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Ezra923

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 8, 2012
255
90
Ive noticed that you cant get directions when you have no cell service. Theres parts of upstate new york where i have absolutely no signal. What if i get lost up there? Why cant they make the gps like the stand alone units were they always have signal?
 
Ive noticed that you cant get directions when you have no cell service. Theres parts of upstate new york where i have absolutely no signal. What if i get lost up there? Why cant they make the gps like the stand alone units were they always have signal?

Applemaps used the GPS signal to find where you are just like a Garmin or TomTom GPS. The problem as you have noticed is that the maps are not stored on you phone but are served to the phone over the air. This means that if you have no cell phone signal, no maps.

You can buy a Garmin or TomTom app in the app store that will store the maps on your phone. They will take up over 2GB of space on your phone to do so.
 
You can get GPS to work when you have no cell service. You will have to buy a 3rd party navigation app such as Navigon or Magellan Roadmate which will download maps to your phone and store them.

The reason you cant just use the apps map is because you can be located, it just cant show you in relation to maps. It has the ability to give you gps coordinates, but are pretty much useless because it needs to download the maps to your phone through cell service.
 
Thanks guys makes a lot of sense now. Why dosnt apple have the maps stored to begin with?
 
Why dosnt apple have the maps stored to begin with?
It's a design decision. Data doesn't have to be stored locally and it's always up-to-date (or at least as up-to-date as their data is on their servers). If you don't agree with it then you need to find a solution that fits your needs. This is precisely why I use TomTom.

Why cant they make the gps like the stand alone units were they always have signal?
Standalone GPS units don't always have cell signal. Many of them don't use data at all. They always pick up GPS signal just like the GPS receiver in your iPhone.
 
Ive noticed that you cant get directions when you have no cell service. Theres parts of upstate new york where i have absolutely no signal. What if i get lost up there? Why cant they make the gps like the stand alone units were they always have signal?

For this reason I bought Navigon.

No reception, no worries. All maps are stored on the phone. ;)
 
Garmin USA/Tom Tom/Navigon GPS app does not use data time



GPS Apps:

1. Waze Free Feb 27th, 2013 Version 3.6

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/waze-gps-traffic-social-fun!/id323229106?mt=8



2 NAVIGON $44.99 ( No Data Time ) March 22nd, 2013 Version 2.4

May even allow one to download a few states, not the full GB worth.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/navigon-north-america/id321506742?mt=8



3. Tom Tom $35.99 Feb 7th, 2013 Version 1.13 ( No Data Time )

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tomtom-u.s.a./id343289842?mt=8




4. Garmin $39.99 March 22nd, 2013 Version 2.4.1 ( No Data Time )

http://itunes.apple.com/app/garmin-u.s.a./id435490305?mt=8
 
Wow Waze is free and with perfect reviews?? I think ill go with that one thanks!
 
Wow Waze is free and with perfect reviews?? I think ill go with that one thanks!

Be careful with Waze though. If you don't pay attention to your settings it'll bring you to where you want in the most annoying way possible.
 
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