[Q] Strange inaccurate recordings in location history - General Questions and Answers

Hi guys,
I run PA 4.4 for like 10 days now. Since a week ago I have strange locations in my Google location history - constantly, when not moving - and rather accurate when I am outside (maybe has something to do with the wifi connection when stationary at home or at work?)...
One interesting part of it is: the first days of my new PA experience everything was fine. So probably it does not have anything to do with it. That first day I had the issue my phone crashed earlier while I was outside and I had to do a reboot. Maybe some settings were changed during that!? Or... maybe it doesn't and it's just a coincidence after some apps where updated (Google Search or so)...
I tried quite some settings to figure out what happens here - and it is not trivial - to my mind:
I did another clean install of the ROM; had the same issue again
I changed between "high accuracy" and "battery saving" mode in the location settings; no change
I went to the developer settings and unchecked "accept mock locations" (is that how the option is called in English?); no change
I have a Nexus 10 also running Android 4.4.4 and started to record my location history from that device with different settings: all are fine and accurate! When I record from both devices I can actually see my history jumping in 5-minute-mode...
Any ideas, any suggestions?
Please...

Two more findings, which make this issue even stranger:
When I move in the house - e.g. 2nd instead of ground floor - I get different locations, some 100 or 200 meters away, but both far from home.
I turned wifi off for one and a half hour - that resulted in perfect locations!! Locations were inaccurate after turning wifi on again...
What is wrong here?? So I get more inaccurate locations when connected to wifi!?

i always run straight gps and never wifi. imo its a conflict of interest.
gps is dead accurate, so the only time you could benefit from wifi is when you are in a building with no gps signal, and frankly, why would i need 100% accurate gps if im already in the building.
again imo, what is happening is, it can only reference wifi that it knows the exact location of. it has no way to tell how far from that wifi you are, so its guessing based on a limited gps signal and known wifi points.
i think its a waste of battery to be scanning wifi points all the time any ways, unless you have a constant use for it.

bweN diorD said:
i always run straight gps and never wifi. imo its a conflict of interest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the answer! And I sort of agree...
But the question is:
what did change that day when my location started to be different? I never had problems for more than two years of using the location history. Even after moving in April everything was fine with the wifi locations. I get one accurate reading like every one to three hours - so the location jumps from time time. Why is that? Is that a gps reading?
Plus: how could I change the settings? The only thing I can chose from is: "battery saving" (cell towers and wifi) or "high accuracy" (the same plus gps). I selected the second option but obviously still the Google location service does not really use it. When I turn off wifi it can only use cell towers plus gps... but obviously I want to be connected to the wifi when being at home.

I can't say why it started acting up.
If you use WiFi you are kinda stuck.
I only have GPS on and denied anything that wants to use WiFi for any reason.
I don't know where the option is found, but I remember it asking if I wanted to use WiFi to help results or something like that, I chose no.
Sent from my LG-VS980 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

bweN diorD said:
I don't know where the option is found, but I remember it asking if I wanted to use WiFi to help results or something like that, I chose no.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess that option is the "use wifi for location detection although wifi is turned off" which can be found in the wifi advanced options. But I turned that on and off, no change.
But one more test from myself:
I let wifi on but disconnected from my home network. The result is: accurate locations! So the problem is not the wifi itself but a connected wifi!? And it is not only the home network because I had the same issue at work.
Plus: we just had a thunderstorm, that could have been the reason why cell towers and/or gps reacted differently: my location was at some new place about more than a mile away. The worst thing is: accuracy of that location point was about half a mile -- which means: my real location was not inside the accuracy cycle (that blue cycle when using location history)!!
The accuracy cycle is always very small when I get the real readings at home and always about half a mile in radius when somewhere else...

that is basically the problem with using wifi to help. there are too many variables. location needs to know the location of the wifi, but then there is a broadcast radius that decreases accuracy. there is also the question, what does it do when you are connected to a wifi it doesnt know the location of?, that could cause inaccuracy. maybe it makes an uneducated guess, who knows. there is also the issue, what if it thinks it knows the location but its actually wrong?
the list of possible scenarios could go on and on as to why it isnt reporting correctly.
the only way to truly know why it is wrong is to find out why exactly it thinks you are where you are when its wrong. there has to be some exact source of information its using to base your wrong location on. unfortunately, i doubt there is any way for the common user to get this information, let alone take corrective action so its not inaccurate in the future.

