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GPS fix that definitely worked for me

I used a method found on the samsung vibrant forum that works perfectly for me. Directions:
call *#*#1472365#*#*
choose "delete gps data"
go outside to maximize gps lock potential
choose "get position test"
Now let it do its thing for a few minutes. For about 5-6 minutes it was not getting a lock, but it was detecting between 1-4 gps satellites. Then it all of a sudden the phone got a lock and detected 8 satellites, at which point the phone recorded the gps data. The other forum post said wait until the phone sees 10-12 sats before backing out; my phone only saw up to 9 and locked on 8. Nevertheless, I backed out after the gps data was recorded, and now the GPS works wonderfully in Google maps, places, and navigation. Previous to this, I never got a lock with this phone, now I get a lock in about 5-10 secs. I didn't want to activate using wireless networks because that is not real gps. This is the real deal and easy to do. Try it and report back.

will do. In the meantime, take ur phone on a run with you and see if the gps still jumps within a small radius. I noticed that when i was driving this worked really well but when i try to use it to to record my run route (so i can see distance and speed) it doesnt follow me very smoothly.

I just tried this and my Captivate got a lock on 8 satellites within 4 seconds! Hopefully this will keep working til Sammy gets their update out.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

this fix works for me too! However, after a few days you may need to delete the gps data again. Good news is that it gets things working again.
Also, I have had great luck setting accuracy to 150 in lbstestmode. I think this is because the software wont drop satellites too aggressively. As a result, once the satellites are locked, they stay locked - which helps reliability alot.

phr00t said:
this fix works for me too! However, after a few days you may need to delete the gps data again. Good news is that it gets things working again.
Also, I have had great luck setting accuracy to 150 in lbstestmode. I think this is because the software wont drop satellites too aggressively. As a result, once the satellites are locked, they stay locked - which helps reliability alot.
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Only locks into 1 Sat for me. Every once in a while it locks into 2. I think I got a lemon.

I posted a potential fix in the stickey, key value to change is accuracy and using the GPS Test Application....

The OP worked for me as well. I was getting so so GPS locks and would only get a "true" lock if I enabled the phone to use cell towers as well. After the above I get a lock almost immediately and per the test I had accuracey down to 5 meters. Untill a true fix comes out (def seems software related) this is a quick fix that works.

Hoooooooly ****.
I went from getting a lock in about 2-3 minutes to getting a lock in less than 20 seconds. I even rebooted the phone and it still worked that fast. I was able to confirm my lock with GPS Test(app) and using Google Maps to find my position.

trying it now.
looks like its thinking.
will update in a few.
Update
it has 9 and has an accuracy of 10 meters and it jumps to 30 and back to ten.
how often does the * drop on your sats, or do they stay on once locked on?

WeAreVenom said:
Hoooooooly ****.
I went from getting a lock in about 2-3 minutes to getting a lock in less than 20 seconds. I even rebooted the phone and it still worked that fast. I was able to confirm my lock with GPS Test(app) and using Google Maps to find my position.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Update: I get a lock in my house in less than 10 seconds! Bwahaha! Bow before me puny mortals!
I wonder how long this fix will last?

time to lock is not the primary problem with the GPS, I can get a lock within 5 seconds if I opened up GPS test app before I open up navigation. Especially in the house or standing stationary, where it uses skyhook.
the REAL gps problem is maintaining a lock with GOOD (<5 meters) accuracy WHILE moving. Which, I have not seen any fix remedy.

andy2na said:
time to lock is not the primary problem with the GPS, I can get a lock within 5 seconds if I opened up GPS test app before I open up navigation. Especially in the house or standing stationary, where it uses skyhook.
the REAL gps problem is maintaining a lock with GOOD (<5 meters) accuracy WHILE moving. Which, I have not seen any fix remedy.
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Click to collapse
Why would you want it to be less than 5 meters? How wide is the average highway? That's all I need.
Regardless, I'll test it out tonight on the way in to work.

The problem is it can't maintain 5 meters or even 10 meters lock for long. If Captivate can stay locked at 10 meters accuracy, I'll be happy.

