Q: Does iPad 2 WiFi Really Have No GPS???

If you have a WiFi only iPad this is how it works to locate your position:

1) It identifies all available WiFi access points that are detectable by Name and if possible MAC address

2) It ueses its internet connection (which means it has to be connected to WiFi or have the information cached) to query the central Apple servers as to the position of those WiFi points

3) It estimates your position based on these, everybody who has a GPS becomes a tracking device that locates WiFi hotspots and uploads the location of them to the Apple server..

This isnt rocket science people it has been known to work this way for years...

I wish I had never posted the original question. The answer is NO; the iPad does NOT have GPS.  It uses work arounds to locate itself. But that is not GPS.

I have gotten upset at the "know more than thou" attitudes I have seen demonstrated in the answers like TheToid's "This isnt rocket science people it has been known to work this way for years...".  It shows a limited view of the users needs. A tablet has wonderful map potential. On my Android tablet I load the maps I need for the area I am traversing and I have all that I need to navigation. It HAS GPS and knows where it is regardless of connectivity.

Grab your iPad and load Navionics or your favorite Topo maps.  Check things to make sure all is working.  Great. The iPad knows where I am here in the city.  Okay. Off I go sailing in the Chesapeak. Guess what?  My iPad knows not where I am.   Okay - now a trek into the mountains. Hmm. I got the maps but my iPad is lost.  Very little help.

Apple is missing a great potential use of the iPad. I can tell you that my marine navigation charts and topographic maps look great on the iPad. But it is a worthless device for navigation. All my treking is with my Android tablet. (And yes, not all Android devices have GPS. That is just an option to look for when shopping)

czuque wrote:

 

Apple is missing a great potential use of the iPad.

No it's not.  iPads have been available with GPS since iPad 2. One just has to NOT buy the wifi only version.

czuque wrote:

 

I wish I had never posted the original question. The answer is NO; the iPad does NOT have GPS.  It uses work arounds to locate itself. But that is not GPS.

I'm not sure, after all the good explanations of GPS, it's difficult for you to understand that, yes, some iPads have GPS. 

All my treking is with my Android tablet. (And yes, not all Android devices have GPS. That is just an option to look for when shopping)

Not all iPads have GPS. It's an option to look for when shopping. My iPad has GPS. That's one of the reasons I bought the version with cellular.

"iPads have been available with GPS since iPad 2."

That would be since iPad 1.

Yep, the iPad 1 WiFi + 3g model definitely has GPS.

I can't believe that this thread has gone on for so long. Just unbelieveable!

it is very illegal to keep repository of WIFI locations on apple servers,, Google got busted for collecting wifi locations when they did their street view. So apple have repository of wif devices is load of rubish..

Only thing i notice when i am using the memory-map/google map when i driving ,it didnt tell me the speed or arltitude. so I think it have GPS chip only can receive location from the GPS sattellite, not any other data.

Google was collecting far, far more than the location of routers. And it is not at all illegal.

can you eplaning then when i driving ie without wifi connection to the ipad (wifi onnly model) how that blue dot keep tracking where i am.. this is i dont have any communication to external world.

Is the wi-fi turned on? If so, as you pass wi-fi networks the iPad will detect them and use the onboard data to correlate where you are.

I doubt that you would have the same experience if the iPad's wi-fi was turned off.

equant wrote:

 

Only thing i notice when i am using the memory-map/google map when i driving ,it didnt tell me the speed or arltitude. so I think it have GPS chip only can receive location from the GPS sattellite, not any other data.

Correct. GPS is satellites

But A-GPS also gets data from cell towers.

-> http://gps.about.com/od/glossary/g/A-GPS.htm

Just ignore this, still flustered

equant wrote:

 

it is very illegal to keep repository of WIFI locations on apple servers,

No, it's not.

Google got busted for collecting wifi locations when they did their street view.

No, they got busted for collecting data on those unprotected wifi networks (as opposed to simply collecting the IP address and location of the router)..

-> http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/wifi-data-collection-update.html

Chris CA wrote:

 

equant wrote:

 

Only thing i notice when i am using the memory-map/google map when i driving ,it didnt tell me the speed or arltitude. so I think it have GPS chip only can receive location from the GPS sattellite, not any other data.

Correct. GPS is satellites

But A-GPS also gets data from cell towers.

-> http://gps.about.com/od/glossary/g/A-GPS.htm

Though if you have a Wi-Fi only iPad, you have no ability to communicate with cell towers.

William Kucharski wrote:

 

Chris CA wrote:

 

equant wrote:

 

Only thing i notice when i am using the memory-map/google map when i driving ,it didnt tell me the speed or arltitude. so I think it have GPS chip only can receive location from the GPS sattellite, not any other data.

Correct. GPS is satellites

But A-GPS also gets data from cell towers.

-> http://gps.about.com/od/glossary/g/A-GPS.htm

 

Though if you have a Wi-Fi only iPad, you have no ability to communicate with cell towers.

Which is why A-GPS is only available on a iPad that has GPS. I can see where Chris's statement might seem a bit unclear. A-GPS, as has been explained in this thread, is GPS with an added bonus of also getting information from cell towers.