I have been playing for almost 6 months now. Most times that I try and learn a new song on the bass, the first place I go to is Songster (or another online source where I can find bass tabs). My bass instructor (who I do not go to anymore since I dont live near him) has told me on multiple occasions to not mainy rely on and in some cases use Songster in general since many times it has wrong tabs and is unreliable. He told me to simply “listen to the song” from an original source (ex: a CD or even YouTube) however I feel like this gets me nowerhere and I like relying on the tabs to get a general feel of where on the neck I should be. Any suggestions on what I should do?
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“Don’t Rely On” =/= “Don’t Use”
It’s a tool. It has correct and incorrect applications.
How I’d use it:
Listen to the original song first. Try to hear where at least the root notes are. Learn to hum and audiate a simple version of the bassline. See if you can find at least the roots on your bass. Then pull up songster and see how close it comes to what you came up with. Take the ideas that work and leave others behind.
Songsterr generates a lot of lines with AI and it can do… goofy… things. Like it regularly can’t decide what strings to play a note on. For example it might go between placing B and C on frets E7 and E8, and then suddenly put them on A2 and A3.
I often edit Songster tabs to make them more sensicle.
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What my teacher used to do was print out a lyric sheet and then write the chords under the lyrics, and I would have to work it from there. He said if I went to practice with a band this is what I would see.
We would then play, and I would follow Bootsy’s advice and hit the root on 1, and that’s how I would start, and I would build and add as the song progressed as I learned it, but if I got lost I would wait and hit the root on 1.
Tabs are fine, but fingering can be individual so they are a suggestion. Play the note where it is best for you. Don’t look at a tab and think I have to fret in a specific fret, think “I have to play a G (or whatever)”, and where you fret that G has some latitude.
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A lot of us like to use Moises. You can separate the tracks of the song you want to learn and then you can turn down the other instruments and hear the bass clearly. It also gives you the chords so you have your root. It makes learning by ear much easier.
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Learning the song by ear has become a lost art in the era of instant gratification.
If you are relying on notations or tabs you’ll always want to use it. Learn the song yourself is very rewarding and great foundation for your future playing.
If you have not learn this song give it a try.
U2 with or without you. I made my daughter learn this song by herself. It took her a weekend to come running back to me and said what? What? Is that it? 
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Use tabs if you like it and don’t hear/don’t have a problem with inaccuracies.
When tabs go wrong, it’s almost always in ways that you can get away with.
But, absolutely, the better, healthier way to learn songs (even if you learn them very wrong) is by ear.
It’s definitely impossible if you are way into very complex music and bass lines and you’re trying to get the bass from listening to the recording.
But if you aim for simpler songs and go to YouTube (or whatever tool is easiest for you) to find isolated bass tracks, it can be much more gratifying, and your ear will get better.
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What @Wombat-metal said. 
As a start with that, I run the song through Transcribe! to get help working out the root notes (as @JoshFossgreen suggested somewhere else) and progress from there.
Edit: Found the link to Josh’s video - Transcribe! How I Learn Songs Fast and Accurately by Ear