Your ASUS ROG Phone 9 is supposed to lock onto your position in seconds, yet right now the blue dot in Maps is drifting down the wrong street, frozen in place, or refusing to appear at all. Maybe a ride-share app cannot find you, your run tracker logged a route through someone else's backyard, or navigation keeps recalculating because the phone genuinely has no idea where it is. The reassuring part is that this is almost always a setting, a software hiccup, or a poor view of the sky rather than a failed chip.
ASUS's official spec sheet lists full multi-constellation GNSS on this model, covering GPS (L1/L5), Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS, and NavIC, plus an electronic compass. Because the location hardware is definitely there, every fix below is a real location fix rather than a workaround for a missing feature. Work through them in order, starting with the quickest and safest and finishing with the official reset and support paths.
Make Sure Location Is Actually Switched On
Before anything else, ASUS's own GPS troubleshooting tells you to confirm the master location switch is enabled. While it is off, apps like Maps simply cannot get a fix, no matter how strong the satellite signal is.
Go to Settings > Location > Use location and make sure the switch is turned on. It sounds obvious, but a software update, a battery-saver profile, or an accidental tap in the quick settings panel can flip it off without you noticing. Toggle it off and back on once for good measure, then reopen the app that was struggling.
Step Outside and Give the Satellites a Few Minutes
GNSS works by line-of-sight to satellites, so where you are standing matters more than most people expect. ASUS recommends moving outdoors into an open area, away from clusters of buildings, and then giving the phone a few minutes to reacquire satellites before you judge whether the fix is working.
Plenty of things degrade or block the signal. Tinted glass and other obstructions, tall buildings, elevated roads, narrow alleys, subways, and nearby electronics can all weaken reception. If you have been trying to get a fix indoors, in a parking garage, or inside a car with coated windows, that alone can explain a drifting or stuck dot.
Switch On the Accuracy and Scanning Helpers
The ROG Phone 9 gets a faster, steadier fix when it blends raw GPS with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and network data. ASUS recommends turning on the assistive location features so the phone has more signals to work with, which matters most in built-up areas.
Enable each of the following:
- 1.Settings > Location > Location services > Location Accuracy > Improve Location Accuracy
- 2.Settings > Location > Location services > Wi-Fi Scanning > Wi-Fi Scanning
- 3.Settings > Location > Location services > Bluetooth Scanning > Bluetooth Scanning
Improve Location Accuracy is Google's location service that uses Wi-Fi, mobile networks, and the phone's sensors to refine your position. The two scanning toggles let apps and services detect nearby Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth devices to sharpen that estimate, so leaving them on gives the GNSS engine a head start.
Power Cycle the Phone, or Force a Restart if It Is Frozen
A simple power cycle clears temporary glitches in the location service, and ASUS lists restarting the phone as a standard GPS fix. Turn it off and back on normally first, then re-test in a location app.
If the phone is frozen or unresponsive, force restart it instead:
- 1.Press and hold volume down and power at the same time for at least 8 seconds.
- 2.If it has not restarted after 8 seconds, keep holding both buttons for 12 seconds.
Note that this is the volume down plus power combination, not a power-button-only long press. Holding the correct two buttons is what triggers the restart on this model.
Install the Latest System Update
Out-of-date firmware can introduce location bugs, and installing the newest build often clears them without any further effort on your part. ASUS points to the on-device updater for this.
Go to Settings > System > System update > Check Update, then install anything that is offered. Keep the phone charged or plugged in while the update installs so it does not interrupt partway through, and reconnect to Wi-Fi if the download stalls.
Boot Into Safe Mode to Catch a Misbehaving App
If GPS only acts up with certain apps, a third-party app may be interfering with the location service. ASUS recommends Safe Mode, which starts the phone with every third-party app disabled so you can test on a clean slate.
Enter Safe Mode like this:
- 1.Press and hold the Power button.
- 2.Press and hold the Power off option.
- 3.Tap OK.
Once in Safe Mode, open a location app and check whether the fix works. If it does, an installed app is the culprit, so uninstall recently added apps one at a time until the problem is gone. Restart the phone normally to leave Safe Mode.
Back Up and Factory Reset When Nothing Else Works
If GPS still fails after every step above, ASUS's last self-service measure is a full factory reset. This erases the phone, so back up your photos, accounts, and files before you start.
The path is Settings > System > Reset options > Erase all data (factory reset) > Erase all data. ASUS warns that once the reset finishes, all data, apps, settings, and personal information are deleted from the device. Only proceed once your backup is complete and verified, then set the phone up again and test GPS before reinstalling your apps.
When to Hand It to ASUS
If a clean factory reset still leaves GPS broken, the problem may be with the GNSS hardware itself, which needs a technician. ASUS's GPS guidance advises contacting ASUS Customer Support, or an authorized service center, for further inspection at that point.
When you reach out, describe exactly what you tried, including the steps above, and say whether the failure happens in every app or only one. That detail helps the service team decide between a software repair and a hardware check, and it can save you a second trip.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the ASUS ROG Phone 9 have GPS?
Yes. The official ROG spec page confirms full multi-constellation GNSS, including GPS (L1/L5), Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS, and NavIC, along with an electronic compass. A "GPS not working" problem on this model is a fixable software or signal issue, not a missing feature.
Why does my ROG Phone 9 show the wrong location or keep drifting?
Most drift comes from a blocked view of the sky. Tinted glass, tall buildings, elevated roads, narrow alleys, subways, and nearby electronics all degrade the signal, so move to an open outdoor area. Turning on Improve Location Accuracy plus Wi-Fi and Bluetooth scanning also helps the phone steady its position.
How long should I wait for a GPS fix on the ROG Phone 9?
Stay in an open outdoor area and give the phone a few minutes to receive satellite signals, especially after a long time indoors or in a covered space. A cold start naturally takes longer than a warm one, so do not assume GPS is broken until the phone has had a clear view of the sky.
Will a factory reset fix GPS problems?
It can, and ASUS lists it as the final self-service step. Because it erases all data, apps, settings, and personal information, back up everything first. If GPS is still broken after a clean reset, the hardware likely needs inspection by ASUS support.
Do I need a special app to fix GPS on the ROG Phone 9?
No. There is no separate companion app for this. Every fix lives in the phone's Settings, the built-in system updater, and Safe Mode, so you do not need to install anything extra to troubleshoot GPS.