wrong locations only when wifi is connected, only on one device
OK, what do we already know?
I have the problem for some 8 to 10 days now. Never had it before, only have it on one device.
Maybe a coincidence but this behavior started on a day where my phone crashed and I had to reset.
I made a clean new re-install of the PA 4.4 and recently received the update to PA 4.42. There are no changes in the behavior.
It is only my phone (running ParanoidAndroid based on KitKat 4.4.4), my tablet (Nexus 10 running stock KitKat 4.4.4) does not have this problem (so it's no wifi relocation because of moving or such general problem).
I have the problem with more than one wifi! Have already seen these false locations when connected to the home and when connected to the work network. Problems with both networks started the same day...
Wrong locations are constantly there when my phone is connected to a wifi.
It's not always the same location, sometimes I get different readings, but it's 90% a position ~430m west of my home.
The correct locations have high accuracy (a few meters), the wrong locations have very low accuracy (~1000m or even more).
When I start Google Maps (i.e. probably when the phone uses gps) I can see my position moving towards the correct location.
When I switch off wifi or when leave wifi on but disconnect my phone from the network, then I get the correct location constantly.
Roughly every 1 to 3 hours there is one correct location within the list of false locations.
I tried virtually every combination of settings, "high accuracy" and "battery saving" for the location service, "no mock locations" in the advanced developers settings, "use wifi for location detection although wifi is switched off" in the wifi settings, ...
Is there some sort of cache that might be corrupted!?
Is there a possibility to force using gps?
What else...

Tho-D said:
OK, what do we already know?
I have the problem for some 8 to 10 days now. Never had it before, only have it on one device.
Maybe a coincidence but this behavior started on a day where my phone crashed and I had to reset.
I made a clean new re-install of the PA 4.4 and recently received the update to PA 4.42. There are no changes in the behavior.
It is only my phone (running ParanoidAndroid based on KitKat 4.4.4), my tablet (Nexus 10 running stock KitKat 4.4.4) does not have this problem (so it's no wifi relocation because of moving or such general problem).
I have the problem with more than one wifi! Have already seen these false locations when connected to the home and when connected to the work network. Problems with both networks started the same day...
Wrong locations are constantly there when my phone is connected to a wifi.
It's not always the same location, sometimes I get different readings, but it's 90% a position ~430m west of my home.
The correct locations have high accuracy (a few meters), the wrong locations have very low accuracy (~1000m or even more).
When I start Google Maps (i.e. probably when the phone uses gps) I can see my position moving towards the correct location.
When I switch off wifi or when leave wifi on but disconnect my phone from the network, then I get the correct location constantly.
Roughly every 1 to 3 hours there is one correct location within the list of false locations.
I tried virtually every combination of settings, "high accuracy" and "battery saving" for the location service, "no mock locations" in the advanced developers settings, "use wifi for location detection although wifi is switched off" in the wifi settings, ...
Is there some sort of cache that might be corrupted!?
Is there a possibility to force using gps?
What else...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess you shouldn't rule out that it is an issue caused by the ROM some how.
On my phone I can force it to use GPS only, I have the option anyways.
Under location I have device only or something like that, it says it only uses GPS when that option is selected.
Sent from my LG-VS980 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

bweN diorD said:
I guess you shouldn't rule out that it is an issue caused by the ROM some how.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought about that, too. Means to installiert something else, CM11 vor so...

There's the option "device only".
That option does not record the location history, afaik.
Which means: Google Now does not work. So that's not an option...

