Database Users

Has anyone ever stopped to think that maybe the third party GPS apps are wrong?

Okay so now that I have my vibrant I tested it out (only a few times) but I did test it in different applications, websites, and maps and navigation. Yes in the gps and compass apps it doesn't pick up at all compared to my slide BUT in every other application, on google where it finds your location, on yelp, movie phone, maps, and navigation it finds my location each and every time. It doesn't get me lost, it doesn't show me going in a different direction, and it doesn't show me somewhere else.
What if the configurations or settings are different with samsung, what if the third party app is not completely accurate? Why else would every other program find my location if the app says I am not found by even 1 satellite? I think the"fix" is just a change of setting that helps the app not the gps or the phone.
Time will tell but for me it us working fine for now.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Well you can do gps tests within the os that say basically the same thing...

Ive used my gps with google navigate nermous times with no problem. in fact, it guided me on a 160mile trip just fine... What problems are people having with their gps?

Well, I've only had the phone for a day, so I'm still getting used to the quirks coming from a G1. GPS so far is the biggest disappointment. Android has been pushing location based stuff since the beginning, so the lack of a solid GPS is really screwing up some of my favorite apps. Locale for instance, it's worthless. It can't ever find me. The G1 always worked fine with it on Donut, Eclair, and Froyo.
Google Maps is the ONLY app I have that seems to even be able to get a rough idea where I am, and even then its circle is pretty big, about 4 city blocks. That's not GPS, that's network location, and it's fine for what it is, but not good enough when there aren't a lot of cell towers around. At home, it puts me out in the middle of a corn field. All the time I'm in maps, the GPS icon is up there blinking at me, telling me it can't lock. I've seen it work a couple times, for a short while. In GMaps and in GPS Test. But it takes a LONG time. The G1 could get a lock indoors in about 10 seconds. The Vibrant takes minutes, even with the A-GPS turned on in the test menus. That's insane. And it's not any better outside with a clear sky view. That might be acceptable, if it could hold the lock, but it doesn't.
Even stranger, in GPS Test, I get a single colored bar saying it's using that signal. There are 6 more with the same or higher signal strength being ignored. Very odd. Something is wrong with this GPS. It could very well be software, but Samsung needs to get on this and fast. If I can't find a way to get acceptable GPS performance within my 14 day period, I will likely return it. That will really suck, as otherwise I really like the device, but I need a decent GPS.

ttabbal said:
Even stranger, in GPS Test, I get a single colored bar saying it's using that signal. There are 6 more with the same or higher signal strength being ignored. Very odd. Something is wrong with this GPS.
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This has been my experience as well, and I found the same thing when trying a friend's phone. If only T-Mobile/Samsung would acknowledge that there is a problem and say they are working on it...

No problem here
But as I came from the G1 I use Google Maps exclusively. I haven't had a single problem with it. Inside my house I can get a fix on my location on the map, exactly where it should be. Are you guys using the TeleNav?

ttabbal said:
Even stranger, in GPS Test, I get a single colored bar saying it's using that signal. There are 6 more with the same or higher signal strength being ignored. Very odd. Something is wrong with this GPS. It could very well be software, but Samsung needs to get on this and fast.
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I have the same issue... I can only ever lock on to 1 sat. This is not right. My G1 would lock on to many birds.

zoid_99 said:
I have the same issue... I can only ever lock on to 1 sat. This is not right. My G1 would lock on to many birds.
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I wonder if GPS Test is either wrong about that, or more likely, getting bad data from the OS or GPS driver. IIRC they are just parsing the NMEA data from the GPS driver, so "garbage in, garbage out". You don't get 20ft accuracy with 1 satellite being used.
I fooled with the settings in the "GPS fix 101" thread and got the thing working decently. Took a number of tries, and we'll see if it keeps working over time.
This really is something that TMO and Samsung should acknowledge and at least promise a fix for. Preferably with a close release date. And we shouldn't have to wait for Froyo either, get us a fix for JUST the GPS and a lot of people would be VERY happy. Well, that and the compass, that thing is even more worthless than the GPS before the fixes.
For the poster with Google Maps working, did you try with network locations disabled? Is the GPS icon in the status bar flashing or solid? If it's flashing, you DON'T have a GPS lock. Maps seems to be really good at using the network location stuff. I also enabled Skyhook in the GPS settings screen and Maps really seems to like that. Doesn't help with GPS performance though.

