My current phone got stolen, so I need something on a budget for the meanwhile. I was thinking of getting a captivate since it has lot of development with stable ICS builds..
My only concern is the GPS ? I had heard there were problems initially with early galaxy S units, resulting in poor GPS performance. Do they still exist in ICS roms or were they fixed ? Also if anyone know were these on hardware side or if they were just software bugs?
Mafioso said:
My current phone got stolen, so I need something on a budget for the meanwhile. I was thinking of getting a captivate since it has lot of development with stable ICS builds..
My only concern is the GPS ? I had heard there were problems initially with early galaxy S units, resulting in poor GPS performance. Do they still exist in ICS roms or were they fixed ? Also if anyone know were these on hardware side or if they were just software bugs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are several threads on the gps problem and it's not related to rom, per se. I am on GB and changing the etc/gps.conf file has made my GPS reliable. The position of the GPS antenna inside the phone is far from ideal and samsung didn't ship it with best settings in the gps.conf file.
if you search for 'gps.conf' you will find the threads. it is pretty simple to replace the gps.conf file or edit it.
Some ROMs include the gps.conf fix.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897
I love many things about my captivate, but the GPS is not one of them. There are fixes that help some, but it still seems too unreliable. If I'm driving it loses signal all too often.
Gps
For a decent gps signal I flash H3llstorm GPS Fix after flashing a Rom... Still Doesn't compare to other devices signal strength, but makes gps usable
It works on CM9, AOKP and MIUI
-Sorry for bad English
GPS, also, depend on your baseband version.some baseband firmwares consumes more battary charge, but gives better GPS signals. I use XXJVT modem and have no issues with GPS signal.
I figured out something cool. If I hold my captivate up to the windshield it will lock on nicely, whereas if it's in my lap when driving it won't. Then I have a windshield mount where I keep it. It's been working better. This has been true on AOCP and jelly bean.
Running aokp kang build 4 GPS locks normally < 30 sec
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
After flashing to latest stable Cyanogenmod 9.1 my GPS is very good. I get 8 out of 9 satellite lock in about 5 seconds where it used to take 30-40 seconds with stock ROM and about 20-30 with 2.3.5 ROM I used for a while. That's in exactly the same spot right in front of my house.
that's the only thing i hate about Captivate @@
GPS is unbelievably weak, it has to combine with gps from mobile network, i can never use pure gps with only satellites @@
The GPS is my least favorite component of my Galaxy S.
I do use my Captivate as my GPS while geocaching.
I find that for best reception I have to hold the phone so the back is pointed up. To do this is is slightly over my head and I have to look up at it. Going though some trees and leaning over the phone it will loose connection. In the car driving I only find occasionally it will loose connection. In the mount on the dash it is in the ideal orientation.
My Transformer Prime tablet has an even worse GPS but the update external GPS add-on improves the GPS to be much better than the Captivate.
If it realy matters you can get a blue tooth GPS that can work with this and probably any phone you might upgrade to in the future.
I am running ICS on my phone and under Location Services there is GPS source to select different GPS. I just tried to connect using bluetooth to my Garmin car GPS but the only bluetooth functionality it has is to send sound to car stereo. and I could not even pair the Garmin with the Captivate.
Lots of bluetooth GPS receivers to choose from on eBay.
This thread might give you some more information of some of the units others have tried.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1122688
I am going to stick with the GPS in my phone. It has worked good enough for two years and will be updating my phone in Feb or March.
Jim
Honestly, you don't choose the Captivate for its GPS. Although, many ROMs have GPS fix and makes it usable. I can't say I had much issue with mine, it does the job it needs to do but depending on your connection, it might not be optimal. I did lose signal for a few seconds while driving but never lost signal to leaning over it tho eh
I almost want to say that the Captivate has the worst GPS out of most phones but I don't have much experience with other phones. The captivate is decent though and I think with the latest versions of JB, it seems to operate much better.
Hi all, I have a question. Why my GPS get fix fast and strong in gpstest apk and dont get a good fix running the google Navigator?
Enviado do meu SGH-I897
^
Try this... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=19422197
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
4-2ndtwin said:
^
Try this... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=19422197
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is It works for CM10 stable (JB 4.1.2)?
^
Sorry, but nope. Just good for samsung stock gb roms or those based on that. Should have mentioned that before. My bad.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
igorgomez said:
Hi all, I have a question. Why my GPS get fix fast and strong in gpstest apk and dont get a good fix running the google Navigator?
