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[Q] Completely Non-functional GPS - Help Needed!

Hey guys, I just got my Captivate during Black Friday, and the GPS was working pretty well in the stock ROM.
It's now running Axura CE RC1 with the RedSoul theme, and I noticed that the GPS doesn't work at all. The Samsung GPSRestoreApp keeps failing to get a position fix, and although I tried a whole bunch of GPS fixes, my phone doesn't get a position fix at all, even if I leave the GPSTest app running for more than 10 minutes.
Is there anything I can do to get a working position fix?
Please help me out, and thanks in advance!

Try a differnet rom, Axura is dead anyway. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=848671

cappysw10 said:
Try a differnet rom, Axura is dead anyway. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=848671
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
actually axura has returned from the dead.
for whats its worth i experienced nearly the opposite.
With stock i generally got decent locks (seeing 9-12 sats and usually locking 6-7). Tracking was useless and did not work other than following a straight line and it was often pathetic in even tracking straight line position/progress.
Axura 5 is the only rom that has improved my devices tracking/turn by turn navigation to a usable and actually pretty damn good state (also improved my locks....could still usually see 9-12 but was usually getting 10/10 or 9/10 consistent locks). Right now i am back on stock jh7 though...had done so preparing for the official froyo release to at least take it for a test drive. Have it set up pretty much how i wanted and alot of apps so i am gonna hold out for a bit before flashing back to a custom but if i do axura will be on my list of choices due to the gps performance i got with it.

You can look for the file GPSJM9.zip on the XDA forum, I applied on my Captivate and since then my GPS works fine (10 sec for a lock)

Flash with CWM

Thanks for the zip, i'll try flash it when i have time

Some GPS comparisons

On my stock Cappy the GPS was only so-so. With Andromeda 1.2 it was awesome. Recently flashed to Cog 4.1 and while it was still better than stock, it was not as good as it was on Andromeda. I recently got a replacement phone from AT$T and decided to do some testing with it before I have to send one back. I have Andromeda on the phone on the left, Cog 4 on the phone on the right. I used two programs available for free from Market. The first is GPS Status, the second is GPS Test. Neother phone has a SIM card installed and wifi is turned off so that only the GPS is being used. Both phones have the exact same LBSTESTMODE settings and are using the same Google server and port.
Notice that Andromeda is not only faster at locking, but sees more satellites, holds them better, and gets a more accurate lock.
(Click pic to play)
Test 1 using GPS Status
Test 2 using GPS Test
I'd really like to stay on Cog 4.1 since it is based on an actual Cappy Froyo ROM, but GPS performance is important to me. What could be different about Andromeda that it performs so much better?

Interesting, better than the multiple anecdotes (which does not equal data) that often floats around
I wonder what we would see if you swapped the roms on the phones??

I too was less than impressed with cog 4.1 gps. I tried Plumbbob's 0.93 fix from the develop forum and man what a difference.
Try it. It made a terrific difference. Follow the instructions explicitly and it should work for you.
Plumbbob knows what he's doing when it comes to gps.

Harveythedog said:
Interesting, better than the multiple anecdotes (which does not equal data) that often floats around
I wonder what we would see if you swapped the roms on the phones??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually had Andromeda on the phone on the right before I flashed it to Cog 4.0 and 4.1. That's why I was disappointed when I switched because Andromeda had run so well on that phone. When the replacement phone came and I saw the same result I knew it wasn't phone specific and had everything to do with the ROM.

Try a comparison with stock froyo.

Miami_Son said:
When the replacement phone came and I saw the same result I knew it wasn't phone specific and had everything to do with the ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good info., no good Cappy/bad Cappy variations then
Seems to be a lot of anecdotes where people are using one ROM yesterday, another today where a lot of GPS performance could just come down to stuff like weather conditions and satellite positions, so this back to back stuff is quite interesting.

bigbooty said:
I too was less than impressed with cog 4.1 gps. I tried Plumbbob's 0.93 fix from the develop forum and man what a difference.
Try it. It made a terrific difference. Follow the instructions explicitly and it should work for you.
Plumbbob knows what he's doing when it comes to gps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just tried it. Even worse. Any way to undo whatever it did?