Tho-D said:
There's the option "device only".
That option does not record the location history, afaik.
Which means: Google Now does not work. So that's not an option...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ohh OK, I didn't know that. Thanks for the info
Sent from my LG-VS980 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Tho-D said:
There's the option "device only".
That option does not record the location history, afaik.
Which means: Google Now does not work. So that's not an option...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so i did a little test today on the way home from work, as i took a different route than normal to avoid traffic.
when i started "maps" i had to allow google location services to navigate. so im pretty sure you can use device only as long as you allowed google location for apps, as it said something about my google now functionality when i turned it off after navigating.
last week i navigated a 3 hour trip, on a different rom, with no issues. today, maps couldn't seem to start gps to find my location to start navigating. so i turned on "high accuracy", more to test than anything else, and it found my location and we were navigating home .
i knew where i wanted to go but at some points that varied from where maps wanted me to go. for a while it did good at making quick corrections to my path. about 20 minutes in, i didn't follow its directions again. well this time, it didn't recognize that i didn't turn, then advised me to make a subsequent turn onto a road that was off the road i didn't turn onto. now, the road i am on is about 1/4 mile from the road it thinks im on, the 2 roads are parallel. well it took maps over a mile, after i made another turn towards the road it thought i was on, before it realized it was wrong and made corrective instructions. after that, i made a quick stop to grab some liquid refreshment for the night and turned off navigation, as i was close to home.
this really goes to prove nothing more than "high accuracy" is not always highly accurate. i traveled across 3 states last week for 3 hours on "device only" and never once was it wrong about my exact location.
just wanted to share my experience, really doesn't help or fix your problem, but may shed some light on the possible inaccuracies across multiple devices.

bweN diorD said:
so im pretty sure you can use device only as long as you allowed google location for apps, as it said something about my google now functionality when i turned it off after navigating.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried this and yes, Maps works with the "device only" setting. But when using Now it said that location-based cards (weather, traffic, ...) only work with "high accuracy" or "battery saving". So for me this setting is useless.
I guess I'll do another clean install and try CM11 or so...

it's not ROM related
I trid to install CM11 M8 today. For some reason I wasn't able to, received these strange "Unfortunately process ... has stopped" messages all the time and was not able to complete the initial setup. The only hint I found online is to make sure CWM recovery is up to date. I use v6.0.5.0 which I assume is up to date.
So I made another clean install of PA 4.42. Then I downloaded another ROM: did a clean install of SlimKat. This went smoothly, but I have the same location problems, both times!!!!
I guess we can be sure my location problems are not related to the ROM.
One thing I saw that seems noteworthy: I had correct locations for some time and then the wrong locations started again. Maybe this has to do with the system restoring backed up settings or installing / updating all the apps!?
Any ideas?

Tho-D said:
I trid to install CM11 M8 today. For some reason I wasn't able to, received these strange "Unfortunately process ... has stopped" messages all the time and was not able to complete the initial setup. The only hint I found online is to make sure CWM recovery is up to date. I use v6.0.5.0 which I assume is up to date.
So I made another clean install of PA 4.42. Then I downloaded another ROM: did a clean install of SlimKat. This went smoothly, but I have the same location problems, both times!!!!
I guess we can be sure my location problems are not related to the ROM.
One thing I saw that seems noteworthy: I had correct locations for some time and then the wrong locations started again. Maybe this has to do with the system restoring backed up settings or installing / updating all the apps!?
Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the only way to rule out the rom's is to return to stock and check it there.
its not uncommon to have similar issues across multiple rom's.
im not saying you are wrong, changing from one rom to another is just not a good way to check an issue.

bweN diorD said:
the only way to rule out the rom's is to return to stock and check it there.
its not uncommon to have similar issues across multiple rom's.
im not saying you are wrong, changing from one rom to another is just not a good way to check an issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, is that the case?
Then I should install the stock Samsung ROM and check. Probably will do it in a few days since I am busy the next days.
BTW: I installed SlimKat and then PA again. After installing SlimKat I now have TWRP instead of CWM recovery and the settings of 5x5 Icons on the home screen plus smaller font size and probably a few other settings remain in PA although I did factory reset, format cache and so on...
The thing is: how can I change this back!?!? Didn't find it in the settings. It'not font size (which is set to 100%).

Tho-D said:
Oh, is that the case?
Then I should install the stock Samsung ROM and check. Probably will do it in a few days since I am busy the next days.
BTW: I installed SlimKat and then PA again. After installing SlimKat I now have TWRP instead of CWM recovery and the settings of 5x5 Icons on the home screen plus smaller font size and probably a few other settings remain in PA although I did factory reset, format cache and so on...
The thing is: how can I change this back!?!? Didn't find it in the settings. It'not font size (which is set to 100%).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there is another partition thats not normally wiped with a factory reset. i believe its called "data/media". the official cwm's that i have used have an option to wipe this separately, but i havent seen this option in twrp, or know if it wipes it by default. my guess would be no, but i could be wrong.
anyways, some settings and/or app data is stored in this area. you likely need to wipe this to fix the problem. that would be my best guess anyways.

