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Any problems with the GPS on the captivate?

Hi Guys,
I've been hearing about lots of problems with the GPS not picking up low SNR satellites and the GPS being wildly inaccurate on the samsung vibrant and also the euro variants of the galaxy s.
Does the captivate have the same issue?

Its true. I bought it on sunday an notice that issue. Hope there will be a update(Bug fix) soon.

Compare to my G1, the Captivate take about the same time to lock and GPStest says the SNR is better. I'm happy with it.

MFister said:
Hi Guys,
I've been hearing about lots of problems with the GPS not picking up low SNR satellites and the GPS being wildly inaccurate on the samsung vibrant and also the euro variants of the galaxy s.
Does the captivate have the same issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Define Wildly inaccurate. On my Captivate it is dead on (within 9 feet)

I am having major problems with GPS. I am getting a lock but only within 50-75 feet. It isn't good at all. The GPS is slow to update and throws me everywhere.
I amthinking of returning the phone if Samsung doesn't make an announcement about s fix for this.

dial this from your phone:
*#*#1472365#*#*
Change startup from hot to cold.....worked for me. GPS locks much much faster

What are the settings on your phone Citznfish? My phone is off by anywhere from 100-500ft. Thanks!

Ok, I tried it again... In the house I'm about 500 ft off from where I really am and placed in a golf fairway. Outside I am FURTHER off: I'd estimate at least 5 blocks and placed in the middle of a different golf fairway. For comparision sake, my wife's iPhone 3Gs has her within 10-20' while inside the house. To me, this is unacceptable and a great cause for concern. What can I do???

Smalls2 said:
dial this from your phone:
*#*#1472365#*#*
Change startup from hot to cold.....worked for me. GPS locks much much faster
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having the same problem here. My iPhone 3GS GPS responded way quicker then this phone does. I have a Weather Channel widget up, and it doesn't find the location to display the weather for a good minute and a half after. Same goes for using Google Maps to find my location. Lot of times it says, "Your location is unavailable." I even tried switching the startup from hot to cold, and that didn't have much effect either.
When I was driving today, the GPS locator had a bad lag in it, I would be down two blocks before it would catch up, and I live in a 3G area, and not a giant city like NY or something.
I wonder if it's because it's so bloated with Samsung UI on it, or if it's just the a bug. Either way, if I'm still having issues with it, I'll see if AT&T will exchange it out for a different one. Otherwise back to the 3GS, which I really don't want to do since I'm loving Android right now.

What does hot start and cold start do?

skizzz said:
What does hot start and cold start do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hot Start - The GPS receiver remembers its last calculated position and which satellites were in view, the almanac used, and the UTC Time. It then performs a reset and attempts to acquire satellites and calculate a new position based upon the previous information.
Cold Start - The GPS receiver dumps all information and resets. It then attempts to locate satellites and then calculate a GPS lock. This takes the longest because there is no known information. The GPS receiver has to attempt to lock a satellite signal from all of the satellites, basically like polling, which takes a lot longer than knowing which satellites to look for.

Danm a cold start sounds like it would be slower. I tried it and I still can't get a lock within a reasonable range.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA Appb

I've been reading online that the Galaxy S got a firmware update that greatly improved/fixed the GPS problems we are experiencing. I can only assume that we will have to wait as well for this firmware to completely fix the gps issue.

Try the fix/workaround in the Vibrant forum.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=728611
I went from seeing 1 satellite and none locked to 7-10 seen and 5-7 locked.

tbae2 said:
I've been reading online that the Galaxy S got a firmware update that greatly improved/fixed the GPS problems we are experiencing. I can only assume that we will have to wait as well for this firmware to completely fix the gps issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did you read this? I've been looking for something like this, preferably from Samsung.

