Bluetooth profile for GPS in iOS6

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Level 1

5 points

Bluetooth profile for GPS in iOS6

Dear all,

After having relied on my GNS 5870 MFI external (bluetooth) unit for iPad3 wifi when using iOS5, I was looking forward to the joy of new features after upgrading to iOS6. My joy quickly turned to anger when discovering that a known good GPS unit will not work in iOS6 anymore.

My only explanation after some fault isolation is that the bluetooth profiles in iOS6 do not support GPS anymore or are incorrectly implemented by Apple. A quick review of the Bluetooth standard shows that GPS units communicate via the so-called 'GNSS Bluetooth profile' which needs to be included in the iOS.

Searching the Apple Support Communities pages did not show this profile for iOS5 nor for iOS6. This increases my concern a little as I am quite dependent on having external GPS available for flying purposes. Is there any expert out there who can comment on the GNSS Bluetooth profile in iOS6 or someone else who may say something smart about why my apps in iOS6 do not get GPS data though the same app on an iOS5 iPad still works as a charm,

Regards,

Rene

iPad (3rd gen) Wi-Fi, iOS 6, Stupid enough to upgrade to iOS6...

Posted on Sep 28, 2012 4:55 AM

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Answer 1

NLCircle Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 2, 2012 7:26 AM in response to NLCircle

Addendum to original post:

After contacting the manufacturer of the GNS to inquire about the GNS 5870 issues with iOS6, I've received the following answer:

Thank you for your enquiry and information. The GNS receiver 5870-MFI and GNS 1000 are compatible with Apple iOS6 (tested and confirmed).

Please check if your navigation Apps are compatible with iOS6.

Please power cycle your iPAD (shutdown, restart) and activate Bluetooth and location service in your iPAD.

Then you can create a Bluetooth partnership between GNS 5870-MFi and your iPAD.
The Pin code for 5870-MFI is "0000" (four times zero).

PS: Sometimes the location service manager of the iOS does not transmit the received GPS data of GNS 5870-MFI to the navigation app. Then a restart of iPad/iPod is necessary.

Best regards

Gerd

Seems we need to look for other solutions, specifically towards settings that may have changed in iOS6 concerning interfaces etc. Anyone any suggestions ?

Rene

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Answer 2

Mar 16, 2013 1:03 PM in response to NLCircle

I found turning Wi-Fi off and then back on with the bluetooth gps connected got my map application to receive GPS data rather than the location service wifi based position.

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