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Sick of the GPS issues

I really needed the GPS to work the other night and it was so frustrating i about threw the phone out the window. What are some comparible phones to the captivate that are android based and can be unlocked to get the att 3g bands? Any ideas/suggestions on a phone would be appreciated.

I think HTC Desire HD is amazing...Im almost going to take it....And also, you know...HTC is much more trustble than Samsung KOREAN SUCKS company...I dont know why I got this ****...but, is to late for me...I dont wanna spend more money to get other phone now...

I love my captivate. Then again, I did come from a G1 lol. It is a great phone with great hardware.
Sent using smoke signals.

Change your gps settings to Network Provider instead of MS based it worked for me
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

if your comfortable rooting and trying out custom roms.
i highly recommend the chronos rom that can be found in the development section.
Since installing it i have only been able to test about 18 miles of travel with 18-20 turns but to this point it has not missed a single turn or shown me off the road when going around curves as it did with the stock rom and most other custom roms i have tried. Most of the i9000 based roms seem to have better gps performance but Chronos so far has been outstanding with locks and tracking.
chronos rom:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=869860

Is it really a software issue or a hardware one?
I tested my captivate last night while I was watching meteor showers, and I thought perfect time to test my gps. I used gps yest and my captivate quickly saw 9 satellites, but didn't lock onto a signal for forever. Dunno wtf is wrong with this
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

xetrev said:
I really needed the GPS to work the other night and it was so frustrating i about threw the phone out the window. What are some comparible phones to the captivate that are android based and can be unlocked to get the att 3g bands? Any ideas/suggestions on a phone would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was frustated with the GPS since a long time. But once i upgraded to assonance rom i am getting great GPS lock with 11 SATS. Try switching to that rom and see if it makes a diff

and i getting sick of fools keep saying "my gps is perfect!!"
samsung garbage is like a 10$ radio!
no matter what you do to it, it WILL NEVER sound like BOSE quality!

netnerd said:
and i getting sick of fools keep saying "my gps is perfect!!"
samsung garbage is like a 10$ radio!
no matter what you do to it, it WILL NEVER sound like BOSE quality!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In one sense i get what you say because many of the times i see that post all people are talking about are their lock times and # of sats they see/lock with no regard to tracking and navigation.
Maybe it won't last but my GPS has been perfect with the chronos rom and i am talking about locks and more importantly tracking. (i have only limited testing but in 18-20 turns it has tracked me perfectly without so much as a hiccup.....on stock and other roms it was only able to track me through 30-40% of turns so even with limited testing this is a pretty marked difference).
One thing to keep in mind is there are different batch #'s and i don't know if they have switched chips for any of the batches. Since i got mine pre-release i am assuming i have the first batch produced but after using chronos rom i am becoming more convinced it is a firmware and not a hardware issue. I don't believe it will ever be as good as a dedicated gps like my garmin and i never expected that but so far with this rom it is working as well as the gps/mapquest combo on my wifes iphone.
also on locks i am generally getting 10-12 Sats with a lock rate of 90+ - 100% and average lock time of 13 seconds

I'm with you. I am tired of the GPS not working. I am going to the Blackberry Torch this week. Probably Thursday or Friday. Either way, I need a new phone.

maxjivi05 said:
Change your gps settings to Network Provider instead of MS based it worked for me
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
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This also has worked for me, but it is a band-aid option IMO. Leveraging a Wi-Fi GPS provider isn't going to help you when you're riding in your car on I-95.

I know it's a real big band-aid, but it works fine for the car and is easier than getting a new phone.
I spent 20 bucks and got a tom tom bluetooth GPS receiver, combined with a free up on the market called "Bluetooth GPS Provider" and I get 1M accuracy in Maps/Nav. Since I primarily only use the GPS in the car, it's not that big of a deal to leave an accessory in there.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HZI2YY/ref=oss_product

Ok guys not another GPS thread. We all know that for whatever reason the GPS is spotty at best. No sense in beating a dead horse.

Droid Charge GPS?

