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Using Navigon in Airplane Mode

W

weeman

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 6, 2007
453
84
Orange County, CA
Is this not working for anybody else? I've had it on for about 5 minutes outside and it could not get a fix on my location...a buddy of mine has Sygic and in airplane mode, it locks on no problem

Taking a trip to Canada in a week and it would be awesome if I could get this working!
 
Umm Airplane mode turns your iPhone into an iPod. No wifi no network.
 
Why not just turn off data roaming?
Then you wont get any data charges.

weeman said:
Is this not working for anybody else? I've had it on for about 5 minutes outside and it could not get a fix on my location...a buddy of mine has Sygic and in airplane mode, it locks on no problem

Taking a trip to Canada in a week and it would be awesome if I could get this working!
Click to expand...
 
jessica. said:
Umm Airplane mode turns your iPhone into an iPod. No wifi no network.
Click to expand...

But Navigon is an on-phone application that should be able to use the GPS to locate the phone without needing network connection. I'll have to give this a try in the morning.
 
eawmp1 said:
But Navigon is an on-phone application that should be able to use the GPS to locate the phone without needing network connection. I'll have to give this a try in the morning.
Click to expand...

That would be awesome if you could do that.

Its killing me cause sygic works in airplane mode on my friends phone and navigon doesn't work on mine so im wondering if its my phone or the application.
 
Fyi, you can have wifi in airplane mode. I've heard good and bad things about Navigon but nothing about it in airplanes.
 
spillproof said:
Fyi, you can have wifi in airplane mode. I've heard good and bad things about Navigon but nothing about it in airplanes.
Click to expand...

Hahaha, I'm not trying to use it in an airplane...just trying to put my phone in airplane mode while im up in canada so I cant receive calls or data, and just use it as a gps device.
 
weeman said:
Hahaha, I'm not trying to use it in an airplane...just trying to put my phone in airplane mode while im up in canada so I cant receive calls or data, and just use it as a gps device.
Click to expand...

That's certainly a reasonable request for an application that's supposed to be independent of a data connection.
 
weeman said:
Hahaha, I'm not trying to use it in an airplane...just trying to put my phone in airplane mode while im up in canada so I cant receive calls or data, and just use it as a gps device.
Click to expand...
Airplane mode turns off all the radios, including GPS. So it its no surprise that GPS isn't working for you in airplane mode. You can avoid data charges by turning off data roaming. Airplane mode will then work.

I don't think turning Wi-Fi back on after entering airplane mode will activate GPS, but I expect it is mostly irrelevant in actual use either way - at least I don't have Wi-Fi available when driving down the street or highway.
 
iFerd said:
Airplane mode turns off all the radios, including GPS. So it its no surprise that GPS isn't working for you in airplane mode. You can avoid data charges by turning off data roaming. Airplane mode will then work.

I don't think turning Wi-Fi back on after entering airplane mode will activate GPS, but I expect it is mostly irrelevant in actual use either way - at least I don't have Wi-Fi available when driving down the street or highway.
Click to expand...

The GPS chip is a receiver, not a transmitter, and so should remain running in Airplane mode. Obviously it does, or else Sygic would not be able to maintain a location lock.
 
gloss said:
The GPS chip is a receiver, not a transmitter, and so should remain running in Airplane mode. Obviously it does, or else Sygic would not be able to maintain a location lock.
Click to expand...
My evidence comes from PlaceTagger. It works with data roaming off (no maps, but it records GPS coordinates), but it does not work in airplane mode.

Airlines don't permit receivers or transmitters to operate during flight.

Anyone can test this for themselves. Turn off data roaming and turn on Google maps. If you are out of your hope provider's coverage area, you will see the blue dot showing your location on a blank screen. Or if you loaded a map via Wi-Fi, that shows any you can see your movements on that map. Select another location, and you lose the map image. (I did this in Copenhagen a couple of weeks ago.) Now turn on airplane mode and open Google maps. You get a dialog saying "Turn Off Airplane Mode or Use Wi-Fi to Access Data." You won't have Wi-Fi to turn on most of the time you want GPS.

Edit: See post 19 below. It looks like GPS works in airplane mode if you turn Wi-Fi back on.
 
iFerd said:
Airlines don't permit receivers or transmitters to operate during flight.
Click to expand...

Not true. Many airlines permit the use of GPS receivers and portable XM/Sirius radio receiver in flight above the 10,000 foot deck.