bweN diorD said:
there is another partition thats not normally wiped with a factory reset. i believe its called "data/media". the official cwm's that i have used have an option to wipe this separately, but i havent seen this option in twrp, or know if it wipes it by default. my guess would be no, but i could be wrong.
anyways, some settings and/or app data is stored in this area. you likely need to wipe this to fix the problem. that would be my best guess anyways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just rebooted into recovery and was surprised its CWM again!? Anyways, good its back!
The one option I always used is "wipe data/factory reset" (plus of course "wipe cache"). Under "mounts and storage" there's an extra option "format /data". Should I try this one?

Tho-D said:
Just rebooted into recovery and was surprised its CWM again!? Anyways, good its back!
The one option I always used is "wipe data/factory reset" (plus of course "wipe cache"). Under "mounts and storage" there's an extra option "format data". Should I try this one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure it says data/media. I don't have cwm on right now or I would check, but I think it is under mounts and storage. It was in the same dir where you can format system and such if I remember correctly.
Its also possible someone removed that option from your version, but I don't know why they would unless your phone doesn't have that partition.
Sent from my LG-VS980 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Related

[Q] Need to clear WiFi location cache after move

I moved (with my WiFi router) from Maine to Texas. My Xoom is convinced that that the WiFi still signifies that I'm in Maine. The widget for the Weather Channel keeps showing me the weather for Portland, ME. Also, whenever I open Google Maps, it jumps to my old address before going to the current GPS location in Texas.
I assume there must be some sort of cache that associates a given WiFi MAC with a location. I tried deleting the WiFi association and then adding it again, but that didn't fix the problem. So my guess is that I need to clear that cache (if it exists).
Any help would be greatly appreciated as this is a quite annoying problem.
Oh, I forgot to mention. If I turn off Google's location service (Location determined by Wi-Fi) (in Settings-->Location services), this fixes the weather app, but Google Maps still jumps to Maine until I get a GPS lock.
I think this is in Google's cache - they know your wifi was at your old place so that is where everything starts. I tried to look for a link from Google to "reset" your location data. I couldn't find it. I will post back if I do.
---------- Post added at 10:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:26 PM ----------
Found a similar post in a Google forum.
I can't post links yet so...
open google - search for "google reset wifi location" and check the first link.
What about changing the name of your wifi - the network name will change and then Google will update the maps (maybe).
Found another post about google latitude - might be able to reset location?
I changed the WiFi name. I'll post back later with results after I see if it works over the next day or so. Looks good so far though.
I thought it was going to work. It still showed the correct location last night (about 20 hours after the change), but it's now (40 hours after the change) messed up again. Very strange that it would work for that long and then revert to the previous behavior.
None of the links in the search result referenced by da_beast work anymore. Unfortunately it's a 2 year old thread. It does seem to match my problem exactly though, so thanks for finding it.
I found another thread that says that, by leaving GPS and WiFi on consistently, it will eventually get fixed.
Here's the oddest thing though. It screws up my Xoom, but not my phone (HTC Evo Shift 4G).
Current plan: leave both phone and tablet connect to the WiFi with GPS on and see if it helps.
I'll update for anyone who might be having the same problem as I see what happens.
Just by pure coincidence I saw an app on the market today called Location Cache by REMYDEMY. I have never used it, and have no idea if it works; but, it has positive reviews, and seems to do exactly what you're looking for. Let me know if you do decide to try it, just out of curiosity.
spackmanbr said:
Just by pure coincidence I saw an app on the market today called Location Cache by REMYDEMY. I have never used it, and have no idea if it works; but, it has positive reviews, and seems to do exactly what you're looking for. Let me know if you do decide to try it, just out of curiosity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That might do it - I tried it just to see what it does.
Lost track of this thread for a bit while I was dealing with work stuff and installing a washer/dryer set.
Anyway, the upshot is that leaving the GPS on along with the other things I tried seems to have fixed it. I haven't had problems in at least five days.
Since I don't know what exactly worked, here is a list of everything I did (Note a number with a letter means I did these these things basically at the same time or several times that were mixed together):
1) Left GPS on for the Xoom (WiFi, no 3G)
2a) Accessed Google Maps multiple times on the Xoom when the Weather Channel app showed the wrong location
2b) Traveled to a family member's house with WiFi that showed the proper location on the Xoom multiple times
3) Changed the AP name for the router
4) Turned on GPS on my HTC Evo Shift 4G
5a) Accessed Google Maps multiple times on the Xoom when the Weather Channel app showed the wrong location
5b) Traveled back and forth with the phone only (GPS still on)
So conclusion, it's fixed.
My guess is that it has to do with multiple GPS location fixes while connected to the router. I don't think changing the AP name had anything to do with it, but I don't know for sure. I do think that having multiple sources (phone & tablet) helped, but I can't say for sure. It could have just been the number of GPS/router connections from the tablet.

