Phone GPS dipping out..

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contadino

Veteran
Location
Chesterfield
Hi everyone.

I just started using an app on my phone to log my rides but it keeps losing GPS signal. Has anyone else been in the same boat? The phone is a Moto E and the app I'm using is Map My Ride. I quite like the phone and the app - they're both simple enough for my old head - so I'd be gutted if I can't find a solution. Googling didn't throw up anything specific but I'm not very good at Google either.

Many thanks.
 

jonny jeez

Legendary Member
Do you ride in wooded areas and do you keep the phone inside a bag, pocket or pouch?

My old blackberry did this a lot, I switched to a garmin and, so long as it's locked on to a few satellites never drops out unless I go under a bridge (even then it warns me)
 

jonny jeez

Legendary Member
Buy this ...

http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/garmin-200-photos-added-price-drop-£50-posted.172684/

I just got one reduced to £80 a few weeks ago. £50 is an absolute steal. No more worrying about signal, battery, waterproof issues. Only wished is bought it sooner before I wrecked my iPhone using it on the bike.

Buy it! :thumbsup:
Good shout, just saw that in new posts myself and thought..."how funny"

The big plus for a dedicated device is battery life, on a long ride, loosing the use of your phone and your ride data is a real pain.
 

albion

Guru
Location
South Tyneside
From comments here I really thought that was often worse than a phone, battery life included.

The positive is that most people mount their dedicated GPS for the optimum capability for reception. It is not the case with phones.
 
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contadino

contadino

Veteran
Location
Chesterfield
Today the phone was in a zipped jacket front pocket. Last time it was in a bum bag. Pretty open countryside. The problem seems to be with the phone. I left it on a table this afternoon and it loses all 22 satellites signal periodically. I figure if it doesn't reacquire them quickly enough the app stops the ride.

Phone battery isn't an issue. I was out for 3 hours this week, which is ages for me, and it was still at 60%.

I've never seen these garmin gadgets but they don't really look that useful to me. No offline Google maps when youre lost and you can't call someone in an emergency.

Oh well. We didn't have GPS in the 80s and it didn't really affect our cycling so I guess I'll just make do without.

Thanks anyway.
 

albion

Guru
Location
South Tyneside
It is doing well if that table is indoors. Obviously a back pocket would see more sky than a front pocket. It is also likely better glass outwards.

I use mine in airplane mode via Endomondo, network signals often being scant where I go anyway. And I use a different app for actual maps.
 

Arthur

Comfortably numb and increasingly fixed.
Location
Gillingham, Kent
Have you tried using it with other apps?
I ask because when I used to use my Galaxy S3 with Map My Ride, on about 1 in 3 rides it stopped recording a trace, sometime, but not always, restarting several miles later. Whenever I used the phone with Ride With GPS, the tracking was 100% reliable.
 
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contadino

contadino

Veteran
Location
Chesterfield
Have you tried using it with other apps?
I ask because when I used to use my Galaxy S3 with Map My Ride, on about 1 in 3 rides it stopped recording a trace, sometime, but not always, restarting several miles later. Whenever I used the phone with Ride With GPS, the tracking was 100% reliable.

Ah OK. That's good to know. I'll give other apps a go. Thanks.
 

jonny jeez

Legendary Member
The garmin that you were pointed towards is just a recording device, garmin do much more sophisticated versions with full OS maps, turn by turn navigation, way points, elevation everything. My 800 does the lot and I neve ride without it.

I still carry a phone though but like to keep the batteries separate, on an eight hour ride my phone would be dead if I ran gps recording on it.

Good luck.

J
 
Location
Pontefract
@contadino, higher gps units have mapping and long battery life, weather proof, and generally bounce pretty well, it all depends on budget. We didn't really have computers in the 80's either, though the I.B.M. P.C. did come out in 82 nor mobile phones (still don't have one), but I do have a gps unit.
 
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