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Hi everyone
I have a P3470+ (HTC clone from China) Phone (Hisilicon K3, 460MHZ, WM 6.1) and my problem is that whatever navigation software (or Google Maps) I use, the phone doesn't find any satellites anymore :-( It USED to work but now it doesn't?!?
Anybody know how to fix that problem?
Also, can I update the ROM? Where do I find an ENGLISH ROM (WM 6.1 or even 6.5?). I know how to set this phone into an "update mode", I also have a software called "IDT" from Hisilicon, the only thing I am missing is a ROM. Maybe this is the only chance to get the GPS working again?
Anybody know how to do a hard reset on this baby?
Thanks for your help and greetings from Germany
ColonelZap said:
Hi everyone
I have a P3470+ (HTC clone from China) Phone (Hisilicon K3, 460MHZ, WM 6.1) and my problem is that whatever navigation software (or Google Maps) I use, the phone doesn't find any satellites anymore :-( It USED to work but now it doesn't?!?
Anybody know how to fix that problem?
Also, can I update the ROM? Where do I find an ENGLISH ROM (WM 6.1 or even 6.5?). I know how to set this phone into an "update mode", I also have a software called "IDT" from Hisilicon, the only thing I am missing is a ROM. Maybe this is the only chance to get the GPS working again?
Anybody know how to do a hard reset on this baby?
Thanks for your help and greetings from Germany
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download GPSToggle CAB from this link http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7VRBH5RS . It is called GPSToggle and is a Today screen app. It works best when installed to main memory.
Once installed, you will need to add it to your Today screen. From your Today screen go to Settings, then choose Today settings. Go to the Items tab and you should see BAF GPS Toggle at the bottom of the list. Click the box to have it added to your Today Screen. Close the Settings screen and go back to your Today screen.
Now, a little bit of info about your GPS. It will work best when it has an unobstructed view of the sky overhead. It should stationery (not moving) and uninterrupted from the time you turn on the application.
Some people can get satellite signals inside a building. I can because I live in a one-story condo. If you can sit outside with your phone for about 30 minutes, GPSToggle should do the trick.
On your Today screen you will now see an item called GPS with the word OFF next to it. Click the word GPS and the word next to it will change to On indicating that the app has turned on your GPS.
Now sit back, be patient and wait. If you're lucky and outside, the SIRF III chip in your phone should lock on within as little as 42 seconds (doubtful in your case) and as long as five minutes.
Attached to this message are four screens showing what your screen will look like:
GPSToggle 01 - Initial turn on. GPS is in search mode (no satellites detected).
GPSToggle 02 - GPS on. Communication beginning. 12 satellites possible.
GPSToggle 03 - GPS on. Four satellite bars displayed. Satnav not possible yet.
GPSToggle 04 - GPS on. Four satellites locked on. 3D satnav possible.
Note 1: I had not turned on my GPS today which meant it took about 2.5 minutes to lock on. This is not bad considering I am sitting in my front room. Normally, it takes about 60 seconds when I have turned on the GPS previously in the day and eperemis data which is satellite position and timing information is available from a previous session.
Note 2: According to most SIRF manufacturers, it takes three satellites for 2D satnav to occur. Most GPS programs can operate with that mode. Four satellites provide 3D satnav which is preferred.
See if this works for you. If it does, whenever you need to use your GPS, go to the Today screen and use GPSToggle to turn on the GPS for you which will quote warm it up for your GPS program. Once you see four green bars, you can turn on your GPS program and navigate like a champ!
You can read further about GPSToggle at this URL and thank the developer: http://www.freewarepocketpc.net/ppc-download-gps-toggle.html
Good luck!
Thank you so much for this detailed instruction, I really appreciate it!
I tried it, unfortunately it didn't work for me
After + 1 hour it still says: GPS on Seek: 0
I'm starting to believe that this phones actually has a hardware defect?!? Whatever navigation software or GPS tools I use, GPS is ALWAYS found, Comport is open and it looks like data is flowing but never does this phone find any satellites
Anything else I might try?
Thanks
There are two more things you can try (actually three but I will save the worst for last):
#1 - To help your GPS, it is best for WM to manage it (a recommended feature from Microsoft). Go to the Settings tab, External GPS (why it is called that on my Settings tab is beyond me). Then click through the screens to have WM manage the GPS. On one tab you will asked to choose a Port from which all your programs will access data. You need to use an unused Port. I recommend Port 8 but that is up to you. Previously Ports 1 - 4 have been used by other programs. 5 - 8 are free and supposedly TMS uses Port 9.
The reason for doing this is if WM manages the data, it will keep the GPS on and provide the resolved info to all applications. If the programs managed the GPS, they could selectively turn on and off the GPS and also block each other from using the GPS. You don't want that to happen. That is why MS recommends WM manage the data.
#2 - While I have never used this option, Assisted GPS (AGPS) is the second option. You activate Assisted GPS by going from the Today screen to Settings and then System. AGPS is one of choices on this tab. Once selected, AGPS settings page will offer the chance to Enable this utility. Click the circle next to Enable to activate this feature.
Assisted GPS will use an internet or cell tower connections to download Epheremis data to aid your GPS to determine what satellites are available to you during a given time period which is why charging is recommended. Be advised that AGPS can your data plan to access the internet and could cost you some money. Supposedly AGPS should be able to download epheremis data within a short period. The file is a small text file. But I don't do it this way and can't really advise on this although I do know theoretically how AGPS works.
#3 - While this is not the worst of options, you can plug in your phone nearest a wall that is not obstructed by being in the middle of your house or apartment and turn on the GPS. If there is a room with a window where you can leave the charging phone, that would be a preferred location. In some cases, it can take hours for a phone GPS to be found. You could do this overnight if not having use to your phone is a pain for you. Yes, you might to leave it unattended for a long time.
There is one more option but that involves downloading another program which hopefully will not be necessary. Please try the options one by one and see what happens.
Good luck!
Correct time set and its importance to GPS position resolution
Pardon me for what I now say but, I made an assumption and would like to cover that base. Is your time and time zone correctly set?
Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) use the time set by a GPS receiver as the entering argument to determine where your GPS is. When your time and its time zone settings are received, the overhead GPS will transmit to your receiver the epheremis data which is the location and times satellites will be overhead where your time is set.
Being off one minute, a couple or even an hour *might* not be too bad. But three hours (a time zone) or using AM versus PM will seriously affect what epheremis data is transmitted and used by your receiver.
Time zone is also a similar error. Off one or two zones and the wrong epheremis data will be transmitted and used.
To use an example, this would be like telling a friend you will be in Paris at 10 AM sharp when you actually are in Milan and it's 8 PM. If your friend were to look for you at the Eiffel Tower at 10 AM, do you think they would ever find you if you actually were in Milan?
GPS receivers suffer too when incorrect time or time zones are set by the user. Granted, the user should sync the time with their computer but even some users have incorrect time set on their computers.
Hopefully this is not one of your problems.
Thanks again for putting so much time into my problem!
I just checked the time, date and time zone, it's all correct.
I tried it with and without having WM manage the GPS, right now I have this function ON in the external GPS settings. Program port 5, Hardware port 6, Baud Rate 4800. I KNOW these settings are supposed to work because they did when I first received that phone. Igo8 worked perfectly with these settings
about #2: This phone does NOT have any A-GPS settings. I'm SURE I looked into the right place, I have another phone (a T5355+ Touch Diamond2 clone), that phone does have A-GPS settings and they are found right where you wrote they should be. So, nothing I can do about A-GPS settings on my P3470+ phone with the problem :-(
about #3: I have my phone in a room right under my roof right now, underneath a huge window, charger connected, hoping for a positv result. In that spot I was always able to find some satellites
What else have I tried before:
I tried using Quick GPS, I downloaded the data, no result. I also deleted the Quick GPS data, just in case, but it also didn't do the trick.
Anyway, I'll leave my phone under that roof window for the night, I'll post the result tomorrow
Thanks again for all your help, I really appreciate it
You're welcome, Colonel. Every time I see a post like this, I thank my stars that I have not had this problem. I was a Mod on another GPS forum and saw this frequently but half the time it was what we called in the military "operator error" or self-inflicted.
I wonder if you have installed other GPS apps and removed them? Reason I ask is that I've noticed with WM6.1 and above, that WM seems buggy when apps are installed and removed. I don't think it's MS's fault but what I call "crippled ROMs" that we are seeing. Not all ROMs are created equal if you get my drift. If you have a backup program like SpriteBackup or SPB Backup, you might want to do a backup and then a master reset or Mass Clear to bring your phone back to an initial state where the GPS drivers should all be present. I would save that for tomorrow if I were you.
I know it's probably about beddy bye time if you're in Germany. There is two more utilities I can recommend. The first I have a doc file on which I will paste here.
Winfast Navigator (WN) is the easiest to use in my humble opinion (IMHO). I have a Holux GR-271 that connects to my PDA as a NMEA receiver on Port 4 at a baud rate of 4800. Once installed, you can use your values to test your receiver from the first page displayed.
I have attached the zip file to this message. I think you can install the CAB file to your storage card. Once you do, you can use the settings you quoted in the first window.
Here's how another member reset his GPS using WinFastNavigator and how to set your values on the first page:
http://tjworld.net/wiki/Howto/ResetGPSReceiverToNMEAMode
While I would not recommend setting your SIRF chip to NMEA, one of WN's utilities will reset your SIRF chip if you want to go that route. I would have reinstall it to my phone as I did not need it for my phone.
Not sure why but xda could not attach the file. Here is a link to it:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VTSNORVT WinFastNavigator.zip
Good luck!
same problem
ColonelZap said:
Hi everyone
I have a P3470+ (HTC clone from China) Phone (Hisilicon K3, 460MHZ, WM 6.1) and my problem is that whatever navigation software (or Google Maps) I use, the phone doesn't find any satellites anymore :-( It USED to work but now it doesn't?!?
Anybody know how to fix that problem?
Also, can I update the ROM? Where do I find an ENGLISH ROM (WM 6.1 or even 6.5?). I know how to set this phone into an "update mode", I also have a software called "IDT" from Hisilicon, the only thing I am missing is a ROM. Maybe this is the only chance to get the GPS working again?
Anybody know how to do a hard reset on this baby?
Thanks for your help and greetings from Germany
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same problem with a phone like, ask the chinese rom, but not how to install on the phone , because apparently I need the driver (my pc does not recognize the pharos downloading clone mode), you use if you send the original ROM?
Hi everyone and especially Ronp76
The night under ste stars didn't do the trick
I was suspecting I might have a "crippled ROM", so I did a Clean Boot a "long" time ago, with no success.
O.k., I just installed WN, clicked on Port Setting, selected SiRF and tried to set it to Port 6, Baudrate 4800. I got an error message:
"Couldn't open the Serial_AGPS COM6 port!"
Same error message on COM1 and COM3, the only port I don't get that message is "Serial_BT COM2"
Bluetooth????
When I select that Port, WN tries to connect but nothing happens :-(
EDIT: I still had BAF GPS Toggle runnning, after turning it off, I didn't get the error message on COM6 anymore. But still WN is trying to connect to COM6 and is getting nothing :-(
EDIT2: I tried a tool called "GPS Port Scan" http://www.51spsoft.com/DownInfo/info30767.html, it searches for GPS, finds it on port 5 AND (?) port 6, when I open Port 6, I can see "data flowing" (see attached picture). But that's it, when I check the GPS status with this tool, it shows no longitude, latitude or anything :-(
While I would not recommend setting your SIRF chip to NMEA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't, should I try this anyway???
@ssccll
I know what you mean, when I put my phone into that "download mode", connect it with my laptop, Vista is trying to find a driver which I also don't have. Since I couldn't find an English ROM for that phone, I haven't really worried about that (yet)
SatCE rogram recommendaton
ColonelZap,
I am sorry to hear that Plans One and Two did not work. I think you're right that something drastic has happened to your GPS and now it is not being found. Hopefully you got a one year warranty with your phone and can return it if my next couple of plans do not work.
