iPhone 8 GPS problems

If your problem is closely related to the one I had with my iPhone 6 that was working perfectly until upgrading to iOS11 then you do have a GPS module but it's fried.

I spent hours with Apple support since December up to an escalation to the engineering team to no avail until I replaced the parts myself using an iFixit kit.

The GPS issue disappeared instantly and never came back.

Sadly I see no iPhone 8 GPS iFixit kit.

Well the people returning their phones have iPhone 8 and X which is a newer generation than mine. Apple is aware of the GPS problem in these phones and accept to replace them apparently easily. But they don't seem to test the replacement ones first.

I indeed think that there are a lot of phones that were shipped with a problematic hardware part or connection and that Apple is just keeping things quiet.

Mikeluca67,

When you swapped your phone, did you test it in its "virgin state" i.e. before restoring it from your backup?

To rule out software bugs, why not try backing up your phone and resetting it via iTunes to get the latest iOS (not via your phone's internal settings which will reinstall the old iOS) and then test the GPS on Apple Maps before restoring your apps and settings etc. For Apple Maps you need to get the "ping effect" with light blue circles radiating outward, like ripples from a stone thrown into water. If you just see a light blue circle around the darker blue point, I was told that just means your location is based on cell tower triangulation and Wifi signals only. I would do that test before re-installing any apps or settings.

If it doesn't work properly after doing all that, then get another replacement as you probably were given another dud.

I replaced my iPhone X and the GPS is working fine now. Just to be safe, I didn't restore the replacement from my backup. It was a hassle, but not as much trouble as I had to imagined, thanks to a lot of my stuff being on the cloud.

See the discussion here also Re: iPhone X GPS accuracy is weak

Just wanted to share my experience and eventual "solution" to this problem.

After 2 replacements of my iPhone 8 Plus, a refund from the (re)seller, and then finally purchasing a new iPhone X directly from Apple, I solved my GPS issues by sheer luck (?)

A month or two ago I went to an Apple Store in a nearby city and reproduced the GPS issue on every iPhone 7, 7+, 8, 8+ and X in the store with ease and almost without exception (would've made an interesting youtube video). I was unable to reproduce it on 6S or SE models which is consistent with my older phone comparisons.

Reproducing it is generally easy, just open Apple Maps, allow location access if needed and hold the phone in your hand for 1-2 minutes until the signal starts the usual drifting/jumping around (not with 6S and SE though). I even showed it to the staff and they were baffled by this. Also, holding the phone in the hand is important since movement (even very slight hand movement) aggravates the issue.

This week I went to an Apple Store in a different city and to my surprise I was unable to replicate the issue on their phones. The devices on display had 11.3 version installed so I figured hey they fixed it in an update in the meantime. I decided to purchase the X on the spot and take my chances hoping that even if it's not the iOS version, they may have newer phones or whatever.

The iPhone X came with some iOS 11.2.X version (don't remember exactly) and I confirmed that the GPS is quite accurate and does not jump/drift around even before upgrading to 11.3 (still working ok). The GPS on my iPhone 8+ most certainly did not work on the latest 11.2.X version.

I can only guess why this phone works correctly, just sharing this experience with you all. Whenever traveling to nearby cities I visit an Apple Store or a reseller and check their 8's and X's for GPS issues. If there's any updates in the future, I'll post back here for you all.

@selleri

Try a full reset - via iTunes (see above). Try Apple Maps after that, before restoring your old backup.

I found that helped with my iPhoneX problems, although I decided to set up the phone from scratch, to be safe.

I had some problems recur a few weeks after doing that, but it is okay again now after I turned off many apps in location settings, including one suspicious one that was set to "Always on". I suspect that sometimes the A-GPS chip turns off if too many apps are using it. Not sure.

I have to give the phone about 10-15 seconds while standing still to get the signal but once it catches it, there are usually no problems.

Sorry, but you should test your phone after resetting but before restoring your old backup.

If you restore your old backup, you will just reintroduce whatever software problem was on your phone, if there was one.

You need a "fresh" version without your old backup on.

If I were you I would

1) backup phone to iTunes vs USB

2) reset phone when connected to iTunes via USB by selecting "restore iPhone" (not "restore backup")

3) after that, without restoring your backup, do the basic setup (Wifi etc) from scratch and then open Apple Maps outside. See if you get pulsating blue circles (not stationary blue circles). if you do, then GPS is working. You can also test more precisely by downloading GPS Diagnostics from the App Store.

