GPS issues on iPad Pro - Boat Beacon / Navionics

[MattS]

Does anyone else experience issues with navigation apps losing the GPS signal from the internal GPS when running on their iOS devices?

The last few trips out, I've found that boat Boat Beacon and Navionics seem to struggle with a consistent GPS feed.

Navionics will just occasionally report that we're not moving at all for a few minutes, and then appear to kick back into life. It also reported our max speed as 38kts where fixes have been interrupted and then jumped, and although I think my Moody 28 goes well for a bilge keel, I'm fairly sure I didn't defy physics and hit this speed.

Boat Beacon seems to just lose the GPS signal completely when running in the background, and will only update when I switch it back to the foreground, creating the issue in the screenshot (I clearly didn't sail across land...)



I've found a few reports on Google, but nothing really that suggests what might be causing it...

** I do have the cellular / GPS-enabled version of the iPad Pro, and it was powered throughout.

 

[RupertW]

I’ve been using the Navionics app on my IPad for 7 or 8 years and have only very occasionally had GPS position issues. I have seen brief mad speeds but only for a couple of seconds. I suspect this is entirely irrelevant but because I have been using it almost always abroad I tend to have cellular switch off almost all the time.

Could Boat Beacon and Navionics be interfering with each other as they read the GPS input - again doesn’t seem very likely, so I wonder if you have the iPad somewhere with poor GPS signal??

 

[Bilgediver]

Many moons ago when Google sent fleets of vehicles all over the world to take piccies of our lovely lawns and dad washing the car, it wasn't all they were doing. Google noted the WiFi systems electronic details as well. This allowed them to build up a world wide data base of this information. Unfortunately they didn't charter a navy of small boats to do likewise at sea.

You Seem to have an Apple device that is using this system for positioning. If it has a GPS maybe you have to select it. Many Apple devices do not have the alternative so are sadly lacking once they get away from the village high street. They then produce the results you are seeing. Nearly all Android devices have GPS but only some Apple I's

 

[MattS]

Many moons ago when Google sent fleets of vehicles all over the world to take piccies of our lovely lawns and dad washing the car, it wasn't all they were doing. Google noted the WiFi systems electronic details as well. This allowed them to build up a world wide data base of this information. Unfortunately they didn't charter a navy of small boats to do likewise at sea.

You Seem to have an Apple device that is using this system for positioning. If it has a GPS maybe you have to select it. Many Apple devices do not have the alternative so are sadly lacking once they get away from the village high street. They then produce the results you are seeing. Nearly all Android devices have GPS but only some Apple I's

My iPad Pro definitely has a GPS receiver in it - so I don't think it's this.

Could Boat Beacon and Navionics be interfering with each other as they read the GPS input - again doesn’t seem very likely, so I wonder if you have the iPad somewhere with poor GPS signal??

I did wonder about this - but theory suggests they shouldn't as they're both just taking a feed from the operating system...

I've checked and they are both set to have the full GPS permissions too.

 

[Bilgediver]

Is this the case on deck and below? I use a cheap and cheerful Tesco Hudl and it works on deck and down below but gives up when the rain clouds get serious.

 

[Bilgediver]

I’ve been using the Navionics app on my IPad for 7 or 8 years and have only very occasionally had GPS position issues. I have seen brief mad speeds but only for a couple of seconds. I suspect this is entirely irrelevant but because I have been using it almost always abroad I tend to have cellular switch off almost all the time.

Some years ago I asked one of our oil rigs to run a comparison between the actual rig GPS and the one used by contractors which had almost precision accuracy derived with the help of additional signals from a receiver at a fixed location. It was surprising looking at the plot how often there were these spurious erroneous positions in a 24 hour period. Some of them if there was no internal electronical damping could give unbelievable instantaneous speeds.

 

[Refueler]

Some years ago I asked one of our oil rigs to run a comparison between the actual rig GPS and the one used by contractors which had almost precision accuracy derived with the help of additional signals from a receiver at a fixed location. It was surprising looking at the plot how often there were these spurious erroneous positions in a 24 hour period. Some of them if there was no internal electronical damping could give unbelievable instantaneous speeds.

GPS positions are equated against each other and when position is way out of circle of probability - ignored. The plot of positions when made will jump around a few metres and often a spike of 10m or so will be accepted ... because of the very short time frame between position calcs - the speed will jump around as well as course.

A simple example is to zoom in close and leave plotter on a few hours or overnight ... then look at the screen full of plots ...

 

[MattS]

Is this the case on deck and below? I use a cheap and cheerful Tesco Hudl and it works on deck and down below but gives up when the rain clouds get serious.

I think it does the same thing above and below, although I've only really tried it above deck to be fair.

My gut tells me it's a software issue related to the iPad - i.e. iOS is just stopping providing GPS feeds to the apps every now and then - for some reason...

 

[Behome]

Is there a link between your Navionics and Boat Beacon? I’ve use Navionics on an iPad mini and iPad Pro without any issues at all.

 

[Bilgediver]

I think it does the same thing above and below, although I've only really tried it above deck to be fair.

My gut tells me it's a software issue related to the iPad - i.e. iOS is just stopping providing GPS feeds to the apps every now and then - for some reason...

The Android appears to do that when reception is poor such as in the car or house. However the position icon also goes off when this happens and reappears when the signal picks up.

 

[KeelsonGraham]

Unless you have an iPad capable of taking a SIM card, the device has no in-built GPS receiver.
You don’t actually need a SIM card to access GPS, but you do need a device capable of taking one.

 

[MattS]

** I do have the cellular / GPS-enabled version of the iPad Pro, and it was powered throughout.

Unless you have an iPad capable of taking a SIM card, the device has no in-built GPS receiver.
You don’t actually need a SIM card to access GPS, but you do need a device capable of taking one.

My iPad definitely has GPS - there's no way it could manage to track 80% of the trip so accurately if it didn't!

 

[MattS]

Is there a link between your Navionics and Boat Beacon? I’ve use Navionics on an iPad mini and iPad Pro without any issues at all.

I did have them linked together so that Navionics got the AIS feed - I'm going to try turning that link off next trip out...see if it helps

 

[KeelsonGraham]

My iPad definitely has GPS - there's no way it could manage to track 80% of the trip so accurately if it didn't!

Then you must have one with a SIM card capability because they are the only Apple IOS devices equipped with a specific GPS receiver! Everything else is a kludge which only properly works within range of phone networks. Phone networks do, of course, range some way out to sea in some areas.