(new) GPS Poll - Galaxy S I9000 General

I just wanted to start a new poll about the performance of the GPS. This time there's also an option to choose a firmware version (*). For the best results it is adviced to participate in the poll after a few weeks of "real life" usage, so you can form an informed opinion.
I've forgotten to include the JF firmware versions. For this versions please choose one of the options for the JG firmware versions. Unfortunately I can't edit the poll. I don't think that this will be a great shortcoming for the results because the differences between the JF and JG firmware isn't very big.
(*) Because I think too many errors will slip in when one can indicate the firmware and the GPS opinion by multiple choices, the list is a bit long. I tried to keep it as clear as possible
(Mods: In order to make the poll as "objective" as possible, maybe it is possible to make this a sticky and close the thread. I can add a link to a new post where the results/finding can be discussed or I or someone else could place a link to the old poll/gps thread where there's already a discussion going on)

cant vote in your poll as mine is yet to be firmware upgraded, im running JF3, and my gps is currently running fine in google navi (as i siad in the original thread it does jump at times but it is still very usable), however my tracks shows this first statment to be abit wrong. so im still working on it and need to try and sort out the firmware upgrade i cant seem to work it out just yet.
btw i have had tis second working phone for 1 week 3 days now, the first was taken back after a week where it would just simply not get a gps lock at all.

I have original firmware, Android 2.1-update1(have only rooted it), and no have problem with GPS at all, for now.
It fix the signal inside my home, my iphone 3Gs not, not lost the signal and bring me at destination, always.
Regards

No offense, but whenever I see people praising the quality of the GPS by if and how fast they do get a lock indoors, I die a little bit inside... That's not real GPS fix you're getting, that's just aGPS at work.

Could you add JFx options to the poll please ?
I have JF1. GPS works most of the time, but could be better.

demusss said:
Could you add JFx options to the poll please ?
I have JF1. GPS works most of the time, but could be better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately I can't edit the poll (maybe a mod could?).. As an alternative I suggest to vote for one of the JG firmware options.

Case_ said:
No offense, but whenever I see people praising the quality of the GPS by if and how fast they do get a lock indoors, I die a little bit inside... That's not real GPS fix you're getting, that's just aGPS at work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it is GPS. I have disable aGPS and removed the APN from data settings, the APN field is blank, because I not have a flat account with my carrier provider(WIND Italy).
And WIFI is OFF. It is only the GPS, sure!
Regards

Can I suggest everyone goes on here -
http://www.facebook.com/#!/SamsungUKmobile
And promotes the GPS issue some more? They obviously are enjoying the positive press...lets see if they like some critical feedback as well.....

Well I've now set up my SGS with Copilot and used it in the same position in my car as I used my Iphone 3G, with Copilot, and I must say that the performance is extremely poor.
I thought the GPS in the Iphone was poor but it beats my SGS hands down.
firmware: I9000ADJF1.
That seems low compared to other posts I've read!

This really has to be the most ridiculous poll yet.
I've had problems in all firmware, although XWJM5 (as opposed to XWJM2) is yielding some hope for a fix. It's looking quite a bit better and is a lot more stable for a lot longer.
XXJF3 was great for a week then died and now it's so intermittent its ridiculous.
XXJG5 was better but had the habit of losing GPS signal and putting you 100 metres off and convinced it had to draw a track between your last known good and where it thought you were.
XXJM2 was better than that in that it took account of your speed and heading and never put you more than a few feet off, but it was still prone to making silly mistakes when it lost GPS signal.
XXJM5 is looking considerably better, but they still need to sort out locking onto Satellites < 20 SnR and more than 8 satellite fixes.
The reason I think for this is because of those things called Urban canyons, buildings, trees, etc, which have an annoying habit of destroying your GPS signal. A lot of other devices will cope. Unless you can see Satellites over virtually overhead, forget all hope.

sjdean said:
This really has to be the most ridiculous poll yet.
I've had problems in all firmware, although XWJM5 (as opposed to XWJM2) is yielding some hope for a fix. It's looking quite a bit better and is a lot more stable for a lot longer.
XXJF3 was great for a week then died and now it's so intermittent its ridiculous.
XXJG5 was better but had the habit of losing GPS signal and putting you 100 metres off and convinced it had to draw a track between your last known good and where it thought you were.
XXJM2 was better than that in that it took account of your speed and heading and never put you more than a few feet off, but it was still prone to making silly mistakes when it lost GPS signal.
XXJM5 is looking considerably better, but they still need to sort out locking onto Satellites < 20 SnR and more than 8 satellite fixes.
The reason I think for this is because of those things called Urban canyons, buildings, trees, etc, which have an annoying habit of destroying your GPS signal. A lot of other devices will cope. Unless you can see Satellites over virtually overhead, forget all hope.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your observations. Unfortunately it isn't possible to poll every single firmware version with the current poll functionality

Just did this track with a brand new SGS 16 GB w/JM1.
It was easy to vote.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...254,0.046434&z=15&iwloc=00048d2c278fbc21e8849
Still, as sjdean mentioned, I suspect that this issue is related to several factors and cannot be singled out that easily. I have to have one in my hands to believe it but now I guess I'll go to the store to get my money back home. Not that I don't believe that Samsung and Broadcom might end up making their magic work... I'll probably not have enough patience to wait.