i havent had too many problems with GPS here
Google maps usually locks me in a few seconds
Third party applications can take much longer, however
The problem might be the way the third party apps utilize the GPS

lyu370 said:
Try the fix/workaround in the Vibrant forum.
I went from seeing 1 satellite and none locked to 7-10 seen and 5-7 locked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually that isn't a fix at all. It makes locking onto satellites much faster, but nothing to address the sensitivity issues, and there is definitely an issue. I 'found' 9 satellites, but could only lock onto two of them, for a few seconds at a time, then back to zero, out in the open.
Hopefully a software fix is on the way.
Source: /showthread.php?t=728611&page=5

This fix did help me so now i get a quick lock...as ling as i dint start moving around. It stays close enough to exact to use for driving around but not more accurate than that. The problem isn't really getting a lock so much as keeping it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

tdusen said:
Compare to my G1, the Captivate take about the same time to lock and GPStest says the SNR is better. I'm happy with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I change my mind. While what I said still stands, I've since found that the GPS and the Compass don't track very well. I tried find a geocache using the same GeOrg software I use on my G1. The location seemed to be stuck as I was walking. From my experience with the Tilt, I'd say the GPS is running in "Static Navigation"
The clock is ticking, GPS has to be fixed in 28 days, or the phone gets returned.

lyu370 said:
Try the fix/workaround in the Vibrant forum.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=728611
I went from seeing 1 satellite and none locked to 7-10 seen and 5-7 locked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was having problems w/ GPS on my phone as well. Would be way off in Google Maps, Navigator took forever to lock, and geo-tagging photos was also way off. I did something similar - dialed the code to get to the GPS settings. However, all I did was turn Skyhook to ON and switched configuration from manual to auto. I don't seem to have any problems between yesterday and today. It locks incredibly quick and is very very accurate.
Some of you should try this method and see if it helps with anything. Good luck.

Nexus S GPS Issues?

I was reading SlashGear's Nexus S Review and found something interesting.
Similarly frustrating can be GPS performance; we haven’t observed the dire positioning problems originally found on the Galaxy S, but at times the Nexus S proved simply incapable of getting a GPS lock: we drove for around 30 minutes of open, clear freeway and the handset continued to show “Searching for GPS.” The issue is intermittent, however, with the phone not liking it if you try to get a fix while moving.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.slashgear.com/nexus-s-review-14119387/
Now they probably have a preproduction unit, but what are the chances of GPS behaving similarly to the GPS in the Galaxy S/Captivate/Vibrant (all have the same standalone GPS chip as the Nexus S -- BCM 4751). Doesn't appear as severe, but somewhat problematic (from the review) nonetheless.
I'm interested to see how the GPS performs while the Nexus S is in user's hands

big suprise, the GPS dosn't get a fix while moving. this is a common issue on tons of phones.
Me and my girlfriend were driving around once and it took my phone almost 40 minutes to get a GPS lock, CM5 on a Nexus One.
Yet later that same day, standing still, it worked in under a minute.
Every phone can have GPS issues for a massive amount of reasons.
The Galaxy S issue was a software issue where it worked under 5% of the time, even if you were standing still ontop of a building.
Other ones sometimes randomly have the issue while moving, this is usually because the phone has issues connecting to the satelite. You gotta remember the GPS chips in these phones are not that great.

my mytouch4g gets a gps lock while driving, a bit longer then standing still but id say still under a few minutes

neok44 said:
big suprise, the GPS dosn't get a fix while moving. this is a common issue on tons of phones.
Me and my girlfriend were driving around once and it took my phone almost 40 minutes to get a GPS lock, CM5 on a Nexus One.
Yet later that same day, standing still, it worked in under a minute.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is also how my dedicated TomTom and Garmin GPS work. Stand still, lock in less than a minute. On the move, I usually give up after 10-15 minutes and stop for a minute.

