Anybody has issues with the barometric sensor?
Long story short:
1. Dial *#0*# and it will pop up an app to check the phone.
2. Go to Sensor
3. Look up for the Barometer Sensor (right in the middle). It should read the actual atmospheric pressure. It should change a little. If not, you probably have a hardware issue. Even hitting the Barometer Selftest can show a "PASS" message but it´s just wrong.
Long story long:
Yesterday I bought a brand new S6 from the local company and I really use the barometer a lot (incredible but some of us really use them). So when i checked the sensor with my usual apps I found that it wasn´t showing what was expected out of it. I live at 1500 MSL so barometric pressure should be around 850hPa.
Nevertheless, the phone sensor is "STUCK" (does not change at all, not even on the elevator) at sea altitude pressure (around 1012hPa or 7 msl)
I went to the company today for a replacement. Filled up a warranty, they didn´t care to look at the phone, and gave me another one brand new. While waiting on the room for the paperwork I went on to check the S6 and S6 Edge that were on the showroom to see the barometer working... None of the displayed phones worked. Then we opened my brand new unit and I insisted on testing the barometer, same result, stuck at 1011.8hPa or 12.08 msl.
Then the cueless but really beautiful girl that works on the showroom and introduces the customers to the "basic functions", didn´t really have an idea of what is a barometer or why somebody would be interested on it at all. She asked by phone to the tech department about the "issue" and they just said that "the sensor only works if you download an app" (really?). So we went along with the flow and waited for the girl to download an application... then she was really happy when she showed me the result: "Look, it works, it shows some hPa and some altitude..." She just didn´t knew what was the altitude of our city, so 8 msl or so seems like a fine number for her...
Anyway, the sales representative told me that they can give me my money back and just declare that I wasn´t happy with the cellphone and that it just wasn´t what I expected... That really got me... but still I didn´t got crazy at all, just explained her that they can´t sell any more units if they are bad and that I ´m telling them in their face and showing them that they are bad units, so it´s just irresponsible to sell them.
Finally they agree to call the "Samsung special guru representative" and he told them that he would like to show me tomorrow how the sensor works. So i didn´t want to take the phone but they insisted that I should keep it as it´s perfectly good and tomorrow some guy will convince me that we are indee at sea height and that our local mountains are not there... Let´s wait.
Meanwhile, I looked up everywhere for a similar issue but seems that nobody is having this problem or nobody really care about that sensor readouts. There´s only one other guy on the whole forum reporting this issue but he just does not make any noise about it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=61013470&postcount=2
I want to pinpoint the problem so here are the specs for the unit that I actually have. Maybe it´s kernel related? baseband (don´t think so)? Build?
Anyone with this problem fell free to jump (maybe we are up for a class action lawsuit against a big name)
Device Name Galaxy S6
Model Number SM-G920I
Android 5.0.2
Baseband G920IDVU1AOC6
Kernel 3.10.61-4403670
[email protected] # 1
Sun Mar 8 00:27:41 KST 2015
Compilation LRX22G.G920IDVU1AOC6
danielvelez said:
Anybody has issues with the barometric sensor?
Long story short:
1. Dial *#0*# and it will pop up an app to check the phone.
2. Go to Sensor
3. Look up for the Barometer Sensor (right in the middle). It should read the actual atmospheric pressure. It should change a little. If not, you probably have a hardware issue. Even hitting the Barometer Selftest can show a "PASS" message but it´s just wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Allthough you surely have done it correctly, it is important to realize the atmospheric pressure does fluctuate daily. So while on average it might be 1013mb/HPa on sealevel, it can and does go up and down by a lot.
So it is functioning correctly when it indicates 988 or 1034 while you are on sealevel, it all depends on the actual atmospheric pressure.
(I read your story as "you should always see 1013 when on sealevel", which is not the case. I probably misread it, but wanted to make sure nobody might make the same mistake and conclude the s6 is faulty when it is not)
Just went onto the *#0*# menu and looked at the sensor info, and although I have no idea what the local weather station is currently reporting, the readout is giving me around 997hPa, with the post decimal point numbers flickering around as you'd expect with micro changes in pressure (I'm on the bus). It also estimates I'm about 134M above sea level. All from the main sensor menu. Only when clicking on self test does the readout then freeze. But again, on a self test report, figures are frozen.
I'm guessing the devices at your store are probably a faulty batch, perhaps? Can you go to another store at all?
Ok. In order to "illustrate" the problem, you can download a small video with the issue attached.
The video was shot at 1460 mts or 849.7 hPa measured with a Samsung S4, and really close to gps height and terrain elevation data from google earth.
