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GPS Problems? Yup everyone

http://free-pc-guides.com/news/first-att-samsung-captivate-owners-report-problems-with-gps-02887

This is such a sensationalist article. There aren't any problems with the GPS. You're supposed to use a GPS outside, and even inside, mine got a signal fine.
This article also says that T-mobile is expected to get the Captivate, which is false. It already has the Vibrant.

What GPS Problem??

No problems for me, thus far...

Mine has locked once. After that it refuses and just triangulates using cell towers and accurate within 2600 meters.

I'm not sure I would call it a "problem", but the GPS chip in these things is definitely not as good as the GPS chips in most other newly released phones. It could be a software issue, but I doubt it. The Aria would consistently lock onto twice as many satellites as this thing. When driving near large buildings and under bridges I sometimes lose a lock and Google Nav jumps around, which never happens in those same places with the Aria.

It seems to be working fine for me, but then I saw that someone had posted a fix for it when you dialed into the GPS settings, so I did that, and now.... it's still working fine!

gtg465x said:
I'm not sure I would call it a "problem", but the GPS chip in these things is definitely not as good as the GPS chips in most other newly released phones. It could be a software issue, but I doubt it. The Aria would consistently lock onto twice as many satellites as this thing. When driving near large buildings and under bridges I sometimes lose a lock and Google Nav jumps around, which never happens in those same places with the Aria.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've recently used both an Evo and an ATT-band Nexus One. I do have to say that the GPS on both of those seemed to acquire signals from satellites much faster than the Captivate, and give a more accurate location. Even standing outside, in the open, this one never appears to lock in on my precise location as well. I realize that's only anecdotal, but I no longer have access to either of the other devices.

Maybe its just mine, but I traveled over 300 miles today using Google Navigation, the phone up in the dash, with a clear view of the sky keep on having issue finding me.
I have an N1 and Aria, neither of these have these issues.

Do the specs indicate which GPS chip is being used? Some are better than others. Is it SirFStar III, IV, or MTK or what? This can certainly make a difference but costs about the same, so why get a cheapo chip? Hope Samsung did not do that.

GPS is definitely poor. From watching GPS Test I'd wager it's a firmware issue. No reason to have satellites popping in and out of view in the middle of a field on a clear day...
I've had many GPS units (>10) and the GPS in the phone is the second worst I've ever had. Very flaky. It looks like they also tried to mask the problem by averaging a bunch of the last fixes. I say this because the speed indication trails reality by quite a bit!
And I did try the proposed settings elsewhere but it didn't seem to improve much.
Hopefully they'll get this fixed. It's not the way GPS should be working on a top tier phone.

AJerman said:
It seems to be working fine for me, but then I saw that someone had posted a fix for it when you dialed into the GPS settings, so I did that, and now.... it's still working fine!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, so to change my stance a little, the GPS has been a little off tonight. Locking has been slower than I like, but it has been locking, and I saw it lock to at least 7 satellites earlier so I know it has no issue with handling that many at once.
The bigger annoyance that I'm having now is that my AGPS is off by quite a bit, telling me I'm in the next town over until it gets a full GPS signal. Not only is this annoying, but it also throws off every app that uses the cell data for coarse location, and I wouldn't be surprised if it has an effect on how fast it locks to the actual GPS satellites since it has the wrong location info to start which is the whole point of AGPS.

I actually did the GPS tweaks found in another thread, and I was navigating around my city. Maps was spot on for 98% of the time. Once or twice it put me about 30 meters away, but that was when i was surrounded by trees or concrete. Overall, I was very VERY impressed with the voice navigation, and the re-routing it did when i drove past a turn!

hmose said:
Do the specs indicate which GPS chip is being used? Some are better than others. Is it SirFStar III, IV, or MTK or what? This can certainly make a difference but costs about the same, so why get a cheapo chip? Hope Samsung did not do that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm starting to think that the processor and screen on this phone cost so much that Samsung had to cut corners in other areas to keep prices competitive. So far we've seen widespread evidence of crappy chargers (take forever to charge), GPS chips (slow and not very accurate), compasses (all over the place), internal memory (slow memory is causing the stalling issue / lag), and lack of camera flash. Hopefully not all of those are hardware issues and some can be fixed with software, but I'm just saying, they might have cut some corners to keep this thing reasonably priced. Personally, I would have rather paid $100 more to have the best phone ever made hands down. Oh Samsung.

