Tips for a live hunt

• Standing at the cache? Tap GPS. The map opens in Pan mode, which never moves you, so zones will not react until you switch. Tap GPS in the map toolbar and allow location access when your browser asks, and the marker follows you as you walk. The GPS chip in the status bar lights up when it is live. Location only works over a secure (https) connection.
• Install it as an app before you leave home. Installed, it opens from your home screen, runs full screen, and keeps working with no signal. Steps for iPhone and Android are in the questions below.
• Keep the screen awake and this tab in front. Phone browsers pause GPS and timers when the screen locks or you switch apps, so timed puzzles and moving zones can stall. Return to the tab and they pick back up.
• Your progress autosaves on this device. You can close the tab and press Resume later to continue where you left off.
• Solving from home or out of signal? Switch the map to Move mode and drag the marker by hand instead of using GPS.
• Bring a charger and jot down the posted coordinates. A phone browser is not a rugged handheld, and continuous GPS drains the battery.

Frequently asked

Do I need to install an app?

No, it runs in any modern mobile or desktop browser and nothing is uploaded. It is also a full offline app, so you can install this page to your home screen and play with no signal at all. That is worth doing before a hunt.

How do I install it on an iPhone or iPad?

Open this page in Safari (Add to Home Screen does not exist in Chrome or Firefox on iOS). Tap the Share button, the square with an arrow, in the toolbar. Scroll down and tap Add to Home Screen. Tap Add. Then launch it from the new CS Wherigo icon, not from Safari, so it runs full screen with its own offline cache. The first time it asks for location, choose Allow While Using App.

Open the installed app once while you still have signal so it can cache everything it needs.

How do I install it on Android?

Open this page in Chrome. Tap Install in the banner at the top of this page if it is showing, or open the browser menu, the three dots, and tap Install app or Add to Home screen. Confirm with Install, then launch it from the new home screen icon and allow location when it asks.

Does it use my real GPS?

Yes, once you tap GPS on the map. The map starts in Pan mode and your marker sits at the cartridge start location until you switch, so tap GPS as soon as you are in the field and allow location access when asked. Move mode lets you drag the marker by hand instead, which is how you test a cartridge from home.

I tapped GPS but nothing moves.

Check that the page is on https, that you allowed location for this site, and that the GPS chip is showing in the status bar. On iPhone, also check Settings, Privacy and Security, Location Services. Indoors a fix can take a minute or read as far off, so give it open sky.

Will my progress survive a reload?

Yes. It autosaves to this browser and offers Resume, and the launch screen shows a Continue where you left off card for the game you were last in. Saves stay on this device and browser, so they do not follow you to another phone.

What does "Not saved yet" mean in the status bar?

A dialog is open whose button runs cartridge code, and that pending code cannot be written into a save file. Nothing is saved while that chip is showing, so answer the dialog and the game saves immediately. This matters most at the very start: many cartridges open with a story dialog, so if you close the app while that first dialog is still on screen there is nothing to resume yet.

Why did a timer or zone freeze while my screen was off?

Phone browsers suspend background tabs, which pauses timers and location. Keep the screen on during timed sections.

Does this log my find on Geocaching.com?

No. It is a standalone player. Enter the completion code it gives you wherever the cache asks for it.

A cartridge behaved strangely. What now?

Most cartridges work, but if one leans on an unusual feature you can open it in the Wherigo Solver to inspect it, or send a message with the cartridge name.