Anyone else experiencing Sprint Nexus S GPS Issues? - Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I just received my Sprint Nexus S 4G from Sprint on Wednesday (moving from an EVO) and, of course, I've been playing with it non-stop. On the whole, it's amazingly fast and responsive - more so than I ever experienced with my EVO and a number of ROMs on it.
However, the one thing I have seen repeatedly since day 1 is that the GPS lock is abysmal. I wanted to say "weak", but no, it's much worse. I know the original Galaxy line was plagued with such issues but doing a general Google search for Nexus S GPS issues mainly revealed people wondering if the NS4G would have the same problem - not many reports of actual experience.
I can tell you that my EVO got GPS locks with nary a problem. If I was driving and had to whip out the phone at a red light to fire up the navigation, it was ready to go in moments. I did that a few times this week with the NS4G and was just annoyed. This morning was especially bad so I have been spending some time just opening up Google maps and hitting the location button to see how long it took to get a lock on me. It's truly something awful. The radius it shows is based on the cell tower estimate (I know from seeing where tower location usage without GPS pegs me when I'm at work on both my Hero and EVO) sits for MINUTES before it might get a lock on where I actually am. Even at that point, the accuracy radius is still huge compared to just being pegged where I am with the other phones I have/had. Then, with maps open, the phone goes to sleep (screen off) and I turn it back on a few minutes later and this starts all over again...
I'm actually surprised to find no real reports like this yet so I thought I'd prompt people to really take a look at their new NS4Gs and welcome a report from them. Is my unit bonk or is this more widespread? If you've got one, try it a few times throughout the day. Just open GMaps up and hit the location button on top right to get a fix on your position and take note of how long it takes to lock in to you.
(Before anyone asks, yes, in SETTINGS>LOCATION&SECURITY I have both "use wireless networks" and "use GPS satellites" checked off).

I've experienced this somewhat, although for some strange reason it seems to have tamed itself. The very first time I fired up Maps it locked on to me with a 20m window after about a half a minute, which I've found to be "normal" for AOSP. My Evo would get me within 2m and would do it in around 5 seconds.
The second time I wanted to use it, I used the voice control to ask for directions, at which point my stock Ns4G rebooted itself leaving me on the side of the road for a few extra moments before I was on my way.
The last couple days though, it's been decent. It still only locks within a 20m window, though, but it's been pretty accurate so far.

Actually, I think I am suffering from the same issue. From time to time, depending on the location I would lose service (yet wifi works) and the only way I would regain service back would be to reboot my phone. It's the strangest thing ever, I believe its a problem between the Sprint network and the Nexus S. My old phone would get full bars but on my Nexus, its been only 1 or 2 bars in 3G. Sprint better be resolving this issue soon.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App

fraspas said:
Actually, I think I am suffering from the same issue. From time to time, depending on the location I would lose service (yet wifi works) and the only way I would regain service back would be to reboot my phone. It's the strangest thing ever, I believe its a problem between the Sprint network and the Nexus S. My old phone would get full bars but on my Nexus, its been only 1 or 2 bars in 3G. Sprint better be resolving this issue soon.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
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Now that you mention it, using this phone the past 2 days... it's the first time in god knows how long that I've seen signal issues. The first one being low bar readings - but I attributed this possibly being a difference in display of the bars on this phone vs my EVO. On the Nexus S there are four bars total, gray and green. I'm usually at one - two green bars with this phone. On my EVO I had a lot more bars (maybe 6-7?)... so maybe my actual signal strength was comparable but "seemed" like it was better because I saw more filled bars. Again, a display issue? I'll leave that open for further investigation...
However, the thing that is really strange is that I've seen the 3G go to 1X numerous times. I don't know if I ever saw this on my EVO.
All related or no? Color me perplexed...
edit: During my Google searching earlier I came across a search result posted in the Sprint forums titled:"Signal Issues with Nexus S" - however none of the links worked because the site was under maintenance. It's come back online... from reading through it, this appears to be a widespread issue (general signal issues, not GPS).
http://community.sprint.com/baw/message/286393
So, do we have TWO signal problems with this phone? Ugh!

20 meters accuracy is the norm for me. not the best, but thats all i need it to do.

Tried it inside of my house, got 30m lock, pressed again after few seconds got 8m.
Radio problems have been reported on other forums too,
Signal strength is the same as my Epic, but nexus can't pick up 4G signal in the same spot where my Epic does.
And I get signed out of gtalk randomly, I guess its when it loses signal, 3G or WiFi.

DiNoise said:
...Signal strength is the same as my Epic, but nexus can't pick up 4G signal in the same spot where my Epic does...
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Funny that you say that. When I had the EVO, coverage and download speeds over 3g werent a problem. now that i have my ns4g, same coverage but super slow 3g speeds in my area. not sure if its my phone, cuz where i work i get legit 3g speeds here and there. i'll give sprint a couple weeks to sort this out before my buyers remorse period ends.

