Modern smartphones have long been equipped with location - cognizant characteristic that merge spheric positioning organisation ( GPS ) ironware with other feature like Wi - Fi and cellular triangulation to help get an accurate pickle on your positioning intimately anywhere in the world . These typically work very well , but what about those multiplication you require your iPhone or Android smartphone to think it ’s somewhere else ?
Perhaps you ’re try out an app that look for for nearby stores or restaurants in another city , wanting to access services that are only available within a specific country or region , or playing a location - ground secret plan . Whatever the reason , sometimes it ’s useful to be somewhere else as far as your smartphone is concerned . The good news is that with the right tool , it ’s not difficult to burlesque your Global Positioning System location .
Before we start , it ’s important to keep in mind that this appendage is n’t unfailing , and can have unintended side effect . For exercise , while you ’re running an app that fake your Global Positioning System locating , it will bear upon progress - in serviceslike determine My iPhone and Find My Androidbecause the location of any nearby AirTags will be misreported , and your headphone will possibly even supply an incorrect location to emergency brake serving like 911 . That last part look on how your local 911 call center handles things , but it ’s a danger that ’s worth mentioningas , for example , if you stumble and fall while you ’re out playingPokemon GOwith a fake location , emergency responders might have a more difficult time regain you .
And since these techniques use built - in developer features , it ’s possible for third - party apps to see that you ’re spoofing your fix . They still wo n’t be capable to get your veridical location , but they ’ll have sex you ’re " cheating " and may refuse to utilize or consider your location until you stop manipulate it .
in conclusion , there ’s no need to go so far as bullshit your localization if you simply want to hide . In that casing , you may switch off location services entirelyand none of the apps on your phone will have any idea where you are .
Using a VPN versus faking your GPS location
You may have already take heed about how avirtual private connection ( VPN)can be used to spoof your location so you may access geographically restrain services , such as a streaming supplier that ’s not available in your home country .
Using a VPN is different from spoofing your GPS location on your earpiece . A VPN works at the internet degree to cloak your real IP computer address , making it appear like you ’re connecting to a service from another country . However , it does n’t change where your smartphone thinks it ’s located , just where the Robert William Service on the other closing see you coming from . This works quite well with most on-line service , since they rarely bother to try and wage your Global Positioning System to sustain your location . However , there are a few that do , the most notorious of which isMLB at Bat , which checks both your IP address and your GPS location to determine if you ’re in a blackout area . That think of if you need to watch rest home games in your area while on your mobile equipment , you ’ll call for to use a VPN and GPS spoofing in tandem to overcome the amnesia restriction . Just keep in brain that your mileage may alter here , as some of these apps are also cagey enough to see if you ’re faking your Global Positioning System location , as we mentioned in the beginning .
How to fake your GPS location on an iPhone
If you ’re using an iPhone , faking your GPS location can be a passably complicate involvement due to Apple ’s pixilated security system restrictions . While there are several apps on the App Store that claim to do this , we can only charitably call them shoddy . The review of these apps already make this exonerated , but we try a few just to see what they were up to , and can corroborate that none of them sour . This was n’t surprising as it ’s not possible for an iPhone app to do this unless it ’s taking reward of a security vulnerability in iOS or running on a " jailbroken " iPhone — one that ’s effectively been hack to open up it up to allow any app to run on it and get deep access to the operating organisation .
Unless you ’re uncoerced to resort tojailbreaking your iPhone — which we powerfully commend against unless you really know what you ’re make into — the only manner to spoof your Global Positioning System location on an iPhone is to connect it to an outside equipment such as a Mac or a personal computer running a computer software tool that can feed it phoney GPS data .
This proficiency turn because the iPhone is design to confirm international GPS receivers . You may already be using this feature withCarPlayin your fomite ; when your iPhone is connected to your machine , it switches to using your car ’s GPS rather than its own , since your fomite ’s external antennas will likely offer a much more accurate fix .
There are a turn of iPhone utility apps that take reward of this capability , effectively acting as an external Global Positioning System to fertilise any location data you take into your iPhone . We prove over a half - dozen apps to put together this guide , but only two turn over out to work reliably . The exchange premium option , iMyFone AnyTo , worked flawlessly in our testing across multiple iOS versions — eventhe Io 18 developer genus Beta . It ’s also easy to set up and feature - full-bodied , with specific options for AR gaming . However , all that will be you . Currently , there ’s a $ 15 monthly subscription or a $ 90 " lifespan " purchase , with a very modified free trial that lets you burlesque your location only once before you ’re ask to pay up . The other paid apps we tested were useless , at least in their trial variation .