Howdy all?
I don't know WHAT I was thinking but on impulse bought the LG Revolution last night. It's a decent and I do want to emphasize just decent, however it has an AMAZING GPS capability.
Well I am going to right my wrong and get the Charge, hence how is the GPS on it in comparison? I need a device that locks fast and can get below 20 meters (long story with crap phone at AT&T)!
Any guidance/perspective would be appreciated.
Angieutc

gps is great. Locks quickly. Much better than the fasciante was. I wouldnt regret buying the revo...its a great phone too.

Doesn't the Revo have Bing by default for search engine? I thought about getting the Revo but I hate Bing.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA Premium App

sir2545 said:
Doesn't the Revo have Bing by default for search engine? I thought about getting the Revo but I hate Bing.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA Premium App
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Exactly why I am taking it back. I did not know how deeply intergrated bing was into the phone. I thought it was just to higlight the search engine.
Plus there is not excitement about the phone. Verizon reps weren't excited to talk about it and there is not support on XDA.
On thing -- GPS and call quality were some of the best i have had on a phone.
I made a mistake and thankful I can fix it within my 14 day period.

sir2545 said:
Doesn't the Revo have Bing by default for search engine? I thought about getting the Revo but I hate Bing.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA Premium App
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Easily removed.

suzook said:
Easily removed.
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True. However, I would feel better with a Samsung or HTC model. Something is nagging in my mind that I would regret the LG purchase down the line. Just a feeling.

angieutc said:
On thing -- GPS and call quality were some of the best i have had on a phone.
I made a mistake and thankful I can fix it within my 14 day period.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you will maybe regret making the change. There WILL be roms, with debloat. And make the phone what it should be.

GPS on the Charge is okay. Doesn't lock nearly as fast as other Moto devices that I have had.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA App

Gps rocks under 5 meter accuracy and fast lock times. Way better than the captivate I used to own
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA App

im very unimpressed by ALL of its wireless network capabilities, the gps can take minutes to lock on its fairly accurate but sometimes i'll go threw 2 songs and pass 4 exits before it locks and i find out im going the wrong way. on top of that i had the HTC TB and it had great 4G signal all around my area but my charge is maybe 1/2 to 3/4 as strong in the same places, also the bluetooth will NOT stay connected to anything which is a HUGE problem at least for me because i have a tablet and the entire reason i bought the charge was for th 4g hotspot to share with my transformer but as of right now that is nothing more than a pipe dream. I'm hoping that some of these issues will be ironed out because i can't take this phone back now and i have to wait for something newer to come out.
sadly i'm slightly disappointed in this phone so far but i do understand that in time problems will be addressed.
as far as another phone to get its hard to suggest ANY of verizons 4G phones as they all kinda suck....

So far, the GPS on my Charge has been awful. I love the phone to death, but every time I try to use the GPS, it just laaaags. Doesn't matter what program I'm using to access the GPS.
Thankfully, there are very few reasons I need GPS and most of those reasons, I really don't need GPS, I just need a location, which I can get with cell tower triangulation or whatever.
...Ok, I just opened my phone, flipped on GPS, opened Google maps and it is working perfectly. Eh... so I guess I'll amend "awful" to "spotty with a chance of awesome."

The GPS in my Charge works. It is not nearly as fast as my Droid X was, and it struggles to get a lock indoors, but I only rely on it for 1 app and can make do.
My DX would have a lock within 2 seconds max, and the Charge will take up to 10 seconds for an initial lock. That being said, I have not experienced any latency/accuracy issues once locked on to 5+ satellites.
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Sent via the combination of 4G airwaves and a Samsung device, using the full featured version of Tapatalk, better known as Forum Runner.

GPS has been terrible for me. I have had to use additional testing apps to get it to lock at all on occasion and it has been slow in those instance. Prior to EE4 it was excellent, but since it has been horrible.

My GPS completely blows, just like the Fascinate.

For those with the GPS issues, download GPS Test by Chartcross and fire that up one time. It should get a signal within 15 seconds. After opening that one time, my other GPS apps lock a signal very quickly.
It sounds strange but that solved my GPS issues...

robstamack said:
For those with the GPS issues, download GPS Test by Chartcross and fire that up one time. It should get a signal within 15 seconds. After opening that one time, my other GPS apps lock a signal very quickly.
It sounds strange but that solved my GPS issues...
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I have taken to using that app as well. For me it means the difference between not being able to lock and being able to lock in a minute or three. Now, I have taken to modifying my gps.conf .. so we'll see how that goes.

