Compass problem - Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

When I'm pointing dead north with the phone horizontal, I can tilt the phone vertical and the reading stays on north within a few degrees. When I point south or east and do the same the reading is off by 20 degrees or so. This is after recalibrating. It messes up Google sky for me because everything is off by about 20 degrees.
Anyone noticed the same?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

Same problem here. Nexus S, Android 2.3.3. Sky Map is useless.

I was just about to open a new thread "Anyone else NS compass just plain wrong?"
Well seems so. Mine is partially accurate, sometimes. And then when it is you only have to do a 360 to see it go wildly wrong at some specific point. Like perhaps it will not accept East is a direction and flip out.
Every soft of manual calibration has failed to help, nor hard reset. After owning a Galaxy S i9000 i am willing to accept Samsung simply broke the chip somehow when building the phone. Here is hoping not..
So I'll just revive this topic and ask if anyone has any new ideas? Location appears to not be a factor, it just never works anywhere. No case on the phone either.
(And I am not Magnito)

i have the exact same problem.

Recalibrating the compass (Waving the phone in a figure 8 pattern) fixes the issue for me, but the problem usually pops up again within a day.

You can imagine the magnetic field of the earth has 2 components: A component that points towards magnetic North and a component that points up from (or into) the ground.
When your screen faces the sky, your phone uses the x axis and the y axis from the magnetometer to determine what direction it's facing. If north, then y axis reads zero.
When you tilt your phone vertical, you can still get a pretty good idea of heading from those same two axes (ideally X would now be the up/down component and Y would still be zero). However, if your phone is slightly tilted, that (typically much larger) up/down component bleeds into the Y and causes your heading to change. This has the advantage that you never need to read the Z axis.
This is why the best compasses include accelerometers to tilt compensate magnetic heading. If only our phone had accelerometers and the programmers used them.

Thanks for your description, so what is the conclusion? is this issue normal or a software bug?
I think I've got the same issue ,I've changed 2 nexus s , one is 2.3.1, the other one is 2.3.3, both have same isssue, check the video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-9lehX8u2U
report it here
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=15999
chadrockey said:
You can imagine the magnetic field of the earth has 2 components: A component that points towards magnetic North and a component that points up from (or into) the ground.
When your screen faces the sky, your phone uses the x axis and the y axis from the magnetometer to determine what direction it's facing. If north, then y axis reads zero.
When you tilt your phone vertical, you can still get a pretty good idea of heading from those same two axes (ideally X would now be the up/down component and Y would still be zero). However, if your phone is slightly tilted, that (typically much larger) up/down component bleeds into the Y and causes your heading to change. This has the advantage that you never need to read the Z axis.
This is why the best compasses include accelerometers to tilt compensate magnetic heading. If only our phone had accelerometers and the programmers used them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

My new i9020A has a horrible compass. Check it out next to my girlfriends stock 2.2 Desire.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkGYZ_nmbSw

Related

[SOLVED][Q] Any suggestions for wavy lines when drawing?

