Drizzt90

Q: 1 possibly 2 GPS questions

I was under the impression that you had to initiate a GPS lock on your phone with whatever app you wanted to use if you knew you were going out of range of any cell service and that you could keep that lock once you left the world behind. Now I am reading with GPS apps for the phone that you can get a lock in the middle of nowhere with out any cell service or wifi. Granted I am under the impression that it would just take longer since it is an assisted GPS. So questions

 

1. If my phone is completely off. I travel to some remote place with no signals whatsoever and I turn my phone on and open a GPS app.. Can it still get a lock on me?

2. If my phone is in airplane mode does the GPS still work? Because I have only had a minute or two to test it but I drove to work in airplane mode and pulled over before I got there and opened the app and it still locked on to me.

 

That's it. Thanks for the help guys.

 

PS. I know about getting the offline maps and the apps that let you get driving directions without internet. Thanks

iPhone 6, iOS 8

Posted on Apr 29, 2015 8:21 AM

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Q: 1 possibly 2 GPS questions

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  • by Meg St._Clair,

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair Apr 29, 2015 8:29 AM in response to Drizzt90
    Level 9 (59,097 points)
    iPhone
    Apr 29, 2015 8:29 AM in response to Drizzt90

    By "lock" do you mean that the phone will determine your location?

     

    As long as the phone is turned on, and Location Services are active, the phone will locate you. If you have an app that you have authorized to use Location Services (Settings>Privacy>Location Services) that app will know your location.

     

    Some apps need cellular or WiFi to download other information (e.g. maps). Some navigation apps can download maps ahead of time.

     

    If you have the phone in Airplane mode, all of the radios (cellular, WiFi, BlueTooth and GPS) are turned off. You can turn WiFi back on by itself. GPS will remain off.

  • by Phil0124,

    Phil0124 Phil0124 Apr 29, 2015 8:36 AM in response to Drizzt90
    Level 7 (27,589 points)
    iPhone
    Apr 29, 2015 8:36 AM in response to Drizzt90

    1. Yes. GPS uses satellites. The Assisted part is to get  more accurate location when you are inside buildings or under trees where line of sight to the GPS satellites is not direct.

     

    2. Yes. GPS is not turned off in Airplane Mode. Google Maps can locate me when in airplane mode just fine.

  • by Drizzt90,

    Drizzt90 Drizzt90 Apr 29, 2015 8:51 AM in response to Phil0124
    Level 1 (6 points)
    Apple Watch
    Apr 29, 2015 8:51 AM in response to Phil0124

    @Phil0124
    Everything I read says that airplane mode disables GPS.. But like you I have it in airplane mode (all apps were closed prior to entering airplane mode) .. I drove like 5 minutes and then opened up the MotionX GPS and it thought for like 15 seconds then got my position like it was using GPS and it actively tracked me the 150 feet to and through the parking lot.

     

    I hope it works in airplane mode and not suck my battery dry because I would like to get Gaia GPS for dayhikes in the wilderness because the topo maps would be handy.

  • by Meg St._Clair,

    Meg St._Clair Meg St._Clair Apr 29, 2015 9:03 AM in response to Drizzt90
    Level 9 (59,097 points)
    iPhone
    Apr 29, 2015 9:03 AM in response to Drizzt90

    Drizzt90 wrote:

     

    I hope it works in airplane mode and not suck my battery dry because I would like to get Gaia GPS for dayhikes in the wilderness because the topo maps would be handy.

    Buy yourself an external battery pack. I just bought one by mophie that is very small and has built in cables.

  • by Drizzt90,

    Drizzt90 Drizzt90 Apr 29, 2015 9:08 AM in response to Drizzt90
    Level 1 (6 points)
    Apple Watch
    Apr 29, 2015 9:08 AM in response to Drizzt90

    Drizzt90 wrote:

     

    @Phil0124
    Everything I read says that airplane mode disables GPS.. But like you I have it in airplane mode (all apps were closed prior to entering airplane mode) .. I drove like 5 minutes and then opened up the MotionX GPS and it thought for like 15 seconds then got my position like it was using GPS and it actively tracked me the 150 feet to and through the parking lot.

     

    I hope it works in airplane mode and not suck my battery dry because I would like to get Gaia GPS for dayhikes in the wilderness because the topo maps would be handy.

     

     

    BUT.... Use Airplane Mode on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support States that GPS is turned off in airplane mode.... Then how did I get the GPS to lock onto me and follow me down the road with no wifi, or cellular service, no active apps in the background IN airplane mode?

