Database Info

How confident are folks that we will get an actual FIX to the GPS issue?

Wanted to get a read from folks as to what their Gut feel is. Are you confident that Sammy will really fix this? Any by fix, I mean the following. This comes from experiences with 2 HTC smartphones (Aria, and the Pure):
1. GPS locks in under 5 seconds in clear sky conditions
2. Usable navigation; IOW, 30-50m accuracy, again under ideal conditions.
3. Usable navigation such that it stays locked while driving at highway speeds.
TIA.

I have not experienced any of the above issues (post update) except for the 5 second lock, and even my garmin can't do that. The cog2.2 had my gps jacked up so I reverted back and it works great again.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I did My Tracks for the first time today and was surprised by the results - highway for 15 miles, 15 miles off (obtained the lock at highway speeds as well) But it lost me in this one dead area about a mile from my house - I drop most calls through this one area as well too.. must be a whole in the ozone
However! (Always a however, right?) Tonight while walking the dog around the neighborhood, the phone could see up to 12 satellites.. yet it didn't get a lock for over 5 minutes. <--- This is the biggest problem I have with the GPS on this phone. INCONSISTENT AS HELL.
What causes the inconsistency?? So since I've owned the phone (release day) and it's been this long and inconsistent from the beginning, I am beginning to lose my confidence in a real fix (at least Samsung can make some kind of formal announcement you know?)

My GPS has always worked. Stock JF6. Cognition 2, 2.1, 2.2.1-5. Anything I throw at it, it just works. Freeway, walking, indoors, etc. I think it is partly a hardware issue.

Mine is fixed
I ordered my Captivate from AT&T's online store. GPS did not work, no matter what kind of settings I played with (lbstestmode, etc.). Got the update, no help. Took it back to the AT&T store and replaced it. Got the update and it works fantastically. If yours is still in the 30 day warranty period get it switched out.

Considering that many people had the gps issue fixed with the ota update or with the newly released froyo, yet many still have problems, I think there are some bad phones. I'll try to get mine replaced even though it's outside the 30 days.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I'm on my second Captivate. I have no faith that GPS will be reliable enough to use for navigation purposes or apps like My Tracks or even Layar. The OTA update definitely helped, but turns and changes in direction throw it off by quite a bit.
About all it is good for is telling your weather app what city you are in.

For me, the GPS didn't work from the first day I bought the phone. It got a lot better after the OTA update. However, it's getting mess up again in the last few days. I've heard other people from this forum said the GPS will go bad after a few weeks, I guess that's happening to me now. Moreover, the lag seems to be getting worse too.

I'm running Cognition 2.2 FroYo and for the first time ever I got 11/11 sattelites locked. My ride home it stayed more or less dead on the street i was on, occassionally wavered onto the sidewalk a bit or whatnot in My Tracks. That's using the stock settings (spirent-lcs.com and Standalone, with Use Wireless Networks off). If this does not degrade over time, I'd call it fixed for sure.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Keep it coming folks; seems like for the most part people's gut feel is about in line with mine. Im going to return my Captivate to Amazon and have them replace it to see if I can see any improvement. Not holding my breath though.

waiting4gingerbread said:
My GPS has always worked. Stock JF6. Cognition 2, 2.1, 2.2.1-5. Anything I throw at it, it just works. Freeway, walking, indoors, etc. I think it is partly a hardware issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine has always worked on both of captivates. It's in no way perfect but it gets the job done.

I just ordered a replacement Captivate from Amazon. I will then update the software to JH7 in the un-mollested state to see what kind of improvements I see, if any.
Crossed fingers............Bottom line, im not too confident.

So I got my replacement Captivate from Amazon. The second I got it, I stepped outside to see if I can get a GPS lock. I stood there for 5 minute, and no lock.
So I did the software update; which worked. It didnt work on my "molested" captivate.
I then went outside for a drive. Locked very quickly I think 5 seconds. Accuracy was very good; certainly on par with the two HTC smart phones Ive owned.
Maybe its dumb luck that I got a good unit; but it seems not overly molesting your captivate is a good idea until people really understand the consequences.
EDIT: The above drive I mentioned was in neighborhood roads, at relatively low speeds. On my way to work it was definitely NOT as accurate as my HTC Pure. It showed me about 1 exit behind; was about a half or three quarters of a mile.

