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Since some think that the GPS hardware (that can't be fixed by software settings) in the Captivate is crap, do you think that Samsung should use hardware from a different GPS provider in their next version of the phone? Does Broadcom have any GPS hardware in other phones that work well? Other than buying a Garmin phone, are there any other phones out there that use "true" GPS, as in one that you would find in a "real" handheld GPS device? I see/hear a lot of people returning their phones strictly because of the GPS not working well.
I'm just wondering if there will ever be a GPS fix for my Captivate, if the hardware is at fault. If it is a poor GPS chip in the phone, there's not much we can do about it, unless the GPS manufacturer updates their driver and they produce some type of software fix.
I updated my Captivate with the OTA update that claims to "fix" GPS performance. It has improved from never getting a fix to providing one relatively quickly. However it loses the fix moving, it loses the fix for NO REASON when stationary (sitting on a surface with a clear view of the sky), goes nearly a minute without updating at times and isn't accurate. People that are using it and saying it works great have never used a real GPS before. The Captivate is useful for location based services at best and hopefully with more improvements navigation.
I compared it side by side with a 9 year old Garmin eTrex and the ancient eTrex blew the Samsung out of the water. Initial fix on the Samsung was faster (thanks to AGPS) but while the Garmin hovered between 6-8ft CEP and the Galaxy S was about 32ft CEP. This makes the Garmin about 30x more accurate in my book.
This was both outside and INSIDE in my home. To the naysayers that say GPS shouldn't be working indoors please take a walk. It depends on the construction of your home. The fact that a 9 year old GPS receiver that was never known for its sensitivity beats the pants off off the Galaxy S really speaks to how much of a terrible joke the phone's GPS is.
If I could I would return the phone. This OTA update was AT&T and Samsung's fix for the GPS and I believe they're going to say it's "done". Because they'll claim to have fixed it already I hold out no hope that this issue will be further addressed and am upset I have the phone. GPS is a basic feature for such a well-spec'ed phone - we shouldn't be thankful when features work - we should demand that they do.
I'd say probably that's all Samsung can do for its crapy implementation of BroadCOM 4751 chip. The GPS chip may be the latest and greatest (newer than the one used in iPhone4, BCM4750) but we are the beta testers for BroadCom/Samsung as the chip is very new (released in April 2010) and never field tested in any devices.
I have no doubt that we will see great GPS performance from this chip later on from other phones or GPS devices. Just not from any of the current Samsung Galaxy S phones. There is only so much they can do to compensate in software for the bad hardware implementation. Ultimately they have to change the board design and/or chip designs to address the real issue. I just can't see Samsung willing to recall millions of existing SGS phones back and replace the motherboard on each one of them.
The update was certainly discouraging. The phone really has no ability to track you correctly on GPS when moving and it loses its lock frequently. Wasn't there a leaked vibrant rom that fixes the tracking part of GPS? Having something like that come to the Captivate is really the only hope we have left at this point.
I'm not a GPS expert, but since basically every phone that comes out these days has a working GPS, I really can't understand how Samsung managed to screw this up. I'm sure that GPS is quite complicated, but aren't the methods and alrogithms for calculating position from the data pretty well established at this point? I don't know why its this difficult for them to get this right. They souldn't have to reinvent the wheel with this; just implement an existing algorith. I wish I knew what is so challenging for them, it seems way to easy for this much time to go by without addressing this properly.
This needs to go in Q&A or General.
TheSopranos16 said:
They souldn't have to reinvent the wheel with this; just implement an existing algorith.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is not the algorithm, it is the chip. For what ever reason, Samsung decided to use the latest and greatest, but untested, GPS chip that was officially anounced only the spring of 2010. Basically, we are beta testers for BroadCom for its BCM4751 version 1.0 sillicon. Of course, adding a slighly bigger or better GPS atenna inside the phone probably will help too but Samsung has to cut corners somewhere (they always do)
I'm also disappointed with the GPS in this phone. I have a standalone Garmin that I bought this summer, but its nice to know that I can use the phone if I don't have my Garmin with me...but I can't rely on this thing.
I had the Nexus One before this and its GPS was great. I used it on a 300+ mile trip between St. Louis and Chicago and it never lost its fix.
I like the Captivate better for its screen, true multitouch and better graphics processor (although I don't really notice a difference there).
