The GPS of your mobile is a function that many overlook and in most cases prefer to keep it off, but the reality is that it is one of the most important. With it you can not only know where you are in real time , but also locate other places and guide you to reach those destinations .
But this is not all, it is also very useful information for various applications, which use it to offer you a personalized and better quality service. So you should have it active as long as possible, so that you can fully exploit its benefits .
In this article we are going to show you some tricks to improve the GPS location of your mobile and even how to solve the most common problems that you may encounter when using it. You will learn that it is much more than a data consumer and that you should make it your best ally.
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How does the GPS of mobile phones work?
GPS stands for Global Positioning System ( Global Positioning System in Spanish). This technology is not new, since its origin dates back to the 60’s, but at that time, like the modern internet, was exclusively military use and was used to know the precise location of battalions and troops that were in war zones .
The first version was called OMEGA Navigation System and used the radio waves that were emitted from a couple of ground stations . This provided a merely referential location and its accuracy had a margin of at least a radius of 1km .
For its part, the modern GPS has almost millimeter accuracy , since it relies on less 24 satellites that rise to 20,000km high , which orbitals the Land constantly and communicate with each other. Your mobile phone has a built-in GPS receiver, which receives information from 3 of the 24 satellites to determine where in the world you are.
This information is so accurate that the satellite can determine a position in relation to your longitude, latitude and altitude. So today’s global positioning systems can even specify whether you are on the ground floor of a building or on your rooftop .
Methods to improve the GPS signal and accuracy in a Android or iOS phone
Are you clear how it works? Well, if you have understood the complexity and importance of GPS, you may be interested in improving your signal to make the most of . Therefore, here are a series of tricks to fulfill this objective and enhance this function of your mobile.
Make sure you have a good phone signal
The satellites that are used to provide the telephone signal of your mobile phone fall within those 24 that we told you that are necessary for the operation of the location system, so the quality of the signal you have will also affect positive or negatively your positioning.
So when you go to use your GPS, make sure you have a good signal on your mobile . This happens because as you know the connection is made through the internet, and the speed of this depends on the mobile data that you have depends mainly on the quality of your signal.
Connect to a WiFi network
When you are going to use any application that requires your geographic location , it is best that you are connected to a WiFi network. This is because as we said before, GPS quality depends on the speed of your internet and in most cases a WiFi network is faster than mobile data. In addition, in this way you will save on the consumption of these . You can see how to have free internet on your mobile from here.
Keep the mobile compass always calibrated
In addition to satellites, GPS also relies on a small compass that has each smartphone integrated in its motion sensors. This is generally 100% reliable, but over time it can become uncalibrated, which makes the location less accurate . Therefore, to have a better quality in the accuracy of our location system, it is important to keep the compass always calibrated.
To do this on Android you must use an external application. In the Google Play Store you will find many of these . On the other hand, if you use iPhone, you must enter the application «Compass» that it has integrated and if a calibration is needed, the app will automatically detect it and a wizard will start to do it.
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Make sure your mobile’s time and date are good
The GPS relies on your time zone to establish a more precise location , in addition to the fact that if these are well the connection with the satellites will be much faster. Therefore you must ensure that both values are set correctly.
To do this you must enter the “Settings” of your mobile, enter “Date and Time” and make sure that both the date and time and the area are automatically set to be set according to your position, no matter how long the phone is off.
Activate the “High Accuracy” function
Your mobile has a “High precision” function on your GPS that allows you to obtain more accurate data of your location in real time. However, this is optional, so it is disabled by default on most Android and iOS devices.
To activate it you must follow the path «Settings»> »Location»> »Mode» and turn on the switch or check the option (Depending on the mobile) of “High precision” to activate it.
Delete the history of the A-GPS
“Assited GPS” or Assisted GPS is a technology that supports your mobile phone to increase service accuracy. The detail is that it is storing data from your recent locations and there comes a time when it collapses and begins to fail.
Therefore it is important to delete the data as if it were the browsing history of your web browser . To do this you must download an external app, there are many on the market, but we will teach you how to do it with GPS Total Run.
Once you have the app installed, you must follow the route «Settings»> »GPS» and once there, tap on the «RESET A-GPS DATA» and then in «GET A-GPS DATA» to empty the records.