I just want to say that I called Samsung support directly yesterday and the guy told me that "he hasn't heard anyone else who's applied the JH7 update that said their GPS wasn't fixed."
SO CALL SAMSUNG SUPPORT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. Don't stop calling. They need to know the update didn't fix it!

brandonb81 said:
I just want to say that I called Samsung support directly yesterday and the guy told me that "he hasn't heard anyone else who's applied the JH7 update that said their GPS wasn't fixed."
SO CALL SAMSUNG SUPPORT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. Don't stop calling. They need to know the update didn't fix it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They already know. I can guarantee you that some of their dev team consistently troll these forums.

My GPS works pretty well, especially considering its a phone, since JH7 OTA update.
The problem you're talking about with locks under 5 seconds, isnt always going to happen. It depends on how long its been since the last time gps was used, and how close you are currently to where you last used it.
If you use it and then turn it off, and in a few hours turn it back on, at roughly the last location it was used, it'll get a very quick lock. If you wait days, it wont. If you use it at location A last, then are long ways away from that location when turning it back on, it wont get a quick lock, it has to calculate where its at based on new data from the satellites. Thats the nature of the beast with GPS. My Garmin in my car is the exact same way. If it has to do a cold start it sometimes takes up to 2 mins to get a lock. But once its got it, if I go in a store for a few mins and come right back out, it picks up location almost immediately.
Since JH7 I'd say my GPS performance more than meets my expectations for a mobile phone GPS.

Started out very confident.
Less confident every day.

Tinyboss said:
Started out very confident.
Less confident every day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I'm with you here.
When it came to the HTC video driver fiasco on many of their phones it was sickening that HTC wouldn't do anything about it, or even tackle the issue on future releases. But at least slower video performance than the hardware was capable of wasn't really a deal breaker when it was still working good. So I could understand why a company wouldn't invest a ton to fix it for already purchased phones.
This however is outright broken. It's not a phone with good video performance that COULD perform better with an update. It's a phone with a broken technology that can hopefully be FIXED with an update.
I don't know how Samsung will avoid lawsuits etc etc by manufacturing a blatantly broken piece of technology unless they can rectify the situation... quickly. I think their window is slowly closing on this type of scenario.
As for myself, the GPS problem just isn't an issue since I don't use the GPS anyhow. So I'm not a consumer frothing at the mouth, but the idea that I spent money on a fancy, but broken, phone leaves a bitter taste in that unfrothy mouth of mine.

I'm very confident. I put the leaked froyo from designgears on one of my phones and the lock was fast, and gps accurate. Drove from Chicago to Kohler, WI the other day (~130 miles) and ran gps on the phone along with my dedicated gps unit to check accuracy. Had no issues at all.
I think once 2.2 is released, all of the gps issues will be resolved if the leaked version is any indication.

I'm guessing it's the sum of several issues causing problems.
1. Basic hardware configuration that results in worse signal-to-noise than other handsets.
2. Non-optimized settings that sporadically contribute to slow or poor locks
3. Some kind of software buffering or other issues that cause freeze-ups where the position doesn't update.
When my phone is working well I don't experience problems 2 and 3, and I can live with problem 1. When that's the case I get consistent tracking 95% of my trip. Sometime 2 and 3 seem to creep into the picture for no apparent reason. I hope and expect they will get those problems solved.

AT&T Store Experience

Today as the first time I've seen a captivate turned on. It looks like an awesome phone. I talked to the sales guy for a while and he said it was the only worthwhile Android phone AT&T has.
I asked about the Bravo coming out and he didn't seem to stoked on it (plus, I've heard you can't get rid of MOTOBLUR).
Anyways, everything was great until the GPS. The sky was clear but we were indoors and it couldn't get a lock. We updated to the newest firmware (without a hitch, probably because it hadn't been modded) but the GPS did not improve.
I need with the phone because Apps rely on location services and having GPS on a bus or walking is really nice. I'm hoping this gets fixed
Has 2.2 improved the GPS at all? Is the consensus that this is a hardware issue? Is there a difference between newly manufactured phones and older ones?
I want this phone sooo bad and the AT&T lineup for Android phones is garbage (sans this one).
JOe K.

