cm precision with smartphone GPS and RTK correction alone

[Adrian_S]

I’m trying to get cm accuracy with Survey123 on smartphone GPS, whilst keeping hardware costs down for our volunteer team.

In theory it should be possible for the onboard GPS to accept corrections from a RTK service provider, without having one’s own GNSS RTK hardware.

I understand this could be achieved by a smartphone app overwriting the GPS location with a RTK-corrected location. Survey123 would then see the more accurate location.

If that’s correct, then it’s very strange that no such app seems to exist! I’ve researched this diligently (and I’m a Solution Architect).

Is there a software way, please?

Thanks, Adrian, UK. 

[IsmaelChivite · Accepted solution]

Hi Adrian. To my knowledge, it is not possible to use RTK corrections against the location data provided by the built-in GPS in a smartphone. You need to use an external GNSS receiver specifically designed to work with RTK. More info about support for external GNSS receivers in Survey123:

• https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-survey123-blog/direct-gnss-external-receiver-support-in-survey1...