Sport GPS issue - mobile devices

Hi all

I have recently purchased a used RR Sport HSE. At the same time I upgraded to the iPhone XS. When I use Waze, google Maps or Apple Maps in the vehicle with a vent phone holder, I get no GPS or it finds me briefly and then loses me again.

I initially blamed this on the phone so got it replaced with a new one. Following this i replaced the sim card as again ti was not working. finally last week I replace the phone again as Apple said maybe the first two were from a faulty batch!

I still do not get GPS!!

Then I noticed that it works much better when away from the front windscreen. Could this be due to the heated windscreen? or something else?

Please refrain on suggesting I get a different phone other than Apple!

Many thanks in advance.

A known issue for Rangies.
If you put it on a screen sucker mount in the bottom right of the window it usually works. At least mine does on my Rangie with the heated front screen.

Welcome.

What’s wrong with the cars sat nav?
I put my apple on a suction cup bracket, attached to the satnav screen in the p38 . And don’t have issues. But it is only a 6.
It’s so out of date it’s pretty useless at the mo the sat nav not the phone.

J

DanClarke said:

A known issue for Rangies.
If you put it on a screen sucker mount in the bottom right of the window it usually works. At least mine does on my Rangie with the heated front screen.

Click to expand...

DanClarke - thank you for this solution. I will try this this weekend. Only annoying this with this is that the USB charger is in the centre console.

So it is the heated windscreen that is the issue here?

Cheers

marjon said:

Welcome.

What’s wrong with the cars sat nav?
I put my apple on a suction cup bracket, attached to the satnav screen in the p38 . And don’t have issues. But it is only a 6.
It’s so out of date it’s pretty useless at the mo the sat nav not the phone.

J

Click to expand...

There is nothing wrong the the cars in-built sat nav except that it does not provide up-to-date traffic updates. Yes my wife's older iPhone 6 works fine (some GPS loss here and there but will quickly lock on again). Whereas my iPhone XS will be 95% not locked on GPS when mounted above the in-built screen near the windscreen.

Thanks

RR_SPORTT said:

DanClarke - thank you for this solution. I will try this this weekend. Only annoying this with this is that the USB charger is in the centre console.

So it is the heated windscreen that is the issue here?

Cheers

Click to expand...

It acts like a screen blocking the GPS signal (which is very weak) from getting to your receiver in the phone. In my last Rangie with a factory fitted sat-nav they put the put the GPS receiver on top of the dash & tight in the RH corner.
When I used my phone (better maps) and put a holder in that corner it was fine; but it would not work in the centre position.

DanClarke said:

It acts like a screen blocking the GPS signal (which is very weak) from getting to your receiver in the phone. In my last Rangie with a factory fitted sat-nav they put the put the GPS receiver on top of the dash & tight in the RH corner.
When I used my phone (better maps) and put a holder in that corner it was fine; but it would not work in the centre position.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I had actually called JLR service centre in Wimbledon and CarAudioSecurity before coming across this forum and they could not provide a reason for the issue let alone a solution!

Funny that the older iPhone is able to pick up the signal while the newer one cannot! I will be moving the phone to the RHS!

RR_SPORTT said:

Thanks, I had actually called JLR service centre in Wimbledon and CarAudioSecurity before coming across this forum and they could not provide a reason for the issue let alone a solution!

Funny that the older iPhone is able to pick up the signal while the newer one cannot! I will be moving the phone to the RHS!

Click to expand...

I suspect the other reason the RH corner works is that the tiny front quarterlight lets the GPS through, and you would not be putting your sat-nav in the other corner. You could use a blu-tooth remote GPS receiver in the corner I suppose, and keep the phone in the centre. Funny thing is that my Sat-Nav (tom-tom) & phone sat-nav (Google) would not work except in the RH corner. But, my Big 7" Samsung Tablet works fine in the centre. Go figure.

It would seem that among the other issues with the iPhone X, the GPS reception is week. the heated screen will certainly reduce signal strength.

Datatek said:

It would seem that among the other issues with the iPhone X, the GPS reception is week. the heated screen will certainly reduce signal strength.

Click to expand...

Never bought an Apple product, don't intend to either.
I saw in the papers today they are giving a profits warning on "weak sales", which will go nicely with "Weak GPS receivers"

DanClarke said:

You could use a blu-tooth remote GPS receiver in the corner I suppose, and keep the phone in the centre.

Click to expand...

I have an old solar powered bluetooth receiver I bought years ago, may see if I can dig it out and have a play.

DanClarke said:

Never bought an Apple product, don't intend to either.
I saw in the papers today they are giving a profits warning on "weak sales", which will go nicely with "Weak GPS receivers"

Click to expand...

backinblack said:

I have an old solar powered bluetooth receiver I bought years ago, may see if I can dig it out and have a play.

Click to expand...

Not sure it will be that useful in the UK, especially in January!

It has a built in battery that is charged by a small solar panel. tbh I never realy used it, just bought it cos it was cheap and funky

DanClarke said:

Never bought an Apple product, don't intend to either.
I saw in the papers today they are giving a profits warning on "weak sales", which will go nicely with "Weak GPS receivers"

Click to expand...

I would also never buy an overpriced CrApple product, My £35 android smart phone I bought direct from the factory does everything my mates CrApple iPhone does except perhaps for the quality of photo's, a feature I rarely use

All thanks for your input here.

I wanted to confirm that by moving the phone into the RHS position the GPS works fine! As noted above, the heated windscreen does not go all the way to the RHS and this allows the signal through.

(Shame the charger port isn't close-by though!)

Kind regards

Heated screens in any vehicle will affect GPS reception (and 3G / 4G, etc.), but the impact will vary, both between devices of same or different brands.

The reason is because mobiles have quite short antennas relative to the GPS or Mobile signals, plus component tolerances vary. They are designed to work to consumer acceptable levels - hence for GPS you need to be outside or have a good view of the sky !!

The heated screen simply shields the mobile from GPS signals, but it varies depending on the heated element spacing and the position of the mobile, plus which car window is facing the nearest 3 satellites !!

GPS satellites also orbit the earth approx every 12 hours, so results can vary even with the car parked in same position.

pwood999 said:

Heated screens in any vehicle will affect GPS reception (and 3G / 4G, etc.), but the impact will vary, both between devices of same or different brands.

The reason is because mobiles have quite short antennas relative to the GPS or Mobile signals, plus component tolerances vary. They are designed to work to consumer acceptable levels - hence for GPS you need to be outside or have a good view of the sky !!

The heated screen simply shields the mobile from GPS signals, but it varies depending on the heated element spacing and the position of the mobile, plus which car window is facing the nearest 3 satellites !!

GPS satellites also orbit the earth approx every 12 hours, so results can vary even with the car parked in same position.

Click to expand...

All our very cheap Android devices work fine behind the heated screen for phone and GPS. I use a £60 Sanei tablet for navigation, no problem.

Datatek said:

All our very cheap Android devices work fine behind the heated screen for phone and GPS. I use a £60 Sanei tablet for navigation, no problem.

Click to expand...

Yes iPhone XS (£1K) does not get signal behind the heated shield whereas our family iPhone 6 & 7's work fine!

RR_SPORTT said:

Yes iPhone XS (£1K) does not get signal behind the heated shield whereas our family iPhone 6 & 7's work fine!

Click to expand...

CrApple quality

My iPhone X and 6S and Samsung Galaxy 6 all work perfectly behind my P38 heated screen. But I agree older devices are generally better. . . . . usually because they hadn't suffered the cost reductions in latest devices. Maybe later RR screens have different RF properties ?