DiNoise said:
Tried it inside of my house, got 30m lock, pressed again after few seconds got 8m.
Radio problems have been reported on other forums too,
Signal strength is the same as my Epic, but nexus can't pick up 4G signal in the same spot where my Epic does.
And I get signed out of gtalk randomly, I guess its when it loses signal, 3G or WiFi.
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From what I can tell, there's actually a difference between the white-ish signal bars and the green ones (it's probably in the manual but this would be the FIRST manual for any tech device that I didn't read front to back right when I opened the thing). Green bars mean you're connected to Google directly or something like that. White is just to the network. I tried to see the difference myself by going into mobile networks and disabling data - the green bars immediately turn white. When I turn the data back on they're still white for a little bit but I can get them green again immediately by logging into Google Talk.
Of course, the gray bars are still "no signal" bars as far as I know. White or green, I'm still only getting 1-2 bars of the four and going from 1X to 3G a lot. I thought I'd share that bit about the Green/Google connection because it might help you look up more info on that problem, too. I've already seen reports of people's connections to Google (lots of white, little green) being spotty, too.
It's too bad - this phone is really growing on me. It feels good in hand, perfect weight, looks gorgeous on or off... but the connection and GPS problems are a deal breaker. We need to see something happen. Really, REALLY disappointed in Samsung now.

Just got the nexus s 4g about two hours ago now and the gps has been great for me compared to the epic I traded it in for. Sitting at my desk on the second floor of my house and getting instant 2 meter locks. So far so good on my first pure google phone.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

I came from the Moment and it had 6 bars for signal strength....the Nexus has only 4 and from what I've noticed, reception has been the same or better than what I had. I haven't had any problems with 3G switching to 1x except when I was in our storage basement at work, in a heavily populated downtown. I haven't been able to try out 4G yet because it isn't offered in my area yet but assume it'll be the same or worse downtown. I have had issues with the GPS taking forever to get a lock, but I only use the GPS chip with NO help from the cell network. Most of the time, since it reboots in about 45 secs, I just reboot and it works fine for a while.

I did something slightly different. Before I used the GPS for the first time I completely removed google maps and didn't have any map program. I did have the evo shift sprint telenav map apk already on this phone. I installed it and started up the gps. After a few minutes of downloading files, the map screen came up and showed my correct position. I've found in the past if I fire up sprint maps for the first time I use the gps, it doesn't have problems locking afterwards. If I use google maps first, if it locks it takes a long time.

mrhinkle83 said:
I came from the Moment
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God bless you.. I had that paper weight for awhile and ditched it for the Epic. Worst phone I've ever used. The Nexus S must be like heaven compared to that thing.

So I was driving to one place today and needed gmaps to show me shortest route from my location, turned on GPS, could not get any sats to lock, I probably waited 20-30 secs and then remembered one old trick with GPS Status app.
Downloaded the app, went to tools, reset, redownloaded data, got 9 out of 9 sats locked on in 1 second, 2m accuracy. I can live with that.
But still not happy with 3G/4G performance, and at the same time I dont wanna go back to my Epic.

Mine locks instantly but up to 20m which doesn't bother me as long as it gets me where I need to go
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA Premium App

p00kienrayray said:
Funny that you say that. When I had the EVO, coverage and download speeds over 3g werent a problem. now that i have my ns4g, same coverage but super slow 3g speeds in my area. not sure if its my phone, cuz where i work i get legit 3g speeds here and there. i'll give sprint a couple weeks to sort this out before my buyers remorse period ends.
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Well, what I meant was that signal strength in "dBm's" was the same, or at least that's what both phones' status showed. But with speed test app 3G speeds on NS4G were MUCH slower than Epic's, and of course I couldn't even test 4G...
I'm also thinking if I should return it before 30days or just keep it and hope there will be fixes to make NS4G's radio better and better, to be prepared for ice cream desert, and then just jump to next Nexus

styckx said:
God bless you.. I had that paper weight for awhile and ditched it for the Epic. Worst phone I've ever used. The Nexus S must be like heaven compared to that thing.
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Yes, the difference is like night and day! I'm just amazed at the battery life...I can actually go a full day without nursing it with a charge here and there, the moment wouldn't go longer than 6hrs before crapping out...and that was with light useage! I've had the nexus for over a week and I'm hooked....and the GPS issues seem to have settled down, it locks within 30-40 seconds now and is pretty accurate.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App