It's true than the barometer fluctuates, and that height can be off by a couple of hundred meters if we are under a really high or really low pressure system, but usually it fluctuates in the order of 30-50 mts during the day on the same place (because of temperature and some other stuff). So problem is not that I'm not getting a precise exact reading of my current height, but that I'm not getting any readings out of the sensor at all. Sensor is just "frozen" on same pressure as if we were on a controlled pressure chamber.
Feel free to download the video (or maybe upload it to youtube and make it public)
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/9026876/S6_Barometer_problem.mp4
danielvelez said:
Ok. In order to "illustrate" the problem, you can download a small video with the issue attached.
The video was shot at 1460 mts or 849.7 hPa measured with a Samsung S4, and really close to gps height and terrain elevation data from google earth.
It's true than the barometer fluctuates, and that height can be off by a couple of hundred meters if we are under a really high or really low pressure system, but usually it fluctuates in the order of 30-50 mts during the day on the same place (because of temperature and some other stuff). So problem is not that I'm not getting a precise exact reading of my current height, but that I'm not getting any readings out of the sensor at all. Sensor is just "frozen" on same pressure as if we were on a controlled pressure chamber.
Feel free to download the video (or maybe upload it to youtube and make it public)
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/9026876/S6_Barometer_problem.mp4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see from the vid that there isn't even a hint of a twitch on the barometer read out at all! That's bad! I just put my phone on a table and left it alone for a while, watching the read out, and it was constantly flickering. Even if it was only ±.05hPa, it never stayed still.
Try going to another branch, and see if they have a different batch of S6 stock?
solitarymonkey said:
I see from the vid that there isn't even a hint of a twitch on the barometer read out at all! That's bad! I just put my phone on a table and left it alone for a while, watching the read out, and it was constantly flickering. Even if it was only ±.05hPa, it never stayed still.
Try going to another branch, and see if they have a different batch of S6 stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you are right.
On the Note 4, the problem was more related with high places (above 4000 ft) as it was detected by an airline pilot that tested a lot of different sceneries. So probably people under 1000 msl won't detect a "stuck barometer".
Also it can be related to the firmware or hardware version (maybe kernel), but not sure.
I just received a call from the local Samsung tech dept, and they are "detecting an issue" on the units. They are going to look up next week (don't work on weekends) and will be calling me with an answer. Meanwhile I'm gonna do some more field research...
So every time I want to check the Barometric Pressure I have to do the following:
1. Dial *#0*# and it will pop up an app to check the phone.
2. Go to Sensor
3. Look up for the Barometer Sensor (right in the middle).
There has to be a better way!
DIXZ06 said:
So every time I want to check the Barometric Pressure I have to do the following:
1. Dial *#0*# and it will pop up an app to check the phone.
2. Go to Sensor
3. Look up for the Barometer Sensor (right in the middle).
There has to be a better way!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That´s the dirty way of getting into the raw data from the sensor without installing any app that can read and display the data on a friendly manner.
There are a lot of apps that you can use for barometric pressure (just look for them on the play store).
I use a special app for free flying that uses the barometric pressure to measure vertical speed, and it makes beeps according to the speed. This kind of app for free flying is called generically a "Variometer". The one I use has a lot of configurable features and it´s called xctrack. There´s another one called xcsoar really good too.
For the general public, there are a lot of free barometric apps that can display the data. Try sensor readout. Another way of testing a lot of the hardware sensors on the phone.
So, fast update... I see that nobody else is having an issue at least on the poll. Nevertheless, I got a call from the Local samsung tech dept and they "CONFIRMED" that there´s an issue with their units. They are shorting out if it´s a hardware or a firmware issue and they told me that they will inform me next week on their findings.
I also made a lot of "noise" with the cellphone company, as a lawyer, and gave them the heads up that they are "selling" bad units and that they "should" stop selling them while they fix the issue to avoid a massive recall. It was a free advice but it was the right thing to do...
S6 barometer not working
I got new S6 at end of April. I am in Utah area. It took me a week or two to decide barometer was not working. Went to ATT store. The S6 and S6 edge phones that they had were not working either. Wrote email to Samsung tech. They claimed to be unaware of any barometer problem. They email replied and gave various instructions to trouble shoot including hard reset. I have now been to five ATT stores and one verizon and not found any S6 or edge with working barometers. All S5 phones indicated working barometers. By now I have checked about 20 S6 type phones and none of the barometers work. Also checked two note 4 phones and barometer also was not working. I have been checking using *#0*# code which a techie guy at first ATT store researched. I Have many phone calls to ATT trying to get action. Have four contacts with Samsung tech support trying to get action. ATT has sent two replacements that also have non working barometers. I have been very firm with these support people that this issue needs to be escalated to higher authorities. It has proven near impossible to get any meaningful action. Currently waiting for supervisor reply from Samsung. I think he will just say send your phone for repair. I am trying to get ATT to send Samsung a phone to repair for me. They so far will not entertain the idea. Both ATT and samsung are nice and saying they want to solve this for me, but so far they really have evaded doing anything meaningful.
