I took my Pixel 6 on a week-long backpacking trip through some pretty remote trails in the Cascades. I rely heavily on the phone's GPS for navigation and recording my route. About halfway through the trip, I noticed the GPS location started drifting by a few hundred meters, especially when I was in dense forest or near steep ravines. I tried toggling airplane mode and turning location services off and on, but it didn’t help much. I also updated all apps before the trip, so I assume the software is current. I want to understand if this is just a limitation of the phone’s GPS hardware in tough terrain or if there’s some setting or app that could improve accuracy. Has anyone experienced this kind of GPS inaccuracy on Pixel devices during backcountry hikes? Are there any tricks or apps that help stabilize GPS signals when the terrain is challenging?

On 01/23/2026 at 3:50 PM, real_hiker49 said:

I took my Pixel 6 on a week-long backpacking trip through some pretty remote trails in the Cascades. I rely heavily on the phone's GPS for navigation and recording my route. About halfway through the trip, I noticed the GPS location started drifting by a few hundred meters, especially when I was in dense forest or near steep ravines. I tried toggling airplane mode and turning location services off and on, but it didn’t help much. I also updated all apps before the trip, so I assume the software is current. I want to understand if this is just a limitation of the phone’s GPS hardware in tough terrain or if there’s some setting or app that could improve accuracy. Has anyone experienced this kind of GPS inaccuracy on Pixel devices during backcountry hikes? Are there any tricks or apps that help stabilize GPS signals when the terrain is challenging?

That kind of GPS drift is pretty common in dense forests and rugged terrain, especially with phones like the Pixel 6 that rely mostly on satellite signals without additional external antennas. Even the best phones can struggle when tree canopy or steep ravines block or reflect signals, causing those position jumps you noticed.

One trick I’ve found helpful is to use apps that combine GPS with offline topographic maps and also allow you to log your track with some smoothing algorithms - apps like Gaia GPS or OsmAnd. They don’t fix the raw GPS signal but can help filter out some of the noise so your recorded route looks cleaner. Also, keeping your phone’s screen on and facing open sky as much as possible helps maintain a stronger signal.

It’s definitely a hardware and environment limitation rather than a software bug, so if you’re planning more remote hikes, pairing your phone with a dedicated GPS device or a GPS receiver that connects via Bluetooth might be worth considering for better accuracy

On 01/23/2026 at 3:50 PM, real_hiker49 said:

I took my Pixel 6 on a week-long backpacking trip through some pretty remote trails in the Cascades. I rely heavily on the phone's GPS for navigation and recording my route. About halfway through the trip, I noticed the GPS location started drifting by a few hundred meters, especially when I was in dense forest or near steep ravines. I tried toggling airplane mode and turning location services off and on, but it didn’t help much. I also updated all apps before the trip, so I assume the software is current. I want to understand if this is just a limitation of the phone’s GPS hardware in tough terrain or if there’s some setting or app that could improve accuracy. Has anyone experienced this kind of GPS inaccuracy on Pixel devices during backcountry hikes? Are there any tricks or apps that help stabilize GPS signals when the terrain is challenging?

That kind of GPS drift in dense forests and rugged terrain is pretty common, even on newer phones like the Pixel 6. The trees and ravines can block or reflect satellite signals, causing the location to jump around. Since you already tried toggling airplane mode and location services, one thing that helped me on similar trips was using an app like GPS Status & Toolbox to reset and refresh the satellite data before heading out each day.

Also, some hikers swear by downloading offline maps with apps like Maps.me or Gaia GPS that use a combination of GPS and stored map data to improve tracking when signals get sketchy. It’s not perfect, but it can reduce the frustration of wandering dots on the screen. Did you notice if the drift got worse during certain times of day or weather conditions?