[Q] Moved 30 miles away, router from that home still thinks its there?!!?

I've got a screwy situation I'm desperately seeking a resolution to... simply put, we moved, and since then my Galaxy S2 (AT&T) pulls location from wifi when connected to it, everything within the phone keeps showing up that we're still back home, 30 miles away in a different state! But simply turn wifi off and then use 3G for location, and from the same spot in the new house, everything begins to work normally...
Now here's the twist - only on certain roms does this happen. Right now, I'm running MIUI 2.3.7, build MIUI-203090. Right now, on THIS rom, everything is working as it should... wifi is on, phone connected, showing all the correct information for the correct area... by changing roms, with all the same settings selected, the phone begins showing up back in the former location, and I begin to boil. I've reset the router back to factory defaults, and the same problem exists... I'm convinced it's a router issue.... I have an HTC Inspire that I had until 2 weeks ago when I made the upgrade... I broke it out and used it to test... and I can confirm that, on certain roms, even with a totally different phone, the SAME problem results because its connecting wirelessly to the same router....
Any ideas??
I assume that you are using the same router as previously?.. A router does not necessarily re-ping its location on a regular basis and so you may very well need to update your location in the skyhook database..
http://www.skyhookwireless.com/howitworks/submit_ap.php
Midnight1970 said:
I've got a screwy situation I'm desperately seeking a resolution to... simply put, we moved, and since then my Galaxy S2 (AT&T) pulls location from wifi when connected to it, everything within the phone keeps showing up that we're still back home, 30 miles away in a different state! But simply turn wifi off and then use 3G for location, and from the same spot in the new house, everything begins to work normally...
Now here's the twist - only on certain roms does this happen. Right now, I'm running MIUI 2.3.7, build MIUI-203090. Right now, on THIS rom, everything is working as it should... wifi is on, phone connected, showing all the correct information for the correct area... by changing roms, with all the same settings selected, the phone begins showing up back in the former location, and I begin to boil. I've reset the router back to factory defaults, and the same problem exists... I'm convinced it's a router issue.... I have an HTC Inspire that I had until 2 weeks ago when I made the upgrade... I broke it out and used it to test... and I can confirm that, on certain roms, even with a totally different phone, the SAME problem results because its connecting wirelessly to the same router....
Any ideas??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never heard of this before - will try it...
If you have Google location checked it may be using the known location when it was first detected.
Change your router wifi name. Then it may not know anything except through GPS.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using xda premium
I tried the skyhook option, but it's not real clear - either it could take affect or could take up to 7 days - ?!??
The router's wifi name has been changed - and even went as far as to restore it back to factory defaults... STILL the same result... I'm absolutely confused.
this issue is not uncommon.. eg. my mobile hotspot shows me at home no matter where i am in the USA... a router is part of infrastructure and so is a fixed location... if not then the skyhook database would not even be required.
For any changes to take affect you will need to power cycle the router... and yes, a free service may take time to resolve itself.
you're welcome
p.s. nowhere anywhere on the web is a router referred to by name.. it has a unique mac address..it is this address that is tied to your location so change all you want.. but until the db is updated you will live 30 miles away
Midnight1970 said:
I tried the skyhook option, but it's not real clear - either it could take affect or could take up to 7 days - ?!??
The router's wifi name has been changed - and even went as far as to restore it back to factory defaults... STILL the same result... I'm absolutely confused.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mystic38 said:
For any changes to take affect you will need to power cycle the router... and yes, a free service may take time to resolve itself.
p.s. nowhere anywhere on the web is a router referred to by name.. it has a unique mac address..it is this address that is tied to your location so change all you want.. but until the db is updated you will live 30 miles away
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"until the db is updated?" - I'm sorry, can you be more specific?
I have a Belkin n450+ router... how would I accomplish this?
I had been powered off all during the move, well over 24 hours - I'm confused about how to go about "clearing the db" -
if you have reported the location change to the skyhook server, you will have to wait for them to update their database (db..sorry)..
You have tried a reset, the only other suggestion other than to wait is to restore the factory firmware to factory settings.. you may need to update firmware after this and will need to reset and configure your network, but its an idea..
Midnight1970 said:
I had been powered off all during the move, well over 24 hours - I'm confused about how to go about "clearing the db" -
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just did a search for this problem and found this thread. Is this still the best solution?
Google uses many methods for its location, WiFi, GPS and Cell towers.
Remember that Google Street View car that travels around. It also tracks location and if it sees a WiFi signal it records the broadcasted name and location. If you use a Google service, phone or PC Google tracks the WiFi access point name. If it has a record of that name if knows your location. Otherwise it only knows your IP address is within a certain area of a city.
So, Google knows your WiFi routers name is at a particular address/location, then you move. Google doesn't know you moved so it continues thinking you're at your old address.
Changing the Routers WiFi name and a new IP address forces Google to relocate you by using GPS and other WiFi Hotspots it sees near you on your phone. It will then associate your new WiFi router name with your new location.
Basically but more complex than that.

