GPS not working after update to IOS11

As an engineer, I tend to troubleshoot problem systematically and logically.

We have to agree that (in most cases) hardware problem cannot/should not be "fixed" by software and vice versa. So we have to determine if the GPS issue is a hardware problem or software.

Again, as an engineer, I don't want to speculate. But with limited access to IOS source codes, I can only make educated guess.

Many user reported this problem after major IOS upgrade (especially IOS 11). It *might* be a coincidence. But given the timing and the symptom, I'd say it's more related with IOS.

From my experience, the problem occurred immediately after IOS 11 upgrade. The problem went away immediately after a phone wipe ("reset all settings and contents"). So it looks very likely an IOS issue. Though I don't know how long the "fix" will work as many users reported that the problem reoccurred after the "fix".

Most of the "fixes" are to "toggle" or "reset" software options, including but not limited to:

• Settings > Privacy > Location Service > toggle on/off
• Settings > General > Reset > Reset xxx (xxx is anything on this screen)
• Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Enable LTE > turn off LTE
• Uninstall/Reinstall affected apps (Google Maps, Waze, etc.)
• Sign-out/Sign-in affected apps

Some of the users claimed to fix it by replacing the logic board flex cable. But also someone in (non-Apple) repair shop said he replaced the flex cable for many customer but didn't fix the problem.

At this point, I believe it's software issue and it's IOS related. The reason was timing. I purposely stayed on iOS 9.0.3 even when 11.2.5 was out because I know:

1) Once I upgraded, there's no way I can downgrade to the old version

2) If it ain't broken, don't fix it.

Unfortunately, my IT department won't support iOS 9 anymore so I was forced to upgrade to iOS 11. I use Google Maps everyday and everything works fine up to the point that I upgraded to iOS 11. And the difference is so obvious that it can't be ignored (my location in the app was a mile off).

I just wish that for troubleshooting purpose, Apple allowed the users being affected downgrade their iOS to 9.x. So we can prove if it's iOS issue or not.

For me this solution worked perfectly fine:

1. Open your phone Settings > Privacy > Location Services and toggle the switch OFF.
2. With the switch toggled off, please perform a hard reset on your iPhone. To do so, hold the Home and Lock buttons until you see the Apple icon. (Note: this will not affect any of the applications or data on your phone).
3. Go back to phone Settings > Privacy > Location Services once again and toggle the switch ON

I just spent 45 minutes on the phone with a kind, competent and understanding senior Apple technician who has forwarded my case to the engineering team. It seems that I am finally getting somewhere.

If you guys can do the same then maybe our problem can become better known and thus better addressed.

The steps I went through are:

• support conversation with @AppleSupport that downloaded a diagnostic,
• got called by Apple Support low level technician that downloaded another diagnostic,
• got a support appointment at the Apple Store to talk to a Genius who downloaded another diagnostic and reset my phone via iTunes to 11.2.5. GPS still did not work after that but the Genius confirmed my GPS hardware was functionning.

I fixed this with my two iPhone 6s that seemed to have GPS issues in Waze after upgrading from iOS 10.x.x to 11.x.x.

1. First, I bought the "GPSDiagnostic" app on the app store for a couple dollars to confirm that the issue was unrelated to Waze (where I discovered the issue.) This app confirmed that my iPhone could only see GPS satellites every once in a while outside with a clear line-of-sight (like 10% of the normal time.) Alternatively, see if you are having issues with another mapping app like Google Maps.
2. I tried a bunch of other things as others have posted here and other places, but they didn't seem to work. (Hard resetting the phone, uninstall/reinstall Waze app, Resetting Network Setting seems like a good one to try, too.)
3. I reset my privacy settings on the phone which I read in one place but not in most. (Settings-->General-->Reset-->Reset Location & Privacy.) This "opened up" all the privacy settings back to their defaults, and I believe it this made it work.
4. In the end, it seemed that a specific Privacy Setting was causing the issue: specifically, the "Location-Based Alerts" settings had to be enabled /set to on, and that was the issue for me. (Settings-->Privacy->Location Services-->Location Services-->System Services-->Location-Based Alerts.)
5. (So in the end, perhaps iOS does something different with the Located-Based Alerts setting between 10.x.x to 11.x.x)

It has not worked for me. The following steps suggested by Waze Support worked. Once. Then the GPS was gone again.

Hi Wazer!

Thanks for contacting Waze Support.

