Database Info

How confident are folks that we will get an actual FIX to the GPS issue?

Wanted to get a read from folks as to what their Gut feel is. Are you confident that Sammy will really fix this? Any by fix, I mean the following. This comes from experiences with 2 HTC smartphones (Aria, and the Pure):
1. GPS locks in under 5 seconds in clear sky conditions
2. Usable navigation; IOW, 30-50m accuracy, again under ideal conditions.
3. Usable navigation such that it stays locked while driving at highway speeds.
TIA.

I have not experienced any of the above issues (post update) except for the 5 second lock, and even my garmin can't do that. The cog2.2 had my gps jacked up so I reverted back and it works great again.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I did My Tracks for the first time today and was surprised by the results - highway for 15 miles, 15 miles off (obtained the lock at highway speeds as well) But it lost me in this one dead area about a mile from my house - I drop most calls through this one area as well too.. must be a whole in the ozone
However! (Always a however, right?) Tonight while walking the dog around the neighborhood, the phone could see up to 12 satellites.. yet it didn't get a lock for over 5 minutes. <--- This is the biggest problem I have with the GPS on this phone. INCONSISTENT AS HELL.
What causes the inconsistency?? So since I've owned the phone (release day) and it's been this long and inconsistent from the beginning, I am beginning to lose my confidence in a real fix (at least Samsung can make some kind of formal announcement you know?)

My GPS has always worked. Stock JF6. Cognition 2, 2.1, 2.2.1-5. Anything I throw at it, it just works. Freeway, walking, indoors, etc. I think it is partly a hardware issue.

Mine is fixed
I ordered my Captivate from AT&T's online store. GPS did not work, no matter what kind of settings I played with (lbstestmode, etc.). Got the update, no help. Took it back to the AT&T store and replaced it. Got the update and it works fantastically. If yours is still in the 30 day warranty period get it switched out.

Considering that many people had the gps issue fixed with the ota update or with the newly released froyo, yet many still have problems, I think there are some bad phones. I'll try to get mine replaced even though it's outside the 30 days.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I'm on my second Captivate. I have no faith that GPS will be reliable enough to use for navigation purposes or apps like My Tracks or even Layar. The OTA update definitely helped, but turns and changes in direction throw it off by quite a bit.
About all it is good for is telling your weather app what city you are in.

For me, the GPS didn't work from the first day I bought the phone. It got a lot better after the OTA update. However, it's getting mess up again in the last few days. I've heard other people from this forum said the GPS will go bad after a few weeks, I guess that's happening to me now. Moreover, the lag seems to be getting worse too.

I'm running Cognition 2.2 FroYo and for the first time ever I got 11/11 sattelites locked. My ride home it stayed more or less dead on the street i was on, occassionally wavered onto the sidewalk a bit or whatnot in My Tracks. That's using the stock settings (spirent-lcs.com and Standalone, with Use Wireless Networks off). If this does not degrade over time, I'd call it fixed for sure.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Keep it coming folks; seems like for the most part people's gut feel is about in line with mine. Im going to return my Captivate to Amazon and have them replace it to see if I can see any improvement. Not holding my breath though.

waiting4gingerbread said:
My GPS has always worked. Stock JF6. Cognition 2, 2.1, 2.2.1-5. Anything I throw at it, it just works. Freeway, walking, indoors, etc. I think it is partly a hardware issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine has always worked on both of captivates. It's in no way perfect but it gets the job done.

I just ordered a replacement Captivate from Amazon. I will then update the software to JH7 in the un-mollested state to see what kind of improvements I see, if any.
Crossed fingers............Bottom line, im not too confident.

So I got my replacement Captivate from Amazon. The second I got it, I stepped outside to see if I can get a GPS lock. I stood there for 5 minute, and no lock.
So I did the software update; which worked. It didnt work on my "molested" captivate.
I then went outside for a drive. Locked very quickly I think 5 seconds. Accuracy was very good; certainly on par with the two HTC smart phones Ive owned.
Maybe its dumb luck that I got a good unit; but it seems not overly molesting your captivate is a good idea until people really understand the consequences.
EDIT: The above drive I mentioned was in neighborhood roads, at relatively low speeds. On my way to work it was definitely NOT as accurate as my HTC Pure. It showed me about 1 exit behind; was about a half or three quarters of a mile.

