Why the GPS is getting sometimes a wrong location? (2024)

FAQs

Why the GPS is getting sometimes a wrong location? ›

Weather: Tough weather conditions, such as heavy snow or rain, can make it difficult for GPS devices to reach the satellites. Hence, it can give out incorrect location information. Signal problems: Factors such as tall buildings or trees can hinder GPS transmission and mess up the signals.

Common reasons may include a weak GPS signal, an outdated version, or incorrect location settings on your device.

GPS satellites broadcast their signals in space with a certain accuracy, but what you receive depends on additional factors, including satellite geometry, signal blockage, atmospheric conditions, and receiver design features/quality.

Not enough satellites

With fewer satellites the amount of uncertainty and inaccuracy increases. With less than 4 satellites, many GPS receivers struggle to produce accurate location estimates, and will report “GPS signal lost” at points during the route.

Navigate to Settings > Location > and make sure Location is ON. Navigate to Settings > Loction > Sources Mode and tap High Accuracy. Connect to a Wi-Fi network and see if location accuracy improves. NOTE: Your phone may need a data connection to retrieve location data.

Weather: Tough weather conditions, such as heavy snow or rain, can make it difficult for GPS devices to reach the satellites. Hence, it can give out incorrect location information. Signal problems: Factors such as tall buildings or trees can hinder GPS transmission and mess up the signals.

GPS signals can also be affected by multipath issues, where the radio signals reflect off surrounding terrain; buildings, canyon walls, hard ground, etc. These delayed signals cause measurement errors that are different for each type of GPS signal due to its dependency on the wavelength.

If the GPS signal loss is caused by hardware issues, you can try to fix or replace the faulty or outdated GPS equipment. You can also reset or restart the GPS equipment or system to restore the signal and data.

GPS signal interference can be caused by malfunctioning or incorrectly configured transmitters, which can inadvertently broadcast signals in the same frequency range as GPS transmissions. GPS interference can also be intentional, when jamming devices emit signals in the GPS frequency.

Why does Google think my location is somewhere else? ›

Google determines user location by cross-checking the IP address with geolocation data of devices using that IP address. If Google detects a significant number of devices using that IP address in a certain area, it will change its location for that IP address.

When GPS is not available, the device may 'fall back' to less accurate methods like WiFi or using the mobile signal. At a guess, there is a nearby wifi hotspot that is geocoded as being in in Mexico. So when your device doesnt have a GPS lock, it falls back to the wifi location (which is wrong!)

Because we live in the real world, and 1) radio waves bounce, and 2) people put mistaken map data into the GPS systems. One of the oldest sayings in computers is “garbage in, garbage out.” In this case the garbage is one of two types, either bad location data, or bad map data.

Since the signal reflecting off a surface can increase the distance from the satellite to the receiver, multi-path errors can affect the accuracy of positions by artificially increasing the pseudo-range. The major sources of GPS positional error are: Atmospheric Interference. Calculation and rounding errors.

Sometimes Google Timeline can show incorrect locations for several reasons, including inaccurate GPS, signal loss or low network coverage, battery saving mode, location history turned off, and inaccurate device settings. Ensure all these factors are working properly to get accurate results.

Signal Obstruction

In a situation where not enough signals are being received, the device may struggle to calculate accurate location information, and may indicate “GPS signal lost” at certain points. To solve this problem, try and put your GPS device in a location where it has an uninterrupted view of the sky.

The act of GPS spoofing typically involves using a signal generator or other sophisticated equipment to transmit counterfeit GPS signals that are stronger than the genuine satellite signals. These false signals, when picked up by a GPS receiver, can cause it to calculate an incorrect position or time.

Google determines user location by cross-checking the IP address with geolocation data of devices using that IP address. If Google detects a significant number of devices using that IP address in a certain area, it will change its location for that IP address.