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Hi Guys,
I've been hearing about lots of problems with the GPS not picking up low SNR satellites and the GPS being wildly inaccurate on the samsung vibrant and also the euro variants of the galaxy s.
Does the captivate have the same issue?
Its true. I bought it on sunday an notice that issue. Hope there will be a update(Bug fix) soon.
Compare to my G1, the Captivate take about the same time to lock and GPStest says the SNR is better. I'm happy with it.
MFister said:
Hi Guys,
I've been hearing about lots of problems with the GPS not picking up low SNR satellites and the GPS being wildly inaccurate on the samsung vibrant and also the euro variants of the galaxy s.
Does the captivate have the same issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Define Wildly inaccurate. On my Captivate it is dead on (within 9 feet)
I am having major problems with GPS. I am getting a lock but only within 50-75 feet. It isn't good at all. The GPS is slow to update and throws me everywhere.
I amthinking of returning the phone if Samsung doesn't make an announcement about s fix for this.
dial this from your phone:
*#*#1472365#*#*
Change startup from hot to cold.....worked for me. GPS locks much much faster
What are the settings on your phone Citznfish? My phone is off by anywhere from 100-500ft. Thanks!
Ok, I tried it again... In the house I'm about 500 ft off from where I really am and placed in a golf fairway. Outside I am FURTHER off: I'd estimate at least 5 blocks and placed in the middle of a different golf fairway. For comparision sake, my wife's iPhone 3Gs has her within 10-20' while inside the house. To me, this is unacceptable and a great cause for concern. What can I do???
Smalls2 said:
dial this from your phone:
*#*#1472365#*#*
Change startup from hot to cold.....worked for me. GPS locks much much faster
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having the same problem here. My iPhone 3GS GPS responded way quicker then this phone does. I have a Weather Channel widget up, and it doesn't find the location to display the weather for a good minute and a half after. Same goes for using Google Maps to find my location. Lot of times it says, "Your location is unavailable." I even tried switching the startup from hot to cold, and that didn't have much effect either.
When I was driving today, the GPS locator had a bad lag in it, I would be down two blocks before it would catch up, and I live in a 3G area, and not a giant city like NY or something.
I wonder if it's because it's so bloated with Samsung UI on it, or if it's just the a bug. Either way, if I'm still having issues with it, I'll see if AT&T will exchange it out for a different one. Otherwise back to the 3GS, which I really don't want to do since I'm loving Android right now.
What does hot start and cold start do?
skizzz said:
What does hot start and cold start do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hot Start - The GPS receiver remembers its last calculated position and which satellites were in view, the almanac used, and the UTC Time. It then performs a reset and attempts to acquire satellites and calculate a new position based upon the previous information.
Cold Start - The GPS receiver dumps all information and resets. It then attempts to locate satellites and then calculate a GPS lock. This takes the longest because there is no known information. The GPS receiver has to attempt to lock a satellite signal from all of the satellites, basically like polling, which takes a lot longer than knowing which satellites to look for.
Danm a cold start sounds like it would be slower. I tried it and I still can't get a lock within a reasonable range.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA Appb
I've been reading online that the Galaxy S got a firmware update that greatly improved/fixed the GPS problems we are experiencing. I can only assume that we will have to wait as well for this firmware to completely fix the gps issue.
Try the fix/workaround in the Vibrant forum.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=728611
I went from seeing 1 satellite and none locked to 7-10 seen and 5-7 locked.
tbae2 said:
I've been reading online that the Galaxy S got a firmware update that greatly improved/fixed the GPS problems we are experiencing. I can only assume that we will have to wait as well for this firmware to completely fix the gps issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where did you read this? I've been looking for something like this, preferably from Samsung.
i havent had too many problems with GPS here
Google maps usually locks me in a few seconds
Third party applications can take much longer, however
The problem might be the way the third party apps utilize the GPS
lyu370 said:
Try the fix/workaround in the Vibrant forum.
I went from seeing 1 satellite and none locked to 7-10 seen and 5-7 locked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually that isn't a fix at all. It makes locking onto satellites much faster, but nothing to address the sensitivity issues, and there is definitely an issue. I 'found' 9 satellites, but could only lock onto two of them, for a few seconds at a time, then back to zero, out in the open.
Hopefully a software fix is on the way.