I just want to say that I called Samsung support directly yesterday and the guy told me that "he hasn't heard anyone else who's applied the JH7 update that said their GPS wasn't fixed."
SO CALL SAMSUNG SUPPORT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. Don't stop calling. They need to know the update didn't fix it!

brandonb81 said:
I just want to say that I called Samsung support directly yesterday and the guy told me that "he hasn't heard anyone else who's applied the JH7 update that said their GPS wasn't fixed."
SO CALL SAMSUNG SUPPORT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. Don't stop calling. They need to know the update didn't fix it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They already know. I can guarantee you that some of their dev team consistently troll these forums.

My GPS works pretty well, especially considering its a phone, since JH7 OTA update.
The problem you're talking about with locks under 5 seconds, isnt always going to happen. It depends on how long its been since the last time gps was used, and how close you are currently to where you last used it.
If you use it and then turn it off, and in a few hours turn it back on, at roughly the last location it was used, it'll get a very quick lock. If you wait days, it wont. If you use it at location A last, then are long ways away from that location when turning it back on, it wont get a quick lock, it has to calculate where its at based on new data from the satellites. Thats the nature of the beast with GPS. My Garmin in my car is the exact same way. If it has to do a cold start it sometimes takes up to 2 mins to get a lock. But once its got it, if I go in a store for a few mins and come right back out, it picks up location almost immediately.
Since JH7 I'd say my GPS performance more than meets my expectations for a mobile phone GPS.

Started out very confident.
Less confident every day.

Tinyboss said:
Started out very confident.
Less confident every day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I'm with you here.
When it came to the HTC video driver fiasco on many of their phones it was sickening that HTC wouldn't do anything about it, or even tackle the issue on future releases. But at least slower video performance than the hardware was capable of wasn't really a deal breaker when it was still working good. So I could understand why a company wouldn't invest a ton to fix it for already purchased phones.
This however is outright broken. It's not a phone with good video performance that COULD perform better with an update. It's a phone with a broken technology that can hopefully be FIXED with an update.
I don't know how Samsung will avoid lawsuits etc etc by manufacturing a blatantly broken piece of technology unless they can rectify the situation... quickly. I think their window is slowly closing on this type of scenario.
As for myself, the GPS problem just isn't an issue since I don't use the GPS anyhow. So I'm not a consumer frothing at the mouth, but the idea that I spent money on a fancy, but broken, phone leaves a bitter taste in that unfrothy mouth of mine.

I'm very confident. I put the leaked froyo from designgears on one of my phones and the lock was fast, and gps accurate. Drove from Chicago to Kohler, WI the other day (~130 miles) and ran gps on the phone along with my dedicated gps unit to check accuracy. Had no issues at all.
I think once 2.2 is released, all of the gps issues will be resolved if the leaked version is any indication.

I'm guessing it's the sum of several issues causing problems.
1. Basic hardware configuration that results in worse signal-to-noise than other handsets.
2. Non-optimized settings that sporadically contribute to slow or poor locks
3. Some kind of software buffering or other issues that cause freeze-ups where the position doesn't update.
When my phone is working well I don't experience problems 2 and 3, and I can live with problem 1. When that's the case I get consistent tracking 95% of my trip. Sometime 2 and 3 seem to creep into the picture for no apparent reason. I hope and expect they will get those problems solved.

[Q] Rogers Samsung Captivate - Has it Died on You?

I'm looking to purchase a Galaxy S in Canada, and I'm just worried with the problems that I'm hearing here for the Bell Vibrant owners. For the Vibrant owners, I'm hearing problems such as the internal SD died and so a motherboard replacement is required to fix it, the phone refuses to boot, etc. Owners of the Rogers Captivate, please report back so you can help me, as well as helping other Rogers Captivate owners.
I hope this isn't a repost btw. I did a search and didn't find anything here..

Hey,
I purchased one the day it was released in Victoria, BC. Since then, I've rooted, nandroid backup, and installed the OCLF and a bunch of other cool ****.
I'm constantly turning it on and off. On and off. I have the screen brightness to the max (that's the way I like it), and at stock firmware, it's freaking awesome! Runs really smoothly. I don't really find much lag, but I can see room for plenty of improvement, which are going to be coming up shortly. My biggest complaint is the battery life (65% of mine goes to the brightness), but lasts just as long as any phone on standby. I went on eBay and got 3 batteries and a charger for $10. All hail, removable batteries.
I don't doubt more phones will come out within the next month or two, but if you want one today. I'd recommend it.
Let me know if I can influence your decision in anyway.

