Just weeks away from my first smartphone and its a Apple 7plus. Wondering if there is a way to get it set up as a my gps unit with mapping software downloaded?
I have very limited knowledge of this "stuff".

Your compass and Google earth will always work.
I have been using onXmaps Hunt app. I like it,and it isn't hard to figure out.

Yes. I use the Delorme product. Not perfect, but good. Will render a high quality topo.

Check out the huntstand app. I really like it.

X2

x3

I also have used backcountry navigator that lets you mess with the maps you use and add layers if you want. But basic use the Delorme works fine.

Make sure you download the map area before you go if you wont have a good data connection where you will use the maps.

The phones will never be as good a decent GPS. Well at least with current technology, in the future, maybe. But if you don't really need a good GPS then they aren't bad. I use my GPS for a lot of stuff and am just used to using it instead so that is my preference. I actually use both the phone and GPS at times, Google Earth is nice to have available.

I see 2 downsides to using the phone. Primarily battery life. You'll suck the phone dead in a couple of hours if using the GPS a lot and then you'll not have a usable phone in an emergency. It is possible to use re-chargers in the field, but not nearly as easy as simply swapping out AA batteries in my GPS. I can keep my GPS on non-stop during daylight hours for several days on a backpack trip if needed with just a handful of spare batteries and keep the phone off unless needed.

The 2nd problem is reception in thick woods or steep mountains. A quality GPS, especially with an external antenna is much better at this.

Go to a web site for bad Elf. They have plug in modules for several versions of iPhones and iPads that make them GPS units with down to 2.5 M accuracy. This capability is completely separate and independent from the cell system.

Yes. I use Gaia GPS on my Android (I think they have an ios version too). The key to preserving battery life is running in airplane mode. As long as I'm not constantly checking the GPS every couple of minutes mine will last all day. I have a 9000 mAh battery that I use to recharge. If I leave the truck with my phone and external battery both at 100% I can get by for 3-4 days, maybe more if I turn the phone off at night.

I heard a comment the other day:

"Calling the new smart phones a phone is like calling a Bentley a cup holder"

First red flag...





I have seen multiple issues on different forums with no clear resolution.

Interpretation: Bentleys do a lot of things well, but holding cups is not one of them.

I use Gaia also on an i-phone 6. On airplane mode it only updates your location when you hit the update button, and therefore is not constantly dinging your location and battery life. I hunted north of Durango CO in 2015 and could use the phone as a gps in that way and end the day with 80% battery life. I used an external battery charger and had no problem going 4 days at a time away from electricity. Ran out of water before we ran out of charge.

Gaia cost $20, you can download maps ahead of time, and add layers, trails, and waypoints (where you are currently, or locations you haven't been yet) to the map.

I had zero problems using the phone as a stand alone gps.

BW,
The GPS apps are great, and if you are within cell range most of the time, the phone is handy to have anyway. Where we moose hunt, we get occasional cell coverage, and have a means of charging a phone. It is pretty damn handy. Other hunts, there is no cell coverage and the phone stays in base camp. I prefer the GPS if picking one.

I have almost zero faith in my phone surviving from day to day. They are a fragile, disposable, (yet powerful and expensive) piece of equipment. I couldn't begin to list the phones I've broken.

I've been using a GPS for about the same amount of time I've had a cell phone, and I'm on my second one.

I've had very good luck with an iPhone 6 in a Lifeproof case as a GPS, using OnX maps.
Battery life hasn't been an issue if running on cashed maps and airplane mode.
What I like best is the large screen size (at least compared to the eTrex models I have used.) Also the ability to easily zoom in and out with the touch screen.
Just make sure you have the maps cashed if you are going to be out of cell range, which is mostly where I end up going.
I still use map, compass and altimeter way more for navigation than my GPS, but really do like the land ownership feature of a GPS with appropriate chip/app.

Who is going into the woods without a phone? Not me. Hence the app. Whether there is cell service or not, the phone GPS works fine.

The sensitivity of the the GPS chip in the phone is the same as the GPS chip in a GPS, IMO. That's not the issue. If the GPS can talk to the satellite, the phone can talk to the satellite. Both devices can fail. Both use batteries. I have never had my phone come close to running out of juice. And a GPS with the screen size and quality of my iPhone 6 is pricey. And heavy.

If anyone is still in doubt, CELL SERVICE IS NOT REQUIRED TO USE YOUR SMART PHONE AS A GPS.

Also, it's a dealbreaker if the product will not support full-featured map creation on your PC. I study my PC topos while at home on a laptop screen, not on the tiny phone. The app synchs my stuff automatically -- no worries.

You may be a tad tougher on things than a normal human.

Well, a variety of thought on the subject of smartphones & Bentleys. Thanks for the input. I have a long way to go on this subject so maybe I'll back away from the 7 plus as a GPS device.
Thank you.

When using your iPhone as a GPS, you do not need cellular or internet coverage. Pre downloaded maps work just fine without them.

Also, I have used my iPhone SE on 12 day backpack hunts, sustaining the battery with nothing but a lightweight external battery pack and solar charger. On airplane mode, these phone batteries will last a long time.