This thread is idiotic.

cashless said:
This thread is idiotic.
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Wow.. that statement was idiotic. Maybe you aren't having the GPS issues that others are having but this thread is helping me debug and decide weather or not I'm keeping the Vibrant or returning it.

You guys are not alone. There is obviously something wrong with either the hardware, or the software. Either way, the buyer's remorse period is halfway through, and neither company has said so much as a peep.
I will definitely be returning my device by the time the remorse period expires. What a shame that would be, because I really love this screen. All it would take is for T-Mobile and Samsung to acknowledge the problem, and state that a fix is on the way.
Here's my post, detailing my contact and findings with the two companies.
It's been a few days now, and I've heard nothing back. Never a good sign.

EDIT. Got it working

Care to share?

GPS Problem

IS anyone else having a problem with GPS on their phone? I was having a problem with mine, and i even did a complete wipe of my phone (odin and all) and its still having a problem. When i try to use navigation, it just says searching for GPS constantly.

Yes. If you nose around the Fascinate forum a bit, you'll find more users of these phones with GPS issues. There are a couple of fixes. I haven't tried them. Sometimes it locks on immediately, other times or can take a minute or ten. The I01 OTA update seemed to help a little. For me I just leave the GPS powered on extra much, and the wifi gives google maps a hint toward where I am. Once it does l lock onto the satellites, it works very well.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

it used to work fine, i was using it all weekend, now it wont lock at all. ill have to try somewhere else maybe its bc of where i am atm.

I was browsing through the fascinate forum a day or two ago and ran across a thread with a free app from the market its called GPS Booster. I can honestly say it 100% works. Before when i would open google maps it would put me up to 4 streets away from my actual location. Now i was able to zoom in and it put me in the right room of my apartment.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=825375&highlight=gps
the above link is where i came across it

janorton05 said:
I was browsing through the fascinate forum a day or two ago and ran across a thread with a free app from the market its called GPS Booster. I can honestly say it 100% works. Before when i would open google maps it would put me up to 4 streets away from my actual location. Now i was able to zoom in and it put me in the right room of my apartment.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=825375&highlight=gps
the above link is where i came across it
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I will have to check this out. My phone has never had accuracy issues, just problems locking. I spent five days in New Orleans, primarily downtown and in the French Quarter, and could only get it to lock twice! Talk about aggravating.

How does GPS work on vibrant?

Hey.
I got vibrant not too long ago, and never really got to use the GPS. I installed custom roms but I never got more than 1-2 satellites when using gpstest app, so I thought the gps might be messed up on this phone.
Well as I got data plan, I want to use gps on data and not on satellite, so I went into the maps app, and selected the location and set go, but the pointer did not move as i was moving.......or if it did move it would move after a very long time....or might have to restart app to get it working
Someone know how to make gps work perfectly with data?
Thanks.

LOL...Went for the New Thread button before actually looking at the forum didnt you?
CORRECT Hardware GPS Fix

not sure I understand the question but the data plan doesn't change the GPS per se, unless you are going to use it for step by step navigation. I have always had a data plan......
Here is the gist of how it works.
THe Vibrant and other galaxy phones do not have true GPS but rather, GPS assist. That means it use a combination of the Sats in the air, cell tower pings and in some cases data transfer over the air. The last being for step by step instructions.
There a bunch of info in the stickies and Kwkslvr posted a mechanical fix as well
Since the KB1 modem, the GPS works very well my normal is 4-7 locks and in under 40secs so that is plenty for me. Mostly the one real issue that was not software related is the fix Kwkslvr posted. Basically, the little "u"-shaped metal tab that is supposed to push against the GPS antenna (mounted on the inner side of the plastic interior cover) does not touch or does not get good contact.
So, you open the phone bend it up to make good contact and "Voila" GPS works better. Alos, get GPS test or Ulysses Gizmo to aid checking the GPS
To make it work the Best (to answer you basic question) check all 3 boxes in the location and security, then if you need or want you can download some of the added map apps if that is your desire
Hoped that help you better understand