I have Plan Three ready now and will work on Plan Four later. Plan Four involves WinFastNavigator and resetting your GPS. I will have to reinstall it on my PDA as I took it off when I made it a dedicated iGO8 GPS with TTS support. iGO8 and TTS use just all available memory. Plan Three is a program called SatCE.
SatCE is a pretty smart program that usually finds a GPS regardless of whether or not the user knows how to find its settings. Download the CAB file and install it to SD card memory. Start up SatCE and you will see the Initial Screen. This screen has interesting information once the program is locked-on to satellites. Please note that since I launched my SatCE from a cold start with my Clone's GPS, it has no satellite information.
From the Edit menu on the taskbar, choose Location. The SatCE Location Screen will appear and you will see that SatCE is using the GPS location for its eperemis data. Change this Location to the city nearest you. Then tap the Calc button on the same screen and go back to the Initial Screen.
If your GPS works, the numbers should begin to change with the Sun and Moon information the easiest to verify. Based upon your time, you should be able to see that the Sun's azimuth and elevation are correct. By setting the Location, SatCE will force your GPS to use this Location as its present position in the epheremis data equation to locate satellites.
SatCE works really well and displays some pretty neat pictures if you click on the Icons next to the Edit menu.
Good luck and I will work on reinstalling WFN.
I am just about done setting up my PDA with WFN. In the meanwhile, I will post a more detailed URL for WFN as there may be more info there that I have glossed over:
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/winfastnavigatorppc.php
To get back to one of your questions about changing from SIRF to NMEA, I am unsure because we are dealing with Clones and I yet do not know all the specs for SIRF III which is supposedly the chip used in our Clones.
Supposedly with previous or older SIRF chips, you could change back and forth between NMEA and SIRF because that was built into most chips. I don't know if SIRF III has this capability.
One thing unknown to the average bear or GPS user is that programs can tweak your GPS chip. GPS chips have flash ROM memory like our Clones' memory. Instructions or new data can be written to flash ROM which can affect how your GPS chip operates. OR, instructions can be written and cause your chip not to work.
I hope that maybe one of your programs wrote some bad instructions which did not damage your GPS chip but reprogrammed it making it invalid. Since it worked previously with other programs that is the more likely scenario versus it failing but hey stuff happens!
I will leave you with these thoughts while I go "play" with WFN on my PDA. Colonel - this is going to cost you beer (just kidding)!
WinFast Navigator Reinitialization of GPS chip
ColonelZap,
I think you broke the code on using WinFast Navigator BUT just in case and to allow others to follow along, I will now detail how it can reset a GPS chip.
From the previous Initial Screen, a user selects Port Setting and inputs the appropriate values. If these values are unknown, they can be found by going from Today/Settings/System/External GPS. These values are set from the Initial Screen using the attached WFN Port Setting Screen. Select SIRF and your appropriate Port which can vary from Clone to Clone and HTC to HTC (this stuff does apply to HTC regular phones too).
At this point if you had a working GPS chip, you could click Connect from the Initial Screen and should get a message to the effect that your GPS was found. If not, then we will now get into some of the tweaking found from this URL:
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/winfastnavigatorppc.php
Once you have set your GPS chip values AND know them to be correct, you will reinitialize your GPS chip using the WFN Reinitialize Screen Page. This page is found on the Initial Screen by going to Command.
Click Command and you will see the WFN Reinitialize Screen. You will select Factory from the Reset Modes available. Click OK and go back to the Port Settings page to see that the values are what you initially set.
Click Connect again and cross your fingers that your GPS chip was reset and it now back to a working Factory Mode.
BTW, WFN's Reinitialization page is good for other things too. If you ever travel more than than 10 miles with the GPS chip off, epheremis data will be written to your GPS track log with your last known position. This last known position is used to locate satellites.
Like the previous example of telling someone you're in Paris when you're actually in Milan - if your GPS thinks it's in one place when it's actually in another, this can delay the Time to First Fix (TtFF). Basically your GPS chip is going from a Cold Start with bad data.
You can force the GPS chip with WFN to first Connect using the Initial Screen page. WFN remembers the values you set. If by chance, the Connect is taking too long OR you have travelled a long distance say by plane, you can exit the program and start it again.
Then you will go to the Reinitialization page and do a Cold Start. This will clear the track log and force your GPS chip to use its time + time zone to communicate directly with overhead GPS satellites.
One more note and I found this by accident. In the same way GPS chips can be tweaked incorrectly, they can be tweaked in a positive manner. If you look at one of my PDA's WFN Initial Screen, I tweaked the GPS chip from a baud rate of 9600 to 57,600.
Older GPS chips were set at lower baud rates when they were fully capable of higher rates which is kind of like a modem that can use various baud rates. By using the WFN Reinitialization Screen page, I reset mine on the NMEA tab to 57600. I have not checked this with the SIRF chip on my clone but will do so later this afternoon.
Good luck again to you. Hope this works!
SatCE Mission failed
I followed your instructions, my city was even listed Clicked on calc and numbers started to change on the main screen. No satellites, though
I couldn't tell if the sun's position is right, it's pretty cloudy, I couldn't see the sun.
When I clicked on the sat-symbol in the taskbar it reads
"GPS not activated"
WN Mission:
Here's what I did:
Port Settings – SiRF – Com 6 – 4800 Baud – ok
Then I clicked on command, selected Factory, selected 4800 in the SiRF settings, pressed ok.
Now, here is the "funny" thing: As soon as I pressed the ok button, the main screen came back up and it reads NMEA in the bottom left corner? WHY NMEA????
Other than that, nothing happened
Man, I really owe you more than just one beer
ColonelZap said:
SatCE Mission failed
I followed your instructions, my city was even listed Clicked on calc and numbers started to change on the main screen. No satellites, though
I couldn't tell if the sun's position is right, it's pretty cloudy, I couldn't see the sun.
When I clicked on the sat-symbol in the taskbar it reads
"GPS not activated"
WN Mission:
Here's what I did:
Port Settings – SiRF – Com 6 – 4800 Baud – ok
Then I clicked on command, selected Factory, selected 4800 in the SiRF settings, pressed ok.