100% agree with TheShamsMan above ^
Got this phone from Vancouver @ Day 1 when Rogers launched it. Have done a ton of flashing on it, adding things, removing things, turning on and off the phone..haven't had a single problem with it so far. GPS has worked wonderfully for my needs so far(haven't tried car navigation yet though but i'm sure it would aswell work well). 100% recommend the phone. Even though some info for the Nexus S is out, I think the Captivate's looks beat it hands out. Let me know if you have any question~

Only had it a few days, but delighted with it so far.
I wasn't thrilled with the battery life, until I figured out the default wi-fi sleep policy was killing it.

The phone is pretty good, i've had it about 2 1/2 weeks right now.
I did encounter the shutdown issue though, but after using CaptivateKeepAlive for a little while (and then uninstalling it), it has seemed to gone away, though it did happen one more time recently, so I'm playing around with the battery and seeing what the trouble is (I have contacted futureshop though, and have a replacement phone waiting for me whenever they get more in stock).
Besides that issue, I'd say the battery is the only other thing. It seems to me, that even after applying all the good settings, I use quite a bit of battery. Its hard to tell because I play games on the phone often, but using batteryplotter and spareparts, it seems that most of this is caused by my wifi, and the phone always in a 'running' state. I don't mind very much right now, as I'm always near a plug, and I could make it last a day if I needed to without charging (though no games, and very little use).
So Battery problems, and shutdown problems aside, the phone is lovely. I have no GPS problems like ATT phones report, and no problem with lag either (though perhaps I just don't notice it yet).
All in all, the phone is quick and responsive, and the 16GB internal SD is quite nice. I wonder though, if its possible to use the roms for the ATT captivate on the Rogers captivate? (given the phone is a different model #)

FiniteSM said:
I have no GPS problems like ATT phones report, and no problem with lag either (though perhaps I just don't notice it yet).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope the your GPS non-issue is the rule and not the exception on the Rogers Captivate. I do remembering reading an article where a Rogers rep stated that their phone with throughly tested to make sure the GPS was fixed.
Assuming it's the rule ... I wonder what change they made to get the GPS working as it should?

crabjoe said:
I hope the your GPS non-issue is the rule and not the exception on the Rogers Captivate. I do remembering reading an article where a Rogers rep stated that their phone with throughly tested to make sure the GPS was fixed.
Assuming it's the rule ... I wonder what change they made to get the GPS working as it should?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont know what they tweaked...but it also works great for me.
All in all the phone is great. I am coming from a Blackberry Bold 9000 that I used for 2 years and decided that I wanted to try something differents.
The Wifi Sleep policy is something you should change when you get your phone.
Settings -->Wireless and network --> Wi-Fi settings --> (menu button) Advanced Settings -->Wifi Sleep policy --> Never
The constant switching between wifi and 3G drains the battery like you won't believe!

Thanks guys. Looks like I'll have an excellent time with my Captivate.
It's nice to hear that no one's Captivates died on them yet. It has me worried, but at the same time I think the whole thing was blown out of proportion.

Hey,
I bought my Captivate from Rogers on Sept 25 (I believe it was the launch date) in Ottawa, ON. I tried out the stock firmware and everything worked swimmingly. I had great GPS locks, the phone was quick enough for anything I did, and did everything it was supposed to. As long as I was mindful of how bright my screen was and whether GPS/WIFI/Syncing was toggled, I was able to push my phone reasonably into the second day without charging it.
Since the first few days, I've been loading Cognition software (currently 2.4) onto my phone. Not because the stock firmware was horrible or anything, I'm just an obsessive tinkerer who needs the absolute best performance and reliability out of his phone. Unlike many of the AT&Ts out there, I didn't break my GPS after loading cognition. My phone is lightning quick, whether it is picking up a GPS satellite lock or playing my music through the auxiliary input in my car. The battery lasts just as long as it ever did, maybe even longer. Again, Cognition isn't a miracle battery cure, and you still have to be mindful of any running apps in the background or if any of the GPS/WiFi/Syncing is toggled to really max out your battery life. Alternatively, you could get an app like locale which automates things like that for you.
If you're looking to buy a version of the Samsung Galaxy S, I really can't think of a better version to buy than the Rogers one. I haven't had ANY troubles with it and it seems to have the least amount of problems between the ones released in Canada and the US. I may be wrong on that, since my researched focused mostly on the Captivate, but perhaps someone could verify what I just said.
I'd go for it,
Tom

The phones pretty damn fantastic, I just wish Samsung would drop Touchwiz and release vanilla Android. Seriously, no one likes it, and everyone likes new versions of Android.