Enviado do meu SGH-I897
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've noticed that the google nav app maybe sensitive to the accuracy of the system time. When the clock is off by more that a few seconds, it seems to consistently report my position incorrectly, by 50 meters or more, in the same direction.
For example, when driving southbound, it will show me driving south, but 100 meters off the road to the east and this offset will persist until the clock is corrected.
I've installed clocksync app and set it to sync time every hour. It seems to help: Google nav doesn't give the persistant offset, but it does lose lock sometimes. I just toggle gps enable in the status bar and it recovers.
My gps.conf file uses the hellstorm fix. I am running GB debloated stock rom with Corn 7.06a kernel.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897
Related
Hello. Since no one seems to comment on this, I was just wondering if people have been using newer captivates and if the GPS on those units is working? If you had one built recently and had GPS flawlessly working it could mean samsung quietly fixed the bug. Just wondering if getting a cheaper captivate over the atrix is worth it since custom ROMing on this phone is so easy and fun
Thanks a lot.
I got mine in December at Walmart for $48.00. It's a 1012 build and the GPS was marginal at best on stock eclair 2.1. On any custom rom here it rocks. I've had outstanding gps on Di11i's 6.0 and on Cog 4.1 with plumbbobs .93 fix.
But to answer your question, I'd say no,they haven't fixed anything.
bigbooty said:
I got mine in December at Walmart for $48.00. It's a 1012 build and the GPS was marginal at best on stock eclair 2.1. On any custom rom here it rocks. I've had outstanding gps on Di11i's 6.0 and on Cog 4.1 with plumbbobs .93 fix.
But to answer your question, I'd say no,they haven't fixed anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So in other words you can use your GPS for tracking/navigation etc and it works ok? I think these xda devs should open up their own mobile company lol. Amazing work if they can fix what a huge corporation is unable to! Hats off to you all
phonex1 said:
So in other words you can use your GPS for tracking/navigation etc and it works ok? I think these xda devs should open up their own mobile company lol. Amazing work if they can fix what a huge corporation is unable to! Hats off to you all
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got my phone about 2-3 weeks ago. It's a 1012 build as well. Stock 2.1 GPS was terrible and rarely worked.
With most custom ROMs it has seemed to work much better. Whatever GPS fix FireFly 2.3 uses works GREAT. I've had 75%-85% luck with Andromeda and ~50% with Cognition. Its kind of a crapshoot.
My guess is Samsung is making these phones using the absolute cheapest garbage components they can - It's the only explanation for the varying results in speed, GPS, and overall usability on the same ROMs on 2 identical phones.
I'm running Andromeda right now and use a Speedometer app using GPS and it works pretty damn well to give me +/- 3MPH.
It works great in Srendipity, haven't tried it in movement but it finds me fast and with +-30 meters radius...
I have an older Cappy, v1008, and truly I don't find it that much worse than my TomTom.
There are distinct caveats to each device. The TomTom takes far longer to lock in new time zones, but tracks a bit better. Both hate the concrete jungle, ie the financial district in SF... Manhattan.
I have a 1012 build also and have a flawless GPS....and it was that way out of the box on stock Eclair 2.1 too! Now, on Serendipity, I get a lock INSIDE the house within 6-8 seconds. On stock 2.1 it wasn't much different either.
I'm just one of the lucky ones I guess.....
I never did and still don't have an issue on either Captivate I own.
I asked before if people with issues live in cities, which would explain GPS issues with any device.
Sent from my Dell Streak 7 using XDA Premium App
Mine is build 1101 and out of the box I have had no GPS complaints. It locked fine in less than 10 seconds indoors with Eclair, and still does that with Froyo. Outside, it's usually less than 5 seconds. Tracking seem really accurate.
mine is one of those 1101 versions...i'm guessing it's new since i've only recently acquired it...didn't even use stock captivate, went straight to custom roms and it's gps is pretty solid...alot better than my milestone if that counts for anything
sebas.mf said:
It works great in Srendipity, haven't tried it in movement but it finds me fast and with +-30 meters radius...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, Serendipity had good GPS as well. I've flashed so many roms in the last month it's nuts...
phonex1 said:
So in other words you can use your GPS for tracking/navigation etc and it works ok? I think these xda devs should open up their own mobile company lol. Amazing work if they can fix what a huge corporation is unable to! Hats off to you all
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really don't think its that they couldnt fix it but more like they didn't want to
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
I've got an 1011 build and gps was crap with stock eclair. I have Cog 4.1 with xcalibur's kernel now and gps had been quick to lock.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA Premium App
Hello all,
I'm currently running CM7 build 31 and Faux's 2.3.0 LV Kernel. Everything works excellently, but I've noticed a common "theme" across many ROMs I've been using. My GPS and Google Navigation work horribly.