Source: /showthread.php?t=728611&page=5
This fix did help me so now i get a quick lock...as ling as i dint start moving around. It stays close enough to exact to use for driving around but not more accurate than that. The problem isn't really getting a lock so much as keeping it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
tdusen said:
Compare to my G1, the Captivate take about the same time to lock and GPStest says the SNR is better. I'm happy with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I change my mind. While what I said still stands, I've since found that the GPS and the Compass don't track very well. I tried find a geocache using the same GeOrg software I use on my G1. The location seemed to be stuck as I was walking. From my experience with the Tilt, I'd say the GPS is running in "Static Navigation"
The clock is ticking, GPS has to be fixed in 28 days, or the phone gets returned.
lyu370 said:
Try the fix/workaround in the Vibrant forum.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=728611
I went from seeing 1 satellite and none locked to 7-10 seen and 5-7 locked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was having problems w/ GPS on my phone as well. Would be way off in Google Maps, Navigator took forever to lock, and geo-tagging photos was also way off. I did something similar - dialed the code to get to the GPS settings. However, all I did was turn Skyhook to ON and switched configuration from manual to auto. I don't seem to have any problems between yesterday and today. It locks incredibly quick and is very very accurate.
Some of you should try this method and see if it helps with anything. Good luck.
So the past few weeks since getting my captivate, I've been a but depressed that my captivates gps couldn't even get a lock, and was ready to just deal with it until today. I've got a doctors appointment way out in lala land, a place I've never been before. So when I got in my car, I felt compelled to give my gps a shot and see if I could somehow miraculously at least get an inaccurate lock like a lot of other people seem to be getting. So since I was already in the maps app getting directions, I flipped on my gps, and in 5 seconds, got a lock! Then within 2 more seconds it had me down to the most accurate pinpoint possible and the damn gps guided me all the way to my destination that's 1 hour 45 minutes away with the best and most accurate pinpoint I've ever seen in a gps, and zero delay for most of the ride here.the biggest delay I experienced was about 1.5 seconds from the time I passed something until my gps showed me passing. Quite impressive, especially on a cloudy day!
Anybody elses gps suddenly working perfectly?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
PMad said:
So the past few weeks since getting my captivate, I've been a but depressed that my captivates gps couldn't even get a lock, and was ready to just deal with it until today. I've got a doctors appointment way out in lala land, a place I've never been before. So when I got in my car, I felt compelled to give my gps a shot and see if I could somehow miraculously at least get an inaccurate lock like a lot of other people seem to be getting. So since I was already in the maps app getting directions, I flipped on my gps, and in 5 seconds, got a lock! Then within 2 more seconds it had me down to the most accurate pinpoint possible and the damn gps guided me all the way to my destination that's 1 hour 45 minutes away with the best and most accurate pinpoint I've ever seen in a gps, and zero delay for most of the ride here.the biggest delay I experienced was about 1.5 seconds from the time I passed something until my gps showed me passing. Quite impressive, especially on a cloudy day!
Anybody elses gps suddenly working perfectly?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine has been working better since flashing to JH7, did you flash?
PMad said:
So the past few weeks since getting my captivate, I've been a but depressed that my captivates gps couldn't even get a lock, and was ready to just deal with it until today. I've got a doctors appointment way out in lala land, a place I've never been before. So when I got in my car, I felt compelled to give my gps a shot and see if I could somehow miraculously at least get an inaccurate lock like a lot of other people seem to be getting. So since I was already in the maps app getting directions, I flipped on my gps, and in 5 seconds, got a lock! Then within 2 more seconds it had me down to the most accurate pinpoint possible and the damn gps guided me all the way to my destination that's 1 hour 45 minutes away with the best and most accurate pinpoint I've ever seen in a gps, and zero delay for most of the ride here.the biggest delay I experienced was about 1.5 seconds from the time I passed something until my gps showed me passing. Quite impressive, especially on a cloudy day!
Anybody elses gps suddenly working perfectly?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GPS is always hit or miss. yours isn't suddenly "fixed." sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I've personally never had a problem except for the very first time I used it. Location matters, signal strength matters, and just location of satellites matter... so many factors, but your GPS wouldn't suddenly "fix itself" without an update of some kind
Well I started off with the stock JM6, and I flashed SRE 1.2.3 I believe, the one that was up just before 1.3, before and after that it didn't work at all, I could never even get a lock.