It's a great phone. GPS seems to be hit and miss. If yours is a miss switch it out for a new one. You will love this phone.

I must say, when I was using froyo the GPS worked perfectly. I switched back to stock recently but still have had a great experience with the GPS, its just that it takes about a minute to get a good fix on me instead of the 5 seconds froyo did. For me, it was either this phone or a blackberry torch. Then I remembered that I was considering choosing a RIM product over an android phone, and quickly bought the captivate.
I love it.
And if you have a problem with the phone, well, there's probably an app that fixes it. That's why I love this little monster!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using AT&T's awful network.

JOe K. said:
The sky was clear but we were indoors and it couldn't get a lock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol GPS is not designed to work indoors. Most phones and standalone GPS units will not get a lock indoors. Next time you're at the store, go into settings and enable use wireless networks in location settings. Then you will get your indoor lock.

If you get your location by using wifi it is hardly a gps lock, is it now?

I returned my first Captivate because I wasn't 100% satisfied with the perfomance of the GPS. After flashing Froyo it worked better but not as good as to wait for a new fix.
Yesterday I received a new captivate, I flashed Cognition's 2.2 Beta 5.5 and the GPS is perfect. I did a test drive today and I am very glad I got it replaced. Now I am 100% happy with my Captivate!! It's an awesome phone!!!

pilot_xphile said:
I returned my first Captivate because I wasn't 100% satisfied with the perfomance of the GPS. After flashing Froyo it worked better but not as good as to wait for a new fix.
Yesterday I received a new captivate, I flashed Cognition's 2.2 Beta 5.5 and the GPS is perfect. I did a test drive today and I am very glad I got it replaced. Now I am 100% happy with my Captivate!! It's an awesome phone!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
waiting for my 3rd one to come in myself and i have to say its funny. ive had different issues that have caused me to have to return the phone but..somehow...i still think this phone is great! and im starting to think that maybe the best solution for people is to keep trading in their phone till you get one from "the perfect batch" so to say. maybe on this next one the gps will be just perfect as the first was terrible. my current one requires me to stick my arm out the window to navigate *but can lock instantly from standstill*...crossing my fingers and toes when i get the new one

gtg465x said:
lol GPS is not designed to work indoors. Most phones and standalone GPS units will not get a lock indoors. Next time you're at the store, go into settings and enable use wireless networks in location settings. Then you will get your indoor lock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GPS does work indoors, without wireless turned on. My stand alone unit does too. And I must be one of the lucky ones, bought my phone in July never had a problem with it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

JOe K. said:
Today as the first time I've seen a captivate turned on. It looks like an awesome phone. I talked to the sales guy for a while and he said it was the only worthwhile Android phone AT&T has.
I asked about the Bravo coming out and he didn't seem to stoked on it (plus, I've heard you can't get rid of MOTOBLUR).
Anyways, everything was great until the GPS. The sky was clear but we were indoors and it couldn't get a lock. We updated to the newest firmware (without a hitch, probably because it hadn't been modded) but the GPS did not improve.
I need with the phone because Apps rely on location services and having GPS on a bus or walking is really nice. I'm hoping this gets fixed
Has 2.2 improved the GPS at all? Is the consensus that this is a hardware issue? Is there a difference between newly manufactured phones and older ones?
I want this phone sooo bad and the AT&T lineup for Android phones is garbage (sans this one).
JOe K.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a Bravo (been testing it) and it is a decent phone, but it is not in the same league as the captivate. GPS is better, but that is the only thing better. It is more a midrange phone - slower, smaller, more plastic, etc.
As for MotoBlur - if you don't use it, it doesn't really bother you - so don't base to much on that.
If GPS is the number one thing you need in a phone - then wait for it to get sorted out or get a different phone. For me, the GPS works well enough. For walking, I can't imagine the GPS not working well enough - and you can generally see 100' in all directions to find what you are looking for anyway - even google maps is not that accurate as they always put stuff on the wrong side of the street or the wrong block.

cappysw10 said:
GPS does work indoors, without wireless turned on. My stand alone unit does too. And I must be one of the lucky ones, bought my phone in July never had a problem with it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Poster said GPS was not DESIGNED to work indoors and he/she is correct. In most buildings it won't work indoors - especially commercial buildings.
If GPS were designed to work indoors it would use a different radio frequency. If it works indoors for you, it is because your house poses little interference - this is more an exception then the norm. In most houses, even standalone units don't work.

