Accuracy of the "Find my iPhone" app on the iPhone 4

[Beachbum]

Question: How accurate is the "find my iPhone" app? Here's the scenario... My husband often travels out of town for business; he usually finishes work by 5 o'clock. Last night, he called late, saying he was called back in to work -- which was not unusual, as it does happen some times. For whatever reason, I decided to track him using the app. Long story short, it showed him just over the state line, in the opposite direction of his work in a completely different state. In addition, instead of being at his workplace, he was in two specific locations that he had no business being near. I accused him of being unfaithful, but he swears to God that he was at work.

I've Googled the accuracy of the app, and the consensus is that it's pretty accurate most of the time, but mistakes like showing up in another state are not uncommon. Oh, the two locations he had no business being near? They were gay bars...

Am I being paranoid, or am I justified in questioning his whereabouts?

 

[dunni1]

I always use it and its most definitely accurate! As long as it has service it's on point!! I've left my iPad several places to try it, all distances between 10-80 miles

 

[Beachbum]

So, dunni, you're saying I am right to question his whereabouts, or... Within 10-80 miles doesn't sound too accurate.

 

[thewitt]

Sounds like he was at a gay bar...

 

[Darkstar2007]

So, dunni, you're saying I am right to question his whereabouts, or... Within 10-80 miles doesn't sound too accurate.

I'm sure they meant its been accurate, with having his iPad 10-80 miles away while using the app.

 

[Lazer]

As you may know, there are two types of iPads. Those that are Wifi only and those that work off both Wifi and 3G. The Wifi-3G version has a GPS chip and the straight Wifi model doesn't. The non-GPS model is going to rely on triangulation of Wifi signals and it isn't going to be very accurate. When I use the Find My Phone for my Mac computer, it shows it's about a quarter mile off when in reality it's sitting on my lap. How Apple knows the location of Wifi signals is a mystery to me. My GPS enabled iPhone is spot on using the same app and I can tell which room of my house it's in.

I hope this helps.

L