The satellite locks quickly, but I notice that when I come to a stop, the map screen starts changing directions as if I were moving my car, rerouting, and all kinds of crap. I've owned a few standalone GPS units and they've never exhibited this behavior.
Does anyone experience the same thing, and if so, could recommend a way for me to fix or improve my GPS experience?
Thanks!
I do,then when I move it works fine.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
My GPS and nav have worked fine up until I installed nightly 31 and the 2.3.0 LV kernel (the 'CFS fix' one). Now it doesn't see any satellites at all.
[Edit: problem resolved by putting into and taking out of Airplane mode]
Hoping others have more input here. Seems that witeboy also experiences my problem. However, sometimes because of the issue, it takes a very long time to pick up where it left off.
i have the same problem as you, if thats any help lol. Im on iced glacier 1.1.6
GPS reception is pretty spotty also. but im using a case and dock in the car and the dock is down near my shifter, not the dashboard. so that might explain why
xiton said:
Hello all,
I'm currently running CM7 build 31 and Faux's 2.3.0 LV Kernel. Everything works excellently, but I've noticed a common "theme" across many ROMs I've been using. My GPS and Google Navigation work horribly.
The satellite locks quickly, but I notice that when I come to a stop, the map screen starts changing directions as if I were moving my car, rerouting, and all kinds of crap. I've owned a few standalone GPS units and they've never exhibited this behavior.
Does anyone experience the same thing, and if so, could recommend a way for me to fix or improve my GPS experience?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does that on stock android.
I've had this happen on stock as well.
I just recently rooted the Inspire and flashed 2 roms so far. None have been up to par with GPs for some odd reason.
Anyone out there also into sports with GPS? Could you throw me a bone here?
Thanks
SurferJD from humid s.Florida!
surferjd said:
I just recently rooted the Inspire and flashed 2 roms so far. None have been up to par with GPs for some odd reason.
Anyone out there also into sports with GPS? Could you throw me a bone here?
Thanks
SurferJD from humid s.Florida!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no best ROM. Your gps performance depends on many factors.
For any given ROM, some will say their gps locks in 2 seconds indoors and others will say they can't ever get a lock. And I'm being completely serious when I say that.
You're going to have to do some reading and trial-and-error experimentation to find the best combo for yourself.
"Best ROM" threads usually end up locked by Mods, just so you know.
I use Endmundo for Cycling (after trying several) and it works fairly well but have GPS issues now and then. I tried various ROMS but now back on stock and it seems fine. Cloud cover, atmospheric issues, airports etc all have an effect on the GPS. There may be a way to have Internet compensate for the loss of GPS but have not seen a proggy do that yet...
BTW I also have the Garmin Edge 500 on another bike and it seems to have GPS issues at times also - but it seems to compensate somehow by faking or estimating the numbers based on averages.
Since you are rooted head over to the Android development section and download the GPS Fix. It will usually improve your GPS on most ROM's.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
I've been (mostly) lurking on XDA boards for a couple of years, having had a Droid X, Droid Charge, and lately an Inspire. I am a confirmed flashaholic, and historically rarely stick with one ROM for longer than a few weeks.
The Inspire though, presents an interesting and somewhat frustrating problem. In a nutshell, I am unable to hold a GPS lock for longer than 3 minutes at a time on anything other than a Sense ROM. In digging around on the boards, it is clear that this is a known issue on the Inspire (Desire HD too) running anything built off of CM7. Now, for the average user this might not be a huge deal, but I drive a tow truck for a living and rely heavily on GPS for trips, every night.
I have attempted each and every fix available for this problem, with no lasting success. It's a shame because on occasion I love to run pure CM7, and the Inspire has a superb CM7 hybrid available in Absolution. And now the AOSP ICS builds are nearing completion, but they still present a problem due to the CM7 parts used. Why am I stuck with Sense on this device in order to use Navigation effectively?
To be clear, I love this phone, not going anywhere, and I've got Sense 3.5 growing on me just fine, currently running Mikrunny, but I do miss the stripped down speed of CM. Why was this never addressed by Cyanogenmod's team? It's documented, even on CM's own boards. Can't blame the devs here, they are working off of source that is inherently bugged, or deficient, IMHO. Have tried countless market app fixes, GPS Test, GPS Status, etc. Found a great thread on the Desire board that greatly improves the number of satellites visible to the device and the speed of the fixes, but none help hold a lock longer than 3 or 4 minutes at a time. Frustrating.