I like the Nexus One better for more ROMs (Cyanogen), stock Android, WORKING GPS, first for updates.
IF (and that's a big IF), they can get GPS to be reliable while driving, then I will prefer this phone.
It is very frustrating. I purchased 2 Captivates, one for my wife and one for myself. Both phones are factory still. The wifes gps works excellently, fix within 5 seconds (indoors too).....whereas my gps couldn't find me if I was the only crumb on the plate.
I returned the first phone. The second phone handed to me worked just as my wifes did. Excellent gps fixes. This phone unfortunately had the turn off problem. If the phone was in my pocket for any period off time it would turn off.
I returned this one for a third phone. The third phone stays on but still has the gps problem.
Is it the device, the hardware or the software, you be the judge!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
drez22 said:
It is very frustrating. I purchased 2 Captivates, one for my wife and one for myself. Both phones are factory still. The wifes gps works excellently, fix within 5 seconds (indoors too).....whereas my gps couldn't find me if I was the only crumb on the plate.
I returned the first phone. The second phone handed to me worked just as my wifes did. Excellent gps fixes. This phone unfortunately had the turn off problem. If the phone was in my pocket for any period off time it would turn off.
I returned this one for a third phone. The third phone stays on but still has the gps problem.
Is it the device, the hardware or the software, you be the judge!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its still hard to say. Signs are starting to point towards hardware, but it could also just be poor drivers, which will eventually get fixed hopefully.
I've said this in another post.. but these phones are being produced on an assembly line - errors get made - the phones are all using the same hardware.
this is my #5 captivate - the last 2 phones were battery issues, but att replaced the entire phone.. I tested gps before I left the store with the new phone -
everyone needs to understand that there will ALWAYS be problems - It's technology. If your GPS didn't work within the first 29 days, take it back!
There is a reason Samsung is creating a "fix" for the GPS - they aren't RECALLING the phone because of a hardware problem. I will eat my words if the phone gets recalled because of a bad "GPS chip." But for now, if you are within 30 days and you aren't happy, please go return it, test the new phone in the store before you leave!
There is still SOME home for this chipset. Nokia is developing a device with the same chipset. I made a thread in i9000 - Android Development forum with the linux driver source code written by Nokia. We'll have to see. If Nokia releases a device with this chip and the GPS works, we know it's Samsung's fault.
Has anyone ever tried to get a comment from Broadcom about the GPS issues? Since its their chip and there are over a million Galaxy S phones out there, I would think it would be appropriate for them to weigh in on this...
born_fisherman said:
I've said this in another post.. but these phones are being produced on an assembly line - errors get made - the phones are all using the same hardware.
this is my #5 captivate - the last 2 phones were battery issues, but att replaced the entire phone.. I tested gps before I left the store with the new phone -
everyone needs to understand that there will ALWAYS be problems - It's technology. If your GPS didn't work within the first 29 days, take it back!
There is a reason Samsung is creating a "fix" for the GPS - they aren't RECALLING the phone because of a hardware problem. I will eat my words if the phone gets recalled because of a bad "GPS chip." But for now, if you are within 30 days and you aren't happy, please go return it, test the new phone in the store before you leave!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to realize that the percentage of the bad SGS with GPS issues are too high to be caused by any reasonable manufacturaing defects.
You can't test GPS properly in a store without going through a driving test. Period. The problem with the GPS is not about whether or not you get a lock, it is whether or not the phone can keep an accurate lock on you while driving. Unfortunately, most ppl didn't realize this at all.
Samsung will not recall the phone even if it turns of the GPS chip or motherboard is the problem. It is not some kind of safety issue.
TheSopranos16 said:
Has anyone ever tried to get a comment from Broadcom about the GPS issues? Since its their chip and there are over a million Galaxy S phones out there, I would think it would be appropriate for them to weigh in on this...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Broadcom made some small fixes in the driver. That's why with JH7, you can see your phone can lock on to more than 8 satellites now. Old drivers will only allow max lock of 8 satellites and minimal SNR value of 20. New driver allow lock on to more than 8 satellites and minimal SNR value of 10 or so. But unfortunately, it didn't improve moving accuracy.
So when you go to the AT&T store take the phone outside and the phone you are going to walk away with doesn't see any satellites, you should just take it and run?
