iPhone 4S Location Services - Degredation in Accuracy?

[NightFox]

With my previous iPhones, sat in my house iOS has always been able to quickly get a pretty accurate fix on my location (<100m) before GPS reception has been able to refine this to about 5m accuracy. presumably using WiFi location and phone mast reception to achieve this.

I think my 4S also achieved this at first. However, for the last couple of weeks I've found that until it gets an accurate GPS fix after 2 or 3 minutes, its accuracy is no longer there - according to Maps.app it always places me about 30 miles to the east of where I am with a MASSIVE margin of error circle. Because it can't get an accurate enough fix reasonably quickly, location-dependent apps either fail (e.g. Siri providing time or weather) or just gives information based on the location 30 miles away.

The odd thing is, both of my daughters' iPod touches (both running iOS5) still know where they are to within 100m based on WiFi alone, but even if I disable GPS and network on my 4S, leaving only WiFi running, it still locates me in the wrong place.

Is anyone else experiencing a degradation in accuracy for locations provided without GPS?

 

[IcyStorm]

With my previous iPhones, sat in my house iOS has always been able to quickly get a pretty accurate fix on my location (<100m) before GPS reception has been able to refine this to about 5m accuracy. presumably using WiFi location and phone mast reception to achieve this.

I think my 4S also achieved this at first. However, for the last couple of weeks I've found that until it gets an accurate GPS fix after 2 or 3 minutes, its accuracy is no longer there - according to Maps.app it always places me about 30 miles to the east of where I am with a MASSIVE margin of error circle. Because it can't get an accurate enough fix reasonably quickly, location-dependent apps either fail (e.g. Siri providing time or weather) or just gives information based on the location 30 miles away.

The odd thing is, both of my daughters' iPod touches (both running iOS5) still know where they are to within 100m based on WiFi alone, but even if I disable GPS and network on my 4S, leaving only WiFi running, it still locates me in the wrong place.

Is anyone else experiencing a degradation in accuracy for locations provided without GPS?

Do you have "Cell Network Search" disabled? I believe this helps (although not with WiFi I suppose).

 

[Kyotoma]

You'll experience greater accuracy if you're outside on a sunny day or in the presence of a WiFi connection. Otherwise, it's an iOS "fix" that was the 4.3.3 update.

 

[NightFox]

Do you have "Cell Network Search" disabled? I believe this helps (although not with WiFi I suppose).

Thanks, tried that already (both on and off) and no difference. For anyone else wanting to try that it's called "Mobile Network Search" on UK iPhones.

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You'll experience greater accuracy if you're outside on a sunny day or in the presence of a WiFi connection. Otherwise, it's an iOS "fix" that was the 4.3.3 update.

Yep, understand all that, but I'm talking about a problem I've only experienced in the last 10-14 days which I don't think I had when my 4S was new, and a problem I never experienced on iOS5 on my iPhone 4, or any iOS or iPhone version beforehand which were all able to get a quick and reasonably accurate fix without GPS, as my daughters' iOS5 iPods still manage to do.

 

[Kyotoma]

Interesting, as your daughter's iPod doesn't have GPS in it at all and requires a WiFi connection.

 

[discogirl]

I am having this problem too

I am all ready to go to Apple with the problem. My location is about 30 to the east of where I am, which means a lot of apps that use your location do not work.

I too have tried the above things, but they do not make any difference.