List of applications to improve GPS geolocation on Android and iPhone
In addition to the tricks we teach you, you can rely on various applications to improve the geolocation of your GPS on both Android and iOS . Here are five of the best you can have installed on your device to achieve this goal.
GPS Status & Toolbox
This application is like a «Doctor GPS» has a series of tools that not only allow you to make faster the way you get your location, but also exploit new functions that you thought impossible . For example, it has a compass that gives you information about the true north according to your geographical position, so that you can navigate as accurately as possible. This works with motion sensors, so you don’t need to be connected to the internet to use it .
It also has data that records the speed with which the connection to the satellites is established , as well as to keep track of the locations you visit. From it you can also delete the data from the A-GPS, as well as download it to keep a manual record of these .
GPS Test
This is another Dr GPS that will help you know the status of this and fully exploit all its functions. From it you can calibrate the compass, as well as use it to know the true north. It also has an analytics section where you can see the health of the connection with the satellites of the network , as well as to see data from the AGPS or delete them from it. It is one of the most downloaded for Android phones.
This app will allow you to navigate from it using its compass, as well as the advanced navigation system of the European Union, Galileo, which will be officially launched in 2022.
GPS Essentials
One of the best apps you can have to optimize your geolocation to the fullest . This has a series of tools that will allow you to calibrate the compass, navigate from it and know the state of the connection between your receiver and the satellites of the global location network around the world.
But not only this, it is so advanced, that you can carefully analyze an area to know the changes in altitude in an area . For example, if you are outdoors, the app does a study of the area according to the radius you set to indicate where there are hills, lakes and even potholes in the terrain .
But that’s not all, it even integrates a compass so you know the inclination of the earth’s magnetic field in relation to your location and also a sea navigation compass. If you are an adventure lover, this is an app that will help you a lot in your field trips.
GPS Fix
This is one of the apps that have the best reviews on Apple Store and Google Play Store. It is ideal to optimize the connection of your GPS with the various satellites around the world just by activating it. It will also show you the location of those closest to you . Many people use it to enhance other apps that use this feature such as Google Maps or games like Pokemon GO.
It has another set of tools that allow you to calibrate your compass or delete AGPS data , so that the health of your connection is greatly improved.
GPS faster signal Optimizer / Fix
We close with another of the most powerful apps you can have on your mobile to optimize your location system and empower it to exploit new features. This has everything that the others on this list presume and much more. Among its singularities is the fact that has a record of maps from around the world where you can know the almost millimeter location of any lake, hill or waterfall you are looking for . It is ideal for adventure tourism , especially if you are in an extensive national park as it will indicate the route of arrival and departure of each place.
As you can imagine, it also has “toys” that will allow you to calibrate the compass and the connection with the satellites, as well as to delete or download AGPS data .
My mobile phone cannot find the GPS signal How to fix it ?
If you have time without calibrating the mobile compass or the connection between the receiver and the location network satellites is slow, the GPS may give you an inaccurate location. This will trigger a series of failures in all those apps that need the information of this one to work correctly.
This should be repaired if you calibrate your compass and then use any of the apps we previously recommended to improve connection speed.
In addition, it is important that you apply each of the tips we gave you to improve your GPS, since these are also necessary habits so that the health of this is in optimal conditions . If after all this the failures continue, it is possible that you have been infected by a malware or that there is a hardware failure in the receiver of the global location system signal that requires the attention of a professional expert in the subject .
What are the advantages and benefits of having activated the Mobile GPS?
If after all this you are still not sure of taking advantage of GPS, then let us tell you all the good things that you are missing if you do not, since they will surely make you open your eyes.
- With active GPS you can use the Google services to locate your mobile in case of theft, turn it on or even remove important data from if you miss it.
- If you are visiting a new country, the geolocation will allow you to reach highly touristic places and historical sites where you can have unforgettable experiences .
- GPS provides important information to various applications, which will allow them to offer you a more personalized service .
Anyway, the global location system is one of the wonders of the modern world in terms of technology, so dispensing with this is basically like being outdated , to avoid problems you can see how to update the GPS That insurance will be of great help to complete this article.
We hope we have taught you all about this topic so that you can get the most out of it for the use of all the applications on your mobile that require it to provide you with the best user experience.