Jhoncarter01

Sorry, but your link doesn't work. Ah you just removed it!

Your theory about a dodgy batch may or may not be valid, but I had an early-batch phone and replaced it several months later, and then had the problem again.

Also some people have actually found solutions other than replacement e.g. moving away from magnetic holders in vehicles, fixing Bluetooth systems in vehicles, factory resets.

My SIM card solution (see earlier and disclaimer) worked for me.

iOS11.3.1 is already available, why are you referencing 11.2? (edit: You are referencing an old article?)

I have this same problem with my iPhone 8. I just got my phone replaced with new one but nothing changed. At first the gps get an accurate fix but soon it loses it no matter how open spot I’m on. If I lock the screen for about 10 seconds and then open the screen again gps gets an accurate fix again. Sadly, it keeps the fix only for a minute or so and then I will have to lock the screen again to get fix.

Ah, I think we may be talking cross-purposes.

My issue was that I had no GPS signal at all. You obviously need greater accuracy than I do.

Before the SIM trick, I had zero GPS signal according to the GPS Diagnostic app. The SIM trick restored the A-GPS function on my iPhone X, giving me 10-20m accuracy according to that app (about the same as your 16m mentioned above). However, for comparison, I just tested on my wife's 6S. She gets the optimal plus/minus 10m reading on it! I think my iPhone X has been slower to get the initial position lock, and less accurate, than my old iPhone 6 and my wife's iPhone 6S from the very beginning.

I also noticed that the Altimeter reading in the Barometer app is less accurate than on hers. I think this also affects the three dimensional positioning you referred to:

"Barometer: You might think of a barometer, which measures air pressure, as primarily a weather-prediction device, but it's not used for that purpose on an iPhone. The barometer supplements the GPS chip for measuring elevation changes to create more accurate elevation and elevation-change readings."

https://www.lifewire.com/iphone-gps-set-up-1683393

PS: I agree the Compass function is probably irrelevant in your case, but some sites recommend it, so just to rule it out, I would double-check your Compass is set with True North on, i.e. not Magnetic North (Settings, Compass, True North) and your Compass Calibration is turned on (Settings, Privacy, Locations Services, System Services, Compass Calibration)

I just started reading this thread last night and I'm a bit dazed. Just to clarify my situation:

1. I've had this problem for more than a year.
2. For me, this problem was present on all versions of IOS 11.
3. The problem was on my old iPhone 7+ and is there on on my iPhone 8+. In fact, I upgraded (more than a year ago) specifically to get rid of this problem.
4. The problem occurs on Waze, Google and Apple Maps.
5. My problem only occurs when Carplay is active! Otherwise it's perfect!

I found the thread about "magnetic holders" interesting. People forget that when the iPhone is up against the dash it is right next to all kinds of electronics, including, in some cases, speaker magnets.

Do I understand that a factory reset does not fix the problem. I've done one factory reset in my life and it's like giving up two days of your time to get back to ground zero. I'll do it but only under pressure.

All responses, including sympathy, greatly appreciated.

I know, yeah I have a problem with 6s, I first started with the thought that this was a hardware issue and got the phone replaced under warranty. Did that twice and realized that it was a software issue with iOS 11 and didn’t have the issue with iOS 10.

I have written feedback on Apple site and also to Fedrighi few times. I didn’t get any response and probably shouldn’t have expected one.

I finally resorted to restoring the phone if it got bad enough, I would wait for Apple to release software updates to restore.

Then I found the SIM trick, thanks to you and folks on this forum. Waze, Runkeeper and Strava have trouble with iOS 11 and GPS.

Clarification: I meant to say you and I seem to have the same problem despite having different iPhone models. And both of our phones were replaced - also my iPhone Xs were each from totally different sources. So it would be a coincidence if the two of us continued to get faulty phones for a total of five times. That and the fact the factory reset also temporarily fixes the problem, plus the comparison with my wife's 6S mentioned above, suggests it is probably a software issue in this case.

I have had the same issue ... I can’t explain the reason for this, but I moved my phone away from the middle of my dashboard, and it now works. Maybe too close to the radio and/or ez pass transponder, and the signals were interfering with the gps signal. I went through 3 new phones before discovering this.

You need to have WiFi and Bluetooth enabled for complete GPS coverage.

Do you keep WiFi and Bluetooth ON? They are important for navigating.