I'm saying this with experience. I've had 2 phones that didn't pickup any satellites even after waiting 5 minutes.
My current phone immediately saw satellites and got a lock within 45 seconds.
Regardless if you are moving or not, the phone should be able to see satellites - I understand the problem is when you are mobile and keeping the lock, this is not my argument.
my argument is that people are still complaining that they can't get a lock even after the OTA update - Test your phone before taking it home. That's all. Not a big deal if you ask me! If your new LCD TV with HD tuner isn't picking up HD channels, you would bring it back right??
My gps was pretty terrible until I flashed Cognition the first version. Now my gps works amazingly and never has the blue circle of ambiguity. Very happy with the gps performance now. So much that I haven't flashed the cognition that is updated with JH7. Worried it could brea kit haha. might as well try though.
Yeah, the new one (Cognition v2.1) with OTA JH7 in it is pretty bad based on my reading. JH7 is an old firmware. Original Cognition has some files from T-Mo Vibrant JI2 firmware which is newer than JH7.
Our only hope is that the final version of Froyo has some improvement baked into.
Help please! GPS has stopped working suddenly on my SGS. I had an overclocked (1120 Mhz) SGS running Darky's ROM 9.3. Everything was okay till two days back.
I guess it maybe because of too much apps on my phone or the fact that my kid had dropped it once or twice. There were no problems initially. Then phone had rebooting issues.
I've since formatted it yesterday night and it seems to be okay in terms of rebooting and stuff. I then noticed today that GPS was unable to pinpoint me on GMaps. All I saw in Google Maps was "Your current location is temporarily unavailable"
I thought it maybe bad 3G signal and I tried it outside --> No detection. Back at home I tried with Wi-fi having ticked all 3 options in Settings --> My Location. Still no use.
I then decided to run *#*#1472365#*#* but nothing comes up --> NOTHING! I tried with the tool "SGS Info" (GPS Test/ Settings) and ended up with the same result. Other options in "SGS Info" seem to work fine.
Now I have a feeling my GPS may be malfunctioning or worse broken for good. Can someone clarify this? It would also help if you have suggestions in terms of any other tools, so that I can check the GPS unit of my phone!
Could be hardware more likely the rom or software malfunction .
best would be flash stock rom via Odin and test if its hardware you stand a chance of warranty repair with stock rom .
jje
^ Good advice. Stock ROM is always good to try, first, you may want to try what's working for me at the moment.
Download an app called GPS test. Try it in a few different areas of your house to get the best result, but see how many satellites you can pick up. Generally, I find I get a decent signal if I can lock 5 or more satellites. Gray means they are found, but not locked. They will be coloured when locked on. anything above 20 is generally a strong enough signal to provide a decent GPS signal.
I've found that keeping my GPS close to windows or "in view of the sky" actually helps my signal quite a bit, even if its just to lock the satellite, then I can bring it away from the window.
You may also want to read this thread, should neither of those help you.
The GPS on the Galaxy needs some TLC in order to get working properly, but with a little playing around you can find what works for you.
I went back to XXJPX - that's something that came in Dec 2010. Stock ROM from Europe I guess. But still the same issue. Thanks for the suggestion though!
I have tried putting a bit of pressure on the top portion of the unit. But no GPS detected Looks like I got to try to get it repaired. Now that I am on stock ROM I guess it should be fine in terms of warranty. Thanks for the links and your suggestions.
Well, know what; I tried again in a more open area (importantly in a not so remote area) and it works - at least in GMaps! I am still on XXJPX, so I am unable to say whether something went bad in Darky's ROM, but I am happy nonetheless!
fd99601 said:
Well, know what; I tried again in a more open area (importantly in a not so remote area) and it works - at least in GMaps! I am still on XXJPX, so I am unable to say whether something went bad in Darky's ROM, but I am happy nonetheless!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Theres the clue the killer rom Darkys.
jje
Just a question to all the Kaiser users out there.
Do you use the Kaiser with only Android installed as your main phone?
Those that do, have you had any "bad" experiences while using the phone that are NOT caused by network discrepancies (i.e.: dropped calls, bad signal, etc.)?
I ask because I do use mine as my main form of communication on a daily basis, and I had my first dropped call today due to a hard lock. This is after almost a year of use, on the same phone, in different parts of the country with only a couple of days of non-use for screen replacement (scratched/damaged touchscreen).