Oh ok cool.

shrivelfig said:
This is also how my dedicated TomTom and Garmin GPS work. Stand still, lock in less than a minute. On the move, I usually give up after 10-15 minutes and stop for a minute.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is not correct TomTom devices do get a lock while moving and so does Nexus one and iphone 4. If this review is correct that means that Samsung has no fixed the GPS in Nexus S and that it may be suffering from the same problem as Galaxy S
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

darkoroje said:
This is not correct TomTom devices do get a lock while moving and so does Nexus one and iphone 4. If this review is correct that means that Samsung has no fixed the GPS in Nexus S and that it may be suffering from the same problem as Galaxy S
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
were not saying that they can't, it's that it CAN take longer. in some places you can be going 60MPH and get a lock within a minute, but in another place you can be walking at 5MPH and it'll take 20 minutes.
Sorry but our phones don't get priority on any gps satellite lol

darkoroje said:
This is not correct TomTom devices do get a lock while moving and so does Nexus one and iphone 4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, TomTom devices get a lock while moving. They get a lock much, much faster standing still, though.
For any GPS to work, it needs to download the complete almanac from at least 3 different satellites. The almanac is sent every 30 seconds, so the GPS must have an uninterrupted view of each satellite for at least 30 seconds, possibly up to 60 seconds.
A-GPS can get the almanac data faster, and TomTom has something called QuickGPSfix that pre-downloads almanac data a week in advance.
But what if you don't have A-GPS or QuickGPSfix, and the GPS hasn't been used in a week, so all the almanac data is outdated?
If you are moving so much around that the GPS antenna never sees any satellites uninterrupted for the necessary 30-60 seconds, then the GPS will never get a lock. Never.

neok44 said:
Sorry but our phones don't get priority on any gps satellite lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no priority because there is no "connection". GPS receivers (sic!) don't send anything.

umbrella42 said:
There is no priority because there is no "connection". GPS receivers (sic!) don't send anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol true, was just trying to emphases the point that our phones aren't going to connect as fast as pure GPS devices.

neok44 said:
lol true, was just trying to emphases the point that our phones aren't going to connect as fast as pure GPS devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, with A-GPS the phones have an advantage to get first lock quicker. But the pure GPS devices have better antennas, so should give more accurate navigation.

I wander if they ever restarted the navigation app, because you know, sometimes restarting the app works. From my experience anyways.

shrivelfig said:
Actually, with A-GPS the phones have an advantage to get first lock quicker. But the pure GPS devices have better antennas, so should give more accurate navigation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah thats when the A-GPS works. both mine and my dads phone's A-GPS has been just terrible. usually showing us 20+ miles away from where we actually are

neok44 said:
yeah thats when the A-GPS works. both mine and my dads phone's A-GPS has been just terrible. usually showing us 20+ miles away from where we actually are
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure that was actually GPS, and not location by cell tower or WiFi hotspot? A smartphone without GPS lock will try to find your location by other means.
All A-GPS does is to jumpstart the GPS, and when GPS has a lock, then the error should be way below 100 meters.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-GPS

my GPS is working fine right now,but it does act up randomly with no reason :/

GPS work flawless
Rounding out this section is a note that the Nexus S suffers from none of the GPS issues that plague the Galaxy S. I tested thoroughly - fixes are fast and accurate over GPS and work like they should using Google location services with WiFi trilateration.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
link

Excellent!
The BB Bold I'm using right now has quick and accurate GPS fixes, usually within 0.2-0.3 meters.

shrivelfig said:
Are you sure that was actually GPS, and not location by cell tower or WiFi hotspot? A smartphone without GPS lock will try to find your location by other means.
All A-GPS does is to jumpstart the GPS, and when GPS has a lock, then the error should be way below 100 meters.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-GPS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah once i get an actual GPS lock it's perfect, but until then it's been terrible. Cell tower only has been really bad as well.
This, for me, was on CM6, haven't tested it on CM6.1. ANd for my dad on a stock vibrant, so i'm just gonna chock it up to the crappy gps in it (happened before fix)

It's apparently plagued by the same GPS bug as other Galaxy S phones; it took forever to get a GPS lock
gizmodo.com/5713986/samsung-nexus-s-review-how-to-build-an-android-phone-for-2011
So if we want to be scientific I believe thats more sources claiming there is an issue than not

Anandtech says there is no GPS issues:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4059/nexus-s-and-android-23-review-gingerbread-for-the-holidays/6

Nexus S GPS problem?

