Longer latency on GPS connection depending on which country I'm in?
I've recently traveled over Europe with a GPS-enabled mobile phone.
In Italy, it took around 10 minutes for the mobile phone to connect to a satellite, while in Latvia it took just 10 seconds.
How would you explain that?
(I know - it may depend on the weather, but it was sunny both in Latvia and in Italy.)
Best Answer
In addition to Gagravarr's answer, some phones will use A-GPS, where they use surrounding cell-towers or wifi to give themselves a headstart in locating their position.
Certainly the position of satellites, mountains, cloud cover, nearby interference from powerlines, solar flares - there are a variety of different conditions that may affect it.
In Kazakhstan today, with clear sky I had 11 satellites in sight, and still couldn't get a fix. Go figure :)
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