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Samsung says JH7 OTA does NOT include a GPS fix!

I just got off the phone with Samsung level 2 support, and she explained to me that:
1) The current AT&T JH7 OTA update does NOT include the GPS fix (as we've all realized)
2) The "real" GPS fix will be coming out BEFORE THE END OF THE MONTH (in the next few days)
3) This new OTA update will include JUST the GPS fix, nothing else.
I understand this is in contrast to Samsung's twitter account and facebook page that say the update is already available... I brought this up to the Samsung support lady, and she kept repeating that the "real" GPS fix is not available yet, it will contain ONLY the GPS fix, and it will be available as an OTA update before the end of the month.
She apologized for the confusion...
So should we get our hopes back up?

I hope so. Somebody on another forum was told the same thing so I really hope it's true.

Who knows what to believe anymore.

Well working for a large corporation I know that one hand has no clue what the other is doing.
My email to support got answered with the typical "we can't speculate when/if" answer.

Joe1981AL said:
Well working for a large corporation I know that one hand has no clue what the other is doing.
My email to support got answered with the typical "we can't speculate when/if" answer.
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The level-1 support guys were saying the update was already out with the GPS fix. They also told me to uncheck and re-check the "Use Wireless Networks" option. Basically, the level-1 support guys are clueless on the real issues, and they were likely the ones responding to your e-mail.
I'm going to wait until the end of this month... if Oct. 1st rolls around with no real GPS fix, then we know they are all full of sh*t

There is a definite difference in GPS performance on my phone since this update. It is not perfect by any stretch, but there is most definitely a difference in lock speed, number of satellites in use, and tracking.
Maybe this is not the fix, but they changed something. I don't know if it's at driver level or firmware level, but something is different.
Hopefully the rumors of a true GPS fix this month are true, but there is too much misinformation out there to even speculate as to what's accurate.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Ikonomi said:
There is a definite difference in GPS performance on my phone since this update. It is not perfect by any stretch, but there is most definitely a difference in lock speed, number of satellites in use, and tracking.
Maybe this is not the fix, but they changed something. I don't know if it's at driver level or firmware level, but something is different.
Hopefully the rumors of a true GPS fix this month are true, but there is too much misinformation out there to even speculate as to what's accurate.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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Yes, there are quite a few improvements over stock on this ROM. The compass is also much better, among a few other things.
However, the GPS is still too unreliable for Navigation, which the "real" GPS fix must still address. According to them, this real "fix" is still coming this month, and not here yet.

Dear Samsung:
Ass != Hole in the ground.

The GPS is definitely better. I saw the icon stop blinking and get a lock while standing still which I never saw before.
I call shenanigans on this. I just contacted Samsung live support and I'd post the conversation here but it was actually so useless that I'd just be wasting your time. She said she understands it's still a problem and to call so they can troubleshoot and that was it. I asked her to speculate on the source of the issue and got nothing.

GPS locks fast yes, but it loses lock just as fast too...

So the conclusion: No one really knows what is going on until I see a GPS OTA notification on my Captivate.

The Captivate is my first smartphone. My question is: has there ever been a situation where there is a glaring problem such as this GPS bug, where the manufacturer never ended up resolving the issue? What are the chances that Samsung sweeps this under the rug until it just goes away?

PhishSGS said:
The Captivate is my first smartphone. My question is: has there ever been a situation where there is a glaring problem such as this GPS bug, where the manufacturer never ended up resolving the issue? What are the chances that Samsung sweeps this under the rug until it just goes away?
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I don't know if I'm just an optimist but I don't think Samsung will leave this unresolved. The Galaxy S line is a world wide launch of smart phones and now a tab as well. They've invested too much into this to just leave it hanging. It seems pretty clear to me that they're trying to grab a huge market share and trying to be the next big thing in the smart phone/tab market.
So overall I have hope that it will be fixed. Whether it's a small update in the near future, or whether it is fully fixed when 2.2 is released, I believe it will happen eventually.

I would sassy this is true. I flashed my phone from the.zip this forum provided and my gps is no better no worse than before.. Hopefully in the next few days.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

That would make sense, because I was able to get a quick GPS lock before and after the update, it just didn't track me very well before or after. Pretty sure any improvement can be chalked up to confirmation bias and wildly varying results depending on the test conditions.

