GPS files ripped from leaked JI2, flashable zip - Captivate General

This may be old news for many of you, but I just found this last night so I thought I would share. The flashable update .zip from the linked post worked wonders for my Captivates GPS.
Here is the original post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=782242
I flashed the file from clockworkmod recovery and my gps is markedly improved. It's not perfect but it is much better.
Just thought I would share this with those who didnt know about it.
I also attached the file that I used.
Just for references sake so that we are comparing apples to apples, I am using JH7, rooted with unhelpfuls 1.4.1 kernel.

my mistake. i reset the supl to auto config. I also realized that clockwork uses the internal SD as default so i was reinstalling my root update.zip i still had on the internal. I was trying to install without clockwork in the beginning so i just renamed it to update.zip and threw on my external 16gb but it was installing update.zip from my internal. It works great and i have a great lock within 6 seconds when I have never seen a lock on my device. I even rebooted a couple times to get my lock right away.
Thank you again!
Stock AT&T 2.1 rom with root, removed bloatware, clockwork, and sideload mod

Thank you for making this thread. I do not follow the vibrant section too often so I was unaware of this. Thanks for bringing this to my attention OP

Awesome! Glad I could help even a few people. I knew I couldnt be the only one who didnt know about this!

just an update. Overnight, the GPS magically stopped working again. I havent been able to get a lock at all and have a max of 4 sat. connected at once on a sunny clear day. Any ideas?

NFauteux said:
just an update. Overnight, the GPS magically stopped working again. I havent been able to get a lock at all and have a max of 4 sat. connected at once on a sunny clear day. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is wifi on? Wifi on its way hard too lock. Or try the Ms based trick a few pages back or the thread itself .. if wifi was on, exit maps or GPS test completely and turn GPS off, then turn GPS back on and try again......

smashpunks said:
Is wifi on? Wifi on its way hard too lock. Or try the Ms based trick a few pages back or the thread itself .. if wifi was on, exit maps or GPS test completely and turn GPS off, then turn GPS back on and try again......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
seriously? that's a freakin hassle and half

pmpntl said:
seriously? that's a freakin hassle and half
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? Turning off wifi from the get go is a hassle ? Just pull down turn it off, done. Just if you do it while its on gotta exit and do again. Semi annoying but not and a half.lol

Im starting to think that my phone is damaged I have never seen a lock, I have used every method and nothings works
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Wow this worked great on my phone. Locked on quickly and gave me the best accuracy I've seen. Gives me hope on an official update for our captivates.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

NFauteux said:
just an update. Overnight, the GPS magically stopped working again. I havent been able to get a lock at all and have a max of 4 sat. connected at once on a sunny clear day. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine stopped working as well as when I first flashed but still works much better.
I used the LbsTestMode hack to change to the supl.google.com settings and it helped it a little more. Like I said in the original post, this isnt perfect, but its still an improvement over stock and it gives me hope that this is correctable via software. I had all but convinced myself that the hardware and/or design was faulty.
-D

I dont remember what i did but the gps is now working again and it works great, even from inside sitting near a window. I know that it is a result from these files posted. I also set all my settings to :
Application Settings
session type: Tracking
Test Mode: S/W Test
Operation Mode: MS Based
Start Mode: Hot start
Gps Plus: On
Dynamic accuracy: on
accuracy : 100
skyhook: on
pc tool: off
SUPL/CP Settings
Server FQDN: auto config
SUPL Secure: On
AGPS Mode: SUPL
I hope these settings can help someone else. I dont know why my gps cut out before but after flashing the OP files and changing settings to these, I can get a lock indoors without WIFI on.
Also i never have wifi on unless I am in the house using youtube or downloading stuff.
Thank you again for the files! I was using my GPS all day with no issues. I owe you big time because my phone never saw a satellite lock before flashing these files.
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EDIT
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I was having issues again today and changed to supl.google.com with 7276 i believe and it works perfect now and has been all day. I lock within 5 seconds of opening google maps. I now dont care if they ever release a GPS fix because mine is perfect and I wouldnt change it.