GPS doesn't lock..

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

[Q] Location services not working properly after JB update

My stock AT&T HTC One X has developed a very annoying issue after the OTA update to JB.
Location services in the HTC weather widget constantly displays either "Current location" or else displays a city name that is within 10-20 miles of my actual location. Refreshing the widget either does nothing, or occasionally says "Unable to connect to location service..." Google Maps and Navigation nail my location exactly without any issues whatsoever, so I highly doubt I suddenly developed a hardware issue. Before the JB update, everything was working normally. And again, I'm running 100% stock unrooted One X.
I've done extensive searching, and have tried every bit of advice I could find: uncheck automatic time zone, uncheck fast boot, delete and reinstall the weather widget, clear Google framework cache, etc, etc, etc. In an act of desperation, I downloaded the official RUU last night and reflashed. After setting up my phone, I have the exact same problem.
To add insult to injury, my friend was here with his identical stock AT&T One X with the OTA JB update. Sitting right next to me, his phone displays the correct city and weather data.
Any other ideas?
I am desensed but it doesn't look to me like you went to apps, all apps, weather widget, clear data.
If you tried that already or that doesn't do it, I'd have no other ideas.
I forgot to add.. Can you not specify your location etc. within the widget settings? You must be able to, I hate depending on Geolocation for weather settings. It wastes battery by checking GPS every so often to see if you're still in the same location. I guess if you travel a lot this is useful...
In the weather app, go to Settings, and see if the option "My current location, Update my location in real time" is checked or not. Try it either way (mine seems to work right, whether its checked or not).
Also, try simply restarting the phone. I've had the Weather location be incorrect after flashing a new ROM, and restarting the phone fixed it.
The Weather widget reads the location info from the cell tower, not GPS. So the reading of the location is not related to Google Maps or Navigation.
redpoint73 said:
In the weather app, go to Settings, and see if the option "My current location, Update my location in real time" is checked or not. Try it either way (mine seems to work right, whether its checked or not).
Also, try simply restarting the phone. I've had the Weather location be incorrect after flashing a new ROM, and restarting the phone fixed it.
The Weather widget reads the location info from the cell tower, not GPS. So the reading of the location is not related to Google Maps or Navigation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I have checked and unchecked everything, and have restarted dozens of times before and after reflashing, and after trying different ideas. As to exad's suggestion: yes, I can specify a location, but I travel more or less constantly within the state as well as frequent trips.
Problem solved!
Turns out it wasn't a software issue after all.
In a final act of desperation, I did a warranty exchange at the local AT&T warranty center. By the time I got almost home with my new (refurb) phone, I realized the location services still weren't working properly as I drove through 4 different cities in the metro area, and my location stayed the same.
So... I had a flash of inspiration, detoured to my neighborhood AT&T store, asked them to change out my SIM card, and that fixed the problem!
jlmwrite said:
Turns out it wasn't a software issue after all.
In a final act of desperation, I did a warranty exchange at the local AT&T warranty center. By the time I got almost home with my new (refurb) phone, I realized the location services still weren't working properly as I drove through 4 different cities in the metro area, and my location stayed the same.
So... I had a flash of inspiration, detoured to my neighborhood AT&T store, asked them to change out my SIM card, and that fixed the problem!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for posting your solution! This will be helpful to a few people I'm sure.

