How To Quickly Find Your Exact GPS Coordinates Using Your iPhone Or iPad

iphone displaying gps coordinates

iPhone displaying GPS Coordinates.

We all know that our iOS devices are able to quickly triangulate our location and easily pint-point our position in stock apps like Maps or third party ones like Google Maps and Waze. However, in certain situations we need to know our exact GPS coordinates in order to be able to share our location with third parties like search and rescue teams. It’s true that the above mentioned apps have a built-in Share Location feature that easily allows you to send your coordinates to iOS contacts, but what if there is no Internet connectivity available in the place that you’re stranded?

The stock iOS Compass app can jump to the rescue. By tweaking a simple setting you can make it display your exact Latitude and Longitude, with the help of strings of alphanumeric characters. Then you can share your findings to the people that need to reach you with the help of a radio station or a mobile voice call, in case your iPhone or any other smartphone has cellular signal coverage.

iphone location services setting on 5 Steps To Display GPS Coordinates On iPhone
1. Open the iPhone’s Settings app, browse for Privacy and tap on Location Services.
2. Make sure that the feature is enabled and scroll for the Compass label in the list of apps that use the Global Positioning System.
3. Tap it and make sure that the Compass is allowed to access GPS data, by selecting the ‘While Using the App’ option.
4. Return to the iPhone’s Home Screen and open the Compass app. If it’s not available nearby, search for it with the help of the Spotlight feature.
allowing ios compass app to read GPS data 5. The GPS coordinates are displayed at the bottom of the Compass app’s home screen, as shown in the print-screen provided nearby!
Tip: If you own an iPhone 6 model or later information about your Elevation is also displayed, right below the GPS coordinates! You can opt to show it in feet or meters.

Info: Your iPhone uses GPS, Bluetooth, mobile phone mast locations and even Wi-Fi hotspots to approximate your whereabouts.

ios compass app displaying GPS coordinates and elevation How To Read GPS Coordinates
Your iPhone returns two alphanumeric strings, placed next to each other. The first one represents the Latitude while the second provides details about the Longitude.
The Latitude indicates the subject’s positioning compared to the geographical North or South Pole. The numbers vary from 0 degrees at the Equator (an imaginary axis going around the globe halfway between North and South Pole) to + 90 degrees at the North Pole and – 90 degrees at the South Pole.
latitude and longitude graph Longitude is measured East or West of the Prime Meridian (an imaginary line traversing the center of the Earth and connecting the North and South Poles) and values range from 0 degrees in Greenwich, + 180 degrees East and – 180 degrees West.
Tip: One degree of Latitude spreads over approximately with 111 kilometers or 69 miles.
Fact: In the above example you can see that our test iPhone is currently located 33 degrees 21 minutes and 3 seconds North of the Equator and 105 degrees 5 minutes and 4 seconds West of the Prime Meridian.