FiniteSM said:
All in all, the phone is quick and responsive, and the 16GB internal SD is quite nice. I wonder though, if its possible to use the roms for the ATT captivate on the Rogers captivate? (given the phone is a different model #)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DOUBLE POST! (Sorry guys, not sure if it's an issue here, I know on some forums it is)
To answer your question, yes you can. Personally, i've had issues with data not working and OCLF + stock is more than fast enough for me, after I got rid of TwLauncher. One thing to note though, is that you will have a permanent ATT screen before the "I896" screen, so if that bugs you, stay away.

I picked up the Captivate last night and loving it a lot. However I am having a few problems with it that I dunno how to solve yet. One of em is the poor battery life, and another is texting. I'm not gonna repost it here. If I have to, I'll make another thread.
Thanks for the feedback guys!

This is all very good news. I had the Samsung Vibrant (Bell) version before and never really ran into big problems other than some freezes, but let go of it because my buddy's internal SD died, so that phobia caused me to get the Captivate, since they are all the same internals..
Mine is coming in the mail from retentions.. Lets hope i'm not disappointed. Already got a case from SGP lined up and on its way, also the 2 battery + battery charger combo. Already know what to expect.. Surprised that the GPS is fixed!.. I will be sure to check when I receive my unit tomorrow.
Has everyone checked it with the actual GPS receiver turned on? Because, I know that the "wireless networks" gps box always works. But what if it is unchecked, and only the GPS box is on, does it still work then?

FiniteSM said:
I wonder though, if its possible to use the roms for the ATT captivate on the Rogers captivate? (given the phone is a different model #)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would also like to know if someone can please confirm whether the roms for the ATT captivate (i-897) are still compatible with the Rogers Captivate (i-896), just incase I want to flash a rom in the future.
Also, if the OCLF is safe to install? Or do we have to wait for one specially made for the Rogers Captivate?

[Q] Should i get a new replacement Captivate?

I was up at the AT&T store today to discuss some overcharges on my bill and during the conversation I mentioned my gps not working. The guy at the store acknowledged it was a problem but was under the impression that JH7 fixes it...which it doesn't. Long story short, I've been offered a replacement handset at the store level, brand new in the box, not a refurb.
So the question is, do I take him up on it? My gps is like most everyone elses and not all that useful and occasionally there's a phantom press of the search button. Those are the only problems I've had.
So, what's the likelihood that a new-in-box captivate will have the same GPS problem? Anything else I need to consider as I decide?

CoreyC said:
I was up at the AT&T store today to discuss some overcharges on my bill and during the conversation I mentioned my gps not working. The guy at the store acknowledged it was a problem but was under the impression that JH7 fixes it...which it doesn't. Long story short, I've been offered a replacement handset at the store level, brand new in the box, not a refurb.
So the question is, do I take him up on it? My gps is like most everyone elses and not all that useful and occasionally there's a phantom press of the search button. Those are the only problems I've had.
So, what's the likelihood that a new-in-box captivate will have the same GPS problem? Anything else I need to consider as I decide?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd keep the GPS issue rather than risking the random shut offs. Just my opinion though, especially since I am about to return my second captivate due to random shut downs.

Just wanted to followup on this. I did swap out my captivate for a new one at my local AT&T store. I even got the manager to put in writing that if I continued to have problems that I could switch to a different model.
The new captivate handset did the random poweroff trick three times the day after I brought it home. In an attempt to fix it I drained the battery and let it charge back up over night and haven't had a problem since.
GPS is also MUCH better than what it was on my original handset but still not perfect as it 'teleported' me from one road to another a few times using Navigation. I do however get a quick lock using only satellites and GPSStatus shows while driving that I was locked on to between 5 and 10 satellites with the norm being 8. With my original I'd lose a lock on all satellites once I started moving, so while not perfect, this is definitely better than my original.

