Significant location change doesn't work on Wifi only devices

Question

Correct me if I'm wrong, I have two devices (iPhone), one with sim-card included and wifi connected, other doesn't have an active sim-card but connects to wifi. I was on train to test the significant location change on both devices, only the one with sim-card sent significant location change event. The one without sim-card didn't fire any event even though it still connected to Wifi.

Any link references are appreciated. IMO, does the significant location change only work with cellular data ?

Answer 1

I believe the significant location change updates location only when the phone swap from a cellular tower to another, so if it is not on the cellular network (without sim card) it can not detect that, and therefore cannot provide a position :)

From Apple doc:

The significant location change service is better suited for apps that want to get the user's initial location and then only want to know when that location changes. This service requires the presence of cellular hardware and delivers events less frequently than the standard location services.

Source