My experience and ideas about GPS on GS4G - Samsung Galaxy S (4G Model)

On Froyo
- doesn't work out of box (can see 2-4 satellites but no fix)
- used lbstest menu, changed mode to MS assist, 10 starts 5-7 fixes within 3 seconds
On Gingerbread
- doesn't work out of box (can see 2-4 satellites but no fix)
- no way to get into lbstest menu
- tried different roms, best case is getting a fix in minutes with Valhalla but not stable (drifting, losing fix, not accurate, etc.)
So I'm thinking, to fix this on GB, if only someone can figure out a way of changing the mode (standalone vs MS based vs MS assisted) or better have full access to lbstest or its equivalent on GB.
cheers
EDIT
Forgot to mention, I tried GPS Aids paid version as well (on Valhalla)
Purchased, tried the auto fix option, nothing happens;
Downgraded to V2 (read somewhere that it works better than V3 which is the current version in Market), tried clearing GPS folder (or something alike), phone suddenly rebooted.
Then it takes forever to verifying license.
Then upgraded back to V3, noticed that I need to uninstall V3 before intalling V2.
Did that, and instantly got email from Market telling me I have been refunded cuz I uninstalled the app...

GPS Aids worked perfectly fine for me.
Here's what I do:
1) I use GPS Doctor, which is supposed to cause you to reboot.
2) I download the GPS Aiding Data for Forced Method. Native Method doesn't seem to work for me, but there hasn't been a difference in my GPS performance.
3) Use GPS Status, which detects the satellites around you. You should be able to see some at the bottom. They are white at first, but once enough satellites are around and you're connected, they should turn green (not all, just some).
4) Use your GPS like you normally would.
I hope you're using your GPS outdoors, instead of trying to fix it indoors. It's very likely that it won't work when you're indoors. I practically get instant locks when I'm outside.

hummmmmmmmm

bkoon1218 said:
GPS Aids worked perfectly fine for me.
Here's what I do:
1) I use GPS Doctor, which is supposed to cause you to reboot.
2) I download the GPS Aiding Data for Forced Method. Native Method doesn't seem to work for me, but there hasn't been a difference in my GPS performance.
3) Use GPS Status, which detects the satellites around you. You should be able to see some at the bottom. They are white at first, but once enough satellites are around and you're connected, they should turn green (not all, just some).
4) Use your GPS like you normally would.
I hope you're using your GPS outdoors, instead of trying to fix it indoors. It's very likely that it won't work when you're indoors. I practically get instant locks when I'm outside.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By outside you mean walking on the street? I'm trying to get a fix while driving my car, you know, to get turn by turn directions. I hope a car qualifies as "outside". Anyway, I get a fix after several (lots of) minutes. I'm not going to paid for gps aid donate version. I paid a lot for my phone! (i'm not being cheap, it's just that where I live it isn't easy to get us dolars).
I think on froyo I had less waiting time for fix. But can't really tell. It's been so long since I moved to GB.
I think I'll end up selling my phone or giving it to my gf and get a sgs2 or galaxy nexus for myself.

have u tried a diffrent rom?

mikeflash said:
By outside you mean walking on the street? I'm trying to get a fix while driving my car, you know, to get turn by turn directions. I hope a car qualifies as "outside". Anyway, I get a fix after several (lots of) minutes. I'm not going to paid for gps aid donate version. I paid a lot for my phone! (i'm not being cheap, it's just that where I live it isn't easy to get us dolars).
I think on froyo I had less waiting time for fix. But can't really tell. It's been so long since I moved to GB.
I think I'll end up selling my phone or giving it to my gf and get a sgs2 or galaxy nexus for myself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have the same problem here
...try every app In the market to fix it and nothing ..until I was driving and I let the GPS sit for 4 mins and start working since that day I start doing the samething and works but just take long to start working ...I think it ain't the rom cuz I have flash to almost every rom to fix this and stills the same ...but everyphone different urs mite work with another rom try it out ..!!
Sent from my SGH-T959V using xda premium

Outside, open space with literally no tall building around, actually the same spot where I got a fix in 2 seconds on froyo.

Finally decided to check mine and it sucks too. Turned on sensor aiding and it zeroed in on my local instantly.
Sent from my SGH-T959V

some types of window tint will block gps signals, so keep that in mind if you have tinted windows in your car.

Related

Solved: Nonworking GPS (needs no additional software!)

Like many of you, I've been one of the unlucky few with nonworking GPS on my Fuze. I began messing with some settings in Google Maps last night, and by trial and error was able to go from not even picking up a GPS receiver to achieving an 11 satellite lock within a few seconds:
Using your GPS-enabled program of choice (I was using Google Maps) ensure your GPS settings are on COM4 at 256000 baud.
I am running a stock rom with only a few (non-related) registry tweaks. If you are out of options with your GPS, it couldn't hurt to try this.
Hope this helps somebody!
The problem is that it works for now but in a few days or even the next time use GPS it wont work. Seems like the GPS will work whenever it feels like it.
behrouz said:
The problem is that it works for now but in a few days or even the next time use GPS it wont work. Seems like the GPS will work whenever it feels like it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so true, yesterday i did a test at work, i was inside my job, its a resturant and i was sitting near the coner seats where both sides was open and only a window seperate me from the outside, i was not getting any GPS signal at all, i open the side door and just put my hand out with the phone and presto i started getting some signal but i wasnt getting all the signal, no matter which app i used that day wasnt getting no sats expect for GPS test and GPS test wasnt showing all full sats, so all in all the FUZE GPS is Bollocks and we all know.