Now, here is the "funny" thing: As soon as I pressed the ok button, the main screen came back up and it reads NMEA in the bottom left corner? WHY NMEA????
Other than that, nothing happened
Man, I really owe you more than just one beer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rule of thumb regarding Sun:
9 am - 090 degrees East
12 pm - 180 degrees South
4 pm - 270 degrees West
I think SatCE had the same problem as the other programs - your GPS has been reset.
I don't think I remember reading or seeing a WFN Factory Reset not bringing a GPS chip back to its original settings. On the WFN Reinitialize Screen page (attached), go from the Reset tab to SIRF tab. Insert your proper values and click OK.
You could go back to the Connect feature but if it was me, I'd do a soft reset after exitting the program. Do a soft reset and then run the program again. You may wish also to repeat setting up the SIRF values on that tab and then doing a Factory Reset to see if that helps. I seem to remember doing different combos but it has been a year or two since I did all this "black magic" but it was PFM when my GPS came back.
You might also want to look at the URL in my previous message to see if I missed something. I know that that URL reads like a doctoral dissertation but it saved my bacon when my PDA's GPS was reset by a program.
Then you can look at this page:
http://tjworld.net/wiki/Howto/ResetGPSReceiverToNMEAMode
That user wrote about how his GPS chip worked with both SIRF and NMEA. I would think our Clone's SIRF do the same. If nothing else works, you could set NMEA and use the values he suggests for making a SIRF act like NMEA with these values:
GGA 1
GLL 0
GSA 5
GSV 5
RMC 1
VTG 1
MSS 0
User 0
User 0
User 0
I have to run but will leave my computer how so I can tap into it and maybe respond on the fly! Good luck!!!
BTW, on one of your combos, please make sure you check the SIRF tab and then ACTUALLY do a Factory Reset by clicking the OK on that tab. I know you probably did this but just want to make sure you clicked OK on this tab.
You could also do a Factory Reset followed by a Cold Start immediately after that.
Gotta jam!!!
Hi again
I re-did everything, softreset and EVERYTHING.
The "bad news" is, when I use the Post Scan Utility (see my Post #9), NOTHING is found anymore
I also have the feeling, that WN is not really doing anything? Whenever I restart it, the baud rate is back to 38400, it doesn't take my 4800?!?
I'm also a little confused why I only get Port1, 2 ,3 and 6 offered when I go to the Port settings. The only port accepted is port 6 and this port is called "Serial AGPS" why "AGPS"?
I'll play around a little more, maybe I'm doing something terribly wrong?
UPDATE:
After I did the NMEA thing, I used the port scan tool again, this time it found GPS on Com5!!!! Too bad WN doesn't offer me that Comport
UPDATE 2: This port scanning tool always seems to find the GPS at the port I set under "Programs" in the external GPS settings, NOT the hardware port.
Looks like the Colonel is getting plenty of help!
Sorry about the problems though. But this has been a really interesting lesson in how GPS chips work. Bookmarking this thread right now so I can come back to it later (here's to hoping that doesn't need to happen! )
BTW Colonel.. I forgot to mention to you (and in my little video) that I am also using the Windows Mobile utility for managing my GPS connection. I think its called GPSID Settings (cab attached). I have the checkbox clicked to manage the connection automatically. After doing that, I open the GPS viewer to bring the GPS chip to life before launching iGo.
AGPS usually stands for Assisted GPS which means that your GPS is being "assisted" by your data plan and/or cell towers to get epheremis data. I did not think about that. You will find AGPS on Settings/System/AGPS. If it is on, I'd recommend turning it off as it should be "helping" you. You can about SIRF and AGPS here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SiRFstar_III
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GPS
I noticed in your second picture that the GPS was found on Port 5 but you say that you have been using Port 6.
If and I do recommend WM6.5 being set up to have manage GPS data, WFN needs to know the real or actual Port when you do a Reset.
Serial GPS also means something but I have my mind on what I'd doing right. I've seen it some context and feel it may be a factor. . .
SIRF, Port 5 would be my bet if GPSViewer found it there.
Colonel,
When you go to Settings/System/External GPS, what Port does WM report your GPS as? That report or Port should be the one you focus on resetting or re-initializing.
I recently installed the latest version of Heinz 57 on my mesmerize.
Here is an order of what i did.
1) "EC10_Root_recovery.tar.md5" flashed to device
2) "update.zip" applied to blue cwm (and "cwm-recovery-ALL.zip" applied to boot in red rather than blue and apply the update.zip every time)
3) "Mesmerize_EC10_PnP_0.5.zip" installed via red cwm (you need this before heinz, so i read/found out the hard way)
4) "Heinz_57.Hybrid_v4_30_11_OTB.zip" applied to device.
5) attached USCC apps and a few others from the PnP addons
Everything works great, EXCEPT the GPS.
I tried re-flashing and reinstalling all the zips, but the GPS just never really finds my location.
Symptoms:
a. My Foursquare widget on the desktop is useless and says "No Location Info. Click to Locate".
b. My latitude updated once, but refuses to update again.
c. I downloaded "GPS Status" to try and diagnose the problem. Rather than have little green satellites with numbers next to them, i have one large-ish brown circle and one hollow green circle. At the bottom of the screen, the GPS is constantly rotating (thinking) trying to get a lock, but nothing happens. I tried using GPS Status to reset the GPS data, but nothing happened.
Can anyone help me??
Thanks in advance!
-Wombatant
Wombatant said:
I recently installed the latest version of Heinz 57 on my mesmerize.
Here is an order of what i did.
1) "EC10_Root_recovery.tar.md5" flashed to device
2) "update.zip" applied to blue cwm (and "cwm-recovery-ALL.zip" applied to boot in red rather than blue and apply the update.zip every time)
3) "Mesmerize_EC10_PnP_0.5.zip" installed via red cwm (you need this before heinz, so i read/found out the hard way)
4) "Heinz_57.Hybrid_v4_30_11_OTB.zip" applied to device.
5) attached USCC apps and a few others from the PnP addons
Everything works great, EXCEPT the GPS.
