When iPhone GPS goes haywire

I was driving on a highway using Apple Maps for navigation, and it suddenly rerouted me because it thought I was on a surface street parallel to the highway. Then, for several miles, it kept rerouting me back to the highway I was already on. So I canceled the route, killed the app, and set the destination again with no change. I switched to Google Maps, and it did the same thing.

Next, I restarted the phone, and the problem continued with both apps. At this point, I wondered if there was a hardware or even satellite issue. I know nothing about either, so it could be!

I gave up and continued until I went on another highway and tried again. Same thing. This area was more rural, so I had to chuckle as maps traced my route perpendicularly across streets on a non-existent road, like I was an airplane flying a hundred yards to my west. I tried to take a screenshot by pressing the side button and volume, but I accidentally triggered Siri (holding down the side button). When I canceled Siri, Maps rerouted, and the problem was gone. Perhaps a coincidence, but what happened?

You may want to check your Locations settings. In Settings, find the Maps app and the Google Maps app, click on Location and select Precise Location. That may eliminate the parallel road issue. Worth trying.

My IPhone 15 Pro Max did this a couple of months ago. When it was plugged in via USB for CarPlay the GPS lost its mind and would Fix itself when I unplugged it.

It magically went away on its own the next day. Super odd.

It could be something minor or something else.

Interesting. I was on CarPlay via USB and I don’t think I tried disconnecting it. If it happens again, I will do that.

Yah, I’d be curious if it was the same thing. It was really throwing me off as I was trying to navigate to a spot I had never been before. Really inopportune time for my GPS to flake out on me!