iPhone 6 GPS not working

There is an app called GPS Status which will give you the Fix on your location along with the horizontal/vertical accuracy. If you have a "Poor Fix", this will indicate a reception problem.

Perhaps you can take back to Apple/Sprint and using the app have a better argument and better luck. It would be good if you can have someone with an identical phone accompany you and use the app for comparison. My wife has the same phone which is how I narrowed it down to a hardware problem.

It is indeed a hardware problem. Poor GPS fix is the result of a degraded iPhone 6 logic board flex cable which is a part of the connection from the logic board to the GPS/WiFi antenna module.

I have two cousins with iPhone 6 (sixes... can't really turn this into a plural word with saying 6s and confusing people) with this problem. Both were fixed when I replaced the logic board flex cable. The last one I did the cable was so degraded and brittle that the snap on connector broke off when I pried the cable apart from the logic board. The remaining part of the connector was then easily removed with a spudger.

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Resetting network settings worked for me too! Thanks for the tip.

I have a theory:

I was using the Waze GPS app in an area that switched into "extended" coverage. The app kept saying "searching for network" I'm thinking the app did something to the network settings inadvertently - perhaps a bug. Anyway that's when I started having GPS problems.

Thank you for the tip it was a godsend.

Okay, so it sounds like the "iPhone6 Logic Board Antenna Flex Cable" and/or the antennae replacement is the best option after reading through all these.

I already went through ALL the other tips building up to the full reset and restore. No go on that front and I'm not ready to fork out the funds for a new phone yet so looks like a repair shop is on the agenda for tomorrow.

The phone I'm having this issue on is 1 year old fresh out of the box. Maybe after 2-3 years I could understand this part wearing out, but I don't believe age is a factor here. Apple Store will not resolve the issue, carrier won't resolve the issue, and insurance company refuses to issue a new phone since both the carrier and Apple "can't find anything wrong with the device." The only thing left to do is fork out more money for a new phone and move on with my life. You win Apple.

So was your GPS not working out of the box? If so it should have been repaired under warranty.

If the Gps stopped working after a year then I would still replace the antenna flex cable. 3 of 3 iphone 6 phones in my family had this problem all were fixed with flex cable replacement.

You do have another option:

I had the antenna flex cable replaced and it solved problem.

Find a local reputable repair shop to do this. You can spend <$100 on the flex cable repair that will likely work or $750 for a new phone.

Took the phone to a local iPhone repair shop today (iRepair Phone Shop) and they replaced the logic board antenna flex cable for $45.

That fixed all GPS issues I was having!

Back to tracking bike trips on Ride Report, using Waze, and playing Pokémon without any issues.

The shop I took it to said this is a known problem for them. Apple really needs to recognize this issue and fix it.

I had the flex cable replaced at a local repair shop in Auburn, MA. They said sometimes the flex cable replacement does the trick, sometimes it fixes it temporarily, and sometimes it doesn't fix the GPS issue at all. Unfortunately replacing the flex cable didn't fix my iPhone 6, the company didn't charge anything since it couldn't be fixed. They concluded a new phone was the best route. I settled for the iPhone SE @ a lower monthly installment but compromised my screen size. I hope you have better luck than I. Cheers.

Did you ever find a solution for this? I have an iPhone 6, 64gb, and I've been having this problem for a little over a year now. I have a service business cleaning windows, roofs and gutters for residential customers. My team and I are in one to four places each day. GPS is pretty important to me. I also noticed that my Bluetooth earbuds only work when they are within 6 inches of my phone (totally defeats the purpose!), my Bluetooth speaker only works within 12 inches, my iPad and MacBook Pro consistently connect with wifi routers easily but my phone won't, even from the same location, and my cell coverage seems to be getting worse and worse. I live and work in an urban/suburban community not the forest. I'd love to know what you ended up doing about this issue.

Thanks!

K-Grizz

I just bit the bullet and got a new iPhone. I went from a 6 to an SE, no one could solve the gps not working. I had the antenna flex cable replaced, reset network settings, rebooted the phone, factory reset the phone, no one at the Sprint store could help me or make an insurance claim because when hooked up the diagnostic showed "perfect functionality", and everyone at the apple store was stumped too. Sorry i can't provide any hope.

Hi there, I'd like to offer a follow up to this initial posting from SHADOWSTRIKE1. This is how I FIXED all the GPS, wifi, bluetooth problems everyone has been listing here on my iPhone 6.

I had the exact same problems after the software update, same iphone 6 model, same problems with pokemon go, google maps would show me driving 100meters away from where I was, apple maps arrow wouldn't even move, everything that other users listed here as well. So to save some other soul some heartache, here's what I did to fix the problem on my phone.

I spent months researching, contacting Apple and even seeing them multiple times all to be told to have to "buy" another refurbished phone because I was just out of warranty.

I thought screw that, there's obviously a simple fix and explanation for this problem.

And so finally I found the root of the problem the Flex cable. (If you don't know what it is, read up on it!)

I called around countless phone repair stores all to be told it was the chip on the motherboard or something else unrelated. They all had absolutely no clue and tried to convince me otherwise. Until I persisted and found one person who could indeed swap the Flex cable for $70 dollars.

I didn't have the patience to take apart the phone myself but if you're tech savvy, you can probably find the part on eBay to do it yourself if you have the time and wanna save money.

Before the repair my GPS would always be 100 meters off, bluetooth buggy with ue boom speakers and wifi only showed a small selection of networks compared to a "healthy phone" which picked up much more.

I've just had it fixed today and it all works as if it was a new phone. I wanted to share the news to anyone else out there who stumbles across this forum. Don't buy a new phone without first swapping the flex cable because its a much cheaper alternative to try out.

It worked for me and by the looks of other people on other sites it's worked for them too.

TLDR: don't buy a new phone, replace the Flex cable to fix GPS permanently. Good luck

If you read the thread youll find that most prople have had hardware problems. Personally Ive had three iPhone(s) 6 with gps, wifi, and bluetooth problems fixed with the cable replacement. They go brittle with age and stop conducting.

Evidently, Apple still won't acknowledge that a hardware replacement fixed the issue for many of those who posted here. I received the following from e-mail Apple with regards to a posting here on my success story with the hardware replacement. While I expect Apple to remove this post within a few weeks, my conclusion is that there were many more postings about the success of the flex cable replacement than actually appear now in this forum.

In response to Apples comment:

My answer was tested. I checked that the answer worked on my own device before I posted my submission.

"Thanks for participating in Apple Support Communities.

We’ve removed your post iPhone 6 GPS not working from the Apple Support Communities site because it contained some questionable advice.

If possible, test your answer. Check that your answer works on your own device before you post your Submission.

We appreciate your involvement in our forums, and hope you’ll continue to be active here.

We’ve included a copy of your original post below.

Thanks,

Apple Support Communities Staff"

My iPhone 6 GPS (using either Google Maps or Apple Maps) became useless at some point, not sure when/why, because it couldn't seem to figure out where it was. Bluetooth and WiFi seemed ok. The GPS Status app indicated poor (~180 m) GPS location accuracy.

Tried every reset and config change I could think of with no success. Local repair shop said it was probably a logic board problem.

Replaced the antenna flex cable and antenna using cheap parts from Amazon and now everything works great (GPS Accuracy 5m/Excellent).