To fix your GPS issue, please follow the steps below:

1. Open your phone Settings > Privacy > Location Services and toggle the switch OFF.
2. With the switch toggled off, please perform a hard reset on your iPhone. To do so, hold the Home and Lock buttons until you see the Apple icon. (Note: this will not affect any of the applications or data on your phone).
3. Go back to phone Settings > Privacy > Location Services once again and toggle the switch ON.

iOS 10 (or below) users only: If the issue persists, please try the following steps:

1. Install the application GPS Status from the App Store.
2. Open the app and check what is written next to GPS Status.
   • No fix or Poor fix indicates you have a poor GPS signal, and Waze won't work.
     1. If you keep your phone in a case, please try removing it. This oftentimes interferes with GPS signal.
     2. If you're in a vehicle, try moving your device closer to a window.
     3. If neither of these options improves your signal, please contact your cellular provider or a phone repair center.
   • Excellent fix indicates that your GPS signal is strong. Please open Waze and navigate.

If the above did not solve the issue, please log out from your Waze account by tapping Menu > Settings > Account & Login > Log out. Before doing so, make sure your email is linked to your account by tapping Menu > Settings > Account & Login > Email - this will allow you to reset your password should you need to do so.

Thanks,

The Waze Support Team

The fixes that I described above are still working for me.

• The first 6s phone: no glitches at all (on iOS 11.2.5).
• A second 6s phone (on 11.something) : The GPS signals disappearing seemed to appear a second time several days later, even with the privacy settings set as they are. However, one hard reset later (holding down both buttons for 15 seconds to power off the device) seemed for the problems to do away.

(P.S. On another person's comment on replacing the GPS hardware: I read some place that this hardware is deep inside the phone, so it seems like a serious project, even for someone who opens up their iPhone once in a while. It would be shame to do it yourself or pay someone to do it, only to find that wasn't the problem, but I guess if you feel you have not other option, then you may want to that.)

What I don't understand is:

1. either Apple is not aware of a GPS problem
2. either Apple is aware of a GPS problem and can't fix it.

If 1) this is just not possible

if 2) then why don't they ask me or you to just send the phone in for analysis? I would be running a technology company I would certainly want my engineers to have a look at the problematic phones

I did the following to address issue. It worked for me but just figured it out today. Hopefully it sticks and works for others.

This is the order I used and the steps listed below.

1. Remove application
2. Reset Network Settings
3. Reset Location Service settings
4. Restart device
5. Re-install Waze application
6. Verified application settings for location services.

Removing the application.

1. Find application, Press and Hold the Application Icon until all icons shake on screen
2. Press the X in the upper right corner of Icon to delete app.
3. Restart Device

Resetting Network and Location Services Settings:Reset Location and Network Settings.

1. Go to Settings >
2. General > Reset.

1. a. Reset Network Settings:
2. b. Go to Settings > General > Reset.
3. c. Reset Location & Privacy: Enter password to reset.
4. d. Tap Reset Location & Privacy button or Reset Network Settings button and then enter your password to reset.

Good Luck and hopes this works for others.

It's true for me and cured the following problem: iPhone 6 without any satellite connection since upgrading to iOS11. Maybe it won't solve your problem but try it out before throwing your phone away.

milkyboykid wrote:

If this is true and I have no reason to doubt what you say my only question would be, how did so many people all have a faulty GPS antenna all at the same time?

• Either it's a coincidence and there are only "1 million of us" out of the 220 million iPhone 6 sold, our GPS just broke around the iOS11 upgrade which makes us thing that it is related.
• Either it's the upgrade process that broke the GPS. Apple tinkered with the battery settings, maybe that overheated the GPS antenna for some of our phones which maybe had a less than perfect antenna that was more sensitive. I have suffered quite a few violent shutdowns due to the battery issues, sometimes in the middle of a call while using the GPS. Try doing that to a high end sensitive laptop, most of the time it will recover but it might break something.

My GPS never completely broke, i lost connection for 95% of the time, but from time to time I managed to connect to the satellites, for a few minutes to an hour once every other day. So the GPS hardware was not completely broken (it showed as being active in the GPS Diagnostic app) it just as if the connection to the GPS antenna was only hanging by a thread.

I wonder what would have happened if I had tried taking out the GPS antenna, cleaning it and putting the same one back in. Would it have worked?

If it's a bug it fried the GPS hardware.

You can wait forever for an update fix.

There are 2 reasons why it's not coming:

1. Apple never admitted there being a lost GPS problem on iPhones 6 and 7 following an upgrade to iOS11. How then would they fix the bug?
2. I solved the problem by replacing hardware parts. No software update ever helped.

As to your conclusions:

• A new battery? I changed mine at the Apple store for 29$. It did not help but at least now my iPhone 6 has a great battery life (as well as a GPS 😎)
• A new phone, yeah sure but watch out: there are many reports on this site of GPS problems on brand new iPhone 8 and X.
• Sit out and wait for the fix? Worst solution ever, it won't happen.
• You should add this option now that you seem to be ready to part with your phone: spend $15 to buy the repairkit and change the GPS flex cable antenna. While you are at it also change the wifi antenna, it's right next to it. If you follow the iFixit instructions then your problem will be behind you for good in 2-3 hours.