I got it to lock like one time outside. Then I found this http://androidforums.com/samsung-captivate/128026-everyone-who-having-gps-problems.html and now it locks on inside my house. And this is actually GPS I'm talking about not wifi/cell tower triangulation. Hope it helps some of you.

I picked mine up the 19th in the burbs of Chicago. Drove up to Milwaukee with it the same day and did a side by side comparison with my Garmin GPS after my friend sent me the article.
Besides 2 minor hiccups, they worked very similar.
*the first hiccup shouldn't even be credited as a hiccup because it was an alternate route, I knew from experience it was slower but my Garmin and my Magellan of past never recognized it as the faster route.
*the second hiccup was when I was driving down 294 to merge into 94. Both had about the same instruction but out of nowhere my captivate's nav system said to take a left into a random road. It "recalculated" after a quick flicker and went back on course with my Garmin.
Recently I noticed there was an update for the Maps application which gave me "Navigation" and after installing it, I prefer my phone to my Garmin because:
1. It now gives you a picture of the destination in "street view" which you can touch and scroll around when you've arrived or pretty much arrived.
2. It shows traffic (green is good, red is bad)
3. I'm not sure if this was before the update but you can scroll through the map using the touch screen rather than just zooming in and out.
I'll do a few more runs driving between Milwaukee and the Chicago burbs before I completely set aside one or the other, but my experience has definitely met my expectations of a GPS

Why not download GPS NMEA MONITOR App and watch the data sentences. If they keep coming then it is a software problem, not the GPS Chipset. If those data sentences are stopped, then you got a hardware chipset reception problem. Try getting a clear view of the sky.

Zero GPS issues here, faster then backflip, tilt, & tilt2 for me. Grabs and maintains connection just fine.

[GPS] The Unofficial GPS COMPLAINT/NAG/EVIDENCE Thread

Post all your nag/complaints/evidence of GPS problems here.
All investigation works goes here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=789383
I just finished doing a one hour GPS test drive with the new OTA JH7 and guess what!!
The GPS is still unreliable.
I did a 30 minute drive before the JH7 OTA fix and it was terrible. It would lose GPS signal easily. The GPS would rarely get a fix and when it did, it wouldn't refresh for another 20-30 seconds.
With the new JH7 OTA, positioning while stationary is quick. You can get indoor GPS (probably from AGPS). Now, I was using it and I'm starting to believe we will NEVER see a real fix.
My reasons:
The hardware GPS has an accuracy of ~10 meters (~30 feet).
The hardware GPS has slow processing speed.
I believe this "fix" is just software code trying compensate for the poor hardware. It seems to take the bearing and speed to estimate where you will be. This won't work all the time but it gives the illusion of a reliable signal. You can see the device doing this when you make a quick change in speed or direction.
For example:
If you break quickly, the GPS will tend to position you further than your actual position. You might see GPS position "travel backwards" after you do.
If you accelerate quickly, from rest/full stop, the GPS will lag completely. It might lose the signal or not update until it gets a new "position" later (probably an amalgamation of speed, bearing, and [inaccurate] position).
If you make a sharp turn, the GPS will keep traveling that path and then slowly work it's way back to where you are. For example, if you make a 90 degree right turn, you'll see the GPS plots a semi circle arc to your new position.
I currently recorded my data with a custom written application I wrote but I had the logs set to write every 30 seconds and I didn't have a reference GPS unit to compare.
The next time, I'm going to drop it 1 second frequency and run the application on my G1 and Rhodium (TouchPro/Tilt 2).
What are you experiences with this new GPS "fix"?

I completely agree.
I just came into this forum to post the same thing.
I have some terrible My Tracks screenshots to take, but now my Captivate isn't detected when I try to plug it into my computer
This is using Cognition v2.1. The GPS locked very quickly right after flashing, but just tonight, it wouldn't get a lock to save my life. After repeatedly entering the LbsTestMode and changing settings, it went to getting a lock again... but had me ~100 feet off.
I do not think the GPS will ever work as good as any other modern smartphone. The GPS in this device just sucks, and no software will save it.

