortana to ask for improvements in the way that locations are identified.

 

[Jules W]

You can only tag one location as Work. But would Cortana get confused by me having multiple pinned locations all Nick named 'work' ?

I know there is Search, the problem is that is not good enough for precise locations, or those not reliably geo referenced in the map. My house is about 75meters out, so I had to pin against a on a PC.

 

[WPit]

Or just pin the street name without number (still, complete address). If it's too long, ok, then a issue.
Another thing I've noticed is that when you leave home so early that you're far from being late, the remider based on scheduled time and location won't alert you, but that is obvious.
Also, RumoredNow tip on HERE+. I'm happy with it. Last week maps were updated with enhanced 3D sites.
And she learns things you do. I know you are already aware. 2 cents.
Imagine our phones in near future with better batteries and Cortana out of beta! It will be like she is always listening and mapping our ways! Pretty great feature!

 

[jargonz]

The problem is not with Cortana but with GPS technology in general. GPS requires line of sight with several GPS satellites to triangulate the location. Because of this, GPS is notoriously unreliable underground, inside concrete buildings, and in places with many tall buildings. GPS works best in places with clear views of the sky in all directions.