My wife's Aria still beats my Cap in the GPS area on stock Froyo. Gets a lock quickly and often sees her at 10ft in less than 20 secs. There are times I'm lucky to have a lock at all It looks more and more like the Cap has bad GPS hardware.
Just tried it. Even worse. Any way to undo whatever it did?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's an app in the Market called Samsung GPS fix. Should put back all the factory settings. Not tried it with a custom ROM tho.

Miami_Son said:
Just tried it. Even worse. Any way to undo whatever it did?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just had a stock eclair captivate due to warranty exchange. Had Cog4 on my previous unit. I had the really good performance that some see from a new stock eclair, but I knew it would degrade quickly like most say. So I put Cog 4.1 and Plumbbob's fix on and I found it to be of little help over my experience on a Cog 4 Cappy with a bad GPS. Going to try Andromeda and see if there's any improvement, and then I might go back to the stock Eclair build I backed up just before flashing Cog4.1 and see how long that quickness lasts.

Miami_Son said:
Just tried it. Even worse. Any way to undo whatever it did?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange... You did the settings right in lbs test mode?
You can flash adams fix, should put it back. Cog 4.1 incorporated adams gps fix.

i was running phoenix 5.2 for a while and i seemed to get a 10m lock in a few seconds, regardless of my location

I'm back on Andromeda 1.2. Just couldn't live with the mediocre GPS performance with Cog 4.x. I wish DG would figure out how Andromeda is doing so well with the same hardware. That would get me back on Cog 4.x for sure.

No GPS fix, no matter what I try.. Please help!

Hi,
i hope someone can help me.. I have some serious problems getting GPS to work. I've tried now almost all gingerbread roms and it's always the same. I get no fix or only after a really long time (15 minutes plus, standing still) I know that my GPS SHOULD work, because it did on froyo (even very fast).
Now.. Before you say anything (which I hope you will nonetheless of course) I want to tell you what my current situation is and what I've tried.
Right now I'm on the latest Hercolubus rom with the g3mod oc kernel. Very nice by the way and many thanks to hercolubus and especially marcellusb for their hard work.
I have already tried modifying the gps.conf and secgps.conf files as stated in some thread here. No luck. I checked permissions and they're set to rw-r--r--. I also checked that the ntp server is set properly (in my case to de. I also tried with europe). I've rebooted several times, deactivated and activated gps and loaded the agps data with gps status, fixed permissions and still no luck. I have no idea what else I should try but maybe some of you guys have.
So gps status shows max 4 satellites (yellow) after 5 minutes but none of them are fixed.
Oh and... yes I am trying this outdoors. I run a lot and would really like to use sports tracker and the like..
So if you have any suggestion, please reply and let me know!

Just stick to froyo ROM's for now or flash CM7 and then flash Venkat Kamesh's update zips from his CM7 fixing thread
Sent from home...

Flash a different Rom maybe
Sent from my HTC Velocity 4G using xda app-developers app

Try a stock rom if it dosent work in stock its pretty much a hardware issue. meaning- "you are screwed"

GPS FIX from Galaxy Nexus WORKS!

[FIX] GPS FIX for Nexus Blazing Fast and Accurate WORKS!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I take no credit on this Fix. I just happened to find it and was astounded in the change in performance and thought I would share it here. After applying Mitch0115 Fix I was getting 16/21 sat indoors
Original thread is hear http://rootzwiki.com/topic/21453-opt...xy-nexus-cdma/
I found this on XDA for galaxy Nexus: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1789543
Please give Thanks to Mitch0115 and bobsbbq also let's hear your results.
I am running SkyICS 4.2F6-2.2a and had tried all three GPS fixes List in rom downloads. The first one worked a little worse than stock. 11 or 21 outside.
Let me know if this helps.
Mirror download My dropbox: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/34810261/Mitch0115 Optimal gpsconf.zip

im on skyics 4.2f6 this is my gps stats w/out the fix, can any1 else compare it to theirs, btw i was indoors

I couldn't get a lock before flashing this. Now it locks 13 sats instantly. Works for me.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app