I know we're all hanging on to old technology for different reasons, wether it be cost, availability, or that certain "wow" factor that comes from completely changing something that was never meant to be changed. I have become fond of my Kaisers for obvious reasons, but if I cannot trust it when I need it I may need to move on.
Thoughts?
I use it as the main phone . I dont have any problems except the camera and the WiFi . Hope to get it rectified soon though :/
TheMadxtremist said:
I use it as the main phone . I dont have any problems except the camera and the WiFi . Hope to get it rectified soon though :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man, you still didn't manage to get WiFi to work ?
Dude my kernel !!
and because of exams i cant get that repaired !!
IDK if your kernel is the issue or not because the radio rom also has a lot to do with some aspects of the hardware controls (phone, wifi, audio, camera, etc.).
Other than checking your wifi.ko file with root explorer or some other text viewer, the only option is to change your rom. I have had a 99% success rate with my Kaiser using only Scoots kernel with 25mb of cache, the 8/29/11 rom from sourceforge and LauncherPro plus (from my personal stash). I have the kernel setting the clock to 500MHz on start up and I usually end up underclocking to 480 for a week or so to check stability against the previous weeks settings.
My camera works, my wifi works, bluetooth works, tethering/hot spot works, but video doesn't (not like I'll EVER use this thing for videos)...
PoXFreak said:
Just a question to all the Kaiser users out there.
Do you use the Kaiser with only Android installed as your main phone?
Those that do, have you had any "bad" experiences while using the phone that are NOT caused by network discrepancies (i.e.: dropped calls, bad signal, etc.)?
I ask because I do use mine as my main form of communication on a daily basis, and I had my first dropped call today due to a hard lock. This is after almost a year of use, on the same phone, in different parts of the country with only a couple of days of non-use for screen replacement (scratched/damaged touchscreen).
I know we're all hanging on to old technology for different reasons, wether it be cost, availability, or that certain "wow" factor that comes from completely changing something that was never meant to be changed. I have become fond of my Kaisers for obvious reasons, but if I cannot trust it when I need it I may need to move on.
Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi!
I use it as my main phone. After the imap push deactivation i hadn't got any hard lock.
But i use gmail sync, and sometimes i got a screen of death. But it's very very rare (maybe one in a month). I think if i didn't use anything thats related to 3G network, this lock up wouldn't appear.
This is my work phone so it must be stable. I'm satisfied with it.
I always have raved on how great the GPS is on my S4. It will lock onto satellites with 10' accuracy in the house. It was always spot on and never gave me any issues. That was until the 4.3 update. (I am not positive this was the reason - but it is around that time).
I am a runner so I use my phone 3-4 days a week to track my run 3-10 miles each time out. Before it was always perfect. Now it will lock on and track for a various amount of time.. from a few minutes to 15 minutes - but it will eventually just stop working. If I turn on the phone to look, the GPS icon at the top is not there, and the app does not know it lost gps signal. I can touch the screen and then the gps icon reappears, blinks, reconnects and all is good. I turn off the screen and go about my run and it will work for some period of time and then off again.
It "seems" like to me some app is using the gps and then not playing friendly and turning it off for the other apps. I don't know if that is what is happening but it seems that way.
I get the same results no matter if I use Google Maps, Waze, Runkeeper, or GPS Test... so it is not application issue persay.
I restored to factory and installed only what I need to run (Runkeeper and Google Play music) and it worked without a hitch for the entire 6 mile run. Great! Fixed! So I re-installed my apps and now it is doing the same thing again. So that seems to indicate another app not playing nice like I mentioned above. So I uninstalled any apps that I thought might be an issue and it is still there. So I fear it might be one of the ATT bloatware apps that I cannot uninstall.
Before I undertake the very tedious task of restoring to factory, running 6 miles, installing 1 app, running 6 miles, repeat --- until I find the culprit - I was hoping someone might no a quicker solution?
Thanks!
Obeg said:
I always have raved on how great the GPS is on my S4. It will lock onto satellites with 10' accuracy in the house. It was always spot on and never gave me any issues. That was until the 4.3 update. (I am not positive this was the reason - but it is around that time).
