Question 1

How do I set up automatic trip detection?

Accepted Answer

The setup asks for three permissions: Location set to "Always" (so drives can be detected with the app closed), Motion & Fitness (used to tell driving from walking), and Notifications (so you hear when a trip ends). The Home tab shows a setup card whenever something needs attention, such as location left on "While Using", Precise Location off, motion access off, or Low Power Mode; when the fix is in iOS Settings, the card has an Open Settings button (not for Low Power Mode alone). You can replay the setup guide from Settings → Help & Support → Run Setup Again.

Question 2

A drive wasn't recorded. What happened?

Accepted Answer

First check Settings → Advanced → Auto-Discarded Trips: recordings judged to be GPS noise are set aside there with the reason, the newest 10 are kept, and one tap restores one. Second, turn on Settings → Missed-Trip Recovery → Recover Missed Trips: if the app was asleep during a drive, the trip can be rebuilt afterward from the places your iPhone recorded you leaving and arriving, marked as an estimate and without a route, for you to check. If drives are still missing, use Settings → Help & Support → Contact Support; it opens an email with a short diagnostics summary so the problem can be looked at.

Question 3

A walk or a shuttle ride got logged as a drive.

Accepted Answer

Make sure Motion & Fitness access is on: the app uses it to tell driving from walking. Recordings the app rejects as noise go to Settings → Advanced → Auto-Discarded Trips instead of your log. A trip that was kept by mistake can be deleted with a swipe in the Trips tab, or reclassified by opening it and changing its category.

Question 4

How much battery does it use?

Accepted Answer

Background GPS uses some battery. To keep it to a minimum, turn on Settings → Power → Auto Track Only When Plugged In, which limits automatic tracking to when your iPhone is charging. When Low Power Mode is on, the setup card on the Home tab says trip detection may be delayed or missed.

Question 5

How do I export my mileage for taxes?

Accepted Answer

From Reports, export a CSV or PDF for the range you choose: all time, a year, recent months or custom dates. The Year-End Tax Package builds a per-trip CSV, a summary PDF and a plain-text summary in one step, with a checklist of what is still missing: unclassified trips, business trips without a purpose, and start- and end-of-year odometer readings.

Question 6

How do I back up or move my data?

Accepted Answer

Settings → Data & Backup → Back Up All Trips writes your trips and favorite locations to a JSON file you own. Restore from Backup reads it back on the same iPhone or another one and skips trips already present. App settings, custom rates and work hours are not in the file. The app also saves an automatic backup at most once a day, when your trips have changed, and keeps the 10 newest in its folder in the Files app.

Question 7

Can I change the IRS rate the app uses?

Accepted Answer

Yes, for the current year. Settings → Tax & Deduction Rates lets you enter your own business, medical and charity rates for the current tax year; they apply to that whole year, and trips from 2023 through 2025 keep their IRS rates. IRS rates for 2023 through 2026 are built in, including the July 1, 2026 change, and by default each business, medical or charity trip is priced at the rate in effect on its date.

Smart Mileage Tracker help and FAQ

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