---
title: "How is a delivery's expected arrival worked out — and when isn't it shown?"
description: "How the expected arrival is estimated, and when it isn't shown."
url: "https://support.pr-4.orbit.do/en/faq/how-is-a-deliverys-expected-arrival-worked-out-and-when-isnt-it"
locale: "en"
lastReviewed: "2026-07-10"
---

# How is a delivery's expected arrival worked out — and when isn't it shown?

How the expected arrival is estimated, and when it isn't shown.

> **Note:** A delivery's **Expected Arrival** is a live estimate that Orbit updates as the trip progresses — sharper when the driver's device is sharing live GPS. It appears only while a `Tour` is running, and it is an estimate, not a guaranteed time.

While a `Tour` is on the road, Orbit shows an **Expected Arrival** for each stop. It recalculates as the journey moves along, so the time can shift by a few minutes — that is the estimate updating, not something going wrong.

The estimate is at its sharpest when the driver's device in Orbit Cockpit is sharing its live GPS position. If the device is offline, out of coverage, or has location sharing switched off, Orbit falls back to a slightly rougher estimate based on the driver's logged progress. Either way it remains an estimate, never a promise.

An **Expected Arrival** is shown only while the `Tour` is actually running:

* **Before the tour starts** — there is nothing yet to estimate.
* **While it runs** — the estimate is live and updates as the driver progresses.
* **Once it's finished** — the arrival becomes a logged fact rather than a forecast.

Operators always see the **Expected Arrival** in Orbit MissionControl while the tour runs. Whether your customers see it too, on a tracking page, is a per-organisation setting, and it can also be switched on or off for an individual `Tour`.

## Example

A dispatcher at Spaceport Shipping Co. watches a `Tour` heading into Amsterdam. Orbit shows an **Expected Arrival** of 14:20; ten minutes later, with a fresh GPS position, it reads 14:35 — the estimate has simply updated. When the driver's phone briefly loses signal, Orbit keeps estimating from the last logged stop until the connection returns. Because this customer has customer-facing tracking switched on, the shipper sees the same **Expected Arrival** on their tracking page.