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On my stock Cappy the GPS was only so-so. With Andromeda 1.2 it was awesome. Recently flashed to Cog 4.1 and while it was still better than stock, it was not as good as it was on Andromeda. I recently got a replacement phone from AT$T and decided to do some testing with it before I have to send one back. I have Andromeda on the phone on the left, Cog 4 on the phone on the right. I used two programs available for free from Market. The first is GPS Status, the second is GPS Test. Neother phone has a SIM card installed and wifi is turned off so that only the GPS is being used. Both phones have the exact same LBSTESTMODE settings and are using the same Google server and port.
Notice that Andromeda is not only faster at locking, but sees more satellites, holds them better, and gets a more accurate lock.
(Click pic to play)
Test 1 using GPS Status
Test 2 using GPS Test
I'd really like to stay on Cog 4.1 since it is based on an actual Cappy Froyo ROM, but GPS performance is important to me. What could be different about Andromeda that it performs so much better?
Interesting, better than the multiple anecdotes (which does not equal data) that often floats around
I wonder what we would see if you swapped the roms on the phones??
I too was less than impressed with cog 4.1 gps. I tried Plumbbob's 0.93 fix from the develop forum and man what a difference.
Try it. It made a terrific difference. Follow the instructions explicitly and it should work for you.
Plumbbob knows what he's doing when it comes to gps.
Harveythedog said:
Interesting, better than the multiple anecdotes (which does not equal data) that often floats around
I wonder what we would see if you swapped the roms on the phones??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually had Andromeda on the phone on the right before I flashed it to Cog 4.0 and 4.1. That's why I was disappointed when I switched because Andromeda had run so well on that phone. When the replacement phone came and I saw the same result I knew it wasn't phone specific and had everything to do with the ROM.
Try a comparison with stock froyo.
Miami_Son said:
When the replacement phone came and I saw the same result I knew it wasn't phone specific and had everything to do with the ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good info., no good Cappy/bad Cappy variations then
Seems to be a lot of anecdotes where people are using one ROM yesterday, another today where a lot of GPS performance could just come down to stuff like weather conditions and satellite positions, so this back to back stuff is quite interesting.
bigbooty said:
I too was less than impressed with cog 4.1 gps. I tried Plumbbob's 0.93 fix from the develop forum and man what a difference.
Try it. It made a terrific difference. Follow the instructions explicitly and it should work for you.
Plumbbob knows what he's doing when it comes to gps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just tried it. Even worse. Any way to undo whatever it did?
My wife's Aria still beats my Cap in the GPS area on stock Froyo. Gets a lock quickly and often sees her at 10ft in less than 20 secs. There are times I'm lucky to have a lock at all It looks more and more like the Cap has bad GPS hardware.
Just tried it. Even worse. Any way to undo whatever it did?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's an app in the Market called Samsung GPS fix. Should put back all the factory settings. Not tried it with a custom ROM tho.
Miami_Son said:
Just tried it. Even worse. Any way to undo whatever it did?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just had a stock eclair captivate due to warranty exchange. Had Cog4 on my previous unit. I had the really good performance that some see from a new stock eclair, but I knew it would degrade quickly like most say. So I put Cog 4.1 and Plumbbob's fix on and I found it to be of little help over my experience on a Cog 4 Cappy with a bad GPS. Going to try Andromeda and see if there's any improvement, and then I might go back to the stock Eclair build I backed up just before flashing Cog4.1 and see how long that quickness lasts.
Miami_Son said:
Just tried it. Even worse. Any way to undo whatever it did?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange... You did the settings right in lbs test mode?
You can flash adams fix, should put it back. Cog 4.1 incorporated adams gps fix.
i was running phoenix 5.2 for a while and i seemed to get a 10m lock in a few seconds, regardless of my location
I'm back on Andromeda 1.2. Just couldn't live with the mediocre GPS performance with Cog 4.x. I wish DG would figure out how Andromeda is doing so well with the same hardware. That would get me back on Cog 4.x for sure.
Hello. Since no one seems to comment on this, I was just wondering if people have been using newer captivates and if the GPS on those units is working? If you had one built recently and had GPS flawlessly working it could mean samsung quietly fixed the bug. Just wondering if getting a cheaper captivate over the atrix is worth it since custom ROMing on this phone is so easy and fun
Thanks a lot.
