The 6-step method
- Find the centre of the home. The Brahmasthan is the centre of the home’s outline. For a rectangle, it is where the diagonals cross.
- Clear the area of metal. Step away from steel cupboards, fridges, speakers, inverters and electrical panels. Remove magnetic phone cases.
- Calibrate. Move the phone in a slow figure-of-eight 3–4 times, rotating it through every orientation.
- Hold flat and still. Hold the phone flat at waist height, screen up. Wait for a stable reading.
- Point and read. Point the top edge of the phone at the middle of each room or at the main door, and note the bearing and zone.
- Cross-check. Repeat from a second spot. If two readings differ by more than 5°, there is interference — use a map for the building orientation.
Open the online Vastu compass on your phone to follow along.
Why compass readings go wrong indoors
A compass — physical or phone — measures the local magnetic field. Reinforced concrete columns and beams, steel window grills, lifts, refrigerators, speakers, induction cooktops and even a magnetic phone cover create local fields that can swing the reading by tens of degrees. Moving just one metre can change it. That is why a single reading next to a wall is the most common source of error.
- Take readings in the open middle of a room, not against walls or furniture.
- Compare two or three spots. Consistent readings mean low interference.
- Watch our stability badge. It measures how much the reading wobbles; on iPhone it also shows the accuracy iOS reports.
- For the building itself, use a map. The map direction finder has no magnetic error at all.
Calibrating your phone
Android
Move the phone in a figure-of-eight several times. In Google Maps, tapping the blue location dot shows a “Calibrate” option with compass accuracy. Some phones have a compass calibration screen in their settings or diagnostics app.
iPhone
Keep Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → System Services → Compass Calibration switched on. iOS calibrates automatically and may ask you to tilt the phone in a circle. On our compass, a reading with “needs calibration” means iOS itself reports the compass as uncalibrated.
Browser permissions
On iPhone, the browser must ask for “Motion & Orientation” access — tap Start compass and allow it. If you denied it, close the tab and reopen the page; if it still fails, remove the site’s data in Safari settings. On Android Chrome, check Site settings → Motion sensors is allowed.
True north vs magnetic north
The magnetic north pole is not at the geographic North Pole, and it moves every year. The angle between the two at your location is called declination. Our compass computes it on your device with the NOAA/BGS World Magnetic Model 2025 and adds it to the phone’s magnetic heading. In India it is small (roughly 0–2° east in most cities), so the 8-direction zone rarely changes; in North America, the UK or Australia it can matter.
Using a physical (plastic) Vastu compass
Lay it flat on a non-metal surface at the centre of the home, wait for the needle to settle, rotate the bezel so N aligns with the needle, and read the room directions along the bezel. The same interference rules apply — and a physical compass always shows magnetic north, so apply your local declination.