I have the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, rooted with 4.0.4, and have not had any problems with it for the most part.
I recently downloaded Sketchbook Express to see how well the tablet could handle drawing. It handles it very well with one exception: the closer you get to drawing at a 45* angle, the more wavy the lines get. If I quickly swipe in that direction, it straightens out, but the slower I go, the more pronounced the waves or zig zags get. This happens using any of my fingers, the $20 Rocketfish stylus, and the $30 Wacom Bamboo stylus. All attempted on a freshly cleaned screen. I've also tried different apps with the same result. This guy had the same issue, as have others from what research I could pull up, but outside of unhelpful answers of "it's your stylus" (it's not), they all seem to have given up on getting help.
I've tried these apps on my friend's Evo 4G 3D, running Android 4.0.3, and had the same issue. I then tried on my rooted Xperia Play running Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread, and did not have this issue. I'm not entirely convinced it's an OS version that's making the difference, but I'm not able to find much information about the screens these devices use outside of "capacitive touch". I did learn that these screens use the corners to determine the location of input being received, so maybe moving directly in the direction of a corner is causing it to mess up?
Long story short, my questions are thus: is there any way to fix, calibrate, or compensate for this issue? Is it the screen, a hardware issue, or something else? Is there anything I can do?
Thanks for your time.
pWEN said:
I have the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, rooted with 4.0.4, and have not had any problems with it for the most part.
I recently downloaded Sketchbook Express to see how well the tablet could handle drawing. It handles it very well with one exception: the closer you get to drawing at a 45* angle, the more wavy the lines get. If I quickly swipe in that direction, it straightens out, but the slower I go, the more pronounced the waves or zig zags get. This happens using any of my fingers, the $20 Rocketfish stylus, and the $30 Wacom Bamboo stylus. All attempted on a freshly cleaned screen. I've also tried different apps with the same result. This guy had the same issue, as have others from what research I could pull up, but outside of unhelpful answers of "it's your stylus" (it's not), they all seem to have given up on getting help.
I've tried these apps on my friend's Evo 4G 3D, running Android 4.0.3, and had the same issue. I then tried on my rooted Xperia Play running Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread, and did not have this issue. I'm not entirely convinced it's an OS version that's making the difference, but I'm not able to find much information about the screens these devices use outside of "capacitive touch". I did learn that these screens use the corners to determine the location of input being received, so maybe moving directly in the direction of a corner is causing it to mess up?
Long story short, my questions are thus: is there any way to fix, calibrate, or compensate for this issue? Is it the screen, a hardware issue, or something else? Is there anything I can do?
Thanks for your time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem is the digitizer. It's cheap. I think all of the g tabs have this issue. Mine is terrible drawing diagonal lines and even scrolling in landscape mode is choppy. Only way around it from what I can tell is to apply more finger surface area. That seems to fix it. But since you're using a stylus that's not possible. If you find a solution to calibrate the digitizer, please let me know!
I have the same exact problem and the same exact request. There must be some option to increase sensitivity to at least minimize this effect. It's the only flaw I can find on this otherwise wonderful device.
And honestly, for the prize it cost, I would expect this not to exist. But... I have it now and would like to be able to use it in it's full extent and power.
dammit
Nice to know I'm not the only one who notice that, but it's crazy how my finger seems preciser than my pen and even more, that in my Galaxy S the pen works perfectly. I was so happy to use some drawing apps on the tab but when I tried...
I tried in my Tab 7 2, then I'll try on my uncle's 10.1 just to check.
hello all,
just to report the same issue. i have same problem with my samsung galaxy tab 2 7" like you all here. i get this problem since the first time i bought it (about a month ago). drawing the lines and reading in landscape mode is choppy :crying: same as MrHyde03 said. i have been tested my cousin's tablet to draw diagonal line for comparison, he has galaxy tab p1000. and the line result i get, though his tab has wavy line too, but mine has more wavy line than his tablet. i didn't noticed his tablet has so wavy line, just a little. i did it with my finger.
i hope this issue can be fixed later.
could be a solution
I don't know if it's just for marketing or what, but maybe the original Samsung stylus is better for these screens.
I wish someone could certify this...
I bave The Same Problem... Vawy diagonal and arcs. The same pens and fingers works fine on my Asus TF 101...
I have the same problem
gonzogonzo said:
I bave The Same Problem... Vawy diagonal and arcs. The same pens and fingers works fine on my Asus TF 101...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi guys, I have the same problem. Horrible response when i draw with a (cheap) stylus and perfect when i do it with my fingers. Has anyone tried adonit jot pro or Dagi ??? Maybe they increase the contact area and it solves the problem. If so, please tell us!!!
Thanks for reading and waiting for a solution.
I know this is an old post, but I can't just abandon my own thread! I've done quite a bit of research on this since making this post, and sadly, it's the way the screen is. Strange that my Xperia Play and Galaxy S3 phones can do this, but the Tab 2 was given such a cheap screen. I ended up selling it and putting the money towards a Note 10.1 with S-pen, which works as I would expect it to.

S Pen Calibration?

