# GPS jumping around - Android



## Thilly Gooth (Mar 15, 2020)

I don't think this is Uber specific, and don't remember having issues like this before last week.... But now, just about any GPS app like Google maps, Uber, DoorDash, etc, will oftentimes completely get lost and jump around back and forth, spin in circles, or just all around inaccurate, sometimes as much as 1 mile off.

Usually turning location off (from Android settings) and back on will fix it, but when switching from app to app or closing the app and going back to the app will cause it to **** up again. And usually fixable by switching location off for a couple seconds and back on, but sometimes requires a few repetitions of this.

I can't think of any settings changes I've made that would cause this.

Anyone else experience similar?

I used to be able to completely rely on it with no issues, oftentimes running multiple GPS apps at once (Lyft + Uber), switching back and forth with no issues. But now it's almost guaranteed to cause wild inaccurate results. Makes certain apps like DoorDash or any delivery app with an external GPS navigation app extremely tedious and painful to use, since every time it switches back and forth it ****s up.


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## The Gift of Fish (Mar 17, 2017)

Thilly Gooth said:


> I don't think this is Uber specific, and don't remember having issues like this before last week.... But now, just about any GPS app like Google maps, Uber, DoorDash, etc, will oftentimes completely get lost and jump around back and forth, spin in circles, or just all around inaccurate, sometimes as much as 1 mile off.
> 
> Usually turning location off (from Android settings) and back on will fix it, but when switching from app to app or closing the app and going back to the app will cause it to @@@@ up again. And usually fixable by switching location off for a couple seconds and back on, but sometimes requires a few repetitions of this.
> 
> ...


Sounds like a phone problem. Generally my phones last 1 - 2 years before the GPS goes out.

My Moto G started doing this a few weeks ago. The temporary fix for it was to take it out of the phone holder and bash the phone hard on the dash a few times.

Not really an optimal solution, especially with pax in the car so I bought a new phone.


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## Kodyhead (May 26, 2015)

I have similar issues as well and suspect it's the phone since multiple apps are affected.

What service do you have?

Me Verizon

I also notice sometimes it takes away drive time too


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## Thilly Gooth (Mar 15, 2020)

Verizon. I would have guessed phone, but my tablet started doing this as well at the same time...


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## ANThonyBoreDaneCook (Oct 7, 2019)

Kodyhead said:


> What service do you have?


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## Dekero (Sep 24, 2019)

Download a gps satelite app that allows you to reset your gos antenna.... Had this prob on my Motorola phn and resetting the GPS antenna fixed it... Happened maybe once or twice a month...


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## Thilly Gooth (Mar 15, 2020)

@Dekero I haven't tested/verified yet, but if this solves the issue, I will somehow send you a small token of appreciation as a thanks. I suspect it should solve the issue, sounds legit


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## Dekero (Sep 24, 2019)

Thilly Gooth said:


> @Dekero I haven't tested/verified yet, but if this solves the issue, I will somehow send you a small token of appreciation as a thanks. I suspect it should solve the issue, sounds legit


Worked like a charm for me.... The GPS arrow kept wandering on the GPS apps.... Never stayed on track... Resetting the antenna allowed the phone to require all the different satellites and it seems to fix the issue.... For some reason it would do it randomly about once a month... Let me know if you can't find an app... The one I used was called GPS FIX, on Android.

And while I appreciate the offer it's hard enough out here to make ends in this Coronavirus market.... You don't owe me a thing.... Im glad to be on here and able to help someone out ... Who's out here trying to make it work!!&#128512;&#128512;&#128512;


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## LyftUberFuwabolewa (Feb 7, 2019)




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## Porter93 (Jan 27, 2020)

Thilly Gooth said:


> I don't think this is Uber specific, and don't remember having issues like this before last week.... But now, just about any GPS app like Google maps, Uber, DoorDash, etc, will oftentimes completely get lost and jump around back and forth, spin in circles, or just all around inaccurate, sometimes as much as 1 mile off.
> 
> Usually turning location off (from Android settings) and back on will fix it, but when switching from app to app or closing the app and going back to the app will cause it to @@@@ up again. And usually fixable by switching location off for a couple seconds and back on, but sometimes requires a few repetitions of this.
> 
> ...


Something similar happened to me the other day. I accepted the trip and it started as normal. The route was lined in blue, but the arrow was jumping around all over the place and I wasn't bring given any directions. I switch to the written out directions and followed those until the app got it together and lead me into the neighborhood I was picking up in


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## _Tron_ (Feb 9, 2020)

The carrier -Verizon or whoever- is not where map data comes from. Cell signal only used to backstop GPS. I suspect it is more a GPS issue. Happened to me here and there the last couple of weeks.