I agree with pretty much all that you wrote. It is very "laggy" and I too can see it estimate your path. Re-routing also takes very long and sometimes may not be in time.
I tested it with my Garmin side-by-side and there is no doubt the Cappy is worse. I know it's a phone and not a fair comparison with a "real" GPS, but it is a letdown.
FYI, Cognition improves the GPS significantly from my stock version (JP6)

Same here. I would not consider this as a fix for GPS.

The captivate is my first android phone. Im stuck with att so i made the switch from iphone to the captivate because it was thr first phone that was not crippled. I love android. Period. Im never going back. With voodoo and oc this phone beats the crap out of an iphone.
But today is the last day i can return it to best buy. I was waiting for a gps fix/improvement. But it didnt help. So im returning it. Im going to buy my friends aria for $100. Once samsung fixes thr gps i will buy this phone again.
Ps. Android. My new best friend.

is this the first Samsung android phone? Im pretty disappointed. Their other products are top notch

I have the opportunity to swap out my cappy for an HTC Aria phone but it's my last opportunity to exchange it because they're extending my 30 day warranty. I had to talk Wirefly into letting me because of the bad GPS in the phone. They can either give me another Cappy which would be a brand new (but another defective GPS phone no doubt) or they'll just give me the Aria which has a decent working GPS but not anywhere near as nice as the Captivate in every other way.
What would some of you suggest? I'm leaning toward just getting the Aria and maybe upgrading to a better phone later on.

galaxyjeff said:
I have the opportunity to swap out my cappy for an HTC Aria phone but it's my last opportunity to exchange it because they're extending my 30 day warranty. I had to talk Wirefly into letting me because of the bad GPS in the phone. They can either give me another Cappy which would be a brand new (but another defective GPS phone no doubt) or they'll just give me the Aria which has a decent working GPS but not anywhere near as nice as the Captivate in every other way.
What would some of you suggest? I'm leaning toward just getting the Aria and maybe upgrading to a better phone later on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My wife has an Aria, pretty good phone, verry poor battery life. Great GPS lock in 10 sec no matter where are you. Small screen but perfect size for holding.

I would have to disagree. No it's definately not as good as my garmin. However compared to stock...lol.. Its no contest. The Ota update is definately an improvement. It makes it at least usable. Before it would take anywhere from 10 min or more to lock. On several occasions i got half way to home before it would lock. Tonight i tested it and got a lock within 10 secs.
Thats not to say this update is without its issues. You can definately tell there is some anticipation of where you are going by about 10 to 20 feet. However rerouting happens quicker for me than it did before.
There is also the issue of wifi and 3g being on at the same time. Of course ill have to reenable tethering too if possible. Other that that though it is more positive than negative for me. At at least i can bring up bars and restaurants without waiting 20 minutes.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

kaczu said:
I would have to disagree. No it's definately not as good as my garmin. However compared to stock...lol.. Its no contest. The Ota update is definately an improvement. It makes it at least usable. Before it would take anywhere from 10 min or more to lock. On several occasions i got half way to home before it would lock. Tonight i tested it and got a lock within 10 secs.
Thats not to say this update is without its issues. You can definately tell there is some anticipation of where you are going by about 10 to 20 feet. However rerouting happens quicker for me than it did before.
There is also the issue of wifi and 3g being on at the same time. Of course ill have to reenable tethering too if possible. Other that that though it is more positive than negative for me. At at least i can bring up bars and restaurants without waiting 20 minutes.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem with comparing the Captivate's GPS performance to stock is that stock was just garbage. Almost anything is an improvement from a stock Captivate's GPS.
We need to compare the Captivate's GPS performance to other phones -- the Aria, Droid, iPhone etc. The Captivate's GPS just simply sucks compared to these phones, even after Samsung's "fix".
I wish I could return it, but there are no other decent options with AT&T