Hi,
I've found on my Note 10.1 that the accuracy of the S-Pen gets worse near the edges of the display. At the very edges it's off by about 1 mm or slightly more. I can't say it's really caused any problems but I'm wondering if this is normal and if there's any method to better calibrate it?
I've been having the same issue, or at least I noticed it recently...
Does anyone know anything about this problem?
This has been bothering me a lot lately, especially since i use my Note for note taking. Bump in case someone knows the solution.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using xda premium
Here's the response from Samsung support:
Thank you for contacting Samsung Customer Care.
We understand that while using the S pen near edges it looses accuracy.
We are sorry to hear that.
Please try replacing the S pen tip to isolate and fix the issue.
It is not possible to calibrate the digitizer.
Thank you for contacting Samsung.
Kind regards,
Steve
Samsung Customer Care
http://www.samsung.com/ca
The information was useful to me
Satisfied
5 4 3 2 1
Not Satisfied
* Please do not reply back to this email message as this email address is used for
outbound messages only.
* If you are not satisfied with the answer we provided, please click here
* if you have a question on another product, click here
I''''ve found the S-Pen (as viewed by enabling the hovering pointer) loses accuracy the closer to the edge of the screen the pen is used. At the edges it is off by at least 1 mm. About 1 cm in from the edges the accuracy is good.
Is this a defect in my unit or are they all like this? is there any way to recalibrate the digitizer to improve accuracy?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried changing the tip with both types of tips supplied with the tablet and as expected it had no effect. Note, also, how utterly useless Samsung email support is. The only way to reply is through a link which sends you to a contact form to submit a new email from scratch. There's no incident number or any way to establish continuity.
In any case, I happened to be at a Microsoft store yesterday and played a bit with Samsung's ACTIV (sp?) pro Windows 8 tablet which has the same s-pen as the Note 10.1. What I noticed immediately is it behaves exactly like my tablet: the digitizer loses accuracy both when tilting the pen and especially when the pen is near the edges of the display. The amount of inaccuracy is just about the same too, about 1 mm near the edge.
So I suspect this may be a limitation of the technology or at least the technology as it's being used by Samsung (I'm surprised Wacom's stuff is not more accurate). I'd be particularly interested if anyone is NOT seeing this.
It also seems silly that the display cannot be recalibrated or the driver does not support remapping. This seems like something that should be pretty easy to implement.
On the positive side, I can't say that I've experienced any real accuracy problems when in actual use. Probably I don't tend to write so close to the edge where it might be an issue. It's more an annoyance that the cursor doesn't quite match the tip. It's actually less annoying than having my hand trigger s-note's zoom or the notification drawer every time I try to write something.
Too bad, samsung support is horrible. For me this problem is pretty annoying since I tend to write until the VERY edge (just like I do in real paper), so I guess I'll have to change my habits lol.
P.S: It's good to know that is not my faulty tablet, but something "normal" in wacom devices...
nahuelarg86 said:
Too bad, samsung support is horrible. For me this problem is pretty annoying since I tend to write until the VERY edge (just like I do in real paper), so I guess I'll have to change my habits lol.
P.S: It's good to know that is not my faulty tablet, but something "normal" in wacom devices...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it is annoying. I wonder if there's any dev we can convince to write a remapping layer to fix this issue.
tmagritte said:
Here's the response from Samsung support:
I tried changing the tip with both types of tips supplied with the tablet and as expected it had no effect. Note, also, how utterly useless Samsung email support is. The only way to reply is through a link which sends you to a contact form to submit a new email from scratch. There's no incident number or any way to establish continuity.
In any case, I happened to be at a Microsoft store yesterday and played a bit with Samsung's ACTIV (sp?) pro Windows 8 tablet which has the same s-pen as the Note 10.1. What I noticed immediately is it behaves exactly like my tablet: the digitizer loses accuracy both when tilting the pen and especially when the pen is near the edges of the display. The amount of inaccuracy is just about the same too, about 1 mm near the edge.
So I suspect this may be a limitation of the technology or at least the technology as it's being used by Samsung (I'm surprised Wacom's stuff is not more accurate). I'd be particularly interested if anyone is NOT seeing this.
It also seems silly that the display cannot be recalibrated or the driver does not support remapping. This seems like something that should be pretty easy to implement.
On the positive side, I can't say that I've experienced any real accuracy problems when in actual use. Probably I don't tend to write so close to the edge where it might be an issue. It's more an annoyance that the cursor doesn't quite match the tip. It's actually less annoying than having my hand trigger s-note's zoom or the notification drawer every time I try to write something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't expect much help from a company that hires people who don't know the difference between "loses" and "looses". That's sad.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using xda app-developers app
Do you use magnet type cover? Try to remove it and see if the problem fixed
Sent from my GT-N8000 using xda premium
Hi to all. I am having a note 2, it has the same s pen as all the note series... i had that problem but it fixed when i did update! Try to go on developers options and check 'show pointer location' to check if the problem is the spen or the software.
I also notices that when used near the camera there is a great loss of accuracy .... and good to know that's not hte fault of my Note:good:
Scorpion_Ibm said:
I also notices that when used near the camera there is a great loss of accuracy .... and good to know that's not hte fault of my Note:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine just works fine, even on the ledges! Sometimes, but sometimes when the accelerometer is uncalibrated the S-Pen just stop responding well. I calibrate the accelerometer using this game https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fgol.HungrySharkEvolution Just go on Options/Change to tilt control(If necessary)/Calibrate
It worked for me!
Post results!
kokero said:
Mine just works fine, even on the ledges! Sometimes, but sometimes when the accelerometer is uncalibrated the S-Pen just stop responding well. I calibrate the accelerometer using this game https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fgol.HungrySharkEvolution Just go on Options/Change to tilt control(If necessary)/Calibrate
It worked for me!
Post results!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for trying to help .... the slight offset near the edges is no problem for me but i had a relatively bigger offset near the top (near the cameras) but that appeared to be due to the magnetic part in the book cover i had what an idiot .. i thought the camera had magnetic parts that do this and forgot the magnet of my book cover
So now what i really have is the offset near the edges
For me it's not an overall offset issue but just near the edges where it makes taking notes, sketching particularly difficult. It's very frustrating that these tablets aren't better calibrated out of box and provide no option for calibration. I'd be very surprised if this couldn't be fixed through software but would probably require support through the driver.
The other issue I have is that the drawing point only visually aligns with the tip of the pen when the pen is 90 degree from the tablet and you're looking straight down at it. Provided you hold the pen at a relatively steep angle and you angle the tablet so you're looking mostly down at it (say on your knee or a tilted stand) it's not bad. But once you deviate from that, say by putting the tablet flat on a table in front of you so you're looking at down at around 30 degrees, the deviation from where the tip appear to be and where the drawing point is becomes significant. I find this very frustrating. While I still prefer the s-pen to a passive capacitive pen, the fact I can't draw where I think I'm drawing makes it hard to work with. I've been using the tablet as my primary note taking device but I'm getting frustrated enough that I may go back to pen and paper and scanning.
It's probably not possible to fix this issue without hardware changes. Although multiple calibration profiles might reduce the effect.
I guess I'll have to wait for better hardware before I can finally live a paperless life...
tmagritte said:
For me it's not an overall offset issue but just near the edges where it makes taking notes, sketching particularly difficult. It's very frustrating that these tablets aren't better calibrated out of box and provide no option for calibration. I'd be very surprised if this couldn't be fixed through software but would probably require support through the driver.
The other issue I have is that the drawing point only visually aligns with the tip of the pen when the pen is 90 degree from the tablet and you're looking straight down at it. Provided you hold the pen at a relatively steep angle and you angle the tablet so you're looking mostly down at it (say on your knee or a tilted stand) it's not bad. But once you deviate from that, say by putting the tablet flat on a table in front of you so you're looking at down at around 30 degrees, the deviation from where the tip appear to be and where the drawing point is becomes significant. I find this very frustrating. While I still prefer the s-pen to a passive capacitive pen, the fact I can't draw where I think I'm drawing makes it hard to work with. I've been using the tablet as my primary note taking device but I'm getting frustrated enough that I may go back to pen and paper and scanning.
It's probably not possible to fix this issue without hardware changes. Although multiple calibration profiles might reduce the effect.
I guess I'll have to wait for better hardware before I can finally live a paperless life...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May be try this app with this kernel the post says that it can successfully reset the Spen callibration
Post with kernel: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2299406
App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.whitedavidp.reset.spen
It was the case
wiien said:
Do you use magnet type cover? Try to remove it and see if the problem fixed
Sent from my GT-N8000 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was it for me. The case was causing that. When I read your post I realized that my case has a keyboard and you can remove it. It stays in place with a magnet. So I removed it and it works as expected. so now I know to get it on the edges it's that. Thanks:good:

Bad Barometer - How to check it

Anybody has issues with the barometric sensor?
Long story short:
1. Dial *#0*# and it will pop up an app to check the phone.
2. Go to Sensor
3. Look up for the Barometer Sensor (right in the middle). It should read the actual atmospheric pressure. It should change a little. If not, you probably have a hardware issue. Even hitting the Barometer Selftest can show a "PASS" message but it´s just wrong.
Long story long:
Yesterday I bought a brand new S6 from the local company and I really use the barometer a lot (incredible but some of us really use them). So when i checked the sensor with my usual apps I found that it wasn´t showing what was expected out of it. I live at 1500 MSL so barometric pressure should be around 850hPa.
Nevertheless, the phone sensor is "STUCK" (does not change at all, not even on the elevator) at sea altitude pressure (around 1012hPa or 7 msl)
I went to the company today for a replacement. Filled up a warranty, they didn´t care to look at the phone, and gave me another one brand new. While waiting on the room for the paperwork I went on to check the S6 and S6 Edge that were on the showroom to see the barometer working... None of the displayed phones worked. Then we opened my brand new unit and I insisted on testing the barometer, same result, stuck at 1011.8hPa or 12.08 msl.
Then the cueless but really beautiful girl that works on the showroom and introduces the customers to the "basic functions", didn´t really have an idea of what is a barometer or why somebody would be interested on it at all. She asked by phone to the tech department about the "issue" and they just said that "the sensor only works if you download an app" (really?). So we went along with the flow and waited for the girl to download an application... then she was really happy when she showed me the result: "Look, it works, it shows some hPa and some altitude..." She just didn´t knew what was the altitude of our city, so 8 msl or so seems like a fine number for her...
Anyway, the sales representative told me that they can give me my money back and just declare that I wasn´t happy with the cellphone and that it just wasn´t what I expected... That really got me... but still I didn´t got crazy at all, just explained her that they can´t sell any more units if they are bad and that I ´m telling them in their face and showing them that they are bad units, so it´s just irresponsible to sell them.
Finally they agree to call the "Samsung special guru representative" and he told them that he would like to show me tomorrow how the sensor works. So i didn´t want to take the phone but they insisted that I should keep it as it´s perfectly good and tomorrow some guy will convince me that we are indee at sea height and that our local mountains are not there... Let´s wait.
Meanwhile, I looked up everywhere for a similar issue but seems that nobody is having this problem or nobody really care about that sensor readouts. There´s only one other guy on the whole forum reporting this issue but he just does not make any noise about it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=61013470&postcount=2
I want to pinpoint the problem so here are the specs for the unit that I actually have. Maybe it´s kernel related? baseband (don´t think so)? Build?
Anyone with this problem fell free to jump (maybe we are up for a class action lawsuit against a big name)
Device Name Galaxy S6
Model Number SM-G920I
Android 5.0.2
Baseband G920IDVU1AOC6
Kernel 3.10.61-4403670
[email protected] # 1
Sun Mar 8 00:27:41 KST 2015
Compilation LRX22G.G920IDVU1AOC6
danielvelez said:
Anybody has issues with the barometric sensor?
Long story short:
1. Dial *#0*# and it will pop up an app to check the phone.
2. Go to Sensor
3. Look up for the Barometer Sensor (right in the middle). It should read the actual atmospheric pressure. It should change a little. If not, you probably have a hardware issue. Even hitting the Barometer Selftest can show a "PASS" message but it´s just wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Allthough you surely have done it correctly, it is important to realize the atmospheric pressure does fluctuate daily. So while on average it might be 1013mb/HPa on sealevel, it can and does go up and down by a lot.
So it is functioning correctly when it indicates 988 or 1034 while you are on sealevel, it all depends on the actual atmospheric pressure.
(I read your story as "you should always see 1013 when on sealevel", which is not the case. I probably misread it, but wanted to make sure nobody might make the same mistake and conclude the s6 is faulty when it is not)
Just went onto the *#0*# menu and looked at the sensor info, and although I have no idea what the local weather station is currently reporting, the readout is giving me around 997hPa, with the post decimal point numbers flickering around as you'd expect with micro changes in pressure (I'm on the bus). It also estimates I'm about 134M above sea level. All from the main sensor menu. Only when clicking on self test does the readout then freeze. But again, on a self test report, figures are frozen.
I'm guessing the devices at your store are probably a faulty batch, perhaps? Can you go to another store at all?
Ok. In order to "illustrate" the problem, you can download a small video with the issue attached.
The video was shot at 1460 mts or 849.7 hPa measured with a Samsung S4, and really close to gps height and terrain elevation data from google earth.