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## Thilly Gooth (Mar 15, 2020)

I thought these GPS fix apps did it, and for the most part at least on my phone it seems to be behaving a lot better, but my tablet still acts up quite a bit. I can't quite put my finger on what exactly seems to be triggering the lost, inaccurate wandering behavior.

So far I'm using "GpsFix" from Android Labs and "GPS Reset Com" from DS Software. I've tried turning on the GPS Lock feature from the GPS Reset Com app, but doesn't seem to do anything different.

Back to being stumped. It seemed to be working ok for a day and now back to square 1. Such a royal pain in the ass.


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## Dekero (Sep 24, 2019)

Thilly Gooth said:


> I thought these GPS fix apps did it, and for the most part at least on my phone it seems to be behaving a lot better, but my tablet still acts up quite a bit. I can't quite put my finger on what exactly seems to be triggering the lost, inaccurate wandering behavior.
> 
> So far I'm using "GpsFix" from Android Labs and "GPS Reset Com" from DS Software. I've tried turning on the GPS Lock feature from the GPS Reset Com app, but doesn't seem to do anything different.
> 
> Back to being stumped. It seemed to be working ok for a day and now back to square 1. Such a royal pain in the ass.


Hmmmm now I'm stumped too unless your GPS antenna was bad... But not in 2 devices at the same time.... Have you pissed off any covert government conspiracy theorist lately.....&#129322;&#129322;&#129322;


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## Thilly Gooth (Mar 15, 2020)

The only other thing I can really think of is a hardware issue, from a high humidity environment. I've been camping out in my car a bit lately on some cold and sometimes rainy nights, and it gets quite humid inside with a ton of condensation on windows etc.

A while back I broke the glass digitizer screen on this tablet and got a replacement part, but chose a crappy "eco" adhesive strip to seal it back up, which didn't do a very good job and the glass just kinda half way seals, popping up on some edges. I'm curious if maybe too much moisture is getting in and condensation is getting on some parts of the PCB, causing some components to spazz out (more than others). Like maybe the GPS chip is somehow shorting and resetting over and over?

Would explain why my tablet is having so much more issues, although my phone had more issues in the past as well on and off, they kinda traded off.

I have some silica gel dessicant packs in storage that I'll find and try to dry this thing out in a plastic bag. Or just pop out the internal board again and hit it with a heat gun or hair dryer followed by dessicant. Hmmmm.


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## percy_ardmore (Jun 4, 2019)

I totally concur although my experience is with GrubHub. The GPS takes you down side streets when it was easier to take the road you were already on. It also doesn't recognize that there is an interstate thru the middle of town and wants you to take slower frontage roads. This started happening around 3 weeks ago. If I don't know the destination by memory, I'll use Waze.


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## Grubermax (Oct 21, 2018)

I've experienced the exact same problem on any and all GPS apps on my android. Uber, DD, Wayz and Google Maps. Also, besides jumping all over the place the arrow for current position also pointed upwards in Uber even if it was moving left or right. My solution is simple. I keep an identical phone as a spare which is also connected via hotspot to the main phone with my verizon sim card. Before starting an uber ride I just plug in the address into wayz on the hotspot phone and follow directions through that phone. Then when I arrive at the destination I power off both phones, switch sim cards and launch uber on the spare and I'm back in business. I have no idea why this intermittent issue occurs but I just cheat my way around it. It's happened across three different phones intermittently so I don't think it's defective hardware per se. Possibly a bug in Android OS's geolocation module?


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## FormerTaxiDriver♧ (Apr 5, 2018)

Thilly Gooth said:


> I don't think this is Uber specific, and don't remember having issues like this before last week.... But now, just about any GPS app like Google maps, Uber, DoorDash, etc, will oftentimes completely get lost and jump around back and forth, spin in circles, or just all around inaccurate, sometimes as much as 1 mile off.
> 
> Usually turning location off (from Android settings) and back on will fix it, but when switching from app to app or closing the app and going back to the app will cause it to @@@@ up again. And usually fixable by switching location off for a couple seconds and back on, but sometimes requires a few repetitions of this.
> 
> ...


This is on key element that separates Taxi drivers and Uber drivers apart! Because you do not know your geographical area, you have failed to be self sufficient!

The best advice that I can give you is simply quit. QUIT. You tried to roll like a cabbie, and you failed. Now go back and put your little-boy-shoes on.


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## MadePenniesToday (Feb 24, 2017)

Motorola G phones had always had a problem with weak GPS signal. In the past, I had to have it on the windshield with no case.


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## SnazzyRags (Feb 28, 2020)

Same issue here with Android Galaxy50 on Verizon service. Next time, will try your "fix".


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