Related

Optimal GPS setting AFTER update

I would like to start a thread to discuss what is the optimal GPS setting for the Captivate after installing the update. From what I can see, the update didn't change my LbsTestMode setting at all. My GPS is now working pretty well, still can't compare to the HTC Aria I had before but acceptable. I wonder if we can further tweak the GPS setting to make it work better.
the only change i seen was if you check auto config it takes you back to server port 7275 and changes the server to a new one.
yesterday there was a thread started about those who got the update successful, and the guy did a test of his gps with screen shot. A) how do you track your route, B) how do you take a screen shot?
it looked like he was using the maps app but i looked all over it for a way to track my route!? thanks..
chasesavestheday said:
yesterday there was a thread started about those who got the update successful, and the guy did a test of his gps with screen shot. A) how do you track your route, B) how do you take a screen shot?
it looked like he was using the maps app but i looked all over it for a way to track my route!? thanks..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats my tracks from the market
smokestack76 said:
Thats my tracks from the market
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can you screenshot with it?
saint168 said:
I would like to start a thread to discuss what is the optimal GPS setting for the Captivate after installing the update. From what I can see, the update didn't change my LbsTestMode setting at all. My GPS is now working pretty well, still can't compare to the HTC Aria I had before but acceptable. I wonder if we can further tweak the GPS setting to make it work better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems that most people who had messed with the GPS settings before the update are not getting optimal GPS performance after the update (This is true even if they change the GPS settings to stock original that shipped with the update).
So moral of the story is to change GPS settings to stock before you update....?
JvKintheUSA said:
So moral of the story is to change GPS settings to stock before you update....?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would guess so... unless there are few phones that Samsung shipped with a hardware defect.
Am taking my phone to AT&T today.
Can somebody with successful upgrade and with working GPS to publish their GPS current settings?
joedoe said:
Can somebody with successful upgrade and with working GPS to publish their GPS current settings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So far, only one user: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=8291779&postcount=419
My GPS doesn't work at all for some reason. I don't know if I have a totally defective phone or the update didn't have anything at all in it that fixed the GPS. I'm ready to just give up on this phone having a working GPS.
galaxyjeff said:
My GPS doesn't work at all for some reason.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you change your GPS settings prior to the update? If yes, welcome to the "group"
My GPS is definitely working better after the update. It used to take 30 second - 5 minutes to get a fix. So far I have been able to get a GPS fix within 15 seconds.
My settings are:
Tracking
S/W Test
MS Based
Cold Start
GPS Plus On
Dynamic Accuracy On
Accuracy 50
SkyHook On
PC Tool Off
supl.google.com
Port 7276
Secure Socket Off
AGPS Supl
As far as tracking my position with driving, it's not perfect but acceptable. At time the GPS would put me on the local street next to the freeway but not too often. It takes about 30 sec to 1 minute to locate me while indoor so I have no problem doing my FourSquares checkins.
jaimingandhi said:
It seems that most people who had messed with the GPS settings before the update are not getting optimal GPS performance after the update (This is true even if they change the GPS settings to stock original that shipped with the update).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, I never touched my GPS settings prior to the update, and I get crappy tracks. I had a Captivate which I changed the settings on, but then I ended up exchanging it for a new one a couple days before the update, and left it exactly as I found it, and GPS is spotty as hell.
First of all, I'd like to thank you for posting this thread, it's exactly what I have been looking for. The other threads keep getting hi-jacked by people who couldn't get the update. Hey you knew when you rooted you wouldn't be able to get OTA updates, get over it and wait till someone figures it out.
Back on topic, my GPS is definitely better. I did change my settings before the update in LbsTestMode to the recommended settings. My gps locked quicker, but it was constantly losing the lock. So i used the shortcut method to go into LbsTestMode and changed back to stock settings. It was like the phone was set to lock at exactly 30 seconds, 30 tests with an average of a little under 30 seconds.
The accuracy was a little worse, 50m compared to 15m. But it was also losing the lock quickly, so I changed the spirent setting to supl.google.com. Now i lock between 10 and 15 seconds and it stays locked. My settings:
s/w test
standalone
hot start
gps plus- on
dynamic acc. - on
accuracy- 50
skyhook- on
use pc tool- off
custom config
7276
secure socket- off
agps- supl
So maybe the answer in the end, sad to say, is to buy an aftermarket gps device with bluetooth integration and bypass the built-in gps altogether.
I've been messing with the gps all day and cannot get a lock at all. Not even for a second. Messed with my gps settings before the update.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Two months in and I've seen hundreds of threads about the GPS on the captivate, The GPS its broken, no good, damage. Lets get over it and move on. We [email protected]$k BTW new update its a lil better but still sucks. My nexus one located me with no problem spot on. Change your phone why u can. I wish I was under the 30 day return policy.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
The only settings I changed were the server before the update. I checked the settings after the update and I had Server as spl.google.com and Standalone in Operation Mode. I switched to autoconfig and those changed to some new server and I changed Operation Mode to MS Based as in jaimingandhi's link. Before I made those changes it took about 3-4 mins to lock on, now it takes about a minute, so not 15 seconds like others have said, but better. Will do more testing later. I count for two as I've got to Captivates at home. But it looks like different settings work for different people.
Edit: Tried again today, lock takes still 3-4 minutes and loses it constantly and there is no accuracy of location whatsoever.
I updated successfully and still had issues with GPS locks until I powered down my phone, removed the battery, sim card, and external sd card, replaced them, and then rebooted the phone. After that I was getting a GPS lock in 15 seconds or less and not constantly dropping signal as long as I had line of sight to the sky (a.k.a. through the windshield).