Adding Juice to your GPS on your Raphael

First of all, i apologise for the "catchy" title.
For this past week, i have been flashing my TP, with various firmwares / radios etc. However, i decided to go with the new stock ROM released by HTC,
[-HTC Touch Pro-MRII-RUU_Raphael_hTC_Asia_WWE_5.07.707.2_Radio_Signed_Raphael_52.58.25.30_1.11.25.01_Ship]
But i am sure this will work even for users of different ROMS.
Anyway, with this and alot of other ROMS, i faced this issue. Poor GPS reception. Mind you, AGPS is not included in the Asian version of the ROM, since we don't use it , and most probably AGPS uses data connection, which is quite expensive here. Anyway, even after tweaking the registry (followed one of the great threads here), the GPS was horrible. After updating the quickgps, i took my phone, and placed it beside my window. About 10 ~ 15 minutes later, it had fixed it self to a few sattelites. 10 ~ 15 minutes is alittle bit too long for me.
When i took it outside (after re-starting the phone) it still took about 10 minutes to get a signal. Later on, it becomes even harder to fix to sattelites after a few reboots. I don't know what the problem was.
I read around the forums and there was a thread about the RADIO, 1.12.25.19. People were saying how good it was for the battery life of the phone and especially GPS. Some even claimed to have gotten a GPS fix within 10 seconds, and some could even get gps singnals indoors. I flashed my RADIO to ver 1.12.25.19 and there still wasn't much changes on the GPS part.
Today morning, i decided to hard reset my phone and then play around a little and to my amazement i found a gem. So here is what i did.
After hard resetting my phone, i didn't install apps. I didn't apply any registry fix for the gps. Everything was in it's original state. I installed Msoft .net CF 3.5 . This is because it is required to run an app, GPSTOOLPRO.exe , so it could hunt for this sattelites. An alternative to GPSTEST, but i like this better.
So here is what i Did. **my quickgps isn't updated**
I went to
Start > Settings > System [TAB] > External GPS
GPS program port, I set it to (NONE). Then i pressed ok.
Then i clicked on External GPS again.
This time my GPS Program Port value is (NONE) and i went to the Hardware Tab.
GPS Hardware Port, you can put in any value you like. Mine was COM4 and the BAUD RATE is 115200.
Somehow once you press Ok, and you come back to the same menu, You will see that your GPS hardware Port is set to NONE, and your BAUD RATE is it's default.
I am not sure if i am the only one facing this issue , but it's no problem
After setting up the GPS hardware port and the BAUD RATE as above, Do not close the menu. Also Make sure , [Manage GPS automatically] from the Access Tab is enabled.
From here, Do not press ok. Let the menu remain and run in the background. Then i went on the start bar, went to file explorer and ran my app, GPSTOOLPRO.exe to search for sattelites and get a fix.
The Result= I could get satelite signal about 12 of them almost immediately & fix in less than a minute. I could also get a fix indoors where previously i couldn't. The GPS certainly has improved.
Do take note, I tried using gpstest but it was unable to detect the port. So i suggest searching for "GPSTOOLPRO" around XDA and use that instead.
Hope this helps
Thanks for sharing It will be very useful
how are you getting signal inside? must be alot of windows. lol
What do you mean signal inside? You mean indoors?
And yes, about 2 + 1 windows would be open. 2 (external GPS + GPSTOOLPRO) + 1 (your choice of gps navigator)
arvin2212 said:
First of all, i apologise for the "catchy" title.
For this past week, i have been flashing my TP, with various firmwares / radios etc. However, i decided to go with the new stock ROM released by HTC,
[-HTC Touch Pro-MRII-RUU_Raphael_hTC_Asia_WWE_5.07.707.2_Radio_Signed_Raphael_52.58.25.30_1.11.25.01_Ship]
But i am sure this will work even for users of different ROMS.
Anyway, with this and alot of other ROMS, i faced this issue. Poor GPS reception. Mind you, AGPS is not included in the Asian version of the ROM, since we don't use it , and most probably AGPS uses data connection, which is quite expensive here. Anyway, even after tweaking the registry (followed one of the great threads here), the GPS was horrible. After updating the quickgps, i took my phone, and placed it beside my window. About 10 ~ 15 minutes later, it had fixed it self to a few sattelites. 10 ~ 15 minutes is alittle bit too long for me.
When i took it outside (after re-starting the phone) it still took about 10 minutes to get a signal. Later on, it becomes even harder to fix to sattelites after a few reboots. I don't know what the problem was.