PhishSGS said:
The Captivate is my first smartphone. My question is: has there ever been a situation where there is a glaring problem such as this GPS bug, where the manufacturer never ended up resolving the issue? What are the chances that Samsung sweeps this under the rug until it just goes away?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There was a similar situation involving HTC and the Kaiser (aka ATT Tilt) about video drivers and it never got resolved officialy.

In stock form it would sometimes take 10 minutes to get a GPS lock in navigation, and on routes it would frequently lose my position, causing the nav program to reroute, and then reroute again when GPS locked again.
On JH7 (via Cognition) it took about 20 seconds to get a dead-on lock while standing in my front yard. I haven't used it in navigation yet, will do that tomorrow.

I've had two captivates prior to the OTA update, one of them was essentially non-functioning GPS, and the other was basically functional, but f-ed up. It remains that way today with no changes to the GPS settings.

The official release notes for JH7 didnt say one word about a GPS fix, and I can tell, my GPS is still broken. Thing is now, my compass is now broken. It at least used to point in the right direction but it would fluctuate within a 5-10 degree range. Now its 90 to 180 degrees completely off. I can look at maps and be driving down the road and the arrow is pointing behind me or somewhere perpendicular to my line of motion. What a crock. The only thing I noticed was an updated version of youtube, no more usb pc tethering, quick office is now included.
One positive is the battery life is longer. Where with the same usage all day at work I'm now at 60-70% and before the update I'd be at 30-40% by the time I left work.
I'm not looking forward to another OTA update, I couldnt get the last one to install, I had to use designgears' JH7-OTA.zip to get in installed, his zip worked great!
Edit: one note on GPS, the reported accuracy is much better, but its not true. Example, before it would say accuracy 100meters, and I might be within the blue 100 meter circle. Now it says Accuracy 10 meters and it reports my position as 100-200 meters from where I really am. So its not really more accurate, it just reports that it is. And it still fails to track me at all. Once I start moving (whether on foot or on bike or in car) it really gets whacky. Like I'm driving down the road and it starts to show me gradually leaving the road, by a block or so down the road I'm off in the middle of the block driving through people's houses or doing some serious offroading, when i'm still right in the middle of the road. Its tracking performance is abysmal.
And it seems that AT&T or Samsung took out the dial code to get to the lbstesemode menu. Dialing *#*#1472365#*#* now does nothing.

cesierra said:
There was a similar situation involving HTC and the Kaiser (aka ATT Tilt) about video drivers and it never got resolved officialy.
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Wasn't that more of a poor performance due to lack of proper drivers, but it still functioned? All the HTC phones after that had the same deal. HTC didn't pay for the drivers from Qualcom. The phones still worked great. They just didn't perform, as far as video power, as well as the hardware was capable of.
I think this is a different matter. It's not the difference between running amazing 3D graphics and running pretty good 3D graphics. This is something that's plain broken. I can't imagine Samsung can afford to NOT fix this.
Now if the GPS universally worked "fine" at lets say with a 10 foot accuracy 99% of the time but the hardware was capable of being accurate to 10 inches 100% of the time then I could see Samsung possibly shrugging their shoulders. This clearly isn't the case though.

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.
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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!
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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.
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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.

Gps broken forever? Hardware or software.

I really need to know because I drive an ambulance for a living is the GPS actually fixable? I love the phone but hate the GPS that locks up and is inaccurate, or just doesnt lock on.The tweaks I've tired. No luck. I called Samsung and asked and they have no clue and think the Sept patch worked. I think its a cover up and the first run is just plain defective. What's the probability its hardware and not fixable.
Thanks Travis

Call att and get it replaced. I got a replacement phone and so far the GPS has worked when I needed it. It locks pretty quickly most of the time. Sometimes it takes 20 to 30 seconds but always locks reguardless
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I'm pretty certain it is a hardware problem and Samsung is trying very hard to see if they can fix it, or 'optimize' it, in software to avoid a mass recall of millions of these phones.