I am a runner so I use my phone 3-4 days a week to track my run 3-10 miles each time out. Before it was always perfect. Now it will lock on and track for a various amount of time.. from a few minutes to 15 minutes - but it will eventually just stop working. If I turn on the phone to look, the GPS icon at the top is not there, and the app does not know it lost gps signal. I can touch the screen and then the gps icon reappears, blinks, reconnects and all is good. I turn off the screen and go about my run and it will work for some period of time and then off again.
It "seems" like to me some app is using the gps and then not playing friendly and turning it off for the other apps. I don't know if that is what is happening but it seems that way.
I get the same results no matter if I use Google Maps, Waze, Runkeeper, or GPS Test... so it is not application issue persay.
I restored to factory and installed only what I need to run (Runkeeper and Google Play music) and it worked without a hitch for the entire 6 mile run. Great! Fixed! So I re-installed my apps and now it is doing the same thing again. So that seems to indicate another app not playing nice like I mentioned above. So I uninstalled any apps that I thought might be an issue and it is still there. So I fear it might be one of the ATT bloatware apps that I cannot uninstall.
Before I undertake the very tedious task of restoring to factory, running 6 miles, installing 1 app, running 6 miles, repeat --- until I find the culprit - I was hoping someone might no a quicker solution?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure it's not staying connected but not displaying the icon? Ie, if the app hasn't realised the connection has dropped, maybe that's because the connection hasn't dropped, just the icon has? In tech terms, to solve a problem you must first find it by isolating the cause, which would be the tedious task you're referring to.
Even then, it is possible it's a hardware or firmware issue, so a factory reset still might not fix it. Have you tried an app like this? It ill set your NTP Server without searching for it so that it connects quicker, maybe (I'm not sure) it will be able to keep it connected to that server.
Do you have CWM? You could flash a different ROM.
I can confirm this problem. It is intermittent. GPS loses the location fix. I had a similar problem with certain Motorola Attic ROMs that had something to do with a conflict with the "Use Wireless Networks" setting. I'm those ROMs, I could turn that setting off, and GPS would work fine. That workaround doesn't work for this ROM. I only mention it to help rule some things out. I thought that it worked fine right after I updated, but I may not have used the GPS much our maybe I just didn't notice. Yesterday, it was barely usable. I remember that epinter, in the Atrix 4g forums, had a tool that reset some GPS settings. I'm see if I can find it and test it. I will report back.
Update: Today, GPS works perfectly fine. Seems to be intermittent.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk
Still having the issue. Reset my phone to factory again this time taking the extra step to format the SD card to just in case. By the way - I am running stock AT&T 4.3. This time when I reset I did not connect to the WiFi so it would not automatically install / update any apps.
I then added only 2 apps - Runkeeper and Play Music and went for a run. The GPS tracked perfectly for a 5 mile run.
I then installed GPS test and let it run for an hour or so. It never lost connection.
So I updated GMAIL. Repeat GPS Test.
Updated Hangouts. Repeat GPS Test.
And so on.. finally after about the 10th app it failed. The last app I had installed was Facebook.
So uninstalled. Failed again. Uninstalled the previous app to that which I think was My Fitness Pal.
It seemed better - it would go hours before failing... and then only seemed to fail when a phone call came in. So thought I could live with that.
So went to the gym and to test it I used Google Maps to navigate. Terrible! Would not work for more than a mile. I finally gave up.
When I say it is not working - I mean the GPS says it is on. The GPS Test app says the GPS is on. But the icon at top goes away and Google Maps says "GPS Signal Lost." In my Run Keeper app - same thing - icon goes away and no more mileage is recorded. If I turn on the phone, open Runkeeper - it then restarts the GPS and all is good for another few feet or maybe a mile and then it does it again.
I tried turning off the Use Wifi for GPS option and that has not helped. Thanks for the suggestion though - you gave me hope.
I have have been a software developer for 20 years and this just smells like buggy code somewhere and not a hardware issue. Either something to do with the new OS update from ATT (but why is no one else complaining) or some combination of apps I use. Runkeeper. My Pebble. Something. But it is driving me nuts. The GPS really is the main app I use on this phone... so it is making for a really expensive mistake at this point and I hate to admit that since I love Samsung and Android.