I read around the forums and there was a thread about the RADIO, 1.12.25.19. People were saying how good it was for the battery life of the phone and especially GPS. Some even claimed to have gotten a GPS fix within 10 seconds, and some could even get gps singnals indoors. I flashed my RADIO to ver 1.12.25.19 and there still wasn't much changes on the GPS part.
Today morning, i decided to hard reset my phone and then play around a little and to my amazement i found a gem. So here is what i did.
After hard resetting my phone, i didn't install apps. I didn't apply any registry
fix for the gps. Everything was in it's original state. I installed Msoft .net CF 3.5 . This is because it is required to run an app, GPSTOOLPRO.exe , so it could hunt for this sattelites. An alternative to GPSTEST, but i like this better.
So here is what i Did. **my quickgps isn't updated**
I went to
Start > Settings > System [TAB] > External GPS
GPS program port, I set it to (NONE). Then i pressed ok.
Then i clicked on External GPS again.
This time my GPS Program Port value is (NONE) and i went to the Hardware Tab.
GPS Hardware Port, you can put in any value you like. Mine was COM4 and the BAUD RATE is 115200.
Somehow once you press Ok, and you come back to the same menu, You will see that your GPS hardware Port is set to NONE, and your BAUD RATE is it's default.
I am not sure if i am the only one facing this issue , but it's no problem
After setting up the GPS hardware port and the BAUD RATE as above, Do not close the menu. Also Make sure , [Manage GPS automatically] from the Access Tab is enabled.
From here, Do not press ok. Let the menu remain and run in the background. Then i went on the start bar, went to file explorer and ran my app, GPSTOOLPRO.exe to search for sattelites and get a fix.
The Result= I could get satelite signal about 12 of them almost immediately & fix in less than a minute. I could also get a fix indoors where previously i couldn't. The GPS certainly has improved.
Do take note, I tried using gpstest but it was unable to detect the port. So i suggest searching for "GPSTOOLPRO" around XDA and use that instead.
Hope this helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love to try this however can't find GPS Tool pro on this forum ...any link please
gps indoors nice, i guess they finally added that rubidium oscellator.
lolol
sadly for me, this doesn't seem to work. i hard reset yesterday and am running on a bloat-free fuze stock rom and radio. I installed google maps, att navigator (only way i can EVER get a fix after 5 minutes), and CF 3.5. Trying this now standing inside my bay window facing the a river with lots of open sky and i'm not getting anything
i read the thread this morning about teh .19 radio and i can't wait to try it out this weekend!
what radio are you on? mine is: 1.02.25.32 (stock ATT)
Here is a link for the GPSToolPro.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=474582
nhshah7 said:
sadly for me, this doesn't seem to work. i hard reset yesterday and am running on a bloat-free fuze stock rom and radio. I installed google maps, att navigator (only way i can EVER get a fix after 5 minutes), and CF 3.5. Trying this now standing inside my bay window facing the a river with lots of open sky and i'm not getting anything
i read the thread this morning about teh .19 radio and i can't wait to try it out this weekend!
what radio are you on? mine is: 1.02.25.32 (stock ATT)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would try the leaked AT&T 1.12.25.19 radio. It supposedly opens up more slots for sats than the previous radios, which should help getting a fix.
Also which stock ROM are you using? The one it was shipped with or the leaked one? I would upgrade to the leaked AT&T one because it enabled aGPS, which works wonders in getting a fix.
EDIT: Use the link below and download the leaked ROM, it also includes the leaked AT&T upgraded radio...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=487994
If you don't have a data connection (too expensive) then how can you be using QuickGPS?
If you do have a data connection then I highly recommend upgrading your rom to a 5.08.502.1 derivative along with keeping the raphael radio you just tried then changing your settings to the public AGPS servers described in Da_G's AGPS thread in the Raphael ROM forum.
this probably doesn't help any, but I have a TP that is about a week old, flashed with mighty rom, radio 1.03.15, and I can sit in my living room, two windows completely covered, and I can get 9 satellites to lock in under 5 seconds. This works in google maps, igo8, really any gps program. I do not use quickgps (I think that is what it is called) or anything else. mine has worked great from the day I brought it home. I have only tried a couple of radios and all worked fine with gps. I am wondering if the newer ones are "better" on gps?
Brew
If you're using a Fuze (AT&T variant) this sums up how to get GPS running on your phone: http://www.fuzemobility.com/the-fuze-and-gps/

