How Do Gps Trackers Work With No Cell Phone Service?

While navigation is one of the most important uses travelers have for their smartphones, how often exercise you retrieve about exactly how a phone knows where yous are and where you're going? You lot might not know that in addition to connecting to cellular towers, your phone is constantly tracking GPS signals from satellites circumvoluted the planet—and that you can use your telephone GPS without data for more purposes than you lot might look.

If you've e'er tried to navigate in a identify where your telephone has weak or no celluar service, you probably wished you could take reward of offline phone GPS. Fortunately, you can: GPS signals are raining down effectually us at all times, and your phone can connect to them without any real reliance on your cellular visitor, bear on on your information plan, or dependence on the phone mode you are in. These signals are free for all of us to use, so long as we take the right apps and a device with which to connect.

In fact, you can even use an older, retired telephone as a GPS unit, so long equally the apps will still run on the operating arrangement. Then, once you go back to civilisation, your regular smartphone will still be fully charged and gear up to become.

How Accurate Is My Telephone GPS Without Information?

Most of the apps I have used measure GPS coordinates to tenths of a second, which is accurate within four to eleven meters, depending on where on the planet you are plotting (accuracy improves every bit you motion toward the poles).

If that isn't close enough, within the side by side yr technology is coming that will brand some phones accurate to inside ane foot.

You Don't Have to Exist Offline to Use a Phone equally GPS

Many of the near popular uses for GPS are for folks who are off the grid without access to Wi-Fi or cellular connections, but the technology's usefulness is not limited to the backcountry past any ways. First, we all know that jail cell coverage is hardly ubiquitous even in adult areas; heck, my kid's central New Jersey soccer practice field shows "no service" so often that some parents drive a mile down the road during exercise to connect.

Some other benefit is preserving battery life; GPS uses are particularly benign when yous are doing things in areas where cellular service is available only poor, which causes your phone to burn down up battery life trying to connect. Using offline phone GPS can likewise help you conserve data. This is useful when traveling abroad, where data plans are often costly and limited.

Finally, many location-based apps gobble up data voraciously. Your phone's GPS tracking allows you to use them in offline manner, incurring no information penalty so long as you preload maps and data while connected to Wi-Fi.

Certainly, your cellphone can practice more without a cell connection than y'all might call up; here are v of the all-time.

Track Your Flight in Existent Fourth dimension

Let's start with my favorite way to utilise phone GPS without data: to rail the flying I'chiliad on in existent time. There are a few apps that practice this, but I use Flyover Land, created by University of Minnesota researchers and funded past the National Science Foundation.

The app offers options to view route maps, terrain maps, and satellite maps, including information on geology, underwater core samples, mammal and dinosaur fossils, and landscape features for various destinations as you laissez passer over them in flying.

To use the app you need to input and preload all the data along the road while still on a Wi-Fi or jail cell connection. And so, once you get into airplane mode, all that information is available every bit y'all wing, along with your ground speed and distance.

You'll demand a window seat for this to work well; in fact, on some flights I have constitute that I had to take the phone almost confronting the window to obtain and concur a reliable GPS bespeak.

Go Backcountry Hiking

Smartphones are condign get-to tools for many hardcore backcountry travelers, who can spend days or even months out of range of cellular signals. Many find phones more space- and weight-efficient than dedicated GPS units, peculiarly since phones can take photos, besides.

This excellent how-to guide makes a compelling case for a smartphone as your go-to GPS tool. It includes some very proficient battery life direction tips, noting that some phones tin can last five to 10 days without a accuse with careful utilise.

A few of the best backcountry navigation apps include Gaia GPS, AllTrails, iPhiGeNie, and ViewRanger.

Track Your Fitness

A booming number of fitness applications work with offline GPS, including MapMyRide, Strava, MapMyRun, Runkeeper, and MapMyFitness. For most of these, using your phone GPS without data will let you to rails your run, walk, hike, or other outing offline. While yous demand a connection to take advantage of some of the apps' features, using them on GPS-only style preserves on battery life and data usage, which tin can exist a helpful upside when you are tracking long bike rides or runs.

Fitness Armband for Your Telephone

Melody Belt Armband for iPhone

The almost quintessential time to relieve data and money is during your workout- consummate with a robust armband of class.

Note Your Exact Location

There are all kinds of ways this can exist useful, such as saving your spot in an airport parking lot or sharing your location with someone else to facilitate a meetup. I know folks who have used GPS coordinates on their phones to mark and/or share things like trailheads, campsites, turn-offs for dirt roads, fishing spots, waterfalls, and abandoned ruins.

The free My GPS Coordinates app (bachelor for iOS and Android) has functions to electronic mail or text your coordinnates directly from the chief screen, and even shows the accuracy of the GPS signal (it tracks my office desk-bound within sixteen to 33 anxiety depending on bespeak access).

To share locations you evidently need connectivity, simply you tin log them using GPS and and so share or recall them later.

Apply Mapping Apps Offline

Finally, there are heaps of full-featured offline mapping applications, including the ubiquitous Google Maps and Apple Maps. Many of these are unfortunately somewhat limited when it comes to GPS-only navigation; Google Maps, for instance, allows you to pre-download a 50-square-kilometer map for temporary offline employ, which will help in some situations but isn't much employ on a longer road trip. To find alternatives, run across 10 Best GPS App and Navigation App Options for Android and 4 All-time Offline Maps Apps for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone.

Did we miss any other great ways to employ your phone GPS without data? Allow us know in the comments.

Cell Phone Motorcar Mountain

Brand navigation a piddling safer with a motorcar mount stand- adaptable to well-nigh all smartphone sizes.

More from SmarterTravel:

8 Helpful Travel Apps You Tin can Use without Wi-Fi
8 Best Health Apps for Travelers
The 27 Best Apps for Solo Travelers

Ed Hewitt is a seasoned globetrotter who brings you a biweekly glimpse into the latest travel news, views, and trends—and how they could bear on your travel plans.

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