Smallsmx - a quick lock is very different from reliable navigation. Driving around using Google Nav as well as analyzing using something like MyTracks is the way to go to see if the GPS is actually accurate.
Here's a track I just created with MyTracks. If you zoom in, you can see that the track jumps between the north-bound & south-bound lanes of the highway several times, as well as veers off of the road several times. These may seem insignificant, but they're the kind of things that play havoc with navigation software (constant re-routing, etc). Also note that I'm in a rural area; i.e. no interference from tall buildings to blame this on...

I'm pretty convinced it is a hardware problem.. I've been through 4 Captivates, and only 1 has worked. The Captivate that has the working GPS works on all ROMs, but works best after JH7 (or the froyo builds). The other 3 Captivates, the GPS doesn't work anywhere.
I wouldn't want to trust my life to the Captivate's GPS navigation! If I found out my ambulance was being navigated by a Captivate, I'd wait for the next one

tblindt said:
I really need to know because I drive an ambulance for a living is the GPS actually fixable? I love the phone but hate the GPS that locks up and is inaccurate, or just doesnt lock on.The tweaks I've tired. No luck. I called Samsung and asked and they have no clue and think the Sept patch worked. I think its a cover up and the first run is just plain defective. What's the probability its hardware and not fixable.
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Please don't use the C(r)appy GPS for anything like that! It's just not up to it! Even if the GPS does work from time to time, you'll spend too much time second guessing it. Get a dedicated GPS that you KNOW works so you can concentrate on doing the important stuff like not hitting other cars and saving lives!
foxbat121 said:
I'm pretty certain it is a hardware problem and Samsung is trying very hard to see if they can fix it, or 'optimize' it, in software to avoid a mass recall of millions of these phones.
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Click to collapse
Agreed 100%. If it was a simple software bug, it would have been fixed in JH7. They initially claimed JH7 fixed it... And then they contradicted themselves and said there was no GPS fix in JH7.
So Sammy is confusing us with smoke and mirrors and hoping they can still circumvent what is likely to be a recall only fix. Imagine the impact of a recall. Cost would be huge. PR would be a nightmare. Impact on future Galaxy S sales would be massive. See how cleverly and deviously Apple avoided an iPhone 4 recall with what was clearly a major hardware defect.
And for those of you that say your Cappy's GPS works perfectly, there is one of two conditions that apply:
1. You got a lock while stationary from > x satellites and assume from that alone that GPS works. A better criteria would be GPS tracking while driving in an urban environment with accuracy < 5m.
OR
2. The hardware defect is an intermittent assembly or fabrication issue that shows up in the majority but not all handsets.
So here's to hoping I am wrong and the official Froyo build is being held up while they correct the GPS problem once and for all. If not, here's to class action. In the meantime, Sammy and AT&T product managers, if you are reading this (doubtful) give us the source for 2.2 (kernel, hardware drivers and all) and let the XDA community have a crack at fixing it (and enable HSUPA, FM radio, native etx4, etc while their at it).

Before i flashed to the JPM and the reorinted 2.1 my gps would not get a lock after 10 mins after I flashed to the i9000 rom and shanged the gps settings to ms based I get a lock after 15-25 sec at 15m. its software related and att's reps are just dumb as dog **** and full of it too

tjsooley said:
Before i flashed to the JPM and the reorinted 2.1 my gps would not get a lock after 10 mins after I flashed to the i9000 rom and shanged the gps settings to ms based I get a lock after 15-25 sec at 15m. its software related and att's reps are just dumb as dog **** and full of it too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Share a GPS track with us then.....

Tonite I will take screen shots of my gps settings and post them

tjsooley said:
Tonite I will take screen shots of my gps settings and post them
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Click to collapse
No need. We have millions of threads for just that. We need the evidence that you actually use it for navigation while driving. That's where it all falls apart (for majority of the Captivate anyway).
I can get a lock no problem as well with no tweeks in settings. But that doesn't mean the GPS is anywhere near usable.

foxbat121 said:
No need. We have millions of threads for just that. We need the evidence that you actually use it for navigation while driving. That's where it all falls apart (for majority of the Captivate anyway).
I can get a lock no problem as well with no tweeks in settings. But that doesn't mean the GPS is anywhere near usable.
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Click to collapse
Misread the forum. I have not used it for a gps on the road for navigation yet.
I have watched it on the way home from work and it was prittyy accurate.
funny thing.
I dont get a lock from my cup holder but i get a lock no problem and the gps works on the dash board.
maby
if it is any differance all the sgs varriants are having a bunch of gps issues.
and there are people that have had no problems.

