Why your GPS could stop working on April 6th

The GPS device you use in your car may not work on April 6th. GPS could also be affected by other systems and applications. Some versions may have a limitation in the format of the date that use.

GPS has been running for more than four decades. For reasons of memory limitation, the developers, in the seventies, opted for a 10-bit-based date system, which implies a ceiling of 1024 weeks or 19.7 years..

The first 1,024 weeks pbaded from January 6, 1980 to August 21, 1999. Then began the second phase which is about to end this April 6th.

Devices that do not update will redial 0000 as the internal date because they can not move to a higher number.because its configuration does not allow it. The routes would continue to be well calculated, but not the times.

Experts have ensured that this will affect devices manufactured before 2010, as all versions published with posterity have been configured so that this does not happen.

Punctually, the new standardized versions allow to keep the date with 13 bits, prevent the same problem from happening again in 19 years.

What happens to those made before 2010? They could continue to work if a firmware update arrives, depending on the manufacturer.

If the GPS is new and connected to the Internet, the update can be given immediately.However, for devices without an Internet connection, you must update the firmware manually.

If it's a portable device, we have to go to the manufacturer's website and find a software. Once downloaded, you must follow the instructions to add it to the device.

Normally, just connect it via USB to the computer or use a memory card. Manufacturers may request that we install update management software in our system.

If the device (GPS) is built into the car, we need to request it at an official company workshop, or perhaps consult customer service systems or official forums. Each device is programmed differently and, in some cases, the failure will not be affected, as mentioned above.

How to identify the rolling update?

Here, a step by step mentioned in the blog Orolia.
1 Set the transmit power of GSG to a level suitable for your receiver (usually -115 to -125dBm)
AT. In the Options menu – Transmit Power.
2. Start the rolling scenario in the GSG.
A. Select the scenario from the list of scenarios
B. Press start
3. Restart receiver
4. Let the recipient find a solution and write down the correct date and time. As seen on the front panel of GSG
5 Watch the pbadage from April 6 to 7, 2019
6. Verify that the recipient sends the correct date and time, otherwise you must restart it.

GPS is currently in a modernization program to update signals with new modulation structures and data messages. The most recent message types (CNAV and MNAV) use 13-bit binary numbers to represent the GPS week number, so the problem should no longer occur. when multiple receivers use the new GPS signals.

This system makes it possible to determine the total position of any object (a person, a vehicle) with a precision of up to several centimeters. (if a differential GPS is used), although the usual accuracy is a few meters.

In practice, four or more satellites are normally required to determine the position with a certain precision.

GPS is composed of three elements: satellites in orbit around the Earth, ground stations for surveillance and control; and GPS receivers owned by users. From space, GPS satellites transmit signals that receive and identify GPS receivers; in turn, they provide their three – dimensional coordinates of latitude, longitude, and elevation separately, as well as the precise local time.

With these signals, the device synchronizes the GPS clock and calculates the time required for the signals to reach the equipment, and thus measures the distance to the satellite by the inverse trilateration method, which consists of to determine the distance of the satellite. each satellite at the point of measurement.

The former Soviet Union has built a similar system called GLONASS, now managed by the Russian Federation.

The European Union has developed the Galileo navigation system, while the People's Republic of China sets up its own navigation system, called Beidou, which is expected to have 12 and 14 satellites between 2011 and 2015. By 2020, it should already have 30 and be fully operational.