How to fix GPS and mobile location problems

A GPS that does not work properly can mean that you cannot use your phone normally, so it is quite understandable that you want to solve this problem as soon as possible and be able to use your phone as you have been doing before, whether it is to configure routes through Google Maps, locate your mobile in a certain area or play “Go” titles that you download from Google Play.

In this article, we are going to help you do just that by offering you solutions to your location problems , no matter if your smartphone is running Android or it is an iPhone.

The reasons why the GPS usually fails

There are several factors that can make your phone’s GPS stop working and prevent us from correctly locating our position. An error may occur after installing an Android update, the smartphone has been misconfigured or we have an application such as Fake GPS preventing the location of the smartphone from being carried out correctly. For this reason, the first thing you should do is check that you do not have an app of this type installed on your mobile.

But we also cannot forget that, for the location to work correctly, we have to be outside. The thick walls of a building are not friends with this feature of our phones and can temporarily block the GPS signal , just as your device may not be able to pick up the signal properly if you are in a remote location.

Sometimes navigation apps don’t work properly, not because the GPS is failing , but because the software, that is, the app you use to guide you through the streets, is not up to date or because its cache is overloaded.

Whatever the reason why this important functionality of your phone is not working, fixing this problem is a simple process that can be completed in just a few minutes.

Fix localization on Android

If you have a smartphone from Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO, realme, Motorola, Nokia… that is, one that works with the Google operating system, the solutions to GPS problems are practically the same. Follow these tips to end your headaches

Check GPS status

Although the process of checking the GPS status is something that is mostly used by technicians, you can still check it on your mobile without much difficulty. There are secret operating system menus that will or will not work depending on the brand of your phone. All you have to do is open the Phone app, tap the enter number button, and enter one of these codes:

• *#*#1472365#*#*
• *#*#4636#**
• *#0*#
• #7378423#**
• *#*#1575#*#*

Once you have gained access to the menu, you should tap on ‘sensor test’ and select the GPS test option. The device will test the mobile location function and inform us if there is any problem with it. If so, the phone will have to be taken in for repair.

Since these codes may not work for you, you can optionally install a GPS test app that will automatically analyze your device’s GPS function and detect any issues that may be affecting its performance.

Turn location services off and on

After running the test, this is the first thing you should do as soon as you detect a problem with your smartphone’s location services . In some cases, disabling and enabling GPS may be all you need to do to get it to work normally.

Doing so will update it and give the device a chance to resolve any issues that have been preventing it from working as usual. To do this, you just have to display the notification panel at the top of the device screen and press the GPS/Location icon . Leave this feature off for a short time before turning it back on and see if it works normally again.

restart your smartphone

If the above operation has not given us the results we expected, then you should try restarting your smartphone . This will give the device a chance to reset settings that may have caused the GPS to stop working.

Although this is a quick solution to GPS problems, you should be aware that the root of the problem may persist, in which case we recommend turning the phone off again and waiting a few more minutes to turn it on. If everything remains the same, we must move on to the next solution.

Turn off Airplane mode

Airplane mode prevents your mobile phone from connecting to Wi-Fi networks, data networks, turning on Bluetooth, and also from using location services. By activating it, what you will do is that the device will disconnect from the networks that were affecting the GPS.

Airplane mode can be accessed from the notification panel and you just have to touch its icon to activate it. Leave Airplane mode on for about a minute and then turn it off by tapping its icon again to check if the GPS is working again.

Charge the device battery

Current phones can go into power saving mode if the battery is almost empty, even if you don’t have it set to do so, or at least don’t remember turning these settings on. For whatever reason, this way of saving battery on Android phones disables GPS in an attempt to minimize power consumption.

Keeping your device’s battery charged at all times will allow you to avoid experiencing any issues related to the location service, but it doesn’t hurt if you’re having trouble, check if the mode is disabled from the battery settings and then step, charge the device.

Clear the cache of the affected app

Almost all problems with location are detected in Google Maps, Pokémon GO or any other navigation app or game. App cached data may be taking up too much space on your phone, causing GPS to stop working . Luckily, it is very easy to clear the cache of the affected app in just a few simple steps.

1. Open the Settings app
2. Locate the Applications submenu
3. Continue navigating through the apps installed on your phone until you reach the Maps app, Pokémon Go, or the app that is crashing
4. Enter each of them and access their Storage menu
5. Now click on Clear cache and data
6. Then restart the phone and check if the GPS is working properly

Fix location bugs on iPhone

The solutions are practically the same on the iPhone, but since iOS and Android are very different operating systems, the way to get to each of them is different. Do the following to fix the problem with locating Apple phones .

Restart location services

To begin with, you can restart location services on your iPhone . If it’s just a small glitch causing the problem, turning location services off and back on should help just as it does on Android phones. To do so, you have to follow these steps:

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone
2. Scroll down to Privacy
3. Tap Location on the next screen
4. Turn off the switch next to Location
5. Wait a few seconds and turn it back on

After doing so, open one of the apps like Apple Maps which uses location based services to check if this fixed the problem.

Check usage restrictions

If you can’t seem to toggle Location Services on your iPhone because the option is grayed out, you may have accidentally turned on Privacy Restrictions using the Screen Time tools on your Cupertino phone. Solving it is as simple as doing this:

1. Open the Settings menu
2. Enter the Time of use options
3. Go to Privacy and content restrictions
4. Then tap Location
5. Select Allow changes and make sure the switch next to Location Services is on

Enable pinpoint location system

Navigation applications of all kinds and others require precise location data to obtain location details. If your iPhone applications cannot determine your exact location, the GPS may not work as it should and you may face problems like the ones we are dealing with today.

As you can imagine, you can check if you have configured the precise location system in the following way:

1. Open the Settings app
2. Find the app you want to set the precise location option for
3. Tap Location and turn on the switch next to Precise location

Open an app like Google Maps and see if the location services are working now. The perfection.

Enable background refresh

Sometimes various apps that use iPhone GPS need access to the background app refresh feature which basically allows them to use the data connection even when the app is not running in the foreground. Do it like this:

1. Open the iOS Settings app
2. Scroll down to tap General
3. Tap Background App Refresh
4. Select Wi-Fi and mobile data on the next screen

Disable the data consumption limit

Enabling data limiters on your iPhone can cause all those tools that use the Internet to stop working normally. And since the apps require an active internet connection to constantly track your location, you may run into issues if data capping is enabled. This is how you can disable it:

1. Open iPhone Settings
2. Access the Wi-Fi menu
3. Tap the information icon next to your current network and turn off low data mode

To deactivate this option when we use mobile data, you will have to do the same, but in the Mobile data options and not in the Wi-Fi options. Once inside, turn off low data mode.