ianwood said:
Agreed 100%. If it was a simple software bug, it would have been fixed in JH7. They initially claimed JH7 fixed it... And then they contradicted themselves and said there was no GPS fix in JH7.
So Sammy is confusing us with smoke and mirrors and hoping they can still circumvent what is likely to be a recall only fix. Imagine the impact of a recall. Cost would be huge. PR would be a nightmare. Impact on future Galaxy S sales would be massive. See how cleverly and deviously Apple avoided an iPhone 4 recall with what was clearly a major hardware defect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure the loss of future sales will cost Samsung more than a recall. My last 3 phones were Samsung and I sure as hell know if they don't fix the GPS issue, whether it be through firmware or a recall, Samsung will never see another dime from me ever again and I'm sure there's plenty of others feeling the same way.
There would probably also be about no PR. Samsung is no Apple. The media and general public really don't give a damn about them. The issue is not so controversial that the news will pick up on it, like the Toyota recalls. At most there would be a couple sentences on the news about it that most people will just ignore because they don't have the phone. Apple got worse PR by ignoring the issue than if they simply would have addressed it with a recall. They got away with it because they're Apple. 90% of the population worships them.

I was just thinking the same thing. My GPS does not work.
I don't understand people who think it's no big deal. It's a major feature and an Advertised feature...not some hack.
I would not have bought the device without GPS. What if you bought a new car that said it had air conditioning...but after you bought it...you realized it didn't work....no big deal or recall?
CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

yea its a cover up
My whole plan and philosophy was that hey Google maps is great and so is Linux so this should, be better than those goofy slow interfaced GPS units.... which always give you the wrong location....
Anyhow I ordered one more..to see if its a dud too.
1ST SAMSUNG AND MY LAST YOU HEAR THAT SAMSUNK.. BTW your customer service is so poor girl who knows nothing about phones and thought the update was "real".

Jupiter fix w/vibrant ROM. Seems like I tried everything. Plenty of sats and locks while stationary. Can't get this thing to maintain lock or be accurate while moving in navigation for the life of me.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I'm hoping for a software fix, but I'm doubtful that we'll ever see one. This is the same GPS chip as used in at least one blackberry where it has no problem. Combine that with the fact that there's 5 different Galaxy S phones that have these issues, each with slightly different layouts of where the chips are on the board, it's more likely a software issue.
If it is a hardware issue, or if it's a software issue that they never get around to fixing, I could see a very nasty class action lawsuit pop up. Personally, I hate class action lawsuits, as the only people who usually benefit from them are the lawyers, but one can always hope for the best.
One interesting thing I did notice was that when in my vehicle (a Jeep Wrangler with a fiberglass hardtop) or on my motorcycle, the tracks are just about spot on... as long as there aren't any tall buildings right next to me. It stops when I stop, it turns when I turn... You know, pretty much what you expect out of a GPS.
On the other hand, when I'm in a friends vehicle (metal roof, no sunroof), my position wanders all over the place. We stop, but the icon keeps on going. We turn, it doesn't. And, of course, there's always fun times when it thinks your a block or two over from where you are. Oh, and can't forget the lag... sometimes it's as much as 5 seconds behind me.
That makes me suspect the filters Samsung has in place for when the signal is weak. Either that, or the antenna design they use might win the distinction of being the most craptastic one of the decade. Hell, maybe both might be the case.

This whole thing with the GPS has me baffled..after reading a bunch of threads...posts..and personal experience, I believe the problem with the Captivate's GPS is the delay in getting a lock. Once it's locked, the accuracy is excellent. Maybe the agps is not functioning properly...these devices really need agps to get a rapid lock. Is the supl server that is built into the device reliable? I believe this is the crux. Anybody having any inaccuracies is the exception to the rule once the device is locked. But a 3-4 minute lock time is fairly unacceptable