Im just wondering if anyone of you who said the gps works perfectly have tried the gps on captivate for several times. To me, the first time using gps whenever I upgrade new firmware or flash back to stock is very good. But after that it is very bad. I dont know if it is just bad using with google navigation, havent tried with offline gps yet. Maybe I should look for an offline gps apps.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

bamonkey said:
waiting for my 3rd one to come in myself and i have to say its funny. ive had different issues that have caused me to have to return the phone but..somehow...i still think this phone is great! and im starting to think that maybe the best solution for people is to keep trading in their phone till you get one from "the perfect batch" so to say. maybe on this next one the gps will be just perfect as the first was terrible. my current one requires me to stick my arm out the window to navigate *but can lock instantly from standstill*...crossing my fingers and toes when i get the new one
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How are you waiting for your third one? Are you still within the 30 days? Does the 30 days restart when you bring it in for a defect? Are you getting it from Samsung or swapping at an AT&T store? I can't afford to go without a phone for a day (which is sad).
Has there been a correlation between phone manufacturing date and GPS reliability?
Thanks,
JOe K.

GPS was never meant to work indoors. So don't bother to try and get a fix if you're sitting on your couch, that's just dumb.
I just drove to Morgantown, WV to go to WVU to see my friend. I used my GPS on the phone the entire trip. I did not use it as my sole resource for directions, I printed them out. But the entire trip (round trip 400+ miles from Baltimore) the GPS was pretty spot on. A few times it would go off onto the side roads that we're next to I-70 but it fixed itself pretty fast.
I don't believe there is any correlation between when the phone was made and it's reliability. Update to FroYo, and go for a long drive with Google Nav, you'll see a vast improvment.

How does AT&T's 30 day defect warranty return work?
If you get a new phone Does the 30 days restart when you bring it in for a defect? I've seen people get 3 and 4 phones.

JOe K. said:
How does AT&T's 30 day defect warranty return work?
If you get a new phone Does the 30 days restart when you bring it in for a defect? I've seen people get 3 and 4 phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its actually very painless. I am actually OUT of my 30 day warranty but the phone is covered for a year *i dont have the insurance btw...if you do just trade in store*
anyways call ATT and get to their tech support.. they will do some stuff that is required at the first level and then get you to warranty support. they will make sure your phone is still covered by the one year warranty..make you agree that your phone hasnt been put in a toaster or the like and then tell you a new one will be shipped and to send the defective one back in a prepaid RMA...oh this assumes you are in the states so they can send one out from a distribution center. so really no gap since they send you a new one first..just make sure you send the old one back in time or they charge you for a brand new phone
edit: i also wanted to note i bought mine USED off a random stranger..they still honored the one year warranty the very first time i had an issue

Did you have your phone rooted (with diff ROM's such as COG)? If so, did you restore it before sending it back (odin to stock, master clear)?
I'm wondering if Best Buy would have a better warranty policy. I'm gonna get a cap by the end of the week!
Thanks,
JOe K.

I've been messing with mine a bit and I've tried both the suggested settings as well as the stock ones and it hasn't been that great. Now I am running the stock rom right now. I'm going to update with the OTA one and see if it helps at all tomorrow. If not then I'll likely go ahead and exchange it at AT&T for another unit citing GPS issues while moving. It does get a lock while standing still. Usually once it sees 10 sats it decides to lock on half of them and hold that. It never really got a lock moving though. I had someone else drive while I kept it close to a window and nothing even with wireless assist.