I tried re-flashing and reinstalling all the zips, but the GPS just never really finds my location.
Symptoms:
a. My Foursquare widget on the desktop is useless and says "No Location Info. Click to Locate".
b. My latitude updated once, but refuses to update again.
c. I downloaded "GPS Status" to try and diagnose the problem. Rather than have little green satellites with numbers next to them, i have one large-ish brown circle and one hollow green circle. At the bottom of the screen, the GPS is constantly rotating (thinking) trying to get a lock, but nothing happens. I tried using GPS Status to reset the GPS data, but nothing happened.
Can anyone help me??
Thanks in advance!
-Wombatant
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Turn gps and use wireless networks on in location and security. I locked on in a couple of seconds, 10 of 11 satellites. I wiped my phone completely and did a fresh install and it works perfectly fine.
I tried turning "use wireless networks" on and i rebooted after, but it did not solve anything. I try and log onto latitude and it says login failed, and GPS is continually blinking and will not give me a lock.
GPS status still shows 0 satellites.
Wombatant said:
I tried turning "use wireless networks" on and i rebooted after, but it did not solve anything. I try and log onto latitude and it says login failed, and GPS is continually blinking and will not give me a lock.
GPS status still shows 0 satellites.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are you outside?
I'm not sure that it clears any different from gps status, but if you go in to settings/tsm parts/dial code hidden menu/gpsclrx, then use the mentioned fix that seemed to do the trick for me quite well
jplaidlaw said:
I'm not sure that it clears any different from gps status, but if you go in to settings/tsm parts/dial code hidden menu/gpsclrx, then use the mentioned fix that seemed to do the trick for me quite well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can confirm that this right here will fix it, at least it did for me. i am inside a metal building and it fixed onto my location right on the dot with no problems
The following seemed to have helped some people on my post on AF so figured I'd post it here as well.
If you're still having GPS issues in an area where you have data coverage, and you've tried changing the gps.conf and possibly updating your libraries as noted in other threads, have you tried changing your GPS settings to MS Based instead of the default of "Standalone"?
From wikipedia:
Mobile Station Based (MSB) - In MSB mode A-GPS operation, the A-GPS device receives ephemeris, reference location, reference time and other optional assistance data from the A-GPS server. With the help of the above data, the A-GPS device receives signals from the visible satellites and calculates the position.
You can do that by doing the following, as noted in my previous post:
My GPS was really taking a long time to lock. Usually 10 minutes or so using GPS Status before it would lock. I tried both just using gps only and then also with wireless network and it still took a long time. So I updated the lbstestmode.apk to use MS Based and the gps.conf file that was mentioned earlier and now I get a lock in GPS Status in about 8 seconds from a cold boot using only the GPS with no wireless network.
If anyone wants to try, I've attached a flashable zip. I took the zip posted by merkuralex earlier in the other gps thread (thanks merkuralex) and added the lbstestmode.apk posted in this SDX thread:
http://forum.sdx-developers.com/index.php?topic=13593.0
The following flashable zips are attached:
lbstestmode_mt_gps_conf.zip - contains the gps.conf file from the other thread + the lbstestmode.apk file.
lbstestmode.zip - contains only the lbstestmode.apk
I'll repost the instructions here (thanks to cornaljoe on sdx for the actual instructions):
Pre-1. Flash the one of the attached zips in CWM first to install the lbstestmode.apk (or just copy the lbstestmode.apk into /system/app/ if you'd rather) and then reboot your phone.
Follow these directions:
1. After boot create a shortcut to Activities -> LbsTestMode -> .LbsTestMode
You may have to install LauncherPro if your launcher doesn't support the activities option under shortcuts. Once installed all launchers will have this option.
My note: Just an FYI, LauncherPro can be downloaded from the Market for free if you don't already have it. Or any other app that allows you to create shortcuts (such as AnyCut I think can also do that)
2. Start LbsTestMode and goto the application settings and set it to MS Based and press back until you exit app.
3. Reboot phone and then use GPS Status under a clear sky until you get a lock.
The main thing to pay attention to is the numbers labeled Error(m) and Fix/Sat in the lower corners of the compass.
Error(m) is the accuracy of your location in meters which shows after you get a lock. Fix/Sat is the number of satellites locked and in view prospectively.
In GPS Status, you can do the following to force aGPS data to download:
3A. Click Menu --> Tools --> Manage A-GPS state --> Reset . This will clear all previous A-GPS data.
3B. Click Menu --> Tools --> Manage A-GPS state --> Download. This will download fresh A-GPS data.
3C. Let GPS Status lock. The first time will take longer as your gps/phone syncs the data.
After you get a lock, you can try powering down your phone and then restarting and see if your lock is faster from a cold start.
This may or may not help you. All I can say is that changing to MS Based helped my gps lock time--I usually have data access where I am.
I have done this, and it works perfect!
Cloudy and raining here today. I will definitely try it. Quick question though, you saying use either zip or use one before the other? I'm not really clear on this.
Also do You have to keep the short cut?
You need to apply the zip first (in CWM) or else you won't have the option to create the shortcut
Wich one, there's 2 zips? I've got it all installed and working. Even though its cloudy, I got instant lock on. I'll test it again tommarow when I go out of town. So far so good though.
Edit: indoors is about 10 sec lock on. Great find OP. Has anyone posted this over at hofo? Another question, will clearing data cache from apps hurt it any?
Sent from my MOTWX435KT using XDA App
Everything went great today. I left my phone off all night so it could get a solid cold start this morning. Its cloudy and rainy again today too. I hit the road this morning and fired the GPS up and it locked in about 15 seconds. Great job on this fix. Also since then it has been instant lock times when i try it.
Sent from my MOTWX435KT using XDA App
tcross8361 said:
Everything went great today. I left my phone off all night so it could get a solid cold start this morning. Its cloudy and rainy again today too. I hit the road this morning and fired the GPS up and it locked in about 15 seconds. Great job on this fix. Also since then it has been instant lock times when i try it.