Same results as others. If I have the captivate high up in the windshield so it has a larger uninterrupted view of the sky, it will track almost as well as my Blackberry sitting on the center console. Seems the captivate is not nearly as sensitive as other GPS devices.
As for PR, a recall would not be in your nightly news but it would be all over the trade news. The Galaxy S brand has been in the trade news almost daily for the past few months. A recall would put a serious dent in all that positive momentum. That would have a serious effect on future deals with carriers, retailers, etc. Not to mention investors. And finally disaffected consumers.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Mine works with no view of the sky
My GPS is working good after COG Froyo version6. This track is from a mountain bike ride, phone was inside my camelback.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=e...16556845834261.00049360088f52c5ed399&t=h&z=16

nice looking track.. is your navigation app good too???
itsjustaphone said:
My GPS is working good after COG Froyo version6. This track is from a mountain bike ride, phone was inside my camelback.
[/url]
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Click to collapse
Questions for ya if ya don't mind.
1. Did you have problems before with same phone?
2. Phone new or refurbished?
3. When was it made give or take? (maybe import in terms of factory runs???)
Hmm thats it far as identifying maybe some know how to timestamp/get ingo from imei or serial.
I'll post a track from mine in a little bit I Think that would be a great idea for this thread.. POST YOUR TRACKS RESULTS AND BASIC SPECS.
Believe program is called "mytracks"

CORRECT Hardware GPS Fix - For Captivate?

Hey guys,
Wanted to know if anyone has tried this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=878970
I was trying to do the same thing on the Captivate realizing that the connector is readily accessible just by opening the battery door. Mine is a 1008 (number below S/N) telling its an August 2010 build so I tried. I am not sure about the results (improvements) and this may be because I am missing something. Want to know if anyone who has 1010 or earlier tried this successfully?!
Also, if that is a true fix which we are hoping, then does that mean the GPS antennae is on the battery door? Is that solid chip looking thing pasted a gps receiver? Experts please comment. And if that is a real antennae on the door, then without the battery cover the GPS should not work at all (with network thing off), but mine did. And if that is NOT the antennae, is it below the screwed down panel below the battery (like the vibrant)?
Just trying help myself and possibly others. Maybe I am going in completely wrong path, but it never hurts trying .
Feedback and comments please.
Thanks!

This would be awesome if it worked but I wanna make one comment. My GPS before the latest Dary 7 roms (The Darky 7/7.5/7.6 and now 7.7 ROMs) has been complete and utter crap. It never could maintain a lock if it ever got one in the first place, but now it is WAY better and even gets a lock when I'm under cover sometimes. Even when I'm driving it is totally usable and feels almost as good as my Nexus One did. I know my phone was manufactured before oct, but try out one of those ROMs before you go modifying your phone physically.

A thread for this fix is located here.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=876179

I have done both, bending the contact up a bit and scraping the film of the other contact off. It definately made an improvement. Now, will that improvement sustain throughout ROM's is a different story. But I definately got locks in 2 different places within 30 seconds. Very accurate locks I might add.

I think that the GPS problem is a hardware issue and not software. Sure, software can make it a little better. I had to replace my phone due to shutdown problem and the GPS on the new phone is absolutely perfect, no matter what ROM I use. That's my 2 cents though.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

just wanted to add this to the GPS saga-
my Father In-law has the Sprint Intercept - this just got the 2.2.1 update - I know this is a different phone than the Captivate and the hardware is probably not laid out the same, but I wanted to compare GPS side by side.. before the 2.2.1 update the phone took FOREVER to get a lock and accurate reading.
So his Intercept in my right hand, and my Captivate with JPY ROM (and with the Google GPS files floating around here as well) in the left hand.
Tapped on Google Maps at the same time, and the Intercept phone got to 2meter Accuracy before the Captivate got to 10M accuracy.

This has already been covered 3 or 4 times on this forum. search before posting please.

You guys should try Doc's 6.2.1 Rom. I am getting instant gps lock and it follows quite well.

Thread moved to General.

all triumph problems are here... do you need to exchange?

