Could my Iphone gps be way off all of a sudden?

[+stinasn]

We're relatively new to cacheing, we have only logged about 11 finds or so. Up until know we've managed to find those we've looked for really. However, last 2 times we've been out we haven't found a single one. Both times we looked for 5 different ones.

 

We recently moved from Iceland to Sweden and at first I was thinking that maybe we just don't know how to look here in Sweden (Iceland is very barren, few trees etc) as everything is covered in trees over here. The last one we tried to find today led me to think that my iphone could be off perhaps? It basically said that the cache was located "on" a small wooden bench and in front of the bench was a gravel football field. As the cache was marked large I don't think it could have been hidden in the bench. The gps device on my phone said it was accurate within 5 m but there was literally nothing around the bench but about 30m away to each side of it there was a patch of forest.

 

This last "failure" led me to think that maybe the gps on the phone is more than a bit off? I mean, after having found nearly every one we've looked for we suddenly can't find a single one :/ (we went caching here in Sweden a couple of months ago and found a few in one day but nothing since then).

 

I should mention that as we have young children I look for the caches that are the easiest to find (almost always a 1, never more than 2).

 

Any thoughts on this?

[+BCandMsKitty]

There is a cache hider in our area that hides using an I-phone. Their hides are consistently 30 meters or more off from everyone else's GPS receivers, so yes, your I-phone could be that far off.

[+Sol seaker]

A few things could be going on.

 

I've cached in different areas, and found the caches very different in another area. When I first moved to the city I live in, I couldn't find a single one here. I saw them all as really tough caches. I was fairly new to caching, so most caches were really difficult for me. Now I've found almost all of them in this city.

 

They could be just another type of hide than you're used to.

 

But then again, it could be the phone you're using.

I don't know about "all of a sudden" but the smart phones do have problems with accuracy. That is well known. That is why so many phone users go out buy GPS's.

 

You might try meeting up with some people at an event and ask to go caching with others to close in on what your problem really is. You could also get a hand-held GPS and try that. Some people do use their car GPS's but they are a problem.

 

I can't think of another way besides trying your phone along side a regular GPS. It would be a good excuse to meet some local cachers and go caching with them.

[+TomToad]

Try this. Turn off 3G and WiFi, and make sure GPSr is on. Run a GPS mapping software, such as Motion-X, until the phone gets a lock (could take a while). Now turn back on 3G and WiFi if you want. See if the accuracy improves. Could be possible that during your move, the GPSr lost track of the satellites and is relying on cell tower triangulation to determine your location which can be up to 100 meters off.

[+Steamy Moose]

Could you map co-ords on google maps then go to that exact spot with your phone and see how accurate the phone is? (thats if you dont have access to a GPS)

[+Team Pixos]

Have you changed phone cases? I did once and my accuracy went down dramatically.

 

Did you check the bench thoroughly ? The size may have been a mistake

[+J the Goat]

Could you map co-ords on google maps then go to that exact spot with your phone and see how accurate the phone is? (thats if you dont have access to a GPS)

 

Don't use google maps as a base, those coordinates are just as shaky as smartphones.

[+junglehair]

I would try it on a different cache. The added tree cover will definitely impact the accuracy of your iPhone (as it will for any GPS). Even then, you probably shouldn't be more than 20 meters or so off.

 

With the iPhone, if it is unable to pick up a signal from the GPS satellites, then it will try to determine it's position by using triangulation off the cell towers. This can be quite far off and may be what you were experiencing at this cache.

 

Magellan had a display at GeoWoodstock and they were showing an iPhone case with a built-in GPS. This was supposed to give your iPhone the same accuracy as a hand-held GPS. I believe they were selling it for around $100 U.S., so it's not cheap, but a bit less expensive than a regular GPS. It also ruggedizes the iPhone which can be a good idea if you're using it for geocaching. Might be something to consider.

[+JesandTodd]

A few thoughts...

If your accuracy is 5m, and hanging around there, then the app is saying its accurate. When you look on the map, is your hazy blue circle tight around your blue dot, or huge?

 

If you have a good consistant accuracy, then Id trust the app

 

Fwiw, I started caching in Southern Arizona. Desert. Dead cactus piles under trees with whispy leaves (for the most part). I moved up here to the PNW and walked into the forests and thought, wow, caching here is easy. Then I unearthed every pile of sticks under each tree and found it to not be so easy afterall. Also, I had been spoiled with sat views in Az. But here, sat views are useless. It's all trees!

 

I had to learn how to cache all over again.

Edited May 3, 2012 by JesandTodd