One of the most commonly urge free options,3uTools , performed very badly in our testing . It ’s more cumbersome to apply , the location alteration sometimes fail to register , and when they do , they do n’t run for more than a arcminute or two before your iPhone reverts to its actual GPS location .
Fortunately , there ’s another detached pick , GeoPort . It ’s an open - source project that lets you easily feed any GPS localization to your iPhone or iPad and even plunk for importing GPX and other trailing data file and connecting to your gimmick over Wi - Fi . Here ’s how to set it up :
Step 1 : Download and set up the latest version of GeoPort for your calculator fromgeoport.me . Mac ( Intel and Apple atomic number 14 ) , Windows , and Linux are all supported .
dance step 2 : Connect your iPhone to your computer using a Lightning or USB - ascorbic acid cable . Once you ’ve connected GeoPort and set it up over USB , you ’ll be able to utilize Wi - Fi for future connection .
Step 3 : unfold GeoPort and enter your system parole when remind . A new GeoPort windowpane will open in your default web web browser .
whole step 4 : Click the drop - down underSelect Deviceand take your iPhone .
Step 5 : To use GeoPort or any other location - spoofing app , your equipment must be in Developer Mode . GeoPort will pop the question to do this for you , but you ’ll have to remove the passcode from your gimmick . However , this will also take all of your Apple Pay payment cards from Apple Wallet , so you ’ll have to re - sum up these after you change by reversal your passcode back on . If you ’d rather not do this , there are a few other room to enable Developer Mode .
The Developer Mode pick is typically hide until it ’s activated by an app on your Mac or PC . That ’s usually Apple ’s Xcode developer tools , but other apps can trigger it also . you may check to see if it ’s available by opening the iPhone or iPad configurations app and going toPrivacy & Security . Scroll to the bottom and ifDeveloper Modeappears there , select it , toggle it on , and then reboot your gimmick when prompted .
If you do n’t see a Developer Mode choice ( it should appear under " surety , " justly above Lockdown Mode ) , then you ’ll need to activate it , either by following GeoPort ’s instructions or using another app :
stride 6 : Once you ’ve enabled Developer Mode , control your iPhone ( or iPad ) is select in GeoPort and then enter the location you ’d like to model in theLocationfield below the map view . you may enter line of latitude and longitude or an address , city , or position name . mark that GeoPort wo n’t provide a listing of matches ; it selects the first and closest one , so you may have to be specific by adding urban center and state information .
Step 7 : On the function aspect , click theplusorminusbuttons in the top - pass on recession to zoom in and out and drop behind the marking to the specific location you ’d care to simulate .
measure 8 : Once everything is in place , select theSimulate Locationbutton to get off the selected localization to your iPhone .
you could ascertain that everything is mold by opening your best-loved mapping app , or any other location - based app on your iPhone . It should reflect the new localisation . you could also continue updating your location by prompt the marker around in GeoPort and clickingSimulate Location ; variety should show up almost immediately . Additional options to the left of the map survey admit you to save take locations or simulate movement .
Step 9 : To disable location spoofing , selectStop placement . Disconnecting your iPhone if you ’re using a USB connection will also allow it to revert to using its built - in GPS , although this may take a few instant .
How to fake your GPS location on Android
If you ’re an Android drug user who ’s taken metre to read through the iPhone section above , we have some very good news program . Spoofing your GPS location on an Android smartphone is piddling compared to the hoops that iPhone possessor have to jump through .
That ’s because Google have Developer Mode far easier to get into , and it offer a specific developer option for using a " mock " locating app . You do n’t need a Mac or PC to deplume this off , and there are plenty of apps on the Play Store that can spoof your location . Here , we ’ll go over how to do this with one of the most democratic options , an app call " Fake GPS localisation . "
pace 1 : First , enable Developer Mode by following the step in our guide onHow to get developer options on your Android telephone .
stride 2 : open up the looseness Store and installFake GPS position .
Step 3 : give simulated GPS location . You should see a pop - up with operating instructions on how to set it as a mock position app .
measure 4 : ChooseOpen Settingsto be taken directly to the Developer options . This incision can also be accessed immediately in the preferences app underSystem > Developer options .
Step 5 : Scroll down to the very bottom of the Developer choice and chooseSelect mock localization app .
stair 6 : ChooseFake GPS .
Step 7 : Return to the Fake GPS placement app .
measure 8 : Drag the single-valued function to the location you ’d like to simulate and select the greenPlaybutton in the bottom - right corner . Alternatively , you’re able to chooseGo tofrom the menu in the top - left recess to enter specific coordinate .
tone 9 : To return to your actual GPS - derived position , launch the Fake GPS locating app and choose the grzyPausebutton in the bottom - leave box . you may also go back to Developer options and coif the mock location app to " None " to incapacitate phoney GPS localization totally .
