Blocking GPS Signals for Dummies

GPS phone tracker

It's not unusual for one of our research staffers to look at online "tutorials" and mumble something about how this freelancer just plain missed the point. Most of the time it's because the writer wasn't familiar enough with the task, tool, or tech needed to answer the OQ's question. Other times, it's probably because of a lack of imagination. We're pretty certain that in writing "How to Block GPS Signals"¹ for Techwalla.com, Patrick Nelson proved that he doesn't have much of an imagination.

Nelson opened by informing his readers about the global positioning satellite (GPS) system, and explaining that,

"GPS receivers use triangulation to take the line-of-sight signals, from multiple satellites, and calculate the receiver's position. Blocking the signal can be accomplished by affecting the line-of-sight."

Right then and there our staffer knew that Patrick was going to give the wrong answer. Why did she think that? Probably because people aren't interested in blocking the signals coming from the satellites: why would they, unless they want to get lost – in which case, you merely turn off the receiver.

No, a little critical thinking would suggest that the OQ was worried about being tracked through a phone or other tech with GPS tracking software installed. In that case, Patrick's suggestions:

• "Drive a permanently mounted, GPS-equipped vehicle into an underground parking structure to quickly and simply block the GPS signal." 
• "Place a hand-held receiver in an environment that will block GPS signals. Placing it in a water-tight bag underwater will block the signal, as will carrying into a basement." 
• "Usually GPS receivers will not get a signal inside a building, under dense foliage — such as in a forest. [sic]" 
• "...you may find the lack of sky found in deep canyons or tall building will also hinder the reception of a full set of GPS signals" 

...with the possible exception of the water-tight bag under water, were all 1) off-topic and 2) temporary fixes. We're pretty certain that the OQ wanted to know what to do if you want to block your phone's or tablet's signal so you can't be tracked. It appears that Patrick had never heard of a Faraday cage. Such a cage is a simple box or bag incorporating a layer or mesh of conductive metal in its skin. Drop your phone in one of these and any signal the phone broadcasts will be canceled by the Faraday cage. Nelson never bothered to think of that, concentrating instead on GPS location instead of GPS tracking. We think he missed the point because he didn't stop to wonder why someone would deliberately degrade the incoming GPS signals. That's the kind of thinking that's already gotten Nelson appointed Dumbass of the Day five times.

¹ The original has been deleted by Leaf Group, but can still be accessed using the Wayback machine at archive.org. Its URL was   ehow.com/how_7615186_block-gps-signals.html

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