Originally Posted By: ireckon
Are you saying there is no way possible for the carrier to disable the GPS chip if the entire plan is disconnected?

In other words, if I completely discontinue my services with my carrier, the GPS chip will continue to operate as usual without having to do any kind of workaround?


On the iPhone and many other smartphones with separate GPS receivers and chips, that's precisely correct. You can cancel your service with the carrier and the GPS will still work just fine. If you already have map data downloaded, then you're good to go.

Some GPS apps won't work without data connections, as they rely upon the cloud service for route guidance.