GPS Failed In China Without Warning! What Indians Should Do If It Happens Here | World News

Residents reported dramatic location inaccuracies, with some users finding themselves “lost” despite being in familiar neighbourhoods. (News18 Hindi)

For nearly six hours, one of eastern China’s largest urban centres found itself digitally disoriented. Satellite-based navigation services abruptly went offline in Nanjing, a city of roughly 10 million people, triggering widespread disruption across daily life and critical services that depend on precise positioning data.

According to a report cited by Interesting Engineering, the outage crippled systems reliant on both the US-operated Global Positioning System (GPS) and China’s indigenous BeiDou network. Car navigation systems failed, ride-hailing services struggled to match drivers with passengers, food deliveries slowed sharply, and drone operations were effectively grounded.

Residents reported dramatic location inaccuracies, with some users finding themselves “lost” despite being in familiar neighbourhoods. The impact on app-based services was immediate and severe. Ride-hailing orders reportedly fell by nearly 60% during the blackout, while food delivery platforms saw delays of around 40%. Bike-sharing operators faced perhaps the most striking anomaly, with location errors stretching as far as 35 miles from actual positions.

Initial technical checks ruled out mobile network failures, pointing instead to a disruption in satellite signal reception. The Nanjing Satellite Application Industry Association later confirmed that the incident was caused by “temporary interference and pressure” on GPS and BeiDou signals, preventing smartphones and navigation devices from receiving reliable satellite data. Crucially, authorities did not disclose the source or purpose of the interference, fuelling speculation that the signal suppression may have been linked to heightened security measures during a sensitive event.

Once the interference ceased, navigation services gradually returned to normal, but the episode has left experts uneasy. Analysts note that the simultaneous disruption of both GPS and BeiDou is significant, suggesting a level of coordination that goes beyond routine technical glitches. Some view it as a glimpse into how satellite navigation systems could be targeted as part of a broader strategic playbook, particularly in the context of any future confrontation between China and the United States, where interference with one system could spill over into others.

The ripple effects of such an event are not limited to China. The incident has prompted renewed questions about preparedness in countries like India, where daily life, transport networks and logistics chains are deeply entwined with satellite navigation. India relies on a mix of global systems like GPS, Russia’s GLONASS, Europe’s Galileo and China’s BeiDou, alongside its own regional system, NAVIC. A sudden, large-scale navigation blackout could disrupt everything from aviation and shipping to app-based deliveries and emergency response.

Experts argue that resilience lies in redundancy. Devices capable of drawing signals from multiple satellite constellations are better placed to withstand partial outages. Offline navigation tools, such as pre-downloaded maps, can provide a temporary fallback, while some vehicles and unmanned systems are increasingly being equipped with local or cellular tower-based positioning technologies.

India’s NAVIC, which offers accurate positioning within roughly 1,500 kilometres of the country’s borders, is often cited as a strategic safeguard, particularly during regional crises. When combined with access to multiple global systems, it reduces dependence on any single network.