richmini said:
I got new S6 at end of April. I am in Utah area. It took me a week or two to decide barometer was not working. Went to ATT store. The S6 and S6 edge phones that they had were not working either. Wrote email to Samsung tech. They claimed to be unaware of any barometer problem. They email replied and gave various instructions to trouble shoot including hard reset. I have now been to five ATT stores and one verizon and not found any S6 or edge with working barometers. All S5 phones indicated working barometers. By now I have checked about 20 S6 type phones and none of the barometers work. Also checked two note 4 phones and barometer also was not working. I have been checking using *#0*# code which a techie guy at first ATT store researched. I Have many phone calls to ATT trying to get action. Have four contacts with Samsung tech support trying to get action. ATT has sent two replacements that also have non working barometers. I have been very firm with these support people that this issue needs to be escalated to higher authorities. It has proven near impossible to get any meaningful action. Currently waiting for supervisor reply from Samsung. I think he will just say send your phone for repair. I am trying to get ATT to send Samsung a phone to repair for me. They so far will not entertain the idea. Both ATT and samsung are nice and saying they want to solve this for me, but so far they really have evaded doing anything meaningful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the answer... It's nice to see that I'm not alone on the world. By the way, the "poll" seems to be unfair, as the vote is for user and not for phone unit... you have tested more than 20? I have tested only 4 but all of them are bad... that means 24 : 4... it makes a different kind of result on the poll.
Anyway, I see that UTAH (Salt Lake) have a similar height to Medellin. And the Note 4 barometer problem was reported to be present only above 4000 feet or so... Maybe we are into something here.
Update!!!
The problem seems to be a "software" issue. Samsung claims that the software that they have put together for the Colombian companies was faulty. They came, installed a new firmware on my faulty device and now the barometric sensor seems working. Tomorrow I will test it for real during a "hanggliding" flight, as a barometer recorder. If it holds up, then it was a software issue.
The comparison on software:
Faulty vs Ok.
Device Name Galaxy S6
Model Number SM-G920I
Android 5.0.2
Baseband G920IDVU1AOC6 (FAULTY) - G920IDVU1AOE3 (OK)
Kernel 3.10.61-4403670 (FAULTY) - 3.10.61-4844656 (OK)
[email protected] # 1 (FAULTY) - [email protected] #1 (OK)
Sun Mar 8 00:27:41 KST 2015 (FAULTY) - Fri May 8 9:449:20 KTS 2015 (OK)
Compilation LRX22G.G920IDVU1AOC6 (FAULTY) - LRX22G.G920IDVU1AOE3 (OK)
Was it solved by the installation of the software ... I tried sensor using *#0*#, Apps, and Gear S3... all three gives different readings ... also tried with GPS. GPS reading gives lowest, then apps, and lastly the sensor using *#0*#
I also use S6 SM-I920 (India)
danielvelez said:
Update!!!
The problem seems to be a "software" issue. Samsung claims that the software that they have put together for the Colombian companies was faulty. They came, installed a new firmware on my faulty device and now the barometric sensor seems working. Tomorrow I will test it for real during a "hanggliding" flight, as a barometer recorder. If it holds up, then it was a software issue.
The comparison on software:
Faulty vs Ok.
Device Name Galaxy S6
Model Number SM-G920I
Android 5.0.2
Baseband G920IDVU1AOC6 (FAULTY) - G920IDVU1AOE3 (OK)
Kernel 3.10.61-4403670 (FAULTY) - 3.10.61-4844656 (OK)
[email protected] # 1 (FAULTY) - [email protected] #1 (OK)
Sun Mar 8 00:27:41 KST 2015 (FAULTY) - Fri May 8 9:449:20 KTS 2015 (OK)
Compilation LRX22G.G920IDVU1AOC6 (FAULTY) - LRX22G.G920IDVU1AOE3 (OK)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
khaaba said:
Was it solved by the installation of the software ... I tried sensor using *#0*#, Apps, and Gear S3... all three gives different readings ... also tried with GPS. GPS reading gives lowest, then apps, and lastly the sensor using *#0*#
I also use S6 SM-I920 (India)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indee... Barometric Issue was solved with new "Baseband" (Flashing a new rom). Now that phone is running latest android, and baro works ok.
