In-car GPS signal booster

RoboDog

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Hi everyone,

Was hoping you could help me with a problem I've been having. For some reason, my phone (Huawei P20 Pro) keeps losing GPS signal in my car. I have tried multiple Satnav apps (Waze, Google maps etc.) and it never picks up a signal in the car, unless I move it near the windows away from the dashboard. There is definitely not a problem with the phone, as I have used the GPS in friends cars and it works fine. Furthermore, I have tried other phones in my car and they also work fine as well. I'm at my wits end and don't want to replace my phone, so was wondering if anyone knew of any hassle-free gadget that I could purchase and stick into either my phone or the lighter socket/USB drive of my car that would enhance the GPS signal inside the car?

Thank you :)
 
Due to the way GPS works I don't believe there is any such thing.

There are a few GPS apps available for Android that will show with sats you are connected to, signal strength etc, what do they show ?

Also make sure compass is calibrated as this can affect GPS reliability.
 
Do you have a heated front windscreen?
 
Do you have a heated front windscreen?
All my cars have had heated screens since smartphones started being used for GPS and I've never had a problem. However it does lead me to think maybe the issue could be while the phone is being charged from the car ?

@RoboDog have you tried GPS without having the phone being charged from the car ?
 
Thanks all for the replies.

Do you have a heated front windscreen?

Yes the front windscreen is heated, but it does not seem to affect other phones as they work fine.

All my cars have had heated screens since smartphones started being used for GPS and I've never had a problem. However it does lead me to think maybe the issue could be while the phone is being charged from the car ?

@RoboDog have you tried GPS without having the phone being charged from the car ?

Yes I have tried with and without the phone being charged and unfortunately it doesn't seem to make a difference.

I've been doing some research and came across the Garmin Glo, which seems to be a good solution, except for the fact that I don't think it supports Waze, which is unfortunately a deal-breaker for me.

Does anyone know if there is an antenna that I can plug in to my phone that would expand / enhance signal coverage?
 
From what you are saying it is something specific to the phone. Many phones use the Mobile data to first get a rough location/time to speed up the sat location side of things. Could be a case of waiting/reporting a bug.
 
Something else that I noticed is that my wife's phone (also Huawei, but a different model to mine) has the same problem, in that it picks up a GPS signal everywhere except on the dashboard of my car. So basically it seems like Huawei phones don't pick up GPS signals in my car, because all my friends phones that we tested (iPhones and Pixels) worked fine under all circumstances. Super frustrating!
 

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