Thanks for your input.
Man this GPS really frustrates me. I used to have your quality GPS and now it is broken. Thinking of flashing to stock and trying to.exchange it
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I was under the impression that if you exchange a phone through ATT they will send it to the Samsung service center, and there they threaten that if they find nothing wrong with it they will charge you $600.
This has always intimidated me since I only paid $60 and I don't want like not being in control of something (like whether or not they will charge me).
Is it really this easy to exchange for a broken GPS?

fatttire said:
I was under the impression that if you exchange a phone through ATT they will send it to the Samsung service center, and there they threaten that if they find nothing wrong with it they will charge you $600.
This has always intimidated me since I only paid $60 and I don't want like not being in control of something (like whether or not they will charge me).
Is it really this easy to exchange for a broken GPS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only time you risk being billed for a new phone at full price is if you send it back with problems, and there was physical damage or you're rooted and messed with things or running a custom rom. Now it's not guarenteed that they will bill you but i'd imagine that the likelihood increases.
As far as returning phones past the 30 day window it usually isn't a problem if you speak calmly to a manager. Explain that you have tried all of the fixes that Samsung has offered, nothing has worked, and you believe you were sold a defective product with which you are unhappy.

fatttire said:
Is it really this easy to exchange for a broken GPS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was for me...but I think that was largely because both the rep I talked with and the manager were aware of the GPS problems. I tried doing the exchange while the rep I had been working with was at lunch and got fed the "exchanges can only be done within the first 30 days of purchase" line by another rep. I came back later in the day and talked to my original rep who brought over the manager and it was smooth sailing after that. If you can believe it, the manager even apologized for the problems I had with the phone.
Worst case, have the manager at your local store browse this forum or do a little googling and he'll quickly see how widespread this problem is. And be sure you have the stock JH7 loaded up; that was the one check that the rep did when we started talking about an exchange.

looks like I spoke too soon - 3 random shutdowns today. Now to decide if I want to try a 3rd Captivate or jump ship and go with the HTC Surround. And here I thought I was done with all my research for a year or two.

fatttire said:
I was under the impression that if you exchange a phone through ATT they will send it to the Samsung service center, and there they threaten that if they find nothing wrong with it they will charge you $600.
This has always intimidated me since I only paid $60 and I don't want like not being in control of something (like whether or not they will charge me).
Is it really this easy to exchange for a broken GPS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As mentioned before it is easy to swap for gps issues and the $600 is only if you did something bad. If you rooted the phone you can restore to stock using 1-click odin and master clear, it passed scrutiny on my case (disclaimer: can't guarantee it would for you).
Sent from mobile xda
Captivate running Axura

I'm glued to this thread like a good tv series ahemm. I've had the exact same issue(s), namely the random search pop-up. It drove me crazy for quite some time, I could even shake the phone without touching any buttons and the search dialog would present itself (sometimes other apps popped-up). I eventually read up on roms and now run perception b8. I ran cognition previously, but experienced 2 deal breakers issues (bluetooth and radio problems). As for the search dialog, it no longer occurs. While on cognition I did experience two random shutdowns, and I thought the battery ran down in a hurry, just a beep and short vibrate and it was deadso. If you stay with the cap, read up on perception stat.

tsachi said:
As mentioned before it is easy to swap for gps issues and the $600 is only if you did something bad. If you rooted the phone you can restore to stock using 1-click odin and master clear, it passed scrutiny on my case (disclaimer: can't guarantee it would for you).
Sent from mobile xda
Captivate running Axura
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THanks, this helps. It's good to know a) whether they let you swap for gps issues and b) whether they check really hard or flash to stock odin lets you do it.
i appreciate your feedback.
i had a bad case with best buy where i returned a broken item and they claimed it was fine... it was broken... but they said it worked okay... had to pay a fee to get it back.. now i'm kinda paranoid about returning items for "subjective" issues (i.e. not a hard brick)

Quick update to the saga....on my 3rd captivate, worst one yet. Seems to poweroff if i set it down for more than 30 minutes. I've had it 3 days and i lost count of the poweroffs around 14 or 15.
Learned they will only exchange at the store 3 times, so i was advised to call customer care and/or samsung to have a fresh from the factory handset (see the poweroff press release thread) sent to me. Thought being that if the brand new one still had problems they could still put me into a Surround at the store.
Getting frustrated, starting to look for ways to migrate my text messages to WP7.
Other bit of info, guy at the store doesn't expect any new models until Spring at the earliest.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Amazing GPS performance