JOe K. said:
Did you have your phone rooted (with diff ROM's such as COG)? If so, did you restore it before sending it back (odin to stock, master clear)?
I'm wondering if Best Buy would have a better warranty policy. I'm gonna get a cap by the end of the week!
Thanks,
JOe K.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first one couldnt even power on after a failed flash so i couldnt do anything. on the second i just odin one click to stock and master clear. its possible best buy 'might' have a better policy but being they are still selling through ATT i imagine there is still the 30 day in store policy like most..
just ask about the instore before you buy. i went into this knowing how i would be covered before hand id say do the same here too

GPS story

So I spent 3 hours on the phone with AT&T last week while their warranty department did everything they could to not just honor the warranty (I can go into detail of anyone cares). But after the long grueling battle I was finally able to get my 1008 replaced with a 1009. Now the gps on my 1008 was shotty at best. I received the new phone, fired up Srendipity 6.3 and installed the free TeleNav GPS program and received instant results. Before, I was getting 3-4 sats after 30 seconds and it would barely hold. Now, I instantly get 7 or more sats and was able to lock up to 11 and hold them. My gps works spot on and I couldn't be happier. Morale of the story.. if you have spotty GPS at best, try exchanging the phone.. but be for warned about AT&T honoring the Gps capability for the Captivate with out a lot of legwork.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

I was having a GPS problem and the warranty people sent out a replacement with a 15 min phone call. got one that works ok, but with the right modem it gets 10-11 sats in under 5 seconds.
might be who you get and how willing they are to try and figure out your problem without just jumping to it being a hardware problem.

The captivate gps is way to random to guarantee a replacement will fix anything as no one knows all the details of the problem. Part of it is obviously software as several tweaks work wonders for most people. No one knows what the combination is for sure.
A standing lock shows nothing for actual driving navigation performance.
Your results will vary but do we really need a new thread from everyone who warranty replaces their phone for bad gps performance
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

Remember too, almost all "new" Captivates' GPS work great for a few weeks. Post back in about a month and let us know how your new Captivate is working. Also, it seems as though the GPS will work great for a few weeks after loading a new ROM, then it goes bad again. Tells me there is s file the GPS must process avery time you turn it on. As the file grows in size, the GPS program can't process the file in a timely manner resulting in the interpretation of the GPS data being slow and off-course.

I'll do that. I like using my GPS for looking things up (don't use navigation that much since I don't do much traveling) but I'll definitely keep an eye on it and see how it handles aftera week or so and then after that.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

just got a 1007 replacement for the 1007 i have. The GPS works out of the box for stock froyo. it actually trasks every single turn and is able to catch up when i am driving 75-80 on the freeway. So ya... if anyone fail to get their gps working by software tweaks, you should go ahead and use the random shut down execuse to get a replacement phone. the 1007/8/9/... thing doesnt really matter i guess. The one I got works like a charm beside the sticker behind the battery look crappy without a SN number and the samsung logo.( oh well probably a refurb , but at least it works~)
It's like a gamble, but hey at least exchange it while u still can with warranty is better than hoping for a software fix that we are still not sure about if it's the real issue. Honestly it could be software for some people, but after u tried couple Roms and fixes, a bad gps is a bad gps.

The "batch number" on my phone is 1008. The phone came with Eclair, of course. The GPS was poor at best. I updated the phone to Froyo. The GPS was not perceptibly different; still darn poor. I remember one miserable night where I was forced to find my destination using the Biblical System. The GPS never did lock during my one-hour ordeal.
For a totally unrelated reason, I ending up doing a master clear and reset. After I got everything reloaded I "tested" the GPS. Wow! It locked, well, instantly, or so it seemed.
An app available in the Market called GPS Status has two nice features. You can set it to automatically download the A-GPS file at start up. And, it reports on screen how long it takes to get it's first lock. With GPS Test (and others) you can see when the phone locks but GPS Status reports the time-to-lock information in seconds, no stopwatch or counting required.
Fascinated at the new-found capability of my Captivate, I have repeatedly checked how long it takes to get a lock. I would say, under widely varying conditions, the lock time is almost always less than 20 - 25 seconds.
YMMV but you might try a master clear and reset if you have a phone you undated from 2.1 to 2.2. Except for the time it takes to rebuild your phone, you have little to loose and you might find, as I did, the Captivate's GPS is excellent. Had I not "discovered" this "solution" I would have abandoned my Captivate--even though I think it's great phone overall--as I routinely depend upon my PDA's GPS capability.
FWIW, I do a lot of Geocaching so I have an understanding of how a GPS should perform. I had an AT&T Tilt which I'd made usable with a Sakajati HyperDragon IV ROM. The GPS in that phone was excellent. The first few days with the Captivate was a real downer. But, the now-functioning GPS makes the Capitvate a keeper.