I got mine in December at Walmart for $48.00. It's a 1012 build and the GPS was marginal at best on stock eclair 2.1. On any custom rom here it rocks. I've had outstanding gps on Di11i's 6.0 and on Cog 4.1 with plumbbobs .93 fix.
But to answer your question, I'd say no,they haven't fixed anything.
bigbooty said:
I got mine in December at Walmart for $48.00. It's a 1012 build and the GPS was marginal at best on stock eclair 2.1. On any custom rom here it rocks. I've had outstanding gps on Di11i's 6.0 and on Cog 4.1 with plumbbobs .93 fix.
But to answer your question, I'd say no,they haven't fixed anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So in other words you can use your GPS for tracking/navigation etc and it works ok? I think these xda devs should open up their own mobile company lol. Amazing work if they can fix what a huge corporation is unable to! Hats off to you all
phonex1 said:
So in other words you can use your GPS for tracking/navigation etc and it works ok? I think these xda devs should open up their own mobile company lol. Amazing work if they can fix what a huge corporation is unable to! Hats off to you all
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got my phone about 2-3 weeks ago. It's a 1012 build as well. Stock 2.1 GPS was terrible and rarely worked.
With most custom ROMs it has seemed to work much better. Whatever GPS fix FireFly 2.3 uses works GREAT. I've had 75%-85% luck with Andromeda and ~50% with Cognition. Its kind of a crapshoot.
My guess is Samsung is making these phones using the absolute cheapest garbage components they can - It's the only explanation for the varying results in speed, GPS, and overall usability on the same ROMs on 2 identical phones.
I'm running Andromeda right now and use a Speedometer app using GPS and it works pretty damn well to give me +/- 3MPH.
It works great in Srendipity, haven't tried it in movement but it finds me fast and with +-30 meters radius...
I have an older Cappy, v1008, and truly I don't find it that much worse than my TomTom.
There are distinct caveats to each device. The TomTom takes far longer to lock in new time zones, but tracks a bit better. Both hate the concrete jungle, ie the financial district in SF... Manhattan.
I have a 1012 build also and have a flawless GPS....and it was that way out of the box on stock Eclair 2.1 too! Now, on Serendipity, I get a lock INSIDE the house within 6-8 seconds. On stock 2.1 it wasn't much different either.
I'm just one of the lucky ones I guess.....
I never did and still don't have an issue on either Captivate I own.
I asked before if people with issues live in cities, which would explain GPS issues with any device.
Sent from my Dell Streak 7 using XDA Premium App
Mine is build 1101 and out of the box I have had no GPS complaints. It locked fine in less than 10 seconds indoors with Eclair, and still does that with Froyo. Outside, it's usually less than 5 seconds. Tracking seem really accurate.
mine is one of those 1101 versions...i'm guessing it's new since i've only recently acquired it...didn't even use stock captivate, went straight to custom roms and it's gps is pretty solid...alot better than my milestone if that counts for anything
sebas.mf said:
It works great in Srendipity, haven't tried it in movement but it finds me fast and with +-30 meters radius...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, Serendipity had good GPS as well. I've flashed so many roms in the last month it's nuts...
phonex1 said:
So in other words you can use your GPS for tracking/navigation etc and it works ok? I think these xda devs should open up their own mobile company lol. Amazing work if they can fix what a huge corporation is unable to! Hats off to you all
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really don't think its that they couldnt fix it but more like they didn't want to
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
I've got an 1011 build and gps was crap with stock eclair. I have Cog 4.1 with xcalibur's kernel now and gps had been quick to lock.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA Premium App
When I had the ATT stock I got the lock in seconds. After flashing and putting different ROM its like 5-10 min.
Is there a difference in the gps.conf or anything else?
borisb said:
When I had the ATT stock I got the lock in seconds. After flashing and putting different ROM its like 5-10 min.
Is there a difference in the gps.conf or anything else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The one I am on (Android Revolution 5.1.8) and GingerBeast (2.1.2) I had before this, I generally got lock in seconds, and with an accuracy of 5-10m.
I would say the GPS on sense based roms with the correct gps.conf file works just as good as the stock rom.
Right now I'm using Android Revolution 5.1.9 and I get almost instant lock (about 5 secs) and 5~7m error.
Radio and RIL also play a very large part in it as well, I have had great luck leaving the gps.conf file as is and just flashing the updated stock radio/RIL combo. Locks in seconds unless obstructed.
This also includes CM7 Nightlies after 57ish.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA Premium App
Running Leedroid and getting lock in seconds down to 10 foot accuracy! Best I've had in any configuration. Running latest stock radio.