Went on a 180 mile trip today through SoCal and I was stunned at how good my GPS is now working. I'd done some tests locally, but never far enough of a drive to consider the results of any significance. Today, I headed east from the San Fernando Valley, through Pasadena, out to San Bernardino, then north through the Pacheco Pass into Hesperia in the high desert. From city to boonies and from about 350 feet elevation to over 3,500. My Cappy got a lock within seconds while sitting in my driveway and never once dropped lock the whole way there and back. Watching the screen the position marker remained steady on the road and did not wander at all. GPS is important to me and I finally have the performance I was getting on my Tilt 2. Yes, I had to go to a custom ROM to get it (Andromeda 1.2), but it runs so well on so many levels that I'm OK with that. Screw stock Froyo (which I tried along with Cog 4.x and GPS was mediocre at best on both).

I drove about 175 miles today using it, and never lost a lock also... I was using my girlfriends phone with stock 2.2. Was accurate to 10 meters whole trip... Had never had anything close to that before upgrade
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA Premium App

Mine is horable.. just don't know What rom to go to
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Mine works good on any rom as long as I don't put the phone in my lap. Seems that the antenna gets a weak signal if placed back down and gets the dreaded large blue circle and looses accuracy. If I hold the phone up though it is balls on accurate.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Stock, I could lose GPS by just flipping the visor down. Today, I had the phone in my car mount, I put it on the seat at one point, put it to my head to answer a call...didn't lose lock once. All while playing MP3s via BT through the radio.

Im on stock 2.1 and my GPS has always worked fine in my car. I have trouble getting a lock indoors. I went on a 7 hour drive Thursday and didn't lose a lock once.
I wonder if some peoples GPS's are just junk and its the luck of the draw.

Mr_Ditters said:
I wonder if some peoples GPS's are just junk and its the luck of the draw.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That may be for some, but I've had stock Froyo and Cog 4.1 on this same phone and neither had the GPS work as well as it does on Andromeda.

Miami_Son said:
put it to my head to answer a call
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not the best habit in California, pretty steep fines for that.

Gerle said:
Not the best habit in California, pretty steep fines for that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was offroad at the time.

Mine works pretty well most of the time.. seems to have a slight 'drifing' issue when stopped tho.. say at a stop light.. kinda strange..

hate to poop on the whiner party, but stock 2.1 and now stock 2.2 have worked as expected. totally. this is a gnarly phone.

FireFly is by far the best results I have ever had with GPS...locks super quick and stays!

It seems a lot of the Captivates' GPS, like mine, worked great when the new phone was used for the first 2 to 3 weeks, then it would degrade. Load a new rom on the phone and again it would work fine for 2 to 3 weeks then deteriorate again. I'm always interested in knowing how long the current rom has been installed and how much the GPS has been utilized. The fact that it worked good when new, makes me think the hardware is not the problem. I'm no programmer but I always wondered if the deterioration was the result of some "file" that grew in size as the GPS was utilized. And, as the "file" grew, time/power requirements increased causing the GPS to deteriorate. How could it ever work correctly if it is a hardware issue?
retnuh

hbgregg said:
hate to poop on the whiner party, but stock 2.1 and now stock 2.2 have worked as expected. totally. this is a gnarly phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, well, then I guess your singular experience negates that of the many other users whose GPS has been total crap. It must be all their fault and not the device.
At one point I had 3 Captivates in my possession and all had stock Eclair, Froyo, Cog 4.x and Andromeda on them at various times. This was typical of their GPS performance (the phone with Andromeda is on the left).

I've had fairly good gps performance but I'm not picky. However, in the last couple days it won't get a lock no matter what..just flashes. I'm not that picky, but I don't like that it doesn't even get a lock

My first captivate, bought in September, was exchanged at Best Buy on day 30. The GPS on stock eclair never was very stable from day 1, slow to lock, very unreliable on the move much of the time, although not always.
My second captivate had very good GPS on stock eclair. Not perfect, but fast lock and rarely wandered, for three months. Then one day, out of the blue, it turned into my first captivate. I factory reset it. No joy. I exchanged it at ATT warranty center, told them the GPS wasn't working.
The third captivate GPS on stock eclair was an order of magnitude better than the second one ever was. Locks instantly, indoors or out, always good to 5 meters no matter the conditions, it's just unreal. Still is with Froyo.
So, I can say I have had wildly varying experiences with the same software. That tells me there is hardware variance. I haven't tried software fixes, ever, so I can at least be a reference point from that perspective.
Bob