You seem to be having gps readings... I'm not sure if it's a translation error but they are two different issues. My issue was only with the barometric sensor that uses a pressure sensor. A GPS uses a radio frecuency receiver.
Related
This hardware fix was posted in the Vibrant, General forum. Can it be implemented on the Captivate?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=878970
I actually think this was done and posted in the dev section. I'm gonna check real quick and post the link, but our GPS contact is just under the battery cover, no need to disassemble the phone.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=876179
It was in the general section.
So it's a hardware and software issue.
Clearly Samsung is never going to fix this, the design is bad. This is crazy to use this type of contact on an antenna. Let alone on a removable back cover. Especially at these frequencies.
I can't believe Google let them get away with it using pretty much the same design for the Nexus S.
This will definitely be my last Samsung. Well, after I have AT&T replace it to fix the turn off problem...
haydonxda said:
So it's a hardware and software issue.
Clearly Samsung is never going to fix this, the design is bad. This is crazy to use this type of contact on an antenna. Let alone on a removable back cover. Especially at these frequencies.
I can't believe Google let them get away with it using pretty much the same design for the Nexus S.
This will definitely be my last Samsung. Well, after I have AT&T replace it to fix the turn off problem...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wrong! My phone works as it is...!!! Samsung fixed it!
I returned my phone since it was having sleep death issues. They issued me a refurbished phone of 10.07 batch since it was within warranty. I had a GPS lock within 10 seconds even on the supplied stock 2.1 JH7.
Check for later batches of phone, or keep exchanging till u get the working one. The initially released batches were flawed.
You don't need to disassemble the Captivate to do this fix, because the antenna contact (or antenna ground contact) is exposed under the battery cover. There's a thread covering this in general.
diablo009 said:
Wrong! My phone works as it is...!!! Samsung fixed it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ugh. Whatever. This is a design defect similar to the iPhone 4's stupid antenna placement. Samsung at least had the sense not to use this lousy contact mechanism for their cell antenna. If they did they'd have sold about 10 of them before word got out that it drops calls constantly.
This type of contact for this range of RF can not work reliably - period. (I realize I may have a different sense of reliably than you. Reliable is far more than 90% of the time ...)
Got the AT&T S4, decided to mod the cover so I can use inductive charging (also voided the warranty), and, wouldn't you know it, I have the 'Camera fail' error that's becoming more and more common, yet Samsung seems to be turning a blind eye. So I did what anyone with steady hands and tools would do, I took it apart and did some troubleshooting. I'm running stock firmware, unlocked, running on a Tmobile network
-The message is the same, regardless of whether the camera module is plugged in or not.
-The front camera works fine, whether the rear camera is plugged in or not
-The firmware shows 'Null' for version, also if I try to write to it, and it crashes the entire system if I try to dump it to the phone
The short version is, for me at least, it seems that the camera module is dead. Anyone have any suggestions? My plan is, once I have a few extra dollars, to spend the $20 on an eBay replacement to see if that fixes it.
i had the same problem i ordered the new module a week ago ill tell you within one week if the new module worked..
heara said:
i had the same problem i ordered the new module a week ago ill tell you within one week if the new module worked..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any news on this?
unbwogable said:
Any news on this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a client with an i337m (Rogers Galaxy S4) that somehow managed to crack *just* the glass on his camera module.
He never got the "camera failed" message before but the camera was unusable in its current state.
I picked up a replacement that was listed as "i9500 back camera replacement module" from cellxpressonline a guy that runs the shop locally in edmonton. if you look online there seems to be conflicting statements from replacement module sellers that most of them are compatible with 9500/9505/i337, while others listing each a seperate unit.
despite his assurances that it would work, sticking the new module in gives the "camera failed" error.
on the left is a pic of the OEM module for i9500, and on the right is the original for the i337m.
CLIFFNOTES: i9500 camera module replacement is apparently not compatible with i337m
mrbrt said:
I had a client with an i337m (Rogers Galaxy S4) that somehow managed to crack *just* the glass on his camera module.
He never got the "camera failed" message before but the camera was unusable in its current state.
I picked up a replacement that was listed as "i9500 back camera replacement module" from cellxpressonline a guy that runs the shop locally in edmonton. if you look online there seems to be conflicting statements from replacement module sellers that most of them are compatible with 9500/9505/i337, while others listing each a seperate unit.
despite his assurances that it would work, sticking the new module in gives the "camera failed" error.
on the left is a pic of the OEM module for i9500, and on the right is the original.