Set up altitude, but "Network unavailable"?

When I selected "Calibrate now" after few seconds show up notification: "Network unavailable"
and next time will show: "Can't get a sea level air pressure reading for your location. Enter manually?"
Data/internet connection working on News, Weather apps. This behavior is same, WiFi or bluetooth connection.
Does anybody have any idea how to fix this bug?
SM-R760
Tizen Version 4.0.0.2
R760XXU2DSA1
deffyplus said:
When I selected "Calibrate now" after few seconds show up notification: "Network unavailable"
and next time will show: "Can't get a sea level air pressure reading for your location. Enter manually?"
Data/internet connection working on News, Weather apps. This behavior is same, WiFi or bluetooth connection.
Does anybody have any idea how to fix this bug?
SM-R760
Tizen Version 4.0.0.2
R760XXU2DSA1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
I had the same issue. Uninstalled the Wear application from phone and installed again.
Bingo..
Hope this helps.
I'm having this issue too. Ive tried reinstalling everything and resetting the watch. Nothing seems to be fixing it. Looking at the reviews of the alt-barometer app in the Samsung store seems to suggest the issue is widespread.
Have the same issue too. I think it's a problem of the defined server in the app which doesn't respond anymore. They should update the app...
Hi, i have exactly same problem after update to tizen 4.0. Have you some solutions?
Same problem , too. Last update 14.2.2019
I have noticed today at my job that I was at 188m, and when it worked I was less than 50m.
Same thing after reinstalling "wear", maybe worst, I didn't had backup
Same problem here after Tizen 4.0.
Same problem. Also affects Hiking Activity in S-Health on the watch. (It can't detect altitude so whole activity is broken showing "0km walked", "--" instead altitude and wrong calories). Tried every combination of reseting watch (with and without backup restore), reinstalling wear app and all plugins on phone and reinstalling altimeter app on watch. Even reflashed firmware via NetOdin. Also tried disabling adblock on phone in case some url gets blocked. No difference).
I'm also starting to think this have to do with predefined altitude server altimeter is contacting being down and not responding.
I had enough fiddling with this but if someone is determined they can try downgrade back to 3.0.0.2 to see if problem persist. Or try debugging the watch to see what is actually happening behind the calibrate request. Maybe even use packet sniffer.
SM-R760
Tizen Version 4.0.0.2
R760XXU2DSA1
BTU (UK) region
It must really be a widespread problem. The same here after the update to Tizen 4.0.2. I have made several hard resets of the watch, the only thing I have not done is phone hard reset. Not going to suffer this not knowing if it helps. I was solving more problems, so I have made several hard resets of the watch. For instance, SOME of the incoming calls were not vibrating on the watch. But after the first hard reset after the update the altimeter started working the second day I think!!! I thought it was really an issue connected with unavailibility of a server somewhere. I was solving more important issues, so I have made other hard resets and since then the altimeter jut won't work...
Same problem after upgrade to Tizen 4. Tommorow i trying downgrade to Tizen 3.
SM-R770
Tizen Version 4.0.0.2
Poland
I had the same problem. After several tries is now working. All I had to do was set the location to "high precision " on my phone (note 8) and after 4-5 times the watch will update automatically. Also I went outside.
I tried today and a get altitude measurement! I turned off and on my location on phone. But... I got lucky only one time. I tried 5 minutes later, and get "network unavailable"... Strange...
Problem
I have the same problem..
agawron91 said:
I tried today and a get altitude measurement! I turned off and on my location on phone. But... I got lucky only one time. I tried 5 minutes later, and get "network unavailable"... Strange...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same experience today. At 1 a.m. of our local time (Europe) I got one calibration but since then - nothing. It makes me believe that the problem is not in our watches or phones but on the side of a server somewhere. Were they testing something?
It seems that reinstalling the app would help. I have done it, and for now it's all good
again, network not available , one or two updates and gone again.
Another +1 here - I have just discovered that my S3 Frontier is doing exactly the same thing. Uninstalling the companion app on the phone and reinstalling it hasn't worked for me, the intermittent nature of it (based on previous posts) would suggest some back end network issue at the end of whoever provides that data.
deffyplus said:
When I selected "Calibrate now" after few seconds show up notification: "Network unavailable"
and next time will show: "Can't get a sea level air pressure reading for your location. Enter manually?"
Data/internet connection working on News, Weather apps. This behavior is same, WiFi or bluetooth connection.