Running leedroid and my GPS is rock sold. While driving @70mph I get 10/10 in less then 10 seconds. New radio and ril.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App
Works fine for me on cm 7. I don't turn it off and on. With gingerbread its really not necessary in aosp type roms it only activates when needed the power drain is minimal.
funny, i just flashed back to the stock rooted rom with sideloading (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1058042) because I've realized I had ZERO dropped calls or connection issues on the stock rom. i was using ar4g 3.7 anyways because I found it to be the most stable and quite quick. wish it had a custom kernel.
back to the point, I had issues getting GPS working on that too, even with matching ril and radio. hopefully I won't have any more issues with this rom
For myself, it was much better when I was on stock rom, but since I love testing out new roms, I've learned to live with it... At least it'll still work most of the time.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App
I think stock GPS SUCKSSSSS!
Dang I was just playing with this guz I'm kinda a GPS freak, and this Inspire, if one thing sucks, it's the GPS. Forver to get locks, and closest accuracy radius ever achieved is 7 meters....any suggestions? GPSFix, GPS Essentials doesn't seem to help. Ugh...guz me likes me my accurate GPS on my phone thingy....I was hoping that when I root it would improve but this feature probably doesn't get a whole lot of attention form the devs (?)
Edit: It is marginally better than the aged iPhone 3G I had, but I took it apart when it almost dead (I kilt it off by some wild ass idea I was going to refurb it) and there were signs of oxidation around the GPS antenna, which makes sense because my perception was that the performance degraded over time.
I've been (mostly) lurking on XDA boards for a couple of years, having had a Droid X, Droid Charge, and lately an Inspire. I am a confirmed flashaholic, and historically rarely stick with one ROM for longer than a few weeks.
The Inspire though, presents an interesting and somewhat frustrating problem. In a nutshell, I am unable to hold a GPS lock for longer than 3 minutes at a time on anything other than a Sense ROM. In digging around on the boards, it is clear that this is a known issue on the Inspire (Desire HD too) running anything built off of CM7. Now, for the average user this might not be a huge deal, but I drive a tow truck for a living and rely heavily on GPS for trips, every night.
I have attempted each and every fix available for this problem, with no lasting success. It's a shame because on occasion I love to run pure CM7, and the Inspire has a superb CM7 hybrid available in Absolution. And now the AOSP ICS builds are nearing completion, but they still present a problem due to the CM7 parts used. Why am I stuck with Sense on this device in order to use Navigation effectively?
To be clear, I love this phone, not going anywhere, and I've got Sense 3.5 growing on me just fine, currently running Mikrunny, but I do miss the stripped down speed of CM. Why was this never addressed by Cyanogenmod's team? It's documented, even on CM's own boards. Can't blame the devs here, they are working off of source that is inherently bugged, or deficient, IMHO. Have tried countless market app fixes, GPS Test, GPS Status, etc. Found a great thread on the Desire board that greatly improves the number of satellites visible to the device and the speed of the fixes, but none help hold a lock longer than 3 or 4 minutes at a time. Frustrating.
Purpose for this thread? Well, to vent a little I guess, but more importantly to see if anyone with deeper knowledge than me on the topic has further insight...a HEAVY GPS user like myself perhaps?
Sent from my Inspire 4G using Tapatalk
the problem lies in google maps. least from what ive read and experienced. if you use different navigation or gps software theres no problem at all.
give Waze a try
OK. Will give Waze and/or Sygic a shot. Thanks for the reply.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using Tapatalk
If you toggle your gps off then back on after you've opened and gotten a lock in navigation and it will
Stay locked.
Sent from my HTC Inspire 4G using XDA App
I'm having very good fixing and holding on black ice ROM with crypted's agps fix ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1252011), specifically the "at&t flavored" option.
I am also using CM7 and I found that modifying my gps.conf as described in this thread really helped me. I was having troube getting a lock at all, would try for 10 minutes, but now I can get a lock in under 1 min.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1239713
I use GPS Status to get the A-GPS data.
https://market.android.com/details?...wsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5lY2xpcHNpbS5ncHNzdGF0dXMyIl0.
I've also found that turning the gps off and back on at the initial signal loss works well. I field tested my inspire using an ics rom on a 2.5 hr road trip. It did lose the signal within the first 2 minutes, but toggling the location services button fixed it. After the first drop I kept the signal for the entire trip, both ways
I may have found something, but I need a few others to try it out and see if it is reproducible.