Purpose for this thread? Well, to vent a little I guess, but more importantly to see if anyone with deeper knowledge than me on the topic has further insight...a HEAVY GPS user like myself perhaps?
Sent from my Inspire 4G using Tapatalk
the problem lies in google maps. least from what ive read and experienced. if you use different navigation or gps software theres no problem at all.
give Waze a try
OK. Will give Waze and/or Sygic a shot. Thanks for the reply.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using Tapatalk
If you toggle your gps off then back on after you've opened and gotten a lock in navigation and it will
Stay locked.
Sent from my HTC Inspire 4G using XDA App
I'm having very good fixing and holding on black ice ROM with crypted's agps fix ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1252011), specifically the "at&t flavored" option.
I am also using CM7 and I found that modifying my gps.conf as described in this thread really helped me. I was having troube getting a lock at all, would try for 10 minutes, but now I can get a lock in under 1 min.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1239713
I use GPS Status to get the A-GPS data.
https://market.android.com/details?...wsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5lY2xpcHNpbS5ncHNzdGF0dXMyIl0.
I've also found that turning the gps off and back on at the initial signal loss works well. I field tested my inspire using an ics rom on a 2.5 hr road trip. It did lose the signal within the first 2 minutes, but toggling the location services button fixed it. After the first drop I kept the signal for the entire trip, both ways
I may have found something, but I need a few others to try it out and see if it is reproducible.
If folks here are comfortable modifying their build.prop file can anyone give this a shot and post back here if it worked for them?
Change
ro.product.model=Desire HD
to
ro.product.model=Inspire 4G
Reboot.
Test the GPS without toggling.
A couple of caveats. I'm running on the BlackIce ROM (a CM7 derivative which does have the gps toggle issue still) and I have applied crypted's AGPS patch (which improved the lock considerably but did not fix the toggle bug).
Dubbee said:
I may have found something, but I need a few others to try it out and see if it is reproducible.
If folks here are comfortable modifying their build.prop file can anyone give this a shot and post back here if it worked for them?
Change
ro.product.model=Desire HD
to
ro.product.model=Inspire 4G
Reboot.
Test the GPS without toggling.
A couple of caveats. I'm running on the BlackIce ROM (a CM7 derivative which does have the gps toggle issue still) and I have applied crypted's AGPS patch (which improved the lock considerably but did not fix the toggle bug).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't make a difference. Download GPS Status from the market. Before you fire up Google maps run GPS status first. As soon as it downloads the assisted gps data fire up Google maps and you will be good to go.
GPS Status is useful but it doesn't address the toggle annoyance.
Did you actually try the build.prop edit?
I also use blackice with crypted's 3.1 gps patch. Google navigation is buggy, but I like to drive my very light car out in the stocks on the twisties where their is edge, gprs, or nothing. So, I use Navigon. It's gotten better now that garmin bought them and the routing engine is leaps and bounds better than Google. It works flawlessly.
Sent from my Desire HD using xda premium
DeathmonkeyGTX said:
I also use blackice with crypted's 3.1 gps patch. Google navigation is buggy, but I like to drive my very light car out in the stocks on the twisties where their is edge, gprs, or nothing. So, I use Navigon. It's gotten better now that garmin bought them and the routing engine is leaps and bounds better than Google. It works flawlessly.
Sent from my Desire HD using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you serious? Its a $40 freakin app! https://market.android.com/details?id=com.navigon.navigator_checkout_us&hl=en
I'm dead serious. It's worth every penny if you need gps and don't want to be subject to the propagation of radio frequency for your map data. It works very well. Some people ***** about it not working, but my guess is that they are incompetent. Also, navteq has the best map data for North America. I can uncheck a box and it'll route me on rural roads that would require a custom rock crawler to traverse.
Also, I tend to get the best gps and everything else results with radio 12.65.60.29U_26.14.04.28_M.
Sent from my Desire HD using xda premium
I dowloaded GPS status, turned on my navigation ap, then toggled my gps on and off and it worked for 30 straight minutes
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium
Forgot to add I am using Revolution
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium
tepeee said:
I dowloaded GPS status, turned on my navigation ap, then toggled my gps on and off and it worked for 30 straight minutes
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But the question is, will it come on by itself without having to toggle it off and on? Mine gets a fast fix and will stay connected so long as I toggle it off and on and don't let the screen time out or close the program. Any of that happens and I have to toggle it again. This is with CM7 nightly 260.