Help GPS Settings

I can stand the Gps issue anymore! Can anyone provide me with the best GPS setting Available? Im running the stock room with the JH7 update. Plz help before i shoot myself in the foot.
Sent From My Samsung Captivate.
Get a new phone
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
There are no one set of quick settings that will work in all instances. You have to search and try each one untill you find the one that works the best for your situation.
For what it's worth, since flashing Cognition Roms v2.3b4 has been the best I have seen so far.
Best GPS setting for this phone is to look at a street sign and cross reference a map
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
i really think u need to get a replacement. some guy has already said that the settings are just messing up with AGPS, which is no where real GPS and thus will never help to get a fix with 10m accuracy
I know I was the first to reply and said to get a new phone but I was kidding. I do have a fix that has worked for me on just about every ROM I have used. Feel free to try it out and I am not responsible if you become the proud new owner of a $200 paper weight.
1. Download these GPS files @ http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=831725
2. Flash these to your phone using Rom Manager
3. Access LBS test mode. If on Eclair dial *#*#1472365#*#*. If on Froyo download SGS tools from the market and run the secret code for LBS Test Mode.
4. Once in LBS Test Mode go into SUPL/CP and change it to supl.google.com and the server port to 7276 and change the SUPL Secure Socket to OFF if it already isn't.
5. Click the back button and click delete GPS Data.
6. Go outside and click get position test and wait. Once it locks for the first time let it continue to scan for about 2 mins. After the initial 2 mins click the back button and click the get position test button again. This time you should get a lock within 15-25 seconds with at least 8-11 satellites providing your view of the sky is clear and unobstructed.
If you have any problems with this let me know and I will help you out.
Also, this is not just a fix for getting a lock. It will track you with great accuracy. Download MyTracks from the market if you need real proof.
well... i have no issues with stationary lock ( < 20secs)... but phone realizes i am moving very slowly and laggy... what to do? JH7
Yuna said:
well... i have no issues with stationary lock ( < 20secs)... but phone realizes i am moving very slowly and laggy... what to do? JH7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read my above post and try it on if you need a fix. It works or I would not put my name on it per say. Everything you need is included. All you need to do is put in about 10 mins of work.

[TIP] Have you tried MS Based aGPS to help gps lock?