CLIFFNOTES: i9500 camera module replacement is apparently not compatible with i337m
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course it's not compatible, one sports the Exmor RS (i9500), the other the Exmor R (Snapdragon variants).
unbwogable said:
I have the 'Camera fail' error that's becoming more and more common, yet Samsung seems to be turning a blind eye.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry about your problem; hope you can get it fixed cheaply and quickly. But what's your definition of "common?" I've been on the forum since before the SGS4 launched and your post is the first I've heard about what you've described. With 20M+ SGS4's in the wild even a hundred reports of a problem doesn't make it "common."
Here's the real definition of common:
com·mon
[kom-uhn] Show IPA adjective, com·mon·er
adjective
widespread; general; ordinary: common knowledge.
of frequent occurrence; usual; familiar: a common event; a common mistake.
Here's a place that'll repair non-warrantied phones. They are in TX. People in the N2 forum have used them for SDS repairs. Their prices are pretty reasonable.
http://mobiletechvideos.mybigcommerce.com/samsung-galaxy-s-iv-4/
BoneXDA said:
Of course it's not compatible, one sports the Exmor RS (i9500), the other the Exmor R (Snapdragon variants).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the processor variant has nothing to do with the camera module. some of the S3 variants Ive replaced camera modules between variants without problems.
the camera modules are pin and size compatable for the i9500 and i337, and many sites list ONE camera module that's compatible with all variants, but that's obviously *NOT* the case.
BarryH_GEG said:
But what's your definition of "common?"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which is why I said more and more common. Seems like more reports are popping up on non-xda sites every time I search. I didn't say it was every device, just that there's obviously a problem that needs to be addressed by Samsung. There's plenty of cases where the company has replaced the phones for various consumers, so they have had at least a handful of cases where they acknowledged that the product failed.
unbwogable said:
Any news on this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes i changed the module 3 days ago, and its working fine no problems at all. this is definitely a hardware issue, you have to change it or valid your warranty.
my problem begun with first no focus then warning camera failed, i tried reset, update, change rom, clear cache, and nothing worked, then with new module no problems. i bought from ebay...
unbwogable said:
Which is why I said more and more common. Seems like more reports are popping up on non-xda sites every time I search. I didn't say it was every device, just that there's obviously a problem that needs to be addressed by Samsung. There's plenty of cases where the company has replaced the phones for various consumers, so they have had at least a handful of cases where they acknowledged that the product failed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Had you not hacked your phone it's a pretty simple warranty repair or device exchange. While getting a device fixed is a PIA that's what warranties are for. An after-sale defect rate of 2-5% is considered acceptable in electronic devices. Which means out of 20M SGS4's sold between 400K and 1M ship with a defect. Hopefully Samsung's closer to 2%. Even hospital and airliner systems that are built to a “zero defect” standard have back-ups because stuff breaks. So while it sucks for those that draw the short straw random issues are to be expected. And not just from Samsung, from any manufacturer.
I'd also advise people that knowingly void their warranties to get SquareTrade for $99 for two years. Using your case as an example, it can pay for itself pretty quickly when Samsung and/or a carrier tell you to go pound sand. ST also sends repairs that are denied by the manufacturer/carrier to one of their repair centers to be fixed and guarantees their work.
mrbrt said:
the processor variant has nothing to do with the camera module. some of the S3 variants Ive replaced camera modules between variants without problems.
the camera modules are pin and size compatable for the i9500 and i337, and many sites list ONE camera module that's compatible with all variants, but that's obviously *NOT* the case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The processor variant has everything to do with the camera module. Every Snapdragon 600 S4 variant ever made packs the Exmor R sensor and every ROM processes the IMX091PQ input, while every Octa-core S4 variant has the Exmor RS and SW processes the IMX135 input. Most sites probably have no clue that Sony ships different image sensors to different S4 variants.
BoneXDA said:
The processor variant has everything to do with the camera module. Every Snapdragon 600 S4 variant ever made packs the Exmor R sensor and every ROM processes the IMX091PQ input, while every Octa-core S4 variant has the Exmor RS and SW processes the IMX135 input. Most sites probably have no clue that Sony ships different image sensors to different S4 variants.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The replacement cam module I installed (to fix my 'camera failed') was a generic one and would work on all galaxy versions, so it's definitely not cpu dependent. You see it a lot by the way, for example in microsoft's xbox, you'll see different dvd drives from different manufacturers. The security inside the DVD drive's firmware (which responds to the mainboard's request for security info on the DVD) is even being processed by different processors (even totally different machine languages), but the communication between mainboard and dvd drive is just standardized. Just like the pins & connectors are standardized for the cam module in the S4 and it obviously responds to the same api calls.
camera module
heara said:
yes i changed the module 3 days ago, and its working fine no problems at all. this is definitely a hardware issue, you have to change it or valid your warranty.
my problem begun with first no focus then warning camera failed, i tried reset, update, change rom, clear cache, and nothing worked, then with new module no problems. i bought from ebay...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Heara,
could you send me the link of the exact module which fixed your camera issue.. im having the same on my new s4, pls help me .. im looking to replace but dont know which one to buy .. if you can provide me the link of the product... that would be really great..