Fix the gps

How to fix the gps on the Samsung captivates GPS.
Insted of MS Based use MS assissted
Lbstestmode -> application settings -> operation mode-> MS Assisted
Let me know how it gose
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
*facepalm*
This does nothing. It makes it marginally better at best (read: not better at all). If you're really having that much trouble, flash to KB1 and use the PlumbBob GPS fix. Those ACTUALLY do something.
For most your suggestion will give them the most lag and least accurate GPS positioning.
I suggest you in stall Adams GPS fix to your phone, that or use ga_D's. (gadnarf_gpstweak_att)
Both are much better than what Samsung has provided...
There is also plumbBob GPS fix, but when I tried his version 2nd Beta 6, my GPS only saw 2 sats with no locks even with 10+ minutes of waiting... I did not try version 1 of his fix.
As for the GPS settings, use either Standalone or MS Based(some drift with this setting, much less than ms assisted) . Set your support server to google, distance to 80 and good luck...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
mwiz123 said:
How to fix the gps on the Samsung captivates GPS.
Insted of MS Based use MS assissted
Lbstestmode -> application settings -> operation mode-> MS Assisted
Let me know how it gose
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MS Assisted = uses cell towers only to determine position. Intended to be used for 'dumb phones' that are not GPS equipped or where only 'coarse' location data is required.
MS Based = uses cell towers to provide approximate location for initial fix, then GPS thereafter.
Thing of it is, Samsung's configuration interface for the GPS is so silly that changes in LbsTestMode don't always really affect anything. If you're getting good results after applying this 'fix' it's just coincidental, or perhaps that you'd finally used GPS long enough to get almanac and ephemerides downloaded over the satellite signal and your GPS was able to function unassisted.
What about this has anything to do with development?
crenshaw1979 said:
For most your suggestion will give them the most lag and least accurate GPS positioning.
I suggest you in stall Adams GPS fix to your phone, that or use ga_D's. (gadnarf_gpstweak_att)
Both are much better than what Samsung has provided...
There is also plumbBob GPS fix, but when I tried his version 2nd Beta 6, my GPS only saw 2 sats with no locks even with 10+ minutes of waiting... I did not try version 1 of his fix.
As for the GPS settings, use either Standalone or MS Based(some drift with this setting, much less than ms assisted) . Set your support server to google, distance to 80 and good luck...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2.0 is in beta. It's still in development and is very much a work in progress and still has some issues. 1.0 is stable.
Thread moved.
Plumbob GPS fix works.
After flashing continuum, my gps works great (for this phone ). If you check the OP on Continuum in development, it says which gps fix cezar used.
Sent from a place my wife doesn't know about (yet)
After flashing Andromeda v3, the gps works great! Gets a lock and STAYS locked for once!
My personal experiences with MS Assisted and supl.google.com etc are that it works great for a few days... Tracking and all. Then you start to only see satellites and never get a lock...
The GPS on my warranty replacement works great out of the box.
Hooligan63 said:
The GPS on my warranty replacement works great out of the box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would you please be so kind as to post the info on the phone?
What's under "settings-->about phone:
--> Model Number
--> Firmware Version
--> Baseband version
-->Kernel Version and
--> Build Number?
What's under the battery? (aka 1004, 1008, etc -- mine says "1010 rev. 0.4"
Thanks!!
DD
I decided to make this a separate post...
My original phone had all sorts of trouble - GPS was the worst. I don't know what my original one was, I do recall I'd applied the OTA update that was supposed to fix the GPS issue - it didn't.
So I got a warranty replacement phone - it worked fine out of the box, but the next day it was doing the same old crap.
This one came with the OTA update pre-installed. It's a "1010 rev. 0.4" if I'm reading the sticker under the battery correctly...
I read countless pages of stuff online, tried various "fixes" that were posted, all with similar results.
One discussion I read was posted by a guy who claimed some GPS expertise, and indicated that the problem was in the driver - to paraphrase from memory it was something like the cache was getting corrupted and the HW/driver wasn't cleaning it up.
He basically said that they needed to write a new driver, but until hen you could use a 3rd-party app to clear the cache and re-download clean data from the satellites.
I found a (FREE!) app called "GPS Status & Toolbox" by author "EclipSim" (Disclosure: I have NO CONNECTION to this guy, just like his app!)
It has 2 menu options:
"Tools -->Manage A-GPS State-->Reset" and
"Tools -->Manage A-GPS State-->Download"
After doing those, it will usually grab a fix within 15 seconds at most. Once it's "timestamp" is updating every second (you'll see, in the app) I can then switch to Google Maps and it too will get a fix before too long.
Another nice thing about the GPS Status app is that it shows you how many satellites you "see" vs how many you're connected to. When it only sees one or 2, or when it sees a bunch but isn't connecting, you can be sure you need to reset/download again...
This thing DOES eat battery - so it's a good idea to be plugged in, or to kill the app once you've got Maps working the way you need it to...
Yes - it's a PITA to have to do all this to get a basic function of this high-dollar phone to frigging work - but it beats having it NOT work...
Hope this helps someone!
DD
Dedicated_Dad said:
Would you please be so kind as to post the info on the phone?
What's under "settings-->about phone:
--> Model Number
--> Firmware Version
--> Baseband version
-->Kernel Version and
--> Build Number?
What's under the battery? (aka 1004, 1008, etc -- mine says "1010 rev. 0.4"
Thanks!!
DD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a refurb warranty replacement which came loaded with 2.2 Froyo
SGH I897
I897UCKB1
2.6.32.9
1008.
Tested again last night on two rides. Worked great even sitting in the cupholder. Major improvement over my original Captivate which was returned for speaker problems.
not really much better for me.
Connor1 said:
Plumbob GPS fix works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it dose try it
Plumbob didnt do much for me. I am pretty well convinced that with the utmost optimization, the crappy hardware in the captivate can operate marginally well at best.
Ryans Plumbob fix does work. Its a much better improvement over stock on defected models. I had a 1009 and it worked great but the tracking and navigation were still buggy unless the phone was placed on the dashboard. (Always had a larger blue circle and would skip at times).
Finally gave up and noticed that the local atnt is a device service center. Went in and got a refurbed 1008 with stock 2.2 and the navigation is excellent. Even sitting in my lap...
I mean you all should still have the 1 year warranty. Just find a service center and exchange your phone. Hell the refurbed one I got was in better cosmic condition then my original.
YoungGun821 said:
After flashing Andromeda v3, the gps works great! Gets a lock and STAYS locked for once!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm running Andromeda3 and my gps sucks!! Could it be google maps?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA Premium App
DaWongOne said:
I'm running Andromeda3 and my gps sucks!! Could it be google maps?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i know everyone will tell me im wrong but try running the samsung gps restore app once then remove it from your phone. it is free in the market. and i assure you t doesn't revert to stock settings. atleast not in any location that i am aware of. i have checked the jupiter .xml and secgps.conf and lbs test mode before and after running the app and it doesn't revert anything. but it does seem to clear errors that may be caused by messing with settings without haveing a proper jupiter.xml or config file first. for instance on old roms if i chose msbased mode in lbs test mode it would work for 6 minutes and turn off. even after reverting the settings and clearing gps data the gps would turn off after 6 minutes. running gps restore or doing a factory reset were the only two things that would make my gps work again.
also yes google maps and captivates dont agree with each other 100% of the time. it is thought by some that the gps is recieving interference from the cell antenna (that's one theory at least) so the more data you use as you navigate the more issues you might see if that is true. try a gps app that downloads the maps to the phone. it takes up alot of space but if the app agrees with the phone it is worth it. in the past i had trouble with some aftermarket apps as well while others swore the same apps had solved there navigation problems, so try a few and find one that works. navdroyd is great on my phone.
also, though people are raving about plumb bob's fix, i have more blue circles with it. the problem is the msbased mode. it doesn't work on my phone very well. (back to the data/interference theory) i instead use Da_g's fix the control plane version with lbs test mode supl settings set to control plane and i turn off dynamic accuracy. and i use the kc1 modem. there are other modems with good gps but kc1 has the best call quality of them.