GPS reception issues, but only while biking
OK I've searched around and haven't found much on this particular problem:
I use the MayMyRide app to track and log my bicycle rides. It consistently shorts my ride by at least 1.5 miles and several minutes, as compared to my computer on the bike.
This only started happening after I switched to the NS4G on Sprint from the Moto Defy on T-Mobile. I used the same app on t-mobile and it was generally pretty accurate.
Also, I seem to have decent GPS reception in general, the GPS lock times seem reasonable, and I can use google maps navigation with no problems.
Also, I've had this problem regardless of what ROM I'm running. I've flashed several, but I've mostly run Gummy, burnsra's CM9, and the latest Bugless Beast.
I've just started the process of flashing different radios, so I don't have enough info yet to see if that fixes the problem.
My hypotheses so far:
1) Poor reception in the rural areas that I ride, although since it's GPS I don't see why having poor network signal would affect it. But maybe it does.
2) Weak GPS antenna in the NS4G (?) (This doesn't make sense because GPS works fine in other settings.)
3) General sprint crappiness.
4) I don't think it's the app because it worked fine on T-MO.
5) I don't think it's the ROM because it's happened on several ROMs.
6) I don't have enough data yet to know if it's as simple as flashing a new radio. I flashed LC1 this morning so we'll see.
Any ideas?

Related

[Q] Does Nexus S Wifi and GPS have issues?

So there I was, happily reading reviews about Google's/Samsumg Nexus S building my judgement whether to buy it or not after my Nexus 1 got stolen. Happily enough there were very few posts on issues with the phone and most reviews would state quite triumph for Samsumg for it's gorgeous screen and for finally getting rid of it's dreaded GPS bummer.
Decision made and finally got my own brand new NS. In general terms, the phone is pretty smooth, very responsive - haven't seem an android phone this smooth in a while. In general lines I'm pretty happy with it. However, there are two issues which are bugging a lot: the WiFi and the GPS. Since I've read these reviews I mention in the beginning I'm not too sure whether they design flaws or just I got (un)lucky with this one.
My GPS is definitely crap. I have that "GPS test app" and even when it has like 7 satellites in sight it still wont manage to get a lock as quick (if any) as other phones I've been comparing it. E.g. And old HTC Magic sitting next to my NS got a lock in like, 5 seconds while mine took almost 20 - then lost it. Also, after acquiring the lock, it has an average of 20-30 meters error while the HTCs and Nokias are like pin-point 5m<.
As for the WiFi, I'm not sure if is just a display issue or if the reception is really bad, but being in the same room as the router, about 4 meters away, the phone shows two strength bars only. I figure that the reception could be just fine and the display could be just bad parametrized so I've got the "WiFi Analyser" app it says my signal is at -78dBm (which with a little googling apparently means pretty weak).
What do you guys say? Are those known issues? Are there Fixes? Should I send it back?
I just reaaaaly don't want to root it get custom Roms and try and try.. This thing is brand new, should work as it is.
Compared to my HTC Desire the NS GPS takes quite a long time to establish lock - the desire is within a couple of seconds - the NS takes 30-60 seconds.
The NS compass is terrible - there are quite a few posts on this.
All of this on stock 2.3.3 - haven't tried any custom roms or kernels yet.
NS GPS & WiFi are fine. Never had any problems... even on stock.
Nope, don't have problems. When I first got it, it took about 30 seconds to get a lock inside my house (w/ wifi off) from a cold start. Ever since, it took less than 10 seconds.
Wifi also isn't an issue with me. Although the amount of bars it shows is weird, but when I get in my car (signal going through multiple walls), I still get one bar left and works fine (not fast connection, but still get some).
No problems with mine, works just as well as my wife's MT4G
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

[Q] To return or not to return (GPS problems)

