Using location feature on wifi only iPad

[sunny day]

I have not been able to get the location feature on my iPad 2 to work. Or at least it appears not to work because any app that wants to use it never finds a location. Help!!!

 

[Mountainbikermark]

Doh posted before coffee and cigarettes . Mind didn't see wifi only.
Sorry



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[Tim SPRACKLEN]

A WiFi-only iPad does not have GPS fitted because GPS and 3G share some of the same electronics on the iPad. The WiFi model 'attempts' to find its location if it's near a WiFi hotspot whose location is in a database of hotspot locations accessed by Apple but it can only do that very approximately and only, of course, when it's connected to a WiFi hotspot that's in that database.

Tim

 

[sunny day]

A WiFi-only iPad does not have GPS fitted because GPS and 3G share some of the same electronics on the iPad. The WiFi model 'attempts' to find its location if it's near a WiFi hotspot whose location is in a database of hotspot locations accessed by Apple but it can only do that very approximately and only, of course, when it's connected to a WiFi hotspot that's in that database.

Tim

Thanks. This was not really explained I'm anything I read. I knew it domes not have GPS but did not know that the hotspot needed to be on a database. Don't think my wireless router would fit that category lol!!!

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

A WiFi-only iPad does not have GPS fitted because GPS and 3G share some of the same electronics on the iPad. The WiFi model 'attempts' to find its location if it's near a WiFi hotspot whose location is in a database of hotspot locations accessed by Apple but it can only do that very approximately and only, of course, when it's connected to a WiFi hotspot that's in that database.

Tim

Thanks. This was not really explained I'm anything I read. I knew it domes not have GPS but did not know that the hotspot needed to be on a database. Don't think my wireless router would fit that category lol!!!

It's perfectly possible to register your WiFi location. Just go here and fill in the details and you're done. It takes a while for the registration to become live, but there's no cost involved.

Skyhook: How It Works > Submit Wi-Fi AP

Tim

 

[Kin Lau]

Some one posted a link to Apple that stated they no longer use Skyhook. It was in one of the other wifi/location services threads.

 

[sunny day]

Some one posted a link to Apple that stated they no longer use Skyhook. It was in one of the other wifi/location services threads.

Do you remember what they used?

 

[Kin Lau]

I believe Apple has it's own service/database now.

 

[sunny day]

I believe Apple has it's own service/database now.

Do you know how I could get to it or register my location?

 

[Kin Lau]

Sorry, I'm not aware of any such option.

 

[Tinman]

Yes registering with Skyhook is pointless now as Apple stopped using them beginning with the release of the iPad 1.

As for location services on wifi only iPad for me it has worked better than I would have imagined, using just wifi.

I have said this before but will say it again about how it works:

1.) Most importantly it uses all wifi networks that the iPad can "see." By see I mean even with signal strength too low to even show in the list of available wifi networks.

2.) It uses multiple wifi networks at the same time. Just as you can see multiple networks in the list of available wifi networks, it can too--and probably more as some are not strong enough to see in that list.

3.) It uses wifi networks that are secured, even if you cannot join them. It does this because all wifi networks transmit their MAC ID openly. It is the MAC ID that location services needs to do a database look-up.

4.) It uses the GPS coordinates of the located wifi networks, along with their received signal strengths, to figure out the "best guess" as to where the iPad is located.

5.) I cannot confirm it but it appears that the compass in the iPad 2 is used as well. Perhaps not by location services directly, but rather via the Maps app or other apps (over and above just the direction iPad is facing).

I made a few videos showing just how well it worked around here in a moving vehicle. It almost fooled me into thinking the iPad "had" to be getting GPS data via tethering. But it does not and what you see was all done via wifi location triangulation. I had not joined any of the networks and was getting internet via bluetooth tethering to my iPhone 4. Here are the vids:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr6ID2evUps]YouTube - ‪iPad Wifi Location Services‬‏[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfhJTyCcJDs]YouTube - ‪iPad Wifi GPS 2.mov‬‏[/ame]

Finally, I should note that I did the tests in the above videos because someone had asserted, practically as "fact," that the iPhone was sending GPS date to the iPad while tethering. There was a video posted, with similar results to mine above. However the person who made it ASSumed it was getting GPS data from the tethering and that misinformation went viral and was repeated ad infinitum around the world. But he was wrong, as it was wifi triangulation. He further assumed it could not be wifi because he was not connected to anything but his iPhone 4 via wifi. That too of course was wrong.


Michael

 

[chinacatrider]

Living in a remote location and location services not working

We live in a remote part of England and my new Ipad 2 (Wifi only) cannot find my location.

I've registered my MAC address on Skyhooks but from what I gather from this and other threads Apple is no longer using Skyhooks.

Surely there must be a way to register our MAC address. Ours is the only wifi router for miles and there's no other way for my Ipad to determine my location.

There was a post on another thread, from March of this year, where Skyhooks registration did seem to help. I've only registered today so will let you know if it works.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

We live in a remote part of England and my new Ipad 2 (Wifi only) cannot find my location.

I've registered my MAC address on Skyhooks but from what I gather from this and other threads Apple is no longer using Skyhooks.

Surely there must be a way to register our MAC address. Ours is the only wifi router for miles and there's no other way for my Ipad to determine my location.

There was a post on another thread, from March of this year, where Skyhooks registration did seem to help. I've only registered today so will let you know if it works.

Thanks for any suggestions.

As far as we know, the location of your WiFi will be automatically entered into the Apple database of WiFi hotspots if you use a GPS-equipped iPhone there. The iPhone measures the position of the WiFi hotspot using GPS and then relays that information to Apple. There doesn't seem to be any other way of doing this. If you don't have an iPhone yourself, then check if any of your friends or family do and try to persuade them to visit you!!

Tim

 

[jwt873]

As a long shot, do you have 'Location Services' turned on? (The option to do so is found in the Settings app). If this is off, then the iPad will not show your location.

 

[chinacatrider]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. By coincidence we had a friend today who visited who has an Iphone. He found his location and sure enough about an hour later I was able to use location services. I had to reboot the Ipad but it worked. The only problem is that the address is about a mile away. In other words the "target" on google earth and the "pin" on maps has the right location but the label/postal address is incorrect. Is there any way to correct this?

Thanks again everyone.