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GPS Problems on 3gs

B

BigOrangeSU

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 22, 2008
218
1
Hi-
I know I have seen this thread before, but is anyone having spotty gps with the 3gs? Sometimes the gps works great, other times it works but doesn't track the movement and sometimes it just doesn't work well at all. Other then that the phone has been perfect. Has anyone had any experiences with problems on the GPS? Does anyone have a test to make sure the GPS is working properly?

Thanks!
 
I've actually been having a problem with GPS not tracking my movement well, or at all. But I'm using a 3G with 3.0, not 3GS. Lately, instead of tracking my movement, it tends to just jump along while I move. Maybe it's a problem with 3.0?
 
mine works okay...granted sometimes it shows me 15-20 feet off the road...and the compass sometimes shows that i am looking off the road whereas i am facing straight... but nothing major...i can still use it to figure out where to go.
 
iOrlando said:
mine works okay...granted sometimes it shows me 15-20 feet off the road...and the compass sometimes shows that i am looking off the road whereas i am facing straight... but nothing major...i can still use it to figure out where to go.
Click to expand...

Yes this seems to be the normal operation. I wonder how Tom-Tom is going to be able to use the navigation if the GPS is very spotty? Maybe its a software issue and a fix is on its way
 
The problem I have wasn't present in 2.2. Maps tracked my locations perfectly well and located me relatively accurately. But ever since upgrading to 3.0, I've had problems. This definitely isn't normal operation.
 
This is a problem that a lot of people are having, myself included, both with the 3G and 3GS running 3.0. I think I'm going to wait for one software update to see if it fixes the problem and then take it to the genius bar to get replaced (although I've read from a few people that even that didn't fix it for them). That's my advice.
 
I too have a problem with gps it jumps a lot... and even the compass is uneven it doest follow the direction i am going... its usually off angle like 45 degree or even 90 Degree...
 
The only issue I have had in a specific area on 3GS was it showed me probably 20ft off road. Other then that I've tested about on 100 miles of road so far. Was spot on
 
I think it can be affected by obstructions and some interference just like any other electronic device. That being said, I tried it out while at a baseball game over the weekened and google maps pretty much dropped the pin on the section I was sitting in. Then I went for a hike and Motion X GPS traced drew my track spot on the road/trail I was walking on. While some units may be defective, I think the GPS works just fine in principle.
 
I don't seem to be having the accuracy problems other people are having. If I let it sit long enough, it eventually catches up to where I am and is pretty accurate. It's just that when moving, it doesn't track my movement, which makes trying to not miss a turn difficult.
 
itsmequinn said:
This is a problem that a lot of people are having, myself included, both with the 3G and 3GS running 3.0. I think I'm going to wait for one software update to see if it fixes the problem and then take it to the genius bar to get replaced (although I've read from a few people that even that didn't fix it for them). That's my advice.
Click to expand...

Happened to me this weekend. One day perfect, next it didn't work. Went to the store and the Genius only talked to me. Didn't sync to itunes to do a diagnostic or anything.

He just wanted me out of the store. Period.
 
had this problem once on 2.2 and once on 3.0. as someone said earlier, if you leave maps open for a while itll eventually catch up i suppose.
 
I had massive problems with my 32Gb 3GS and getting maps to work accurately. My early attempts at home involved a circle around my presumed location of 5.5km and my house sitting outside that. I returned that one at the weekend.

The new one did lock onto my house once but was really flakey, to the extent that yesterday three of us stood outside work, a 3g, a 16Gb 3GS and my 32Gb and did a maps test. The other two phones locked onto our location within 20sec, whilst mine was half km out. I had a look at their setting and changed the following
Wi-fi -> on
3G -> on
Auto-lock -> 1 minute
Time zone from GMT -> London

By yesterday afternoon it was instantly tracking me round the work's caar park. And this morning it is still working fine, athough accuracy obviously falls away indoors in poor signal strength areas.

In addtion Motion X is now also finding satellites, something that up until yesterday the phone had sigularly failed to do, even with clear skys on top of a hill!
 
My 3GS is pretty accurate with Maps. However, locations in Compass can be way off!
 
Does the phone use the gps with the help of cellular towers? because if i take out my sim card and just wifi, my phone doesnt know where i am at all..
 
GPS rendered nearly useless

This not minor issue from where I sit.

First off, I'm on the 3G with 3.0. I've also spoken to others I know with iPhone 3G using both the 3.0 and 2.x OS.

Those who have NOT upgraded to 3.0 have no issues with the GPS and location services. Prior to upgrading my phone OS, the GPS would literally follow me within feet of my actual location. It would even follow me around the house in some cases.

After having upgraded, the GPS barely works. I get errors just trying to create a route, and when it does actually create the route it no longer follows my movements. Once I begin to travel, it shows my location sitting at the starting point. If I do nothing, it will eventually "jump" to my current location, where it will again sit idle until it decides to update again and jumps to where I was the last time it updated.

As well, when just viewing my current location (anywhere I am) it shows anywhere from a few hundred feet off course up to several miles off course. At this very moment it shows my location to be roughly 300 ft from the building I'm in.

Everyone I know who has upgraded to 3.0 is having this exact same issue. This is obviously a software issue, and one that needs to be fixed, but given Apple's tendency to take their sweet time when it comes to patches and upgrades I don't see this getting corrected any time soon by them.
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update: possible fix

after resetting my location warnings (settings/general/reset), it's showing my location more accurately than before. not sure if this has corrected the hanging problem when in transit but will find out on the drive home from work.
 
verified on 3G 3.0 only

After resetting the location warnings the maps issues have been resolved as near as i can tell.

it follows my movement properly now and location is back to spot on.
 
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