As you may know by now I've been having problems with GPS on my Nexus S (i9023, bought factory unlocked from Amazon Germany, carrier code EUR, running rooted stock 2.3.4 AKA GRJ22). A quick search of the Nexus S forums will tell you that I'm not the only one who complains about GPS issues - I always assumed that the GPS was just sub-par on the model and I'd have to live with it.
Only now a few helpful souls over in the accessories section said it was probably defective and I should exchange it. (I've already exchanged it once for this and the new unit I got performed exactly the same.) So I'm just going to tell you the current situation and I'm hoping you'll tell me if that's within the normal tolerances for the model: [All tests done outside in suburbia]
"Network location" (geolocation, wifi / cell triangulation) is fine since 2.3.4 [just to get that out of the way]
Time to First Fix (TtFF) is decent now, usually 15-30 s cold and < 15 s hot. I've seen much better (yes, on a phone), but that doesn't bother me.
Accuracy however, is still bad. GPS Status shows 20-10 m mostly, but it fluctuates wildly going from 5 to 30 in a heartbeat even when it's just stationary. Other phones don't show this behavior. This translates into real-world problems in Maps (checked via sat view): The blue circle goes from large to enormous and back and while my true position is somewhere within the circle most of the time, the center dot is way off. Most other implementations manage to guess the location correctly even when the accuracy is bad (as tested side-by-side).
Stability is my biggest concern. The lock'll be fine for a few minutes, especially if the phone was just rebooted, but then the GPS will lose it every few (say 5-10) seconds and take time to reacquire it. Additionally, it doesn't pick up movement very well. I did a few tests watching my position in Maps while on the tram (in a window seat) and basically it would register an (approximately correct) location every now and then but then just hang there for a while. Usually it wouldn't register that the tram had left a stop before it had arrived at the next one or even just left it again. All other phones trace the tracks almost perfectly and in real time. There goes any kind of usable navigation and - in concert with the compass issues - all augmented reality apps.
Again, this isn't meant as a complaint or even a request for a fix (though if you have one I'll gladly take it) - I'd only like to gauge if my particular phone's have been bad or if "that just how it is".
Thanks for listening.
I have a nexus s4g from sprint and my gps was working great and then one day it just stopped. I can never pick up a signal and if out does it takes about five minutes our more. I have a gps radar app that shows me signal strengths and stuff and our barely picks up give signals and they are always really weak I have to refresh the agps status all the time to even get a lock and like I said it still takes about gives minutes or more if it even locks at all. I am looking for a fix my epic had the same problems and then with the latest update for it, it was amazing and fast accurate locks. And help with the nexus s4g would be great
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
Get your msl, go to your dialer and dial *#*#gpsclrx#*#*, then put in msl and it will clear gps for you. It will reboot on its own
snandlal said:
Get your msl, go to your dialer and dial *#*#gpsclrx#*#*, then put in msl and it will clear gps for you.
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What's an msl and what does "clear gps" mean? Also, way to derail a thread ...
I tried that before on my epic and it messed up my gps but I will give it a shot
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
nice post. finally some oen who get it.that there are just failts in phones and thats just how it is.
thougfh.yes try returning it in the hope to get a proper nexus s xp
I did the clear gps code and it seemed to fix mine so thanks I would recommend people try it.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
whats an msl? can't find that on google so what is it? would like to try out that code...really have problems with GPS on my nexus s
floomat said:
my GPS does just not work at all, it can't get a fix for hours even if there are 10 sats.
but sometimes I'm lucky (really rare) and it gets a fix but the longest time it hold it was 5minutes, then lose GPS fix can't get one again. it's even not while i'm moving, phone lays on the table and outside to test.
really disappointing for me, second thing is my compass does not work after reboot and is really inaccurate and unstable (jumping around)
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Your GPS sounds even worse than that on my NSs, the compass doesn't work for anyone. Out of curiosity - where did you get yours?
for msl: http://goo.gl/x3IKR
i'd like to ask if this code is good for Nexus gsm or cdma??
freakness51 said:
for msl: http://goo.gl/x3IKR
i'd like to ask if this code is good for Nexus gsm or cdma??
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Click to collapse
According to the article you linked: "This program reads your Master Subsidy Lock (MSL) code for your CDMA Android phone."
In other news, I'd really appreciate some on-topic replys
fallenguru said:
Your GPS sounds even worse than that on my NSs, the compass doesn't work for anyone. Out of curiosity - where did you get yours?
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I even think my GPS is the worst of all the Nexus S.
Mine was bought from Ebay-UK and since it was on a repairing-tour to samsung germany i know its from CPW. Its a I9020 not I9023. BTW there was nothing repaired because they said "The discribed issue cannot be found" or something like that..
what do you mean with compass does not work for anyone?? does it really not work on any nexus? thats interesting, isn't it a little bit illegal to sell a device and say it has compass and than compass does not work at all?
freakness51 said:
for msl: http://goo.gl/x3IKR
i'd like to ask if this code is good for Nexus gsm or cdma??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mh sounds like this will not work for GSM-Nexus
the GPS on my NS behaves similar (but better) to what you describe in the first post but overall it seems to have better accuracy and stability.
Have you tried recording a track while in a car? The results should be better. At least with mine it's mostly accurate and rarely looses signal (unless you go under a bridge/tunnel)
abrcrmdl23 said:
I have a nexus s4g from sprint and my gps was working great and then one day it just stopped. I can never pick up a signal and if out does it takes about five minutes our more. I have a gps radar app that shows me signal strengths and stuff and our barely picks up give signals and they are always really weak I have to refresh the agps status all the time to even get a lock and like I said it still takes about gives minutes or more if it even locks at all. I am looking for a fix my epic had the same problems and then with the latest update for it, it was amazing and fast accurate locks. And help with the nexus s4g would be great
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
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Click to collapse
Hello,
I have the same phone, NS4G from Sprint, and the same symptoms. The GPS worked fine for a week or so, and now I'm lucky to get it to work at all. Sometimes I can get a lock after 5+ minutes (while not moving), but other times it never occurs.
I just tried resetting the GPS as is described in the post above. It says "it will reboot automatically" - does that mean the phone or the radio?
In any case I just pulled my device battery after GPS reset - I'll post back with results in a few minutes. In the meantime can you explain what you did after following the reset with dialpad/MSL?
Also attempted return...had to send in for repair
I also got a bad GPS Nexus S i9020 from Amazon.com USA site. The GPS would not lock without a wifi signal. I eventually caved in trying to get it working with rom flashes, drove me nutz, but tried to return for cash and missed the date. Had to send in to Samsung then and get the repair. I have been somewhat satisfied, having gone from no GPS to finally getting it to lock, but its a poor excuse for a gps chipset. The SiRFSTAR from my old WinMo days kicks this gps in the arse.
I also get the bouncing sensitivity and wandering location circle, but accuracy hovers around 5-10m now, but the location is never fixed solid, its wobbly, even outside with clear skies above. The compass is another huge weak spot. Samsung dropped the ball on this device, I wish I could return mine and grab an HTC unit. Google should learn from this and drop them for the Nexus Prime. I think this is unacceptable as location services are whats hot now and this device fails as a flagship product.
I like the gps on my sgs2 more (it has a sirfstar IV) but, i have to say, it's not that much better.
What i gained in stability i lost in TTL. Sometimes you need one more than the other.
The SGS2 has taken me up to 10 minutes to get a lock and if conditions aren't good (cloudy sky, tall buildings) it can easily take 5 minutes. Sometimes you just want to get some signal to get you going.
I did a trip of more than 2000 miles with my Nexus S, using the GPS most of the time, and it worked ok enough for navigation for most of the time. The only times it failed me were, as i mentioned earlier, in old parts of cities with narrow streets.
You are right when you mention HTC, because usually their devices have better working GPS.
Overall i wouldn't say it's a bad device, you have to keep in mind this is not a dedicated GPS device, it's a smartphone that does a lot of things, some better than others, it's still a good developer phone, which i think was the main goal of the Nexus.
After upgrading to the SGS2, the main differences i noticed were not the GPS but the speed and extra memory! The Nexus S is not slow and has average memory (512mb but with only around 380 free) but if you have a lot of apps running (and it's easy for this to happen) it will get sluggish and begin to close the launcher when you start a heavier app. I found this had a lot more impact on usability than the GPS weakness.

