GPS not working after update to IOS11

Since I've updated today to iOS 11.2.6 all is working with Waze, Co Pilot etc so it seems the GPS issue is fixed.

The update mentions

"Fixes an issue where some third-party apps could fail to connect to external accessories"

Wonder if this is an ambiguous way of saying "a fix so your nav apps can connect to GPS"?

Anyway all good so far will report back after a few miles on the road

Hello all,

I also had GPS problems with my iphone6 which started around the time when ios 11 came out. It was working rarely, most of the time hundreds of metres off (sorry for the metric unit, I‘m from Germany).

So I suspected ios 11, but then I found this thread about broken GPS antennas (aka F-cable) on iFixit.

It turned out my GPS antenna was also „broken“.

See the photo of my old antenna: The black „sticker“ is supposed to fully cover the copper-colored area.

So I ordered a new cable for 15€ (including repair kit) and it took me half an hour to change it.

Now, GPS is working again :)

Hope this helps some of the iphone6 users here.

Update: my iphone GPS worked for a few times after I updated to the latest update ios 11.2.6 but again stopped finding my location with google maps or waze. Yesterday I replaced the GPS antenna which It seems fried probably by phone overheated in the past. After a installed the new antenna Waze is working wonderfully. It was worthed the time I spent replacing the antenna.

Just to report back on my two iPhone 6s devices: Once I upgraded to 11.2.6 about 7 days ago from 11.2.5 and 11.something else, both phones appear to have both their GPS working correctly. Any issues not finding GPS satellites have been when inside or in a parking garage as expected.

I strongly disagree, not for the fun of it but because I have gone through the same thought process as you.

My iPhone 6 GPS was working great until the very moment I upgraded to iOS11. I spent weeks thinking it must be software until just before I gave up and throw the phone to the bin I decided to give a go to replacing the GPS and WiFi antennas.

Well guess what I lost weeks talking to Apple because my GPS is back for good. No software update fixed it, me replacing the parts fixed it.

Believe me or not, I now know what solution was the only real one to go for since the beginning.

It has not stopped working once since the parts have been replaced.

And to make things better I had the battery replaced for 29$ at the store.

So now my iPhone 6 has a great battery life and a functioning GPS.

The faster you will replace the parts the faster you will put yourself out of your misery.

Now beware, this worked for an iPhone 6, it might not work with other models. Also, I replaced the parts myself, it took me 3 hours, I bought the best parts and tools and was extremely careful. I also followed religiously the iFixit guide and read all the comments. It's not for the faint of heart though, you do need to have a good eyesight and have a steady hand.

I can't advise highly enough to get these parts changed. But I know that I had to be desperate to end up going through that hassle of doing it myself. Therefore I understand all those who still want to believe that it's only a software problem linked to iOS11 and that it will can be fixed with another update.

Indeed it happened simultaneously, as it happened simultaneously to people updating to iOS9 and iOS11 (Google search will show you). It's strange but it's possible for software to fry hardware.

All the best

Sorry for autocorrect errors in the previous post.

It should have been as

Dear Team

In our case it was definitely a software issue. Otherwise how can my phone and my wife’s one got the hardware failure at the same time once updates OS?

I too did all the things on the internet to overcome this issue and did not succeeded.

One of my friend also had done hard reset with complete wiped out data but still not succeeded. I almost buying a new phone.

Suddenly this setting reset worked. This worked for me, wife and for my friend. I do not know how setting reset worked when hard reset doesn’t.

This is all my experience and GPS still works on my phone.

I’ve now had a permanent fix for 2 weeks on an iPhone 6s with the above described issue.

Turn off Bluetooth (OFF in settings, not just disabled from control centre)

Soft reset

I hope this works for others.

james x

Yes, I would second that.

Just backup your iPhone on iTunes, then do a factory reset and test its GPS function for a day or two in its initial state (i.e. Do not restore it from your backup. Only set up the language settings and log onto Wifi).

If GPS is working, the native Apple maps app should show blue circles radiating outward from the blue spot indicating your location, like pings on a radar screen. I know there are GPS testing apps but I wanted to keep the phone in its most basic form when I presented it to the Apple Store and asked for a replacement.

If it shows your location with only a blue spot with a white edge and a larger feint blue circle around that, which does not radiate outward, that just means your position is based on Bluetooth, Wifi and Cell Towers, rather than GPS.

If you don't get the radar "ping effect" for a day or two I would definitely take it in for a replacement. I recommend trying it for a couple of days just to be safe, because my problems had a habit of resolving temporarily and then reccurring. Thanks to Murphy's Law, the wretched thing was working on the morning I took it in, but they accepted what I said (which was true!) and replaced it.