Tried in and locked onto 8-9 sats with an accuracy of 10m. Went into GM and got a lock in under 30 seconds.

andy2na said:
time to lock is not the primary problem with the GPS, I can get a lock within 5 seconds if I opened up GPS test app before I open up navigation. Especially in the house or standing stationary, where it uses skyhook.
the REAL gps problem is maintaining a lock with GOOD (<5 meters) accuracy WHILE moving. Which, I have not seen any fix remedy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe the problem with maintaining an accurate lock is because the Captivate defaults to having a very high threshold of satellite accuracy. Using the default setting of "Accuracy: 50", it takes a long time to get that level of accuracy. In addition, when you do have a lock, if the satellite drops below this accuracy (even for a short moment) -- the satellite is dropped. This is why you see many satellites being picked up and dropped all the time, and this is why the accuracy ranges so much after a lock is gained. The fix is simply setting the accuracy to 150 (in addition to the other recommended settings) -- which gives the satellites more "room", and keeps them in use.
My theory anyway... seems to work so far

2 minutes after selecting test:
11 sats found
8 locked
Located within 10m, 7 seconds after Google Maps launch.

Okay, this is my first post. I've been reading these forums for a couple weeks now. This is the first and only thing that made mt GPS work correctly. I tried almost every other gps fix I read about but none seemed to do anything. Thanks.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

So is this with the stock settings or with other tweaks?

This does seem to help somewhat. I was able to get view 9 sats and get 6-7 to lock. GPS Test app was working and could calculate my speed as I walked across a parking lot. I could even see myself move on maps (never seen it move without bouncing around and such).
I will test later this evening on my drive home and see if I can get google navigation and actual turn by turn to work.

frankencat said:
So is this with the stock settings or with other tweaks?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tested mine using the stock settings bud I had changed the server and port to the google recommendation in previous "fixes".

Standard gps testing

So im thinking that we have so much erronious data and so many different setups that isolating the gps issues wil be pretty difficult. I wanted to start a thread to determain what works and what doesnt. Things that probably should be consistant are: rom, gps files used, time since last install, installation method, testing method and tools for testing.
This is my setup
Cognition 2.2 5.5 beta
Installation method
one click Jf6 -> master clear-> kies mini jh7-> odin 2.2.5-> tibu all of my apps back
No gps fixes
Installed 6:30 pm pst 10/10
Tested gps with gpstest outside with wifi on clear
night
Will continue to test this way and will retest again tommarow
Avg 30-40 dbhz on 8 satalites locked on all after approx 10 sec from hot start
Update 10/11
Reset phone lbstestmode coldstart lock in 19 seconds 10 m, restart lbstestmode hot start lock 10m in 4 secs average 25-35 dbhz
update 10/12
Reset phone lbstestmode lock in 5 seconds 10 m, restart lbstestmode hot start lock 10m in 4 secs average 32-41 dbhz
update 10/13
Reset phone lbstestmode lock in 6 seconds 10 m, restart lbstestmode hot start lock 10m in 4 secs average 28-41 dbhz
latest mytracks 45 minute drive
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&gl=us&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=110758320133043768862.0004928d4bbfce59c1962
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I have the same setup as you and it has been working for 4 days straight now!! it is crazy how a change in ROM can have this much effect on the GPS performance. My lock is 8 indoors after about 15 seconds, 11-12 outdoors after 5 seconds and GPS tracking and navigation work flawlessly. My method was odin back to stock, master clear, used rom manager premium to flash Cog 5.5 and left GPS settings alone.

Why is the GPS accuracy rounded off to 5, 10, 30, 50 meters?

Why is the GPS accuracy for my Nexus S rounded off to 5, 10, 30 and 50 meters? Is there any way to modify this so that it shows the exact accuracy?

They are not sure/accurate, thats why they round up.
Logically you would say "I think there are 200 sheeps in the yard"
rather than saying "I think there are 198 sheeps in the yard".
Same reason

It isn't like that on my Nexus One. It shows accuracy like 1m, 2m, 3m, and other digits. On the nexus s however, it is always either 5, 10, 30 or 50m.
This causes quite a few problems during GPS navigation because you occassionally jump between 5, 10 and 30m. On the nexus one, there's no such problem because lets say the accuracy is 7m, it will show 7m. If it's 11m, it will show 11m. On the nexus s, it will show 10m and 30m respectively.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