For those not wanting to try getting a replacement. Plumbobs gps fix worked great for me. Check it out.
Sent from my SGH-I897 Captivate cog 4.3 using Xda app

My Xoom locks on in 4 seconds, indoors, straight out of the box. This whole thing is stupid.

So I've been using my gps for a few days now and it's still working just as well when I got the replacement. IMO there may be 3 types of phones out there which is why we all get different results..
Captivate with working GPS right out of the box
Captivate with 'meh' GPS that is fixable with software tweaks
Captivate with GPS so bad that it doesn't work at all.
This could all be hardware related in just how the manufacturing process worked. Some could have just been bad apples.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

10 meter lock inless than 20 seconds. Running JVE modem on Continuum v4, and I have a 1008 build number.
Sent from a place my wife doesn't know about

A working way to get a GPS lock

Well... As we all know, gps is **** on our captivates. That being said, i found a way to get a gps lock, and almost all the time..
However the method isnt as simple as opening up Gmaps and pressing my location.
I have only tried this with Apex 8.2
To do this.. you have to enter AngryGPS (*#3214789650#*)
Then go to tracking test... Wait for it to present values of your latitude and longitude.
Once these values are there... press maps, and voila

Uhhh seems like the code is for lbstest. Well if so... By using a test feature all you are really doing is turning your gps on(all the time). Which will basically always give you quick lock because the gps is always on unless you kill all your apps or re-open lbstest and back out. Not really a fix, more of a drain on your battery. Only true fix for older models of this phone is to get a refurb'd from atnt/rogers in your case. (not samsung).

Once opened, Angry gps looks just like lbstest. For some reason it was renamed.

Just need to figure out a way to do this with Tasker.

Ah, in that case.. cant you just program tasker to only turn gps on when you open maps or a navigation app?
kimocal said:
Just need to figure out a way to do this with Tasker.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, but how do you program tasker to open up lbstestmode... then run the tracking test... wait about 10 seconds... then open up maps?

So let me see if I get this straight. You start GPS, wait till it gets a lock and then open maps and you have a lock?
that's what we used to do on Eclair.
NascarFastcar is right, the only real way to have a working GPS is to get a refurbished unit. Most of us early adopters are going past our 1 year mark, so if you haven't, get one quick!

I still have a couple months in my warranty left. What problem would I go to them with?

The GPS is fixed on a refurb?

supaphreek said:
I still have a couple months in my warranty left. What problem would I go to them with?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tell them the gps dosent work. That's all. They will most likely try to get a lock indoors lol and then they will just give you a refurbed. They like to use google maps. I tried to show them gps test etc and they tried to blame my gps not working via a 3rd party app.
ifederov said:
The GPS is fixed on a refurb?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well since april 2011. All refurbs seem to have been fixed. Still have to watch out for older modeled refurbs that still might have random shutdowns. I know had about 6 refurbs with shutdowns after a week or two. But they all had great gps.

NascarFastcar said:
Tell them the gps dosent work. That's all. They will most likely try to get a lock indoors lol and then they will just give you a refurbed. They like to use google maps. I tried to show them gps test etc and they tried to blame my gps not working via a 3rd party app.
Well since april 2011. All refurbs seem to have been fixed. Still have to watch out for older modeled refurbs that still might have random shutdowns. I know had about 6 refurbs with shutdowns after a week or two. But they all had great gps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay... but im currently running apex 8.2.. So i cant go to them with a rooted and rommed phone. Do i downgrade to a 2.2 stock rogers rom?

