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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-21T21:05:59+00:00

Might be a stupid question, but I don’t know the logic behind. On a

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Might be a stupid question, but I don’t know the logic behind.

  1. On a Wifi enabled device, GPS coordinates are accurate.(as expected)
  2. Disable Wifi and enable 3G gives a inaccurate coordinates (device location is same as in point 1.).

when a distance is calculated from coordinates in point 1. and 2. Google maps shows a 5min walking distance.

could someone explain the above behavior and is it possible to have same coordinates with 3G?.

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    Android devices have three methods of calculating coordinates:

    1. GPS: This is the “fine” location and is the only one accurate.
    2. Wifi: Using a database of hotspots google collected when doing streetview.
    3. 3G: Using database of base stations and some very rough triangualtion.

    So GPS coordinates are always expected to be accurate, but wifi coordinates are not and neither are 3g. Of course the cost of GPS precision is that it needs quite a lot of energy (a few phone batteries last more than 10 hours with GPS running) while wifi and 3g need no extra energy to what wifi/3g would use anyway.

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