Gyroscope Test
Check tilt and heading separately — they are different sensors and fail differently.
Heading
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Front-back
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Side-side
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The browser reports a fused orientation, not a raw gyroscope rate: tilt comes from the accelerometer and gyroscope, heading from the magnetometer. They are graded separately above because they fail for different reasons.
How this test works
Press start and move the device for six seconds: tilt it forwards and back, roll it side to side, then turn a quarter circle on the spot. The page records every orientation event and measures how far each axis moved. Beta and gamma — front-back and side-side tilt — come from the accelerometer and gyroscope. Alpha, the heading, comes from the magnetometer. They are judged separately because a device whose tilt tracks perfectly while the heading stays frozen has a specific and usually fixable compass problem, and calling that a failed gyroscope would send you to the wrong fix.
What the results mean
- Tilt front-back and side-side
- How many degrees each axis moved during the run. Ten degrees or more means the sensor is tracking; near zero while you were moving means it is stuck.
- Heading
- The compass reading, from the magnetometer. Frozen while tilt works is the classic magnetic-interference result — a case with a magnet, a stand, a speaker or a steel desk.
- Events received
- How many orientation updates the page got. Zero on a phone points at permission or the sensor; zero on a desktop is simply no sensor fitted.
- No values
- Events fired but carried nulls. That is a browser exposing the interface with nothing behind it, which is normal in desktop browsers and emulators.
Common problems and fixes
- Nothing happens when I press start on iPhone
- iOS asks for motion permission from a button press — accept the prompt. If no prompt appears, enable Motion & Orientation Access in Settings for your browser and reload.
- Tilt works but the compass never moves
- Take the phone out of its case — magnetic clasps and card holders saturate the magnetometer — then move it in a figure of eight a few times away from anything metal to recalibrate.
- The readings jump around while the phone is still
- Some noise is normal. Large jumps near a laptop, a speaker or a steel desk are interference; move somewhere clear and repeat before treating it as a fault.
- It says no orientation sensor on my laptop
- That is the expected answer. Most laptops and desktops have no orientation sensor, and the result says nothing about the phone you may be trying to test.
Frequently asked questions
How do I test the gyroscope on my phone?
Open this page on the phone, press start, and move the device for six seconds — tilt it forwards and back, then side to side, then turn a quarter circle. The test reports how far each axis moved. Movement on the tilt axes means the gyroscope and accelerometer are responding; movement on the heading means the magnetometer is too.
Why does my compass not work but tilt does?
They are different sensors. Tilt comes from the accelerometer and gyroscope, heading from the magnetometer — and the magnetometer is the one that is easily confused by a magnetic case, a car mount, a speaker or a metal desk. Take the case off, move away from metal, and move the phone in a figure of eight to recalibrate. That fixes most of them without any repair.
What does it mean if no events arrive at all?
On a desktop or most laptops, that there is no orientation sensor, which is normal. On a phone, check three things in order: that permission was granted, that the page is on a secure connection, and that the browser supports the orientation event. A genuinely failed sensor is the least likely of the four explanations.