I have to disagree also. I just drove from Illinois to Texas and my captivate got me to my destination with only a couple dropped GPS signals. Was a 12 hour drive and it did what it needed to. Just saying this was a "real world" test and it passes in my book.
Dropped w/ my Captivate XDA App

My captivate is every bit as good as my aria was and better than my iphone 3g was. I'll agree its not the best. But this fix is working and if that's the best it can do I'm satisfied. I took a 6 hour trip the other weekend and it did loose signal in cloudy conditions, but when the sky was clear it never steered me wrong it even redirected me quickly, my friends vibrant also got him to where we were meeting. Now with the new firmware it gets a fix in overcast conditions. It may not be perfect but its what we have to live with. And I don't think I'd give up my samoled screen and good graphics processor for a better gps.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk

johnyhoffman said:
I have to disagree also. I just drove from Illinois to Texas and my captivate got me to my destination with only a couple dropped GPS signals. Was a 12 hour drive and it did what it needed to. Just saying this was a "real world" test and it passes in my book.
Dropped w/ my Captivate XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It boils down to how much you expect the GPS to work.
If you expect it to work with a few dropped signals, a few random wanders, but still generally get you to your destination -- then it is OK.
If you expect it to work as good as other modern phones, it sucks.

phr00t said:
The problem with comparing the Captivate's GPS performance to stock is that stock was just garbage. Almost anything is an improvement from a stock Captivate's GPS.
We need to compare the Captivate's GPS performance to other phones -- the Aria, Droid, iPhone etc. The Captivate's GPS just simply sucks compared to these phones, even after Samsung's "fix".
I wish I could return it, but there are no other decent options with AT&T
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try the Sony Xperia 10a. I have one and it's a nice phone. Lot's going on in that forum also. GPS works nicely and it's an 8Mb phone. Only A-droid 1.6 w/2.1 coming.

Unfortunate for me, I had a deal with AT&T to sell 50 of these devices ($15,000 down payment) with a custom app I wrote for this company. It's not going to happen now because the GPS is borked. Highway driving is one thing, but in the city, where you would be making turns left and right, it's counter productive. The GPS will be misleading you.
My project hasn't completely fallen through, but I would have to resort to the much smaller HTC Aria. I would say the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 but their OS is a joke. It runs 1.6 and has no Exchange support. SE said they'll make 2.1 (seriously!?) available end of october (meaning November). By then Gingerbread (2.5 or 3.0) will be out.
I just don't want to return this Captivate I got for free to develop the application...

Yea here's mine... Thx samsung, GREAT FIX!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

CLShortFuse said:
The GPS is still unreliable.
...
What are you experiences with this new GPS "fix"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've gotten what I would call good performance from the GPS today, but I only use it for driving and I probably don't need better than 10m precision. Prior to updating today to JH7, my phone would take 3-5 minutes for an initial lock (which usually required prepping with the Ulysse Gizmos' GPS app), after which it would stay relatively on-point. Today, post-JH7, my phone gets a spot-on lock with 5+ satellites within 10-15 seconds.
Pre-JH7, Google Navigation would trail my actual position slightly, as determined by the very unscientific method of glancing over at the phone while driving and noting that I would be passing a street intersection and Google Nav would still have that street roughly 10-20 feet forward of my position.
Post-JH7, again very unscientifically, the map would have me passing intersections at the exact moment I was actually passing through those intersections. Your comment about it estimating your next position rings a bell, but I could just be "remembering" a non-existent hiccup during one of my rides. Of course, I could also have missed a few dozen hiccups, because I was keeping my eyes on the road. =)
I live in the 'burbs north of NYC and, although I have no immediate plans to head into Manhattan, I will install MyTracks tomorrow and do some more testing along curvy suburban roads with and without extensive tree cover (I'd also be happy to use your custom application, if those logs would be more helpful to you).
Can you give me some specific ideas of what scenarios would help you get more useful test data? Things like:
1) Proceed straight at 30mph. Take 90 degree right turn at 20mph. Expectation would be that MyTracks would continue straight for at least a few feet before correcting itself.
2) Proceed straight at 30mph. Come to abrupt and complete stop. Expectation would match above.