I know it can't just fix itself, but I also don't know if its possible for samsung and/or att to release an OTA patch, I'm really thinking that's not a possibility, but somehow its working. All my other phones gps always worked really well at all times of the day no mater where I was at, so one could only assume something else is up rather than satellite position.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Mine did pretty much the same thing. A few days ago I couldn't get a lock without standing in the parking lot for ten minutes. I was on the verge of returning the phone. Then out of nowhere, it just started working, every time. Its been a few days now, and I sure hope I don't jinx myself, but it's been performing perfectly in every conceivable situation.
So you are not alone! And my joy in this phone has been restored.
I've actually noticed a difference on the speed of locks the past few days but accuracy is still abysmal. I think the issue is still far to flighty to say its ever really working right.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
The first time I ever used my GPS, about a week or two ago, it worked incredibly fast, perfect lock, all the way down to a few feet, the dot was on the same part of the house that I was in. My first impression was, "Wow! I guess I got lucky and got one that actually works!". I was so excited that my GPS actually worked. Never once have I been able to get a lock after that.
My gps its also suddenly working for the past few days. I think it started when I updated google maps, though I can't say for certain it's that.
Anyone else?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897
Mine is working too... I only noticed after I updated my firmware though..... Maybe that's only a coincidence?
Haha I was going to make this exact thread. GPS has been working great for me. I haven't flashed or done anything other than rooting. It sucked so bad when I first got the phone, but now its pretty much perfect. Used it to drive 1.5hrs ish on i-95.
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.
I just received my Sprint Nexus S 4G from Sprint on Wednesday (moving from an EVO) and, of course, I've been playing with it non-stop. On the whole, it's amazingly fast and responsive - more so than I ever experienced with my EVO and a number of ROMs on it.
However, the one thing I have seen repeatedly since day 1 is that the GPS lock is abysmal. I wanted to say "weak", but no, it's much worse. I know the original Galaxy line was plagued with such issues but doing a general Google search for Nexus S GPS issues mainly revealed people wondering if the NS4G would have the same problem - not many reports of actual experience.
I can tell you that my EVO got GPS locks with nary a problem. If I was driving and had to whip out the phone at a red light to fire up the navigation, it was ready to go in moments. I did that a few times this week with the NS4G and was just annoyed. This morning was especially bad so I have been spending some time just opening up Google maps and hitting the location button to see how long it took to get a lock on me. It's truly something awful. The radius it shows is based on the cell tower estimate (I know from seeing where tower location usage without GPS pegs me when I'm at work on both my Hero and EVO) sits for MINUTES before it might get a lock on where I actually am. Even at that point, the accuracy radius is still huge compared to just being pegged where I am with the other phones I have/had. Then, with maps open, the phone goes to sleep (screen off) and I turn it back on a few minutes later and this starts all over again...
I'm actually surprised to find no real reports like this yet so I thought I'd prompt people to really take a look at their new NS4Gs and welcome a report from them. Is my unit bonk or is this more widespread? If you've got one, try it a few times throughout the day. Just open GMaps up and hit the location button on top right to get a fix on your position and take note of how long it takes to lock in to you.
(Before anyone asks, yes, in SETTINGS>LOCATION&SECURITY I have both "use wireless networks" and "use GPS satellites" checked off).
I've experienced this somewhat, although for some strange reason it seems to have tamed itself. The very first time I fired up Maps it locked on to me with a 20m window after about a half a minute, which I've found to be "normal" for AOSP. My Evo would get me within 2m and would do it in around 5 seconds.
The second time I wanted to use it, I used the voice control to ask for directions, at which point my stock Ns4G rebooted itself leaving me on the side of the road for a few extra moments before I was on my way.
The last couple days though, it's been decent. It still only locks within a 20m window, though, but it's been pretty accurate so far.