The following seemed to have helped some people on my post on AF so figured I'd post it here as well.
If you're still having GPS issues in an area where you have data coverage, and you've tried changing the gps.conf and possibly updating your libraries as noted in other threads, have you tried changing your GPS settings to MS Based instead of the default of "Standalone"?
From wikipedia:
Mobile Station Based (MSB) - In MSB mode A-GPS operation, the A-GPS device receives ephemeris, reference location, reference time and other optional assistance data from the A-GPS server. With the help of the above data, the A-GPS device receives signals from the visible satellites and calculates the position.
You can do that by doing the following, as noted in my previous post:
My GPS was really taking a long time to lock. Usually 10 minutes or so using GPS Status before it would lock. I tried both just using gps only and then also with wireless network and it still took a long time. So I updated the lbstestmode.apk to use MS Based and the gps.conf file that was mentioned earlier and now I get a lock in GPS Status in about 8 seconds from a cold boot using only the GPS with no wireless network.
If anyone wants to try, I've attached a flashable zip. I took the zip posted by merkuralex earlier in the other gps thread (thanks merkuralex) and added the lbstestmode.apk posted in this SDX thread:
http://forum.sdx-developers.com/index.php?topic=13593.0
The following flashable zips are attached:
lbstestmode_mt_gps_conf.zip - contains the gps.conf file from the other thread + the lbstestmode.apk file.
lbstestmode.zip - contains only the lbstestmode.apk
I'll repost the instructions here (thanks to cornaljoe on sdx for the actual instructions):
Pre-1. Flash the one of the attached zips in CWM first to install the lbstestmode.apk (or just copy the lbstestmode.apk into /system/app/ if you'd rather) and then reboot your phone.
Follow these directions:
1. After boot create a shortcut to Activities -> LbsTestMode -> .LbsTestMode
You may have to install LauncherPro if your launcher doesn't support the activities option under shortcuts. Once installed all launchers will have this option.
My note: Just an FYI, LauncherPro can be downloaded from the Market for free if you don't already have it. Or any other app that allows you to create shortcuts (such as AnyCut I think can also do that)
2. Start LbsTestMode and goto the application settings and set it to MS Based and press back until you exit app.
3. Reboot phone and then use GPS Status under a clear sky until you get a lock.
The main thing to pay attention to is the numbers labeled Error(m) and Fix/Sat in the lower corners of the compass.
Error(m) is the accuracy of your location in meters which shows after you get a lock. Fix/Sat is the number of satellites locked and in view prospectively.
In GPS Status, you can do the following to force aGPS data to download:
3A. Click Menu --> Tools --> Manage A-GPS state --> Reset . This will clear all previous A-GPS data.
3B. Click Menu --> Tools --> Manage A-GPS state --> Download. This will download fresh A-GPS data.
3C. Let GPS Status lock. The first time will take longer as your gps/phone syncs the data.
After you get a lock, you can try powering down your phone and then restarting and see if your lock is faster from a cold start.
This may or may not help you. All I can say is that changing to MS Based helped my gps lock time--I usually have data access where I am.
I have done this, and it works perfect!
Cloudy and raining here today. I will definitely try it. Quick question though, you saying use either zip or use one before the other? I'm not really clear on this.
Also do You have to keep the short cut?
You need to apply the zip first (in CWM) or else you won't have the option to create the shortcut
Wich one, there's 2 zips? I've got it all installed and working. Even though its cloudy, I got instant lock on. I'll test it again tommarow when I go out of town. So far so good though.
Edit: indoors is about 10 sec lock on. Great find OP. Has anyone posted this over at hofo? Another question, will clearing data cache from apps hurt it any?
Sent from my MOTWX435KT using XDA App
Everything went great today. I left my phone off all night so it could get a solid cold start this morning. Its cloudy and rainy again today too. I hit the road this morning and fired the GPS up and it locked in about 15 seconds. Great job on this fix. Also since then it has been instant lock times when i try it.
Sent from my MOTWX435KT using XDA App
tcross8361 said:
Everything went great today. I left my phone off all night so it could get a solid cold start this morning. Its cloudy and rainy again today too. I hit the road this morning and fired the GPS up and it locked in about 15 seconds. Great job on this fix. Also since then it has been instant lock times when i try it.
Sent from my MOTWX435KT using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which ZIP did you use? I used the lbstestmode_mt_gps_conf.zip
idbl_fanatic said:
Which ZIP did you use? I used the lbstestmode_mt_gps_conf.zip
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I installed them both...lol But that's the last one I used.
I did have a bit of a hiccup on my way home. After lunch I turned my phone off. When I got back on the road 3 hours later I turned it back on and started up Navigation. It took a minute or so on the first lock. I exited out of Navigation and waited 20 minutes or so. I started it up again and it took about 30 seconds. Every time after that it was instant lock. Still very impressed. It was very cloudy and rainy today though. I was getting 1.1 mb down and 500 kb up today also. I would post this over at HoFo for all the nay sayers, but I wouldn't be able to answer any technical questions if anyone had them.
This place is starting to remind me of Seatle, rain every day...lol. I guess Fall is here to stay.
You are wasting your time.
I have traced this code extensively. For those who are unaware the GPS works on RPCs, which are internally processed by the kernel and passed to the chipset.
The chipset on this phone does not know how to handle AGPS requests - XTRA requests to inject the time (NTP time) and the orbital data are flatly refused.
You can set whatever you want, the data will never get to the chip. The Froyo base load intentionally discards such attempts and never sends them. If you load Gingerbread (and build it from source, as I have) and FORCE it to be sent it will return an error every time.
The problem appears to be in the silicon and/or the radio driver itself, which there is no source for. If someone's going to fix this, it's going to be at the radio interface level - not in user space.
My CM7 port is capable of cramming the data in there but it's turned off right now as when I enable it there's a fairly decent chance that the consequence of trying to do so is that the radio locks up and forces a watchdog reset (that is, a reboot on the phone)