If folks here are comfortable modifying their build.prop file can anyone give this a shot and post back here if it worked for them?
Change
ro.product.model=Desire HD
to
ro.product.model=Inspire 4G
Reboot.
Test the GPS without toggling.
A couple of caveats. I'm running on the BlackIce ROM (a CM7 derivative which does have the gps toggle issue still) and I have applied crypted's AGPS patch (which improved the lock considerably but did not fix the toggle bug).
Dubbee said:
I may have found something, but I need a few others to try it out and see if it is reproducible.
If folks here are comfortable modifying their build.prop file can anyone give this a shot and post back here if it worked for them?
Change
ro.product.model=Desire HD
to
ro.product.model=Inspire 4G
Reboot.
Test the GPS without toggling.
A couple of caveats. I'm running on the BlackIce ROM (a CM7 derivative which does have the gps toggle issue still) and I have applied crypted's AGPS patch (which improved the lock considerably but did not fix the toggle bug).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't make a difference. Download GPS Status from the market. Before you fire up Google maps run GPS status first. As soon as it downloads the assisted gps data fire up Google maps and you will be good to go.
GPS Status is useful but it doesn't address the toggle annoyance.
Did you actually try the build.prop edit?
I also use blackice with crypted's 3.1 gps patch. Google navigation is buggy, but I like to drive my very light car out in the stocks on the twisties where their is edge, gprs, or nothing. So, I use Navigon. It's gotten better now that garmin bought them and the routing engine is leaps and bounds better than Google. It works flawlessly.
Sent from my Desire HD using xda premium
DeathmonkeyGTX said:
I also use blackice with crypted's 3.1 gps patch. Google navigation is buggy, but I like to drive my very light car out in the stocks on the twisties where their is edge, gprs, or nothing. So, I use Navigon. It's gotten better now that garmin bought them and the routing engine is leaps and bounds better than Google. It works flawlessly.
Sent from my Desire HD using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you serious? Its a $40 freakin app! https://market.android.com/details?id=com.navigon.navigator_checkout_us&hl=en
I'm dead serious. It's worth every penny if you need gps and don't want to be subject to the propagation of radio frequency for your map data. It works very well. Some people ***** about it not working, but my guess is that they are incompetent. Also, navteq has the best map data for North America. I can uncheck a box and it'll route me on rural roads that would require a custom rock crawler to traverse.
Also, I tend to get the best gps and everything else results with radio 12.65.60.29U_26.14.04.28_M.
Sent from my Desire HD using xda premium
I dowloaded GPS status, turned on my navigation ap, then toggled my gps on and off and it worked for 30 straight minutes
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium
Forgot to add I am using Revolution
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium
tepeee said:
I dowloaded GPS status, turned on my navigation ap, then toggled my gps on and off and it worked for 30 straight minutes
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But the question is, will it come on by itself without having to toggle it off and on? Mine gets a fast fix and will stay connected so long as I toggle it off and on and don't let the screen time out or close the program. Any of that happens and I have to toggle it again. This is with CM7 nightly 260.
I am using a stock Inpire 4g (for now). FWIW, If Google maps/navigation is the first app to attempt to access the GPS after the GPS has been turned on, it will never get a signal lock for me. I have to run GPS Status (a great app) before trying anything else. Sometimes this means toggling GPS off and back on, running GPS Status, waiting for lock, and then resuming Google maps/navigation. Even if I start Google, realize my mistake, and then run GPS Status with Google still in the background, GPS Status will "see" as many as 10 satellites with strong signals, and never get lock. I only have to run GPS Status once after GPS has been turned on. Then, if I leave the GPS on, I can use any other app as much as I want with no problems.
My current phone got stolen, so I need something on a budget for the meanwhile. I was thinking of getting a captivate since it has lot of development with stable ICS builds..
My only concern is the GPS ? I had heard there were problems initially with early galaxy S units, resulting in poor GPS performance. Do they still exist in ICS roms or were they fixed ? Also if anyone know were these on hardware side or if they were just software bugs?
Mafioso said:
My current phone got stolen, so I need something on a budget for the meanwhile. I was thinking of getting a captivate since it has lot of development with stable ICS builds..