Thank you
pogo31 said:
Hi Heara,
could you send me the link of the exact module which fixed your camera issue.. im having the same on my new s4, pls help me .. im looking to replace but dont know which one to buy .. if you can provide me the link of the product... that would be really great..
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-Samsung...e_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item35c8114d11
If you can't fix "Camera failed" by Hard / Factory reset, upgrade or change firmware, you must to replace rear facing camera module. This part you can find easy on eBay.
Video tutorial:
---------------------------------------------------
http://youtu.be/3nzetqisty0
---------------------------------------------------
I stopped back in Best Buy to ask if they knew about compass calibration resetting, and they said they do know, and that they are replacing phones with faulty compasses. If it is still within 14 days of purchase from Best Buy they will trade the phone out on the spot. If you are outside the 14 day return period, then Samsung will still replace the phone, but you have to mail yours in and they will send a new one - leaving you without a phone for the duration of that process. Which is idiotic. But, I'm with Sprint, and they said that Sprint will switch it out, on the spot, if you go into a corporate store. So that is what I will do tomorrow.
They said very few S6's had the compass report, but the ones that reported it are gold. (mine is gold.) Other than that, it's only been S6 Edges are are affected.
Now watch, I'll trade in my phone for a working compass and end up with an ISOCELL sensor.
I would not risk replacing the phone because of resetting compass calibration if everything else works ok. Too many things can go wrong - you can get faulty screen (pink/yellow tints, uneven brightness, uneven color), dim flash issue, faulty accelerometer or fingerprint scanner, random reboots, scratched camera/heart sensor glass/home button, the camera sensor you don't want etc. I still think it is software related as all 4 devices I checked had this issue. Are you sure it is HW related ?
misiek_to_ja said:
I would not risk replacing the phone because of resetting compass calibration if everything else works ok. Too many things can go wrong - you can get faulty screen (pink/yellow tints, uneven brightness, uneven color), dim flash issue, faulty accelerometer or fingerprint scanner, random reboots, scratched camera/heart sensor glass/home button, the camera sensor you don't want etc. I still think it is software related as all 4 devices I checked had this issue. Are you sure it is HW related ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure of anything, but if Samsung is swapping them out instead of waiting waiting for an update, then it sounds like they are sure.
I hope very much that this is software related issue, because there's no way I can swap phone...
DevonSloan said:
I'm not sure of anything, but if Samsung is swapping them out instead of waiting waiting for an update, then it sounds like they are sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, but remember Best Buy is not Samsung. I would not trust too much in their words, their answer is very often: yes, it is known issue, we will swap the device. So if you did not get a confirmation from Samsung itself I really doubt it is HW-related issue. It is just a fix for people who are not patient enough.
misiek_to_ja said:
Yeah, but remember Best Buy is not Samsung. I would not trust too much in their words, their answer is very often: yes, it is known issue, we will swap the device. So if you did not get a confirmation from Samsung itself I really doubt it is HW-related issue. It is just a fix for people who are not patient enough.
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No, these are Samsung reps in the Samsung corporate area of Best Buy. They are solely Samsung. They don't sell anything, and cannot access Best Buy computers - they are only there to demo Samsung products and give info. I'm not referring to the Best Buy Wireless employees. (I don't know if every store has a Samsung corporate display area, but all the ones I've been to in L.A. have them.)
DevonSloan said:
No, these are Samsung reps in the Samsung corporate area of Best Buy. They are solely Samsung. They don't sell anything, and cannot access Best Buy computers - they are only there to demo Samsung products and give info. I'm not referring to the Best Buy Wireless employees. (I don't know if every store has a Samsung corporate display area, but all the ones I've been to in L.A. have them.)
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Ah ok, I didn't know that. Let us know if you get rid of the compass issues once you get the new unit.
Hi DevonSloan, did you exchange your device ? Did it help to your compass calibration issues ?
misiek_to_ja said:
Hi DevonSloan, did you exchange your device ? Did it help to your compass calibration issues ?
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No, I didn't. Aside from being lazy, it hasn't been much of a problem since I rarely reboot my phone. I have a feeling that someday I will be upset I never got it replaced, but it's just not a big enough issue right now to take the time to do it.
What's with the title here? LOL. Did Samsung really acknowledge a problem?
I hate this compass problem. Same **** on my Note 3.