I have a GPS in my car and use it for road trips. The Captivate GPS works well NOW for what I want to use it for, location based services like gowalla and such. It also works well for me using Google Nav's Walking feature.
The update is definitely an improvement for me. Before the update, unless I had wireless network assist turned on, my GPS would NOT get a lock. Now it does in under 20 seconds.

I too just joined the android community after having an iphone for 3+ years now... captivate being the first powerful hardware based phone that i saw (and that ATT had).I'm probably never going back to the iphone even if i never get gps working cause it is still so much better imho.
But the only thing that makes this so dang frustrating is the fact that... was there ANY product testing!?. I mean i can understand if it was a bad "batch" of phones that made it out. Or even if gps was "subpar", and had an OCCASIONAL incident of what we are experiencing (Like once every 15-20 min, then would reset and work fine). But the fact that it has not worked since product launch on EVERY phone (captivate, fascinate, vibrant, epic 4g, i9000) Even the ones that claim to unaffected still have accuracy/lag issues. I mean how did this get past field testing? I just hate the negligence .
I mean atleast the iphone 4 reception issue was only conditional to how you were holding the device. But no one GPS has correctly worked -_- just frustrating

I agree with this thread so far. It's insanely frustrating.

GPS problems...

Its anyone else getting problem with their GPS not starting locked on...mine would lock on then search for signal then lock back on...its a pain when I'm in navigation...is there a fix...cause with my N1 it would stay locked on in the same area...thanks in advanced...
Sent From My Inspire

Do you have a network assist enabled?
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App

Network assist? Where do I find that...should it be on or off?
Sent From My Inspire

Well my Network assist is on along with gps...i, still getting inconsistant gps reading in the stock navigstion with the inspire...could it be the radio, if i root and change the radio would it be more consistant??? in navigation app, i have made a turn and on the nav screen it didnt make the turn yet...it is kind of like a lag, or sometimes it would jump my position onto the next street over...anyone else expiriencing this??

Download a free app from the Market like GPS Status and see how log it takes to lock on and how many satellites it grabs. If it's really slow and can see fewer then five satellites then I'd take it in for exchange.

I say exchange the phone. GPS has been perfect for me and I've used it quite a bit.

gtg465x said:
I say exchange the phone. GPS has been perfect for me and I've used it quite a bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, that.

Thanks for the quick replies. so i did exchange my inspire for a new one. and same thing, i cant seem to get an accuracy under 10 meters. I also tried gps test, and with the inspire i only can get 5-7 sats locked, while my N1 gets 8-11 and the Atrix gets a 9-11...I also exchanged it for another so im on my third Inspire and the GPS sucks...will rooting and going to revolution or corddriod help with the GPS signal??? thanks in advanced...

no problem with GPS here. Locks on less then 30 secs

My GPS is perfect.
Is the SIM card door on snugly? There are antenna contacts in the SIM card door that can cause degraded signal if they aren't on properly.

Oh great. I just got AT&T to exchange my Captivate for an Inspire due to the Cappy's GPS issues. I hope this isn't a common thing with Inspires.

It isn't. This is the only complaint thread about the GPS that I've seen.

RiNo808 said:
Thanks for the quick replies. so i did exchange my inspire for a new one. and same thing, i cant seem to get an accuracy under 10 meters. I also tried gps test, and with the inspire i only can get 5-7 sats locked, while my N1 gets 8-11 and the Atrix gets a 9-11...I also exchanged it for another so im on my third Inspire and the GPS sucks...will rooting and going to revolution or corddriod help with the GPS signal??? thanks in advanced...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is very bizzare that you're on the third Inspire and issues persist. There are many variables that can play into GPS performance. What are the weather conditions like where you live. Low lying dense clouds and storm activities can affect GPS perfomarnce, so is being surrounded by tall structures. The elevation of the ground compared to sea level is also a variable.