I am using a stock Inpire 4g (for now). FWIW, If Google maps/navigation is the first app to attempt to access the GPS after the GPS has been turned on, it will never get a signal lock for me. I have to run GPS Status (a great app) before trying anything else. Sometimes this means toggling GPS off and back on, running GPS Status, waiting for lock, and then resuming Google maps/navigation. Even if I start Google, realize my mistake, and then run GPS Status with Google still in the background, GPS Status will "see" as many as 10 satellites with strong signals, and never get lock. I only have to run GPS Status once after GPS has been turned on. Then, if I leave the GPS on, I can use any other app as much as I want with no problems.
Good morning guys,
I've tried every 'fix' under the sun to make my GPS work 'better' (takes 5 minutes to lock my loc), but to no avail.
(I'm on Scott's amazing CM10 JB rom)
Is every JB rom having these issues? Would it be better to just goto ICS?
I travel for work, so Maps is my best friend lol
Thanks in advance,
Sent from my SGH-I997 using xda app-developers app
Scotts latest CM10 initial locked for me in 1 minute 24 seconds.
So, GPS isn't broken across the board. Sometimes there are issues, and sometimes it works fine, but by and large, the issues are local to the individual user.
If GPS is that important, I would suggest that you go back to stock and work your way up. Or just stick with stock.
Understand a solution is important, however not a good idea to create duplicate threads.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1902360
I love the work scott has done, and i realize it isn't across the board. It just stinks that I can't use his masterpiece as a daily driver
Sent from my SGH-I997 using xda app-developers app
use cm9. every jb rom on this phone has issues with agps. weird thing is it is running but not helping to find sats. with gps.conf mods even the "use ref loc" feature seems to work which is network triangulation to help it figure out a rough location for a starting point but the phone still seems to use the standalone gps to find sats.... i tried logging it but nothing really gave me a clue to the actual problem. the gps isn't broken but it doesn't work so well for most of us without agps working to it's full potential.
It works well in ICS. Currently running cm and GPS locks in less than a minute.
In jb it would take 20+ minutes and sometimes say I was a mile away.
GPS has always been bad as far as I'm concerned. I've actually had better luck with the JB roms from late August onward than I have with Froyo or Gingerbread. Have you actually been able to rely on GPS for directions with this phone? I always end up having to ask at a gas station!
brian Marshall said:
It works well in ICS. Currently running cm and GPS locks in less than a minute.
In jb it would take 20+ minutes and sometimes say I was a mile away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Turn off Google location. It might be nice to have Google now but its the worst for navigation. You need real GPS location for maps. Problem is that with jb agps doesn't work correctly so the GPS lock takes forever, leave GPS on with the screen on for another 15 minutes after the first loc for the ephemeris data to download. that should last a few days before you have to do it again.
ICS on the other hand has absolutely impeccable GPS performance for me. Much better than what came from Samsung on my phone.
Cypher rom
I used Cypher rom, and it has great GPS lock.
atrix4nag said:
I used Cypher rom, and it has great GPS lock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
first of all, i appreciate that GPS works fine for some people -- why are you reading this thread then?
i'm not even going to list everything i've done to troubleshoot, but before you say 'people posting things and not checking it out themselves' i can tell you that i have tried EVERYTHING, spent hours working on the GPS issue with my phone and come to the conclusion that JB does not have proper GPS on SOME infuse phones, whether it be by region or some latent hardware defect that the ICS or GB roms compensate for, my GPS dosen't lock. i've been through like 20 gps.conf files, read about every setting in the file and tried every variation thereof, gone back to GB, gone to ICS, back to JB, multiple times, testing the result, my phone locks in 5 seconds in ICS or GB, not in JB. had same results in cm10, cypher, remICS, th3bills aokp, his miui, etc...
if my hardware was bad, i wouldnt lock in 5 seconds in GB.
one of my pet peeves is everytime you ask a question in a forum being told you're in the wrong thread when it would have taken less time to provide a helpful answer. posts telling people to move to another forum are also noise, and then further posts telling people they didn't try hard enough, or 'mine works so you're wrong' are also just noise, and not helpful to anyone. the other pet peeve is being told, after spending hours working on an issue, to stop whining because it's being worked on, when you were just trying to help in the first place. or when you read the first sentence of my post and tell me to do something i clearly stated i had already tried in my post.
nobody is whining, we just use infuse phones, and like our GPS to work.
also to be clear this isnt really directed at atrix4nag in a negative way, i just happened to reply to his message.