How long does a GoPro take to get a GPS lock?

The GoPro pages we read give no number for the lock itself. Its HERO13 Black article says to power the camera on for a couple of minutes before you start recording, and its general GPS guide says a few minutes. Plan for that, in the open, before the kart goes out.

How do I know the GoPro has a GPS lock?

GoPro says that once the GPS is found and locked, the GPS icon turns solid on the camera display in the dashboard screen. If it is not solid, the camera is still searching or does not have a view of the sky.

Does it matter which way up the camera is?

Yes. GoPro says the HERO13 Black antenna is at the top of the camera. If it has to be upside down, power it on upright first and let it sit for a couple of minutes before inverting it.

Can I turn GoPro GPS on from my phone?

On the HERO13 Black, yes. In the Quik mobile app tap the gear icon, scroll to GPS and select On. You can also be asked at first set-up, or change it in the camera's Preferences menu.

Does the HERO12 Black have a GPS setting?

No, because it has no GPS receiver. GoPro's metadata documentation says so. See which GoPro models have GPS for the full list.

GoPro GPS: How to Turn It On and Check the Lock Before You Record

Turn GPS on in the menu, give the camera sky and a few minutes, wait for the solid GPS icon, then record. The steps for HERO13, HERO11 and HERO10, from GoPro's own pages.

Switching GPS on is the easy half. The half that decides whether your clip has data is what happens in the five minutes before you press record. This is the routine, from GoPro's own support pages, adapted to a kart paddock.

First check the camera is on the right side of the list in which GoPro has GPS. The HERO12 Black has no GPS receiver, so there is nothing to turn on.

Step 1: turn GPS on

HERO13 Black. GoPro lists three ways. The camera asks you whether to enable GPS during first set-up. In the camera: from the idle screen swipe down, swipe left, tap Preferences, tap GPS, tap On, then press the Mode button to return to the idle screen. Or in the Quik mobile app: tap the gear icon on the main screen, scroll to GPS and choose On or Off.

HERO11 Black. Turn the camera on, swipe down from the main screen, swipe left, tap Preferences, scroll to GPS and turn it On.

HERO10 and HERO9 Black. Same swipe path to Preferences, then scroll to Regional, tap GPS and turn it On.

Step 2: give the camera sky and time

Turning the setting on does not give you a position. The camera has to find satellites, and GoPro's advice is the same across its pages. Be outside. Stay away from large structures. Keep the top of the camera pointing up. Power the camera on for a few minutes before recording; for the HERO13 Black the wording is a couple of minutes, to let it connect to as many satellites as possible.

The reason for the orientation is physical: GoPro says the HERO13 Black's antenna is at the top of the camera. If you have to mount it upside down, power it on upright first, let it sit for a couple of minutes, then invert it.

What that means at a kart track

Large structures, in a kart paddock, means awnings, vans, containers, the grandstand wall and the garage roof. All of them take sky away. Do the waiting in the open, with the camera already clamped to the kart's mount, so there is nothing to change after the lock. Mount it right way up with nothing over the top of the camera, because that is where the antenna is.

Step 3: read the icon before you press record

GoPro says that once the GPS is found and locked, the GPS icon turns solid on the camera display, in the dashboard screen. Until it does, the camera is not giving you a position.

Wait for the solid icon, and only then start the recording. GoPro's HERO13 article does not spell out that rule, but it does tell you to power the camera on for a couple of minutes before you start. A long-standing community FAQ on GoPro's support site, written by a third-party telemetry developer, is blunter: it says GPS is only recorded in a clip if the signal exists before you hit record, and advises against the QuickCapture power-on-and-record shortcut for that reason. It was written in 2019 for older cameras, so treat it as a rule of thumb rather than a GoPro specification. It costs nothing to follow.

Step 4: check the clip, not just the icon

A solid icon at the start does not prove the whole stint is covered. Two checks after the first run:

In the Quik app, GoPro lists Performance Stickers as the first thing GPS enables. The same community FAQ says stickers and gauges only switch on if the app considers the signal good enough, so seeing the speed or map sticker work on your clip is a quick yes. If you read the GPMF telemetry with other software, each GPS sample carries a fix value, where 0 is no lock and 2 or 3 is a 2D or 3D lock, and a precision value, where under 500 is good, according to GoPro's metadata documentation.

If the icon never goes solid

Work through the basics once: open sky, camera upright, a few minutes of waiting, GPS actually switched on in Preferences. If you still get nothing, you are not the first. In July 2025 a HERO13 Black owner posted on GoPro's support community that the lock never came even outdoors; GoPro staff tried to reproduce it, could not, and pointed them to the Support Team. That is where to go too, before you spend a weekend blaming the mount.

The paddock checklist

GPS is On in Preferences (or in Quik for the HERO13).
Camera clamped to the kart's mount, upright, nothing over the top.
Powered on in the open at least a couple of minutes before the session.
GPS icon solid on the dashboard screen.
Only then, start the recording by hand.

PURPL analyses MyChron and Alfano data; the camera is the extra view on the same laps. For lining the two up afterwards, see syncing onboard video with telemetry. And do not let a good lock go to waste in the editing: why your GoPro copy has no GPS explains how it gets lost.

Sources

GoPro, HERO13 Black: GPS Information (menu path, Quik route, antenna position, waiting time).
GoPro, How To Turn On GPS With GoPro Cameras (HERO11, HERO10 and HERO9 menu paths, the solid GPS icon, outdoor and orientation advice).
GoPro, GPMF parser documentation (fix and precision values; no GPS receiver in the HERO12).
GoPro support community, GPS not working? Performance stickers and telemetry FAQ (a community post by a third-party developer, October 2019).
GoPro support community, HERO13 GPS thread (July 2025).