Location GPS not working during navigation - iPhone 17 Pro

I am experiencing very poor GPS location accuracy when using any and all navigation apps (Apple Maps/Google Maps/Waze). This happens when the app is run natively (not using CarPlay)


Things I have tried:

Reset network settings

Reset location settings

Restored handset and then used a backup of the handset from cloud

Restored handset and wiped phone (no backup used)

**Replaced phone** I thought the handset maybe faulty so replaced it with a new iPhone 17 Pro


To elaborate on the problem - Waze will say it’s trying to connect to GPS and doesn’t

When Apple Maps is running I see GPS symbol (arrow at the top) appear and disappear sporadically

Whichever navigation app you use, you do not get turn by turn navigation and the map updates based on an estimate of where you are - this is slow and sometimes massively inaccurate


I’m flat out of ideas. This is my first iPhone ever (I’ve always had an android in the past) so you might understand why I am disappointed with this.


In store, the customer assistants I asked said this was not a problem they had seen on the 17 pro.


Is anyone else having this problem? Or does anyone have a solution?

iPhone 17 Pro, iOS 26

Posted on Oct 30, 2025 12:51 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 11, 2025 12:51 AM

Just thought I would report back, have been using iOS 26.1 for a couple of days now on my iPhone 17Pro and gps seems to be working fine again.

92 replies

Nov 1, 2025 12:28 PM in response to ahmedre88

My iPhone 17 pro 1tb is doing exactly the same thing will work for a bit then freeze and all the apps that use gps will not work a restart of the phone doesn’t fix the issue I have to hard reset the phone volume up down keep pressed of power button until it restarts it’s happened so many times now so so anoying my iPhone 14 Pro never had these issues at all

Nov 1, 2025 12:41 PM in response to ahmedre88

I have been having this issue the last few days never had it before.


I'll be driving down the road and its happened to me on googlemaps and on waze 4times now.

It will suddenly say i'm driving 100-125mph (i'm not) and then then my location freezes and stops updating.


If i switch to another map app same thing it plots the route but says i'm at the location i was when it locked up. if i switch to apple maps it get stuck on loading location and cannot plot the route.



Tried airplane mode on/off nothing.


Only way to fix it is turning the phone on and then off again and then it works fine.


I'm going to try using only apple maps this week and see if it happens still.


Iphone 17 running 26.0.1

Nov 1, 2025 2:00 PM in response to ahmedre88

Got the 17 Pro Max — same issue here. The navigation just freezes. I have to restart my phone for it to work for about five minutes, then it gets stuck again. I’ve tried every app: Apple Maps, Google Maps, Waze, Radarbot, nothing updates. GPS is completely stuck, even in Life360 and Find My.

I’ve talked to support multiple times since I rely on navigation for work. I drive for hours every day and this issue has made me late to almost every meeting. Honestly makes me want to throw the phone out the window. I’ve started carrying my 14 Pro with me instead; same iOS version, and everything works perfectly. Feels like I just threw €1.5K out the window for this useless phone.

Nov 3, 2025 12:46 AM in response to ahmedre88

Seems I’ve the exact same problem, I’m on iOS 26.0.1 and when navigating with Google Maps it seems to work for the first minute or so and then it simply stops and does not update my position, after a couple of frustrating app shutdowns and starts it starts working again but it’s far from ideal.


this is whilst driving, no CarPlay just the phone in a holder, never had this problem before only with the iPhone 17pro.

Nov 4, 2025 4:32 PM in response to ahmedre88

I think it must be a software issue. After years of no problems with GPS on my iPhone 13 Mini, it started becoming very unreliable just recently. The pattern is as others have described ... it starts out fine but about 10-20 minutes into the journey it starts lagging and then just gives up and has no idea where I am. I've tried every fix I can think of including mounting the phone where it has a clear view of most of the sky.


I think (but can't be totally sure) that this coincided with installing iOS26. Very disappointed to hear that the 26.1 update apparently hasn't fixed it, but I've yet to test that myself.

Nov 4, 2025 4:50 PM in response to ahmedre88

In what part of the world is this happening? A recent post here showed that some countries do not allow point-to-point navigation another Maps features, and referenced this Apple article:


iOS and iPadOS 26 - Feature Availability - Apple


Find what Maps functions you cannot use and see if your country shows. If not, your government, not Apple, is deciding what useful features you can access. It seem we need to eliminate this as a root cause to go forward.

Nov 8, 2025 6:25 PM in response to CaptainMehrdad

I am having the same issue and never had it with my 14 pro. I cant determine if it is Spectrum service 26.1 or hardware error. Sometimes it will start working on its own and other times I have had to reboot the phone as well. I know Spectrum likes to connect to other wifi hot spots and today I turned wifi off and it seem to fix it but I am not 100% convinced that is the long term fix.


Would love to hear what service you have and if / when 26.2 fixes the issue. 26.0 had lots of little bugs so wondering if this is one but only seems to have started over the last week and well after installing 26.1.

Oct 31, 2025 2:46 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

Hey Lawrence


I’ve checked the things you’ve noted above

-location services are turned on

-location services are turned on for each navigation app

-tried in different environments

-checked GPSDiagnostics - signal is good when still and used at that moment in time


The problem appears to persist when trying to constantly stay attached to GPS while navigating


I am hoping the next ios26 update resolves the problem but still keen to see if anyone is experiencing these issues

Nov 4, 2025 5:18 AM in response to ahmedre88

Interesting! I came across this topic while in search for the same symptoms. Started noticing GPS lost on my iphone 17 pro while using Waze, but noticed that other GPS using apps (googlemaps, etc) have the same issue. I also noticed that one of my frequently used radio apps says there is no connection when pressing the play button, although the rest of the app incl recent news works just fine.


just received a call from my partner that has an iphone 17 and has the same issue while using carplay

Nov 4, 2025 9:57 AM in response to ahmedre88

Same on 17 Pro Max running 26.0.1. Noticed first time yesterday (11/3). I blamed CarPlay in a rental Chevy. Disconnected CarPlay and called it dirty names. But then today same thing happened using only Google Maps. My GPS location stuck at a fixed point. Switched to Apple Maps and was also stuck in same spot. Same issue in FindMy. Restarting navigation apps did nothing. Passenger put his iPhone 12 in my phone holder, and we continued our trip.

Nov 5, 2025 6:02 AM in response to ahmedre88

I'm on IOS 26.1 and noticed odd GPS issues. I have apps that use Location (Map apps & some other navigation style apps). I have some lag issues where I will speed up and the app that shows my speed is not even close to accurate. This persists beyond reboots and network resets. This is new to the 26.1 update. It is working but just seems to not be able to maintain a precise location. It will go from 30+ feet and randomly goes to 10 feet. Nothing else has changed with my setup. I was stopped and GPS showed I was going 20 MPH. I really hope this can be addressed as it seems to be more than just a me issue. Also, location services are on with precise location enabled on apps that need it. I'm currently not on a beta.


Just a mention, in the past, my Garman drive assist has been super close to my phone in accuracy. It's now not even close to as accurate as my Garmin.


[Edited by Moderator]

Location GPS not working during navigation - iPhone 17 Pro

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