How To Fix IPhone 7 GPS Accuracy Issues
Magali Swinderman
I have noticed over the few months that the accuracy of the GPS in the iPhone has got significantly worse, both in terms of the horizontal accuracy reported by Core Location and the trails that I plot on maps.
My app is a workout and mapping app for Apple Watch and it used to be that the accuracy was better when using the iPhone GPS, but now the Watch GPS is better. I am not sure if this is due to my iPhone X or to iOS 11, but I suspect the latter given the time period.
My companion iPhone app allows the trail to be plotted on a map and graphed according to several values, including GPS accuracy, so it is ideal for highlighting the GPS performance. The results from the Watch GPS are similar to before, but those from the iPhone GPS are dramatically worse at times. In ideal conditions it is fine, but in less than ideal conditions it now struggles much more than before.
Also, is there any way to force the app to use the Watch GPS even if the iPhone is present and connected? This was never necessary before, but now that the iPhone GPS is unreliable (and unusable at times) I am getting more and more requests from users to provide it.
I can see for sure that tracks (walking or riding, bike or horse, all tests in open field) are much less precise with my X than with my 7+. Also the altitude is very unreliable despite the verticalAccuracy value pretending to be 3m ! So are customers reports.
Speculation on users forum are on internal chip or sofware driver modified for Galileo and recessing in the process. Hardware issue is likely since not all devices seem affected. Not found any Apple statement on this beside report from customers "this is a known issue".
We have a Waze-like app that heavily relies on CLLocationManager and we are seeing strange CLLocations getting returned. Some have a correct speed and accuracy (under 10m), but without a course (-1). Also some of the logs we see have heavily switching accuracy, from 5m to 300m and back in a couple of location updates every second.
This seems to occur more frequently in users of iPhone X and iPhone 8, however, we are also seeing reports of users that don't have those devices and also get invalid course. We are going to make a workaround to this problem to calculate the course ourselves when course is invalid.
I read one story on internet of people complaning that there mobile provider needed to do an update of the phone sim settInga to get a-gps working, Mayby the a-gps data is corrupted and conflicting with satelite data, resulting in jumping accuracy?
Unfortunately it did not work in my case. I have tried any fix options I found in the internet. Amazing how many people have been frustrated by GPS accuracy issues since iOS11. Unbelievable that Apple was not able to fix it. Users of my app are reporting similar issues with iPhoneX and iOS12.2 now. I was able to reconstruct it on my development iPhones. Until now I have not found a way to resolve it for my customers. The only option I have for the moment is to take the app out of sales... So, would be grateful if someone could help with an advice.
I just upgraded from iPhone 8 to iPhone 11 Pro - and the GPS accuracy has decreased so much. I brought my phone in for repair because of how bad the GPS was and they gave me a new one, but the new one is pretty bad as well. When I'm outside, my position on the map is constantly bouncing around a circle of about 250ft diameter.
I am having accuracy issues with my GPS on the iPhone 7 Plus. When driving on a highway, sometimes it reads that I have gone off on an exit when I am really still on the highway. I have followed all the troubleshooting tips provided by other Apple forms such as checking location settings as well as resetting all network settings. Is there any other fixes for this issue?
I recently made an observation with photos taken with an iphone and then uploaded using the iphone app. The location showed an accuracy value of 0 in the app. I thought that was strange, but the pin was in the right place and I thought perhaps it was a rounded value of less than 0.5 metre.
Thanks Paul. I commonly use the camera app to take photos and then upload them as observations, and this method certainly provided an accuracy value until very recently. Perhaps there has been a change to the way that the iPhone camera app records accuracy, although I have not updated the iOS in recent days. The problem is reproducible.
Update on this issue: it is still occurring in the latest updated version of the iOS app (2.8.4). However, if I upload the same photos using the web interface, the accuracy value is recorded. For now, therefore, I am no longer using the app.
In my case, the device is recording accuracy, which iNaturalist is reading when photos are uploaded via the site, but not when the same photos are uploaded using the app. This behaviour has changed recently - up until a month or so ago, the iNaturalist app would also read the accuracy values.