Here's a list of which airlines worldwide allow GPS and which don't: http://gpsinformation.net/airgps/airgps.htm

For the record, there are 19 on the list that don't allow it. There are 44 that allow it.

gloss said:
The GPS chip is a receiver, not a transmitter, and so should remain running in Airplane mode. Obviously it does, or else Sygic would not be able to maintain a location lock.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately different airlines treat things differently. Some forbid the use of GPS receivers while others permit it above 10,000 feet. Generically, the airplane mode is a cover-all to try to keep people in compliance with airline regulations.
 
I used my iPhone to browse the Web on a flight in Airplane Mode a few days ago. $5.95 for an hour of wi-fi access, what a bargain! :rolleyes:
Didn't try GPS though.

To the OP: as someone else stated, don't use Airplane Mode, just turn off Data Roaming.
 
pooryou said:
I used my iPhone to browse the Web on a flight in Airplane Mode a few days ago. $5.95 for an hour of wi-fi access, what a bargain! :rolleyes:
Didn't try GPS though.

To the OP: as someone else stated, don't use Airplane Mode, just turn off Data Roaming.
Click to expand...

Ah, you got to use one of the new air wi-fi planes. Sluggish? I'm curious what kind of bandwidth the connection has.
 
Edit: Consensus (below in this thread) seems to be that what I described below works only because the device is locating Wi-Fi hotspots, not actually using GPS. That makes sense, so don't rely on what I reported in this post.

I have never had a data charge when I've turned off data roaming, so that would be the preferred method to use GPS when away from your home provider.

Original Post: I'm back to eat crow.

If you turn on Airplane mode and then turn Wi-Fi back on, GPS does work, even if you are not connected to Wi-Fi. Turning on Wi-Fi appears to turn on the GPS receiver too.

So, a person who only wanted GPS could turn on Airplane mode and still use GPS, so long as the Wi-Fi radio is also on.

This could be useful if you have maps on your device instead of needing to load them over the net, as would be the case with Navigon.

(I'm pleased to discover this. I had not thought it possible, given what the manuals say.)
 
iFerd said:
I'm back to eat crow.

If you turn on Airplane mode and then turn Wi-Fi back on, GPS does work, even if you are not connected to Wi-Fi. Turning on Wi-Fi appears to turn on the GPS receiver too.

So, a person who only wanted GPS could turn on Airplane mode and still use GPS, so long as the Wi-Fi radio is also on.

This could be useful if you have maps on your device instead of needing to load them over the net, as would be the case with Navigon.

(I'm pleased to discover this. I had not thought it possible, given what the manuals say.)
Click to expand...

Haha, at least your man enough to come back and say youre wrong :p

It just makes me wonder why Navigon doesn't work in airplane mode with wifi on???
 
iFerd said:
I'm back to eat crow.

If you turn on Airplane mode and then turn Wi-Fi back on, GPS does work, even if you are not connected to Wi-Fi. Turning on Wi-Fi appears to turn on the GPS receiver too.

So, a person who only wanted GPS could turn on Airplane mode and still use GPS, so long as the Wi-Fi radio is also on.

This could be useful if you have maps on your device instead of needing to load them over the net, as would be the case with Navigon.

(I'm pleased to discover this. I had not thought it possible, given what the manuals say.)
Click to expand...


sorry but this isnt accurate

just because you are not connected to any wifi networks doesnt mean that wifi triangulation is off... the iphone is able to figure out your position by using a database of known wifi hotspots and their location... the service is provided by skyhook wireless... all you need is to be in range of a wifi hot spot, not connected, and the iphone figures out where you are... this is different than GPS and not as accurate...

to verify this go out in the woods, or somewhere where there are no wifi hotspots in range, turn on airplane mode, then turn wifi back on... you still wont get a location fix, unfortunately...

I do a lot of hiking in the norht cascades, and have been trying to figure out how to do this for a long time, because there are some great topo mapping apps in the app store, but to use them with the gps I have to have the cell radio on to get a fix... having the cell radio on in an area with no service drains the battery even faster than the GPS, so it would be nice to be able to turn on the GPS without turning on the cell radio
 
Airlines in Mexico are now slowly allowing cellular service (cell phones ON), basically iPhone (and like devices) do work over there for GPS maps (app) - I tested it! ;)
 
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