GPS Lock Troubles

I'm sorry if this is addressed somewhere, but I couldn't find anything solid while searching. I use my G2x every day with SportyPal Pro for my bike rides. I am currently running stock 2.2.2 with root and am having some difficulty attaining an initial GPS lock. It seems like when I go to launch any GPS app, it will not get a lock. To get it to work, I have to open GPS Test, select tools, and clear out the A-GPS data. After doing this, it looks almost instantly and will keep a lock forever.
The next day, however, I must do the same thing, and this happens nearly 100% of the time. The funny thing to me is when I open GPS Test, it will show a strong signal from a lot of satellites, around 7-9, but it doesn't use these signals to find the lock. Again, after resetting the A-GPS data, it works every time almost instantly.
I have just dealt with this but it is getting more frustrating. Today, GPS Test wouldn't load, just kept showing a blank screen and force closing eventually, even after fix permissions, clear data, uninstall and reinstall. Only after another reboot, would GPS Test even load. I can't explain because I don't know well how the inner software works, but the GPS seems to have a hard time relocating itself when using the cached A-GPS data. Any fixes that anyone knows of, or things I could try?
Thanks a lot in advance.
jimbo831 said:
I'm sorry if this is addressed somewhere, but I couldn't find anything solid while searching. I use my G2x every day with SportyPal Pro for my bike rides. I am currently running stock 2.2.2 with root and am having some difficulty attaining an initial GPS lock. It seems like when I go to launch any GPS app, it will not get a lock. To get it to work, I have to open GPS Test, select tools, and clear out the A-GPS data. After doing this, it looks almost instantly and will keep a lock forever.
The next day, however, I must do the same thing, and this happens nearly 100% of the time. The funny thing to me is when I open GPS Test, it will show a strong signal from a lot of satellites, around 7-9, but it doesn't use these signals to find the lock. Again, after resetting the A-GPS data, it works every time almost instantly.
I have just dealt with this but it is getting more frustrating. Today, GPS Test wouldn't load, just kept showing a blank screen and force closing eventually, even after fix permissions, clear data, uninstall and reinstall. Only after another reboot, would GPS Test even load. I can't explain because I don't know well how the inner software works, but the GPS seems to have a hard time relocating itself when using the cached A-GPS data. Any fixes that anyone knows of, or things I could try?
Thanks a lot in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont know how to help but wheres tools in the gps test app? Ahhhh I see gps status not gps test...
smashpunks said:
I dont know how to help but wheres tools in the gps test app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you launch the app and go to the satellite view screen, press menu, and it is one of the options.
jimbo831 said:
I'm sorry if this is addressed somewhere, but I couldn't find anything solid while searching. I use my G2x every day with SportyPal Pro for my bike rides. I am currently running stock 2.2.2 with root and am having some difficulty attaining an initial GPS lock. It seems like when I go to launch any GPS app, it will not get a lock. To get it to work, I have to open GPS Test, select tools, and clear out the A-GPS data. After doing this, it looks almost instantly and will keep a lock forever.
The next day, however, I must do the same thing, and this happens nearly 100% of the time. The funny thing to me is when I open GPS Test, it will show a strong signal from a lot of satellites, around 7-9, but it doesn't use these signals to find the lock. Again, after resetting the A-GPS data, it works every time almost instantly.
I have just dealt with this but it is getting more frustrating. Today, GPS Test wouldn't load, just kept showing a blank screen and force closing eventually, even after fix permissions, clear data, uninstall and reinstall. Only after another reboot, would GPS Test even load. I can't explain because I don't know well how the inner software works, but the GPS seems to have a hard time relocating itself when using the cached A-GPS data. Any fixes that anyone knows of, or things I could try?
Thanks a lot in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly, I am having the same problem
I think I'm having the same problem too: I can pick up plenty of satellites (more than the 3-4 required for a lock), and they turn green, but I don't actually get positioning data available.
andrewNY said:
I think I'm having the same problem too: I can pick up plenty of satellites (more than the 3-4 required for a lock), and they turn green, but I don't actually get positioning data available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I guess if you are seeing the same problem, it could be a software failure. Why can't Android phone makers release a phone with GPS that works out of box? Do they not test these things? Hopefully the Gingerbread update addresses this issue.
I have GPS issues often as well.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App
I don't have this problem but I have heard of others that do. My device locks in literally 3 seconds and is accurate to 5 feet. I have to say it's the best GPS I have ever used.
I think this problem is an android issue not hardware. I have to load gps test on my vibrant before being able to get a lock also. Wont lie the lock time on this phone is considerably longer but when finally does lock its strong and accurate.
via LG G2x
It takes me forever to get a GPS lock too. However, once it finally gets one, it's fairly strong and accurate.
Gps is way crap now.my vibrant beats the crap out of it... I'm getting like 40000 feet accuracy. It eventually works itself out but still crap..
In gps status in tools deleting the a gps stuff it takes a long time (5 seconds) vs my vibrants agps data. Vibrants clears instantly almost like the lg remembers too much causing conflict....
I cant find my location via gps in google maps. In the gps status app, it appeard to be locking as fix/sats shows 3/3. Ive cleared agps data and also tried to download agps data. Does anyone experience a similar issue? Any suggestions as what elsd i can try?
I dont think its the hardware because it did work the last time i tried about 2 weeks ago. Since then I tried to use a location spoofing app (that has since been uninstalled and mock locations disabled).
On the O2X the mongs at LG left out the gps.conf file, adding it manually sped up lock time no end. I guess it's possible they did the same on the G2X?
I actually exchanged a G2x yesterday that was having problems with GPS
Regardless of whether it was on stock or not, rooted or otherwise, my phone would not find any more than 4 satellites, and would never lock. Factory resets did nothing. My fiancee's phone, however, would find 8 or more within 10 seconds when both phones were set right next to each other. Both phones had a 4/05 manufacture date.
Because of that, I was pretty sure my issue was hardware, as I was never able to get the GPS to work properly. The phone they gave me yesterday (4/12 manufacture date) does seem to work ok, though the screen bleeding a bit worse (but that doesn't bother me *that* much)

