Problem

A Mobile Safety SOS alert in Everbridge may display coordinates of 0.0, 0.0 (often referred to as “Null Island”) instead of the user’s actual location. In these cases, the SOS alert is sent, but the map shows a point in the middle of the ocean and there is no specific location information available for responders.

Root Cause

Coordinates of 0.00000, 0.00000 indicate incomplete or null location data rather than a valid device location fix. When the device cannot provide a valid location, the system may record empty address information or coordinates at zero latitude and zero longitude. This typically means the app could not retrieve location data from the device at the time the SOS was triggered.

Common reasons the device cannot provide a valid location include:

• Location tracking or location services are not enabled on the mobile device.
• Location access is disabled for the entire phone or specifically for the Everbridge / Safety Connection / EB 360 mobile app.
• The user did not grant location permissions when installing the Everbridge mobile app, so SOS alerts are sent without location details.
• A local GPS issue on the device.
• Poor internet or GPS signal, which can prevent the device from acquiring a usable location.
• The device is in Low Power Mode, which may disable GPS or background location access.

When any of these conditions apply:

• The SOS alert can still be sent so that the event is registered.
• The system cannot capture the user’s specific location and therefore defaults to coordinates 0,0 as a placeholder that indicates location data is missing.

Solution

To ensure Mobile Safety SOS alerts include accurate location information instead of 0,0 coordinates, both administrators and end users should verify that device and app location settings permit precise location access.

Recommended steps include:

• Enable device location services/GPS: Confirm that the mobile device’s location services or GPS are turned on.
• Grant location permission to the app: Verify that the Everbridge mobile app (including Safety Connection or EB 360 where applicable) has permission to access the device’s location in the device’s app settings.
• Allow precise or high-accuracy location: Ensure the app is allowed to use precise (or high-accuracy) location via the device’s system Location settings. If precise location is not enabled, alerts can be missing building or location details, and geolocation/map-pin information may not be included in SOS alerts.
• Avoid restrictive device modes: Check that Low Power Mode or similar battery saver settings are not disabling GPS or background location access when SOS is activated.
• Confirm the SOS feature was used: Check whether the user activated a Safety Connection feature that should have transmitted location so that configuration and usage can be validated.

For additional configuration guidance on including geo-location in SOS notifications, see EBS: How to Include the Geo-Location of a Contact in an SOS Notification in Everbridge Suite.

Workaround

When location tracking or permissions are not enabled, there is no alternative method within the SOS event itself to recover the missing location; the system will continue to record coordinates of 0,0 as a placeholder for missing location data. However, operators can still rely on the SOS alert details to recognize that an SOS occurred and then follow internal procedures to contact the user through other channels.

To minimize future occurrences of 0,0 SOS locations, organizations should proactively instruct users to keep device location services enabled, grant the Everbridge app location permission (including precise location), and avoid device modes that disable GPS or background location access before they need to use SOS.