AnyMal said:
This is very bizzare that you're on the third Inspire and issues persist. There are many variables that can play into GPS performance. What are the weather conditions like where you live. Low lying dense clouds and storm activities can affect GPS perfomarnce, so is being surrounded by tall structures. The elevation of the ground compared to sea level is also a variable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well yesterday it was overcasted, and i do live in Hawaii. But its just weird that my N1 and the Atrix had better signal and more stable the inspire. All three were tested at the same time and in the same place...
since the code dropped for the inspire today, hope a rom will fix this...i know its just me but i will take an HTC over moto or sammy any day...

Ach, no way. This thing's gps is great. I was driving around yesterday and got locked at 45mph in about 10 seconds. I didn't even have a window mount or anything, it was in my passenger's hand below the dashboard. Wifi off, straight gps. Coming off the captivate it's nice to know your gps just works

So in general there is no GPS lag with the inspire? I'm sick of my location showing me 2 blocks away while I'm trying to find and address. I have to pull over for 30 seconds while hunting down building numbers so my captivate can catch up :|

I have no issues either with GPS and is overcast right now down here

Traded back my atrix for inspire and all is good with gps.

Mine locks in seconds..probably a dud phone I would just get another one

I'm having issues with my GPS the past two days. Clear sky and i only get 2 satellites with only 1 lock. I still experimenting to see if theirs a difference between Roms.

[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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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??
Click to expand...
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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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??
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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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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] Does the gps suck for everyone?

Rogers infuse with infused 2.2.3, core B kernel currently. Never been able to get a solid lock... if I get lucky ill get accurate to 20 meters but it jumps around. with my old Acer liquid e I got instant locks and perfect street level tracking... am I the only one?
also, I've tried pretty much every modem, using j4 now. no difference between any of them.

Yup. You're the only one. Return your phone for another one.

My gps locks in about 5-8 seconds and it literally picks the right lot on my street at my house. I've had trouble before.
Are you rooted?
What rom are you on?
And have you tried any of the GPS fixes on this site?

my GPS has breen crap since the beginning.
It was only stock for a day.... maybe.. couldn't get locks with stock
tried rooted with infused, GPS still crap
now I'm on MIUI weekly, tried all the different modems and kernels.... still... SAMSUNG GPS CRAP!!!!
My wife has a captivate and she was running stock for almost a year, and I put MIUI on hers recently and she is now getting better locks.
As long as one of us has a decent working GPS I am happy.
Since owning this and doing research, it seems its a problem with the Samsung GPS... if that is the case... I will probably not be purchasing another Sasmung phone.. I like having a working GPS dammit!!!
My old HTC Aria would lock instantly indoors 99% of the time.. I'm actually starting to miss that tiny little phone... haha

Yes mines crap as well. Luckily I'm exchanging the phone for another infuse since its under warranty. I'll post if there is any difference. I doubt it though, Samsung gps isn't know for their performance. My old x10 xperia is getting lock in 1 - 3 sec indoors and even in the basement. The infuse is an embarrassment compared to the x10. The signal takes 30 secs or more to get a lock and when it does, it jumps around and makes navigation useless.

running perfect for me, I get locks in 2-3 seconds, while inside in my home or warehouse.
I live in SF bay area with my custom in my sig

GPS can suck at times and other times its perfect. I notice it sucks in large cities like when I go downtown or to NYC.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997R using xda premium

My GPS has been hit or miss, but it's been real fast over the past few days. I'm up in Maine where att service isnt even available 30 miles north of me. Strangely, I have faster locks here than I do when I travel to Mass.
Sent from my SGH-I997 using xda premium

External bluetooth receiver is a good investment, just put in the car.

Perpetrator said:
Rogers infuse with infused 2.2.3, core B kernel currently. Never been able to get a solid lock... if I get lucky ill get accurate to 20 meters but it jumps around. with my old Acer liquid e I got instant locks and perfect street level tracking... am I the only one?
also, I've tried pretty much every modem, using j4 now. no difference between any of them.
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Yes, the stock Infuse's GPS is pathetic.
I'm on Miui and it seems to work very well (after the 1st lock). There are other ROMS where it also works much better.
IMHO, fiddling with all the gps settings and various market apps was too frustrating...they would all work for a day or so but eventually the poor GPS performance returned. So, I quit fiddling, found a rom I like and with a working GPS and stuck with it.

