iPhone 8 GPS problems

My iPhone 8 plus with Sprint and my wife's iPhone 7 plus with Sprint both have no problems with the GPS. Not sure if it makes a difference but we both just got them at the beginning of this month. My 8 plus was made week 41 of this year and her 7+ was made week 36. Maybe the GPS problem has to do with a batch of phones.

Just been in London UK on foot the sat nav was virtually unusable had me off the streets walking past the junctions I needed had to stop using it due to the frustratIon. May have to move to Samsung! As I was on foot it’s not a vehicle or holder issue must be software or hardware fault.

It seems to be hit or miss. My 8+ and my wife's 7+ have no GPS issues. I did check and our phones were made in the last couple of months. Maybe yours was made earlier than week 36 of this year. Worth a check.

I got an iPhone X with an AT&T SIM card in it and had these same problems. I took it to the Genius Bar and they suggested the I wipe the phone and start from scratch and not a backup which I did and I had the same problems with the GPS. I returned the iPhone X and bought an iPhone 8 and they transferred the SIM card to the new 8 and again I had the same problems (also set up as a new phone). Today I went to AT&T and got the SIM card replaced and the GPS in Waze and Apple Maps now seems to be working (from my limited testing). Has anyone else replaced the SIM card and had success? I am worried that it may work for a while and then stop working again.

Update on my troubleshooting with apple:

Last Friday Apple had me install a diagnostic profile on my iPhone X and re-create the issue using GPS.

Today they called me back and told me that the engineering team had identified the bug based on the logs and will be addressing in a future update - no ETA.

So, good news they seem to have IDed the problem, bad news is they had no feedback on when it would be addressed.

Yeah, it's been a bit annoying really. I really don't think it is hardware related as all new iPhones would be seeing this problem, which seems to not be the case. If three units were no different it must be a) bad! luck and b) something to do with the software.

A Google Maps update made things worse yesterday as the direction arrow became very sluggish in adjusting to changes in my position. It would be good if everyone can keep reporting this to Apple.

I thought I had this thing licked with the SIM card replacement which seemed to fix the problem until I connected the phone (iPhone 8 which replaced my original iPhone X which also had the problem) to my car's bluetooth. Then the same thing happened again. Yesterday I returned the 8 and got another X and it is having the same problem. I was trying to isolate when it was acting up vs working and it seems from my limited experimentation while driving that if the phone is by the radio and in the car mount it goes between loosing the GPS signal (no GPS signal message) and getting hung up in one location while I am driving miles away to thinking all of a sudden that I am on another road blocks away to rarely working as expected in both Waze and Apple Maps. When I moved the phone to rest on my leg away from the radio it seemed to work although the location prevented me from keeping more of an eye on it. So I don't know if proximity to the radio (XM and FM) have anything to do with the problem or not. My iPhone 7 worked just fine for a year in the same mount in the same location in my car, so the issue has something to do with the new phones. I am hoping it can be corrected with a software update because otherwise it is a big problem in the design of the phones and their components. I hope someone finds a solution soon.

If you look back a couple pages, I came up with the same conclusion as you, in regards to my car interfering with the GPS. My test was when I was parked and didn't have GPS signal, as soon as I turned my car off, within 10 seconds the phone would fully regain GPS. I would then turn the car back on, and pretty quickly I'd lose the GPS signal again. The best app to test this on is Waze, because it'll show you whether there is a signal or not.

Beup, if you can leave your phone on where you would normally keep it during driving, and test this, we could be on to something. Also, what kind of car are you driving? I have a 13' Hyundai Sonata that causes my issues. I've noticed this issue isn't present in all cars, and my GPS works quite well then.

Interestingly enough i have a 2013 Sonata but I think all of my issues were due a magnetic mount which i used for years with my 6. I got my 8+ replaced and it did the same. In the end i just replaced my mount for a non magnetic one and it has been working fine ever since. Hopefully whatever the fix is lets me go back to my more convenient magnet mount.

Intelo2 I have a Toyota Mirai. I will try what you suggest and see if it makes a difference. Also it may have something to do with the Bluetooth connection to the car. When I initially got the iPhone 8 to replace my first X it seemed to work fine until I set up the Bluetooth connection with the car. Thanks for your feedback.

I spoke to the apple technician team again. The guy confirmed that they have been receiving reports with issues to do with GPS performance.

As per his request, I did a factory reset and update to ios 11.2 through iTunes and confirm that the problem is still there.

I am being asked to record my screen using the Apple maps app with proof of the problem and submit diagnostics data.

At least they are aware of issues but seem to think they are not widespread enough to worry over a media backlash.

Guess what, I never got an email from them with a case number.. the next person I spoke to told me that there are NO notes on their system.

It seems like I wasted my time yet again with Apple’s so called technical support. FML

Par for the course. They literally just deleted my four paragraph response as a violation for recounting their terrible customer service dealing with this for over two months.

To everyone following this: just return it or stop trying new things. They are aware of it, they’re not doing anything to fix it, and have no timeline to do so until it becomes the next “-gate”.

Nope...Apple knows already. This thread in particular is actually in many articles about the GPS issue. Looks like it's not affecting enough users to create a "gate" . Meanwhile this continue low profile, Apple will continue to ignore us.

I filled out the report, doesn’t hurt to make sure they know there are lots of people affected.

I also think anyone who has the means should try having their phones replaced as much as possible. They may see the financial burden, however small, and decide to do something about it. If I didn’t live an hour and a half away from an Apple store I would get mine swapped out.