Problem with GPS in very remote locations....

Question

Level 1

8 points

Problem with GPS in very remote locations....

Hello ,

I recently went to some remote areas of Western Australia. My phone is an old 4S running 9.3.5

In these remote areas I either had no iphone mobile reception, or reception from a different carrier (to what I had) so all

I could get was SOS capability in those areas.

The iphone GPS did not work (location services). I had iphone apps preloaded for the trip, but because the GPS did not work I could not use them. Question is, has this been fixed for later iphones, or do you always need mobile reception to get the GPS to work?

Dissapointingly, I had to fall back to my old windows phone where the GPS worked. The apps I had preloaded for the iphone

and windows phone had full maps already downloaded (as they were map apps) for the area I was in.

Thanks in advance. Stephen

Posted on Sep 6, 2016 3:37 PM

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Answer 1

LACAllen

Level 8

43,590 points

Sep 6, 2016 4:11 PM in response to splotter100

Which app?

This may be a limitation of the app in question vs. the GPS hardware in the phone.

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Answer 2

Drew Reece

Level 6

10,684 points

Sep 6, 2016 4:58 PM in response to splotter100

Location services uses multiple features to get a fix, GPS is only 1 part of the process.

Cellular towers, WiFi access points & even Bluetooth can be used for a 'rough fix'. GPS can also be used to get a more accurate location. It really depends on the app in question - some only request a rough location to try to save power as enabling cellular, WiFi and GPS can adversely effect battery life.

GPS requires up to 12.5 minutes to get a full fix from satellites (it is the duration for multiple ones to appear over the horizon), the device also needs a clear view of the sky, a metal vehicle body may not help the situation. To improve the performance (and battery life) you can use a third party GPS receiver. BadElf make several for iOS devices, search around for others. It may compensate for the poor GPS antenna in some devices. I suspect your Windows device just has a better antenna.

See wikipedia for an explanation of 'assisted GPS'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GPS

Personally I would not try to rely on one device in remote locations.

Some apps will also allow you to download the map data (Google Maps has an 'offline mode'), other apps do too. That should help with the lack of cellular data. Sadly Apple Maps seems to not work offline.

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Answer 3

splotter100 Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 6, 2016 5:05 PM in response to LACAllen

Hi -

I tried to use "The Breadcrumb app" and navmii "Australia and New Zealand". Thanks for your reply and perhaps look at my reply to Drew Reece too 🙂 Cheers.

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Answer 4

splotter100 Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 6, 2016 5:09 PM in response to Drew Reece

Hi - thanks for your answer. I did have maps already downloaded for offline useage but your overall answer is excellent IMO 🙂

I did have an external gps unit but didnt think to take it - silly me, good suggestion.

I just read this in addition to your answer, from : About privacy and Location Services - Apple Support

Where it states:

Maps, directions, and location-based apps depend on data services. These data services are subject to change and might not be available in all geographic areas, resulting in maps, directions, or location-based information that might be unavailable, inaccurate, or incomplete.

So next time will take the external GPS unit.

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Answer 5

LACAllen

Level 8

43,590 points

Sep 6, 2016 5:11 PM in response to splotter100

If you read up on the GPS hardware in Apple devices, they are not known for their ability to work offline.

If Apple doesn't open the API up to raw data from the GPS chip, iOS developers may not be able to make full use of the chip's abilities.

That could be what's going on. What do the Breadcrumb and Navmii app developers say about offline iOS compatibility?

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Answer 6

splotter100 Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 6, 2016 5:14 PM in response to LACAllen

Hi again - I'm unsure about what the developers have said. BUT I think the suggestion of an external GPS unit was excellent and I really should have done that. It was no super drama but I couldn't see why the iphone wouldn't work where the windows phone did. thanks.

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Answer 7

Sep 6, 2016 6:09 PM in response to splotter100

One last thought on the subject ... since you were in such a remote location, is it possible you put your iPhone into Airplane mode to save battery life? If so, that also shuts down the GPS receiver (though I believe that has varied across different iOS revisions ... not sure how it behaves in 9.3.5).

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Answer 8

splotter100 Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 6, 2016 8:26 PM in response to rockmyplimsoul

Hi - thanks for taking the time to answer. It IS possible for some of the occasions BUT I had SOS coverage for other occasions, which meant a 'no' for airplane mode then 😀 .

A lot of people who live in these very remote locations are advised to get PLBs (personal locator beacons), especially when in the bush - not on topic I realize 🙂 but again perhaps a great option for anyone reading this planning to spend long time in remote locations, for safety.

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