It's possible the chips in the phones do not report accuracy in meters.
GPS units can report accuracy as Dilution of Precision:
http://www.dashdyno.net/tech/GPS/gps_location.html
http://www.papyrus.co.il/FAQ/dilution_of_precision.htm
The lower the number, the more accurate the fix. Using simplified math, if your phone's GPS in an open field and perfect conditions had an accuracy of 5 meters, a dilution of precision of 1 may cause it to report 5m*1 DOP = 5m accuracy.
If the satellites became too close to each other, your horizontal DOP may grow to 2. This could be 5m*2 HDOP = 10m accuracy.
Many receivers output separate DOPs for Latitude, Longitude, and Elevation, but I suspect that the software just uses the maximum number for HDOP and outputs that. Unless you are averaging scans over a long period of time or using an advanced filtering algorithm, it's just a number displayed to a user.

GPS slow in Google Maps after OTA update

Ever since i did the update, the GPS takes several minutes to get a lock. Even if I exit Google Maps after it gets a lock and then re-start GMaps again within seconds, it takes again several minutes to get a lock. As if it is doing cold start every time GMaps gets active.
Before OTA update it would take a second to get a lock after just exiting GMaps and re-starting it. A couple of hours later, and dozen miles away, it was still locking within 10 seconds.
Now everything takes many minutes.
GPS Status is showing strong signal from 4-5 satellites, but GMaps is not locking.
Does anyone else have similar problem?

Are you actually getting a lock from gps status or just 4-5 satellites?
I had a similar problem before the update, first lock took about half an hour in gps status, after that it was quicker but still not great.
Sorry to report the update fixed the issues in my case. It could be due to the old radio being better suited to your geographic location than the new one. Unfortunately its hard to really test this unless you are willing to s-off and test some radio/ril combinations.
Sent from my Cyanogenmod hungry Htc Sensation.

My experience is pretty much the opposite of the OP. I've noticed GPS locks are much faster after the OTA. Using GPS Test they were fast before, typically less 15 sec and nearly always under 30 sec, and after the update closer to 5 sec. However, over time I've seen a good bit of variation day-to-day so I can't say with any certainty that my observation is directly related to the OTA. And based on the reports in this thread it seems likely the OTA didn't fix or break GPS.
I have seen Google Nav take much longer than GPS Test to get a lock. I've also had it completely hang my phone where a battery pull was the only option. This when GPS Test would work fine. So I'm quite certain that Google Nav is buggy. Mostly it works, but sometimes not. If it's taking too long to get a lock I will exit, use GPS Test to get a lock, then go back to Nav and it typically locks quickly.
Regarding GPS Test taking minutes to lock that's most likely due to either not having a data connection or a corrupted ephemeris. If you do have a data connection then use the options to clear and update the AGPS data. The next lock may take 20-30 sec but after that it should be back to normal.

samnada said:
My experience is pretty much the opposite of the OP. I've noticed GPS locks are much faster after the OTA. Using GPS Test they were fast before, typically less 15 sec and nearly always under 30 sec, and after the update closer to 5 sec. However, over time I've seen a good bit of variation day-to-day so I can't say with any certainty that my observation is directly related to the OTA. And based on the reports in this thread it seems likely the OTA didn't fix or break GPS.
.
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Click to collapse
EXACTLY the same as that.. 6+ satellites in less than 10 seconds (usually about 5) and the same is true when using google maps.

same thing here instant lock few seconds
less then 30 sec inside

The thing with the GPS Status is that it is showing many satellites with strong signal (i.e. 11 with green bars) but it is not locking either for minutes.

alexsql said:
The thing with the GPS Status is that it is showing many satellites with strong signal (i.e. 11 with green bars) but it is not locking either for minutes.
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Click to collapse
Are you running stock or a ROM?
I'm on stock and have seen this a couple of times. I've been able to fix it by clearing and reloading the AGPS data. This can be done under Settings in GPS Test (https://market.android.com/details?id=com.chartcross.gpstest&hl=en).

