The way gps works is its basically impossible to get your location in a split second from a cold start. I recently tested this by taking my iPod touch out for a walk while tethered playing 'Pokemon go' and saw obvious signs that it was the wifi networks in the neighborhood that caused my avatar to 'walk', my avatar would walk, sometimes in a circle, and when I walked in front of a house, my avatar moved on the map If the circle is big then it is approximate. Please see this apple support article, it says it does not use the GPS to get an exact location every single time. If this is true, then internet connection may not be needed. I've been wondering if ' frequent locations ' is used to cache wifi networking. So it just uses wifi instead.ĪGPS means the device has a real GPS receiver but it uses Assistive Technologies to either SPOOF or to CHEAT and get the GPS lock sooner.

If you iphone is constantly connected to your home or work wifi networks, its a waste of time and battery power to keep getting GPS coordinates for 30 different apps from the satellites. This is used as a temporary placeholder until the real GPS lock has been established. When an app wants to know your location, at first the iphone sends the MAC addresses of your local wifi neighborhood to one of three sources ( apple, wigle & skyhook ). But what you have realize is that a lot of times the iphone just fakes your location, because it wants to save power.

GPS is accurate within 30 feet of you, as long as you have clear line of sight.

The size of the circle is the degree of certainty

Find my friends apple red circle