So, you’re stuck in the wilderness and you need help. Someone on the phone asks, “What are your GPS coordinates?”
Do you know how to find them?
Your phone can determine your latitude and longitude using GPS. You don’t need to be a navigation expert, but you do need to know where to look. This is something worth figuring out before you head into the backcountry, because learning how your phone works when you’re cold, stressed and staring at 1% battery is not ideal.
Here are some of the easiest ways to find your coordinates using the apps many of us already carry.
iPHONE — COMPASS
This is the easiest method for iPhone users. Open the built-in Compass app and look at the bottom of the screen. Your latitude and longitude are displayed underneath the compass, along with your elevation.
Apple Compass displays coordinates in degrees, minutes and seconds (DMS). They will look something like:
49° 42′ 03″ N, 123° 08′ 56″ W
Don't worry about what that format means, and don't try to convert it. Simply read or send the coordinates exactly as they appear on your screen. Search and Rescue can work with them, 911 operators, police and ambulance can too.
If you open Compass and only see your heading, your location permissions may be turned off. Go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services and make sure Location Services is ON. Then find Compass and select While Using the App. Reopen Compass and your coordinates should appear at the bottom.
Try it. It takes seconds; those seconds can matter considerably more when you're trying to tell rescuers where you are.
ALLTRAILS
If you’re already navigating with AllTrails, you don’t need to leave the app to find your location.
Open Navigate and start navigation. Swipe up on the bottom drawer and select GPS Details. Your current latitude and longitude will be displayed there. You can also press and hold the coordinates to copy them.
The sequence to remember is simple: AllTrails → Navigate → Swipe Up → GPS Details.
GAIA GPS
Gaia can display your coordinates right at the top of the map, making them very easy to find.
Tap the information field at the top of the screen and select Coordinates from the drop-down menu. Your latitude and longitude will then be displayed at the top of your map.
Before reading those numbers, make sure Gaia is centred on your current location. Tap the location arrow once to centre the map on your phone’s GPS position. You can then read your coordinates directly from the top of the screen.
The sequence is: Gaia → select Coordinates → tap the location arrow → read your coordinates.
There is another option in Gaia. You can drop a waypoint and open it to see the latitude and longitude of that point. Be careful with this method, however, because those coordinates describe the waypoint you selected, not necessarily where you are standing. In an emergency, centring the map on yourself and reading the coordinates at the top is simpler and less prone to error.
GOOGLE MAPS — iPHONE
Google Maps makes finding coordinates surprisingly difficult on an iPhone. If you need to use it, here's a method that works:
Centre the map on yourself → press and hold your location to drop a pin → Share → Copy link → paste the link into Notes or Messages → tap the link.
When Google Maps reopens, it displays the full coordinates in both degrees/minutes/seconds and decimal degrees.
Be careful: these are the coordinates of the pin you dropped, so make sure you centre the map on your actual location first.
If you have an iPhone, though, Compass is much faster. Open it and your coordinates are already displayed at the bottom.
🤖 WHAT ABOUT ANDROID?
Unlike iPhone, Android does not have one universal built-in Compass app. There are, however, free compass and GPS apps available through Google Play that display your latitude and longitude.
Do this before you go. Download one, learn where it displays your coordinates and test it before heading into the backcountry.
If you’re already out there and didn’t do that, Google Maps can be your backup.
Open Google Maps and tap the location/target button to centre the map on your current position. Look for the blue dot. This represents where your phone thinks you are. The light-blue circle surrounding it represents the uncertainty in that position; generally, a smaller circle means a better location fix.
Once you have located yourself, press and hold directly on your location to drop a red pin. On Android, the latitude and longitude of that pin will appear in the search box at the top of the screen.
The coordinates might look like 49.70082, -123.14899. Read both numbers exactly as displayed, including the minus sign.
Be careful with this method. Google Maps gives you the coordinates of wherever you dropped the pin. If you accidentally place that pin somewhere else on the map, those are the coordinates you will give rescuers. Centre the map on yourself first, locate your blue dot and then drop the pin on your location.
⚠️ MAKE SURE LOCATION SERVICES ARE ON
All of these methods depend on your phone and the app having permission to determine your location. If you aren’t seeing coordinates or your position isn’t appearing correctly, Location Services should be one of the first things you check.
On an iPhone, go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services and make sure it is turned on. You should also confirm that the particular app you are using has permission to access your location.
On Android, go to Settings → Location → Use location and make sure it is turned on. The exact wording may vary slightly between Android manufacturers.
BUT I DON’T HAVE CELL SERVICE!
That’s okay. GPS and cellular service are not the same thing.
Your phone receives signals from navigation satellites to calculate its position. It does not need a cell tower to determine your GPS coordinates. However, an online map may not load without cellular service if you haven’t downloaded the map beforehand. You will also need some means of communication—cellular, Wi-Fi or satellite—to actually send your coordinates to someone else.
This is another excellent reason to download offline maps before you go.
Most importantly, practice finding your coordinates before your next trip. Open the app you normally use, put your phone in Airplane Mode, go outside and see whether you can find your latitude and longitude.
Because the worst possible time to learn how to find your GPS coordinates is when you’re already lost, cold, injured and staring at 1% battery.