It's true than the barometer fluctuates, and that height can be off by a couple of hundred meters if we are under a really high or really low pressure system, but usually it fluctuates in the order of 30-50 mts during the day on the same place (because of temperature and some other stuff). So problem is not that I'm not getting a precise exact reading of my current height, but that I'm not getting any readings out of the sensor at all. Sensor is just "frozen" on same pressure as if we were on a controlled pressure chamber.
Feel free to download the video (or maybe upload it to youtube and make it public)
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/9026876/S6_Barometer_problem.mp4
danielvelez said:
Ok. In order to "illustrate" the problem, you can download a small video with the issue attached.
The video was shot at 1460 mts or 849.7 hPa measured with a Samsung S4, and really close to gps height and terrain elevation data from google earth.
It's true than the barometer fluctuates, and that height can be off by a couple of hundred meters if we are under a really high or really low pressure system, but usually it fluctuates in the order of 30-50 mts during the day on the same place (because of temperature and some other stuff). So problem is not that I'm not getting a precise exact reading of my current height, but that I'm not getting any readings out of the sensor at all. Sensor is just "frozen" on same pressure as if we were on a controlled pressure chamber.
Feel free to download the video (or maybe upload it to youtube and make it public)
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/9026876/S6_Barometer_problem.mp4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see from the vid that there isn't even a hint of a twitch on the barometer read out at all! That's bad! I just put my phone on a table and left it alone for a while, watching the read out, and it was constantly flickering. Even if it was only ±.05hPa, it never stayed still.
Try going to another branch, and see if they have a different batch of S6 stock?
solitarymonkey said:
I see from the vid that there isn't even a hint of a twitch on the barometer read out at all! That's bad! I just put my phone on a table and left it alone for a while, watching the read out, and it was constantly flickering. Even if it was only ±.05hPa, it never stayed still.
Try going to another branch, and see if they have a different batch of S6 stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you are right.
On the Note 4, the problem was more related with high places (above 4000 ft) as it was detected by an airline pilot that tested a lot of different sceneries. So probably people under 1000 msl won't detect a "stuck barometer".
Also it can be related to the firmware or hardware version (maybe kernel), but not sure.
I just received a call from the local Samsung tech dept, and they are "detecting an issue" on the units. They are going to look up next week (don't work on weekends) and will be calling me with an answer. Meanwhile I'm gonna do some more field research...
So every time I want to check the Barometric Pressure I have to do the following:
1. Dial *#0*# and it will pop up an app to check the phone.
2. Go to Sensor
3. Look up for the Barometer Sensor (right in the middle).
There has to be a better way!
DIXZ06 said:
So every time I want to check the Barometric Pressure I have to do the following:
1. Dial *#0*# and it will pop up an app to check the phone.
2. Go to Sensor
3. Look up for the Barometer Sensor (right in the middle).
There has to be a better way!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That´s the dirty way of getting into the raw data from the sensor without installing any app that can read and display the data on a friendly manner.
There are a lot of apps that you can use for barometric pressure (just look for them on the play store).
I use a special app for free flying that uses the barometric pressure to measure vertical speed, and it makes beeps according to the speed. This kind of app for free flying is called generically a "Variometer". The one I use has a lot of configurable features and it´s called xctrack. There´s another one called xcsoar really good too.
For the general public, there are a lot of free barometric apps that can display the data. Try sensor readout. Another way of testing a lot of the hardware sensors on the phone.
So, fast update... I see that nobody else is having an issue at least on the poll. Nevertheless, I got a call from the Local samsung tech dept and they "CONFIRMED" that there´s an issue with their units. They are shorting out if it´s a hardware or a firmware issue and they told me that they will inform me next week on their findings.
I also made a lot of "noise" with the cellphone company, as a lawyer, and gave them the heads up that they are "selling" bad units and that they "should" stop selling them while they fix the issue to avoid a massive recall. It was a free advice but it was the right thing to do...
S6 barometer not working
