How to improve the GPS signal on your Android and iOS mobile phone? step by step guide

The GPS of your mobile It is a function that many overlook and in most cases prefer to keep it turned off, but the reality is that it is one of the most important. With her you can not only know where you are in real timebut also locate other places and guide you with it 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. For this reason, you should have it active for 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 with which you can run into when using it. You will learn that it is much more than a data consumer and that you should make it your best ally.

How does mobile GPS work?

gps are the acronyms for Global Positioning System (Global Positioning System in Spanish). This technology is not new, since its origin dates back to the 60’s, but back then, like the modern internet, it was exclusively for military use and was used to know the precise location of the 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 his part, the Modern GPS is almost millimeter accurate.since it is supported by less 24 satellites that rise to 20,000km in height, which orbit the earth constantly and communicate with each other. Your mobile 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 precise that the satellite can determine a position relative to your longitude, latitude, and altitude. So that current global positioning systems can even specify whether you are on the ground floor of a building or on its roof.

Methods to improve GPS signal and accuracy on an Android or iOS phone

Is it clear to you how it works? Well, if you have understood the complexity and importance of GPS, you may be interested in improving your signal to get the most out of. For this reason, below we present a series of tricks so that you can 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 fall within those 24 that we told you are necessary for the operation of the location system, therefore the quality of the signal that you have will also positively or negatively affect 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 mobile data you have depend mainly on the quality of your signal.

Connect to a Wi-Fi network

When you are going to use any application that requires your geographical location, it is best that you are connected to a WiFi network. This is because, as we told you before, the quality of the GPS depends on the speed of your internet and in most cases a WiFi network is faster than mobile data. Also, 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 the satellites, GPS is also supported by a small compass that each smartphone has integrated into its motion sensors. This is generally 100% reliable, but over time it can become uncalibrated, making the location less accurate. Therefore, to have a better quality in the precision of our location system, it is important to always keep the compass calibrated.

To do this on Android you must use an external application. In Google Play Store you will find many of these. On the other hand, if you use iPhone, you must enter the “Compass” application that it has integrated and if a calibration is needed, the app will automatically detect it and a wizard will start to do it.

Make sure the time and date of your mobile are correct

GPS is based on your time zone to establish a more accurate location, in addition to the fact that if these are correct, the connection with the satellites will be much faster. Therefore you must make sure 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 time zone are set to automatic so that they are set according to your position no matter how long the mobile has been turned off.

Activate the “High Accuracy” function

Your mobile has a function of “High accuracy” in your GPS that allows you to obtain more precise 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 mark the option (depending on the mobile) of “High accuracy” for it to activate.

Delete A-GPS history

The “Assisted GPS” or Assisted GPS It is a technology that supports your mobile to increase the accuracy of the service. The detail is that it is storing data from your recent locations and there comes a time when it collapses and begins to fail.

For this reason, it is important to eliminate 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 make touch in the section “RESET A-GPS DATA” and then in “GET A-GPS DATA” to empty the histories.

List of applications to improve GPS geolocation on Android and iPhone

In addition to the tricks that we teach you, you can rely on various applications improve the geolocation of your GPS on both Android and iOS. Here are five of the best that you can have installed on your device to achieve this goal.

GPS Status & Toolbox

This app is like a “GPS Doctor” It has a series of tools that will not only allow you to speed up the way in which you obtain your location, but also exploit new features you thought impossible. For example, it has a compass that provides you with information about true north according to your geographical position, so that you can navigate with the greatest precision. This works with motion sensors, so you do not need to be connected to the internet to use it.

It also has data that records the speed with which the connection with the satellites is established, as well as to keep track of the locations you visit. From there you can also delete the data from the A-GPS, as well as download it to keep a manual record of these.

GPSTest

This is another doctor gps that will help you to know its status and to make the most of 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 network’s satellites, as well as to view or delete AGPS data from it. It is one of the most downloaded for Android mobiles.

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 2020.

GPS Essentials

One of the best apps you can have for optimize your geolocation to the maximum. This has a series of tools that will allow you to calibrate the compass, navigate from it and know the status 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 can closely scan an area for altitude changes in an area. For example, if you are outdoors, the app makes a study of the area according to the radius that you establish to indicate where there are hills, lakes and even potholes in the terrain.

But that’s not all, it even integrates a compass so that 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 be very useful for you on your field trips.

GPSFix

This is one of the apps that have the best reviews in the 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 power other apps that use this feature like Google Maps or games like Pokemon GO.

It has another series of tools that allow you to calibrate your compass or delete AGPS dataso the health of your connection is greatly improved.

GPS faster signal Optimizer/Fix

We close with another of the most powerful apps that you can have on your mobile to optimize your location system and enhance it to exploit new functions. This one has everything that the others on this list boast and much more. Among its singularities is the fact that It has a registry of maps from all over the world in which you will be able to know the almost millimeter location of any lake, hill or waterfall that you are looking for. It is ideal for adventure tourismespecially if you are in a large national park since it will indicate the arrival and departure route of each place.

As you can imagine, it also has “toys” that they 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 does not find the GPS signal, how to solve it?

If you have time without calibrating the compass of the mobile or the connection between the receiver and the satellites of the location network is slow, it is possible that the GPS gives you an inaccurate location. This will trigger a series of failures in all those apps that need this information to work correctly.

This should be fixed if you calibrate your compass and then use one of the apps we recommended above to improve your connection speed.

In addition, it is important that you apply each of the tips that we gave you to improve your GPS, since these are also necessary habits so that the health of this is in optimal conditions. In the event that after all this the failures continue, it is possible that you have been infected by 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 the mobile GPS activated?

If after all this you’re still not sure about taking advantage of GPS, then let us tell you all the good things you’re missing out on if you don’t, as they’re sure to be eye-openers.

• With the GPS active you will be able to use the google services for locate your mobile in case of theft, turn it on or even delete important data of it in case you give it up for lost.
• If you are visiting a new country, geolocation It 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 without it is basically like being outdatedto avoid problems you can see how to update the GPS which will surely be of great help to complete this article.

We hope we have taught you everything on 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.