My only concern is the GPS ? I had heard there were problems initially with early galaxy S units, resulting in poor GPS performance. Do they still exist in ICS roms or were they fixed ? Also if anyone know were these on hardware side or if they were just software bugs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are several threads on the gps problem and it's not related to rom, per se. I am on GB and changing the etc/gps.conf file has made my GPS reliable. The position of the GPS antenna inside the phone is far from ideal and samsung didn't ship it with best settings in the gps.conf file.
if you search for 'gps.conf' you will find the threads. it is pretty simple to replace the gps.conf file or edit it.
Some ROMs include the gps.conf fix.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897
I love many things about my captivate, but the GPS is not one of them. There are fixes that help some, but it still seems too unreliable. If I'm driving it loses signal all too often.
Gps
For a decent gps signal I flash H3llstorm GPS Fix after flashing a Rom... Still Doesn't compare to other devices signal strength, but makes gps usable
It works on CM9, AOKP and MIUI
-Sorry for bad English
GPS, also, depend on your baseband version.some baseband firmwares consumes more battary charge, but gives better GPS signals. I use XXJVT modem and have no issues with GPS signal.
I figured out something cool. If I hold my captivate up to the windshield it will lock on nicely, whereas if it's in my lap when driving it won't. Then I have a windshield mount where I keep it. It's been working better. This has been true on AOCP and jelly bean.
Running aokp kang build 4 GPS locks normally < 30 sec
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
After flashing to latest stable Cyanogenmod 9.1 my GPS is very good. I get 8 out of 9 satellite lock in about 5 seconds where it used to take 30-40 seconds with stock ROM and about 20-30 with 2.3.5 ROM I used for a while. That's in exactly the same spot right in front of my house.
that's the only thing i hate about Captivate @@
GPS is unbelievably weak, it has to combine with gps from mobile network, i can never use pure gps with only satellites @@
The GPS is my least favorite component of my Galaxy S.
I do use my Captivate as my GPS while geocaching.
I find that for best reception I have to hold the phone so the back is pointed up. To do this is is slightly over my head and I have to look up at it. Going though some trees and leaning over the phone it will loose connection. In the car driving I only find occasionally it will loose connection. In the mount on the dash it is in the ideal orientation.
My Transformer Prime tablet has an even worse GPS but the update external GPS add-on improves the GPS to be much better than the Captivate.
If it realy matters you can get a blue tooth GPS that can work with this and probably any phone you might upgrade to in the future.
I am running ICS on my phone and under Location Services there is GPS source to select different GPS. I just tried to connect using bluetooth to my Garmin car GPS but the only bluetooth functionality it has is to send sound to car stereo. and I could not even pair the Garmin with the Captivate.
Lots of bluetooth GPS receivers to choose from on eBay.
This thread might give you some more information of some of the units others have tried.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1122688
I am going to stick with the GPS in my phone. It has worked good enough for two years and will be updating my phone in Feb or March.
Jim
Honestly, you don't choose the Captivate for its GPS. Although, many ROMs have GPS fix and makes it usable. I can't say I had much issue with mine, it does the job it needs to do but depending on your connection, it might not be optimal. I did lose signal for a few seconds while driving but never lost signal to leaning over it tho eh
I almost want to say that the Captivate has the worst GPS out of most phones but I don't have much experience with other phones. The captivate is decent though and I think with the latest versions of JB, it seems to operate much better.
Hi all, I have a question. Why my GPS get fix fast and strong in gpstest apk and dont get a good fix running the google Navigator?
Enviado do meu SGH-I897
^
Try this... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=19422197
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
4-2ndtwin said:
^
Try this... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=19422197
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is It works for CM10 stable (JB 4.1.2)?
^
Sorry, but nope. Just good for samsung stock gb roms or those based on that. Should have mentioned that before. My bad.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
igorgomez said:
Hi all, I have a question. Why my GPS get fix fast and strong in gpstest apk and dont get a good fix running the google Navigator?
Enviado do meu SGH-I897
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've noticed that the google nav app maybe sensitive to the accuracy of the system time. When the clock is off by more that a few seconds, it seems to consistently report my position incorrectly, by 50 meters or more, in the same direction.
For example, when driving southbound, it will show me driving south, but 100 meters off the road to the east and this offset will persist until the clock is corrected.
I've installed clocksync app and set it to sync time every hour. It seems to help: Google nav doesn't give the persistant offset, but it does lose lock sometimes. I just toggle gps enable in the status bar and it recovers.
My gps.conf file uses the hellstorm fix. I am running GB debloated stock rom with Corn 7.06a kernel.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897