GPS doesn't lock..

Good evening guys-
After updating from ICS to JellyBean, my gps cannot find or lock onto any satellites.
If I enable wifi, its accurate to 20meters.. If not, it won't lock even after 15 minutes.
Any help is greatly appreciated-
mine has been similar in PA2.00 and CM10.
It actually will lock after a long time. Sometimes up to 30 minutes.
Interested in any answers... I noticed in the gps.conf file agps appears to be off. I don't know if that is the issue.
Unfortunately searching for a fix just reveals too much information with a lot of supposed fixes, but no consensus so far as i can tell.
brian Marshall said:
mine has been similar in PA2.00 and CM10.
It actually will lock after a long time. Sometimes up to 30 minutes.
Interested in any answers... I noticed in the gps.conf file agps appears to be off. I don't know if that is the issue.
Unfortunately searching for a fix just reveals too much information with a lot of supposed fixes, but no consensus so far as i can tell.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually agps was turned off to improve lock times...some people noticed no difference with it off, others noticed huge improvements with half the lock time
You can change it to true, then wipe cache and dalvic cache in recovery and see if it makes a difference
Sent from my SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2
mg2195 said:
Actually agps was turned off to improve lock times...some people noticed no difference with it off, others noticed huge improvements with half the lock time
You can change it to true, then wipe cache and dalvic cache in recovery and see if it makes a difference
Sent from my SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is that a 'go ahead and try it, it wont work, but go ahead and try it anyway' ?
It seems like a lot of people are having problems with GPS in jellybean, and some aren't. There's so many 'this worked for me' solutions, but I'm starting to think it's coincidence.
Someone mentioned installing and running copilot once. Did that. it didn't work. Without root permissions what could it really change to improve anything?
I ran Faster Fix. It edited my gps.conf file (which it doesn't tell you that it does) It didn't help. it might have made it slightly worse.
I found a few other gps.conf files for jellybean ROMs, but haven't tried those yet.
This is how we learn and share our info, by trying. Just make a back up of anything that you want to change or replace.
GPS works perfect on my PA Jelly Beaned Infuse. First I ran GPS Test, it took a good twenty minutes if not more for it's first lock.
But now, I get a lock in a few seconds.
GPS Test, is free in the market.
Planning my escape!
GPS Test has kicked my GPS in the butt and got it working with almost every ROM I've flashed. Once you get over that first delay (downloading satellite data?) the first time you run it, it locks on fairly well afterward. At least, that's been my experience
Truckerglenn said:
This is how we learn and share our info, by trying. Just make a back up of anything that you want to change or replace.
GPS works perfect on my PA Jelly Beaned Infuse. First I ran GPS Test, it took a good twenty minutes if not more for it's first lock.
But now, I get a lock in a few seconds.
GPS Test, is free in the market.
Planning my escape!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've already done that. It helped the next time I ran maps. When i left work yesterday I had maps give me turn by turn directions home. It took a couple minutes to lock, but after that it was working.
Then this morning I tried again. It wouldn't lock at all on the way in to work this morning. (only a 15 minute drive)
I also tried editing my GPS conf file this morning. I tried using ES file explorer, root explorer, and flashing. All three resulted in an empty file. ES says it was successful. Root explorer gives an error message 'there was not enough free disk space to complete the paste operation'
Flashing says it was successful, but again, it ends with an empty file. 0 bytes.
The file i used for the flash attempt is here. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1817558
With the gps.conf file I'm going to go leave the phone out in my car with gps on and see if it locks.
I understand that developers do a lot of work on this. I'm not trying to be a jerk. I just see a lot of people having the same issue and no agreement on a solution or even what the actual problem is.
brian Marshall said:
...
I understand that developers do a lot of work on this. I'm not trying to be a jerk. I just see a lot of people having the same issue and no agreement on a solution or even what the actual problem is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe this is because there is no solution. If you want to try to help solve the problem, "adb shell" in and start tinkering.
You'll quickly find that GPS is anything but an easy thing to fix. A good SUPL provider for you may be completely different for others.
I can't find the Answer that fixed it for me,
but what I did:
Plug phone in, disable wifi, leave phone near window, and let
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...251bGwsMSwyLDYsImNvbS5hbmRyb2lkLmdwc3Rlc3QiXQ..
that app run... :45 minutes later it locked (GPS icon on Status Bar stopped blinking and showed locked, solid) with 7 satellites.
waited, rebooted the phone, and it locked in about 3 minutes.
-hope this helps.
other than that, love this ROM!
choffman said:
I believe this is because there is no solution. If you want to try to help solve the problem, "adb shell" in and start tinkering.