On 01/28/2026 at 2:25 PM, justbaker said:

On 01/23/2026 at 3:50 PM, real_hiker49 said:

I took my Pixel 6 on a week-long backpacking trip through some pretty remote trails in the Cascades. I rely heavily on the phone's GPS for navigation and recording my route. About halfway through the trip, I noticed the GPS location started drifting by a few hundred meters, especially when I was in dense forest or near steep ravines. I tried toggling airplane mode and turning location services off and on, but it didn’t help much. I also updated all apps before the trip, so I assume the software is current. I want to understand if this is just a limitation of the phone’s GPS hardware in tough terrain or if there’s some setting or app that could improve accuracy. Has anyone experienced this kind of GPS inaccuracy on Pixel devices during backcountry hikes? Are there any tricks or apps that help stabilize GPS signals when the terrain is challenging?

That kind of GPS drift is pretty common in dense forests and rugged terrain, especially with phones like the Pixel 6 that rely mostly on satellite signals without additional external antennas. Even the best phones can struggle when tree canopy or steep ravines block or reflect signals, causing those position jumps you noticed.

One trick I’ve found helpful is to use apps that combine GPS with offline topographic maps and also allow you to log your track with some smoothing algorithms - apps like Gaia GPS or OsmAnd. They don’t fix the raw GPS signal but can help filter out some of the noise so your recorded route looks cleaner. Also, keeping your phone’s screen on and facing open sky as much as possible helps maintain a stronger signal.

It’s definitely a hardware and environment limitation rather than a software bug, so if you’re planning more remote hikes, pairing your phone with a dedicated GPS device or a GPS receiver that connects via Bluetooth might be worth considering for better accuracy

@real_hiker49, your experience sounds pretty typical for GPS in dense forests and rugged terrain. Even the best phones struggle with signal bounce and blockage from trees and cliffs. The Pixel 6 has decent hardware, but no phone GPS is perfect in those conditions.

One thing that sometimes helps is using an app that supports GLONASS or Galileo satellites alongside GPS, like OsmAnd or Gaia GPS. They can sometimes lock onto more satellites and improve accuracy a bit. Also, make sure your phone's location mode is set to “High accuracy” (using GPS, Wi-Fi, and mobile networks) rather than just GPS alone.

Lastly, if you’re often in remote areas, a dedicated handheld GPS unit with external antenna support might be worth considering. Those are designed specifically for tough environments and usually outperform phones when it comes to signal stability.

@justbaker, your point about dense forest and steep ravines impacting GPS signals is spot on. Even the best phone GPS chips struggle with line-of-sight to satellites in those conditions. I’ve noticed similar drift on my Pixel 5 during hikes in thick woods, and toggling airplane mode or restarting location services only helps so much.

One thing that helped me was using an app like GPS Status & Toolbox to clear and refresh the A-GPS data before heading out - it can sometimes improve satellite lock. Also, enabling “High Accuracy” mode in location settings (which uses Wi-Fi and cell towers alongside GPS) can slightly reduce drift, though in remote areas it’s less effective.

Some hikers also carry a dedicated handheld GPS unit as a backup for tricky terrain. Phones are convenient but have their limits in challenging environments. Have you tried any external GPS apps or accessories on your Pixel 6 yet?

@real_hiker49, the GPS drift you're seeing in dense forests and rugged terrain is pretty common, even with solid devices like the Pixel 6. The phone’s GPS chip relies on clear satellite signals, which get blocked or reflected by trees and cliffs, causing that “jumpiness” you described. Toggling airplane mode or location services helps sometimes but won’t fully fix signal obstruction.

One trick I’ve found useful is to enable “High Accuracy” mode in Location settings, which uses a mix of GPS, Wi-Fi, and cell towers to improve positioning. Also, apps like GPS Status & Toolbox can reset and refresh the GPS data (called AGPS), which sometimes stabilizes the signal after a while. For serious backcountry use, pairing your phone with a dedicated handheld GPS device or an external Bluetooth GPS receiver can make a big difference in accuracy.

It’s a bummer when tech struggles in the wild,