Sent from my MOTWX435KT using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which ZIP did you use? I used the lbstestmode_mt_gps_conf.zip
idbl_fanatic said:
Which ZIP did you use? I used the lbstestmode_mt_gps_conf.zip
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I installed them both...lol But that's the last one I used.
I did have a bit of a hiccup on my way home. After lunch I turned my phone off. When I got back on the road 3 hours later I turned it back on and started up Navigation. It took a minute or so on the first lock. I exited out of Navigation and waited 20 minutes or so. I started it up again and it took about 30 seconds. Every time after that it was instant lock. Still very impressed. It was very cloudy and rainy today though. I was getting 1.1 mb down and 500 kb up today also. I would post this over at HoFo for all the nay sayers, but I wouldn't be able to answer any technical questions if anyone had them.
This place is starting to remind me of Seatle, rain every day...lol. I guess Fall is here to stay.
You are wasting your time.
I have traced this code extensively. For those who are unaware the GPS works on RPCs, which are internally processed by the kernel and passed to the chipset.
The chipset on this phone does not know how to handle AGPS requests - XTRA requests to inject the time (NTP time) and the orbital data are flatly refused.
You can set whatever you want, the data will never get to the chip. The Froyo base load intentionally discards such attempts and never sends them. If you load Gingerbread (and build it from source, as I have) and FORCE it to be sent it will return an error every time.
The problem appears to be in the silicon and/or the radio driver itself, which there is no source for. If someone's going to fix this, it's going to be at the radio interface level - not in user space.
My CM7 port is capable of cramming the data in there but it's turned off right now as when I enable it there's a fairly decent chance that the consequence of trying to do so is that the radio locks up and forces a watchdog reset (that is, a reboot on the phone)
I had terrible GPS reception even before I flashed NexusMod GB. However, I finally found a good fix for the gps to lock on to my location. Make sure you download the correct version. I downloaded the 2.x google and i also tried the 2.x att since i am on 2.3.6 and both worked great!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1438129
Instructions that worked for me:
Method 3 (easiest if you use a compatible version of CWR or CWM)*:
1. Download the patch
2. Boot into CWR (Clockwork Recovery)
3. Mount /system/ partition (on the main menu, select the "Mounts and storage" option, then "mount /system")
4. Flash the patch (on the main menu, select "Install zip from sdcard," then "choose zip from sdcard," and find the zip and select it)
5. Reboot the device
6. Review the NOTES section.
*This was built for and works on Inspire 4G and DesireHD versions of Clockwork Recovery. The Google CWM Flashable Build has binaries known to work with CWM on the X8. It may work on other devices. Please message me your success if you try and flash with recovery version and phone model as part of the message.
Once it boot up I went to system>location and security> and disabled use wireless networks/use gps satellites/use sensor aiding. I then rebooted and enabled use gps satellites. I then opened google maps and my gps is now finding me faster and it actually gets close to me.
I patched this today because it seems to take at least 5 minutes to lock onto a location. This did not help unfortunately. I'm thinking I should do a fresh odin of the official ICS...I did an upgrade from UCLF5 through Kies. I guess I blame myself for forcing it to a probably untested scenario.
Lucid first try downloading gps status, clear agps and download the data again.
kishke said:
Lucid first try downloading gps status, clear agps and download the data again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. After reading the forums and noticing that it wasn't a major issue for most, I realized the problem was mostly my device. Reading through the notes, I tried the battery removal for 30 seconds suggestion. I thought it had 1% chance of working, but after I did it, it actually started locking on instantly again. If this doesn't stick, then I'll try the clearing of agps. I think that probably sounded like it would have worked too.
Actually, just try turning off using network based location services when you plan using the GPS. I just leave if off unless I'm indoors and need a location fix.
I fought this for the last year and a half on my Atrix 4g, and the same thing when I got my SkyRocket last week.
Fire up GPS Status and Toolbox (Free, and a GREAT app! https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eclipsim.gpsstatus2&feature=search_result) and watch how long it takes to get a lock from a cold start of the GPS.
With the wireless based location services on, it can take 2 to 5 minutes for the phone to get a location. It shouldn't, but it does. But, with it off, I get a GPS location fix in under 10 seconds when outside.
WolfmanRobby said:
Actually, just try turning off using network based location services when you plan using the GPS. I just leave if off unless I'm indoors and need a location fix.
I fought this for the last year and a half on my Atrix 4g, and the same thing when I got my SkyRocket last week.
Fire up GPS Status and Toolbox (Free, and a GREAT app! https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eclipsim.gpsstatus2&feature=search_result) and watch how long it takes to get a lock from a cold start of the GPS.
With the wireless based location services on, it can take 2 to 5 minutes for the phone to get a location. It shouldn't, but it does. But, with it off, I get a GPS location fix in under 10 seconds when outside.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THIS. Had issues myself until I followed the above procedure.
Good evening guys-
After updating from ICS to JellyBean, my gps cannot find or lock onto any satellites.
If I enable wifi, its accurate to 20meters.. If not, it won't lock even after 15 minutes.
Any help is greatly appreciated-
mine has been similar in PA2.00 and CM10.
It actually will lock after a long time. Sometimes up to 30 minutes.
Interested in any answers... I noticed in the gps.conf file agps appears to be off. I don't know if that is the issue.
Unfortunately searching for a fix just reveals too much information with a lot of supposed fixes, but no consensus so far as i can tell.
brian Marshall said:
mine has been similar in PA2.00 and CM10.
It actually will lock after a long time. Sometimes up to 30 minutes.
Interested in any answers... I noticed in the gps.conf file agps appears to be off. I don't know if that is the issue.
Unfortunately searching for a fix just reveals too much information with a lot of supposed fixes, but no consensus so far as i can tell.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually agps was turned off to improve lock times...some people noticed no difference with it off, others noticed huge improvements with half the lock time
You can change it to true, then wipe cache and dalvic cache in recovery and see if it makes a difference
Sent from my SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2
mg2195 said:
Actually agps was turned off to improve lock times...some people noticed no difference with it off, others noticed huge improvements with half the lock time
You can change it to true, then wipe cache and dalvic cache in recovery and see if it makes a difference
Sent from my SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is that a 'go ahead and try it, it wont work, but go ahead and try it anyway' ?