I got new S6 at end of April. I am in Utah area. It took me a week or two to decide barometer was not working. Went to ATT store. The S6 and S6 edge phones that they had were not working either. Wrote email to Samsung tech. They claimed to be unaware of any barometer problem. They email replied and gave various instructions to trouble shoot including hard reset. I have now been to five ATT stores and one verizon and not found any S6 or edge with working barometers. All S5 phones indicated working barometers. By now I have checked about 20 S6 type phones and none of the barometers work. Also checked two note 4 phones and barometer also was not working. I have been checking using *#0*# code which a techie guy at first ATT store researched. I Have many phone calls to ATT trying to get action. Have four contacts with Samsung tech support trying to get action. ATT has sent two replacements that also have non working barometers. I have been very firm with these support people that this issue needs to be escalated to higher authorities. It has proven near impossible to get any meaningful action. Currently waiting for supervisor reply from Samsung. I think he will just say send your phone for repair. I am trying to get ATT to send Samsung a phone to repair for me. They so far will not entertain the idea. Both ATT and samsung are nice and saying they want to solve this for me, but so far they really have evaded doing anything meaningful.
richmini said:
I got new S6 at end of April. I am in Utah area. It took me a week or two to decide barometer was not working. Went to ATT store. The S6 and S6 edge phones that they had were not working either. Wrote email to Samsung tech. They claimed to be unaware of any barometer problem. They email replied and gave various instructions to trouble shoot including hard reset. I have now been to five ATT stores and one verizon and not found any S6 or edge with working barometers. All S5 phones indicated working barometers. By now I have checked about 20 S6 type phones and none of the barometers work. Also checked two note 4 phones and barometer also was not working. I have been checking using *#0*# code which a techie guy at first ATT store researched. I Have many phone calls to ATT trying to get action. Have four contacts with Samsung tech support trying to get action. ATT has sent two replacements that also have non working barometers. I have been very firm with these support people that this issue needs to be escalated to higher authorities. It has proven near impossible to get any meaningful action. Currently waiting for supervisor reply from Samsung. I think he will just say send your phone for repair. I am trying to get ATT to send Samsung a phone to repair for me. They so far will not entertain the idea. Both ATT and samsung are nice and saying they want to solve this for me, but so far they really have evaded doing anything meaningful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the answer... It's nice to see that I'm not alone on the world. By the way, the "poll" seems to be unfair, as the vote is for user and not for phone unit... you have tested more than 20? I have tested only 4 but all of them are bad... that means 24 : 4... it makes a different kind of result on the poll.
Anyway, I see that UTAH (Salt Lake) have a similar height to Medellin. And the Note 4 barometer problem was reported to be present only above 4000 feet or so... Maybe we are into something here.
Update!!!
The problem seems to be a "software" issue. Samsung claims that the software that they have put together for the Colombian companies was faulty. They came, installed a new firmware on my faulty device and now the barometric sensor seems working. Tomorrow I will test it for real during a "hanggliding" flight, as a barometer recorder. If it holds up, then it was a software issue.
The comparison on software:
Faulty vs Ok.
Device Name Galaxy S6
Model Number SM-G920I
Android 5.0.2
Baseband G920IDVU1AOC6 (FAULTY) - G920IDVU1AOE3 (OK)
Kernel 3.10.61-4403670 (FAULTY) - 3.10.61-4844656 (OK)
[email protected] # 1 (FAULTY) - [email protected] #1 (OK)
Sun Mar 8 00:27:41 KST 2015 (FAULTY) - Fri May 8 9:449:20 KTS 2015 (OK)
Compilation LRX22G.G920IDVU1AOC6 (FAULTY) - LRX22G.G920IDVU1AOE3 (OK)
Was it solved by the installation of the software ... I tried sensor using *#0*#, Apps, and Gear S3... all three gives different readings ... also tried with GPS. GPS reading gives lowest, then apps, and lastly the sensor using *#0*#
I also use S6 SM-I920 (India)
danielvelez said:
Update!!!
The problem seems to be a "software" issue. Samsung claims that the software that they have put together for the Colombian companies was faulty. They came, installed a new firmware on my faulty device and now the barometric sensor seems working. Tomorrow I will test it for real during a "hanggliding" flight, as a barometer recorder. If it holds up, then it was a software issue.
The comparison on software:
Faulty vs Ok.
Device Name Galaxy S6
Model Number SM-G920I
Android 5.0.2
Baseband G920IDVU1AOC6 (FAULTY) - G920IDVU1AOE3 (OK)
Kernel 3.10.61-4403670 (FAULTY) - 3.10.61-4844656 (OK)
[email protected] # 1 (FAULTY) - [email protected] #1 (OK)
Sun Mar 8 00:27:41 KST 2015 (FAULTY) - Fri May 8 9:449:20 KTS 2015 (OK)
Compilation LRX22G.G920IDVU1AOC6 (FAULTY) - LRX22G.G920IDVU1AOE3 (OK)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
khaaba said:
Was it solved by the installation of the software ... I tried sensor using *#0*#, Apps, and Gear S3... all three gives different readings ... also tried with GPS. GPS reading gives lowest, then apps, and lastly the sensor using *#0*#
I also use S6 SM-I920 (India)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indee... Barometric Issue was solved with new "Baseband" (Flashing a new rom). Now that phone is running latest android, and baro works ok.
You seem to be having gps readings... I'm not sure if it's a translation error but they are two different issues. My issue was only with the barometric sensor that uses a pressure sensor. A GPS uses a radio frecuency receiver.

