Database Users

[Discussion] GPS Problems, Lock speed, Accuracy, Fixes - The Poll

Few people are complaining now about the low quality of gps. Can you prove this?

oxylos said:
Few people are complaining now about the low quality of gps. Can you prove this?
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Hmm, I did try and track myself on the bus this morning and it did seem to have a problem finding me - it kept flipping between near where I was and about halfway back home. Used it walking down the street and again it didn't seem to be very good at nailing where I was (HD2 seemed much better). I've enabled location via cell location as well as GPS, so I'll see if that makes much difference.

This doesn't sound too promising :/
I've been using my iPhone 3G to track my runs when I head out, and I assumed the Galaxy would do just as good (or better!) at it. Hopefully it's something they can fix with a software patch and not a hardware problem...

Nicolopolus said:
Hmm, I did try and track myself on the bus this morning and it did seem to have a problem finding me - it kept flipping between near where I was and about halfway back home. Used it walking down the street and again it didn't seem to be very good at nailing where I was (HD2 seemed much better). I've enabled location via cell location as well as GPS, so I'll see if that makes much difference.
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Did you get it from Expansys? I am trying to find out whether it is just a batch or it is a more generic issue.

I too am seeing poor performance with the GPS. Seems to be a hardware issue.
I did a test over the weekend comparing my Galaxy S with a friend's HTC Desire. Using one of the many GPS utilities the Desire was consistently seeing and locking more satellites when stood in an open area outside. When running Google maps and showing the current location I found that the "accuracy circle" (for want of a better description) was growing and shrinking several times a minute causing the map to zoom in and out.
I've also noticed that the compass is almost unusable and showing a much lower signal compared to the Desire. I did perform the figure of 8 calibration several times.

Evans_Prophet said:
Did you get it from Expansys? I am trying to find out whether it is just a batch or it is a more generic issue.
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Nope, got mine from Handtec. Really hope it's just a software issue that can be easily solved! Also noticed that google homepage in browser keeps saying I'm in China?!

Think I've read somewhere that samsung galaxy (the first one + the spica) have a broken gps driver causing such issues...don't remember if it was in sportypal forums or for a similar application. Very sorry to hear it's not fixed.

Nope I tried out google navigation at the weekend and was really impressed by the accuracy, it made my old tom tom look really bad.

So can we say that GS favours google navigation?
Can anyone confirm that?

This is very worrying, GPS is important for me, I don't want to have another N97 on my hands... fingers crossed it's a software issue....

Tyxerakias said:
This is very worrying, GPS is important for me, I don't want to have another N97 on my hands... fingers crossed it's a software issue....
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I'll have another play on the way home and let you know if there's any improvements.

Nicolopolus said:
I'll have another play on the way home and let you know if there's any improvements.
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I've not noticed any problems in Google Navigation. It found me almost instantly, and was so accurate in terms of showing me where I was while driving that there was almost no perceivable lag.
Whatever people are seeing it very unlikely to be a hardware issue, most phones use GPS chips from only 1 or 2 suppliers, its much more likely something temporary like a driver issue.

TravUK said:
I've not noticed any problems in Google Navigation. It found me almost instantly, and was so accurate in terms of showing me where I was while driving that there was almost no perceivable lag.
Whatever people are seeing it very unlikely to be a hardware issue, most phones use GPS chips from only 1 or 2 suppliers, its much more likely something temporary like a driver issue.
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TravUK, have you tried google maps - did you have any problems with it? (although I assume navigation would be using the same data to find you)

Nicolopolus said:
TravUK, have you tried google maps - did you have any problems with it? (although I assume navigation would be using the same data to find you)
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Yep, Maps works fine, including latitude. Also used Waze which took a little while to get a fix, but was also ok.