It seems like a lot of people are having problems with GPS in jellybean, and some aren't. There's so many 'this worked for me' solutions, but I'm starting to think it's coincidence.
Someone mentioned installing and running copilot once. Did that. it didn't work. Without root permissions what could it really change to improve anything?
I ran Faster Fix. It edited my gps.conf file (which it doesn't tell you that it does) It didn't help. it might have made it slightly worse.
I found a few other gps.conf files for jellybean ROMs, but haven't tried those yet.
This is how we learn and share our info, by trying. Just make a back up of anything that you want to change or replace.
GPS works perfect on my PA Jelly Beaned Infuse. First I ran GPS Test, it took a good twenty minutes if not more for it's first lock.
But now, I get a lock in a few seconds.
GPS Test, is free in the market.
Planning my escape!
GPS Test has kicked my GPS in the butt and got it working with almost every ROM I've flashed. Once you get over that first delay (downloading satellite data?) the first time you run it, it locks on fairly well afterward. At least, that's been my experience
Truckerglenn said:
This is how we learn and share our info, by trying. Just make a back up of anything that you want to change or replace.
GPS works perfect on my PA Jelly Beaned Infuse. First I ran GPS Test, it took a good twenty minutes if not more for it's first lock.
But now, I get a lock in a few seconds.
GPS Test, is free in the market.
Planning my escape!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've already done that. It helped the next time I ran maps. When i left work yesterday I had maps give me turn by turn directions home. It took a couple minutes to lock, but after that it was working.
Then this morning I tried again. It wouldn't lock at all on the way in to work this morning. (only a 15 minute drive)
I also tried editing my GPS conf file this morning. I tried using ES file explorer, root explorer, and flashing. All three resulted in an empty file. ES says it was successful. Root explorer gives an error message 'there was not enough free disk space to complete the paste operation'
Flashing says it was successful, but again, it ends with an empty file. 0 bytes.
The file i used for the flash attempt is here. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1817558
With the gps.conf file I'm going to go leave the phone out in my car with gps on and see if it locks.
I understand that developers do a lot of work on this. I'm not trying to be a jerk. I just see a lot of people having the same issue and no agreement on a solution or even what the actual problem is.
brian Marshall said:
...
I understand that developers do a lot of work on this. I'm not trying to be a jerk. I just see a lot of people having the same issue and no agreement on a solution or even what the actual problem is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe this is because there is no solution. If you want to try to help solve the problem, "adb shell" in and start tinkering.
You'll quickly find that GPS is anything but an easy thing to fix. A good SUPL provider for you may be completely different for others.
I can't find the Answer that fixed it for me,
but what I did:
Plug phone in, disable wifi, leave phone near window, and let
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...251bGwsMSwyLDYsImNvbS5hbmRyb2lkLmdwc3Rlc3QiXQ..
that app run... :45 minutes later it locked (GPS icon on Status Bar stopped blinking and showed locked, solid) with 7 satellites.
waited, rebooted the phone, and it locked in about 3 minutes.
-hope this helps.
other than that, love this ROM!
choffman said:
I believe this is because there is no solution. If you want to try to help solve the problem, "adb shell" in and start tinkering.
You'll quickly find that GPS is anything but an easy thing to fix. A good SUPL provider for you may be completely different for others.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that is an actual answer.
I suppose part of the problem for us noobs sorting through 300 page threads is all the filler with people saying "great rom omgz so awesome" even when they are posting on the first page and the ROM hasn't even been up long enough to do much more than flash it and swipe through the home screen.
All through out the CM10 and PA threads there are people saying GPS is working flawlessly... and then other people saying they have some fix. I guess people aren't supposed to post frivolous stuff in the dev threads, but they do.
Anyway, I ended up going back to GB as GPS is something I really need.
Hey guy's, i've also been having allot of issues with GPS just not being what it used to be, and it's pretty obvioius that this is an issue across the board for all JellyBean roms. I think those who mention that "GPS works flawlessly" don't quite understand the issue with AGPS (Assisted GPS), or they are not quite testing it thoroughly enough to see the problem.
To get an understanding of what AGPS is, and how it helps improve initial lock times, have a read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GPS
Also, to gain a better understanding of what I mean by "cold start" as you read below, and how it differs from a warm or hot start please read the following: http://m.gsmarena.com/glossary.php3?term=gps
That being said, i have been doing allot of digging in the hopes that someone out there has a solution to the problem with AGPS on the CM10 based ROMs on our phone.
To clarify the problem: AGPS does not seem to work and Initial lock times from a cold start can take several minutes, (this is not normal if AGPS is doing it's job). To clarify further, no one is saying that GPS does not work, it does in fact work, it just takes it's sweet time to lock and it seems to rely on pure GPS to download ephemeris data from the actual GPS birds for satelite lock acquisition, rather then downloading AGPS data over the network to speed things up. After the initial lock though, GPS functions as it should. After this point, if you do not use the phone again for several day's, it seems that upon first firing it up again you will experience the long delay in first lock. This is especially true if you keep GPS services turned off ussually to conserve battery. Those who report GPS is fine are probably keeping GPS services on all the time, and your GPS is probably working in the background at times and obviously will start up allot faster then it would from a cold start. (This is where i believe all the conflicting info comes from!)
The only info i have been able to find that did actually have an impact on my lock times was the thread below.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1881655
I just started testing this out yesterday and i have seen some positive results. But i would caution those of you out there, and say that this is probably not a "fix" per se, but it did help cut down lock times in my case and at the very least it is a very inoformative thread that everyone should read.
What i have realisticly been able to achieve from a cold start is about 75 seconds to lock at the fastest. i.e. GPS services were off, i turned them all on, and now i started up GPS Status or GPS Test to get a lock. After that, as long as I haven't rebooted my phone it takes only a few seconds to lock.
How i tested, i started GPS Status, I then went to Tools --> MANAGE A-GPS STATE -> RESET (This is important to ensure you are clearing previously cached data. We want to make sure your previous cached info does not skew the effects of your changes.