retnuh said:
It seems a lot of the Captivates' GPS, like mine, worked great when the new phone was used for the first 2 to 3 weeks, then it would degrade. Load a new rom on the phone and again it would work fine for 2 to 3 weeks then deteriorate again. I'm always interested in knowing how long the current rom has been installed and how much the GPS has been utilized. The fact that it worked good when new, makes me think the hardware is not the problem. I'm no programmer but I always wondered if the deterioration was the result of some "file" that grew in size as the GPS was utilized. And, as the "file" grew, time/power requirements increased causing the GPS to deteriorate. How could it ever work correctly if it is a hardware issue?
retnuh
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I haven't noticed that before, but I've had the current ROM (Paragon) for a couple weeks, and now I can't get a lock - worked great at the start, after a master clear. Maybe the old Samsung GPS reset app would work here.
What you have proposed is something we should all keep in the back of our minds...

My 1008 build had mediocre (at best) GPS. The I sent it in for repair and when I got it back (and installed Andromeda) the GPS worked so well I was beside myself with joy. The GPS remained fabulous for almost 2 month then, while running Cog 4.1 with Adam's GPS fix (and still working great--I got 10 sats while sitting on my toilet!), nirvana ended. I'm lucky to get 4 sats and locking is painfully slow.
It's been this way for about a week. I'm going to complain to Samsung and see if I can send it back for repair again.

Soccer_Dad said:
I haven't noticed that before, but I've had the current ROM (Paragon) for a couple weeks, and now I can't get a lock - worked great at the start, after a master clear. Maybe the old Samsung GPS reset app would work here.
What you have proposed is something we should all keep in the back of our minds...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't paragon a kernel?

I'm not as lucky as you with Andromeda 1.2. I live in the SF bay area and can barely get a lock. Any suggestions?

A working way to get a GPS lock

Well... As we all know, gps is **** on our captivates. That being said, i found a way to get a gps lock, and almost all the time..
However the method isnt as simple as opening up Gmaps and pressing my location.
I have only tried this with Apex 8.2
To do this.. you have to enter AngryGPS (*#3214789650#*)
Then go to tracking test... Wait for it to present values of your latitude and longitude.
Once these values are there... press maps, and voila

Uhhh seems like the code is for lbstest. Well if so... By using a test feature all you are really doing is turning your gps on(all the time). Which will basically always give you quick lock because the gps is always on unless you kill all your apps or re-open lbstest and back out. Not really a fix, more of a drain on your battery. Only true fix for older models of this phone is to get a refurb'd from atnt/rogers in your case. (not samsung).

Once opened, Angry gps looks just like lbstest. For some reason it was renamed.

Just need to figure out a way to do this with Tasker.

Ah, in that case.. cant you just program tasker to only turn gps on when you open maps or a navigation app?
kimocal said:
Just need to figure out a way to do this with Tasker.
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Yeah, but how do you program tasker to open up lbstestmode... then run the tracking test... wait about 10 seconds... then open up maps?

So let me see if I get this straight. You start GPS, wait till it gets a lock and then open maps and you have a lock?
that's what we used to do on Eclair.
NascarFastcar is right, the only real way to have a working GPS is to get a refurbished unit. Most of us early adopters are going past our 1 year mark, so if you haven't, get one quick!

I still have a couple months in my warranty left. What problem would I go to them with?

The GPS is fixed on a refurb?

supaphreek said:
I still have a couple months in my warranty left. What problem would I go to them with?
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Tell them the gps dosent work. That's all. They will most likely try to get a lock indoors lol and then they will just give you a refurbed. They like to use google maps. I tried to show them gps test etc and they tried to blame my gps not working via a 3rd party app.
ifederov said:
The GPS is fixed on a refurb?
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Well since april 2011. All refurbs seem to have been fixed. Still have to watch out for older modeled refurbs that still might have random shutdowns. I know had about 6 refurbs with shutdowns after a week or two. But they all had great gps.

NascarFastcar said:
Tell them the gps dosent work. That's all. They will most likely try to get a lock indoors lol and then they will just give you a refurbed. They like to use google maps. I tried to show them gps test etc and they tried to blame my gps not working via a 3rd party app.
Well since april 2011. All refurbs seem to have been fixed. Still have to watch out for older modeled refurbs that still might have random shutdowns. I know had about 6 refurbs with shutdowns after a week or two. But they all had great gps.
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Click to collapse
Okay... but im currently running apex 8.2.. So i cant go to them with a rooted and rommed phone. Do i downgrade to a 2.2 stock rogers rom?

