Disabling GPS on Verizon phone, questions

Verizon is right in refusing your friend, or any customer, to activate a non-GPS compliant phone. CDMA carriers have a deadline to meet to have most people using GPS compliant phones. I'm not sure if any carrier will still allow you to activate a non-GPS compliant phone. There is a setting in all Verizon phones for the GPS that's either "Always on" or "911" only. There is no way to always disable GPS, but if you put the option to "911" only the GPS function will not activate unless you call 911. If you have your GPS setting to "ALWAYS ON" still doesn't mean that anyone could find out where you are. This setting can be used to have organizations with special equipment find you while you are talking to them- example, maybe the forest service or forest ranger if you are lost in the woods...it's not an easy process to find your location like that and it can only be done if you are actively on a call I believe.
Hope this helps.
Andy

 

I can understand liking the VX10, I had on of those phones, nice little phone, sounds like he wore his out!!!

Just remember, the GPS thing is a government thing, the carriers are supposed to have 95% E911 capable phones by now, which I dont think any carrier actually has acomplished yet(I could be wrong on that)

I know there are people out there who are paranoid about the governent being able to "track" you with a GPS enabled cell phone. You can tell your friend that is not possible, all of the phones by default are set to 911 only and as far as I have seen, if you change that setting to allways on, the next time you turn the phone off and back on, it will be back on 911 only.

If the government wanted to track you using your cell, they wouldnt need the phone to do anything, they can track it from the network, as long as the phone is on, they would know where it is.

Being in SD I would think there are alot of open areas, tell your friend that a GPS phone just may save his life someday, he should embrace the technology, not fear it.

As for a suitable replacement, I have a Motorola V276, size is similar to the VX10 and the reception is great, and it does have analog if neccessary.

 

There is no GPS antenna on the phone. The "GPS" designation is marketing hype. The Phase 1 of the Enhanced 911 rules require the wireless carrier to report the location of the tower that the phone is using. Phase 2 will require more accurate location information, 500 to 300 meters. This may be accomplished by having the phone talk to more than one tower and triangulate its position using multiple towers or perhaps by tracking the phone as it moves from tower to tower.

GPS systems will not work indoors and in cars unless they can "see" the sky through the windshield and then some windshields contain conductive films to defrost the windshield that block the GPS signal. GPS systems also do not work well in places like mid-town Manhattan that have many tall buildings. My GPS will sometimes fail to work if there is dense tree cover.

 

GSM carriers are already compliant as they triangulate the phone's position by the towers, it does not rely on any specific hardware in the phone to report the position.

-Jay

 

But what if the phone is in contact with only one tower?

 

I have never experienced this, even in rural areas when I put my phone in engineering mode I've never seen less than 3 towers. THe signals may be weak and not able to support a call, but all that is required by the triangulation software is that the tower can be able to receive the signal from your phone. As others have also said using the hardware approach won't work if you're inside or in a car. I'm not saying its perfect, but it doesn't require all customers to replace their handsets like CDMA carriers are doing.

-Jay