Old iPhone as cost effective GPS / Chartplotter

[Tim Good]

Just thought I would share this.

I found my old iPhone 3 which was defunct due to being too slow and apps like navionics getting updated and unusable. I left it aboard as a spare but decided to bring it back home. Rather than restoring it, I reset it totally back to factory settings on my PC which, rather than updating it to the latest version, it downloaded an old stable software factory version. I was then able to manually installed current and old apps like the old version of navionics which doesn't work on new phones. I also installed my favourite GPS app - MotionX GPS.

From all this i got:

1. A fast phone as its not using the latest software to slow it down.
2. Working Navionics
3. Working GPS
4. Google Maps
5. Ability to use GPS even without the sim card which means battery life is great because it isn't hunting for reception.

Cost of an old Apple iphone 3 on eBay nowadays - £25

This will now be my adventure GPS for sailing, grab bag, ski touring, kayaking and cycle touring and I'll stash my good phone else where.

Just sharing

 

[prv]

That is interesting - I hadn't realised that old iPhones had got that cheap

How did you get the old Navionics app onto the phone? Does it show up in the App Store if you're using an old OS, or did you have it squirrelled away on your computer?

Pete

 

[Giblets]

That is interesting - I hadn't realised that old iPhones had got that cheap

They certainly have. Only got offered £3.75 for my old 4s from one of those companies that buy old mobile phones! Needless to say they missed out and it is sitting in the Man Drawer!

How did you get the old Navionics app onto the phone? Does it show up in the App Store if you're using an old OS, or did you have it squirrelled away on your computer?

Also interested in the answer to that one as the current version of Motionx GPS in the App Store requires iOS8!

 

[Tim Good]

That is interesting - I hadn't realised that old iPhones had got that cheap

How did you get the old Navionics app onto the phone? Does it show up in the App Store if you're using an old OS

Yes bang on. So if you bought the old Navionics at some point it remains in your itunes account and it can be installed on an old 3 because the factory reset gives it an old but stable operating system.

To be honest I preferred the old Navionics anyway

 

[prv]

Yes bang on. So if you bought the old Navionics at some point it remains in your itunes account and it can be installed on an old 3 because the factory reset gives it an old but stable operating system.

To be honest I preferred the old Navionics anyway

I think I have "an" old Navionics - not sure exactly what it is to be honest . They were selling it at 99p for a day instead of the full price of £25 or something, so I bought it. Never updated it in case it went away and I had to buy the expensive one . Although it's possible that it's auto-updated at some point. As I say, I don't really know. I don't use it on the boat so it's not a priority; I probably wouldn't have it but for the 99p offer.

Pete

 

[JTulls]

Nice! With the old navionics do you have the older charts too or is there a loophole to still get the updates? Either way, definitely a good way to get a ditch bag GPS for tooling around