[Q] General Performance and Quality issues?

Was just wondering if any could give me some feedback on their experiences with this phone vs other carriers or VM phone models. In the little over a week I've owned it, it's horrible compared to my current AT&T phone service.
I wanted to know if it was a quality issue on the phone, or VM's network.
I've notice in Los Angeles area I almost always have 1-2 bars, often have x1 instead of 3G. I also can be stopped at a major intersection in my car and the bar goes from full 3G to no bars and 1x, then spikes back up to full, then says no service. Even when I have a full bar and 3G I get like 150kpbs using speedtest.net sometimes.
Youtube video even in low quality stutters often, in HQ it's pointless.
I've also noticed the GPS lock times are sporadic but yet a utility shows the phone has a lock on 7+ satellites, but reports only about 100ft accuracy.
Sometimes when the screen comes on it flickers for a split second.
I was also told that the phone's radio only uses the 1900Mhz bands, does anyone know if we could get 800Mhz support once we get ROM development for it?
Has anyone noticed similar issues?
Best Buy just got 8 more in stock I'm going to swap it, but wanted to have some reference before the 30 days are up. No stores have a activated VM phone that I can compare service to.
I really want to update my phone and if I can save my money from AT&T. But need something at least somewhat reliable and consistent.
Thanks,
-Lich
Hey man, I'm in southern Indiana, so I can't really say much about your service area, but mine is great. usually 3/4 bars, with 3g speeds faster than my wifi. If your device is wonky like that, where it keeps jumping from no bars to full bars, then maybe its something with the phone itself. as far as 1x data, that's the network. I'm using an optimus v, rooted running cyanogenmod7, and I have excellent battery life and performance, so if you are going to switch to a different VM phone, I recommend that.
I have had absolutely no problems with this phone that aren't software related. There are quite a few Lemons out there and it seems only people on these forums are getting lemons!
I have software version 039 (Not sure that matters)
My signal strength sitting right here in my house is -64dBm with no tower in sight, full bars. I traveled from Upstate NY to Tucson, AZ on multiple flights with multiple layovers last week with this phone and I had absolutely no problems including getting in flight WiFi.
My Triumph is everything I could've hoped for after selling my iPhone 3GS to get the Triumph.
The screen is large and beautiful with absolutely amazing colors. The screen is responsive (after taking the thick 2nd screen protector off) and nearly as good as the iPhone's screen responsiveness. Phone feels good in my hand with a nice coating on the outside. The camera is absolutely amazing. I have taken beginner SLR quality photos with it, and when focusing you can even get quite a bit of bokeh added. The 720p camera is great, though it's jumpy in low light and I really don't like that it doesn't have video focusing. Battery life will take me through an entire day of normal use.
Any problems I have had, are software related and should be able to be easily fixed. GPS Locks beautifully to 3ft accuracy in under 30 seconds with the GPS Test app, but this cannot be said for Google Maps or Navigation. I think Google has a driver problem in their software which should be easily fixed with a new update to the Maps application. The Triumph does become unresponsive for a few seconds at times, but it's no big deal to me, again that should just be a software problem.
One other major problem I have that I KNOW is software related is that the headphone volume is WAY too low. If you make a phone call while listening to music, the volume will jump up to a normal level. Without making a phone call I have to turn my cars radio up to about 8/10 just to be at a normal level, if I make a phone call I can leave it on about 3/10.
For $300 and $25/month, you cannot beat this phone in any way.
On mt phone I can see little horizontal lines.does any one else see them?
My experience:
WiFi takes a while to turn on when I wake the phone. Streaming video is a bit choppy, and downloading the videos only reduces the choppiness by a little bit. I dont have the flickering issue, and to the best of my knowledge, gps works well. Keeps up with games like my bro's Droid X. Snappier than my friends Samsung Galaxy S. Sometimes the soft buttons require a second press to initiate. Overall I'm happy with it, but will be better when CM is installed.
Sent from my MOTWX435KT using Tapatalk
My experience is that gps works just fine the phone is fast, the signal in seattle area is only good downtown anywhere els and it sucks. I searched for towers in my area and sprint has very few towers I get 1 maybe 2 bars max signal at home mostly 0 bars but can still make calls.
wifi works great and when I have a good signal 3g works great but the lack of signal in most places is what sucks my battery down.
Sprint just needs to improve its coverage
bugs i've come across :
widgets resize after holding your phone in landscape mode
wifi can't connect to a router and will keep re-trying, causing the phone to reboot
random reboots
back button will stop working, while other buttons work
light leakage between soft buttons and case
i went from 038 to 039 software and haven't noticed anything yet. i always had a good gps lock on 038 but had horrible reception, 039 doesn't seem to improve that
Faster then my daughters galaxy s , 038,sometimes the back button takes a few times to act like a back button, but over all I'm very happy with it.