Another GPS fix for Tmobile USA G2x's

The inconsistent GPS on our phones had me looking for a solution. We had two choices, run stock-based roms to get lightning fast GPS, or run AOSP based roms and get spotty, work-when-I-feel-like-it GPS.
I wasn't content with running stock-based roms, so I tried all the following:
1) Fasterfix/bloater/gpsstatus - No go
2) Editing gps.conf to reflect my area in addition to utilizing supl.google.com and tmobile's supl server - No go
3) Adding in the SuplRootCert file to /system/etc and calling for it in gps.conf - No go
I was looking through one thread where the user Docmjldds mentioned that one difference between most modded roms and stock roms was the build.prop. Apparently the modified build.prop file doesn't "name" the correct phone, so the tmobile servers don't register them as one of their own. This translation may not be correct, but I figure that in layman's terms it'll fit.
Anyways, he suggested to do this:
1) Use root explorer or a similar program to access your /system
2) Modify build.prop within the file explorer, or copy it to somewhere where it'll be easier to modify
3)Paste the following lines into your build.prop under the Additional section at the end:
ro.com.google.clientidbase=android-lge
ro.com.google.clientidbase.ms=android-hms-tmobile-us
ro.com.google.clientidbase.gmm=android-lge
ro.com.google.clientidbase.yt=android-lge
ro.com.google.clientidbase.am=android-tmobile-us
ro.ril.def.agps.feature=1
ro.ril.gprsclass=10
Make sure you remove any duplicates from the old build.prop contents.
4) Save it, and make sure the permissions still match (looks like a mirrored 7 in the permissions boxes in root explorer)
5) Head on over to this thread and follow his directions
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1264427
I had a pretty heavily modified gps.conf, but for simplicity's sake I went with what the OP recommended (it's more streamlined than most custom gps.conf's you'll find)
Complete all that, ensure that permissions are correct, then restart your phone.
I tested both of these using maps and gps status. Maps would typically take well over a minute to lock with my phone on the window sill. Gps status would normally show 3/4 satellites after 1 min or so. After the two mods I posted up above, I get 5/5 or so locks from my window sill within 20 seconds. Mind you I have some roof overhanging my window sill so there's no direct line of sight going up.
Huge thanks to nrvnqsrxk and Docmjldds!
Edit - removed the last addition "ro.telephony.default_network=0" Apparently it was hosing the GPS for some. Thanks for all who chimed in.
I'm going to try this now, but do watch this line you suggested we add:
ro.telephony.default_network=0
Right now line is commented out (with the same value, 0) in the most current CM7 build.prop with the comment: "# This appears to be causing "Unknown" network type"
I'm going to try it without that line first. I can't imagine it has anything to do with GPS anyway (just tells the phone whether to prefer GSM or WCDMA network).
GPS seems to be working better after applying this fix, but it is still not 100%. Seem to have to enable Wi-Fi to get a good 20m lock, which is near instant now where before it would never occur. Without Wi-Fi on the GPS still never quite locks up any closer than 500-1100m.
I followed link you posted and replaced files in system/etc....damn so far instant locks every time, i have tried it several times during the day and all of them lock up within 5-10 seconds. Thanks for the post.
Working fine tnks
Need flashble zip for g2x.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
sukhochir said:
Need flashble zip for g2x.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Somebody will have to help you out with that one, I have no idea how to do it.
sukhochir said:
Working fine tnks
Need flashble zip for g2x.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You dont need flashable nothing, just copy the dloaded files and paste them in the right place, make sure the permissions for the new files are the same as the old.
Update: just confirmed it, this morning jogging turned on gps instant lock!
Wow, this "fix" annihilated my GPS. For 5 minutes I waited and it never once picked up a satellite. Not even putting backups back could fix it; I had to re-flash the rom.
Sent from my Nexus Prime using XDA Ultimate App
LordButtersI said:
Wow, this "fix" annihilated my GPS. For 5 minutes I waited and it never once picked up a satellite. Not even putting backups back could fix it; I had to re-flash the rom.
Sent from my Nexus Prime using XDA Ultimate App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At first I followed all the steps, from updating the build.prop and pushing the files in the other thread, and it too did completely break my GPS.
Then, on the latest Nightly, I tried updating the build.prop again, leaving "ro.telephony.default_network=0" commented out, and didn't push the additional files in the other thread, and now I'm getting locks within 30 seconds. I'm going to give this some time to see if it continues to work well.
I only pushed the two files i dloaded from the link in op, its a gps.conf and a suplrootcert, fixed permissions to match original ones and i was amazed at the results, did nothing to build.prop. This is for tmo only i belive.
fcisco13 said:
I only pushed the two files i dloaded from the link in op, its a gps.conf and a suplrootcert, fixed permissions to match original ones and i was amazed at the results, did nothing to build.prop. This is for tmo only i belive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Holy crap, that worked perfectly! Ten second locks, and I've tried EVERYTHING before this!
Disregard this
I know man, still can't believe how good my gps is now, have been testing it often and it never fails locks within seconds!
It seemed to fix at first, but if I drive around it still can't lock even though it sees 10 satellites. It locks fast if I there is a wifi hotspot nearby. Try going somewhere where there is no wifi see if it still locks fast.
serglex said:
It seemed to fix at first, but if I drive around it still can't lock even though it sees 10 satellites. It locks fast if I there is a wifi hotspot nearby. Try going somewhere where there is no wifi see if it still locks fast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only use wifi in my house, once i leave wifi is off and i still get instant locks. I have tried when i leave work and jogging in the morning.
Fix is working perfectly for me. Running CM7 nightly build 173 on T-Mobile. GPS lock in under five seconds with a clear sky in a field.
Even if wifi is off it still for some reason locks faster if wifi hot spot is nearby. Also it takes forever to lock if I am driving on a freeway. I am in utah so it may be different here
Yeah i would assume if you on a freeway it will take a bit longer, it is still the best my gps has been on cm7 fits kang, im going to try miui and the fix to see if it helps, miui had bad gps for me.
I updated build.prop and attempted to flash the (correct) zip in the linked thread but that failed for some reasons that made my eyes glaze over. Decided to try out the results anyway: getting locks in < 5 seconds whereas before I got a Location Unavailable every time I tried with Wifi off. As soon as I get my 10 posts you'll be gettin some thanks from me! Cheers.
Great find, thanks a lot!

