My GPS clock-in isn't working on my iPhone or Android

You are never stopped from clocking in. If your phone won't give a location, the clock-in still records and the shift is marked for your instructor to verify with the facility. You'll see "Location is off" above the button as a warning, and one "are you sure?" screen. So a missing location never costs you the shift, but it does mean paperwork for your instructor, and possibly for you. Fixing it is worth five minutes.

One question first: are you using the website in a browser, or the CSTSetup app? Your phone treats them as two different things, each with its own permission. Follow the section that matches.

iPhone: the website in Safari

There are three separate switches, and all three must allow it.

1. The master switch. Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → on.
2. Safari's switch. In that same Location Services list, scroll to Safari Websites and choose While Using the App. Turn on Precise Location underneath it. Without Precise, the phone reports a location a mile wide and you'll be flagged as outside the hospital.
3. The website's own permission. Safari remembers if you ever tapped "Don't Allow" for cstsetup.com. Two ways to fix it:
   • In Safari, on the clock-in page, tap the page settings button at the left of the address bar (the "aA" or the small page icon) → Website Settings → Location → Allow.
   • Or Settings → Apps → Safari → Location (on iOS 17 and older: Settings → Safari → Location). Set it to Ask or Allow, and look in the list of websites there for cstsetup.com set to Deny.

Then reload the page. The "Location is off" warning disappears once the permission is right.

Private Browsing blocks location for websites. Use a normal tab.

iPhone: the website in Chrome

Settings → Apps → Chrome → Location → While Using the App, plus the master switch above. Then in Chrome, on the clock-in page, tap the icon at the left of the address bar → Permissions → Location → Allow.

iPhone: the CSTSetup app

Settings → Apps → CSTSetup → Location → While Using the App, and turn on Precise Location. You can also reach it under Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → CSTSetup.

If you tapped "Don't Allow" when the app first asked, the app cannot ask again. This Settings screen is the only place to change it.

Android: the website in Chrome

Three switches again.

1. The master switch. Settings → Location → Use location → on. Under Location services, make sure Google Location Accuracy is on.
2. Chrome's app permission. Settings → Apps → Chrome → Permissions → Location → Allow only while using the app, and turn on Use precise location.
3. The website's permission inside Chrome. In Chrome, tap the ⋮ menu → Settings → Site settings → Location. Make sure it isn't off, then look in the Blocked list for cstsetup.com. If it's there, tap it and choose Allow. Or, on the clock-in page, tap the icon at the left of the address bar → Permissions → Location → Allow.

Samsung Internet has the same three: Settings → Location; Settings → Apps → Samsung Internet → Permissions; and inside the browser, Settings → Sites and downloads → Location.

Android: the CSTSetup app

Settings → Apps → CSTSetup → Permissions → Location → Allow only while using the app, with Use precise location on.

Everything is on and it's still flagged

• You're inside the hospital. GPS barely reaches into an operating suite. Clock in from the entrance, the lobby or near a window before you go back. Keep Wi-Fi turned on even if you aren't connected to a network; phones use nearby Wi-Fi to locate themselves indoors.
• Give it a moment. When you tap Clock in, the button reads "Checking your location…" for up to about eight seconds while your phone gets a fix. Don't tap again and don't leave the page.
• Flagged as "outside approved geofence radius". Your program sets how far from the facility a clock-in may be. A weak indoor fix, or clocking in from the parking garage across the street, can put you outside it. This isn't a rejection: your instructor sees both of your clock points on a map and approves it. If it happens every day at the same site, tell your instructor; the site's radius or its pin on the map may need adjusting.
• You picked the wrong site. Your clock-in is checked against the site you chose under "Where are you today?" Choosing the wrong hospital flags a perfectly good clock-in.

Forgot to clock out, or clocked in somewhere wrong? See I forgot to clock out.