I bought a T-Mobile nexus s to try out at best buy before committing to dish out 600$ on the att version and noticing that my GPS is having a difficult time locking a signal. Could this be because I'm on edge signal or it shouldn't matter?
I had that captivate before and I had the same issue, does this problem also exist on the nexus s also? It's a great device but I don't think its worth it to me if the GPS isn't reliable
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

If the GPS is having trouble finding your location, then it's not your network's fault. It's your GPS's. Anyway, 2.3.4 should fix that, so just manual install 2.3.4 and you should be good to go.

i do note though, i have problems around areas densely populated with buildings and trees.

Not trying to be an ass, but do you even know how gps works? There's nothing to do with edge cellphone towers or anything... The phone receives signals from satellites that orbit earth and by comparing the time delay it takes to receive the signal from at least 3 different satellites it locks your location.
Now, because the signal is very weak you need to have a clear view of the sky. Buildings, trees, clouds, anything aside a blue clear sky can prevent your phone from getting a gps signal.
So every phone first use radio strength from cellphone towers to triangulate your position faster, but again it has nothing to do with 3g or edge stuff since it just compare the strength of radio signals from differents cellphone towers that have know locations.
So try out getting a gps fix in a clear day, if even in perfect conditions you don't get squat than replace the phone.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

Well I was trying to use the gps on the express way with nothing but blue sits and I wasn't able to achieve a lock until half way to my destination. As much as I like the nexus s if I have to update my rom to get the gps to work then im thinking about returning it. Plus I bought the attic 4g and the gps works wonderfully!! And even though its not as open to run the latest roms I find it far smoother then the nexus s aside from the screen im really impressed with the phone.

gratti said:
Not trying to be an ass, but do you even know how gps works? ...anything aside a blue clear sky can prevent your phone from getting a gps signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not trying to be an ass, but do you even know how gps works? it also works if the sky is black.

doug0365 said:
Well I was trying to use the gps on the express way with nothing but blue sits and I wasn't able to achieve a lock until half way to my destination. As much as I like the nexus s if I have to update my rom to get the gps to work then im thinking about returning it. Plus I bought the attic 4g and the gps works wonderfully!! And even though its not as open to run the latest roms I find it far smoother then the nexus s aside from the screen im really impressed with the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the GPS lock time is decreased when you try to get it whilst moving. So if you were on express way, then that explains it. Just try to get a GPS lock in the park or standing still in an open environment. See if that helps.

MarkusPO said:
Not trying to be an ass, but do you even know how gps works? it also works if the sky is black.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You had to try hard to make that joke, eh?
There are 21 satellites up there sending signals at any giving moment, and yeah, that includes night time
Now back to topic, I don't think that you speed effect lock time since no matter how fast you are moving in your car it won't make a difference since area covered by a satellite is huge and the time stamp on those signals are in the order of 1x10^-6 seconds. And ofc a electro magnetic wave move practically at the speed of light.
There's always a visible delay when you are moving, like the position on the map is always a bit behind of where you really are, but that's because the phone only reflash your position each 2 to 4 seconds to save some battery.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

Oh, ok gratti, thanks for the input. It was just a thought. So then what would be his problem ?

i'm gonna recommend you download gps status, go to the menu / tools / manage gps, and download the gps data - which is the location of the satellites. and this will help you get lock faster.
you're welcome.

lambda30 said:
Oh, ok gratti, thanks for the input. It was just a thought. So then what would be his problem ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, hard to say. Most likely it's software related. He can try download "gps status" from market and use it's tool clear and redownload gps data. That seems to work most of the times... even tho I'm not sure it actually do something or if it's more like a placebo effect. If his phone can never get a location than better replace it and be done with it.
I had gps issues with all my phones at one point or another and most of the time it resolved by itself. One day it didn't worked the next worked like a charm.
As an electrical engineer it piss me off when my phone's gps simply can't locate me even with ideal conditions. It should work. Period. But like Lewis CK says "the ****tier cellphone is a god damn miracle" sooo...... yeah
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

Please, watch here : http://forum.frandroid.com/topic/52821-fix-gps-full-speed/
It's my topic (in french :/) but it's a fix full speed gps.
8/8 satelites in 15s !