My wife's takes literally over five minutes to lock the first use each day or so, but sped up with a the testing app. It seems like Samsung has issues with pull GPS data off the net/cell towers to speed the initial connection. Just a theory.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

My GPS has also been very awful since ive gotten my charge last week. It takes forever to lock and mostly it doesn't even lock accurately on my location kinda disappointing coming from a BB that locks on almost instantly on my exact location.

I remember it working real well but then yesterday I went to use Navigation and got nothing. Since then I've tried to clear the DV cache, clear the GPS data, reinstall Maps. Nothing has worked. Through the testing apps, I can see it is getting some gps signal but they are mostly weak and it never locks on to anything. I am thinking about wiping my phone to see if maybe that will do the trick. Might be a good time to start getting into Roms.

I've only used mine twice, but it seems to consistently position me about .25 to .5mi away to the south from my actual location. (Both times I was using it indoors.)

Horrible GPS

My GPS on the Skyrocket has been horrible since day one. It takes a minute or longer to lock and then loses lock in about 15 seconds. I am currently using SKYICS. Anyone have a fix? Am I the only one?
Sent from my SmartQT20 using Tapatalk 2

agps fix flash via cwm. Google it.

I will be kind.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1438129

Thanks. Will try tomorrow. It is killing me that my HTC hero has great GPS on it - fast lock and doesn't drop and the new phone doesn't.
Sent from my SmartQT20 using Tapatalk 2

Which skyics? And you might try downloading GPS test just to see.

occupational_hazard said:
Which skyics? And you might try downloading GPS test just to see.
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4.2E Update 6
But it didn't work well on stock either. The only other phone I have to compare it with is my old Sprint HTC Hero and it is quick to lock on and solid as a rock. I've flashed the gps fix zip and will try the gps on the way into work in the morning. That is about a 26 mile drive.... here's hoping....

Check your nav settings too.

Go to settings then location service. Check all three options. Then try again. It should work like a charm!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium

The agps fix is nothing short of amazing. Mine will lock in to my location, even inside a building, within a few seconds.

The patch appears to have worked. I'll test again on the way home. Thanks all!

Your welcome.

Works for a few minutes and then loses signal and has to re-acquire. I'll try some of the other versions to see if they are any better. In the meantime, back to the Hero and an offline gps program.

Must be something with your setup, I used it for an hour last night and it worked beautifully.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727

Out of all of the Android phones I have owned the Skyrocket has the best GPS. Locks in just a few seconds. I have gotten quick fixes on Gingerbread and ICS.

Very strange that mine doesn't work right. Can anyone post which ROM you use and if you flashed the agps patch, which one you flashed? Oh.. and do you use a case on your SkyRocket? I'll remove my case tomorrow and test also.

Could be a bad GPS chip. Mine locks in under 10 seconds indoors to an accuracy of 5 meters. It willl hold the lock driving at 80mph. I've tested it stock, on SKY, and on Embryo with the same results. I've never found the need to flash the agps fix. A huge improvement compared to my last phone.

My skyrocket is the best GPS device I've ever had. Including dedicated GPS devices. My skyrocket is stock, with no fixes whatsoever. At 500 miles an hour over the middle of the Pacific Ocean I can get a lock on in less than 30 seconds. Nothing else has ever even come close. Dedicated GPS's from Garmin, tom-tom and others take over 15 minutes under the same situation. Reception in difficult areas, like downtown with lots of buildings around, is also the best I've ever seen. It's really too bad there isn't a decent GPS navigation program for android.
Copilot's maps suck. Sygic has good maps, but a terrible navigation display, and even worse POI implementation. Routing is horrible. Don't even get me started on the problems with Google maps. Sure it's pretty, but it isn't really a great dedicated navigation service. All three of these stress form and features over function.
For great GPS software, nothing beats the old Garmin mobile XT for windows mobile. It didn't have the latest and greatest features, but as far as function, nothing could touch it for use on a worldwide basis. If you could put that software on a skyrocket, you'd have the best handheld GPS device on the planet--bar none.