GPS doesn't lock..

Good evening guys-
After updating from ICS to JellyBean, my gps cannot find or lock onto any satellites.
If I enable wifi, its accurate to 20meters.. If not, it won't lock even after 15 minutes.
Any help is greatly appreciated-
mine has been similar in PA2.00 and CM10.
It actually will lock after a long time. Sometimes up to 30 minutes.
Interested in any answers... I noticed in the gps.conf file agps appears to be off. I don't know if that is the issue.
Unfortunately searching for a fix just reveals too much information with a lot of supposed fixes, but no consensus so far as i can tell.
brian Marshall said:
mine has been similar in PA2.00 and CM10.
It actually will lock after a long time. Sometimes up to 30 minutes.
Interested in any answers... I noticed in the gps.conf file agps appears to be off. I don't know if that is the issue.
Unfortunately searching for a fix just reveals too much information with a lot of supposed fixes, but no consensus so far as i can tell.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually agps was turned off to improve lock times...some people noticed no difference with it off, others noticed huge improvements with half the lock time
You can change it to true, then wipe cache and dalvic cache in recovery and see if it makes a difference
Sent from my SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2
mg2195 said:
Actually agps was turned off to improve lock times...some people noticed no difference with it off, others noticed huge improvements with half the lock time
You can change it to true, then wipe cache and dalvic cache in recovery and see if it makes a difference
Sent from my SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2
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is that a 'go ahead and try it, it wont work, but go ahead and try it anyway' ?
It seems like a lot of people are having problems with GPS in jellybean, and some aren't. There's so many 'this worked for me' solutions, but I'm starting to think it's coincidence.
Someone mentioned installing and running copilot once. Did that. it didn't work. Without root permissions what could it really change to improve anything?
I ran Faster Fix. It edited my gps.conf file (which it doesn't tell you that it does) It didn't help. it might have made it slightly worse.
I found a few other gps.conf files for jellybean ROMs, but haven't tried those yet.
This is how we learn and share our info, by trying. Just make a back up of anything that you want to change or replace.
GPS works perfect on my PA Jelly Beaned Infuse. First I ran GPS Test, it took a good twenty minutes if not more for it's first lock.
But now, I get a lock in a few seconds.
GPS Test, is free in the market.
Planning my escape!
GPS Test has kicked my GPS in the butt and got it working with almost every ROM I've flashed. Once you get over that first delay (downloading satellite data?) the first time you run it, it locks on fairly well afterward. At least, that's been my experience
Truckerglenn said:
This is how we learn and share our info, by trying. Just make a back up of anything that you want to change or replace.
GPS works perfect on my PA Jelly Beaned Infuse. First I ran GPS Test, it took a good twenty minutes if not more for it's first lock.
But now, I get a lock in a few seconds.
GPS Test, is free in the market.
Planning my escape!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've already done that. It helped the next time I ran maps. When i left work yesterday I had maps give me turn by turn directions home. It took a couple minutes to lock, but after that it was working.
Then this morning I tried again. It wouldn't lock at all on the way in to work this morning. (only a 15 minute drive)
I also tried editing my GPS conf file this morning. I tried using ES file explorer, root explorer, and flashing. All three resulted in an empty file. ES says it was successful. Root explorer gives an error message 'there was not enough free disk space to complete the paste operation'
Flashing says it was successful, but again, it ends with an empty file. 0 bytes.
The file i used for the flash attempt is here. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1817558
With the gps.conf file I'm going to go leave the phone out in my car with gps on and see if it locks.
I understand that developers do a lot of work on this. I'm not trying to be a jerk. I just see a lot of people having the same issue and no agreement on a solution or even what the actual problem is.
brian Marshall said:
...
I understand that developers do a lot of work on this. I'm not trying to be a jerk. I just see a lot of people having the same issue and no agreement on a solution or even what the actual problem is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe this is because there is no solution. If you want to try to help solve the problem, "adb shell" in and start tinkering.
You'll quickly find that GPS is anything but an easy thing to fix. A good SUPL provider for you may be completely different for others.
I can't find the Answer that fixed it for me,
but what I did:
Plug phone in, disable wifi, leave phone near window, and let
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...251bGwsMSwyLDYsImNvbS5hbmRyb2lkLmdwc3Rlc3QiXQ..
that app run... :45 minutes later it locked (GPS icon on Status Bar stopped blinking and showed locked, solid) with 7 satellites.
waited, rebooted the phone, and it locked in about 3 minutes.
-hope this helps.
other than that, love this ROM!
choffman said:
I believe this is because there is no solution. If you want to try to help solve the problem, "adb shell" in and start tinkering.
