Google maps not working on iPhone 6

I have an iPhone 6, Google Maps periodically would give me issues after an app update or an iOS update where I would have to delete it and re install it in order for it to function properly. It would usually have problems with triangulation of where I am on the map, actively tracking my movement, and failure to keep the compass straight (either the arrow or the map itself would spin wildly).

Sometime around June 2018 Google Maps, Waze and Apple Maps all started to exhibit this problem and deleting and reinstalling and/or rebooting didn’t solve it. Based on the suggestions found in this thread, I did the following and it eventually rectified the problems:

-Rebooted

-Deleted and reinstalled Google Maps

-Deleted and reinstalled the Compass app

-Re-calibrated the iPhone compass by going into privacy settings and turning on and off the location based compass setting switch

-Setting the compass options to “true north”

I may or may not have done those in that order, and I may have done some more than once but eventually, Google Maps started functioning properly again (and frankly better than it has in a few years I think, it seems to be much more snappy on turns and quicker to call out upcoming turns, etc.).

I hope this helps somebody else having this problem, as I didn’t really want to have to upgrade my phone to use Google Maps again, and I use it for EVERYTHING (best innovation of the past century)!!!

Good luck all!

I had the same problem for a while I did everything other people suggested but it didn’t work. I then changed location settings for google maps from while using the app to always this has solved the problem well so far no isuses for the past 48 hrs

I went to Settings->Google Maps-> then enabled the "Background App Refresh" switch, and Google Maps returned to normal.

I went to compass under settings and turned on true north and everything works fine now.

thliew,

This solution worked for me and has remained functional since I did it well over a month ago.

1. With phone powered on remove SIM card

2. Power off phone

3. Power on phone

4. Insert SIM

5. Power cycle phone one more time

Also, under settings > compass turn on "use true north".

Hi, I fixed same problem today! I assume it's the same for EU and US? Go to settings, compass and turn on 'True North' it worked for me

Does "tried this" refer to ideas further back in this thread?

Read this below. It might help. If it doesn't, it may be a hardware issue, requiring replacement of the Wifi/GPS chipset and/or antenna.

On the iPhone X, my issue was (TTFF) time to first fix i.e. getting the initial GPS-based location. Once I got that, the locations were always accurate, if I started my journey without waiting for that, I had problems.

TTFF seems much better now probably because I did the following:

SIM trick (see previous postings and warnings about removing/reinserting SIM cards while phone on)

Set Compass to True North

upgraded to iOS 12.1

turned off all GPS apps apart from the one I am using

turned off all other unnecessary background apps

stood motionless in clear view of sky until I got GPS-based (not Wifi/Cellular-only) location. to be absolutely sure of this, I use Motion X and look for the blue/green globe to spin, and sometimes also use GPS Diagnostic.

All of these may have helped, particularly the first, third, and last steps.

Even after all that, TTFF is still slower than on my wife's iPhone 6S which uses the same carrier and same iOS.

Anyway, apart from looking like an idiot standing on the spot outside for 10 to 30 seconds to get the first fix, I have no problems at the moment.

Thanks!!! This did it. Compass/settings/true north.

If your phone is on low-power mode, which causes background app refresh in settings to disable, your google maps won't work.

Hope this helps!

Ok folks - here's what answered it or me. After rigorous exercises and tests with Apple and finally with Verizon, my provider, it was determined that MY IPHONE WAS DEFECTIVE!

I was incredibly lucky to discover that it was still under warranty (this after having purchased it used from a 3rd party through Amazon). So they just shipped me a brand new iPhone, same model, same color and same storage capacity.

Check to see if your iPhone is still under warranty! Perhaps Apple will replace it or your cell-phone/ISP might also. Even though I didn't buy this iPhone from Verizon, they still replaced it. Apparently this is because they have a deal with Apple to do such things. So! There you have it! I hope this helps - it was a huge relief to me to discover.

Okay, it's been a busy day with working on a fix for this nonsense. There's another thread here that details a SIM card based fix that has a very very high success rate. It was IMMEDIATELY successful for me when I used it.