NascarFastcar said:
Well since april 2011. All refurbs seem to have been fixed. Still have to watch out for older modeled refurbs that still might have random shutdowns. I know had about 6 refurbs with shutdowns after a week or two. But they all had great gps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disagree that the gps is fixed. I just got a refurb about 6 weeks ago. The gps worked awesome for a few weeks. It now sucks eggs - actually worse than my last phone. Totally stock, just like my previous phone. I don't know the build number because it has a weird refurb sticker that doesn't have a build number on it.
-Rich

Take it back and get another one until they give you one that works.

cappysw10 said:
Take it back and get another one until they give you one that works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've learned how to use it. I know others have tried, but here are the ONLY real instructions that work:
1) You have to always look 2 steps ahead of what it says when using Google Maps on a Captivate because you never know when all of a sudden it will think you're on a different street and start giving you directions on how to get back on the correct path.
2) When she it starts telling you how to correct yourself (when you're actually already on the right path) learn how to IGNORE it or it will confuse you
3) It's ok for occasional use, but always and I mean ALWAYS have a real GPS handy in the glove compartment for the occasions when your Captivate decides that it isn't in the mood to lock onto any statellites even when it sees 7 or 8 with a with strong signals
4) Always have a real GPS handy when your Captivate can't locate ANY satellites.
5) When in Maine or rural New Hampshire don't even think about using your Captivate!!!
6) Overlook it's GPS defects because it's so awesome in every other way.
Does this post earn a sticky? We should coin a pharse that encompasses all of the above (you know your Captivate has trained you in a similar manor).

richb500 said:
I've learned how to use it. I know others have tried, but here are the ONLY real instructions that work:
1) You have to always look 2 steps ahead of what it says when using Google Maps on a Captivate because you never know when all of a sudden it will think you're on a different street and start giving you directions on how to get back on the correct path.
2) When she it starts telling you how to correct yourself (when you're actually already on the right path) learn how to IGNORE it or it will confuse you
3) It's ok for occasional use, but always and I mean ALWAYS have a real GPS handy in the glove compartment for the occasions when your Captivate decides that it isn't in the mood to lock onto any statellites even when it sees 7 or 8 with a with strong signals
4) Always have a real GPS handy when your Captivate can't locate ANY satellites.
5) When in Maine or rural New Hampshire don't even think about using your Captivate!!!
6) Overlook it's GPS defects because it's so awesome in every other way.
Does this post earn a sticky? We should coin a pharse that encompasses all of the above (you know your Captivate has trained you in a similar manor).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah but you see, i dont drive. Well i do... but i dont have a car. So public transport is what i use and luckily, google maps supports it. Basically all i need is a position lock, rather than finding my house, tracking down whatever streets i used to get to wherever i am, then selecting that as a point...

I returned my 1008 Captivate because of random shutdowns last week and received a 1007 refurb and the GPS was perfect on 2.2.1 and continues to be perfect on Apex 8.2. Also, no random shutdowns.

Exchanged a 1007 Captivate in My, got a 1010 refurb. GPS is about 98% as good as my Garmin GPS in one car. In the other, there must be some kind of interference scit doesn't keep a good signal in the location I put it navigate.
I find it fun to see the difference in the routes they provide.
The 1010 model can also track me walking on the sidewalk. I was watching Google Earth zoomed in as far as it would go.

+1 on returning the phone to an AT&T device service center. I went several weeks back and tested my phone when I got home and it was worse. Went back the next day, the girl there first turned on the "use mobile network" option and told me the gps was now working. I got a little aggrevated but politely pressed on, she then told me the samsung captivate has no gps in it, this sparked my asshole lawyer mode. After making the girl feel embarrased in front of her coworkers for insulting my intelligence I demanded a different rep work with me. I had him go thru 7 phones before getting one that had a working gps. After the 2nd, they told me I would have to call customer service, I laughed and told them that this is a customer service center and my contract entitles me to burn through every single unit they have until they fix my device issue. After the 6th the guy finally paid attention to what I was telling them about looking at the build number (because they have to send all those phones back to samsung). I now have an 1101 that has been working great for about a month. If it screws up again I will go ruin their day again.