[Q] GPS poll anyone?

Im seeing GPS complaints starting to crop up. My two day old Infuse does not get a GPS lock at all. Figured maybe we can start a poll and see what kind of leaning we get towards GPS performance on this device and show it to Samsung should it look like its a major problem.

i've had no issues at all with my GPS...

This is my third infuse. My first one had battery issues. Second woulndnt find a GPS in the vast sky. But this one is near perfection.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App

Infuse GPS - Location Difs?
I'm having a lot of trouble getting the Infuse to find the GPS. I keep getting messages that it's searching for the GPS. However, when it does find it, it works wonderfully. I live in Southern CA and having a difficult time here. It's not locating me correctly and is unable to provide navigation more than half the time. However, in Northern CA last week, it was working well. Do you think that the location makes a difference - or is it something with the individual phone?

Can't be I'm in sandy eggo. My second infuse didnt find any signal while my friend two feet away with an infuse had it working in two seconds.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App

dont try these side by side comparisons unless you clear nmea data on both devices before hand. it can be difficult for the gps chip to download the data from the satalites directly. another device may have downloded data that is still current at any time. side by side in only side by side if both devices have a cold start and are working in the same mode.
if you have trouble with initial locks go to the phone dialer and type *#*#3214789650#*#* it should take you to lbs test mode. it can also be launched with launcher pro activities. in lbs test mode delete gps data then go to supl/cp settings. write down the supl server and port. try a different supl server like supl.google.com with secure socket set to off and the port set to 7275. or you can set it to auto config. if none of that helps try setting the gps to msbased in application settings. msbased will use cell towers to download nmea data and give the gps chip a head start.
some phones (like my captivate) dont like ms based mode for tracking but my infuse works great with msbased and supl server set to auto config. if none of that helps trade in the phone, you have a defective unit.
there were situations where a factory reset helped on the captivate but mine suffered from a specific bug where the glgps daemon would crash with certain settings, wiping gps data did not solve the problem but a factory reset did. i dont think the infuse suffers from this bug but it couldnt hurt to try a factory reset.

Another GPS post. Fine, 7-8 gps locks no problem between 3 states. I guess if you can't beat them join them.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App

Second infuse, first had GPS issues

Even if it only works sometimes, it blows the doors off the Captivate.

MikeyMike01 said:
Even if it only works sometimes, it blows the doors off the Captivate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope these are isolated incidents. I can't believe that Samsung would release another device with GPS issues.

After reading the OP's thread title, I was really hoping for something more exciting, haha

keitht said:
I hope these are isolated incidents. I can't believe that Samsung would release another device with GPS issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that it's likely there's some user issues. As in, "it doesn't lock on in the 3rd basement of my concrete and lead bunker, therefore it sucks".

MikeyMike01 said:
I think that it's likely there's some user issues. As in, "it doesn't lock on in the 3rd basement of my concrete and lead bunker, therefore it sucks".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree. And most people don't understand that the first seek time can take longer. So until the device learns your area it'll take longer to lock the first time in a certain area. I travel all over the world, and everywhere I go that I haven't been before a phone takes a bit longer to lock.
I think people forget about the days of the original GPS units that would take 5-7 minutes to lock on first use in a locale. Now if it takes 30 seconds they scream bloody murder.
EDIT: Why is it whenever there are polls like this people who click a negative, like something doesn't work or doesn't always work they almost never elaborate in comments? If I found this thread and had GPS issues, I'd vote, then elaborate on the problem to see if someone can help. My guess is you're spot on with user error.