GROUND RULES:
Who should keep reading:
Current owners of Triumph or perspective buys who are trying to cut through all the trolls, flame wars, useless and/or misleading information from the (many) other threads, to find out what or if anything was wrong with their phone, how to identify these problems and most importantly, how to make intelligent decisions on whether to return or exchange before the 30 days run out.
Who should stop now and go read a book instead:
People who have (or think they have) perfect phones and feels it’s necessary to defend the Triumph’s honor at any mentioning of a problem. People who believes everybody else is clueless therefore it’s necessary to advertise basic settings changes as cure-alls (i.e. enable “use wireless networks,” it will fix your GPS problems). please give others more credit than that. And last but not least, people who hate the T and thinks it’s just the worst phone ever made… you have no reason to stay here.
Still with me? Good…
I have personally owned two T’s. the first one had several problems that I ended up returning, the second one was much better but not problem free. I also have access to two other T’s owned by friends. Everything I post here are based on facts that I have personally observed, not second-hand info or hear-say.
** GPS problem:
First of all, Google Map does NOT depend on GPS. Being able to see your location on the map means NOTHING when it comes to GPS location. In order to test if you have a GPS problem you have to either use an app like GPS Test or start Google Navigation. All tests should be done outdoors under open sky and while you have a valid data connection (for A-GPS data download). The GPS should lock-in within 2 minutes or less (Google Navigation should start showing your real time location as a blue arrow and start giving you turn by turn instructions).
A few minutes after a gps lock, you should have a location accurate to within 15ft or less. If google nav consistently shows a visible blue circle (of any size) around your current location, then it is unable to give you an accurate location lock, it is a problem.
If you have any problem at all with GPS lock or location accuracy, your phone has a broken GPS. Take it back for an exchange! Do not listen to people saying that you could fix it by running some magical software or do a special gps dance. You are wasting your time. If it wasn’t broken in the first place then you would have no need for those “fixes.” My first phone had an almost unusable GPS, the replacement and both of my friend’s phones have no problem whatsoever. Using GPS Test app, I was able to clearly see how the satellite signal levels were 30-50% lower on the previous T when compared to my OV, while the replacement had levels that are comparable to the OV.
** Data disconnect and/or drop to 1x when GPS is turned on.
I did not notice this behavior on any of the 4 Triumph I tested on. GPS and wireless signal can not interfere with each other, so if this happens consistently and is making data connection unstable or GPS lock problematic then there’s most likely a hardware problem. the phone should be exchanged.
** Screen flicker, white out, color cast:
If your screen ever turns white completely, or has a VERY heavy color cast, the answer is obvious, get it exchanged. meanwhile, all Triumph’s screen have overall “cooler” color when compared to my V. there were slight variations between each phone but as long as it was not extreme (i.e. making white look blue and red look purple) it should not be considered a problem. Just make sure you have removed the top layer screen protector before making a judgement.
slight screen flicker while turning on/off the phone repeatedly might not be worth an exchange for that reason alone. My first phone and one of my friend’s phone had the flickers, while my replacement and the other friend’s phone did not. The slight flicker did not both me or my friends at all.
**screen protectors:
Yes, there are two screen protectors. No, there’s absolutely no reason to keep the top layer. The second layer is very well applied and I doubt it’s meant to be taken off. You will never be able to apply another protector as well as that. If you have screen sensitivity issues, I’d suggest exchanging the phone rather than taking off that second layer of protector. None of the 4 phones I tried had any sensitivity issue with the protector attached. If you had to take it off then your phone has a problem.
** visible touch screen sensor elements:
If you can see “dots” on the screen under normal use, you are seeing the sensor elements embedded in between glass players. You should NOT be able to see them in any way during normal use. Exchange the phone if you do. it was a known LCD panels manufacturing problem on some earlier phones (mostly HTC). None of the Triumph I have seen had that problem.
** Signal level:
All four of the Triumphs had lower signal dbm numbers when compared to my OV. However, with my borderline coverage (-105dbm at home and -110dbm in the office), I had not experienced any drop calls on the T. Data connections were marginal but no worse than the OV. Do not make any decision based on dBm numbers alone. dbm is a relative value and do not mean what a lot of people seemed to think it means. In any case, exchanging the phone is not going to help in any way.
** WIFI disconnect:
I have not run into this with Triumph however, I had similar issue running AOSP rom on my OV while having no problem with other roms. This is likely something caused by the combination of router and phone software. My suggestion would be to try as many different routers as you can also try router settings such as G vs N, WEP vs WPA, hidden vs broadcast… if you have same problem everywhere then by all means try an exchange, I doubt it would help however.
** Touch button in sensitivity:
This happens randomly on all the T I have tested. It is likely a software problem that will not be fixed by exchanging the phone.
** Camera clicking while focusing:
All 4 phones had slight clicking noise while focusing but none had trouble actually gaining a focus. Exchange if you can’t get it to focus at all. the clicking seems to be normal however.
** Camera color cast:
None of the phones I have tried had problem with “green/blue color cast in the middle of the screen” as some have reported. If you have already removed the green screen protector on the camera itself then you probably have a real problem and should exchange the phone. just check your expectations – cell phone cameras have cheap plastic little fish eye lenses. Don’t expect results like your Canon or Nikon.
** phone stops charging while on:
I noticed two things: 1. some micro-usb chargers such as the one that came with OV would at times refuse to charge while the phone was turned on. Unplugging a couple of times may fix it. I haven’t had problem with stock T charger or the charger that came with my BlackBerry. 2. The charger will shut off once the phone temperature reaches 42c. this is most noticeable while in a hot car with phone on the dashboard. This is normal and is the result of an (over)sensitive overcharge protection.
** light leakage around bottom edges:
All the phones I have tired had various degrees of light leakage. It is consistent with problems reported on other versions of the same phone released earlier. the leakage was only visible in relative darkness so personally I did not think it was worth worrying about.
** Mismatched MEID:
To check your phone’s MEID, go to settings-> about phone -> status. The MEID should be an 18 digit number matching the stickers on the box, outside of the battery door and behind the battery on the back of the phone. Both of my phones had mismatched MEID. The phone itself was showing a 17 digit number while the stickers all have 18 digit numbers. an 0 in the middle is missing on the phones. One person (VM rep?) in an earlier thread had said VM was aware that 3,000 phones had this MEID mismatch so it seemed to be a known problem.
Some people have reported trouble using Google Voice on phones with mis-matched MEID. I have not been able to verify that myself.
** software version 38 vs 39:
Both of my Triumphs had version 38 software. the previous one had horrible GPS and some screen flickering while the replacement did not. There were also some obvious software differences between the two phones, despite the same software version. The replacement phone camera default to 5mp, while the previous one default to VGA resolution. The previous phone gallery had four random pictures referencing some Chinese websites (seemed to be leftover web cache). These pictures were in the ROM and did not go away after hard reset. The replacement phone had an empty gallery. One of my friend’s Triumph came with v.39 software which also had some screen flickers.
By itself, the software version did not indicate a good or bad phone. test everything!
The main thing to keep in mind is that there are many reported problems, not all of them were all that crucial. Given the obvious inconsistencies in build quality, it is a real possibility that the exchange would turns out to be much worse than the original phone. you really have to look long and hard at each problem and make an educated decision for yourself. Meanwhile, there’s absolutely no reason to put up with major things like a broken LCD or gps or insensitive touch screen. Take it back to the store!
This list was put together over several days, mostly as notes to myself. So please excuse me if it rambles a bit. Let me know if there’s something else you would like me to check.
Thanks and good luck.