GPS
When I was stock it worked with no issues, and im on serendipty IIV now and I have not had any GPS lock issues.

Alright, miui is giving me the fastest locks, but never perfectly accurate street level... oh well. I guess ill just put up with it.
Sent from my SGH-I997 using XDA App

Not really...I live in Central Jersey and every ROM I tries (dipity, miui, infused, cm7, hellraiser) didn't give me Amy trouble. Maybe I got lucky? Because over the past summer I went all around the East Coast and always uses my phone to find myself around cities Ans I never had a problem.
Sent from my SGH-I997 using XDA App

I've only had a good gps on stock and dlev. No go on infused/miui/sensation. It's a hit or miss rom, even on dlev It'll still lose my location.

MIUI has the best performance for me on the Infuse; the Captivate always sucked and continues to suck (although the tricks on the captivate forum and MIUI do improve it's suckeness).
Tried most of the ROMs for the Infuse (but never stock) and MIUI is by far the best.

terra-starr said:
MIUI has the best performance for me on the Infuse; the Captivate always sucked and continues to suck (although the tricks on the captivate forum and MIUI do improve it's suckeness).
Tried most of the ROMs for the Infuse (but never stock) and MIUI is by far the best.
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I've used a lot of ROMs....
S7: Worked fine, and worked quick. Locked on in ~5 seconds
Stock: Meh. It worked but took forever to lock
Infused: Worked alright. 10 seconds or so to lock
Dlev: Didn't work
CM7: Works good

Live near Minneapolis and never really had that big of an issue with the GPS. It was noticeably slower to find and lock than my HTC Tilt. Just drove down to Kansas City, where I found while in Iowa I lost almost ALL GPS connectivity. Now down here in Kansas I have to be directly outside, takes about 10 minutes to get a lock, and even then is pathetically inaccurate. Been trying in my spare time several of these GPS fixes. The original one I tried, changing to supl.nokia.com actually would see sats quickly, but just never locked.
I really wish I had known just how bad the GPS is on this phone, along with the poor performance in general. I would have avoided this like the plague. Part of the reason we wanted these was for the large screens to use with GPS. Now I learn the GPS is unusable AFTER the return period has ended. Yay. Next phone will be HTC, and honestly maybe Windows one as well.

The problem isn't really with locks for me, its with the accuracy... I can never get better than a 9 metre radius. Quite annoying, especially when my liquid was so accurate...
Sent from my SGH-I997 using XDA App

My Liquid E had Amazing GPS lock. Almost instant. Stock Rogers gave me a lock after a few minutes. CM7 27oct has given me 0 locks in just over a week. :-(

Some tips:
After flashing a ROM or changing gps.conf the GPS occasionally doesn't like to work. Enter angry gps through the dialer (never sgs tools, secgps.conf doesn't update I'd you launch it that way) and toggle the operation mode reboot and toggle it back.
If using Msbased location and the nmea data is old locks can take a long time. This happens if you turn GPS off and use it infrequently.
The google IP based location service (network location).can wreak havoc on the tracking, turn it off! this is especially true in cities where public wifi is everywhere, it will show you're location bouncing from store front to store front. Though it can be helpful on highways with public wifi like i've seen in Pennsylvania and new Jersey on my way to Philly I still prefer actual GPS locks and Samsung phones have a hard time deciding which to use.
Also any smartphone will have threads like this, I have seen mixed experiences in several forums, and my and others personal experience with 2g and 3g IPhones has been negative despite the common opinion that they have good performance. Even my aria was lacking in acceptable gps. Fact is that we are dealing with sensitive components and there will be bad units. What I will say is that the infuse is much more capable than the captivate, my captivate had great reception, better than my infuse, but it didn't seem to like the data running with the GPS, if I used Ms based location it wouldn't track well, and it didn't agree with google maps at all, apps with maps stored on the phone and standalone GPS made tracking impeccable though. The infuse can use Ms based location with few issues and the recent leaks use it by default and I have been more than pleased with the GPS on kj2 without changing any settings at all.
The update when ever it drops may not fix a bad unit so it won't help everyone but I think some people will stop complaining about the spastic moments that Samsung phones can have.