Fix Your Broken/Stuck Accelorometer

I've had a stuck accelerometer problem with phones, but also with my DJI Phantom drone. This problem manifests itself as:
- can't switch or rotate from portrait mode to landscape correctly
- camera won't rotate to landscape
- terrible VR performance, drifting
- bad gaming performance
- sensor readings way off
You're not going to believe the solution that has worked for me in both cases: you gotta bash it!!
Yep, your silicon-based accelerometers have fingers that can deflect with G forces, but when they get a big impact, they can get stuck at the extreme bent side. You probably dropped your phone recently, right?? Well, you can probably fix it by dropping it again in exactly the right way. It's like Fred Flintstone's amnesia.
You'll need to determine which side to drop it onto, and then drop it onto that side HARD onto a hard surface. You don't need to let it go, you kind of slam it with your hand. Do it at your own risk, of course, because you might break some other component!
Here's which side to whack it. For god sakes, don't just whack it randomly.
First, you'll need an accelerometer app. Install it and run it in metric mode. Set your phone on the table. Have a look at your values for X, Y, and Z. Two should be at near 0 and Z should be around 10 m/ss. The 10 reading is the table holding your phone against the force of gravity at 10 m/ss!
One or more of your numbers will NOT be as I stated, and that's the stuck accelerometer. It will be pretty much stuck and hardly changing at all, and it will be weirdly high, much greater than 10. ex: My X was at 167. (If you do not have one of your axis stuck on a very high number, you have a different problem, don't continue.)
If your X value is stuck sky high, hit the phone with the X+ (right) side onto the table
If your X value is a high number, but negative, hit the phone with the X- (left) side onto the table
If your Y value is stuck sky high, hit the phone with the Y+ (top) side onto the table
If your Y value is a high number, but negative, hit the phone with the Y- (bottom) side onto the table
If your Z value is stuck sky high, hit the phone with the Z+ (screen face) side onto the table (good luck to you)
If your Z value is a high number, but negative, hit the phone with the Z- (back) side onto the table
If you hit it sharply enough, you'll notice that the sensor is no longer stuck on the super high reading, and you're all fixed
Look on the bright side, it's not a drone. Since propellers etc get in the way of a table slam, I had to hit my $1200 drone - HARD - with a rubber mallet when it had the same problem. But it worked!
I have a Redmi Note 8 pro and the accelerometer was not working. The Y and Z axis were stuck at high negitive values. I was very frustrated as the camera app took pictures up side down. After searching the internet for a gud hour , I found this solution. I tried it and it worked like a charm. I had to hit my phone on my hand for both -Y and -Z axis. After both directional hits, the accelerometer sprung into action and everything worked smoothly.
Thank you so much. This solved my problem like a charm. This really worked.
Moved from Android Drones, because as the original poster tells me, this applies generally to devices with Accelorometers.
Mike
I still can't believe that it worked like it did. The Z axis on my Redmi Note 7's accelerometer was stuck, and it insta working again after throwing my phone on the floor. This is probably the least thing I would do (willingly) and worked like a charm. Thank you very much.
This post saved me. Almost wiped my Redmi Note 8 Pro. Worked fine just throwing it on the floor LMAO. Nothing like an armor case to protect hahahaha
MY HERO. the pockets in my sweats aren't deep enough so my phone kept falling out and must have konked itself into a hung accelerometer. A few drops on the bottom fixed a stuck negative Y axis. happy day!