I should have updated my status again. The problem is intermittent, but it happens often. Like you, I am fairly certain that the ML2 update brought bugs with it. My GPS always worked perfectly before that. Now, even when it does work, it doesn't work well. The fix is jumpy and slow to update. My guess is that others also have the problem, and they don't use their GPS often enough to notice or care. I bet that Samsung is aware of it, but so many people had problems installing the last update that they will not be so quick to provide an update that doesn't affect many people. I guess a better way to put it is that Samsung probably doesn't want to take a chance that a small update might break more than it fixes.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk
I also have same GPS issue since 4.3 , same issues note 3 is having actually if I plug my active in while GPS is on it will stop working and when switching data network types it will lose GPS signal
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk
Convinced it is the 4.3 ATT Active update now after repeated and very controlled resetting and testing.
Frustrating and makes my phone fairly useless to me for my main purposes. Today during a 7 mile run - it lost connection at least a half a dozen times. I have to run with the phone in my hand and restart the gps constantly.
Some people said they had success using Odin to flash the MF1 modem bin file. The thread discusses it here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2691264
However, this did not fix my issues with GPS unfortunately, but thought maybe I'd post it in case it helps someone else.
So it appears that it is, as suggested, the radio that causes this issue.
A "workaround" for using the GPS is to put the phone into airplane mode (turning off the Radio and WiFi) fixes the GPS 100% in my testing.
However this is not a real fix for real use of the GPS to navigate since you have no access to data.
It appears these are the circumstances that cause my GPS to drop:
- Cell radio changes towers (which happens a lot in my remote area)
- WiFi changes antennas
- Phone is plugged in or unplugged
- A phone call is received.
So yeah - as long as your don't use your phone as a telephone - you are grand!
The new HTC One is looking mighty nice to me right now. First non Samsung component (phone, laptop, TV, etc) that I have considered in years...
Obeg said:
So it appears that it is, as suggested, the radio that causes this issue.
A "workaround" for using the GPS is to put the phone into airplane mode (turning off the Radio and WiFi) fixes the GPS 100% in my testing.
However this is not a real fix for real use of the GPS to navigate since you have no access to data.
It appears these are the circumstances that cause my GPS to drop:
- Cell radio changes towers (which happens a lot in my remote area)
- WiFi changes antennas
- Phone is plugged in or unplugged
- A phone call is received.
So yeah - as long as your don't use your phone as a telephone - you are grand!
The new HTC One is looking mighty nice to me right now. First non Samsung component (phone, laptop, TV, etc) that I have considered in years...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's weird that even in airplane mode my Active won't get a gps signal. Used a few apps to test as well: GPS Status, FasterGPS, GPS test, and all say no satellites in site.
I was getting GPS issues for quite some time, until I tightened the screws at the back of my case. It was supposed to be a fix for the S3 but it worked fine on my S4 as well.
Hope this helps
trenzterra said:
I was getting GPS issues for quite some time, until I tightened the screws at the back of my case. It was supposed to be a fix for the S3 but it worked fine on my S4 as well.
Hope this helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On your S4 Active? I'll try. Thanks!
TransformixS4 said:
On your S4 Active? I'll try. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine was a normal S4 but I guess it might be the same on the S4 Active as well
trenzterra said:
Mine was a normal S4 but I guess it might be the same on the S4 Active as well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tried tightening up the screws a bit, which they did, but still no GPS for me. Going to do a backup and another full wipe and restore.
AT&T fixed my phone
I too had the GPS signal lost issue after the 4.3 update on my S4 active on AT&T. I called AT&T yesterday and they advised me they were aware of the issue. Their instruction was to take my phone to Best Buy where they have a "Samsung Solutions / Experience" dept / kiosk. So I did. They flashed my phone to 4.4.2. I am happy to report that all GPS problems are resolved. I drove for over an hour using Google Maps this AM with no problem at all.
GPS is a big deal for me too. I drive in a lot of unfamiliar towns. I'm also a sportsman and spend a lot of time in unfamiliar woods. I rely on my phone to allow me to retrace my steps back if need be. I also use it to set waypoints and mark areas for possible future hunts. The woods look a lot different at night then during the day. So I rely on the phone to help navigate off the beaten trail and get to my tree stand. GPS failures are not an option. Pure and simple. I can get out of the woods with a compass - but I may not find my tree stand in the dark without my phone.