  • by Phil0124,

    Phil0124 Phil0124 Apr 29, 2015 9:15 AM in response to Drizzt90
    Level 7 (27,589 points)
    iPhone
    Apr 29, 2015 9:15 AM in response to Drizzt90

    Drizzt90 wrote:

     

    @Phil0124
    Everything I read says that airplane mode disables GPS.. But like you I have it in airplane mode (all apps were closed prior to entering airplane mode) .. I drove like 5 minutes and then opened up the MotionX GPS and it thought for like 15 seconds then got my position like it was using GPS and it actively tracked me the 150 feet to and through the parking lot.

     

    I hope it works in airplane mode and not suck my battery dry because I would like to get Gaia GPS for dayhikes in the wilderness because the topo maps would be handy.

    Yeah, that's a discrepancy. but so far its been able to locate me. correctly while on airplane mode.

     

    I'll try it out again ater when I'm out and about.

     

    As long as you have the Maps it should be able to locate you.

  • by Drizzt90,

    Drizzt90 Drizzt90 Apr 29, 2015 9:28 AM in response to Phil0124
    Level 1 (6 points)
    Apple Watch
    Apr 29, 2015 9:28 AM in response to Phil0124

    Phil0124 wrote:

    Yeah, that's a discrepancy. but so far its been able to locate me. correctly while on airplane mode.

     

    I'll try it out again after when I'm out and about.

     

    As long as you have the Maps it should be able to locate you.


    Cool. Hopefully it works in airplane mode contrary to what I have read. If not I have found a promising alternative from another website for conserving batterylife in the wilderness when all you want is GPS. Seems like it is legit and I am going to try it out.

    4down vote

    I'd thought I'd share - the best way to do this without needing a paper clip and peeling off your case is to use the SIM PIN function. Turn it on (Settings->Phone-> SIM PIN) and reboot the phone. When it asks to unlock the SIM, just hit cancel. This will have the same effect as removing the SIM

    Of course do to this you'll need the SIM PIN. For AT&T the default is 1111. You should be able to get your SIM PIN from your carrier.

    Not sure if this works with non-SIM iPhones, i.e Verizon.

    WARNING MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE CORRECT SIM PIN OTHERWISE 3 FAILED ATTEMPTS WILL LOCK YOUR PHONE.  I have confirmed 1111 pin worked on my ATT iPhone 6 ios8

    Then just turn off wifi and Bluetooth, turn screen brightness down and I think you should get amazing battery life.

  • by Drizzt90,

    Drizzt90 Drizzt90 Apr 29, 2015 2:28 PM in response to Drizzt90
    Level 1 (6 points)
    Apple Watch
    Apr 29, 2015 2:28 PM in response to Drizzt90

    Drizzt90 wrote:

     

    @Phil0124
    Everything I read says that airplane mode disables GPS.. But like you I have it in airplane mode (all apps were closed prior to entering airplane mode) .. I drove like 5 minutes and then opened up the MotionX GPS and it thought for like 15 seconds then got my position like it was using GPS and it actively tracked me the 150 feet to and through the parking lot.

     

    For example

    File screen.png


    Notice how I am in Airplane mode AND have a GPS signal? I turned on airplane mode, closed all open apps, turned off wifi and Bluetooth, hard reset my phone and when it started back up it was still in airplane mode and I was not in any wifi range even though it was off. I opened MotionX GPS and it got a fix on me and kept it after like 10 seconds... So Airplane mode doesn't turn off GPS like apple says it does?

  • by Drizzt90,

    Drizzt90 Drizzt90 Apr 30, 2015 8:16 AM in response to Drizzt90
    Level 1 (6 points)
    Apple Watch
    Apr 30, 2015 8:16 AM in response to Drizzt90

    Maybe iPhone6's can keep GPS/Location services on and working even in Airplane mode...

  • by Courcoul,

    Courcoul Apr 30, 2015 8:49 AM in response to Drizzt90
    Level 6 (14,193 points)
    Apr 30, 2015 8:49 AM in response to Drizzt90

    Remember the i6/i6+ have an M8 coprocessor that handles all the I/O heavy lifting, at least in what the sensors are concerned and that includes the GPS. This drastically reduces power consumption and may be the reason why it appears that geolocating is running even when in Airplane Mode. Note that GPS is a receiver; no signal is transmitted at all by the device, that could possibly interfere with avionics if the total EMI radiation is not kept to a minimum.

     

    Another item is whether an iPhone is truly off. From recognized security experts, I know for a fact that the devices have remote power capability. Meaning that Apple can power them on as long as they are reachable, when instructed to do so by law enforcement or any of the three-letter agencies you can think of. Only way to ensure the thing is unreachable is either by running the battery absolutely flat or placing it inside an EM shielded container, like the "Faraday bags" they were sporting in one of the past CSI:Cyber episodes.

     

    BTW, it is called a "fix", not a "lock". Unless of course you are the person of interest to any guided missile or torpedo loose out there...