Gaia and an Ipad

[RFB]

Can I buy a used Ipad and run Gaia on it, or does it have to be run through verizon etc like my cell phone? I dont want to pay the phone company anymore that I already do. I run a magellan trx 7 and paid a lot for it, and its worthless.

 

[Outsane]

You do not need cell cell service to run gaia

One with cell serive capabilities for the gps service.

If you gen one without cell service then you need a device that will Bluetooth gps to the ipad.

If you do get cell service you can down load maps away from wifi.

 

[izzyandsue]

As long as the ipad has gps antenna, and wifi, you are good. Download maps while on wifi for any areas you are moving to and navigate off the grid

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

All ipads with cell service capabilities has GPS antenna otherwise you will need an add-on antenna. You do not need the cell service to be activated for the antenna to work. Unless you need or want to support Apple an android tablet has some nice benefits with gaia.

You need to do some map download preplanning and gaia can be frustrating at times when traveling the country. Gaia customer support sucks big time as its all done by email and again can be a PIA when traveling.

 

[Kofoed]

The free app will not plot your position on an already-downloaded map IF you are not connected to a cell network. This is why I sprung for the member sub. Fill out online subscription, bail when they ask for credit card card, and you will get a discount offer by email a week later.

It is a quirky and clunky app and doing stuff off desktop via the website sucks becuase you have to disable all tracking blockers and such. other than those fawking headaches it works fairly well.

 

[northwood]

Yes, if you get a basic tablet (no cellular, no gps) you can still use mapping software with real-time positioning IF you connect to a standalone GPS device. Apple in their infinite wisdom did not allow this tethering, but a product like the Garmin GLO does the job. They are about $100, no service plan or additional cost. It connects via Bluetooth to provide GPS.

 

[ChaseTruck]

I've been running Gaia on my old iPad2 (vintage 2011 or so, WiFi/Cellular enabled, but I never connected it to a US cellular network; in fact it might still have the SIM card from the German phone company in it..) for several years now, replacing a (vintage 2004...) Mac laptop running MacGPSPro. Worked/works fine for tracking, and I keep my trail inventory there. I've also imported trails from .kml files from Google Earth (works, but not the smoothest of operations).

I now have a subscription, it was something like $60 for 5 years, so I can't comment on the issue mentioned above. Sometimes the iPad2 is slow to pick up GPS signals at the start of the day, and I've had to restart it on a few occasions, but that might be more of an issue related to the age of the device rather than Gaia software. Once it has the signal, it's ok unless you're in a really narrow canyon or so.

On a recent road trip from Phoenix to Yellowstone and back, it worked really well as a secondary navigation device when the phone was unhelpful. I had downloaded road maps ahead of the trip, and we essentially used Gaia to show position on the map - not exactly a navigation device (as in plotting/showing/leading you along a route), but I've grown up looking at paper maps, and the position info was essentially what I wanted. Can't comment on the Android stuff since I've kept on drinking the Apple KoolAid since 1989...

 

[saucebox]

Yes, if you get a basic tablet (no cellular, no gps) you can still use mapping software with real-time positioning IF you connect to a standalone GPS device. Apple in their infinite wisdom did not allow this tethering, but a product like the Garmin GLO does the job. They are about $100, no service plan or additional cost. It connects via Bluetooth to provide GPS.

I'm not picking up what you're putting down, possibly confused. Any non-cell (non-GPS) iPad tethered to a hardware GPS works well, has for many years.

OP—best bet is to buy a used iPad with cellular connectivity (doesn't matter which carrier) and just elect not to activate the cell connection. The GPS hardware is not tied to cell, it'll work just fine in that config. You should be able to pick one up for pretty cheap, in the size you want (mini, regular, pro) without breaking the bank. Gaia is a little tricky to learn, but it's the best of anything that I've found. We usually plot a route ahead of a trip, then use the iPad to follow it (and track it, so we can make any corrections to the routing afterwards).

 

[MoJ]

I just finished setting up a ZTE k92 Primetime 10” tablet for Gaia. It has both gps as well as a magnometer which I’ve read is preferable. They go for around $140 new on eBay. I’ve downloaded a ridiculous amount of maps and still only using about 15gb of the 128gb micro sd. I’m an Apple guy but went this direction due to the micro sd slot. I’ll be testing it more extensively over the next few weeks but so far it works.

 

[doug720]

I have been using a Gen1 Ipad for a dedicated Nav device for years.

Mine has built in GPS antenna as mentioned above, and no phone service, but it is cellular capable ipad.

I have 3 different map sets loaded for every state west of the Mississippi, and still have a ton of memory with a 64g ipad.

There are dozens of map apps to choose from, try them out to see what works for you.

 

[Squirrelmaster]

I’ve been running the same as everyone else for the past several years: iPad 3 cellular (no data plan) with a Gaia subscription, though I recently upgraded to a new base iPad (WiFi only) linked to a Garmin inReach to provide the GPS signal. While the Garmin Earthmate app isn’t terrible, it isn’t great either, and the display on the inReach is a joke, so Gaia on the iPad is a nice fix for both of those issues, especially when it comes to preloading trails. The fact that I can also pull up the preloaded trails on any device that my Gaia account is linked to is nice as well, as there’s been a few times where I ended up doing a trail with my phone since I didn’t have my iPad with me.

 

[offroadin4fun]

I paid 2K for a Kenwood DNX double din am/fm; CD & DVD tuner with Garmin Nav unit 10 years ago just to have Kenwood & Garmin stop doing updates 3 years after I purchased it and now I use Gaia app with my Ipad which doubles as a internet device. It is the best Navigation System I have ever used and I am forever done wit Kenwood and Garmin. Just Sayin

 

[Dharma Dude]

I paid 2K for a Kenwood DNX double din am/fm; CD & DVD tuner with Garmin Nav unit 10 years ago just to have Kenwood & Garmin stop doing updates 3 years after I purchased it and now I use Gaia app with my Ipad which doubles as a internet device. It is the best Navigation System I have ever used and I am forever done wit Kenwood and Garmin. Just Sayin

It's only a matter of time. Those GPS standalone handheld's days are numbered. Garmin already shifting away focus toward fitness. They see it coming.