I don't know about rooting this ROM, etc as I don't have need to root my phones. But it did fix the GPS issue and the phone seems a little faster with battery battery life too. YMMV.
Thanks for your post! Did you l lose any data with the update to 4.4.2?
I have the same exact problem with my S4 active, definitely a software issue. For a while I used the airplane mode work-around which was great, until a recent update to Google Maps causes maps to crash when airplane mode is on, so now I'm back to having no navigation. I'm frustrated that AT&T has dragged their feet on getting an update out to the public. They must have zero QA to let a bug this obvious get into the public. I wonder when they'll push 4.4.2 out as a regular update?
AtrixInFL said:
Thanks for your post! Did you l lose any data with the update to 4.4.2?
I have the same exact problem with my S4 active, definitely a software issue. For a while I used the airplane mode work-around which was great, until a recent update to Google Maps causes maps to crash when airplane mode is on, so now I'm back to having no navigation. I'm frustrated that AT&T has dragged their feet on getting an update out to the public. They must have zero QA to let a bug this obvious get into the public. I wonder when they'll push 4.4.2 out as a regular update?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I did not lose any data or apps. I have no complaints. Phone is working great. I'll never accept another update OTA though - I don't care if I have to root to avoid them.
I got the 4.4.2 over the air update, and it fixed my GPS problems. No new problems.
Hello. I just got the D 415 from t-mobile. GPS is working, but not quite as well as it should be. Seems to lock on location and then go away or general flakiness. I have not rooted the phone yet. Are there any tips for settings that could be applied to the phone without rooting?
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Spartan_Don said:
Hello. I just got the D 415 from t-mobile. GPS is working, but not quite as well as it should be. Seems to lock on location and then go away or general flakiness. I have not rooted the phone yet. Are there any tips for settings that could be applied to the phone without rooting?
Sent from my LG-D415 using XDA Free mobile app
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Click to collapse
None that I'm aware of.
Most tweaks are just changing settings in the appropriate file within the devices file system. But root access is needed in order to do so.
I should mention that the GPS is a little flaky on my D415 as well. Might be the norm, dunno...
shinobisoft said:
None that I'm aware of.
Most tweaks are just changing settings in the appropriate file within the devices file system. But root access is needed in order to do so.
I should mention that the GPS is a little flaky on my D415 as well. Might be the norm, dunno...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After owning this phone for three months, I'm worried it might be the antenna, since when I'm in the car, the signal will drop out, and pressing the back side of the phone against my sunroof always make it get its lock back. Might just be one of those issues where the antenna needs line-of-sight to the sky to work :/
In any case, Might be using my old windows phone as my primary nav. device unless there's a confirmed fix.
I have a D405. I used to have a samsung galaxy s3 mini -which was arguably a cheaper device- and had next to no issues recording my cycling rides on strava. On my D405, it won't even pick a GPS signal to begin with. Google maps GPS fix isn't as accurate as the sgs3 mini either, and sometimes well over a 100 meters or more discrepancy. There's another D405 owned by a family member and it's not faring much (if any) better... Thus, I don't think any kind of navigation can be possible with this device, which is a huge let down. Which is a shame because i was enjoying my experience very much with this device until i encountered the crappy GPS...
I have no problems with gps or strava , works very good. No difference with my Garmin.
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Gps
Here also no issues, gps is much faster than on previous phone samsung galaxy y.
Greets Peter
LG L90 d405n
I think LG used substandard GPS hardware. I have people reporting GPS works great but my own experience, even on stock, it seems flaky to me. GPS wont lock for me if I'm inside but it will outside.
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In some models cars the gps connection is difficult, also some buildings, this has to do with the cage of faraday that shields from a good connection.
So i took my mum's d405 to my cycle ride yesterday and strava picked up a signal and recorded my entire ride just fine. Also, on GPS status & toolbox it will pick up 10 or more satellites out in the open. But my own d405 won't pick up a single satellite. I'm now thinking my d405 has a defective GPS antenna/hardware since both phones are on the same settings. I'll be taking it back to the shop soon.
Yes
I am having tons of GPS issues with my LG D415. It has been driving me crazy (location: Seattle). What's happened:
-Midway through a route, Maps will say "Lost GPS connection"
-Other times it will simply stop tracking the route and lose the position (assuming I am where I was 5 minutes ago); later it will lock into the GPS and begin giving directions again.
