iPhone 3G GPS Not Working - How to fix it
Sunday, July 13, 2008
There have been many reports of the iPhone 3G having problems with its GPS positioning. Many users are reporting that they go into Maps on their new iPhone, click the target to lock onto their position and it is just not working. I too was experiencing this and have three things to advise, that may point to a solution.Firstly, check the version number for your 2.0 software. Mine was factory shipped with 2.0 (5A345). I did a restore through iTunes and it downloaded the later 2.0 (5A347) version. After this was downloaded the iPhone got a cellular signal a lot quicker, plus a lot stronger signal too.
Secondly, check you at least have a cellular or mobile phone network signal. The iPhone (both 3G and first generation) use the cell network to work out your position. I found that once I had a four bar signal or more, the iPhone locked onto my position very quickly. It was not that accurate, but it did respond quickly.
Finally, put your iPhone 3G outside for at least 15 minutes. You will find that if it has a non-restricted path to the satellites you will get it to lock on. After leaving mine outside, the target changed to the blue glowing dot and found my position. It was very very accurate, even tracking if I was at the top or bottom of my back garden. This is very impressive indeed.
Labels: Apple iPhone, Opinion
22 Comments:
-
At 1:08 pm,
Andy said...
-
Thanks for the tip. Sorted it for a little while but now back to being flakey!
-
At 1:08 pm,
Andy said...
-
Left lots of posts on apple discussions.
Hopefully a fix will be provided soon. -
At 9:38 pm,
said...
-
My iPhone 3G, when indoors, seems to insist that I'm in Seattle Washington all the time. (I'm about 3,000 miles east of there.)
Outdoors... it seems to locate me fine (Michigan).
Would that mean "GPS Signal" is working... but ATT 3G and Wi-Fi GPS... are not?
(I have a strong 3G signal, and a strong wi-fi signal.) -
At 6:40 pm,
said...
-
I may have found a solution. I live in Canada and have the same problem with iPhone 3G with original factory code (5A345). To reduce usage on battery, I and my colleagues turned off WiFi.
It looks like the iPhone GPS software needs WiFi enabled (do not require to be associated to AP). Turning on WiFi and going to Maps, now works both inside (very close to our location within 20-50 meters) and outside including getting the blue dot (outside 5-20 meters).
Frank -
At 2:07 am,
said...
-
> It looks like the iPhone GPS
> software needs WiFi enabled (do
> not require to be associated to
> AP).
What is "AP"? -
At 4:34 pm,
Mac Girlie said...
-
Carol, I think that in this case AP means access point- in other words, wifi needs to be on, but you don't actually need to be connected to an access point.
-
At 2:40 pm,
said...
-
Wow... that's REALLY odd.
You are saying: Wi-fi "needs to be on"... but even if "not connected"? (So it's not even getting ANY 'location info' (right or wrong, info) from wi-fi... but it still needs it 'on'?)
I found out something more: If I turn off 3G... the GSP works all the time. -
At 1:02 am,
Rob O'Dwyer said...
-
this is true , mine doesn't work with wifi off,
even if it's using the 3G connection and there's no
wifi around -
At 5:20 pm,
said...
-
unbelievable have been searching for a fix for this for ages, turned on wifi and it worked straight away...
-
At 5:29 am,
said...
-
Since I installed v2.0.2 all my GPS locations seem to be working 100%.
(Regardless of whether I'm indoors/outdoors, using EDGE, 3G, Wi-Fi, etc) -
At 4:37 pm,
Unknown said...
-
Why do you have to get a phone signal to use GPS? I mean if there is clear site to sky, why can' t iPhone GPS work just like a car navigation system?
-
At 10:26 pm,
said...
-
> Why do you have to get a phone
> signal to use GPS?
Who said you "must have a phone signal"???
A working iPhone can get your
location from wi-fi, edge, 3G,
or GPS. -
At 5:54 pm,
said...
-
I have had 3 iphones because of flakey GPS, finally i have found the problem, try gently flexing the phone, always works for me, i guess its poor build quality and some connection is not making.
Its worked 100% of the time it seems to last for a day or so then i have to do it again -
At 3:41 am,
said...
-
Here's how you fix it:
- Go to settings, general, auto-lock, change it from 1 Minute to NEVER
- Go to settings, general, reset, reset network settings (THIS WILL REBOOT YOUR IPHONE)
- Go outside, in a clear place with NO tree's, buildings, or anything blocking your view of the sky
- Open "MAPS", click NO on all that wi-fi crap, then click the little gps icon, and let it sync up with the satellites (this could take a few minutes) -
At 2:27 am,
said...
-
do as logan said, it worked right after i did it
-
At 10:05 pm,
said...
-
After i did what Logan said it worked perfectly for me :-).
-
At 5:18 am,
jeff user of solus said...
-
Just hold down the home and power buttons till the phone turns off then restart it.
This resets the phone and your gps will work straight away -
At 4:52 am,
Fernando said...
-
Now i'm seeing it for the first time!! I thought it didn't work! Thank you Logan!
-
At 8:14 am,
said...
-
i dont have either gps signal,only tringulation,and my wifi is low range,1m from ap then he recognize it.dont know what to do.any suggestion?
best regards ,Goran -
At 12:39 pm,
said...
-
Wow, I'm such in shock that all i had to do was leave wifi on and it works.
You guys wouldn't believe how long i have been trying to look for something to fix it. I thought it was the apps i was getting.
I feel like punching something. Thank you for the person who said put wifi on. -
At 10:40 pm,
Cena said...
-
Its working fine for me... chek up for upades through apple!
-
At 2:30 am,
said...
-
I have never had my WiFi on, and until just a few weeks ago, my GPS locator worked perfectly. Used it all the time. Just recently it seems that it is VERY slow to pinpoint my position, and when it does, it indicates it several miles from my actual location. Any OTHER suggestions?
The Authors
Dave
Dave has been in the graphic design industry for 14 years. Long time reviewer of technology related products, he is Owner/Editor of Geekanoids.
Guest Contributors
We will occasionally feature guest articles and reviews. If you have interesting content, please feel free to email us.
About This Website
This site covers all the latest Macintosh, technology & gadget related news. We also bring our readers thorough, unbiased reviews of computer software, hardware & peripherals, with some alternative products thrown into the mix.
Contact Us
You can email us with news, tips, or comments to geekanoids@gmail.com. This blog is published and maintained by Wiki Design.
Subscribe to podcast
