With auto check-in via geolocation, employees are seamlessly checked in to their desk and parking bookings upon arrival at the office — no manual action needed. This prevents cancellations due to missed check-ins and ensures a smooth booking experience using geolocation. This article covers how to enable it for your workspace and what your users need to do on their end.
- Requirements
- How to enable automatic check-in
- Data usage & privacy
- Tips to share with your users
- FAQs
1. Requirements
To enable automatic check-in for your users, the following must be in place:
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Feature activation:
- The office must use Check-in with click and/or QR Codes or Check-in with QR Codes only. Auto check-in does not work with No check-in.
- Turn on Auto check-in via geolocation with the deskbird mobile app in Admin > Desks, parking & others: Booking settings.
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Latest app version:
- Employees must use the most recent version of the deskbird app on iOS or Android.
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Location permissions:
- Employees must set location access to Always allow in their device settings for the deskbird app.
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Optional – Push notifications:
- Employees can enable Check-In notifications in their app settings to receive confirmation when a check-in completes automatically.
2. How to enable automatic check-in
To enable the feature for an office, go to Admin > Desks, parking & others: Booking settings, select the office and turn on Auto check-in via geolocation with the deskbird mobile app.
Once enabled, each user must activate it on their own device. Here's what they need to do:
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Update the app:
- Download the latest deskbird version from the App Store or Google Play Store.
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Activate in the app:
- Go to Profile > Auto check-in in the deskbird app.
- Toggle on Auto Check-In.
- Select the relevant office.
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Grant location permissions:
- Open phone settings and locate the deskbird app.
- Set location access to Always allow.
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Optional – Enable notifications:
- Allow check-in notifications to receive confirmation once a check-in completes automatically.
3. Data usage & privacy
Here's how automatic check-in handles employee location data — useful context for communicating with your team or reviewing with your DPO:
- No storage of personal location data: deskbird never stores or shares employees' location.
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Powered by geofencing:
- The OS (iOS/Android) detects when a user enters a 200m radius around the office.
- Only then is a check-in triggered for that day's booking.
- deskbird only receives a notification from the OS — not raw location data.
- Employees stay in control: Disabling location access in phone settings will automatically deactivate the feature for that user.
4. Tips to share with your users
If users report that automatic check-in isn't working reliably, share the following guidance:
- Always use the latest version of the deskbird app.
- Set location access to Always allow — "While using the app" is not sufficient for geofencing.
- Enable push notifications to confirm successful check-ins.
- Note: iOS and Android may behave slightly differently regarding background location handling.
- The check-in trigger activates once when entering the 200m radius around the office. It doesn't run continuously — if it fails, it won't retry automatically, and a manual check-in will be needed.
5. FAQs
Automatic check-in will be disabled for that employee. They can reactivate it at any time by granting the necessary location access in their device settings.
Yes. Turn on Auto check-in via geolocation with the deskbird mobile app in Admin > Desks, parking & others: Booking settings for any office where check-in is enabled. Once active, employees turn it on individually in their app.
Low power or battery-saving modes can interfere with geolocation and geofencing. Share the following with affected users:
📱 iOS tips:
- Low Power Mode can suspend background location updates. Users should disable it when commuting to the office.
- Check Settings > Battery to see if Low Power Mode is on.
- Ensure deskbird has Always Allow under Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services.
🤖 Android tips:
- Battery Saver and Adaptive Battery can delay or stop location updates.
- Go to Settings > Apps > deskbird > Battery and choose Unrestricted.
- Ensure location permission is set to Allow all the time.
- Advise users to turn off Battery Saver during office arrival hours for the most reliable check-ins.
Automatic check-in may occasionally fail to trigger. The most common reasons include:
- Low battery or battery-saving mode: Can limit GPS performance or suspend background activity.
- Poor reception: Weak cellular or Wi-Fi signal may prevent geolocation from activating reliably.
- Obstructed or damaged GPS antenna: Hardware issues can impair location capabilities.
- No internet connection: If the device is offline when entering the 200m radius around the office.
- Location access set to "While using the app" only: Background triggers require "Always allow."
- Wi-Fi disabled: Especially on iOS, Wi-Fi must be enabled for accurate geolocation.
- On a phone call when entering the radius: Some carriers block simultaneous location events during calls.
- Corporate device restrictions: Managed devices may suppress background location triggers.
- The device never left the 200m radius: For example, if a dedicated device is permanently located at the office.
When automatic check-in does not trigger, it is usually because the mobile device never initiated the location-based attempt. deskbird receives no signal in these cases, meaning no check-in occurs and no log is generated on our end.
The check-in trigger is designed to activate once when entering the 200m radius around the office. It does not continuously run in the background. If the attempt fails, it will not retry automatically — a manual check-in is required.
This is not a limitation of the deskbird app, but rather a result of the device not emitting the required GPS-based system trigger. Whenever the device attempts to emit a geofencing signal, the check-in succeeds. If it doesn't, the cause is almost always one of the mobile-side limitations listed above.
✅ To reduce the risk of missed check-ins, we recommend:
- Ensuring Low Power Mode or Battery Saver is disabled.
- Keeping Wi-Fi enabled and maintaining a stable connection.
- Checking for device management restrictions that may block background location access.
If the issue occurs only for specific users but works for others, it is most likely a device-specific limitation. In such cases, suggest those users contact your internal IT team for additional troubleshooting.