My GPS was mediocre from day one. Today, did a factory reset, used tibu to restore all apps except maps, fresh install of maps from market. Had a lock in seconds. Will see what happens in the next week or two.

im not gonna say there arent bad units. and the settings could certainly be better, but i see these threads in every forum about every phone, and my friends complain about there phones. all i can say is that it get blown out of proportion.
i had a captivate and despite limited accuracy and agps that would hinder tracking it never steered me wrong after a few slight tweaks. every time i tried to follow someone elses mods it got worse. da_g's fix fixed the glgps deamon crashing while i was driving, though it only crashed if i used agps settings in the first place, so just changing the supl server and using the most recent modem.bin and setting secgps.conf to standalone to match lbs test mode was all it took to get a great tracking gps even on google maps.and it locked pretty good under cover.
the infuse is way more accurate getting <10meter locks quickly and showing the accuracy to the .01th of a meter rather than using multiples of 5 meters like the sgs. i can typically get 6 meter locks on the infuse sometimes less, with consistant altitude and 11 sats visable. if it gives you trouble i would blame google maps, it is clearly not a hardware issue. changing the lbs settings or secgps.conf may make it better but it is better to have a gps program that doesnt use data so before you complain replace maps with an application that has it's maps stored internally.

10 days in... Not one GPS issue. I just returned home from a 4 day business trip to Washington DC. During that trip, I used the Infuse often and enjoyed comparing it to the Garmin that came with the vehicle. The Infuse won hands down. The one huge triumph was the Google Navigation's ability to properly recognize traffic delays and re-route. I used it and it actually worked like a charm! The Garmin traffic portion didn't work at all. It basically didn't see the traffic that the Google Nav picked right up.

Dani897 said:
im not gonna say there arent bad units. and the settings could certainly be better, but i see these threads in every forum about every phone, and my friends complain about there phones. all i can say is that it get blown out of proportion.
i had a captivate and despite limited accuracy and agps that would hinder tracking it never steered me wrong after a few slight tweaks. every time i tried to follow someone elses mods it got worse. da_g's fix fixed the glgps deamon crashing while i was driving, though it only crashed if i used agps settings in the first place, so just changing the supl server and using the most recent modem.bin and setting secgps.conf to standalone to match lbs test mode was all it took to get a great tracking gps even on google maps.and it locked pretty good under cover.
the infuse is way more accurate getting <10meter locks quickly and showing the accuracy to the .01th of a meter rather than using multiples of 5 meters like the sgs. i can typically get 6 meter locks on the infuse sometimes less, with consistant altitude and 11 sats visable. if it gives you trouble i would blame google maps, it is clearly not a hardware issue. changing the lbs settings or secgps.conf may make it better but it is better to have a gps program that doesnt use data so before you complain replace maps with an application that has it's maps stored internally.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you post a link of changing the settings to lock in north America only please.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App

Working fine here, just hoping I'm not jinxing myself by saying so

I was using Google navigation yesterday on the Infuse while in Kissimmee and it moved a long with the car 95% of the time, it was great! Took me exactly where I needed to go without an issue. The Captivate couldn't do this at all!!

My GPS still doesn't work, indoors, outdoors, in my car etc. Guess ill need a replacement. Thanks for the input people. Thats what these forums are for. To either uncover or put to rest potential issues, amongst many other uses.. Sorry if i "offended" any internet elitists.. Again i appreciate the useful input though.

