File: magnetometer.md | Updated: 11/15/2025
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Expo MagnetometerA library that provides access to the device's magnetometer sensor.
Android
iOS
Bundled version:
~14.1.4
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Magnetometer from expo-sensors provides access to the device magnetometer sensor(s) to respond to and measure the changes in the magnetic field measured in microtesla (μT).
You can access the calibrated values with Magnetometer and uncalibrated raw values with MagnetometerUncalibrated.
Terminal
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- npx expo install expo-sensors
If you are installing this in an existing React Native app
, make sure to install expo
in your project.
Magnetometer
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import { useState, useEffect } from 'react'; import { StyleSheet, Text, TouchableOpacity, View } from 'react-native'; import { Magnetometer } from 'expo-sensors'; export default function Compass() { const [{ x, y, z }, setData] = useState({ x: 0, y: 0, z: 0, }); const [subscription, setSubscription] = useState(null); const _slow = () => Magnetometer.setUpdateInterval(1000); const _fast = () => Magnetometer.setUpdateInterval(16); const _subscribe = () => { setSubscription( Magnetometer.addListener(result => { setData(result); }) ); }; const _unsubscribe = () => { subscription && subscription.remove(); setSubscription(null); }; useEffect(() => { _subscribe(); return () => _unsubscribe(); }, []); return ( <View style={styles.container}> <Text style={styles.text}>Magnetometer:</Text> <Text style={styles.text}>x: {x}</Text> <Text style={styles.text}>y: {y}</Text> <Text style={styles.text}>z: {z}</Text> <View style={styles.buttonContainer}> <TouchableOpacity onPress={subscription ? _unsubscribe : _subscribe} style={styles.button}> <Text>{subscription ? 'On' : 'Off'}</Text> </TouchableOpacity> <TouchableOpacity onPress={_slow} style={[styles.button, styles.middleButton]}> <Text>Slow</Text> </TouchableOpacity> <TouchableOpacity onPress={_fast} style={styles.button}> <Text>Fast</Text> </TouchableOpacity> </View> </View> ); } const styles = StyleSheet.create({ container: { flex: 1, justifyContent: 'center', paddingHorizontal: 10, }, text: { textAlign: 'center', }, buttonContainer: { flexDirection: 'row', alignItems: 'stretch', marginTop: 15, }, button: { flex: 1, justifyContent: 'center', alignItems: 'center', backgroundColor: '#eee', padding: 10, }, middleButton: { borderLeftWidth: 1, borderRightWidth: 1, borderColor: '#ccc', }, });
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import { Magnetometer, MagnetometerUncalibrated } from 'expo-sensors';
MagnetometerOnly for:
Android
iOS
Type: Class extends [DeviceSensor](https://docs.expo.dev/versions/latest/sdk/sensors) <[MagnetometerMeasurement](https://docs.expo.dev/versions/v53.0.0/sdk/magnetometer#magnetometermeasurement) >
Magnetometer Methods
addListener(listener)| Parameter | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| listener | Listener<[MagnetometerMeasurement](https://docs.expo.dev/versions/v53.0.0/sdk/magnetometer#magnetometermeasurement) > | A callback that is invoked when a magnetometer update is available. When invoked, the listener is provided with a single argument that is MagnetometerMeasurement. |
Subscribe for updates to the magnetometer.
Returns:
EventSubscription
A subscription that you can call remove() on when you would like to unsubscribe the listener.
getListenerCount()Returns the registered listeners count.
Returns:
number
getPermissionsAsync()Checks user's permissions for accessing sensor.
Returns:
[Promise](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise) <PermissionResponse>
hasListeners()Returns boolean which signifies if sensor has any listeners registered.
Returns:
boolean
isAvailableAsync()You should always check the sensor availability before attempting to use it.
Check the availability of the device magnetometer. Requires at least Android 2.3 (API Level 9) and iOS 8.
Returns:
[Promise](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise) <boolean>
A promise that resolves to a boolean denoting the availability of the sensor.
removeAllListeners()Removes all registered listeners.
Returns:
void
removeSubscription(subscription)| Parameter | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| subscription | EventSubscription | A subscription to remove. |
Removes the given subscription.
Returns:
void
requestPermissionsAsync()Asks the user to grant permissions for accessing sensor.
Returns:
[Promise](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise) <PermissionResponse>
setUpdateInterval(intervalMs)| Parameter | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| intervalMs | number | Desired interval in milliseconds between sensor updates.<br><br>> Starting from Android 12 (API level 31), the system has a 200ms limit for each sensor updates.<br>> <br>> If you need an update interval less than 200ms, you should:<br>> <br>> * add android.permission.HIGH_SAMPLING_RATE_SENSORS to app.json permissions field<br>> <br>> * or if you are using bare workflow, add <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.HIGH_SAMPLING_RATE_SENSORS"/> to AndroidManifest.xml. |
Set the sensor update interval.
Returns:
void
SubscriptionA subscription object that allows to conveniently remove an event listener from the emitter.
remove()Removes an event listener for which the subscription has been created. After calling this function, the listener will no longer receive any events from the emitter.
Returns:
void
MagnetometerMeasurementEach of these keys represents the strength of magnetic field along that particular axis measured in microteslas (μT).
| Property | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| timestamp | number | Timestamp of the measurement in seconds. |
| x | number | Value representing strength of magnetic field recorded in X axis. |
| y | number | Value representing strength of magnetic field recorded in Y axis. |
| z | number | Value representing strength of magnetic field recorded in Z axis. |
PermissionExpirationLiteral Type: union
Permission expiration time. Currently, all permissions are granted permanently.
Acceptable values are: 'never' | number
PermissionResponseAn object obtained by permissions get and request functions.
| Property | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| canAskAgain | boolean | Indicates if user can be asked again for specific permission. If not, one should be directed to the Settings app in order to enable/disable the permission. |
| expires | [PermissionExpiration](https://docs.expo.dev/versions/v53.0.0/sdk/magnetometer#permissionexpiration) | Determines time when the permission expires. |
| granted | boolean | A convenience boolean that indicates if the permission is granted. |
| status | [PermissionStatus](https://docs.expo.dev/versions/v53.0.0/sdk/magnetometer#permissionstatus) | Determines the status of the permission. |
PermissionStatusDENIEDPermissionStatus.DENIED = "denied"
User has denied the permission.
GRANTEDPermissionStatus.GRANTED = "granted"
User has granted the permission.
UNDETERMINEDPermissionStatus.UNDETERMINED = "undetermined"
User hasn't granted or denied the permission yet.