Why Did So Many 2G GPS Trackers with MTK2503 Chipset Stop Working at the Same Time?
Why Did So Many 2G GPS Trackers Stop Working at the Same Time?
If you work in the GPS tracker industry, you may have noticed that starting from Sunday, August 17, 2025, most 2G GPS trackers suddenly lost their GPS signal.
For many of us, it was a tough day — one worth remembering.
After a thorough investigation, we discovered that all the affected devices share the same chipset: MTK2503.
What Is MTK2503?
The MediaTek MTK2503 is an ARMv7-based chipset that integrates:
-A 2G modem for communication
-GNSS (GPS/BeiDou) satellite positioning
-Dual-mode Bluetooth
Because it combines communication + positioning in one low-power, cost-effective solution, it quickly became the go-to choice for nearly all entry-level GPS tracker manufacturers.
Why Did They Fail All at Once?
The issue is not that GPS satellites stopped working.
The real culprit is the GPS Week Number Rollover (WNRO).
What Is GPS Week Number Rollover?
GPS broadcasts time using a 10-bit counter to store the “week number.”
A 10-bit counter can only hold values from 0 to 1023 weeks (~19.6 years).
After reaching 1023, the counter rolls over to 0, starting again.
If the device firmware doesn’t handle this rollover correctly, it will report the wrong date/time — or stop working altogether.
For the MT2503 chipset, the base date was set to January 1, 2006.
From 2006.01.01 to 2025.08.17 is exactly 1024 weeks, which triggered the rollover.
That’s why all MT2503-based devices failed simultaneously.
What Are the Impacts?
-Incorrect GPS time — devices show data as if it were 2006.
-Some trackers stopped uploading location data.
-Functions that rely on precise timing (such as route playback or synchronization) were disrupted.
How Can We Fix It?
The good news:
GPS satellites are fine.
The devices are not physically broken.
Our technical team confirmed the fastest recovery method:
-Correct the wrong GPS timestamp on the server side, replace it with the current server time, and combine it with the device’s location data
This solution restores normal tracking without requiring device replacement.
Conclusion:
On August 17, 2025, many 2G GPS trackers using the MT2503 chipset stopped working due to the GPS Week Number Rollover.
This is a normal 19.6-year cycle in GPS systems, not a hardware failure.
With server-side corrections, devices can continue working without replacement.
If your trackers are affected, please contact the icargps technical team. We are ready to provide a full solution.
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