iPhone 8 GPS problems

I had this problem for two iPhone 8s. Multiple calls and when I took my phone away from my wireless charger it works fine. Even with the wireless charger plugged in it still cause the exact same issue as yours. Now it works great!

Hi all,

I managed to get it to work by erasing my carrier settings and location/privacy settings followed by a hard reset. My gps is now properly working with Apple, google and Waze maps.( tested them like with 25 trips) Hope this helps you guys!

Hi All - I'm chiming in as I don't have a definitive solution, but there is some process of elimination in terms of what I've done that could help us identify the solution. It seems that these 25 pages of discussion have identified the following three separate types of GPS issues:

(1) GPS Issues with Hyundai Sonata (2012, 2013). I, as well as a few others, fall into this category

(2) GPS Issues with other vehicles. I'd be curious what other vehicles are the common thread.

(3) GPS Issues as a pedestrian.

I've created a quick survey poll just to see where the majority of folks land. I've set up the following survey monkey poll so that once you finish, you can see the results to-date yourself. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VFSRVDD

My issue:

- Driving in the Hyundai Sonata with Iphone 8 Plus (IOS 11.2.1), GPS either does not follow, does not track, or is heavily lagged.

Here's what I've done:

(i.) Tried to upgrade to IOS beta 11.2.5. No change.

(ii.) Returned Iphone 8 plus for another Iphone 8 plus. No change.

(iii.) Used Iphone GPS in other car. Yes it work as it should.

(iv.) In the Hyundai Sonata, keep Iphone away from the top of the center dashboard. Yes it work as it should. Specifically, my mount is on the center of the dashboard right above the radio. When I take the phone away and either put it in the cup holder in the center OR put it on the driver-side door, it works.

Bottom Line: As ridiculous as this is that we've all spent $800 on a phone that should have the basic GPS capabilities as our Iphone 4 or whatever, it appears that in the case of the Hyundai Sonata, there is some interference (either with the TPMS, Sirius XM, or something else from the dashboard unit).

Next Steps: My request is that folks who are having this issue help to troubleshoot what exactly is causing this interference (and why this is only happening with the new Iphones). Appreciate the help. VR,

Rod.

This happened to me with my new 8 plus recently, you will not believe how I ended up fixing it. I purchased unlocked phone where I did not notify my cellular provider and was using iPhone 6 sim card (believe it or not sim card does need to get updated ever so often with the technology). My GPS was doing the exact same thing. I contacted Apple, they made me wipe my phone out 3x to test GPS with factory setting then with my iTune backup. They were saying my backup could've been corrupted, etc. etc. but nothing worked. I had a hunch, went to my provider, got a new sim card and they updated their system with my new phone IMEI and everything works now! It had nothing to do with hardware nor software updates. My provider (AT&T) said, in order for location to be accurate with the cellular service, they need to have updated phone info on their system.

Of note: I do know lots of user feedback has come in on this. What was reported is that anything magnetic near or on the device is what users are reporting as the #1 reason currently their GPS was off and not functioning properly.

So, something to definitely check on

Also - it appears that Waze is disabling find location in the app, although it appears to be set up otherwise. Therefore, check on this

I don't like to make conclusions without specific details, actions taken, when it occurred, location, other variables, etc, and I'm not doing that. I do however see a clear pattern though in the causes and resolutions to this issue. It's fairly obvious the issue is environment-related, specifically connections and interference. So many, different troubleshooting steps by a vast array of users on the latter versions of iphones (models 6, 6s, 7 & 7 plus, 8 models, and the X) who encountered this issue, consistently prove this. All users had two very specific things in common- either third party additions to the device and/or their vehicles, were interfering and/or peripherals were offsetting the GPS and, two - all reported connection issues in which once those were corrected, no longer had the issue.

I'm honestly surprised Apple is looking into this, as no one but each, individual user can possibly know what is putting this in motion. ISP's and cell carriers take no accountability although GPS relies on them to work. If Apple finds a solution for cellular and wifi connections, that they have zero control of, I will be in awe.

They've accomplished it before though, so we'll see.

This issue was occurring in past versions also. Why? We can only control our environmental factors to a certain degree and who knows what each individual has on them, around the phone, who is on towers and when and omg, the list of factors goes on.