OK, i fixed it.
I am on stock and I've tried reloading AGPS but that did not fix it.
I used GPS Status ->Settings ->GPS&Sensors ->Sensor Filtering
After I changed the filtering from Weak to None the GPS locks within seconds.
The weird thing is that now, if I change the filtering back to Weak or even Strong, it still locks in seconds

alexsql said:
OK, i fixed it.
I am on stock and I've tried reloading AGPS but that did not fix it.
I used GPS Status ->Settings ->GPS&Sensors ->Sensor Filtering
After I changed the filtering from Weak to None the GPS locks within seconds.
The weird thing is that now, if I change the filtering back to Weak or even Strong, it still locks in seconds
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Click to collapse
When you say reloading AGPS didn't fix it, how long did you wait for a lock? It can take longer for the first lock after reloading than normal. From your description it may have been the AGPS reload that actually fixed it, then once it got the first lock it was back to the normal fast locks regardless of the filter setting. Just a guess. I haven't played with the filter setting since far as I can tell it's only available in GPS Status, which I normally don't use.
Regardless, glad it's resolved. Also glad to know about that filter setting for future reference.

I did AGPS reload 2-3 hours ago and it did not work until I did the filter thing.

alexsql said:
I did AGPS reload 2-3 hours ago and it did not work until I did the filter thing.
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Ok. That does seem odd. Also odd that changing the filter back didn't break it. Hard to diagnose that without knowing a lot more about how it works underneath. Still a useful trick to know about. Thanks.

samnada said:
Ok. That does seem odd. Also odd that changing the filter back didn't break it. Hard to diagnose that without knowing a lot more about how it works underneath. Still a useful trick to know about. Thanks.
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Click to collapse
That filtering is for the sensors for your gyroscope on the device not the GPS. It smoothes out the display in the program so your "bubble" in your compass isn't jittery.

GPS and Ingress

Has anyone else had any issues with GPS and/or Ingress?
Here's the problem. While playing Ingress and being tethered to my phone, the GPS usually cannot get a lock on ANY satelites. I mean absolutely 0. Occasionally I'll end up moving but we're talking hundreds of meter jumps, usually taking anywhere from 20 seconds to sometimes up to 5 minutes for 1 to occur (in the 5 minutes one, I was nearly 2 miles away from where it last jumped.....).
Now, you'd think there was something wrong with my GPS, right?
Well, how come I can go and open my Google Maps application, and within 15 seconds have a lock on 5 to 8 satelites and have correct placement as well?
I've tried this a number of times, where Ingress essentially has me no where near where I should be. I exit out of Ingress and go to Google Maps and nearly immediately it shows my current location exactly without issues.
I've tried nearly everything I can think of to get this fixed. Overclocking/underclocking and such make no real difference here (hoping that maybe there wasn't enough processor speed or the graphics were too intense), has little to no effect as one would hope. Even using a few GPS tools (such as GPSFix, GPS Status and Toolbox, etc...) provide little insight into the problem, as they just confirm my fears, that inside Ingress I get 0 satelites, inside any other GPS application I'll get a lock on 5 to 8 satelites in no time.
Does anyone know of a way that I can truely monitor the GPS while using another application? I'd like some kind of log or something to help figure this out.

darkhawkff said:
Has anyone else had any issues with GPS and/or Ingress?
Here's the problem. While playing Ingress and being tethered to my phone, the GPS usually cannot get a lock on ANY satelites. I mean absolutely 0. Occasionally I'll end up moving but we're talking hundreds of meter jumps, usually taking anywhere from 20 seconds to sometimes up to 5 minutes for 1 to occur (in the 5 minutes one, I was nearly 2 miles away from where it last jumped.....).
Now, you'd think there was something wrong with my GPS, right?
Well, how come I can go and open my Google Maps application, and within 15 seconds have a lock on 5 to 8 satelites and have correct placement as well?
I've tried this a number of times, where Ingress essentially has me no where near where I should be. I exit out of Ingress and go to Google Maps and nearly immediately it shows my current location exactly without issues.
I've tried nearly everything I can think of to get this fixed. Overclocking/underclocking and such make no real difference here (hoping that maybe there wasn't enough processor speed or the graphics were too intense), has little to no effect as one would hope. Even using a few GPS tools (such as GPSFix, GPS Status and Toolbox, etc...) provide little insight into the problem, as they just confirm my fears, that inside Ingress I get 0 satelites, inside any other GPS application I'll get a lock on 5 to 8 satelites in no time.
Does anyone know of a way that I can truely monitor the GPS while using another application? I'd like some kind of log or something to help figure this out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello friend. It has been almost a year since you have posted, but I've gone through the same hardships, on different device though.
See my post here, if you still need some solution and see if it helps.