GPS Test

This GPS test shows exactly what your phone's location hardware reports to the browser: how accurate each position is, how long the first fix took, how often new positions arrive, and how far the dots wander while you stand still. Every position is drawn as a dot on a plain grid with its accuracy circle, so you can see a jumpy or drifting GPS at a glance. Use it as a GPS tester for Android phones, iPhones and tablets. It also works as a GPS test online on laptops, where the position comes from Wi-Fi rather than satellites. Nothing about your location leaves the device.

How to run the GPS test

1. Go outdoors, away from tall buildings, with the phone's location setting switched on.
2. Press Start GPS and choose Allow when the browser asks for your location. On iPhone, allow precise location too.
3. Keep the screen on. The page stops the phone from sleeping while it measures, and browsers pause location in the background.
4. Watch Accuracy fall over the first 10 to 60 seconds as the phone locks on to satellites.
5. Stand still for half a minute to measure Spread, then walk a short loop to draw a track.
6. Press Save GPX to keep the track for a mapping app, or Copy results for a support ticket.

What the results mean

The accuracy graph shows each fix on a scale from 1 meter to 5 kilometers. A healthy phone outdoors drops into the green band and stays there. A line that keeps climbing into the yellow and orange bands means the phone keeps losing satellites.

GPS accuracy is poor or the dot jumps around

Most poor results come from the surroundings, so check those first:

• Buildings, trees and roofs. Signals bounce off tall buildings and the phone picks up the echoes, which makes the dot jump from one side of the street to the other. Test in an open space before blaming the phone.
• Precise location is off. On iPhone, open Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Location Services, tap your browser (Safari Websites for Safari) and turn on Precise Location. On Android, open Settings, then Apps, then your browser, then Permissions, then Location, and turn on Use precise location.
• The phone is using Wi-Fi only. If Likely source never reaches Satellites and Altitude stays Not reported, the phone is not getting a satellite fix. Make sure Location is on in quick settings, go outdoors and wait a full minute.
• Power saving. Strong battery saver modes on Android can limit GPS. Turn power saving off while you test.
• A case or mount. Metal cases, metal plates for magnetic car mounts and some rugged cases weaken GPS reception. Test without them.
• Hardware. If the phone never gets below 20 meters outdoors after all of this, while another phone beside it does, the GPS antenna or its connection is faulty. This often follows a drop or a back glass repair.

GPS takes a long time to find you

A slow first fix usually means the phone is starting cold. Phones normally download satellite orbit data over mobile data or Wi-Fi to speed this up, which is called assisted GPS, or A-GPS. Without it, the receiver has to read the orbit data from the satellites themselves, which can take a minute or more.

• Turn off Airplane mode and connect to mobile data or Wi-Fi, then start again.
• Stay still outdoors for a minute after a long flight or after the phone was switched off for weeks.
• Restart the phone if the first fix still takes several minutes.

Location is blocked or never arrives

If the page says location is blocked, the browser or the phone is refusing it:

• iPhone: open Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Location Services. Turn it on, tap Safari Websites (or Chrome), choose While Using the App and turn on Precise Location.
• Android: tap the icon at the left of the address bar, then Permissions, and allow Location. Then open Settings, then Location, and turn on Use location.
• Windows: open Settings, then Privacy & security, then Location, and turn on Location services and Let desktop apps access your location.
• Mac: open System Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Location Services, and switch on your browser.

How to improve GPS accuracy on Android and iPhone

On Android, open Settings, then Location, then Location services, then Google Location Accuracy, and turn on Improve Location Accuracy. This lets the phone use Wi-Fi and mobile networks alongside satellites, which speeds up the first fix and helps indoors. In the same menu, Wi-Fi scanning and Bluetooth scanning help too. On iPhone, keep Wi-Fi switched on, even when you are not connected to a network, and keep Precise Location on for the apps that need it.

If your map shows the right place but points the wrong way, the problem is the compass, not GPS: run the compass test online and calibrate it. Many recent phones also receive two GPS frequencies (L1 and L5), which helps a lot in cities, so a newer phone can give a much steadier track in the same street.

GPS test on a laptop or Windows PC

Most laptops and desktop PCs have no GPS chip. When you run the GPS test on a computer, the browser asks the operating system for a position, and the system works it out from the Wi-Fi networks around you. Expect accuracy of tens to hundreds of meters and no altitude or speed. That is normal, not a fault. To test a phone, scan the QR code beside the readouts.

What a browser GPS test cannot show

Browsers pass on the finished position, not the raw satellite data. This test cannot show how many satellites the phone sees, their signal strength, which systems it uses (GPS, Galileo, GLONASS or BeiDou), or whether it receives one frequency or two. On Android, a satellite viewer app shows those details. The Likely source readout is an estimate from the accuracy and altitude, because browsers do not say where a position came from.

Navigation is hard on the battery. If a phone running maps in the car still loses charge, check the car charger with the charging speed test. For the motion sensor that keeps the map steady when you turn, use the gyroscope test, and if walking directions no longer buzz before each turn, run the vibration tester.

GPS test questions