Disppointed with the Barometer/Altimeter App

I am very disappointed with the Samsung Barometer/Altimeter app, The barometer only registers in whole inches of mercury. All watches I had in the past, register in hundredths of inches of mercury. I wonder who else feels the same and would like Samsung to fix this error or maybe a developer could create a replacement app.
Edit: They finally updated the app and it shows the barometric pressure in 100th of a inch of mercury. Big thumbs up
dhonzik said:
I am very disappointed with the Samsung Barometer/Altimeter app, The barometer only registers in whole inches of mercury. All watches I had in the past, register in hundredths of inches of mercury. I wonder who else feels the same and would like Samsung to fix this error or maybe a developer could create a replacement app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. Hopefully Samsung does address it. Meanwhile I found a free app called "FBarometer." Just search/install via Gear app. Seems pretty accurate, doesn't register in hundredths but does do tenths so a step up from wholes inches at least.
I have a feeling Samsung rushed to get this watch out (obviously, everythings backordered now it seems).
I have a feeling there will be many updates in the near future. At least I hope so.
If you touch the barometer to display the trend look at the outside ring, the barometric pressure is displayed gauge style with a red dash marking the pressure and the units are to the hundreds place. It's still not great but you can at least tell the difference between 28.5 and 29.
I live 77m above sea level and my watch shows -97m, a bit out me thinks.
Barometer and altimeter are useless. I live between - 90 and plus 154 meters, in Amsterdam which is - 3. Consequently also the floor counter is facked up.
dhonzik said:
I am very disappointed with the Samsung Barometer/Altimeter app, The barometer only registers in whole inches of mercury. All watches I had in the past, register in hundredths of inches of mercury. I wonder who else feels the same and would like Samsung to fix this error or maybe a developer could create a replacement app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use another very good app called Barometer & Altimeter. I use it when go mountain. I talked to author this app before download it. It was tested by a few climbers and created with help mathematicians and physicists. The measurement error is < 1%. It is better than my stock altimeter GPS-based. Very good app, absolutely worth buying.
dhonzik said:
I am very disappointed with the Samsung Barometer/Altimeter app, The barometer only registers in whole inches of mercury. All watches I had in the past, register in hundredths of inches of mercury. I wonder who else feels the same and would like Samsung to fix this error or maybe a developer could create a replacement app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally agree! Looks like the sensors that Samsung has choosen are totally pieces of crap.
Altimeter: from my sofa 5m... couple of hours later 35m!!!
Barometer and heart rates are also giving vera random figures compare to 'real' hardware.
Samsung just wanted to show more features and be in line with competition but it does not work.
They better should have left very useful features that were present on previous model likre IR Remote that I had on my Gear 2 Neo!
I will never understand Samsung when they decide to replace features in place of add new features. Mainly when they remove very useful and working gears and replace those with unreliable sensors....
You do realise that the altimeter is air pressure based right?
If the air pressure has changed during the two hours you were on the sofa then the altimeter will show a different reading.
That's the whole point of calibrating it before you set of on a climb or whatever you're up to.
@Lakota
Where is the setting screen, been through settings tried hold the screen nothing.
jb.traveller said:
@Lakota
Where is the setting screen, been through settings tried hold the screen nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tap on the widget and scroll right.
Thanks Stormglider sorted.
Lakota said:
You do realise that the altimeter is air pressure based right?
If the air pressure has changed during the two hours you were on the sofa then the altimeter will show a different reading.
That's the whole point of calibrating it before you set of on a climb or whatever you're up to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it's barometric. And altitude jumps all over the place even when the pressure is constant. Eg walking up the stairs, 2 stories, results in a climb of -12 to +30 meters, should be - 3 to +4. And my daily run which is totally flat at - 3 shows 116 meter hills. It's true and authentic crap and I'm gonna replace for the Fenix 5 as soon as possible!
blackspp said:
Yes it's barometric. And altitude jumps all over the place even when the pressure is constant. Eg walking up the stairs, 2 stories, results in a climb of -12 to +30 meters, should be - 3 to +4. And my daily run which is totally flat at - 3 shows 116 meter hills. It's true and authentic crap and I'm gonna replace for the Fenix 5 as soon as possible!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats why shealth thinks i climbed 10 flights of stairs while just walking about for nine hours.
To those who think that their Gear S3 sensors are any accurate, just try to disconnect your phone Position/GPS or to use the gear S3 alone. You will then see the truth about those very inaccurate sensors that Samsung has put in the Gear!
They are only 'providing' you with accurate figures when position/gps on your phone is on, in other words, the 'accurate' info you are seeing are provided by internet data, and not by the sensors themselves... Shame on Samsung for that!
i have the same issue. at 155 ft above sea level, but watch states between -150 and +435
it also only counts 1/10th of floors climbed
I don't get accurate floor counts but I know for a fact the gps works well without my phone. At least the golf app I use gives me accurate readings in standalone mode.
Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk
Same here. I stood outside under a clear sky around 30m above sea level. Tried calibrating thrice but each time it says -7M.
Skydiving
I have used the S3 Frontier when I skydive along with my Viso II Digital Altimeter and they are within 25-50ft of each other. This is without the phone. It is actually pretty accurate. I do not use the built in app. I use one from the store called Skydiver Altimeter. It works great.
Well no clue about others.. but just got mine and comparing with two others one ming Suunto and its like some others pretty darn accurate. Just going up a few feet.. was spot on. I wonder if like the phone you need to reset it at now and again.

Categories

Resources