GPS is incredibly inaccurate on 3GS..

[The General]

Is there a big blue circle around your blue dot?

Does it look like this:

Or does it look like this:

The first one is just cell tower triangulation. If you have GPS, it will be very accurate and it will be just a blue dot or a blue dot with a small circle around it.

The blue circle is the level of accuracy. If your phone is telling you that you're 2 miles from where you are and is just a blue dot with no circle, then something is wrong with your phone.

 

[ALittleDrive]

Every town should have a place like that

Maybe you should go to the Netherlands......seriously, its nice!

 

[lilmitchmitch]

When in my house, the GPS is flawless. Today while I was out at dinner it said that I was near St. Louis -- about two hours from where I'm at. I'm not sure why it was like that because I never ran into this problem on my 3G... oh well, hopefully when I actually need to use it, it'll cooperate.

 

[PhxBlue]

GPS is spot on for me.

 

[0970373]

Mine locks much faster is is def more accurate than the 3G.

 

[AET10]

Mine is so accurate it can track when I walk around my house from room to room and down the hall...no joke. On satellite view I can walk around my backyard and it tracks step for step. Crazy accurate...

 

[Synthetickiller]

GPS is spot on for me.

Ditto, 10 feet off max. Dead on accurate for me.

 

[Jamz00]

I got lost using the new maps tonight. The flipped map confused the hell out of me and I ended up in a very different place than I intended to go. It was scary.

 

[Canuckk]

Maps is telling me that I'm about 2 miles away from my actual location. I've tried in a few different places.

Anyone else having this problem?

Your problem is most likely not related to the phone itself, but to the network. Sometimes, (and this is what I understand of it, I could be off though) the cell tower codes telling the phone their position get mixed up, causing the phone to believe you are at an entirely different location then where you really are. This problem happens on the iPhone 3G as well, though it was more common on the earlier, 2.0.x firmware (it happened to me all the time and was really frustrating). Try moving a few blocks away from your current or testing position then try again, it should then correct itself. If not, then it could be some other problem that I'm not aware of.

 

[Jamz00]

is anyone using a turn by turn app yet? what's a good one if they exist yet?

 

[ericvmazzone]

This is not possible, since the accuracy to GPS for the general public is limited. Only the military gets pinpoint accuracy.

That changed a few years ago. The Civie models are not accurate to the same degree as the mil spec systems.

 

[skwoytek]

Your problem is most likely not related to the phone itself, but to the network. Sometimes, (and this is what I understand of it, I could be off though) the cell tower codes telling the phone their position get mixed up, causing the phone to believe you are at an entirely different location then where you really are. This problem happens on the iPhone 3G as well, though it was more common on the earlier, 2.0.x firmware (it happened to me all the time and was really frustrating). Try moving a few blocks away from your current or testing position then try again, it should then correct itself. If not, then it could be some other problem that I'm not aware of.

The "A" in AGPS only helps the device determine initial location for satellite acquisition. In the old days you had to actually tell a GPS what region you were in before it could get a good location lock, even then it still took several minutes before the GPS would show an exact location.

The cell towers are the "A" in AGPS. They only narrow down your location, after that it's all satellite.



Also, having used PLGRs extensively in Iraq, I can tell you they're no more accurate than civilian GPS these days.

 

[dialed1]

Try putting the phone on edge instead of 3g that works for me but probly same as restarting.

 

[Senn]

mine was totally wrong on an hour long driving trip

and the compass is horrible while driving as well

 

[sommls]

From my own n=1 experience:

1) 3G gps has not been documented anywhere I've read to be different from 3GS gps.

2) my 3G is less accurate than a dedicated, older model gps (Magellan Meridian Gold). I can walk through my house with the Meridian and accurately see position changes within 5-10 feet. iPhone gps gets me within the right building (about 50 foot resolution).

3) in other places (my car), direct comparison of the two yields pretty much the same difference. No, the passenger's looking at them, not me...

 

[itsmequinn]

I'm actually having a problem with an iPhone 3g where only thecell tower triangulation will work, not the actual gps. The reading is about as accurate as the triangulation method usually is, but the halo around the blue dot never zooms in and the blue dot never starts updating live like the gps always used to. I have tried reseting and reseting my network settings but nothing works. This is since upgrading to 3.0.

 

[Bentov]

I posted this yesterday, but i can't seem to find my post. change it from true north to magnetic north, then the gps and maps will be dead on.

 

[ubercool]

Maybe you should go to the Netherlands......seriously, its nice!

I agree, very nice, or "zeer mooi" as they would say there.

 

[woodtrain54]

I posted this yesterday, but i can't seem to find my post. change it from true north to magnetic north, then the gps and maps will be dead on.

Nevermind, I didn't even see the info button in the compass app

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I wouldn't say it's inaccurate as much as its inconsistent. There are times it will pinpoint me dead on, and other times when it's a half mile off. And other times when it has me at the right coordinates, but wrong street.

 

[Excellerator]

I'm actually having a problem with an iPhone 3g where only thecell tower triangulation will work, not the actual gps. The reading is about as accurate as the triangulation method usually is, but the halo around the blue dot never zooms in and the blue dot never starts updating live like the gps always used to. I have tried reseting and reseting my network settings but nothing works. This is since upgrading to 3.0.

My 3G is doing the same thing since upgrading to 3.0. Must be a bug. I have tried resetting and it doesn't fix it.

Update: The bug seems to be in the Maps app because when I ran MotionX GPS it worked fine, then I went back to the Maps app it then worked. Weird. Almost like the Maps app isn't turning it on.

 

[iPhone guru]

My 3G is doing the same thing since upgrading to 3.0. Must be a bug. I have tried resetting and it doesn't fix it.

Update: The bug seems to be in the Maps app because when I ran MotionX GPS it worked fine, then I went back to the Maps app it then worked. Weird. Almost like the Maps app isn't turning it on.

Same here. I have the same problem with the maps app but my cyclometer app B.iCycle works very well on the 3GS with OS 3.0! It shows very accurate position in the map while I'm biking and the calorie and altitude calculation seem to be quite good as well. So it must be a problem of the maps app.

 

[itsmequinn]

I tried motionx gps lite but after about two prompts to "continue searching for satellites?" it still was stuck on triangulation. Any one else still have the problem?

 

[iPhone guru]

I tried motionx gps lite but after about two prompts to "continue searching for satellites?" it still was stuck on triangulation. Any one else still have the problem?

B.iCycle took about 30s to find GPS and the map showed my position exactly in my backyard. I guess about 5m off but thats very cool for GPS.

 

[Rootus]

Mine's spot on. Within. Couple of yards, at least.

Mine too. Hell, it put the pin on the correct room of the house I was in ...