I advise all of you having no GPS since iOS11 on an iPhone 6 to consider this repair as it worked for me even though I was convinced for months that it was a software issue and that I was one reset or one update away from a solution. Well guess what? Had I not changed the hardware I would be just like you: still waiting for a fix.

All the best.

DT.

I was surprised at how much I lost after doing the Reset All Settings:

• All saved WiFi passwords (dozens, in my case)
• Wallpaper (if you have a favorite background, make sure you can find it again)
• Credit/debit cards in Wallet
• Accessibility settings
• Location Services and Notification preferences
• Touch ID Settings for the phone and all apps that use it

Redoing all that too quite some time. If the problem recurs I’m not sure I’m willing to do that again.

Buadhai wrote:

Once the receiver turns on it can take a while to download satellite catalog data and acquire satellites. That may account for the four or five minutes of no signal.

The link you gave us clearly states that it only takes a few seconds to acquire the satellites, not 4-5 minutes. Also it does not relate to an iPhone but to GPS in general:

"Don’t worry; your GPS receiver isn’t going to be this slow all the time. After the GPS receiver is first initialized, it usually only takes 15-45 seconds to lock on to the satellites when you turn it on in the future."

Buadhai wrote:

My guess is that you have the software problem that is common to many people in this discussion.

You might not have read this thread from the start as many people in this discussion have a hardware problem not a software one.

But to end this software/hardware discussion: if you have no GPS since iOS11 :

• reset your settings or reinstall your iPhone from scratch from iTunes.
• if this doesn't work you have a hardware problem

The Engineering Team says that there are currently no software bugs nor hardware issues on GPS for iPhones 6 -> 7, which means that there will never be a fix and you can wait forever for an update to fix your issue.

So if your GPS comes and goes and you find yourself resetting your phone, your settings, sending diagnostics, testing, etc and your GPS still comes and goes then you will need to look into someone opening your phone.

DublinTimo wrote:

So if your GPS comes and goes and you find yourself resetting your phone, your settings, sending diagnostics, testing, etc and your GPS still comes and goes then you will need to look into someone opening your phone.

May be. I've experienced the following:

1. Opened Waze. No GPS, showing approximate location.
2. Opened GPS Diagnostics tool. Signal: WiFi/Bluetooth/Cellular, no satellites at all (GPS icon active on the top right corner).
3. Waited. Nothing changed.
4. Went to Airplane mode.
5. GPS Diagnostics immediately picked up satellite signals. Very poor though. After couple of minutes all is green.
6. Waze worked again.

+1 If I go back from airplane mode to normal, sometimes GPS signal drops completely and it is back again on 'Wifi/Bluetooth/Cellular'. Than it changes again.

From my perspective I cannot tell if it's a HW failure or a SW issue tbh. To me it seems like the device cannot prioritize between 'WiFi/BT/Cell' & GPS.

AppleQer wrote:

PS: if it is actually a software issue, resetting and then restoring won't help, as you will merely be reinstalling the faulty software, unless you have a backup of your phone before all your troubles began.

A "Genius" told me that there are two ways to reinstall your phone.

• First is via the settings on your phone. This way it reinstalls the iOS which is already on you phone, which means the basic iOS + the updates. This would not cure any problem caused by the consecutive upgrades.
• Second is via iTunes. This way it reinstalls a completely new and up to date iOS. This is the cleanest way to reinstall your phone.

He got my hopes up as I had never used the second way. But it did not solve my GPS problem. The only thing that did is replacing the antenna. There is no other known solution.

The problem is a hardware problem. Some software fixes (like turning off bluetooth) or resets might help for a while but they are only delaying the inevitable: your phone has faulty hardware and Apple is never going to fix anything with an update because they don't acknowledge any problem in the first place.

They can't not know that sometimes their GPS antenna goes bad and that a repair kit sold on Amazon and on iFixit is the cure.

fabiobbsa wrote:

I’m still having this problem, does any one solved the problem?

There might be different types of problems at hand.

Some say that it's very easy to solve: just "Reset All Settings" in your phone options. The 40 pages of discussion on this post alone indicate that it's not so easy for many. The "Reset All Settings" fix has been found on page 2.

For many others this does not work. For them even reinstalling the phone from scratch via iTunes does not work.

If you have reset your settings and reinstalled your phone from iTunes and still have no GPS then you have a hardware problem. If you have an iPhone 6 you have 2 choices:

• get the GPS and Wifi antenna replaced (there is a repair kit with instructions on iFixit for $15). I know it solved my problem as I replaced the parts myself and never had the GPS problem ever again
• replace your phone

If you have a 6S, 7, 8 or X, there seems to be no repair kit so your only choice is to replace your phone.

There is a reason why the failing parts are sold on Amazon: it's because many people have a GPS hardware problem and need to replace them. Even if your phone manufacturer tells you that they are not aware of a hardware problem with GPS be certain that it does exist. It's just a failing part on a phone that many want to keep seeing as perfect.

All the best.