Hey Op, was in the same boat your in. Try out the new 2.2 Bionix-V custom rom by teamwhiskey and your gps problem will be solved. Solid, fast and stable rom that really fixes your gps problems. I too was getting maybe 2 or 3 satellites locked when I'd do the gps test, now I get about 8-10..... Bionix-V... you'll love it.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

very good with bionix-v-1.2 rom
ps. I had very bad result with stock rom, only 0/3 everytime.
Flashing bionix 1.2 let me lock to 6-8/13 in less than a min everytime

I complained to tmobile constantly about my gps(among other things). After my last replacement, I wanted to call and complain again, gps was still trash. After bionix v, my gps is locking on quicker and more accurately than ever. It kind of wierds me out sometimes.
Before, on older bionix roms, gps could be great but wasn't consistent at all. I'd post here that it was great and next day it would prove me wrong. Since bionix v, I've expected the gps icon to flash forever and never lock, but every time I've used it in the past two weeks it's locked on within 15 second, and within 35 meters. I hope this doesn't jinx me.
Sent from my <tw> powered vibrant.

Atrix GPS and finger reader failure problem

I have the phone for about a week. And I'm quite impressed with its performance. But a few problems bother me since the very beginning and it's on the edge to be returned/exchanged.
I noticed that the GPS locking is pretty fast, compared to my iphone4 with Navigon. However, Atrix lost GPS connections quite often. Last weekend I drove about 100 miles and I have to restart navigation software 4 or 5 times. Re-launching software does work. It locks GPS signals again every time after I restart software. But if I just let it try to search for GPS signal itself, it would never come back. I also tried to turn off WiFi location service but got the same results.
Also, my finger reader sometimes doesn't work. Once in a while, I have to reboot my Atrix because of this. However, reboot doesn't always work so I actually don't know it's a Motorola software problem or a real hardware failure.
Does anyone have any experience to share? Thanks.

I've noticed that my fingerprint scanner doesn't seem to work as well when the battery gets below the 15% range, it could just be this is usually late at night so I don't let it scan right
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App

****edited****
it was all a matter of update googlemaps at market so its working as a charm!
*************
Actually I'm having trouble to find the gps signal in Navigation (google maps).
The cell phone keeps looking for the signal til it give up.... maybe it needs some updates or patches...
Sent from my MB860 using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk

GPS not working on 2.3 ROMs

hi.
It seems now that every 2.3 based ROM supports GPS, and people say they get a very fast lock.
But I was never able to get a lock with any ROM, I have tried several versions of MIUI and several versions of CM7.
The only ROMs I am able to use GPS in, are Froyo based.
Even there, it takes around 5 minuted to get a lock.
I did the hardware fix half a year ago, it helped very much because I was using Froyo then (it took only 5 minutes vs 15 minutes to lock) but now it doesn't lock at all.
Any solution?
Thanks.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1370910

i applied that fix and noticed no improvement, unfortunately. i had great hopes for it from reading the comments others had left about success using it.
the gps on my vibrant (running CM7) is quite odd.. it seems to 'know' where i am, but won't ever get off of the 'searching for gps' message, and of course, won't switch gears to the point where it actually tells me where to go. but if i want to look at my location on my phone and follow the 'map' it displays, or read the directions, it sort of works, in a hinky sort of way.

Try a program called GPS Aids from the market - Ive had mixed results with it.

the gps on my vibrant (running CM7) is quite odd.. it seems to 'know' where i am, but won't ever get off of the 'searching for gps' message, and of course, won't switch gears to the point where it actually tells me where to go. but if i want to look at my location on my phone and follow the 'map' it displays, or read the directions, it sort of works, in a hinky sort of way.
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I think that you are using the AGPS function, which uses the WiFi and mobile network to determine your location. It is much less accurate than GPS, which doesn't work.
About the GPS fix and GPS AIDS, I will try later and post the results, thanks!

romitkin said:
I think that you are using the AGPS function, which uses the WiFi and mobile network to determine your location. It is much less accurate than GPS, which doesn't work.
About the GPS fix and GPS AIDS, I will try later and post the results, thanks!
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that makes sense.. its just getting rough position with the mobile network.. (i usually have wifi antennae off)
last night i downloaded a gps test tool from the market... ZERO satellites... and mine worked perfectly when i was running Axura. i'll probably be going back there very soon.