1. With phone powered on remove SIM card

2. Power off phone

3. Power on phone

4. Insert SIM

5. Power cycle phone one more time

I was in the same exact location where my iPhone 6 GPS wouldn't triangulate or track my movement properly, after doing the above steps, everything snapped back to functioning perfectly. So, there's absolutely something to it. It may clear out or reset something that at least temporarily gets things going again.

I recommend it for anybody suffering through this issue with an iPhone 6 or X.

Here's the original thread, the fix is detailed on page 50 of the responses.

GPS not working after update to IOS11

Hi, If you are still struggling with not moving the arrow point problem, then I can recommend you a solution. The first one is about to go to the settings, then “Google Maps” and enabling the “Background App Refresh”. If it wouldn't work, then there is another possibility - go to the settings as before choose the “compass” and turn on the “True North” option. Otherwise, if you still would have this problem, then you should check out this article. I m sure, that you will find there a solution.

Update:

Since doing the “SIM trick” back in May (do so at your own risk; some sites advise against SIM insertion/removal while phone is on), I have been able to use GPS apps on my iPhone X with sufficient accuracy.

However, finding the initial location i.e. “the time to first fix - TTFF” has grown gradually longer over time. Yesterday, it didn’t work at all at the start of my jog, and when I tested it later, it only found a fix after more than a minute of standing stationary.

I decided that I had had enough and tried the SIM trick a second time. It worked again! The TTFF is much shorter now.

Nothing has changed on the phone as far as I can see. Same iOS, same apps, same carrier, same location. My wife’s iPhone 6S has the same iOS, and testing apps, and uses the carrier as my iPhone X and is tested at the same locations, BUT her GPS has functioned perfectly the whole time, with no delays etc! The only difference is that I have some additional apps such as Motion X - I don't see how that should affect the functioning of the phone, and if it is, then Apple is responsible, as Apple checks 3rd party apps downloaded via the App Store.

I have to do this procedure every time the lag on my GPS/A-GPS system occurs, while my wife doesn’t. This suggests there is a software or hardware design flaw that has affected a large segment of iPhone users for whom the SIM trick has worked. The only other solution was factory resetting the phone when I replaced it with an identical iPhone X but the problem soon recurred even when I manually set up the phone from scratch!! In these cases, I strongly suspect there is a software or hardware design flaw related to the cellular network/SIM card that seems to be affecting the A-GPS function.

GPS is a pretty basic function to get wrong for a high-end device as expensive as the iPhone X. This issue has dragged on for ages now - look at all the posts in these forums and elsewhere - and yet there has been no public acknowledgement of it. Not even a clear reference to the problem in iOS update notes as far as I am aware - someone please correct me if I am wrong on that.

I had the same problem the last three times I've used it & Waze (I only tried Waze 3/12/18). The first & second times were on 3/12/18 & 3/13/18. So on 3/13/18 I shut down my phone & restarted. That did nothing. I made sure the apps were up to date & location was on. They were. Then I removed Google Maps & reinstalled it & that fixed it! THEN I went to use it again on 3/18/18 & it went back to doing the same thing it was before......showing my approximate location, not moving as I was driving or if it did it was approximate & then not working at all. I haven't done anything to try to fix it since. I just looked now & there is an update for Google Maps so I'm going to do that. I'll check at lunch & see if it works. I'll try to update here after I do so.

Thanks for the tip, I was optimistic given your excitement, but it did not work for me. Google Maps, Apple Maps and Wayz will not track me consistently. There is intermittent tracking, occasionally (once in a while, it works). But 90% of the time it does not. The pointer stays stuck at the point of departure and does not move with my vehicle. When I need it most is when I deviate from the planned route (intentionally) and need to get back. It won't "adjust" itself to where ever I am; it seems to only be able to give directions from the route itself. Not while off the route.

Brought it into the Apple store. Not a positive experience. Fiddled with it, reinstalled the software, nothing changed.