Well the journey home was much better! Probably helped that I was sitting by the window on the top deck of the bus, but I managed to get a much better fix, using both google maps and navigation. It wasn't like 100% accurate or anything, but certainly no worse than my hd2. Hardly got the large blue circle, but it did think I was in a field a few times, but that's to be expected. To note, didn't seem to make much difference whether I had both gps and cell data selected, or just gps.

My gps works perfect. Google maps finds it instantly and waze and speedometer apps work fine too. Localization is spot on. The gps even connects when I'm inside the house wich my Diamond never did.

I tested Navigon, which can be download from Market for a tryal period of 30 days now, and it working great on my Samsung i9000

it may be a firmware issue , everyone who is having problems should post the sw. version for comparision with others

Comparison of Galaxy GPS and iPhone 3G gps.
Hey everyone,
There's been some discussion regarding the "quality" of the GPS function in the Galaxy S, and after testing it out today, I sure hope it's a software bug or I'm going to be very disappointed.
This is my run as recorded by my iPhone 3G (with Fitnio): http://dl.dropbox.com/u/810054/samsung_fail/Picture%203.png
Now this is the same run as recorded by my Galaxy S (with RunKeeper): http://dl.dropbox.com/u/810054/samsung_fail/Picture%202.png
Take a wild guess which one actually reflects reality. Can anyone shed light on if the new "leaked" firmware fixes these problems?

They're all based on standard chipsets so its unlikely there's anything wrong with the GPS receiver itself. I hope it gets updated soon as it seems to be affecting a fair number of people.

Digital compass not working properly?

I think I may be having problems with the compass on my Aria. On all apps I've used that utilize the digital compass (sky map, compass, AR apps like wayfinder nyc), the compass movement seems jumpy and will give extremely inconsistent results, most times settling on an inconsistent heading.
Is there some way to check that the compass is properly calibrated?
Has anyone else been having problems?
Sent from my HTC Aria using XDA app

I very much have the same problem. Skymap and compass apps are incredibly underwhelming

Same here, skymap is basically unusable.
update:
Figured out a pretty good way to calibrate it. Launch skymap, then rotate the phone around several times on every axis (ie, rotate around x axis a few times, then y, then z). The magnetometer should reset itself and point in the correct direction.
update2:
After playing around with it for a while, I noticed that there is a difference of about 5-10 degrees between north in landscape mode and north in portrait mode. Pretty disappointing and lesson learned - don't rely on your Aria if you're going to Man vs. Wild it in the jungle for a while.

As with all digital compasses, it needs calibration, rather some sort of reset.. I haven't see true calibration.
See this video on it.. It's very simple to do. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP3d00Hr14o
No, it's jot a joke. Compare against a real compass. Without this, I've found my N1 20+ degrees off, after, +/- 2

When i had the backflip you could go into the settings and click on compass calibration, you have to rotate/spin the phone on all it's axis or just do a figure 8 in the air with the phone. I did this yesterday on my Aria on google skymap, told me the sun was underground so I did a figure 8 to calibrate the compass and then it was all good. Just do it when you open any compass using app when you launch it.

Compass affecting GPS? My Thoughts.

