iPhone 8 GPS problems

Evidently Japan store don’t have the exact same model that I have, and they refuse to give me a different model even if it is fully compatible with the network I use in the U.S. They won’t replace it even if they have it, they can only sent it in to Apple service center for repair. By the time I get it back, I will be out of Japan and they can’t ship the phone back to me in the U.S. So my phone that I bought brand new will become a repaired phone once this problem get fix. I did a screen recording of both apple map and google map and showed it to the genius guy and he agree, the gps is definitely messed up. I will have to navigate through Japan with a mess up gps. I don’t know if I will buy future apple product after this experience.

This is me with a follow on. Still having problems. Seems definitely to be a software problem and is not just limited to Waze. It is tied to the location settings in iPhone and to a loss of processing of the satellite signals (called GPS) due to some conflict somewhere

The genius guy did a full factory reset, run his diagnostic tool and everything. I end up having to run around Tokyo until I saw a phone store and bought a 120$ phone to do a job that a 1200$ cannot do. The only app I had at the time of my recorded test are apple map and google map...

Hi all,

Have been thinking of getting the 8 or X recently but the widespread reporting of GPS problems has stopped me. I rely heavily on GPS when travelling long distances and when abroad, so really need it working well!

Have any of you actually tried reaching out to Apple about this? If so, what do they say? Hopefully fixed in the upcoming models..

The apple genius pull up the compass and his iPhone compass and it point to same direction so he claim GPS is working. He ran diagnostic tool and he said everything came back fine. He then restore the iPhone and have me go test it. I came back, and ask if the phone can be replace. One of the genius mentioned earlier he will send me to another store to pick up a replacement. That option seems to vanish from the table once the second genius come. The second genius claim they can only replace with exact Verizon Model even though I said I am OK with Japanese model and shutter sound unable to shutoff. Since they don't have verizon model, he said I would need to send in mine phone for a 7 to 10 repair. That option doesn't work for me since I won't be in Japan to pick up my phone if it end up being 10 days. That pretty much conclude half a day of spending my vacation day at apple. I then initiate apple support later and they say if I am outside the country, policy said they and I quote "carry-in is the only service option when a customer is outside the device's country of purchase. If the service is not available in the customer's location, advise the customer to seek service in another country." Unless apple support reach out and resolve this, I don't want to waste another day of my vacation just to be told the same thing."

Sigh, sometimes Apple Tech Support and even Geniuses can be useless.

One Tech Support individual on the phone did a remote test of my GPS and said it was fine even though I was deep indoors at home with no GPS reception at all! And she said my gyroscope seems to be working, so the GPS must be fine?!? As far as I know, the gyroscope assists GPS by adding altitude info etc. but its functionality doesn't prove the A-GPS chip is working. Also, the Genius at the store tested my phone using Apple Maps and claimed GPS was working until I explained that we were both in the basement of the store and showed the difference between a stationary circle (location based on Wifi/cell towers) and pulsating circles (GPS reception) - as explained to me by a GPS app developer. I also have serious doubts about what you were told at the Japanese store. i.e. that the Japanese iphone can't handle Verizon.

Using Verizon in the US requires CDMA ,as in the American A1865 model, which I guess is your current model...

(The American A1901 model doesn't have CDMA, hence the warning)

See here iPhone X - Technical Specifications - Apple (this says CDMA is needed for Verizon)

However, the Japanese iPhone A1902 appears to have the required CDMA specs:

• TD-SCDMA 1,900（F）、2,000（A）
• CDMA EV-DO Rev. A（800、1,900、2,100MHz）

iPhone X - 仕様 - Apple（日本） (I know it is in Japanese but just scroll down to the stuff with CDMA)

If the Store is refusing on technical grounds they are likely to be wrong or just giving you B/S.

(they are right about the permanent shutter noise though. It was introduced because Japan has so many perverts https://www.iphonetricks.org/til-you-cant-silence-camera-shutter-sound-on-japane se-iphone-models/)

Having said all this, don't waste any more of your vacation. It ***** you had to pay $120 for a temporary replacement.

And it ***** that they employ people who give us misleading information.

(wow, they even censor the word " s-u-c-k-s". Are we Quakers now?)

I told the genius guy I am with T-Mobile using gsm network. He doesn't discuss anything with bands. Just keep going on with we can only replace with same model (which most place dont if you travel out of the states). I also ask the genius to write up report in English which he clearly did not from chatting with apple support. I did sent the video link to foxnews and informed them of a potential iphoneX GPS gate so hopefully this issue will garner some attention once the media take interest.

Both American models and the Japanese model have the same GSM specs:

GSM/EDGE（850、900、1,800、1,900MHz）

(you said the store was talking about the US Verizon model earlier, so I assumed you were on that. Verizon is CDMA and T-Mobile is GSM)

Somebody else may correct me, but I don't see why you would have a problem with T-Mobile either.

Sounds more like a non-technical issue i.e. too much hassle for them.

Anyway, life is short. Forget it. Enjoy your holiday 🙂

Tried full reset from latest iOS. Then loaded back last backup (was I not supposed to do this?). Anyway still with same problem(s). Is there anyway to test the a-gps chip? This seems like a software problem. Why aren’t more Apple iPhone 8 users reporting this. This should be major!!

I know it doesn't help, but I use Waze with my iPhone X almost daily and have never experienced any location issues except in downtown metropolitan areas where tall buildings block reception of GPS and cellular signals.

I guess I will have to carry around my SIM card remover tool at all times now...Do you think this is something Apple can fix in a future update? You would think they would have found a solution to this problem already. 😠 Thanks again for your help.

It is not ideal, but not that bad either, for me. I have not had any problem for two weeks now. If you don't have a SIM remover handy, you can use a paper clip, a pin or any other item (again, at your own risk). I think there was a mention about fixing network issues in an iOS update a while back but I don't remember any link being made to GPS functions. There has been no public acknowledgement of these issues, AFAIK, and "they" have even gone as far as censoring me and other contributors on these forums. As usual, we, the sucker customers, have to find the solution ourselves.

RBNetEngr

Thanks for reminding us of the distinction between acquiring a satellite signal, which does not require cellular/wifi etc, and acquiring an accurate satellite-based location quickly (TTFF), which does.

Go easy on Philly Phan. This isn't stackoverflow. This is the blind leading the blind 😉

A lot of non-experts, and even the Apple Store Geniuses, who have no excuse, get confused about A-GPS.

Yes, I have been using gps, not only wifi, cellular or bluetooth based location.

I tried your ”trick” before writing on this forum. Didn’t help. This has to be something that Apple needs to fix. Hopefully software related so it can be fixed.

Yes, I have done all that.

Gps signal is still there but it drops most of the satellites. It usually gets a decent signal from only three satellites whereas my Polar sportwatch and dedicated Garmin gps get over ten satellites. The problem with my iPhone 8 is that it is not able to maintain the connection to the satellites. When I first open a map app it gets an accurate location which lasts for a minute or so. But after that it always loses most of the satellites and the signal becomes poor. Same happens if I close the app and start it again. Good gps fix for a brief moment and then it drops again.

Factory resetting didn’t help either. Apple maps app have just as bad results right after resetting as before.

And by the way, this is now my third iPhone 8 that has exactly the same issue.