I've tried updating Maps. T-Mobile replaced the phone, assuming it was that particular phone that was the problem. But with the new LG D415, I have the same problems. Using GPS Status and GPS Test apps, It seems the phone has a hard time fixing on satellites. Not sure what to do at this point. May try and see if TMobile will take their phone back and try another network.
I worked on the initial deployment of GPS technology to DoD aircraft over 20 years ago and can tell you that the signal is weaker than you can imagine. It is below the noise level so it's not surprising when you can't lock it inside a building. The fact that different phones have different results speaks to the different antennae of the phones. Again, not surprising. Yes, having a clear view of the full sky is the best way to get optimum accuracy/results. What I've seen is that there's an error of about six feet when I use Google maps and my GPS. It could be anything from less than the best hardware resolving the signal to a position to a different earth model inside the phone's GPS hardware to Google maps being less than accurate. I figure that if I can get a position to six feet; I can avoid falling off a cliff by finishing the job with my eyes.
Jim
anything new on your issue?
Spartan_Don said:
Hello. I just got the D 415 from t-mobile. GPS is working, but not quite as well as it should be. Seems to lock on location and then go away or general flakiness. I have not rooted the phone yet. Are there any tips for settings that could be applied to the phone without rooting?
Sent from my LG-D415 using XDA Free mobile app
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Click to collapse
I just purchased 2 phones before I saw this.. I got them through ebay, brand new but with only 14 return. I'm trying to get LG to provide support for mine, have you done anything with yours?
I use GPS constantly, this phone has a weak antenna for GPS.
My phone was picking GPS signals very weakly and could not get a fix to any satellites. I explained my problems in the previous page in detail. The distributor where i live resisted swapping the phone with a new one, and i accepted a main board swap instead, performed under guarantee. They put another (hopefully a new) main board in the phone. But the problem still persists, which is baffling to say the least. Isn't the GPS antenna of this device on the main board ? Even worse still, the device now seems to restart itself randomly. In the ~2 hours i've spent with it after it's been returned to me, it restarted itself 3 times...
If I didn't have one more of the exact same device (which has no problems whatsoever) i would've said i was doing something wrong...
The same night i posted the above message, the phone went full kaput (never go full kaput ). They swapped the mainboard again but the device went bust before even leaving the shop. So there was no option other than to offer a new device. I'm now waiting for my new phone to arrive. Don't buy a phone from a 3rd world country. If this was in the USA or the UK, i know my device would've been swapped for a new one the first time, no questions asked. Choose something you won't have qualms about tossing in the trash if you have to buy.
My girlfriend just bought this phone from T-Mobile and immediately began complaining about GPS quality issues. It looks like there is no fix for this. Should she attempt to return it for a different phone? She has next to no directional skills and relies heavily on GPS.
DanielWEWO said:
My girlfriend just bought this phone from T-Mobile and immediately began complaining about GPS quality issues. It looks like there is no fix for this. Should she attempt to return it for a different phone? She has next to no directional skills and relies heavily on GPS.
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Click to collapse
GPS is flaky at best, even on stock. We all have different results for several builtin devices. Namely the camera as well as GPS. Other than that it's a pretty good device.
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DanielWEWO said:
My girlfriend just bought this phone from T-Mobile and immediately began complaining about GPS quality issues. It looks like there is no fix for this. Should she attempt to return it for a different phone? She has next to no directional skills and relies heavily on GPS.
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Click to collapse
Sorry this is a month too late. Have her install GPS Status & Toolbox app and test the device in open terrain. It should easily pick 10+ signals within 20-30 seconds. If it's not, have her take it back for a swap.
GPS problem
I believe the GPS problem is a software issue, when I got the phone it used to get the signal very fast, 6 seconds or so, but now even with Gps fix app, it takes an eternity an then looses very easily, but gps fix even shows 20 or more sats but takes ages to lock the signal.
shinobisoft said:
None that I'm aware of.
Most tweaks are just changing settings in the appropriate file within the devices file system. But root access is needed in order to do so.
I should mention that the GPS is a little flaky on my D415 as well. Might be the norm, dunno...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I am rooted, what are some tweaks for the GPS? The GPS on my d415 is definitely flakey.