I had to exchange my skyrocket for a new one because of this issue. It was just terrible - wide open spaces it would just blink for a minute then maybe lock, driving normal speeds trying to use Navigation was futile because it would lose lock all the time. I just took it to an at&t store had them put it next to another skyrocket and showed him how bad it was, in fact indoors it just couldn't get a lock at all ever.
Got a new one and it's flawless, now running cm9.
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styx66 said:
I had to exchange my skyrocket for a new one because of this issue. It was just terrible - wide open spaces it would just blink for a minute then maybe lock, driving normal speeds trying to use Navigation was futile because it would lose lock all the time. I just took it to an at&t store had them put it next to another skyrocket and showed him how bad it was, in fact indoors it just couldn't get a lock at all ever.
Got a new one and it's flawless, now running cm9.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk
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That is very good to know. I am going to try it without my case and then without it running stock. If I still have the issue, I'll take it to an AT&T store and get it swapped out.
Thanks!

occupational_hazard said:
I will be kind.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1438129
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I run this every time i flash a rom or update. I lock onto 10-20 sats with ease. lock on usually takes 3-5 seconds. This is a must have!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium

GPS sucks

Anyone know why the gps takes forever to lock on when in navigation
Sent from my htc_jewel using xda app-developers app

No idea. The GPS signal is almost instantaneous on my phone once I open up Navigation.

Yea its spotty with me. It'll connect quickly, but ill be driving on the highway, then itll think im on some side road, and be really confused. I rebooted, and happened again, three times in a row. Also tried disabling GPS services and everything.
I would recommend taking it to Verizon to get a replacement. GPS isn't one of those things that's that fixable, its kind of hit or miss.
I'll probably take mine to VZW this week and demand a replacement for a faulty GPS.

Mine excellent has not seen this issue with others...if not rooted I would update to the newest radio...well you do not have to be rooted to do that but update for the latest radio to see if that helps...but I had no issues with the old...

You could try downloading an app called FasterGPS which supposedly helps lock on faster.

mine keeps putting me in the wrong place

Im coming from the droid charge and that and this phones gps is garbage. The only way i can get it to work is to turn on gps 5 minutes prior to opening maps/navigation and hope it will lock. That works about 30% of the time. Other than that no gps for me
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

SFniner415 said:
Im coming from the droid charge and that and this phones gps is garbage. The only way i can get it to work is to turn on gps 5 minutes prior to opening maps/navigation and hope it will lock. That works about 30% of the time. Other than that no gps for me
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The GPS in the Droid Charge I had was virtually useless half the time, but I am finding the GPS in my G3 works perfectly (it works so well I never use my Garmin portable GPS anymore)

Problems with GPS: Myth or fact?

I notice that some people have reported their S3's to receive poor GPS signal or that their phones can not lock onto a location at all, even to the point of having to return their phones. This paranoia had also struck me, and I noticed that I began to have problems too. However, I realized that at some point (for me personally) it had nothing to do with the phone. I just wanted to provide some tips as to how to improve GPS or use it more properly.
1. You need a line of sight to the satellites from your phone. That means that being in the middle of midtown Manhattan, you're likely to not get a signal. That also means that if you're in the middle of your living room, don't also expect to magically receive a GPS lock. It just doesn't work that way.
2. While it's controversial whether or not bad weather affects GPS signals, I notice that heavy clouds and poor weather affects my phone's ability to lock on at all.
3. If you're in an area where you can't get a lock (i.e. Midtown Manhattan, etc), turn on Google Location Services. This will always put you within a 500-1000 meter radius of where you are (in which case you would just read a map the old fashioned way).
4. I almost never have a problem locking on a location within 5 seconds while driving on a clear day, outside of the city. If your GPS and Google Navigation still does not work in this situation, you probably really have an issue.
5. During my paranoia, I cleared cache/data for Google Framework Services (warning: this will remove your sync account) and uninstalled updates to Maps and reinstalled. That may help if you've been flashing back and forth between roms.
Hope these simple tips might help some people out.

I don't know if it's because I leave GPS and Location services on all the time but I've never had an issue with GPS lock with this phone whether I'm in the burbs or in a city.