I carry a Garmin in case SHTF, but I used it a grand total of 2 minutes in my 2016 hunting season.

I personally use TopoMaps on my phone, but there are a multitude of great map applications.

Tanner

Can the iPhone mark waypoints, show the direction back to waypoints, and track your route and then do trackback?


Casey

I haven't had the situation arise where I needed to, but I don't see why it couldn't. The app I use marks waypoints accurately in my experience, and has a track feature. I'll see what it can do in that regard next time I head out.

Tanner

Thanks Tanner!

Although I just bought a new Oregon, it might be worth while to get a GPS app for my iPhone too.

First, gotta figure out the new GPS........

Casey

Get the "Topo Maps" app. It's $7.99, can be used off line, and all map downloads are free.

Doesn't seem like it can do that on airplane mode?
Wouldn't it need to communicate w/ sat or cell towers?

It does need to communicate with satellites for GPS, but since that is a "receive only" communication, it stays enabled in airplane mode.

I wondered about that--it's good to know.


Casey

Yes.

Most apps will allow that but as I said above, Google earth will let you set waypoints and works without cell service and it's free.

I stopped using my near new at the time Garmin Oregon four years ago when I got a smartphone. The way I use it, my battery lasts between 2 and 4 days, depending on how much reading I do. I have both a booster pack and a spare battery (you can swap them with my S4).

Where I use it, it connects faster than my Garmin's have and is at least as accurate. I find it easier to use across the board, it has a much better screen, awesome maps and land ownership for free or cheap, and I'm carrying it anyways. I'm running Backcountry Navigator, for Ios Gaia seems solid as well.

I'm not switching back, that's for sure!

Lol. I'd say it has more to do with the capability of the device, whether a Bentley or an Iphone, far exceeding a term that denotes a simplistic function.

If you are concerned about breaking your iPhone get a Otterbox for it.
I have been using them sense my iPhone 3.
I had my iPhone 5s fall out of a Cessna 172 at over 200 feet and land on the runway (long story)and it still worked.
This past summer while riding my Harley I had my 6s fly out of my pocket while going over 90 mph on I90. It bounced off the concrete center medium and went flipping down the highway. By the time I got to it it had been run over by a bunch of cars. It messed up the Otterbox but the phone still works, didn't even break the screen.
The Otterbox is waterproof too.

I've seen them take crazy falls without breaking, (although the 172 story takes the cake, and I'd love to hear that story!) but then pop on a 2-foot drop where they land just right. Last breakage was 2 feet onto gravel. No doubt the life-proof cases and otter boxes help, but if I have to put it in a rubber case to keep from breaking it, I'm not going to carry it. I just don't need a phone that badly. I'm aware that I'm the exception on that though.

The way I look at it, the "phone" feature is used less on my iPhone than about anything else. My Lifeproof case is minimally larger than the regular case and I can comfortably have it out in my Packraft.

Thanks, Chris.

So what is airplane mode?

It disables Wifi and cell service. You still have connection to satellites.

And it really saves your battery.

bigwhoop-
it's a battery saving function. Also, airlines require phones to be off in flight. This serves basically the same function without powering down. It leaves other phone functions like camera etc. available

If you don't have cell service available, it will keep searching for it and that takes power. Putting it on airplane will stop the searching and save the battery.

Airplane mode = the phone spends 100% of its energy observing and 0% trying to talk. Sort of the opposite of female mode.









Heh heh -- wife never reads 24HR

I packed my phone for the first time this year and I can see how it would be handy, but due to the cold, I had a hard time keeping it on. I would have full battery in the morning but after just a few minutes it would show low battery and power down until I got it warmed back up. Temps around 25-35 degrees. Very annoying. Does anybody else have that problem or is it just my Iphone 5S? If so, what do you do to fix it?

I've had no prob at those temps.

Also, were you on airplane mode?

That's common problem with the iPhone.
Pick up a couple power banks and plug one into your phone.
I bought a five pack of them and keep them stashed in my gear and truck.

I like the round ones because they fit perfectly in a shotshell loop in a hunting jacket.
Just don't try and feed it in your 12 gauge.

Yes, airplane mode is only way to go when you don't have cell service otherwise battery really drains trying to find signal.

Those battery packs look like a good idea whackem, I'll try that. If I keep the phone next to my body it helps but that's not always ideal. I don't like a bunch of stuff in my pants pockets.

Yes as in it will mark waypoints, show the direction and perform the trackback feature?


Casey

Ooh boy, you are in worse shape than I am!


Casey

I welcome y'all to my 20th century reality!

Get a good GPS

I tried it a couple of years ago with the Iphone 4, but every time I got where I could use the map or to map a waypoint it wouldn't work right due to no signal. If I had a signal I was usually close enough to the road/entrance that I didnt' really need a map

Iphone 4 does not have the capability of the gps tracking function to work in an area of no signal or while on airplane mode. I believe the 5s is the oldest iPhone with that feature.

Thanks again for the input.