I then replaced the gps.conf with the one contained in that thread, and i also made the change that was suggested in the Notes section that suggested modifying or adding a line in your build.prop file to "ro.ril.def.agps.mode = 1". This change set's your gps to use AGPS in Mobile Station Based (MSB) mode. For reference, setting it to "2" would set your AGPS to function to Mobile Station Assisted (MSA) mode. (Mode 1 - gave me more accurate initial locks at the expense of a bit longer lock times, Mode 2 gave me slightly quicker initial lock times, but was rather flaky and my position drifted quite a bit until GPS was running for quite some time.)
If your curious what is the difference between the two modes, see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GPS#Modes_of_operation
After making the changes to gps.conf and build.prop i rebooted my phone. When phone reboots, i then go back into GPS Status app, select settings, Tools --> MANAGE A-GPS STATE -> RESET, and then back to settings, Tools --> MANAGE A-GPS STATE -> DOWNLOAD (This should force the phone to attempt an AGPS download, if it hasn't already done so upon launching the app).
I have seen this same gps.conf being used in the newer RemICS-JB build. However based on the lack of feedback in that thread, i don't know if this is the golden fix we have all been looking for.
Even though this may not fix all your issues, i hope at the very least it helps clear up what the actual problem is, and how AGPS is supposed to work.
** Important Notes: **
- The version of the config that i was using was the Download the Google Specific No-SSL v3.1
- If you use the SSL version, then it will also require that you download the certifcate file. It's best to just stick with NO SSL as is explained in the thread.
- You should also note that i have cleaned out all the live wall papers, face unlock, and allot of other crap that i don't use to free up space in the /SYSTEM partition. I now have aproximately 21MB free in this partition. I think at least part of the problem with certain ROM's is that they have the /SYSTEM partition filled to the max with virtually no free space at all. I'm no expert on the subject, but i'm guessing that the AGPS data get's downloaded to this partition some where. Obviously if there is no space, then that would cause issues. Several others have reported shortened initial lock times after making room in the /SYSTEM partition.
- Another mistake people are making when testing AGPS and reporting false info, is having their WIFI on when testing GPS. To isolate the issue guy's you need have wifi off and you need to use a tool like GPS Status or GPS Test that shows that actual lock to satelites. You cannot properly test this and see the issue by using WIFI and turning on Google maps. Google maps will look at your reported wifi position and to you it looks like bamm.. i just got a lock in 2 seconds to withing 50 meters, wow these guy's are nut's, my GPS is awesome. Guess what.. your wifi and google maps is awesome.. not your GPS.. lol
- If anyone is familiar with running log's, it would be great if you could do a comparison of before and after. Showing the log of a completely fresh JB build, that shows that the AGPS data is not being downloaded, and then another log after all the changes above (including freeing up space in /SYSTEM) and hopefully it will show that AGPS data is now being downloaded and utilized. I myself am not familiar with logging data on the infuse, so i cannot and will not call this a fix until someone can actually show with real log's that AGPS data is now being utilized after these mods.
Thankfully, I'm one of the lucky ones who have always had a working GPS. It worked great when I was running AT&T stock Froyo, really good while I was on XDA GB roms, and fair > good after I went to PA JB. By far Scott's latest release of PA JB has been the best in this respect, but I can't help but tinker now that I've turned into a Droid zombie Strictly speaking the stock GPS configuration included on Scott's PA JB ROM worked charmingly, but I still had an issue whenever the phone went into deep sleep (say overnight without using it) the GPS lock the next morning took almost as much time coming from a sleep state as a cold boot. So, Like DaMeatMan I decided to give http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1881655 a go. I chose the flashable option, and like DMM also edited the prop file. I picked the Google "no SSL" version 3.1 instead of the AT&T specific version. I figured I would give that one a try.
I'll keep everyone posted, buy my first impression (could be placebo effect) is that this configuration file and modification actually does improve over the original PA JB configuration by a small margin. Reported accuracy is better (by 10ft on average). Satellites in view and actually locking are 1-2 better than before. My main hope is that I can actually fire up Navigation in the morning and get working directions without having to fire up GPS Test first and relock all the NA satellites. I travel a lot, both for business and outdoor sports (hunting and fishing), and I have come to rely pretty heavily on GPS. I got spoiled when I got my first GPS capable phone because that meant I could leave my handheld GPS at home most of the time and that was one less thing I had to carry.
wevsspot said:
Thankfully, I'm one of the lucky ones who have always had a working GPS. It worked great when I was running AT&T stock Froyo, really good while I was on XDA GB roms, and fair > good after I went to PA JB. By far Scott's latest release of PA JB has been the best in this respect, but I can't help but tinker now that I've turned into a Droid zombie Strictly speaking the stock GPS configuration included on Scott's PA JB ROM worked charmingly, but I still had an issue whenever the phone went into deep sleep (say overnight without using it) the GPS lock the next morning took almost as much time coming from a sleep state as a cold boot. So, Like DaMeatMan I decided to give http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1881655 a go. I chose the flashable option, and like DMM also edited the prop file. I picked the Google "no SSL" version 3.1 instead of the AT&T specific version. I figured I would give that one a try.
I'll keep everyone posted, buy my first impression (could be placebo effect) is that this configuration file and modification actually does improve over the original PA JB configuration by a small margin. Reported accuracy is better (by 10ft on average). Satellites in view and actually locking are 1-2 better than before. My main hope is that I can actually fire up Navigation in the morning and get working directions without having to fire up GPS Test first and relock all the NA satellites. I travel a lot, both for business and outdoor sports (hunting and fishing), and I have come to rely pretty heavily on GPS. I got spoiled when I got my first GPS capable phone because that meant I could leave my handheld GPS at home most of the time and that was one less thing I had to carry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been have many of the same problems as others in this thread but I tried the fix in the S3 thread quoted above and it seems to have helped for right now. The first time I ran GPS Test after rebooting it did take a while (5-8min), but after that I get a lock in few seconds. I used the Google "no SSL" package also. I will do some more testing tomorrow and see if its reliable.