Actually, I think I am suffering from the same issue. From time to time, depending on the location I would lose service (yet wifi works) and the only way I would regain service back would be to reboot my phone. It's the strangest thing ever, I believe its a problem between the Sprint network and the Nexus S. My old phone would get full bars but on my Nexus, its been only 1 or 2 bars in 3G. Sprint better be resolving this issue soon.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
fraspas said:
Actually, I think I am suffering from the same issue. From time to time, depending on the location I would lose service (yet wifi works) and the only way I would regain service back would be to reboot my phone. It's the strangest thing ever, I believe its a problem between the Sprint network and the Nexus S. My old phone would get full bars but on my Nexus, its been only 1 or 2 bars in 3G. Sprint better be resolving this issue soon.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that you mention it, using this phone the past 2 days... it's the first time in god knows how long that I've seen signal issues. The first one being low bar readings - but I attributed this possibly being a difference in display of the bars on this phone vs my EVO. On the Nexus S there are four bars total, gray and green. I'm usually at one - two green bars with this phone. On my EVO I had a lot more bars (maybe 6-7?)... so maybe my actual signal strength was comparable but "seemed" like it was better because I saw more filled bars. Again, a display issue? I'll leave that open for further investigation...
However, the thing that is really strange is that I've seen the 3G go to 1X numerous times. I don't know if I ever saw this on my EVO.
All related or no? Color me perplexed...
edit: During my Google searching earlier I came across a search result posted in the Sprint forums titled:"Signal Issues with Nexus S" - however none of the links worked because the site was under maintenance. It's come back online... from reading through it, this appears to be a widespread issue (general signal issues, not GPS).
http://community.sprint.com/baw/message/286393
So, do we have TWO signal problems with this phone? Ugh!
20 meters accuracy is the norm for me. not the best, but thats all i need it to do.
Tried it inside of my house, got 30m lock, pressed again after few seconds got 8m.
Radio problems have been reported on other forums too,
Signal strength is the same as my Epic, but nexus can't pick up 4G signal in the same spot where my Epic does.
And I get signed out of gtalk randomly, I guess its when it loses signal, 3G or WiFi.
DiNoise said:
...Signal strength is the same as my Epic, but nexus can't pick up 4G signal in the same spot where my Epic does...
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Funny that you say that. When I had the EVO, coverage and download speeds over 3g werent a problem. now that i have my ns4g, same coverage but super slow 3g speeds in my area. not sure if its my phone, cuz where i work i get legit 3g speeds here and there. i'll give sprint a couple weeks to sort this out before my buyers remorse period ends.
DiNoise said:
Tried it inside of my house, got 30m lock, pressed again after few seconds got 8m.
Radio problems have been reported on other forums too,
Signal strength is the same as my Epic, but nexus can't pick up 4G signal in the same spot where my Epic does.
And I get signed out of gtalk randomly, I guess its when it loses signal, 3G or WiFi.
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From what I can tell, there's actually a difference between the white-ish signal bars and the green ones (it's probably in the manual but this would be the FIRST manual for any tech device that I didn't read front to back right when I opened the thing). Green bars mean you're connected to Google directly or something like that. White is just to the network. I tried to see the difference myself by going into mobile networks and disabling data - the green bars immediately turn white. When I turn the data back on they're still white for a little bit but I can get them green again immediately by logging into Google Talk.
Of course, the gray bars are still "no signal" bars as far as I know. White or green, I'm still only getting 1-2 bars of the four and going from 1X to 3G a lot. I thought I'd share that bit about the Green/Google connection because it might help you look up more info on that problem, too. I've already seen reports of people's connections to Google (lots of white, little green) being spotty, too.
It's too bad - this phone is really growing on me. It feels good in hand, perfect weight, looks gorgeous on or off... but the connection and GPS problems are a deal breaker. We need to see something happen. Really, REALLY disappointed in Samsung now.
Just got the nexus s 4g about two hours ago now and the gps has been great for me compared to the epic I traded it in for. Sitting at my desk on the second floor of my house and getting instant 2 meter locks. So far so good on my first pure google phone.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk
I came from the Moment and it had 6 bars for signal strength....the Nexus has only 4 and from what I've noticed, reception has been the same or better than what I had. I haven't had any problems with 3G switching to 1x except when I was in our storage basement at work, in a heavily populated downtown. I haven't been able to try out 4G yet because it isn't offered in my area yet but assume it'll be the same or worse downtown. I have had issues with the GPS taking forever to get a lock, but I only use the GPS chip with NO help from the cell network. Most of the time, since it reboots in about 45 secs, I just reboot and it works fine for a while.
