Does the GPS Week Number Rollover affect your old sat nav?

Many off us still rely on our trusty old sat nav to get from A to B, even if it hasn't been updated for a long time! Although it may have done the trick for simple journeys in the past, you may find that if you haven't switched on for a while, you may encounter some connectivity problems or the sat nav may not be able to connect to any available satellites.

The GPS Week Number Rollover (WNRO) occurs every 19 years. Just like the odometers in older cars, where the number reaches 999,999 miles then rolls over to 0 miles rather than 1,000,000 miles, the week setting on your sat nav can do the same, with the calendar resetting to 0 after 19 years (999 weeks). This problem can cause your sat nav to simply stop working, or take a long time to pull up a route.

The easy fix to this problem is to either update your old sat nav if the software is still available, or invest in a new one if you've lost the connecting cable / can't find the right software / the sat nav is too old to be used with your current operating system.

Check out our how to update a sat nav guide, or take a look at our range of shiny new sat navs to make sure you aren't left without a working sat nav.