Sent from my MOTWX435KT
I came from the Intercept, and so far the Triumph is heads and shoulders above that even though it has a few minor bugs. Most of the stuff works great, my gps is fine, my signal is actually better than my Intercept, and I don't have any screen flickering.
I do have a small amount of light leakage (not a big deal to me) and sometimes my widgets resize, but all in all it's been great for me.
I came from using the Droid X and let me tell you that this phone reminds me of it so much. The only thing that i dobt like is that the battery is a little lacking compared to the X. An im just waiting for a custom rom to come out for this. I was running liberty 2.0.1 on the x and i would love to see something similar.
Sent from my MOTWX435KT using XDA App
Other than the atrocious performance of the battery.......Horrible gps performance which much like my wife works whenever it feels like it. The 3g speeds are an absolute joke also. So far i'm not all that impressed with this phone. I hope that it can be solved via software and that these are not hardware issues. It's my second one....the first one had power issues.
No problems either with _38, had it since 7/14.
Signal is about 5dB weaker v. an OV in the same location, however I have seen several people report making/receiving calls fine w/no bars as well as SMS. The areas that I usually frequent, I have 1-2 "bars"(no a good sig str indicator), 3G no problem.
...and I second the app problem causing thing to f'up. I read an article the other month that the VAST majority of Android phone problems usually end up being some app interfereing with functionality. e.g. I had sudden batt drain problems, so I checked batt useage and found Star Chart(FAOD that day) was using 80% of batt, so I killed it problem solved(in that case).
[EDIT]
3G speeds: VMUSA problem, mine are as craptacular on the MT as they were on the OV, i.e. usually about 56k dialup rates.
[/EDIT]
Well here's an update.
I just got back from BB and exchanged the 1st Triumph with another. It's funny the manufacture date on this one is newer but it has the 38 firmware and my old one had 39 go figure that out. Anyway so far the performance seem just as bad, but the screen doesn't flicker on power on.
Maybe I just have the worst luck and need to try a 3rd one. I really love this phone and want to use it and VM it's so cheap. I'm going to try this one for a few days and cross my fingers my house just has extra crappy reception.
I also bought a Optimus V just to compare the signal network speed as a reference, I haven't swapped to that one. I turned it on non activated and it shows 1 bar signal also. I'll be curious if it goes up once it's offically on the network. I really would like the bigger screen and flash support though from the Triumph.
Maybe I like in the wrong state and should move where you guys live..lol
Thanks for the feedback.
-Lich
Common issues for me now are connectivity, battery drain, and light leaking from the bottom right corner. I'm going to swap mine out before the 30 days are up
mr2011 said:
Common issues for me now are connectivity, battery drain, and light leaking from the bottom right corner. I'm going to swap mine out before the 30 days are up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea i think everyone pretty much has all those problems. if you exchange it you will probably get the same problems or worse. hopefully a new batch will have been released by then
I own both the Triumph and the Optimus V. Reception seems a touch better with this one in known trouble spots around town here. Where the Optimus might lose connection, the Triumph retains it, if barely.
I am having issues with a greenish yellow blob in the middle of the camera. It is reducible within some combination of the setting, but in some instances it is still there. Is this a common issue, or are there MTs which do not exhibit this? The reason I ask, is that I am weighing wether to swap my MT out for another.
I also have intermittent lock screen 'flicker', but from what I have read, it seems to be fairly common. I dont see it often within normal use, but if I repeatedly hit the power button, it becomes visible.
Connectivity does however seem to be stable when I have been using it (both wifi and cdma). Even in cases where there are low bars, I seem to have a decent connection for text/voice.
Has anyone else's battery life gotten more and more horrible by the day? It seems like mine is getting worse as each day passes. The first day I got my Triumph I had some heavy use on it getting all my apps installed and configured and it lasted almost a day and a half for some time on a single charge, now 2 weeks later im having to plug it in maybe twice daily for quick charges.
So the flickering screen issue... Major defect? Or can we count on a solution when custom ROMs become available?
I'm on my 4th Triumph now, and at this point, Best Buy is probably going to ban me from making returns if I go back very much more with this crap..
mr2011 said:
Has anyone else's battery life gotten more and more horrible by the day? It seems like mine is getting worse as each day passes. The first day I got my Triumph I had some heavy use on it getting all my apps installed and configured and it lasted almost a day and a half for some time on a single charge, now 2 weeks later im having to plug it in maybe twice daily for quick charges.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try calibrating the battery with charge cycles. Might help. Or maybe it is an app you installed?
Sent from my LG Optimus V running Sense 3.0