I don't have any problems with seans SKYICS Build F ver. 2.2
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app

very very very similar
to gps fix 2
basically ntp server=us and the threshold is the only difference
and gps fix 2 ntp server=northamerica
not real big differences
but im putting together a test update zip for skyics
to see if she really screams any louder

Good find, flashed this on chimaira and in my office used to get 3/21 now getting 12/24
Sent from my SGH-I727 using xda premium

im on skyics 4.2f6 2.2 tested indoors and let gps staus run for 5 min
one pic is no fix, the other is w/fix, so it seems if your on skyics the fix wont improve an already good gps

vincom said:
im on skyics 4.2f6 2.2 tested indoors and let gps staus run for 5 min
one pic is no fix, the other is w/fix, so it seems if your on skyics the fix wont improve an already good gps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your time differences between the testing is too big, watch the sats locations its all different.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium

kishke said:
Your time differences between the testing is too big, watch the sats locations its all different.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
k, ill do it again, ill clear the data and caches for gps status, they where done 5mins apart
---------- Post added at 12:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:56 AM ----------
vincom said:
im on skyics 4.2f6 2.2 tested indoors and let gps staus run for 5 min
one pic is no fix, the other is w/fix, so it seems if your on skyics the fix wont improve an already good gps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the "last fix" time w/the fix implemented seems to start higher when opening gps status, even after clearing data and turning gps off/on why?
edit: to answer my own question, the internal clock was not updated yet when i rebooted or it was from gps cache

What do you mean by starting higher? Last fix simply shows the exact time the gps had a fix. When the gps fixes properly it should update every second.

Have none of you guys seen the AGSP fix in the forum? It's been there for many months, and works like a dream. Full GPS lock in seconds, even from cold start. I have used it on pretty much every ROM for the SR, CM9, CM10, SkyICS, Smooth ICE, you name it, it works.
This one: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1438129 I use Google Specific no-ssl v3.1

rpr69 said:
Have none of you guys seen the AGSP fix in the forum? It's been there for many months, and works like a dream. Full GPS lock in seconds, even from cold start. I have used it on pretty much every ROM for the SR, CM9, CM10, SkyICS, Smooth ICE, you name it, it works.
This one: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1438129 I use Google Specific no-ssl v3.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have used it b4 but didnt see much of a diff, which file version did you use and did you have google location service enabled
---------- Post added at 01:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:33 PM ----------
kishke said:
What do you mean by starting higher? Last fix simply shows the exact time the gps had a fix. When the gps fixes properly it should update every second.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well it seems flashing the fix seems todo something w/the last fix time.
w/out the fix it shows the correct time
edit: it seems i didnt clear the cache the ist time, im going to redo all tests and post back results
edit: the time diff was the internal clock was not updated hence it shows a diff time

vincom said:
i have used it b4 but didnt see much of a diff, which file version did you use and did you have google location service enabled
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As mentioned, Google specific no-ssl v3.1, and yes Google location services are enabled. I just tried GPS Status in my office, and it got me within 9 metres in under 10 seconds and 11 sats locked.

rpr69 said:
As mentioned, Google specific no-ssl v3.1, and yes Google location services are enabled. I just tried GPS Status in my office, and it got me within 9 metres in under 10 seconds and 11 sats locked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im doing some testing now, w/skyics 4.2f6 2.2 w/no fixes and both fixes to compare
to make an even comparison im wiping and reloading the rom from a restored backup and then flash the fix b4 i reboot, i will post results in a seperate post

On ICS NexusMod.
I tried the AGPS fix and I consistently locked on to anywhere from 5 to about 9 or 10 satellites. However I have never gotten below a 15m location accuracy. Not to mention the worst part is that I constantly ranged anywhere from 20m to 60m; it never stabilized, ever.
With this fix it seems to be working better. I was stabilized at 5m for a decent amount of time, although still losing satellites.
Edit: Scratch that, doesn't work. I just have a faulty phone. I hate SAMSUNG...

thanks this really helped my phone get a quick lock

GPS
Running Unnamed ROM, 8/25 before install accurate to 122 feet. After install 15/25 accurate to 10 feet. Now that's a big difference. Thanks. Both readings taken inside on the couch.