Yesterday I was in open line of site in Fitchburg MA, I had the GPS on for 20 minutes as I was scrambling for and event. It just would not lock at all. When I do get a lock. Yesterday same day driving 2 hours to Cape Cod (105 miles of open space) it would lock work good for a couple minutes then lag for a few seconds to minutes and not move then just jump and update. (Says GPS signal lost.) Sometimes it would then put me on side streets and struggle for find that I was still on 495 South. It did this when whole way. I knew where I was going so it wasn't a problem but there is something up and I am interested in finding out what. BTW this started after the first OTA update from Verizon.

If you have problems with gps get a replacement phone.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda premium

A lot of people don't know is to turn on wifi first. You will get a lock on in seconds.
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loonie01 said:
A lot of people don't know is to turn on wifi first. You will get a lock on in seconds.
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Tough to sign onto wifi on the highway

Even when I was in line of sight and with wifi on. My s3 wouldn't get a gps signal or lock on. My wife's Rezound did. So, I called Verizon and they sent me a replacement and now everything is fine. It was the hardware in my first one that was the problem.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Boss428man said:
Yesterday I was in open line of site in Fitchburg MA, I had the GPS on for 20 minutes as I was scrambling for and event. It just would not lock at all. When I do get a lock. Yesterday same day driving 2 hours to Cape Cod (105 miles of open space) it would lock work good for a couple minutes then lag for a few seconds to minutes and not move then just jump and update. (Says GPS signal lost.) Sometimes it would then put me on side streets and struggle for find that I was still on 495 South. It did this when whole way. I knew where I was going so it wasn't a problem but there is something up and I am interested in finding out what. BTW this started after the first OTA update from Verizon.
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Exact same issue with me. I haven't tried it bout lately because it pissed me off. I started using GPS status and toolbox and beginning to calibrate and update things. Hopefully its better now. Unfortunately, I cant get a replacement because I bought the phone off contract on eBay (just like I always do).

Boss428man said:
Tough to sign onto wifi on the highway
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You don't have to. For some reason enabling WiFi alone will improve the GPS's ability to get a lock. Though this isn't always the case, its one of the first things I do when I have trouble getting a lock.
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Yeah I don't understand it also but when I flash a new ROM, I would go to google maps. At that time I would not get a GPS lock until I turn on Wifi. GPS status app also helps with a good GPS lock.

Div033 said:
You don't have to. For some reason enabling WiFi alone will improve the GPS's ability to get a lock. Though this isn't always the case, its one of the first things I do when I have trouble getting a lock.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
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It's getting a rough location estimate from access points when your turn WiFi on. WiFi location doesn't have anything to do with GPS. This will only work if you're by access points.

I've had problems since day one of owning this phone. I've owned a droid 1 and droid 3. My og droid honestly never failed to lock almost instantly whether in my house or on the road. Its a shame to get such a new phone and have issues like this. Multiple threads show many users are having the same issues. I've tried fixes, clearing caches, flashing new roms and nothing.

http://m.cnet.com/news/street-view-cars-grabbed-locations-of-phones-pcs/20082777?ds=1
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2396403,00.asp
All wifi is used for is helping finding a rough location by send info through Verizon about access points nearby. Turning it doesn't make the internal gps work "better" in regards to seeing satellites it just helps Google get a fix on the phone faster
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

I suspect the Chinese are setting up random gps blockers tuned specifically to the S3. /conspiracy theory

All I know is that I can never get it to work. Ever.
My Nexus 10 is better than your tablet. Hah.

As stated before if you have problems then get the phone replaced. I have never had a single problem getting a lock at all and I live in the cities.
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unique77 said:
As stated before if you have problems then get the phone replaced. I have never had a single problem getting a lock at all and I live in the cities.
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Same, its probably the rom they're on. Even on 4.2.1 I get GPS though (not inside, but I can on TW roms).
OP: I can get a lock inside my living room

My GPS locks 20% of the time...outside on a clear day in Cali. Not sure what to do anymore. I've tried everything I read on here but returning it. I have a feeling they'll just give me a used refurbished phone so I hesitate to do it.

I can safely say that S3 gps is the best I've had out of all the smartphones I used. I am frequently in midtown Manhattan and it locks there within 10 seconds, and it works in my livingroom

Every time I load a new Rom I open up gps status toolbox get a lock instantly then open maps to locate me then I never have any trouble after that at all.
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