Weak GPS?

Just used my one x to navigate to work today. GPS seemed really fragile in that if I wasn't holding.the phone directly under my windshield it quickly lost GPS signal. It would re lock after putting it back under the wibdshield.
Anyone else? Comments/tweaks/solutions greatly appreciated.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
I saw a few similar comments in other forums as well. I'd suggest you go back and exchange for another one. Any tweaks will only temporary ease the problem for a few days but a permanant solution is to get a phone that just works out of box.
Ugh, was hoping I wouldn't hear this problem pop up. Horrible GPS on my Captivate so was hoping to hear the GPS on the One X was good. Hopefully this is a rare problem...
I've seen it in using the speedtest app - where it will have problems locating a server near me (which there are quite a few) - not sure if this is an app problem or gps problem. I haven't had a chance to use gps much besides that...
I tested out the GPS last night on my way home; it locked extremely quickly and held onto it the whole time. I thought it worked very well.
For what its worth, I'm in Texas.
GPS is amazing on mine. Better than my DHD. I consistently get locks in less than 10 seconds, and most of the time it's less than 5. Maybe it's an AT&T thing, since I'm on Rogers.
Mine locks within 10 seconds in the house, I had a bunch of fc so I reset my phone to factory settings and the GPS and fc are gone. I would try factory rest then use GPS status.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
when it locks onto you, is it right where you are at or just close by? Mine seems to find me quickly, but it is always like just across the street or similar.
The GPS is definitely weaker,
My Skyrocket locks on inside of my house within 10-20 seconds and gives a very accurate reading (pinpoints my room). The One X takes about a minute to lock and it shows me inside my neighbors house..
I'll have to try this out on the road later on, might be an issue for navigation
Used mine today for something on the job. Locked extremely quick and worked fine the entire time.
Mine took under ten second to lock inside my house, but it did show me at my neighbors home. Good enough for me.
Sent from my HTC One X
I used the GPS a bit last night to track a short walk around my neighborhood and found the results to be a bit disappointing. I don't use GPS often, and my last phone was a Captivate, so I"m not sure if maybe I was expecting too much it seemed to have lost the signal at least twice and it plotted me all over the place (road) when it did hold the signal. I had it in my pocket most of the time, so perhaps I was expecting too much for those conditions.
Did you guys enable GPS satellites from location settings? Mine would load locations before I did but only was super accurate when I turned it on.
mesasone said:
I used the GPS a bit last night to track a short walk around my neighborhood and found the results to be a bit disappointing. I don't use GPS often, and my last phone was a Captivate, so I"m not sure if maybe I was expecting too much it seemed to have lost the signal at least twice and it plotted me all over the place (road) when it did hold the signal. I had it in my pocket most of the time, so perhaps I was expecting too much for those conditions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, GPS in Captivate is crap. That's well known fact. Everything else should be much better. My Galaxy S2 is very consistent in tracking. I don't expect HOX be any different. You should have 15 to 30 feet accuracy all the time.
Does the HOX use GLONASS?
Cryosx said:
Does the HOX use GLONASS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.
I tried it out a few times with gps test. I get 10+ satellites within 10 seconds indoors. That's the most satellites I've had on any phone I've owned.
GPS is a little weaker than on my Skyrocket but still good enough to get me around. Just used it today without a problem. If I had never had the skyrocket I would have said that it's "normal" for what I've seen in other phones.