Stable ICS

Is there a stable ICS out for T959v? Stable as in GPS and wifi calling for t mobile is functional.

knicks791 said:
Is there a stable ICS out for T959v? Stable as in GPS and wifi calling for t mobile is functional.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol no.

I wouldn't consider WiFi calling a factor in a roms "stableness". Its more of a feature. Cm9 is stable and GPS does work

Yeah forget about wifi calling. I think cna 2.0 is great. Cm9 release 8 and well for as early as it was released beam is fairly stable.
Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2

ICS AOKP is stable.....

Stable as in normal human definition, yes. Stable as in Wifi calling, no.

Wifi hotspot?
Theraze said:
Stable as in normal human definition, yes. Stable as in Wifi calling, no.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How about stable as in wifi hotspot? I don't use it often, but when I do I need it to work well (business). Works fine on my Vibrant, but I also have SGS4G that I'd like to see if I can get better signals on cell (especially), gps and wifi. I had been sticking with GB ROMs since they seemed the best for GPS/wifi, but would like to move to ICS if possible.

The ICS hotspot has worked basically always worked fine unless you screw with services. My wife used AOKP when we were out of town a few weeks ago. I used Barnacle and Wifi tethering for root users while on JB.
Both ICS and JB worked fine for tethering.

Theraze said:
The ICS hotspot has worked basically always worked fine unless you screw with services. My wife used AOKP when we were out of town a few weeks ago. I used Barnacle and Wifi tethering for root users while on JB.
Both ICS and JB worked fine for tethering.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good. Is there a "best" for GPS? Seems most JB have issues and several ICS as well from what I've read so far.

JB doesn't have GPS yet. That's its issue, but airfluip1 thinks he might have some ideas on how to fix it. Hopefully he'll get it working, or Erik will, or someone else maybe. But for now, skip JB if you need GPS.
ICS has 3 different options for GPS, and it's not always apparent which is better.
1) Assisted GPS. This requires having a build.prop file that tells your phone how to use GPS for this. Most of our ROMs want to do this, but end up in number 3 instead. There are directions on how to fix this if you aren't using Ultragen, or just use Ultragen which comes with this properly configured from the start. First connection to GPS may take 15-30 minutes, but it should be much faster after that.
2) Non-assisted GPS. This comes from flashing YAGF. It disables the assisted GPS and just uses the satellites fresh every time. This CAN be much faster, but won't work well in clouded/wooded/indoor areas.
3) Bad GPS. This is when 1 or 2 fail, generally number 1. The phone is told to use AGPS but it's disabled in the build.prop, or any of a wide variety of other issues. GPS will work... sometimes... but it's highly irregular.
Best option? Start with Ultragen (remember... 1.0.1, not 1.0, which had several major issues) and see if the AGPS is good for you. If you don't like it, flash YAGF and go to unassisted. Decide it's worse and hate it? Wipe the ROM (to get out the modified system files) and reflash Ultragen.
Or start modifying your own files, but be careful that your phone boots up. Don't use Microsoft Word or Notepad or Wordpad or any of those tools. Use a proper hex or *nix editor.

Theraze said:
JB doesn't have GPS yet. That's its issue, but airfluip1 thinks he might have some ideas on how to fix it. Hopefully he'll get it working, or Erik will, or someone else maybe. But for now, skip JB if you need GPS.
ICS has 3 different options for GPS, and it's not always apparent which is better.
1) Assisted GPS. This requires having a build.prop file that tells your phone how to use GPS for this. Most of our ROMs want to do this, but end up in number 3 instead. There are directions on how to fix this if you aren't using Ultragen, or just use Ultragen which comes with this properly configured from the start. First connection to GPS may take 15-30 minutes, but it should be much faster after that.
2) Non-assisted GPS. This comes from flashing YAGF. It disables the assisted GPS and just uses the satellites fresh every time. This CAN be much faster, but won't work well in clouded/wooded/indoor areas.
3) Bad GPS. This is when 1 or 2 fail, generally number 1. The phone is told to use AGPS but it's disabled in the build.prop, or any of a wide variety of other issues. GPS will work... sometimes... but it's highly irregular.
Best option? Start with Ultragen (remember... 1.0.1, not 1.0, which had several major issues) and see if the AGPS is good for you. If you don't like it, flash YAGF and go to unassisted. Decide it's worse and hate it? Wipe the ROM (to get out the modified system files) and reflash Ultragen.
Or start modifying your own files, but be careful that your phone boots up. Don't use Microsoft Word or Notepad or Wordpad or any of those tools. Use a proper hex or *nix editor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a suggestion, but the Pimp My Rom application https://play.google.com/store/apps/...sMSwxLDYsImNvbS5hbmRyb2d1aWRlLnBpbXBteXJvbSJd under GPS Tweaks will download the proper GPS files for location, or alternatively, you can install the GPS Status and Toolbox App https://play.google.com/store/apps/...wsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5lY2xpcHNpbS5ncHNzdGF0dXMyIl0 which you can set to download the newest AGPS File when you open it.
I am using AOKP ICS and have no issue with GPS. Was getting like 120 sec TTL for like 12 Satellites according to GPS Tools, which is not terribly life affecting for me.