[Q] To return or not to return (GPS problems)

As you may know by now I've been having problems with GPS on my Nexus S (i9023, bought factory unlocked from Amazon Germany, carrier code EUR, running rooted stock 2.3.4 AKA GRJ22). A quick search of the Nexus S forums will tell you that I'm not the only one who complains about GPS issues - I always assumed that the GPS was just sub-par on the model and I'd have to live with it.
Only now a few helpful souls over in the accessories section said it was probably defective and I should exchange it. (I've already exchanged it once for this and the new unit I got performed exactly the same.) So I'm just going to tell you the current situation and I'm hoping you'll tell me if that's within the normal tolerances for the model: [All tests done outside in suburbia]
"Network location" (geolocation, wifi / cell triangulation) is fine since 2.3.4 [just to get that out of the way]
Time to First Fix (TtFF) is decent now, usually 15-30 s cold and < 15 s hot. I've seen much better (yes, on a phone), but that doesn't bother me.
Accuracy however, is still bad. GPS Status shows 20-10 m mostly, but it fluctuates wildly going from 5 to 30 in a heartbeat even when it's just stationary. Other phones don't show this behavior. This translates into real-world problems in Maps (checked via sat view): The blue circle goes from large to enormous and back and while my true position is somewhere within the circle most of the time, the center dot is way off. Most other implementations manage to guess the location correctly even when the accuracy is bad (as tested side-by-side).
Stability is my biggest concern. The lock'll be fine for a few minutes, especially if the phone was just rebooted, but then the GPS will lose it every few (say 5-10) seconds and take time to reacquire it. Additionally, it doesn't pick up movement very well. I did a few tests watching my position in Maps while on the tram (in a window seat) and basically it would register an (approximately correct) location every now and then but then just hang there for a while. Usually it wouldn't register that the tram had left a stop before it had arrived at the next one or even just left it again. All other phones trace the tracks almost perfectly and in real time. There goes any kind of usable navigation and - in concert with the compass issues - all augmented reality apps.
Again, this isn't meant as a complaint or even a request for a fix (though if you have one I'll gladly take it) - I'd only like to gauge if my particular phone's have been bad or if "that just how it is".
Thanks for listening.

I have a nexus s4g from sprint and my gps was working great and then one day it just stopped. I can never pick up a signal and if out does it takes about five minutes our more. I have a gps radar app that shows me signal strengths and stuff and our barely picks up give signals and they are always really weak I have to refresh the agps status all the time to even get a lock and like I said it still takes about gives minutes or more if it even locks at all. I am looking for a fix my epic had the same problems and then with the latest update for it, it was amazing and fast accurate locks. And help with the nexus s4g would be great
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App

Get your msl, go to your dialer and dial *#*#gpsclrx#*#*, then put in msl and it will clear gps for you. It will reboot on its own

snandlal said:
Get your msl, go to your dialer and dial *#*#gpsclrx#*#*, then put in msl and it will clear gps for you.
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Click to collapse
What's an msl and what does "clear gps" mean? Also, way to derail a thread ...

I tried that before on my epic and it messed up my gps but I will give it a shot
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App

nice post. finally some oen who get it.that there are just failts in phones and thats just how it is.
thougfh.yes try returning it in the hope to get a proper nexus s xp

I did the clear gps code and it seemed to fix mine so thanks I would recommend people try it.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App

whats an msl? can't find that on google so what is it? would like to try out that code...really have problems with GPS on my nexus s

floomat said:
my GPS does just not work at all, it can't get a fix for hours even if there are 10 sats.
but sometimes I'm lucky (really rare) and it gets a fix but the longest time it hold it was 5minutes, then lose GPS fix can't get one again. it's even not while i'm moving, phone lays on the table and outside to test.
really disappointing for me, second thing is my compass does not work after reboot and is really inaccurate and unstable (jumping around)
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Your GPS sounds even worse than that on my NSs, the compass doesn't work for anyone. Out of curiosity - where did you get yours?

for msl: http://goo.gl/x3IKR
i'd like to ask if this code is good for Nexus gsm or cdma??