This is still happening to me as well. I have iOS 12.4.9 on an iPhone 6 with iNat app version 3.0.6. Sounds like the iphone 6 and anything below will not get iOS13 support in the future.
The photos all have the right data and will include accuracy when uploaded via the web, but will not include accuracy if using the phone app when images are pulled from photo library. If I use the in app camera feature the image will have accuracy data associated but not if you choose from the library.
Currently using batch edit afterward to add accuracy data back in.
My iphone 5c (IOS 9.3) sent my location incorrectly. I "share my location" with my husband and on this particular day he checked my location and it showed I was about 1 to 1 1/2 miles away at a park (that I have never been to). I was home at the time and the wifi may have been down but I can't figure out why it was so far off.
If there is no wifi, wouldn't the cellular service ( I have Verizon) give the correct location? I even checked the Location History on my phone and it shows me home during that time period and does not show any history at that park location? What would cause it to be so far off? Thanks.
Location accuracy uses (from best to worst) gps, wifi, and cellular triangulation. Your question would take a lot of text and links to completely answer so I'm just going to try and give it a high-level approach.
Many things have to happen correctly for your husband to get your exact location: you need to have a clear signal from the gps satellite, the cell signal on your iPhone needs to be good with a low latency (delay) sending your coordinates, and if the gps signal isn't very good but there's wifi available to you, the wifi location lookups need to happen quickly (again, over the cell signal). Now, if you move, this entire thing needs to start all over again.
Cell signals can only triangulate your approximate location between the 3 cell towers. They can't get an exact location, like a gps signal. If the cell towers are miles apart, like they usually are, it can report your location as far away from where you actually are. If the cell signal is bad, it's guessing at your location (based on where you were in that triangle) from the last time it 'saw' you.
Like I said, this is very high-level and it's very easy to go into more detail (and really confuse you!) with a simple Google search. Why it didn't report your exact location when you were at home, with wifi, I'm not sure. Maybe it did report your exact location but your husband's cell or wifi signal was poor so he was sent a 'guess' based on the last time his iPhone saw your iPhone.
It's very difficult to troubleshoot these types of issues online. If you notice this type of inaccuracy happening more often, it could be indicative of a deeper problem with your iPhone so a trip to Apple might help solve the problem.
Precision and accuracy are crucial in the pet-sitting and dog-walking industry. To gain the trust of pet parents and ensure staff accountability, GPS tracking must be set up properly in Time To Pet and on each user's phone. In this article, we'll outline how to configure your iPhone and Time To Pet settings for GPS tracking.
Note: While following this guide will resolve the majority of GPS accuracy issues, we can't guarantee these steps will work. If, after following all of these troubleshooting steps, you're still having GPS accuracy issues, please reach out to your phone's carrier for help.
If the above settings appear to be correct or you aren't seeing some of the settings mentioned, please uninstall and reinstall the Time To Pet App. Once reinstalled, open the App and start the timer on an event.
It's also important to note that while cell phone reception is a key factor for GPS route tracking, it's possible to experience poor GPS signals still, even when general cell reception seems strong and stable.
I have a 128GB iPhone 6, just out of warranty. Two days ago, the GPS signal and Bluetooth connections weakened. They still work, but GPS shows a cone of confusion about 100 feet wide, making navigation and fitness tracking impossible. Bluetooth works within about 3 feet, but any more than that, it cuts out.
My phone is 25 days out of warranty, and Apple and AT&T were not helpful. Anyone have an idea of what the issue could be? WiFi works fine, as do calls, and the phone in is near-mint condition. Any ideas of what the problem could be?
I have been experiencing this problem as well. iPhone 6 / 64GB / 2months out of warranty. Genius Bar at Apple Store provided no solution. GPS is unable to track my movement, rendering fitness tracking and turn by turn navigation impossible. However, it can pinpoint my location if I'm stationary. Bluetooth can connect and function, but only from 3-5 feet away--no further. WiFi will connect only when in same room with access point. Signal strength is very weak or nonexistent when iPhone is moved to adjacent room.
Is there a single part/component that is responsible for WiFi/Bluetooth/GPS signal strength? @tomchai, you seem to be hinting with steps 29 and 30 that the grounding bracket be malfunctioning or perhaps loose? Would this cause the issues I've described above?
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