You'll quickly find that GPS is anything but an easy thing to fix. A good SUPL provider for you may be completely different for others.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that is an actual answer.
I suppose part of the problem for us noobs sorting through 300 page threads is all the filler with people saying "great rom omgz so awesome" even when they are posting on the first page and the ROM hasn't even been up long enough to do much more than flash it and swipe through the home screen.
All through out the CM10 and PA threads there are people saying GPS is working flawlessly... and then other people saying they have some fix. I guess people aren't supposed to post frivolous stuff in the dev threads, but they do.
Anyway, I ended up going back to GB as GPS is something I really need.
Hey guy's, i've also been having allot of issues with GPS just not being what it used to be, and it's pretty obvioius that this is an issue across the board for all JellyBean roms. I think those who mention that "GPS works flawlessly" don't quite understand the issue with AGPS (Assisted GPS), or they are not quite testing it thoroughly enough to see the problem.
To get an understanding of what AGPS is, and how it helps improve initial lock times, have a read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GPS
Also, to gain a better understanding of what I mean by "cold start" as you read below, and how it differs from a warm or hot start please read the following: http://m.gsmarena.com/glossary.php3?term=gps
That being said, i have been doing allot of digging in the hopes that someone out there has a solution to the problem with AGPS on the CM10 based ROMs on our phone.
To clarify the problem: AGPS does not seem to work and Initial lock times from a cold start can take several minutes, (this is not normal if AGPS is doing it's job). To clarify further, no one is saying that GPS does not work, it does in fact work, it just takes it's sweet time to lock and it seems to rely on pure GPS to download ephemeris data from the actual GPS birds for satelite lock acquisition, rather then downloading AGPS data over the network to speed things up. After the initial lock though, GPS functions as it should. After this point, if you do not use the phone again for several day's, it seems that upon first firing it up again you will experience the long delay in first lock. This is especially true if you keep GPS services turned off ussually to conserve battery. Those who report GPS is fine are probably keeping GPS services on all the time, and your GPS is probably working in the background at times and obviously will start up allot faster then it would from a cold start. (This is where i believe all the conflicting info comes from!)
The only info i have been able to find that did actually have an impact on my lock times was the thread below.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1881655
I just started testing this out yesterday and i have seen some positive results. But i would caution those of you out there, and say that this is probably not a "fix" per se, but it did help cut down lock times in my case and at the very least it is a very inoformative thread that everyone should read.
What i have realisticly been able to achieve from a cold start is about 75 seconds to lock at the fastest. i.e. GPS services were off, i turned them all on, and now i started up GPS Status or GPS Test to get a lock. After that, as long as I haven't rebooted my phone it takes only a few seconds to lock.
How i tested, i started GPS Status, I then went to Tools --> MANAGE A-GPS STATE -> RESET (This is important to ensure you are clearing previously cached data. We want to make sure your previous cached info does not skew the effects of your changes.
I then replaced the gps.conf with the one contained in that thread, and i also made the change that was suggested in the Notes section that suggested modifying or adding a line in your build.prop file to "ro.ril.def.agps.mode = 1". This change set's your gps to use AGPS in Mobile Station Based (MSB) mode. For reference, setting it to "2" would set your AGPS to function to Mobile Station Assisted (MSA) mode. (Mode 1 - gave me more accurate initial locks at the expense of a bit longer lock times, Mode 2 gave me slightly quicker initial lock times, but was rather flaky and my position drifted quite a bit until GPS was running for quite some time.)
If your curious what is the difference between the two modes, see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GPS#Modes_of_operation
After making the changes to gps.conf and build.prop i rebooted my phone. When phone reboots, i then go back into GPS Status app, select settings, Tools --> MANAGE A-GPS STATE -> RESET, and then back to settings, Tools --> MANAGE A-GPS STATE -> DOWNLOAD (This should force the phone to attempt an AGPS download, if it hasn't already done so upon launching the app).
I have seen this same gps.conf being used in the newer RemICS-JB build. However based on the lack of feedback in that thread, i don't know if this is the golden fix we have all been looking for.
Even though this may not fix all your issues, i hope at the very least it helps clear up what the actual problem is, and how AGPS is supposed to work.
** Important Notes: **
- The version of the config that i was using was the Download the Google Specific No-SSL v3.1
- If you use the SSL version, then it will also require that you download the certifcate file. It's best to just stick with NO SSL as is explained in the thread.