I think your Find My iPhone may only be working thanks to Wifi and Cell tower signals, and possibly Bluetooth. If you are testing Find My iPhone in your home and office , it will recognize the Wifi networks and guess your position from that. When outside in my neighborhood, I was surprised how much the iPhone could guess about my location based on cell towers and Wifi networks, although the accuracy was far worse without GPS functioning of course.

Try downloading a GPS testing app from the App store. That will probably show you whether your GPS is not working or not.

I did that, and I also did a factory reset after backing up my entire phone including passwords on iTunes. I didn't add any apps and merely set up the language settings and Wifi network to get it working. You can always restore the phone once you have finished testing it. As I mentioned above, if you test it on Apple Maps, make sure you get the "pings" radiating outward (indicating GPS signal), not just a blue circle with white around it.

If you have tried the various suggestions on these forums and still have no luck, back up phone to iTunes on your computer, then reset it via iTunes (click "restore iPhone", not "restore backup"), and test the phone in its initialized state by opening Apple Maps and looking for blue GPS "pings" that radiate outward. I attempted in the post above to describe how these pings differ from the stationary light blue circle, which merely indicates location based on Wifi and cell towers. If you get no GPS pings, take the phone in its initialized state to the Apple Store for a replacement.

Those who say it's a software problem do not know what they are talking about.

If you reset your settings, reinstall your phone and your apps and it still does not work then it is a hardware problem.

I and many others have fixed our malfunctionning GPS by replacing the antennas following this guide.

The reason why you think you get GPS when in fact you are not is that your location in the apps is not only given by GPS satellites but also from cell phone towers triangulation and home wifi routers you pass by.

Once you get away from cell phone reception and connected homes your location is gone because you never had a GPS connection to start with. Download the GPS Diagnostic app, it will show you wether you are connected to the satellites or not.

Even if we all think that the iOS upgrade broke our GPS you can check my previous post that shows that this "my gps broke since ios9/10/11 upgrade" has been going on for ages. I believe that the upgrade process put some strain on an already failing hardware and that's why we believe that it's a software problem and hope for a magical update that will never come.

Apple is just never going to tell you that their hardware fails, it would ruin the magic... If the replacement parts are sold on Amazon with 4,5 stars reviews it's because it solves a real problem.

The problem is that these parts don't seem to exist for models newer than the 6. It's not difficult to infer why.

All the best.

[Link edited by Host as following the procedures at the site may lead to damage to the user’s device]

@carolavdd

I can sympathize with your hesitancy to upgrade to iOS11.3, as you currently have a half-working GPS (after replacing the antenna), which is better than nothing.

However, if you want better performance, I guess your only option is to test and experiment.

You said you have done all the reset procedures, but have you done a complete reset without re-installing your backup?

If not,

Backup your phone on iTunes.

While connected via USB to iTunes, reset the entire phone by selecting "restore iPhone", not "restore from backup".

That should give you a "fresh new phone" with iOS11.3 installed (if you do a factory store from the phones internal settings I think you will end up with the old iOS).

Without reinstalling any apps or fiddling with settings, test the GPS by using Apple Maps.

Look for blue circles continuously pulsating outward, not stationary circles.

After that you could try downloading the GPS Diagnostics app or using your other testing app.

ssafweaevweafeasefasef wrote:

Since location data works on a phone after a factory reset I don’t believe either phone has a hardware issue

Location data does not mean GPS. Location is also given by cell tower triangulation and home wifi access points.

The most compeling reason as to why this is a hardware issue and not a software one is the sum of what follows:

• iPhones are not Android: Apple produces a handful of phones only and controls the hardware and the software.
• all iPhones are the same for everyone (as long as you own the same model) and iOS 11 is the same for everyone, the only variations that can occur are hardware ones due to different production batches.
• if you own an iPhone 6, install iOS11 from scratch via iTunes you end up with a phone that is identical (minus the wear and tear) to the tens of millions of other iPhone 6 that have a functionning GPS: identical phone, identical software. How then can it be a software problem?

Don't be fooled by testing and trying to notice when it works and when it does not (and drawing software combo conclusions) and by the fact that if it was a hardware problem Aple would have told you.

I wasted months doing what you did (on an iPhone 6) and the only solution was to open the phone and to replace the GPS and/or Wifi antenna. Some fixed their problem by just opening the phone and attaching properly a loose connector (which could be what solved my problem).

As a summary: I spent 4 months on this board and with Apple thinking it was a software problem and hoping for a magical procedure or update to solve it when in fact since I replaced the parts I have not had a single GPS failure in 2 months or so now.

DISCLAIMER: do those things I suggested (listed again below) 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 doing it that way, though.

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!

Try resetting network settings

Try testing it after factory reset (backup first, and test it before restoring your backup)

Try SIM removal/reinsertion as described earlier by me (do this at your own risk)

If that fails replace GPS chip or phone.

You need Wifi and cellular data on as they help find the GPS signal.

Bluetooth is not essential for that.