Here are some observations I have made in dealing with the GPS and compass.
Applications I used during this observation include:
GPS Test
Goolge Maps
MyTracks
Trapster
Compass
There are a few things that led me into looking into this. It started with my first Vibrant.
I bought it at the beginning of September and during that time I was working 6 12 hours days and didn't have a whole lot of time to play around with it.
In the middle of September I went out of town for a week. I went from Oklahoma to South Carolina. Basically on the trip my GPS worked pretty much spot on even though GPS Test showed a few in view and 1 or 2 in use. My compass never really worked all that good and it was real slow to update.
I used Google Maps for nav and was running Trapster. If you never used Trapster it shows your location with an animated radar wave emitting from it showing your direction of travel, this is important as you will see later in this post. I ran MyTracks a few times just to play around with it and it pretty much worked as expected. The arrow would correctly show which direction you are traveling, again important. So after traveling about 2600 miles round trip my GPS worked about as good as my Wife's MyTouch 3G. Sometimes it would take a while to lock, but once I had one it worked well.
On to the next phase. I was able to update to JI5 when it was available on Kies and tested the GPS right away. When I fired up GPS Test I had 12 in view and 8-9 in use and it locked in pretty fast. I thought to myself awesome, it's fixed! or was it? After updating I noticed that the accuracy was not as good as it was stock.
Later that night my wife and I went somewhere and I let her drive so I could mess around with the GPS and apps. I wasn't too happy with what I was seeing. Remember earlier how I said Trapster and MyTracks was showing correct direction of travel? Well after the update the arrow on MyTracks was going crazy and could not figure out which way to point and Trapster was showing it's radar icon as a circle around me as if I wasn't moving but my location on the map was moving. My position on the map was off at times and when we stopped my location would jump around. When I was stock I never had that issue. I flashed back to stock because I would rather deal with a longer fix but have the accuracy and my apps work right. After flashing to stock Trapster and MyTracks still could not show a correct direction of travel.
Around this time I came across the "hardware lock" issue and found out that phones were being replaced so I went down to the store I bought it from and exchanged it. When I was in the parking lot I loaded up the apps mentioned in the beginning of this post to test. Accuracy was still off a little and Trapster and MyTracks still could not display direction of travel. Google maps could display it correctly. GPS Test showed a few visible and 1 or 2 in use.
I figured I would just deal with it until the update came out. That day was today. I did not get the update OTA but did flash JI6 since that was what the OTA was showing on others phones.
I wiped everything after flashing and did a master reset. I then installed the mentioned apps again for some testing. GPS Test 12 in view 8-9 in use, accuracy was still not as good as my first Vibrant stock. Google Maps found me pretty close to where I was, but not spot on like the last phone and drifted a little bit. MyTracks arrow moved when I rotated the phone but did not point in the right direction. Started the compass app and it was way off and barely moving, I did the calibration and it actually started working pretty good even though it was a little off. I started MyTracks and low and behold the arrow was pointing in almost the exact direction i was facing. I though great everything should be ok!
I had to run to the store so I tested while driving. Accuracy was pretty good, Trapster and MyTracks could still not display correct direction of travel so I fired up the compass and it was all over the place and shaking around a lot trying to determine which way it was facing. When I got to the store and stopped the compass was working like it was at the house and MyTracks was pointing in the right direction again. I though how odd and tested more on the way home.
Here is where I think it gets interesting. As I was driving and in GPS Test I hit the button on the bottom left of the screen. That brings up a compass view. It was showing my heading correctly. Google maps showed my arrow pointing in the correct direction of travel as well but Trapster and MyTracks could not.
I made 2 observations that I think may be important. When I stopped and had GPS Test open to the compass part I noticed that the heading was now off a little. Google maps was the same, the arrow was just not stable. When I started driving again both apps started showing the correct heading. That is when it hit me. When stopped GPS Test and Google Maps must be relying on the compass when not in motion to get it's bearings and that Trapster and MyTracks must be relying on the compass alone for it's heading information! I confirmed this by opening the Compass app while in motion and taking a note on which way it though I was going and then opened MyTracks and would you believe it, the arrow was pointing in the same direction that the compass showed me going!. I was traveling straight west and the compass along with MyTrack were pointing south! I confirmed this after driving around for a while that whatever way the compass was pointing that is the direction the arrow in MyTracks pointed. When I stop everything points correctly, or at least close to being correct.
So now the million dollar question is since GPT Test and Google maps fall back on the compass when stopped could that affect accuracy? If it is pointing in an incorrect position but thinks it is pointing in the correct position could it think the satellites are in a different position in the sky thus some of the jumping around when you are stopped and once you are moving it gets it's bearings straightened out and is able to track you correctly? I am thinking it might have some play in it since sometimes when I am sitting still out in the yard and I rotate my phone my position will jump 1/4 mile away and move all over the place but if you click the arrow it shows accuracy to 10 or less meters.
What would make the compass show the correct postion when stopped, but all over the place when moving? Are the compass and GPS tied that close together?
Thoughts?
I tried to email this to Samsung but the web form was messed up and I'm not sure if it went through or not.