I am very disappointed with the Samsung Barometer/Altimeter app, The barometer only registers in whole inches of mercury. All watches I had in the past, register in hundredths of inches of mercury. I wonder who else feels the same and would like Samsung to fix this error or maybe a developer could create a replacement app.
Edit: They finally updated the app and it shows the barometric pressure in 100th of a inch of mercury. Big thumbs up
dhonzik said:
I am very disappointed with the Samsung Barometer/Altimeter app, The barometer only registers in whole inches of mercury. All watches I had in the past, register in hundredths of inches of mercury. I wonder who else feels the same and would like Samsung to fix this error or maybe a developer could create a replacement app.
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I agree. Hopefully Samsung does address it. Meanwhile I found a free app called "FBarometer." Just search/install via Gear app. Seems pretty accurate, doesn't register in hundredths but does do tenths so a step up from wholes inches at least.
I have a feeling Samsung rushed to get this watch out (obviously, everythings backordered now it seems).
I have a feeling there will be many updates in the near future. At least I hope so.
If you touch the barometer to display the trend look at the outside ring, the barometric pressure is displayed gauge style with a red dash marking the pressure and the units are to the hundreds place. It's still not great but you can at least tell the difference between 28.5 and 29.
I live 77m above sea level and my watch shows -97m, a bit out me thinks.
Barometer and altimeter are useless. I live between - 90 and plus 154 meters, in Amsterdam which is - 3. Consequently also the floor counter is facked up.
dhonzik said:
I am very disappointed with the Samsung Barometer/Altimeter app, The barometer only registers in whole inches of mercury. All watches I had in the past, register in hundredths of inches of mercury. I wonder who else feels the same and would like Samsung to fix this error or maybe a developer could create a replacement app.
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You can use another very good app called Barometer & Altimeter. I use it when go mountain. I talked to author this app before download it. It was tested by a few climbers and created with help mathematicians and physicists. The measurement error is < 1%. It is better than my stock altimeter GPS-based. Very good app, absolutely worth buying.
dhonzik said:
I am very disappointed with the Samsung Barometer/Altimeter app, The barometer only registers in whole inches of mercury. All watches I had in the past, register in hundredths of inches of mercury. I wonder who else feels the same and would like Samsung to fix this error or maybe a developer could create a replacement app.
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I totally agree! Looks like the sensors that Samsung has choosen are totally pieces of crap.
Altimeter: from my sofa 5m... couple of hours later 35m!!!
Barometer and heart rates are also giving vera random figures compare to 'real' hardware.
Samsung just wanted to show more features and be in line with competition but it does not work.
They better should have left very useful features that were present on previous model likre IR Remote that I had on my Gear 2 Neo!
I will never understand Samsung when they decide to replace features in place of add new features. Mainly when they remove very useful and working gears and replace those with unreliable sensors....
You do realise that the altimeter is air pressure based right?
If the air pressure has changed during the two hours you were on the sofa then the altimeter will show a different reading.
That's the whole point of calibrating it before you set of on a climb or whatever you're up to.
@Lakota
Where is the setting screen, been through settings tried hold the screen nothing.
jb.traveller said:
@Lakota
Where is the setting screen, been through settings tried hold the screen nothing.
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Tap on the widget and scroll right.
Thanks Stormglider sorted.
Lakota said:
You do realise that the altimeter is air pressure based right?
If the air pressure has changed during the two hours you were on the sofa then the altimeter will show a different reading.
That's the whole point of calibrating it before you set of on a climb or whatever you're up to.
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Yes it's barometric. And altitude jumps all over the place even when the pressure is constant. Eg walking up the stairs, 2 stories, results in a climb of -12 to +30 meters, should be - 3 to +4. And my daily run which is totally flat at - 3 shows 116 meter hills. It's true and authentic crap and I'm gonna replace for the Fenix 5 as soon as possible!
blackspp said:
Yes it's barometric. And altitude jumps all over the place even when the pressure is constant. Eg walking up the stairs, 2 stories, results in a climb of -12 to +30 meters, should be - 3 to +4. And my daily run which is totally flat at - 3 shows 116 meter hills. It's true and authentic crap and I'm gonna replace for the Fenix 5 as soon as possible!
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Thats why shealth thinks i climbed 10 flights of stairs while just walking about for nine hours.
To those who think that their Gear S3 sensors are any accurate, just try to disconnect your phone Position/GPS or to use the gear S3 alone. You will then see the truth about those very inaccurate sensors that Samsung has put in the Gear!
They are only 'providing' you with accurate figures when position/gps on your phone is on, in other words, the 'accurate' info you are seeing are provided by internet data, and not by the sensors themselves... Shame on Samsung for that!
i have the same issue. at 155 ft above sea level, but watch states between -150 and +435
it also only counts 1/10th of floors climbed
I don't get accurate floor counts but I know for a fact the gps works well without my phone. At least the golf app I use gives me accurate readings in standalone mode.
Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk
Same here. I stood outside under a clear sky around 30m above sea level. Tried calibrating thrice but each time it says -7M.
Skydiving
I have used the S3 Frontier when I skydive along with my Viso II Digital Altimeter and they are within 25-50ft of each other. This is without the phone. It is actually pretty accurate. I do not use the built in app. I use one from the store called Skydiver Altimeter. It works great.
Well no clue about others.. but just got mine and comparing with two others one ming Suunto and its like some others pretty darn accurate. Just going up a few feet.. was spot on. I wonder if like the phone you need to reset it at now and again.
I just got a One Hyper and generally love it, EXCEPT the fingerprint sensor almost never works? My previous Motorola G5 Plus gets my finger/thumb pretty much instantly every time. No matter how many times I've deleted and reprogrammed the fingerprints on this One Hyper it only recognizes a finger press 1 out of 10 or 20 presses???? Seems like it worked better, but not near perfectly when I first started using it and it's been all but entirely useless since I did the Android 11 upgrade soon after getting it?
I've watched several video reviews that either don't mention this being a problem or even say the fingerprint sensor works well??? So, I'm thinking I may have gotten a dud? I'd just return it to Amazon, but I bought it in the USA right before returning to Canada and I even left the box in the US. Maybe Motorola would swap it out under warranty? Or maybe I could just pay for a replacement sensor?
I would return it.
If you get a replacement, disable OTA updates and leave it on 10. Android 11/12 are a mess.
Scoped storage and forced encryption are fully active.
As I mentioned, returning it would be complex, possibly impossible. I could get the original box sent to me in Canada since I left it at my mom's house in the US? Maybe I could get a swap out from Motorola, I'd likely have to send my current unit to the US and might have to get the replacement sent to the US and forwarded to me here in Canada?
What a mess. I should have taken the issue more seriously when I first got it, should have done a return to Amazon right off the bat.
I have a support escalation request in with Motorola, so we'll see where that goes I suppose. The first teir support guy just suggested the classic, "First, Do a factory reset." I really doubt that'll fix this phone. And I've spent days getting this phone set up to my liking. But if this sensor isn't ever going to work, that's a deal breaker. Way too used to working fingerprint unlocking to go back to a password.
Well, I haven't heard from Motorola yet, but I trained the same finger for all 5 available fingers and now it unlocks perfectly every time? It seems to get my thumb with only one "finger" trained with it. That's what I use on my G5 Plus, because the sensor is on the front. I like the phone a lot in general, so I was VERY keen to find a solution. But disappointing, as I'd like to be able to train more than one finger! The 5 fingerprint limit is a little frustrating. The fact that the software isn't robust enough to actually learn my prints in the one little training session it gives is pretty frustrating! You should be able to go into those settings and keep on adding finger presses to train it better, faster manually. AND It sure would be nice if you could set your own limit for unsuccessful tries before it makes you enter a PIN or password. I was simply never getting in in the number of allowed presses. So I don't think it was training the AI very well, thus not improving the recognition.
So, solution seemingly found, I don't >think< this is a hardware or design flaw? Sure does seem like lousy software, perhaps in the Android 11 code? I didn't use it with 10 very long, but it did seem to do a lot better recognizing my fingerprints before I did the 11 update.
AHHHHH!!!!! And this morning the same finger that was unlocking pretty much instantly every time after yesterdays "fix" isn't recognized try after try after try this morning??
No one else is having these kinds of issues? Everyone is getting fast, consistent fingerprint recognition?
Otherwise I love this phone! The pop up selfy cam so when it's face up on a table I know no camera can see anything unless that front camera is popped out is so perfect I do not understand why that's not on most phones??!! Notches and holes in screens are going to be so dated and laughable as soon as that falls out of fashion. Good cameras. Plenty of built in storage AND an SD slot? Dual sims?!!! (American living in Canada here!) 3.5mm analog headphone jack??? This is my PERFECT phone, at least for this price. EXCEPT if I can't get consistent, fast fingerrpint recognition, I am simply not going to keep this phone. WTF???!!!! WHY is does this work so dramatically worse than my old G5 Plus??
Deleted all fingerprints. Set three to my pointer finder, one to my middle finger, one to my thumb. It's working pretty much perfectly now! On either finger and the thumb it seems. BUT, for how long??!! Will I wake up tomorrow and have to reprogram all five fingerprints?? At this point, I have to assume it's going to stop working in the next day or so??? Pray I'm wrong!!!!