GPS accuracy

This weekend for the first time I had to use my Nexus 5 turn-by-turn navigation on Google Maps to get somewhere. I'm no stranger to the feature, as my previous Note 2 had a dashboard mounting bracket in my truck for this very reason.
Besides the speaker not being loud enough to hear the directions (one of my complaints with this devie), I found the GPS isn't very accurate at all. I have it set to High Accuracy, using GPS, WiFi and data network to find my position. The software often put the arrow about a block away from where I actually was and it kept falling behind telling me where I was supposed to turn.
I was driving at about 40-50 km/h at night with a cloudy sky. I reckon this was never an issue with my Note 2, both with stock TouchWiz and custom ROMs. My Nexus 5 is on stock 4.4.
So, what's going on here?

I honestly can't say I face this issue. My GPS is on point whether driving or just using it when I go hiking or camping.
A couple of weeks back I helped a buddy move into a new place and I loaded up my truck and he gave me the address and I popped it in the GPS, it locked within seconds and got me there just fine. No issues.
I also use it when I go camping. I'll find a nice place to pitch the tent and mark the campsite, then go exploring. Anything interesting I put a pin on it and can find my way back real easy. The speaker issue, sure. I use Viper4android (sound mod) and custom kernels to raise the output gain and make the speakers louder so that's a non-issue for me.

If you're rooted, check out FasterGPS (and if you're not rooted.. go and root).

Regarding sound loudness: try fauxsound (you'll need a compatible kernel and root). It boosts speaker, handset, and aux output significantly without adding distortion (although you can push it far enough to distort if you please).

Great, thanks for the tips.
Yes, it's rooted.
Regarding the sound boost apps, do they work on stock kernel, or do I need to flash a new one, like franco? I really don't want to do a clean wipe at the moment to install a new kernel.

GPS accuracy might be a loose antennae. As for speaker sound, not sure what to tell you. I had the phone resting on the seat beside me since I have no dock, with the radio going at highway speeds and had no problems hearing the voice directions. I didn't even have to max the volume, it was about 70%. No modifications.
Perhaps you have the extra glue around the speakers issue?

I've had the same GPS issues and they have just gotten worse over time. Have had the phone for 10 months. Finally called Google and a replacement is in the mail.

bionemesis said:
I've had the same GPS issues and they have just gotten worse over time. Have had the phone for 10 months. Finally called Google and a replacement is in the mail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me know if the replacement is better. My GPS has also degraded significantly, but I wasn't sure if that was related to using CM11.

I haven't driven much lately, so this issue alone doesn't warrant a return for me.
However, the disappointment is stacking up over time. It seems to me that the N5 does a lot of things, but none of them very well. It's basically a tinkerer's toy with an attractive pricetag for the specs. Maybe it's because I came from a former flagship Note 2 device, but I do sometimes miss it.

Ajfink said:
Let me know if the replacement is better. My GPS has also degraded significantly, but I wasn't sure if that was related to using CM11.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will do. I did go back to factory, unrooted and relocked the boot loader. GPS is much, MUCH, worse. It actually loses GPS signal now all the time. I'm convinced now more than ever that this is a hardware issue that gets worse over time combined with software that makes it worse. Hopefully the new, albeit refurbished, phone is better.

My GPS has never worked well, I have had mine for about 10 months as well. I've opened it up so the warranty is void but I don't care about that. I would fix it myself if I knew what exactly the problem was.

I use navigation at least a few times a week and I've never had a single issue with the GPS. It locks on right away, and is always accurate.

I had a nexus 5 from Sprint and the GPS was noticeably off, returned it and Sprint (terrible coverage). I got one from the play store and it's spot on.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

Got the replacement. Preliminary results...huge difference. Better than the phone originally was when I got it. GPS locks in immediately. And this is rooted stock with elementalx kernel. Will update again after a few days of use, but so far, so good.

Ultimate test passed earlier today. Wife and I went golfing and she dropped her phone somewhere. Loaded up Android Device Manager on my Nexus 5 and drove right to her phone. GPS was bang on.

bionemesis said:
Ultimate test passed earlier today. Wife and I went golfing and she dropped her phone somewhere. Loaded up Android Device Manager on my Nexus 5 and drove right to her phone. GPS was bang on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gps set to always on? Or can device manager swtich on gps?

doctor_droid said:
Gps set to always on? Or can device manager swtich on gps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Device manager turns on GPS remotely.