APPLE's trouble-plagued Maps app that has been stranding people in the middle of a desolate national park over the past month appears to have been "half-fixed", according to Victoria Police.

Mildura police inspector Simon Clemence said that Apple appeared to have made an overnight adjustment to the faulty operation of its iOS 6 system that has misdirected travellers looking for Mildura into the dangerous sandhills of the Murray Sunset National Park, about 70km away from Mildura.



Inspector Clemence said the malfunctioning app now appeared to put the city of Mildura "in the right place" for travellers coming from South Australia, The Australian reports.



"But if you're coming from Melbourne it still puts Mildura in the middle of the Murray Sunset National Park," he said.

"They have half-fixed the problem.



"So, it would appear that the only people that are going to get lost in the middle of the Murray Sunset National Park now are people from Melbourne. People from Adelaide will find their way to Mildura just fine!"

It comes after police warned how iPhone users who upgraded to the system's new iOS 6 operating system were found to be at risk of ending up off the beaten track.

Local police have been called to assist distressed motorists who have become stranded within the Murray-Sunset National Park after following directions on their iPhones.

Police are extremely concerned as there is no water supply within the park and temperatures can reach as high as 46 degrees, putting lives at risk.

Inspector Simon Clemence said it took one man 24-hours to make contact with the outside world after following the application's directions.

"One guy got far enough in to lose phone coverage and he was stuck there and he got bogged and he had to walk out and it took him 24-hours to get to a point where he had phone coverage and then we came and rescued him," he said. "This is a direct result of this map application."

Police have confirmed five vehicles have become stranded in the park, with many more people presumed to have become lost but found there way back to civilisation.

"We know there are others because we set up a breath testing station on the road there recently and we had a woman who said every left hand turn up the Mallee Highway her application was trying to send her straight into the dirt," Insp Clemence said. "This is just the tip of the iceberg."





media_camera David Zacher in the real Mildura. Picture: Glenn Milne

Insp Clemence said the error could be a recipe for disaster as temperatures soared over the summer.

"This is Victoria's biggest National Park. It's over 5000sq km and it's all sandy tracks. This is 4WD terrain with big, deep sand bogs and sand drifts and these people are driving in there with their family truckster and getting stuck," Insp Clemence said. "Once you get about 10-15kms in there is no phone coverage at all… If someone got stuck out there on a 46 degree day then they're in real trouble out there. That's pretty nasty country out there. There's not much shade and a lot of hot sand and no water at all."

Insp Clemence said people should not rely solely on technology to get them to their location.

"Sometimes GPSs make mistakes and sometimes you end up where you shouldn't be," he said.

"It should have been reasonably obvious to most people that things weren't what they should be. If you're driving from a capital city to a major rural town you would think there would be bitumen under your feet all the way and I think a lot of people realise that and come out, but some people just rely on the technology so my advice is you can't put your faith in technology. If it doesn't look right, if it doesn't smell right, it's probably not right."

Police have contacted Apple in relation to the issue and hope the matter is rectified promptly to ensure the safety of motorists travelling to Mildura.

Anyone travelling to Mildura or other locations within Victoria should rely on other forms of mapping until this matter is rectified, police warned.

In September, Apple chief executive Tim Cook offered customers a rare apology for the quality of the company's new mapping application, acknowledging the fierce level of criticism from users of the software.

In a letter posted on Apple's website, Mr Cook suggested customers use competitors' maps software — including the web version from rival Google — until Apple could improve its own mapping software. He didn't say when or how that would take place.

Continue reading about the overnight fix at The Australian

Originally published as Faulty Apple maps 'half-fixed' - police