As others have said, WiFi only iPads do not have a built in gps. You have a few options... you can either get the cellular pad (you do not have to activate a data plan) and have the built-in gps, or you can find an external gps off Amazon.
Many of the external GPS’s are advertised for general aviation because us pilots like to use them for our flight materials. I personally recommended Dual GPS and can attest to using it several times successfully for Pokémon Go (also using a hotspot if you have no data plan). Another good option is bad elf. I personally like dual because it is Bluetooth and cross-compatible with other devices. Bad elf locks you in because it plugs directly into the device, which blocks the port, but you don’t have to worry about recharging it.
I used Navionics on an iPad, and a chart plotter with embedded GPS (no antenna to hook up). With the combination, I felt I had redundancy and reliability. Sometimes one would be more accurate than the other, but all in all it was sufficient to get me where I wanted to go.
Check out the power draw of smaller chart plotters. It was never a cause of strain with our solar panels and house bank.
With the iPad, we used a GPS puck plugged into a USB power source. This is the puck we used: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006M49G80/ref=cm_sw_r_u_apa_glc_fabc_X1PHB8KX24PYAJP4KXRC
We kept the puck charging while the sun was out or we were motoring. As with the chart plotter, the draw was small enough to not be a problem.
Here is the listing on Amazon for that model I purchased https://www.amazon.com/Dual-Electronics-XGPS150A-Multipurpose-Augmentation/dp/B006M49G80/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1530928300&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=dual+bluetooth+gps+receiver
For a little more you can get other brands and models that also support GLONASS, Galileo, etc.
https://www.amazon.com/Dual-Electronics-XGPS150A-Multipurpose-Augmentation/dp/B006M49G80/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=31GYB9W70M8GS&keywords=gps+bluetooth+receiver&qid=1663771300&sprefix=gps+blue%2Caps%2C90&sr=8-3&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos... I use this and guru pro. I do download the maps before hand but it works very well. I can have absolutely no cell service in the mountains and this will still work. I use guru pro with out the gps receiver on my dirt bike and it always seems to know where I’m at even without cell service. The receiver sits very well on my ics dash mount without moving in the silicone sleeve
Not sure if the link is allowed. But something like the below. I think they are typically sold as airplane GPS. But I've been looking to strap a dedicated receiver to my backpack and these seem to fit what I'm looking for. I know there's a few different types, but it just depends where in the world and what positioning systems you want to rely on.
This way you could use whatever mapping software you want on your phone, OnX, Backcountry Nav, Call Topo etc. But you're acquiring the GPS data consistently from your remote unit. I haven't made the purchase yet, so maybe I'm missing something and someone else could confirm if these would work.
It doesn't have to have GPS, but it helps immensely. It's not accurate at all when it has to determine its position solely through the hotspot.
If I had to use one for a lengthy amount of time, I'd probably get something like this:
This is the receiver I’ve used. A friend has it paired with his tablet and uses it and an iPad in his Cessna for navigating. Nothing jailbroken, works fine. I use a USB receiver with my laptop, but plan to switch over to a tablet soon now that I’ve played around with that setup. Lots less cords to deal with.
Yeah, I started ingress on nexus 7 with hotspot, so know how that works for location based games. My wife used iPad + external GPS + hotspot and that was just a bit too ungainly. I already owned the GPS from earlier geocaching with an iPod touch though, so it's what we had laying around.
Can you link to the specific device? I use this one: Dual Electronics XGPS150A Universal Bluetooth GPS Receiver for Portable Devices https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006M49G80/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_uGIYybRW1QH1P
It's inexpensive, extremely accurate, battery lasts 3+ hours, it's easy to pair, and easy to charge. I use it with ForeFlight and have never once had an issue, whereas previously my old iPad's built in GPS dropped signal frequently in flight.
Go Stratus if you have the money but you can get pretty far with just a Dual XGPS for $100 or so
I bought this one. It worked pretty well, the issue is that ITunes restricts you from downloading some GPS Apps (but not all) if you don't have the IPad version with GPS.
I have an older Garmin Bluetooth Glo 2 receiver that works well. Another option is something like this -
https://www.amazon.com/Dual-Electronics-XGPS150A-Multipurpose-Augmentation/dp/B006M49G80
Bad Elf makes excellent units but they are pricier.
If you are using your GPS to collect point data, find a GPS averaging app. I use this one, aptly named GPS Average. It works fast and gives me data that is reasonably accurate.
If you're collecting track (line) data, you may want to consider getting a blue tooth GPS unit, like this Dual Electronics XGPS150A Multipurpose Portable Universal Bluetooth GPS Receiver.
Like the other folks said, it's not the app, but the hardware under the app that's giving you trouble. The above will provide you some work-arounds.
So this is the one I've tried for my Wi-Fi model https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006M49G80/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
it works pretty well with anything other than Apple Maps for turn by turn. If you are planning to hotspot from an iPhone, make sure you disable bluetooth on the iPhone. I've noticed, there is some signal transfered through bluetooth for hotspot that stops iPad from reading the signal of this.
FYI: I have this one sitting on my desk collecting dust since I got a cellular model iPad. I'd be happy to sell it to you at a discount :)
No direct method. You could periodically start a workout recording with GPS, save it, then see where the track is in the app, but unless you get lost and truly need a "last resort" method to finding your way, that's probably a lot more cumbersome than you want.
Curious, how does one break a phone's GPS without actually completely breaking the phone?
You could add a separate GPS receiver to your phone via BlueTooth: https://www.amazon.com/Dual-Electronics-XGPS150A-Multipurpose-Augmentation/dp/B006M49G80/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=bluetooth+gps+receiver&qid=1627327563&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyS1dOVFJaR09aRk8wJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMTY4MDE5M0dHNlpTWks5RVpXNSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMjY3MDg3TDQxR0ozQ1BHWkZFJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==
So this is an Apple iPad mini, 7.9" WIFI only. The non-cellular iPad's also do not have integrated GPS. I picked up a Bluetooth GPS module that works with, so far, every app I've tried, XonOff Road, Google Maps, Polaris Ride Command App, Alltrails, etc. I get great signal in the tall trees, indoors, whatever. Great little GPS unit.
The parts I used:
1: Apple iPad Mini
2: Otterbox Defender Series Case
3: Bluetooth GPS module:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006M49G80/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
4: Polaris RZR Dash iPad replacement mount:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086R5HPBX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
5: Waterproof / Dustproof work box to weather proof the GPS
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MVGQMD3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I'm not sparksdls, but I picked up this one a couple months ago for some field work. It came with a rubber non-slip casing for my dash, and does a pretty good job.