Does GPS Use Data ?

abredt

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I am thinking of getting the HTC Droid Incredible 2 with 2GB of data from Verizon.

I will use GPS often.

Does GPS Use Data?

Thanks, cb
 

djaquez21

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Yup, cause you need either 3G or wifi to use the feature. How much data does it uses I am unsure of though, although I think 2GB would be plenty just for GPS.
 
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ioo

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2gb is plenty of data for a typical user, and should be fine for maps and navigation.

The only way you will use up your 2gb in a month is if you have have a lot of videos streaming from youtube, netflix and such.
 

crazy_skier

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And if you connect to wifi when at home/work you shouldn't have an issue. I only went over once (had unlimited) and I was streaming a couple hours of Netflix a day when riding in the car for a better part, of a month.
 

locoman56

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I use GPS speedometor on airplane mode and off of airplane mode with data turned off and it works fine without 3g turned on. I don't think that GPS uses data!
 

locoman56

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I use GPS Speedometor on airplane mode and when off of airplane mode with 3g turned off so I don't think that GPS uses any data!
 

djaquez21

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I use GPS Speedometor on airplane mode and when off of airplane mode with 3g turned off so I don't think that GPS uses any data!

Sure about that? I just opened the navigation app (intergrated with Maps) without a data connection (wifi or 3G) and it said, "Network failure. This application requires a working data connection."
 

moosc

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It depends on the app maps use data. But u can cache certain map sections and then not use data
Sure about that? I just opened the navigation app (intergrated with Maps) without a data connection (wifi or 3G) and it said, "Network failure. This application requires a working data connection."



Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk
 

locoman56

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Sure about that? I just opened the navigation app (intergrated with Maps) without a data connection (wifi or 3G) and it said, "Network failure. This application requires a working data connection."
I don't know about the Navigation app but I'm a locomotive engineer and use GPS Speedometor to check the accuracy of my locomotive speedometor with airplane mode on and 3g turned off all the time!
 

djaquez21

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I don't know about the Navigation app but I'm a locomotive engineer and use GPS Speedometor to check the accuracy of my locomotive speedometor with airplane mode on and 3g turned off all the time!

Interesting. But when I think of GPS I think of step by step directions to a destination. So I guess it depends on your use for GPS then?
 

moosc

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Yep there different apps that can use gps and data a big one is the weather widgets
Interesting. But when I think of GPS I think of step by step directions to a destination. So I guess it depends on your use for GPS then?



Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk
 

RealDogBoy

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I tried the GPS in an area without any data coverage and it did locate me on the map. In general, GPS devices don't require any input other than a clear shot at a piece of the sky. However, I imagine that a lot of the things that HTC's Sense does with the GPS info (including overlays) depend on having a data connection.
 

locoman56

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GPS in and of itself doesn't use data!! Some apps need GPS and data to work. Some apps just need GPS. GPS is a signal that comes from a satellite to your GPS device or cellphone. Am I wrong?
 

Vudumedic

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For the GPS satellite access no data. To use navigation or something that streams data at the same time then yes it will use some data. If I'm not mistaken right now if you buy the 2 gb plan they are giving you four so now would be the time to do it because I don't use over 4 gb per month and I use my INC 2 heavily for data connections.
 

smccloud

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For the GPS satellite access no data. To use navigation or something that streams data at the same time then yes it will use some data. If I'm not mistaken right now if you buy the 2 gb plan they are giving you four so now would be the time to do it because I don't use over 4 gb per month and I use my INC 2 heavily for data connections.

The double data option is only for LTE phones.
 

kjharrison

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If you use it for navigation (I live by Navigator) it will. Believe it or not, 2gb is a good amount of data... unless you do a lot of streaming. Log into your Verizon account to keep an eye on your data plan.
 

Turlur

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Gps does not use data. It triangulates your location off of satellites. When you use a navigation or gps app it can retrieve your longitude and latitude without data from gps satellites. However once you want to see where you longitude and latitude is located on a map, you must use data to download the map, not your actual location.

So, if you use a gps app with airplane mode on, it will still find your longitude and latitude, however it won't show you the map. If you have a real paper map that's not on your phone, you can find out where you are technically by using the maps longitude and latitude grid.

Some gps apps have a feature to download a map for your gps and it will store it semi-permanently so you don't have to download it again. You usually will have an expiration time to save the map so you can re download it to check for geographical changes or new roads etc. Keep in mind if you are to travel you would be downloading a bunch of map data for the first time as its a new area. Maybe use wifi to route your map the first time at home to download the map data first?
 

celem

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The correct answer to "does GPS use Data" is - IT DEPENDS. Inexpensive phones where the phone has a GPS receiver but lacks additional hardware and computational power to resolve a precise location. They depend upon AGPS (assisted GPS) to fully resolve a position. Data received by its GPS receiver is sent to the carrier's systems that compute a precise location and sends that back to the phone. Offloading the computation enables cheaper phone hardware with the side effect that cellular data is needed. Without using data the GPS location will not be precise. More expensive phone contain complete GPS hardware and do not require cellular data for a precise location. However, if cellular data is available it may still send its data to the carrier's systems to help compute a precise location in demanding situations of weak or multi-path GPS satellite signals.
 

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