No hardware compass on Moto Z2 Force?

[Android Central Question]

Last month I purchased a Moto Z2 Force from my local Verizon retailer. My previous phone, a Moto Z Force, wouldn't stay charged unless it was left plugged in.
I installed all of the same apps on the Z Force 2 I had previously on the Z Force. I noticed recently in one of the particular apps that I use for mountain biking, Trailforks that my location was constantly pointing North. I checked Google Maps to and when I change direction, so does the blue marker.
I contacted the creator of the Trailforks app, Pink Bike about the issue after trying repeatedly in the app itself to use the compass function to no avail. Here was the response:

"Looking at your error log it appears that new phone doesn't have a
hardware compass built in. That's why the compass location isn't working.

I know there are some more modern ways to get a fake compass direction,
that other apps like Google Maps use. Its something we might have to
look into. But not a priority for us currently, as most phones have a
working compass."

I've looked around online and there isn't much in regard to why there was no compass installed on this phone. The Z Force had one installed.
I'm not real tech savvy so does anyone have an idea on whether there is a fix for this or if I need to just deal with it for the next two years?
Thanks for any info provided.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Looking through various websites that list the Z2 Force's specs, I only found two that say it has a compass, so it's not clear if it really does or not. The official Moto site doesn't mention it. Try installing Sensor Test or Sensor Box and see if it detects a compass.

 

[Brian1675]

Hey, thanks for the reply. I tried downloading both apps you recommended and there is definitely no compass on this phone. I'm really disappointed that they skimped on a compass

 

[chemgeek]

cpu-z shows the presence of an ak09915 magnetometer in the z2 force.

 

[Brian1675]

This is what the sensor box app shows. I'm just disappointed that they ignored this detail. It's a decent phone otherwise.

 

[chemgeek]

The Z2 force magnetometer measures magnetic field in three planes which is sufficient, in combination with the accelerometer to establish orientation. You can view the real time magnetometer measurements using an appropriate app, e.g. Sensor Kinetics. the Z2 force is perfectly capable of determining its compass orientation. the standard figure 8 motion of the phone will help calibrate its magnetic orientation.

 

[B. Diddy]

Interesting -- I wonder if the Trailforks dev has a way of utilizing the sensors the Z2 Force does have, rather than requiring an actual compass component.