I've seen many resolve by removing from car holder's or mounts, others via restarting their router and WiFi troubleshooting, one guy's encrypted card opener to his building was affecting his, another fixed via removing a phone case, and one I found that I found quite fascinating- a very determined customer who looked into his vehicle's surroundings and by disabling On star fixed his GPS issue. Kudos to these folks for considering what factors affect location based services (Bluetooth, wifi and cellular, then you branch out from there) and as a result, found the root cause. That takes thought and determination as well as looking beyond what was easier - to blame others. Although easier, it's unproductive and a lax way of handling issues.

I learn from those people who although, have unique environmental causes, I can still relate to and use as guidance in resolving tricky issues via looking into variables unique to me.

Copied and edited from my own Reddit post:

iPhone X GPS issues : apple

Got a further update:

1. The problem occurred again in the replacement device.

2. The problem is car related.

What happened:

1. The GPS worked fine on my way back home from Apple store;

2. GPS became buggy again, same symptoms, the next day when I was driving;

3. I downloaded the App GPSdiagnostic and tested it in my car (2012 Sonata with aftermarket stereo).

It lost signal almost immediately when I turn on the car’s electrical system (press the engine start button without pressing brake). It recovers when I move my phone away from the dashboard, or when I turn off the car’s electrical stuff. I replicated this for more than 6 times.

======================================================================

I will record a video and upload it later.

I did setup as a new phone. It is working perfectly now, except when plugged into my Subaru. It is definitely the car though...it causes the same GPS issue on my iPad pro and the Girlfriend's iPhone 7+

I posted this on the GPS and iOS11 thread also.

It has worked for me so far.

Some of you may want to see if it works in your case also:

1. Turn all apps off.

2. Remove SIM card while phone on.

3. Shut down phone (volume button and sleep button for iPhone X).

4. Restart phone while SIM card out.

5. After phone restarts, push SIM card in.

6. Open GPS Diagnostics, or any other GPS app to test, and Hey Presto, it works!

PS: do the above at your own risk. you may want to try removing and re-inserting the SIM card while the phone is shut down. I don't know if the solution works using that method, though.

Did you try setting up your previous phone as a new phone?

If not, you cannot be certain whether it was the setting up as a new phone (software) or the physical replacement (hardware) that fixed your problem.

I was in a similar situation to you, and resolved my problem by getting a replacement iPhone, but the GPS failed again a few weeks later.

When that happened, I fixed it by removing and reinserting the SIM card, which seemed to re-register the phone with cell towers, fixing an assisted-GPS problem (see my post further back in this thread, and note the disclaimer). Rollier had a similar theory about cell network issues. I don't know if the explanation is correct, but my GPS works okay now, although it takes significantly longer than my old iPhone 6 to pick up the signal initially.

This worked for me. Brutal GPS searching problems with the iPhone X with Waze, Apple Maps, Google Maps, Motion X, etc. closed the apps, removed the SIM, Powered Off, Powered On, Inserted SIM. No problems since.

On the iPhone X, my issue was (TTFF) time to first fix i.e. getting the initial GPS-based location. Once I got that, the locations were always accurate, if I started my journey without waiting for that, I had problems.

TTFF seems much better now probably because I did the following:

SIM trick (see previous postings and warnings about removing/reinserting SIM cards while phone on)

Set Compass to True North

upgraded to iOS 12.0.1

turned off all GPS apps apart from the one I am using

turned off all other unnecessary background apps

stood motionless in clear view of sky until I got GPS-based (not Wifi/Cellular-only) location. to be absolutely sure of this, I use Motion X and look for the blue/green globe to spin, and sometimes also use GPS Diagnostic.

All of these may have helped, particularly the first, third, and last steps.

Even after all that, TTFF is still slower than on my wife's iPhone 6S which uses the same carrier and same iOS.

Anyway, apart from looking like an idiot standing on the spot outside for 10 to 30 seconds to get the first fix, I have no problems at the moment.

brko91 wrote:

Turning on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth fixed my problem...

Yes! GPS is only part of the mechanism used for location determination. WiFi and Bluetooth also contribute.

Mine was all down to a magnetic vent mount. Got a new phone but it had same issue so bought a different mount. Something is for sure wrong though, magnet didnt affect my iphone 6 that i just upgraded from and it shouldn’t affect this so hopefully its an upcoming update.