Indians and expatriates working in Dubai and UAE are facing a lot of trouble in using navigation apps these days. Recently, a case came to light where the location of a person running in Dubai started appearing in GPS across the continent of Africa. Apps like Google Maps, Waze and Careem are not able to show the correct location. Many people have shared screenshots on social media in which they are standing at their place but on the map their location is visible between Iran or the sea.
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Why is GPS showing wrong location?
According to experts, the main reason for this problem is GPS Jamming and GPS Spoofing. Mohammed Hanif, Digital Transformation Head of Dubai’s MBRSC Lab, said that this is not a technical fault but a step taken for regional security. Amidst the current tension related to Iran, some changes are being made in satellite data defensively to avoid missile and drone attacks.
Navigation of more than 1100 ships has been disrupted at sea. An increase of 220 percent has been recorded in the signal loss of airplanes. Food delivery services like Careem and Deliveroo are also having trouble finding the right routes, leading to delivery delays.
Advice from government and experts for common people
In view of this situation, the authorities have issued some important guidelines for the general public and drivers. Officials say that people should not completely depend on apps. If you are going out for daily work, rely more on physical sign boards on the road.
Offline Maps: Before leaving home, download the offline map on Google Maps so that you can find your way even when the signal is lost.
Device Reset: If the location gets stuck, turn on Airplane Mode in the phone and then turn it off again so that a new satellite connection can be found.
Manual Time Zone: Phone clocks are changing time automatically, so turn off the automatic time zone and set it manually.
Impact on ships and flights
This problem has had a direct impact on sea and air traffic. The Port of Fujairah has issued a special navigation warning (01/2026) advising vessels at sea to avoid high-risk spoofing. Apart from this, according to the latest data as of March 13, 2026, maritime operations have been stopped for some time due to security reasons in some areas like Khalifa Bin Salman Port. The Aviation Authority has also instructed pilots to use backup systems.