I never even realized the 2 screen protectors but sure enough, they are there. As far as the light issues at the bottom of the screen, I definitely see it on mine as well.

microphone is awful.. sounds like there is tape on it. i checked, there isn't.
Heading to exchange it.

awesome write up. thank you sir

Another issue I just found out Im having is with my bluetooth. I have a Jawbone Icon and the sound seems overloaded. When I connect my older motorola BT headset to it, it works fine. Strange indeed!

My 30 day return period ends this weekend so I have to make a decision. GPS is really the only problem I have, and it is intermittent. I was hoping a software fix would come out so i wouldn't have to worry about exchanging.

As far as my bluetooth issues with the sound overpowering, I actually just bit the bullet and bought the a MOTO BT today to see how it would work. No issues. Fishy...

my biggest problem is that i cant seem to be able to stream music properly in google music. does everyone have this problem or should i exchange?
I even had full bars yesterday, and it was barely sputtering out any music.

crxmax said:
my biggest problem is that i cant seem to be able to stream music properly in google music. does everyone have this problem or should i exchange?
I even had full bars yesterday, and it was barely sputtering out any music.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I doubt that is a hardware issue. Probably a result of VM's network. Try running a speed test app and see what kind of speeds you are getting. I prefer "Open Signal."

the speeds i got on all the tests were all drastically different. I say an average of about 350kbs...is that normal?