freakness51 said:
for msl: http://goo.gl/x3IKR
i'd like to ask if this code is good for Nexus gsm or cdma??
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According to the article you linked: "This program reads your Master Subsidy Lock (MSL) code for your CDMA Android phone."
In other news, I'd really appreciate some on-topic replys

fallenguru said:
Your GPS sounds even worse than that on my NSs, the compass doesn't work for anyone. Out of curiosity - where did you get yours?
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I even think my GPS is the worst of all the Nexus S.
Mine was bought from Ebay-UK and since it was on a repairing-tour to samsung germany i know its from CPW. Its a I9020 not I9023. BTW there was nothing repaired because they said "The discribed issue cannot be found" or something like that..
what do you mean with compass does not work for anyone?? does it really not work on any nexus? thats interesting, isn't it a little bit illegal to sell a device and say it has compass and than compass does not work at all?
freakness51 said:
for msl: http://goo.gl/x3IKR
i'd like to ask if this code is good for Nexus gsm or cdma??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mh sounds like this will not work for GSM-Nexus

the GPS on my NS behaves similar (but better) to what you describe in the first post but overall it seems to have better accuracy and stability.
Have you tried recording a track while in a car? The results should be better. At least with mine it's mostly accurate and rarely looses signal (unless you go under a bridge/tunnel)

abrcrmdl23 said:
I have a nexus s4g from sprint and my gps was working great and then one day it just stopped. I can never pick up a signal and if out does it takes about five minutes our more. I have a gps radar app that shows me signal strengths and stuff and our barely picks up give signals and they are always really weak I have to refresh the agps status all the time to even get a lock and like I said it still takes about gives minutes or more if it even locks at all. I am looking for a fix my epic had the same problems and then with the latest update for it, it was amazing and fast accurate locks. And help with the nexus s4g would be great
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
I have the same phone, NS4G from Sprint, and the same symptoms. The GPS worked fine for a week or so, and now I'm lucky to get it to work at all. Sometimes I can get a lock after 5+ minutes (while not moving), but other times it never occurs.
I just tried resetting the GPS as is described in the post above. It says "it will reboot automatically" - does that mean the phone or the radio?
In any case I just pulled my device battery after GPS reset - I'll post back with results in a few minutes. In the meantime can you explain what you did after following the reset with dialpad/MSL?

Also attempted return...had to send in for repair
I also got a bad GPS Nexus S i9020 from Amazon.com USA site. The GPS would not lock without a wifi signal. I eventually caved in trying to get it working with rom flashes, drove me nutz, but tried to return for cash and missed the date. Had to send in to Samsung then and get the repair. I have been somewhat satisfied, having gone from no GPS to finally getting it to lock, but its a poor excuse for a gps chipset. The SiRFSTAR from my old WinMo days kicks this gps in the arse.
I also get the bouncing sensitivity and wandering location circle, but accuracy hovers around 5-10m now, but the location is never fixed solid, its wobbly, even outside with clear skies above. The compass is another huge weak spot. Samsung dropped the ball on this device, I wish I could return mine and grab an HTC unit. Google should learn from this and drop them for the Nexus Prime. I think this is unacceptable as location services are whats hot now and this device fails as a flagship product.

I like the gps on my sgs2 more (it has a sirfstar IV) but, i have to say, it's not that much better.
What i gained in stability i lost in TTL. Sometimes you need one more than the other.
The SGS2 has taken me up to 10 minutes to get a lock and if conditions aren't good (cloudy sky, tall buildings) it can easily take 5 minutes. Sometimes you just want to get some signal to get you going.
I did a trip of more than 2000 miles with my Nexus S, using the GPS most of the time, and it worked ok enough for navigation for most of the time. The only times it failed me were, as i mentioned earlier, in old parts of cities with narrow streets.
You are right when you mention HTC, because usually their devices have better working GPS.
Overall i wouldn't say it's a bad device, you have to keep in mind this is not a dedicated GPS device, it's a smartphone that does a lot of things, some better than others, it's still a good developer phone, which i think was the main goal of the Nexus.
After upgrading to the SGS2, the main differences i noticed were not the GPS but the speed and extra memory! The Nexus S is not slow and has average memory (512mb but with only around 380 free) but if you have a lot of apps running (and it's easy for this to happen) it will get sluggish and begin to close the launcher when you start a heavier app. I found this had a lot more impact on usability than the GPS weakness.