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johna34796437
Known Participant
May 23, 2025
Answered

iPhone GPS not being read correctly.

  • May 23, 2025
  • 1 reply
  • 938 views

When I import iphone pictures to LrClassic and I am West of the meridian for some reason the Maps module assumes I am East and ends up getting the location wrong. The way to fix this is to manually append a N & W to the co-ordinates, as in 51°21'17.022" N 2°12'1.062" W.  As it just imports 51°21'17.022" 2°12'1.062" from the phone metadata.
Just noticed this with the new verion of LrClassic as in the past it has got this right.

Correct answer johnrellis

By comparison thia picture was taken East of the meridain and displays correctly on the map. The xml file contains East and North.

<x:xmpmeta xmlns:x="adobe:ns:meta/" x:xmptk="XMP Core 6.0.0">
<rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#">
<rdf:Description rdf:about=""
xmlns:exif="http://ns.adobe.com/exif/1.0/"
xmlns:photoshop="http://ns.adobe.com/photoshop/1.0/">
<exif:GPSHPositioningError>4.7486515293433671</exif:GPSHPositioningError>
<exif:GPSImgDirection>85.933532735127955</exif:GPSImgDirection>
<exif:GPSAltitudeRef>0</exif:GPSAltitudeRef>
<exif:GPSAltitude>207.36800785083415</exif:GPSAltitude>
<exif:GPSLatitudeRef>N</exif:GPSLatitudeRef>
<exif:GPSLatitude>51.248713333333335</exif:GPSLatitude>
<exif:GPSLongitudeRef>E</exif:GPSLongitudeRef>
<exif:GPSLongitude>0.208705</exif:GPSLongitude>
<exif:GPSImgDirectionRef>T</exif:GPSImgDirectionRef>
<exif:GPSSpeed>0.28999999165532486</exif:GPSSpeed>
<exif:GPSSpeedRef>K</exif:GPSSpeedRef>
<exif:GPSTimeStamp>2025-05-07T10:43:16Z</exif:GPSTimeStamp>
<photoshop:DateCreated>2025-05-07T11:43:17+01:00</photoshop:DateCreated>
</rdf:Description>
</rdf:RDF>
</x:xmpmeta>


Are the photos synced from the Iphone to Mac Photos, exported from Mac Photos, then imported into LR? If so, you're tripping over a longstanding bug in Mac Photos.

 

Mac Photos version 5 and later doesn't obey the industry standard for representing GPS coordinates in XMP files:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/iphone-gps-not-being-read-correctly/td-p/15337028

 

There are two workarounds:

 

1. Use the Exiftool utility to correct the .xmp files:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/gps-location-imported-from-iphone-has-wrong-hemisphere/m-p/10832180#M171197 

 

2. Uncheck the Photos option Export IPTC as XMP, which won't be helpful if you've added GPS coordinates to the photos in the Photos app.

1 reply

A
Community Manager
AlekeCommunity Manager
Community Manager
May 23, 2025

Hi @johna34796437!

Thanks for reaching out! Could you let us know which exact version of Lightroom Classic you're using, as well as your iOS version? Also, does this issue happen with every photo or just certain ones?

If you’re able to share a few sample photos from your iPhone, that would be super helpful for testing on our end. You can upload them via Google Drive, WeTransfer, or any file-sharing service you prefer.

Thanks so much!
Alek

*(If you mention me with an @, like @Aleke, I’ll get a notification and can respond faster.)*
J
johna34796437Author
Known Participant
May 23, 2025
Thanks for reaching out! Could you let us know which exact version of Lightroom Classic you're using, as well as your iOS version? Also, does this issue happen with every photo or just certain ones?

If you’re able to share a few sample photos from your iPhone, that would be super helpful for testing on our end. You can upload them via Google Drive, WeTransfer, or any file-sharing service you prefer.

Thanks so much!
Alek


Hello Alek


I am using LrClassic version 14.3.1, iOS version 18.5.

Yes it seems to happen with all photos I import from my phone.

Here is a picture as an example.

Kind regards

John Atherton
J
johna34796437Author
Known Participant
May 23, 2025

Hi Alek

I have replied to your email.

What I have noticed is in the xml file that the phone produces it contains the data that the co-ordinates are N and W but somehow this is not recognised by LrClassic.



<x:xmpmeta xmlns:x="adobe:ns:meta/" x:xmptk="XMP Core 6.0.0">
<rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#">
<rdf:Description rdf:about=""
xmlns:exif="http://ns.adobe.com/exif/1.0/"
xmlns:photoshop="http://ns.adobe.com/photoshop/1.0/">
<exif:GPSHPositioningError>3.5355339055557087</exif:GPSHPositioningError>
<exif:GPSImgDirection>240.48394768133176</exif:GPSImgDirection>
<exif:GPSAltitudeRef>1</exif:GPSAltitudeRef>
<exif:GPSAltitude>-0.62856674191356243</exif:GPSAltitude>
<exif:GPSLatitudeRef>N</exif:GPSLatitudeRef>
<exif:GPSLatitude>53.494728333333335</exif:GPSLatitude>
<exif:GPSLongitudeRef>W</exif:GPSLongitudeRef>
<exif:GPSLongitude>3.0585249999999999</exif:GPSLongitude>
<exif:GPSImgDirectionRef>T</exif:GPSImgDirectionRef>
<exif:GPSSpeed>0.0</exif:GPSSpeed>
<exif:GPSSpeedRef>K</exif:GPSSpeedRef>
<exif:GPSTimeStamp>2024-10-20T15:56:47Z</exif:GPSTimeStamp>
<photoshop:DateCreated>2024-10-20T16:56:48+01:00</photoshop:DateCreated>
</rdf:Description>
</rdf:RDF>
</x:xmpmeta>

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