You'll quickly find that GPS is anything but an easy thing to fix. A good SUPL provider for you may be completely different for others.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that is an actual answer.
I suppose part of the problem for us noobs sorting through 300 page threads is all the filler with people saying "great rom omgz so awesome" even when they are posting on the first page and the ROM hasn't even been up long enough to do much more than flash it and swipe through the home screen.
All through out the CM10 and PA threads there are people saying GPS is working flawlessly... and then other people saying they have some fix. I guess people aren't supposed to post frivolous stuff in the dev threads, but they do.
Anyway, I ended up going back to GB as GPS is something I really need.
Hey guy's, i've also been having allot of issues with GPS just not being what it used to be, and it's pretty obvioius that this is an issue across the board for all JellyBean roms. I think those who mention that "GPS works flawlessly" don't quite understand the issue with AGPS (Assisted GPS), or they are not quite testing it thoroughly enough to see the problem.
To get an understanding of what AGPS is, and how it helps improve initial lock times, have a read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GPS
Also, to gain a better understanding of what I mean by "cold start" as you read below, and how it differs from a warm or hot start please read the following: http://m.gsmarena.com/glossary.php3?term=gps
That being said, i have been doing allot of digging in the hopes that someone out there has a solution to the problem with AGPS on the CM10 based ROMs on our phone.
To clarify the problem: AGPS does not seem to work and Initial lock times from a cold start can take several minutes, (this is not normal if AGPS is doing it's job). To clarify further, no one is saying that GPS does not work, it does in fact work, it just takes it's sweet time to lock and it seems to rely on pure GPS to download ephemeris data from the actual GPS birds for satelite lock acquisition, rather then downloading AGPS data over the network to speed things up. After the initial lock though, GPS functions as it should. After this point, if you do not use the phone again for several day's, it seems that upon first firing it up again you will experience the long delay in first lock. This is especially true if you keep GPS services turned off ussually to conserve battery. Those who report GPS is fine are probably keeping GPS services on all the time, and your GPS is probably working in the background at times and obviously will start up allot faster then it would from a cold start. (This is where i believe all the conflicting info comes from!)
The only info i have been able to find that did actually have an impact on my lock times was the thread below.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1881655
I just started testing this out yesterday and i have seen some positive results. But i would caution those of you out there, and say that this is probably not a "fix" per se, but it did help cut down lock times in my case and at the very least it is a very inoformative thread that everyone should read.
What i have realisticly been able to achieve from a cold start is about 75 seconds to lock at the fastest. i.e. GPS services were off, i turned them all on, and now i started up GPS Status or GPS Test to get a lock. After that, as long as I haven't rebooted my phone it takes only a few seconds to lock.
How i tested, i started GPS Status, I then went to Tools --> MANAGE A-GPS STATE -> RESET (This is important to ensure you are clearing previously cached data. We want to make sure your previous cached info does not skew the effects of your changes.
I then replaced the gps.conf with the one contained in that thread, and i also made the change that was suggested in the Notes section that suggested modifying or adding a line in your build.prop file to "ro.ril.def.agps.mode = 1". This change set's your gps to use AGPS in Mobile Station Based (MSB) mode. For reference, setting it to "2" would set your AGPS to function to Mobile Station Assisted (MSA) mode. (Mode 1 - gave me more accurate initial locks at the expense of a bit longer lock times, Mode 2 gave me slightly quicker initial lock times, but was rather flaky and my position drifted quite a bit until GPS was running for quite some time.)
If your curious what is the difference between the two modes, see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GPS#Modes_of_operation
After making the changes to gps.conf and build.prop i rebooted my phone. When phone reboots, i then go back into GPS Status app, select settings, Tools --> MANAGE A-GPS STATE -> RESET, and then back to settings, Tools --> MANAGE A-GPS STATE -> DOWNLOAD (This should force the phone to attempt an AGPS download, if it hasn't already done so upon launching the app).
I have seen this same gps.conf being used in the newer RemICS-JB build. However based on the lack of feedback in that thread, i don't know if this is the golden fix we have all been looking for.
Even though this may not fix all your issues, i hope at the very least it helps clear up what the actual problem is, and how AGPS is supposed to work.
** Important Notes: **
- The version of the config that i was using was the Download the Google Specific No-SSL v3.1
- If you use the SSL version, then it will also require that you download the certifcate file. It's best to just stick with NO SSL as is explained in the thread.