Data dropping

My phone has dropped data randomly two times this morning. I could only get it back by doing a switch to airplane mode. Anyone else with this problem? Is this a phone issue that I need to get a new one?
Sent from my HTC One X
Mine has dropped several times. when coming to and from work. It seems to always happen when it connects to wifi. when i leave work and its wifi, i lose all signal entirely.
I don't use wifi though that's the thing. I called ATT and they said it may need a new simcard......which this was. So I swung by and got one and the lady at the store said that my phone may be going bad! LOL wow I love how they train their people.
YES. Most definitely, this is the same problem I'm experiencing. I had another thread posted about how the 4G icon was lit but there was no signal. The icon now seems to be a little more accurate...But still.
At home I switch on WiFi so I don't run up my data but if I look at the settings for mobile network the status underneath in gray text keeps showing that it connects and disconnects. Endlessly. The phone isn't moving. My wife has signal on her iPad and iPhone (I know those are 3G).
I have to turn on airplane mode and then off...Then mobile network on and it seems to help a little. However it's still super spotty.
This is pretty much only indoors but I don't know. I'm going to go around town and try it out. On their coverage map I'm in a big zone of LTE coverage. Outside I have seen 30Mbps on LTE using speedtest.net app. So I don't know. I thought it was very odd given the houses here in CA don't exactly have super thick insulation and every other cell phone (Sprint, my wife's on AT&T, etc.) seem to be AOK. It's just this new One X that just can't stay connected to the 4G.
Going under settings > about > network ...
I see my signal strength....some readings are...
-109 dBm 4 asu
-101 dBm 6 asu
-107 dBm 2 asu
I have no idea what values I should be seeing - what is considered good?
Mobile network type says HSPA. Service state says in service. Icon up top is 4G with one bar. If I turn off WiFi I could not load a web page or anything. That's what annoys me. I usually see like 2 bars and that's fine...But if I see the damn bars and the 4G icon....I sure as hell expect the data to work, even if a little slower.
It's just SUPER flaky. Again outside seems to help but to be honest I haven't sat and watched it. For all I know it could be connecting and disconnecting over and over outside as well but just have a stronger connection when it is actually "on."
I'm annoyed and speechless. I'm not in the boonies. I've never experienced anything like this before. I'm actually at my desk in front of a window. Uh...WTF?
Just picked up lunch and watched the data while on the trip.
This phone is unusable. It's gotta go back. Well, I guess it's welcome back Sprint. Sooooo disappointed.
All I got was HSPA. The only time I get LTE and those fast 30Mbps down is at night time. AT&T is such a joke and their network is NOT ready for this phone.
I'm in Palo Alto, CA. It's not the middle of no where. This is embarrassing. Either that or somehow I have a defective phone or SIM card or something I have no clue here...It's really really bad and I'm obviously not the only one.
3 days and it's been horrible, the only reason why I didn't notice sooner is because I've been using the phone on WiFi most the time.
tom_m said:
Just picked up lunch and watched the data while on the trip.
This phone is unusable. It's gotta go back. Well, I guess it's welcome back Sprint. Sooooo disappointed.
All I got was HSPA. The only time I get LTE and those fast 30Mbps down is at night time. AT&T is such a joke and their network is NOT ready for this phone.
I'm in Palo Alto, CA. It's not the middle of no where. This is embarrassing. Either that or somehow I have a defective phone or SIM card or something I have no clue here...It's really really bad and I'm obviously not the only one.
3 days and it's been horrible, the only reason why I didn't notice sooner is because I've been using the phone on WiFi most the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how fast is the HSPA you're getting?
1-3.56Mbps down and 0.04-1.03Mbps up.
Out on the street downtown.
Best I've ever had was at night on LTE 30Mbps down and like 17Mbps up.
All to the same test server. Trying servers several states away it varied, sometimes I'd even see 20Mbps down to a far away server.
Again this is all WHEN I'm actually connected to the data network.
The thing just can't hold a connection. Constantly dropped.
edit-- ok so right now same time of day, servers, etc. Sprint's 3G is a little slower, but at least I'm not getting dropped.
and on a side note, i got a REALLY helpful lvl1 tech support lady on the phone. much better experience than i thought. there was an issue in the area before. but basically i'm going to give it another shot. if no good tomorrow, swap for a new phone. they'll call me back friday and we'll see... crossing my fingers.
Any update on this? I've got a new One X and work night shifts twice a week. I've notived tonight that the data drops when the phone is idle and obviously nothing pushes.
There's got to be a way of turning this off. I can see why HTC would call it a feature, but there has to be a flag or a switch somewhere....

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