Which... is irrelevant if your build.prop doesn't use those files. As I said. You can tell GPS Status to update every hour, but if the phone isn't set to use them, they're helping you as much as throwing the phone up 20 feet into the air (without twisting it). Slightly less, since they're using up storage and not getting your phone closer to the satellites.
That being said, the TopNTP app did have GPS modifications as one of its options. Not sure if it does the build.prop flag we need, but...

Wow, it seems the SGS4G may actually be worse than the Vibrant for GPS.

LoL
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using xda app-developers app

Theraze said:
Which... is irrelevant if your build.prop doesn't use those files. As I said. You can tell GPS Status to update every hour, but if the phone isn't set to use them, they're helping you as much as throwing the phone up 20 feet into the air (without twisting it). Slightly less, since they're using up storage and not getting your phone closer to the satellites.
That being said, the TopNTP app did have GPS modifications as one of its options. Not sure if it does the build.prop flag we need, but...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is gps. It just no worky right! It will take a lil more then downloading a * "NIX" EDITOR and edit build.prop
Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2

hechoen said:
We'll call this one hidden in plain site.
I've been testing a new kernel for Beastmode lately and was trying to get GPS to work. I flashed 3.1 google specific build and still no lockie. So I did what cryptic mentions in the OP and READ the notes. Well that note that I quoted up above is the thing that needs to be done for this phone to make GPS work. After I added that line to the build.prop and rebooted I got a lock in about 10 seconds indoors to an accuracy of 6 meters. Not bad for this phone at all.
Most of are ICS ROMs use CM as a base. So after going through and looking at most of their props NONE of them have that line. I don't know how it's escaped notice as long as it has. I've only tested it on CM9 8-29 build with Beastmodes yet to be released kernel. I doubt that it matters though. Flash the zip, add that line, reboot and you should be good to go.
So thanks to cryptic for this fix and one of the most detailed OP's I've ever had the pleasure of reading. And too erikmm(aka Beastmode) for the incentive to actually look into this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I said...

Theraze said:
Best option? Start with Ultragen (remember... 1.0.1, not 1.0, which had several major issues) and see if the AGPS is good for you. If you don't like it, flash YAGF and go to unassisted. Decide it's worse and hate it? Wipe the ROM (to get out the modified system files) and reflash Ultragen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks ! Where can I download YAGF for a T959v ? Is Ultragen v1.8 also good or only 1.0.1 ?

Remember that you have to flash something that actually works on our phone, unless you're making your own franken-build.
Ultragen 1.01 is available in post 4 of the Ultragen thread. There is no Ultragen 1.8... at least, not here on XDA for our phone.
Regarding the GPS, it's the same YAGF2 from the Vibrant forums... it's just a generic-ish fix that may or may not placebo you.

Unfortunately, I don't understand the technical jargon regarding all the GPS options...maybe I'm better off not knowing.
However, I'm running CM9 with Proton kernel & LB6 modem and everything works (except, of course, for wi-fi calling).
No problems whatsoever with GPS. Battery drains a little fast but I have a zillion chargers laying around the house,
office, & car...no big deal.