Interesting. It would seem that the compass has no place with driving directions. It should ideally be ignored unless you are walking or on street view.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Another thing I just found out after messing with it more is that when I have the compass app open and hold the phone in my hand horizontally and shake it gently up and down the compass goes all over the place. Do the same thing in MyTracks and the arrow goes bonkers.
I didn't think of street view until you mentioned it. When I launched it, it was way off and not working well. I held the phone in my hand horizontally with the back of the phone facing the floor and it got it's bearings and started working. I am starting to think that the sensors are still screwy.
Edit to add that the compass and MyTracks acts the same on my MyTouch 3G when shaking it but not as bad. It still doesn't explain why the compass would be so far off on the Vibrant when driving. I will have to test the MyTouch and Vibrant side by side while driving when I get the chance.

[Q] Does the compass work...?

I've yet to find a Compass app that works on my Omnia7. I don't know if it's the lack of a GPS signal (been trying it indoors) - my old Hero used to work fine with no GPS signal as does my Wife's iPhone.
Has anyone else found a Compass app that works on the Omnia7 without GPS signal? I'm wondering whether my phone is faulty or whether the phone just doesn't have the hardware to get a Compass reading without GPS.

Isn't there a diagnosis code to test this?

Ya, pretty much.
One in the test menu, Not sure it's working 100% tho when i checked, so maybe any apps running off it's readings might be wrong. *guessing*

I read that there isn't a Silverlight API for the compass yet, hence no apps.
*#0*# from the Diagnosis app takes you to the LCD Test screen where there is a Compass tile, which gives you a functioning compass

oweng said:
I read that there isn't a Silverlight API for the compass yet, hence no apps.
*#0*# from the Diagnosis app takes you to the LCD Test screen where there is a Compass tile, which gives you a functioning compass
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Makes sence, Call me silly, but which way up is best for the compass, Flat on phones back, Or Back of phone Facing away from me.
As i seem to get two diffrent readings and havn't got a "normal" compass to compare too.

Having the phone horizontal will give you the best results - if you just rotate your position, the needle should point in the same direction. I've tried it in two locations and it seems accurate enough

oweng said:
Having the phone horizontal will give you the best results - if you just rotate your position, the needle should point in the same direction. I've tried it in two locations and it seems accurate enough
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Note to self *test outdoors before saying anything again about compass *

Thanks for the *#0*# trick - works fine, so it's just the apps that don't work as is suggested above.

Compass accuracy?

It seems like my compass is somewhat off. I've downloaded a compass app from the market and used its calibration function several times, but it still seems off. This appears to be somewhat problematic when using google maps 5.0 in compass mode as well, since the actual compass directions don't line up with the calibration of the phone.
What's the most accurate way to calibrate the compass? Is there an app, or some other way, to manually adjust the calibration if its off?

In what way does the compass seem off? I have no problems with the compass on my end.

in maps 5.0, is so OFF!
Tested actually a few hours ago, my compass was like 30 degrees off.

ArcticWolf91 said:
In what way does the compass seem off? I have no problems with the compass on my end.
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Like the previous poster said...using compass mode in Google Maps 5.0, the direction of the map is off compared to how I'm holding the phone (if that makes sense).

Omg I know what you guys mean in the new maps 5.0 the compass is showing for me that its pointing a couple of degrees to the right. So has anybody figured out how to fix it?

Make sure when you're checking the accuracy of the compass that you are not using it around something that would be causing interference, especially the MyTouch Car Dock that T-Mobile sells. For some reason, that thing causes major interference, and makes my compass think it's 90 degrees off.
... Ironic for a Car Dock designed to help the phone act as a GPS device.