You can search your own comments for “Location approximate” if you used that consistently to find observations and update them quickly.
Yes, it is problematic when there are not enough cell towers and/or satellites for GPS to use to triangulate one’s location.
Here in Vermont (US) one often finds oneself in valleys with no cell coverage and limited or no satellite coverage, (which my car, annoyingly, alerts me to the fact of, by shrieking that I have an “emergency call function malfunction!” which I should hasten to the dealer get repaired.)
My (new-ish) cellphone frequently tells me that it “cannot determine” my location, or locates me (or my photos) in the vicinity of the cell tower across the valley from where I actually am.
Cell towers are still few and far between in some areas, so I always tell visiting folks to be sure and bring a paper map when touring (or hiking), for when they lose GPS, and to expect dropped calls or no service.
I often have to add the location of my observations manually, which can be tedious…
I’ve never had a problem in other parts of the country that I frequent.
sorry, I meant to reply to previous poster
Huh? Never heard that before.
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/how-do-i-ensure-exact-location-accuracy/36380/25
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/geotagging-photos/66/47
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/how-to-encourage-users-to-provide-a-more-precise-position/42565/40
I’ve found that in areas with less than perfect cellphone coverage (just about everywhere in the areas where I usually observe), GPS accuracy actually improves if I put the cellphone in airplane mode and just rely on satellite reception. Obviously there are some narrow valleys where satellite reception is not up to much, but in general even if it is inadequate for a stretch, the extrapolation is better when the phone doesn’t go hunting for the nearest cell tower! It’s worth a try.
1 Like
Interesting! I will give it a try sometime. (Of course, then I would have to remember to turn airplane mode off again…)
Not sure how good cellphone reception is where you are, but it’s often very patchy or completely lacking in many of the places I frequent, so the cellphone is constantly searching for a signal (often in vain). This runs the battery down MUCH faster than simply leaving the GPS active, so I have no choice but to set it to airplane. That’s how I actually discovered that the GPS accuracy strangely improved.
2 Likes
I hadn’t thought of that. That explains a lot. Especially why, whenever I am out iNatting and happily snapping photos, it quickly drains the battery. I kinda figured it was all the focusing and zooming in and out of the camera and taking videos of bees that was draining it…
1 Like
You really piqued my curiosity, so I did an experiment. I went to a location with poor cell coverage (1 bar) and took photos with my phone in regular mode and then in airplane mode. And since I clearly have too much time on my hands, I annotated these maps:
-
Where I actually was (location selected manually):
-
Where my phone thought I was (regular mode):
-
Where my phone thought I was (airplane mode):
You can see by the difference in coordinates that you can’t tell which body of water I was paddling on unless I tweak the location a little, which is not a big deal… it’s easy enough to do.
That was fun! (especially the kayaking)
1 Like
This wouldn’t work for all locations, but if you’re using established trails, it might be an option!
I’ve started taking pictures of signs or landmarks along the way if I’m doing a lot of photography along a particular route. Partly, it’s just for my own scrapbooking purposes, but it also helps me narrow down the location of observations. I might not remember exactly where I saw a particular blackbird, but I can sort my photos by time stamp and deduce that it was “somewhere after the parking lot, but before the picnic area” or the like.
Personally, I never turn on GPS features unless I’m using them for directions. On any other website, I want to make sure uploads contain as little identifying information as possible 
(But I’m also not doing the type of adventuring where going missing is any more likely than on my way to work.)
Interesting 
. I imagine it depends greatly on the type of phone and the satellite coverage in the region concerned. Lovely kayaking, I’m envious!
This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.