Does anybody have any idea how to fix this bug?
SM-R760
Tizen Version 4.0.0.2
R760XXU2DSA1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I posted before, same happened to me the first time after the update to Tizen 4
I had to turn location to high accuracy and had to go outdoors, and after 4-5 tries the altitude is calibrated and working perfectly now. One thing I noticed is that you need to set your phone location on all the time with at least "device only" option.
GOTO_GOSUB said:
Another +1 here - I have just discovered that my S3 Frontier is doing exactly the same thing. Uninstalling the companion app on the phone and reinstalling it hasn't worked for me, the intermittent nature of it (based on previous posts) would suggest some back end network issue at the end of whoever provides that data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems that the data is provided by the android location services, not by your data/wifi; in this case you need to have the location on with "device only", seems to solved my problem, BTW I havent noticed more battery drain than using "battery save" mode.
Seems that the data is provided by the android location services, not by your data/wifi; in this case you need to have the location on with "device only", seems to solved my problem, BTW I havent noticed more battery drain than using "battery save" mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this tip - I missed your earlier comment so repeating it here again is useful and does seem to provide a work-around. Have a "Thanks" on me.
Since this is a recent change I wonder if Samsung got their device class confused and are trying to get the watch to aquire a "true" GPS fix rather than using the phone if available, but got it wrong with the latest build so now the watch has acquired a dependency it didn't have before.
My S3 has Wi-fi (but turned off) and no carrier / network (ie mobile phone) support and that used to work perfectly well with my phone's location services set to "High Accuracy" over the Bluetooth link which should surely be enough for any non mission critical consumer device since that uses network location, Wi-fi and GPS. I can see why someone might want a high degree level of accuracy on their watch but then surely the watch should be acquiring GPS itself which is why I wonder if Samsung were trying to be smart and got their wires crossed.
I will check out the battery usage implications of restricting my location to GPS at a later date, but I am mostly indoors and a) don't use the altimeter all that much and b) won't get much of a GPS fix in the concrete and steel bunker that is my office so I am expecting it to be an absolute battery sucker.
Thanks again for the tip about changing the location services on the phone.
GOTO_GOSUB said:
Thanks for this tip - I missed your earlier comment so repeating it here again is useful and does seem to provide a work-around. Have a "Thanks" on me.
Since this is a recent change I wonder if Samsung got their device class confused and are trying to get the watch to aquire a "true" GPS fix rather than using the phone if available, but got it wrong with the latest build so now the watch has acquired a dependency it didn't have before.
My S3 has Wi-fi (but turned off) and no carrier / network (ie mobile phone) support and that used to work perfectly well with my phone's location services set to "High Accuracy" over the Bluetooth link which should surely be enough for any non mission critical consumer device since that uses network location, Wi-fi and GPS. I can see why someone might want a high degree level of accuracy on their watch but then surely the watch should be acquiring GPS itself which is why I wonder if Samsung were trying to be smart and got their wires crossed.
I will check out the battery usage implications of restricting my location to GPS at a later date, but I am mostly indoors and a) don't use the altimeter all that much and b) won't get much of a GPS fix in the concrete and steel bunker that is my office so I am expecting it to be an absolute battery sucker.
Thanks again for the tip about changing the location services on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My S3 is exactly the same as yours, and I dont have wifi or GPS on either, it gets the location straight from the phone, I checked it and when I go to altitude on my watch I can see that the icon of "searching location" goes on in my phone.
I am pretty sure that the GPS of the watch doesnt work by itself because I use it to run everyday (with my phone) and is tracking the metrics and altitude just well, also the location is locked and working, I run 5kms per day and I get 3 and a half days of battery and when I run with the watch alone I can get 1 and a half day (cause GPS and Spotify).
BTW, where I live/work there are no high structures or buildings miles around, maybe it means faster location.
Regards.
I found solution that help me in reddit: "Switch on "location history" in Google account. Should help"

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