- You should also note that i have cleaned out all the live wall papers, face unlock, and allot of other crap that i don't use to free up space in the /SYSTEM partition. I now have aproximately 21MB free in this partition. I think at least part of the problem with certain ROM's is that they have the /SYSTEM partition filled to the max with virtually no free space at all. I'm no expert on the subject, but i'm guessing that the AGPS data get's downloaded to this partition some where. Obviously if there is no space, then that would cause issues. Several others have reported shortened initial lock times after making room in the /SYSTEM partition.
- Another mistake people are making when testing AGPS and reporting false info, is having their WIFI on when testing GPS. To isolate the issue guy's you need have wifi off and you need to use a tool like GPS Status or GPS Test that shows that actual lock to satelites. You cannot properly test this and see the issue by using WIFI and turning on Google maps. Google maps will look at your reported wifi position and to you it looks like bamm.. i just got a lock in 2 seconds to withing 50 meters, wow these guy's are nut's, my GPS is awesome. Guess what.. your wifi and google maps is awesome.. not your GPS.. lol
- If anyone is familiar with running log's, it would be great if you could do a comparison of before and after. Showing the log of a completely fresh JB build, that shows that the AGPS data is not being downloaded, and then another log after all the changes above (including freeing up space in /SYSTEM) and hopefully it will show that AGPS data is now being downloaded and utilized. I myself am not familiar with logging data on the infuse, so i cannot and will not call this a fix until someone can actually show with real log's that AGPS data is now being utilized after these mods.
Thankfully, I'm one of the lucky ones who have always had a working GPS. It worked great when I was running AT&T stock Froyo, really good while I was on XDA GB roms, and fair > good after I went to PA JB. By far Scott's latest release of PA JB has been the best in this respect, but I can't help but tinker now that I've turned into a Droid zombie Strictly speaking the stock GPS configuration included on Scott's PA JB ROM worked charmingly, but I still had an issue whenever the phone went into deep sleep (say overnight without using it) the GPS lock the next morning took almost as much time coming from a sleep state as a cold boot. So, Like DaMeatMan I decided to give http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1881655 a go. I chose the flashable option, and like DMM also edited the prop file. I picked the Google "no SSL" version 3.1 instead of the AT&T specific version. I figured I would give that one a try.
I'll keep everyone posted, buy my first impression (could be placebo effect) is that this configuration file and modification actually does improve over the original PA JB configuration by a small margin. Reported accuracy is better (by 10ft on average). Satellites in view and actually locking are 1-2 better than before. My main hope is that I can actually fire up Navigation in the morning and get working directions without having to fire up GPS Test first and relock all the NA satellites. I travel a lot, both for business and outdoor sports (hunting and fishing), and I have come to rely pretty heavily on GPS. I got spoiled when I got my first GPS capable phone because that meant I could leave my handheld GPS at home most of the time and that was one less thing I had to carry.
wevsspot said:
Thankfully, I'm one of the lucky ones who have always had a working GPS. It worked great when I was running AT&T stock Froyo, really good while I was on XDA GB roms, and fair > good after I went to PA JB. By far Scott's latest release of PA JB has been the best in this respect, but I can't help but tinker now that I've turned into a Droid zombie Strictly speaking the stock GPS configuration included on Scott's PA JB ROM worked charmingly, but I still had an issue whenever the phone went into deep sleep (say overnight without using it) the GPS lock the next morning took almost as much time coming from a sleep state as a cold boot. So, Like DaMeatMan I decided to give http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1881655 a go. I chose the flashable option, and like DMM also edited the prop file. I picked the Google "no SSL" version 3.1 instead of the AT&T specific version. I figured I would give that one a try.
I'll keep everyone posted, buy my first impression (could be placebo effect) is that this configuration file and modification actually does improve over the original PA JB configuration by a small margin. Reported accuracy is better (by 10ft on average). Satellites in view and actually locking are 1-2 better than before. My main hope is that I can actually fire up Navigation in the morning and get working directions without having to fire up GPS Test first and relock all the NA satellites. I travel a lot, both for business and outdoor sports (hunting and fishing), and I have come to rely pretty heavily on GPS. I got spoiled when I got my first GPS capable phone because that meant I could leave my handheld GPS at home most of the time and that was one less thing I had to carry.
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I have been have many of the same problems as others in this thread but I tried the fix in the S3 thread quoted above and it seems to have helped for right now. The first time I ran GPS Test after rebooting it did take a while (5-8min), but after that I get a lock in few seconds. I used the Google "no SSL" package also. I will do some more testing tomorrow and see if its reliable.

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