NascarFastcar said:
Well since april 2011. All refurbs seem to have been fixed. Still have to watch out for older modeled refurbs that still might have random shutdowns. I know had about 6 refurbs with shutdowns after a week or two. But they all had great gps.
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Click to collapse
I disagree that the gps is fixed. I just got a refurb about 6 weeks ago. The gps worked awesome for a few weeks. It now sucks eggs - actually worse than my last phone. Totally stock, just like my previous phone. I don't know the build number because it has a weird refurb sticker that doesn't have a build number on it.
-Rich

Take it back and get another one until they give you one that works.

cappysw10 said:
Take it back and get another one until they give you one that works.
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Click to collapse
I've learned how to use it. I know others have tried, but here are the ONLY real instructions that work:
1) You have to always look 2 steps ahead of what it says when using Google Maps on a Captivate because you never know when all of a sudden it will think you're on a different street and start giving you directions on how to get back on the correct path.
2) When she it starts telling you how to correct yourself (when you're actually already on the right path) learn how to IGNORE it or it will confuse you
3) It's ok for occasional use, but always and I mean ALWAYS have a real GPS handy in the glove compartment for the occasions when your Captivate decides that it isn't in the mood to lock onto any statellites even when it sees 7 or 8 with a with strong signals
4) Always have a real GPS handy when your Captivate can't locate ANY satellites.
5) When in Maine or rural New Hampshire don't even think about using your Captivate!!!
6) Overlook it's GPS defects because it's so awesome in every other way.
Does this post earn a sticky? We should coin a pharse that encompasses all of the above (you know your Captivate has trained you in a similar manor).

richb500 said:
I've learned how to use it. I know others have tried, but here are the ONLY real instructions that work:
1) You have to always look 2 steps ahead of what it says when using Google Maps on a Captivate because you never know when all of a sudden it will think you're on a different street and start giving you directions on how to get back on the correct path.
2) When she it starts telling you how to correct yourself (when you're actually already on the right path) learn how to IGNORE it or it will confuse you
3) It's ok for occasional use, but always and I mean ALWAYS have a real GPS handy in the glove compartment for the occasions when your Captivate decides that it isn't in the mood to lock onto any statellites even when it sees 7 or 8 with a with strong signals
4) Always have a real GPS handy when your Captivate can't locate ANY satellites.
5) When in Maine or rural New Hampshire don't even think about using your Captivate!!!
6) Overlook it's GPS defects because it's so awesome in every other way.
Does this post earn a sticky? We should coin a pharse that encompasses all of the above (you know your Captivate has trained you in a similar manor).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah but you see, i dont drive. Well i do... but i dont have a car. So public transport is what i use and luckily, google maps supports it. Basically all i need is a position lock, rather than finding my house, tracking down whatever streets i used to get to wherever i am, then selecting that as a point...

I returned my 1008 Captivate because of random shutdowns last week and received a 1007 refurb and the GPS was perfect on 2.2.1 and continues to be perfect on Apex 8.2. Also, no random shutdowns.

Exchanged a 1007 Captivate in My, got a 1010 refurb. GPS is about 98% as good as my Garmin GPS in one car. In the other, there must be some kind of interference scit doesn't keep a good signal in the location I put it navigate.
I find it fun to see the difference in the routes they provide.
The 1010 model can also track me walking on the sidewalk. I was watching Google Earth zoomed in as far as it would go.

+1 on returning the phone to an AT&T device service center. I went several weeks back and tested my phone when I got home and it was worse. Went back the next day, the girl there first turned on the "use mobile network" option and told me the gps was now working. I got a little aggrevated but politely pressed on, she then told me the samsung captivate has no gps in it, this sparked my asshole lawyer mode. After making the girl feel embarrased in front of her coworkers for insulting my intelligence I demanded a different rep work with me. I had him go thru 7 phones before getting one that had a working gps. After the 2nd, they told me I would have to call customer service, I laughed and told them that this is a customer service center and my contract entitles me to burn through every single unit they have until they fix my device issue. After the 6th the guy finally paid attention to what I was telling them about looking at the build number (because they have to send all those phones back to samsung). I now have an 1101 that has been working great for about a month. If it screws up again I will go ruin their day again.