I did something slightly different. Before I used the GPS for the first time I completely removed google maps and didn't have any map program. I did have the evo shift sprint telenav map apk already on this phone. I installed it and started up the gps. After a few minutes of downloading files, the map screen came up and showed my correct position. I've found in the past if I fire up sprint maps for the first time I use the gps, it doesn't have problems locking afterwards. If I use google maps first, if it locks it takes a long time.
mrhinkle83 said:
I came from the Moment
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God bless you.. I had that paper weight for awhile and ditched it for the Epic. Worst phone I've ever used. The Nexus S must be like heaven compared to that thing.
So I was driving to one place today and needed gmaps to show me shortest route from my location, turned on GPS, could not get any sats to lock, I probably waited 20-30 secs and then remembered one old trick with GPS Status app.
Downloaded the app, went to tools, reset, redownloaded data, got 9 out of 9 sats locked on in 1 second, 2m accuracy. I can live with that.
But still not happy with 3G/4G performance, and at the same time I dont wanna go back to my Epic.
Mine locks instantly but up to 20m which doesn't bother me as long as it gets me where I need to go
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA Premium App
p00kienrayray said:
Funny that you say that. When I had the EVO, coverage and download speeds over 3g werent a problem. now that i have my ns4g, same coverage but super slow 3g speeds in my area. not sure if its my phone, cuz where i work i get legit 3g speeds here and there. i'll give sprint a couple weeks to sort this out before my buyers remorse period ends.
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Well, what I meant was that signal strength in "dBm's" was the same, or at least that's what both phones' status showed. But with speed test app 3G speeds on NS4G were MUCH slower than Epic's, and of course I couldn't even test 4G...
I'm also thinking if I should return it before 30days or just keep it and hope there will be fixes to make NS4G's radio better and better, to be prepared for ice cream desert, and then just jump to next Nexus
styckx said:
God bless you.. I had that paper weight for awhile and ditched it for the Epic. Worst phone I've ever used. The Nexus S must be like heaven compared to that thing.
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Yes, the difference is like night and day! I'm just amazed at the battery life...I can actually go a full day without nursing it with a charge here and there, the moment wouldn't go longer than 6hrs before crapping out...and that was with light useage! I've had the nexus for over a week and I'm hooked....and the GPS issues seem to have settled down, it locks within 30-40 seconds now and is pretty accurate.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
GPS reception issues, but only while biking
OK I've searched around and haven't found much on this particular problem:
I use the MayMyRide app to track and log my bicycle rides. It consistently shorts my ride by at least 1.5 miles and several minutes, as compared to my computer on the bike.
This only started happening after I switched to the NS4G on Sprint from the Moto Defy on T-Mobile. I used the same app on t-mobile and it was generally pretty accurate.
Also, I seem to have decent GPS reception in general, the GPS lock times seem reasonable, and I can use google maps navigation with no problems.
Also, I've had this problem regardless of what ROM I'm running. I've flashed several, but I've mostly run Gummy, burnsra's CM9, and the latest Bugless Beast.
I've just started the process of flashing different radios, so I don't have enough info yet to see if that fixes the problem.
My hypotheses so far:
1) Poor reception in the rural areas that I ride, although since it's GPS I don't see why having poor network signal would affect it. But maybe it does.
2) Weak GPS antenna in the NS4G (?) (This doesn't make sense because GPS works fine in other settings.)
3) General sprint crappiness.
4) I don't think it's the app because it worked fine on T-MO.
5) I don't think it's the ROM because it's happened on several ROMs.
6) I don't have enough data yet to know if it's as simple as flashing a new radio. I flashed LC1 this morning so we'll see.
Any ideas?
As you may know by now I've been having problems with GPS on my Nexus S (i9023, bought factory unlocked from Amazon Germany, carrier code EUR, running rooted stock 2.3.4 AKA GRJ22). A quick search of the Nexus S forums will tell you that I'm not the only one who complains about GPS issues - I always assumed that the GPS was just sub-par on the model and I'd have to live with it.
Only now a few helpful souls over in the accessories section said it was probably defective and I should exchange it. (I've already exchanged it once for this and the new unit I got performed exactly the same.) So I'm just going to tell you the current situation and I'm hoping you'll tell me if that's within the normal tolerances for the model: [All tests done outside in suburbia]
"Network location" (geolocation, wifi / cell triangulation) is fine since 2.3.4 [just to get that out of the way]
Time to First Fix (TtFF) is decent now, usually 15-30 s cold and < 15 s hot. I've seen much better (yes, on a phone), but that doesn't bother me.