- You should also note that i have cleaned out all the live wall papers, face unlock, and allot of other crap that i don't use to free up space in the /SYSTEM partition. I now have aproximately 21MB free in this partition. I think at least part of the problem with certain ROM's is that they have the /SYSTEM partition filled to the max with virtually no free space at all. I'm no expert on the subject, but i'm guessing that the AGPS data get's downloaded to this partition some where. Obviously if there is no space, then that would cause issues. Several others have reported shortened initial lock times after making room in the /SYSTEM partition.
- Another mistake people are making when testing AGPS and reporting false info, is having their WIFI on when testing GPS. To isolate the issue guy's you need have wifi off and you need to use a tool like GPS Status or GPS Test that shows that actual lock to satelites. You cannot properly test this and see the issue by using WIFI and turning on Google maps. Google maps will look at your reported wifi position and to you it looks like bamm.. i just got a lock in 2 seconds to withing 50 meters, wow these guy's are nut's, my GPS is awesome. Guess what.. your wifi and google maps is awesome.. not your GPS.. lol
- If anyone is familiar with running log's, it would be great if you could do a comparison of before and after. Showing the log of a completely fresh JB build, that shows that the AGPS data is not being downloaded, and then another log after all the changes above (including freeing up space in /SYSTEM) and hopefully it will show that AGPS data is now being downloaded and utilized. I myself am not familiar with logging data on the infuse, so i cannot and will not call this a fix until someone can actually show with real log's that AGPS data is now being utilized after these mods.
Thankfully, I'm one of the lucky ones who have always had a working GPS. It worked great when I was running AT&T stock Froyo, really good while I was on XDA GB roms, and fair > good after I went to PA JB. By far Scott's latest release of PA JB has been the best in this respect, but I can't help but tinker now that I've turned into a Droid zombie Strictly speaking the stock GPS configuration included on Scott's PA JB ROM worked charmingly, but I still had an issue whenever the phone went into deep sleep (say overnight without using it) the GPS lock the next morning took almost as much time coming from a sleep state as a cold boot. So, Like DaMeatMan I decided to give http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1881655 a go. I chose the flashable option, and like DMM also edited the prop file. I picked the Google "no SSL" version 3.1 instead of the AT&T specific version. I figured I would give that one a try.
I'll keep everyone posted, buy my first impression (could be placebo effect) is that this configuration file and modification actually does improve over the original PA JB configuration by a small margin. Reported accuracy is better (by 10ft on average). Satellites in view and actually locking are 1-2 better than before. My main hope is that I can actually fire up Navigation in the morning and get working directions without having to fire up GPS Test first and relock all the NA satellites. I travel a lot, both for business and outdoor sports (hunting and fishing), and I have come to rely pretty heavily on GPS. I got spoiled when I got my first GPS capable phone because that meant I could leave my handheld GPS at home most of the time and that was one less thing I had to carry.
wevsspot said:
Thankfully, I'm one of the lucky ones who have always had a working GPS. It worked great when I was running AT&T stock Froyo, really good while I was on XDA GB roms, and fair > good after I went to PA JB. By far Scott's latest release of PA JB has been the best in this respect, but I can't help but tinker now that I've turned into a Droid zombie Strictly speaking the stock GPS configuration included on Scott's PA JB ROM worked charmingly, but I still had an issue whenever the phone went into deep sleep (say overnight without using it) the GPS lock the next morning took almost as much time coming from a sleep state as a cold boot. So, Like DaMeatMan I decided to give http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1881655 a go. I chose the flashable option, and like DMM also edited the prop file. I picked the Google "no SSL" version 3.1 instead of the AT&T specific version. I figured I would give that one a try.
I'll keep everyone posted, buy my first impression (could be placebo effect) is that this configuration file and modification actually does improve over the original PA JB configuration by a small margin. Reported accuracy is better (by 10ft on average). Satellites in view and actually locking are 1-2 better than before. My main hope is that I can actually fire up Navigation in the morning and get working directions without having to fire up GPS Test first and relock all the NA satellites. I travel a lot, both for business and outdoor sports (hunting and fishing), and I have come to rely pretty heavily on GPS. I got spoiled when I got my first GPS capable phone because that meant I could leave my handheld GPS at home most of the time and that was one less thing I had to carry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been have many of the same problems as others in this thread but I tried the fix in the S3 thread quoted above and it seems to have helped for right now. The first time I ran GPS Test after rebooting it did take a while (5-8min), but after that I get a lock in few seconds. I used the Google "no SSL" package also. I will do some more testing tomorrow and see if its reliable.

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