Accuracy however, is still bad. GPS Status shows 20-10 m mostly, but it fluctuates wildly going from 5 to 30 in a heartbeat even when it's just stationary. Other phones don't show this behavior. This translates into real-world problems in Maps (checked via sat view): The blue circle goes from large to enormous and back and while my true position is somewhere within the circle most of the time, the center dot is way off. Most other implementations manage to guess the location correctly even when the accuracy is bad (as tested side-by-side).
Stability is my biggest concern. The lock'll be fine for a few minutes, especially if the phone was just rebooted, but then the GPS will lose it every few (say 5-10) seconds and take time to reacquire it. Additionally, it doesn't pick up movement very well. I did a few tests watching my position in Maps while on the tram (in a window seat) and basically it would register an (approximately correct) location every now and then but then just hang there for a while. Usually it wouldn't register that the tram had left a stop before it had arrived at the next one or even just left it again. All other phones trace the tracks almost perfectly and in real time. There goes any kind of usable navigation and - in concert with the compass issues - all augmented reality apps.
Again, this isn't meant as a complaint or even a request for a fix (though if you have one I'll gladly take it) - I'd only like to gauge if my particular phone's have been bad or if "that just how it is".
Thanks for listening.
I have a nexus s4g from sprint and my gps was working great and then one day it just stopped. I can never pick up a signal and if out does it takes about five minutes our more. I have a gps radar app that shows me signal strengths and stuff and our barely picks up give signals and they are always really weak I have to refresh the agps status all the time to even get a lock and like I said it still takes about gives minutes or more if it even locks at all. I am looking for a fix my epic had the same problems and then with the latest update for it, it was amazing and fast accurate locks. And help with the nexus s4g would be great
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
Get your msl, go to your dialer and dial *#*#gpsclrx#*#*, then put in msl and it will clear gps for you. It will reboot on its own
snandlal said:
Get your msl, go to your dialer and dial *#*#gpsclrx#*#*, then put in msl and it will clear gps for you.
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What's an msl and what does "clear gps" mean? Also, way to derail a thread ...
I tried that before on my epic and it messed up my gps but I will give it a shot
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
nice post. finally some oen who get it.that there are just failts in phones and thats just how it is.
thougfh.yes try returning it in the hope to get a proper nexus s xp
I did the clear gps code and it seemed to fix mine so thanks I would recommend people try it.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
whats an msl? can't find that on google so what is it? would like to try out that code...really have problems with GPS on my nexus s
floomat said:
my GPS does just not work at all, it can't get a fix for hours even if there are 10 sats.
but sometimes I'm lucky (really rare) and it gets a fix but the longest time it hold it was 5minutes, then lose GPS fix can't get one again. it's even not while i'm moving, phone lays on the table and outside to test.
really disappointing for me, second thing is my compass does not work after reboot and is really inaccurate and unstable (jumping around)
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Your GPS sounds even worse than that on my NSs, the compass doesn't work for anyone. Out of curiosity - where did you get yours?
for msl: http://goo.gl/x3IKR
i'd like to ask if this code is good for Nexus gsm or cdma??
freakness51 said:
for msl: http://goo.gl/x3IKR
i'd like to ask if this code is good for Nexus gsm or cdma??
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According to the article you linked: "This program reads your Master Subsidy Lock (MSL) code for your CDMA Android phone."
In other news, I'd really appreciate some on-topic replys
fallenguru said:
Your GPS sounds even worse than that on my NSs, the compass doesn't work for anyone. Out of curiosity - where did you get yours?
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I even think my GPS is the worst of all the Nexus S.
Mine was bought from Ebay-UK and since it was on a repairing-tour to samsung germany i know its from CPW. Its a I9020 not I9023. BTW there was nothing repaired because they said "The discribed issue cannot be found" or something like that..
what do you mean with compass does not work for anyone?? does it really not work on any nexus? thats interesting, isn't it a little bit illegal to sell a device and say it has compass and than compass does not work at all?
freakness51 said:
for msl: http://goo.gl/x3IKR
i'd like to ask if this code is good for Nexus gsm or cdma??
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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.