Beowulf_pt said:
Just did this track with a brand new SGS 16 GB w/JM1.
It was easy to vote.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...254,0.046434&z=15&iwloc=00048d2c278fbc21e8849
....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol, as if a child tried to draw a route on a map. That's not good at all

Bynar010 said:
Can I suggest everyone goes on here -
http://www.facebook.com/#!/SamsungUKmobile
And promotes the GPS issue some more? They obviously are enjoying the positive press...lets see if they like some critical feedback as well.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just incase it gets deleted, here is my comments on the facebook page
Ghosty like all the others here im happy with most of the phone but i had to take the first one back as it would never get a lock on any gps satalite, the second one however is a little better as a least this one can be used to navigate, but in my tracks it is all over the show, please can you at least issuse a statment about... what the fault actually is weather it be hardware or software/firmware, as the most annoying part of it all is not knowing what is wrong, as if its software/fimeware related im sure people will hangonto the phone waiting for the fix, if however it turns out to be hardware related then there is gonna be alot of upset customers, wanting exchanges. i think you just need to clarify exactly what the issue is, saying we are working on a fix just anit good enough, especially when you are locked into a 2yr contract with a phone that only half works.
come on samsung sort it out, and give the general public some idea of what is actually gonna be done about this.
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as you can see i have not held back

ghosty_uk said:
just incase it gets deleted, here is my comments on the facebook page
Ghosty like all the others here im happy with most of the phone but i had to take the first one back as it would never get a lock on any gps satalite, the second one however is a little better as a least this one can be used to navigate, but in my tracks it is all over the show, please can you at least issuse a statment about... what the fault actually is weather it be hardware or software/firmware, as the most annoying part of it all is not knowing what is wrong, as if its software/fimeware related im sure people will hangonto the phone waiting for the fix, if however it turns out to be hardware related then there is gonna be alot of upset customers, wanting exchanges. i think you just need to clarify exactly what the issue is, saying we are working on a fix just anit good enough, especially when you are locked into a 2yr contract with a phone that only half works.
come on samsung sort it out, and give the general public some idea of what is actually gonna be done about this.
See more
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as you can see i have not held back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have some severe problems with the GPS most of the time. ( I still can't reproduce the artistic trackings though I see all over this forum - although I never used mytracks, but always use another program for this). Nevertheless, I still want my GPS to be very reliable and the reports I read makes me a bit uncomfortable. I use it a lot for "offroad walking" and I depend for 100% on my GPS for this. I need the thing to be accurate. I need to trust on it. So yes, I'm also waiting for Samsung to come out and make a statement about this.

ghosty_uk said:
just incase it gets deleted, here is my comments on the facebook page
Ghosty like all the others here im happy with most of the phone but i had to take the first one back as it would never get a lock on any gps satalite, the second one however is a little better as a least this one can be used to navigate, but in my tracks it is all over the show, please can you at least issuse a statment about... what the fault actually is weather it be hardware or software/firmware, as the most annoying part of it all is not knowing what is wrong, as if its software/fimeware related im sure people will hangonto the phone waiting for the fix, if however it turns out to be hardware related then there is gonna be alot of upset customers, wanting exchanges. i think you just need to clarify exactly what the issue is, saying we are working on a fix just anit good enough, especially when you are locked into a 2yr contract with a phone that only half works.
come on samsung sort it out, and give the general public some idea of what is actually gonna be done about this.
See more
2 seconds ago · Comment · LikeUnlike · Report
as you can see i have not held back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I left a slight 'snotty' comment on there about the issues a couple of weeks ago, to be fair, they didn't delete the comment but they never replied either!

ghosty_uk said:
just incase it gets deleted, here is my comments on the facebook page
Ghosty like all the others here im happy with most of the phone but i had to take the first one back as it would never get a lock on any gps satalite, the second one however is a little better as a least this one can be used to navigate, but in my tracks it is all over the show, please can you at least issuse a statment about... what the fault actually is weather it be hardware or software/firmware, as the most annoying part of it all is not knowing what is wrong, as if its software/fimeware related im sure people will hangonto the phone waiting for the fix, if however it turns out to be hardware related then there is gonna be alot of upset customers, wanting exchanges. i think you just need to clarify exactly what the issue is, saying we are working on a fix just anit good enough, especially when you are locked into a 2yr contract with a phone that only half works.
come on samsung sort it out, and give the general public some idea of what is actually gonna be done about this.
See more
2 seconds ago · Comment · LikeUnlike · Report
as you can see i have not held back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for those of you that remember my post on the samsung page, here is the official response from them:
Samsung UK Mobile Hi, thanks for getting in touch. Head Office is currently working on a solution to the GPS problem and we hope to have a solution very soon. Rest assured, this is a high priority task for us.
maybe we are getting through to them after all.

Yeah they seem to have put that on all the GPS complaint comments on their facebook page..except mine....perhaps I was too *****y!!

The GPS on my JM2 is just useless... no matter where I am, in my appartment or at the very centre of the city, its just unable to locate me.

Hi all,
I have used my GPS with sygic maps mobile 10 for 1387 Km and it works well!
Yes, when I entry in a tunnel it not immediately switch the screen from night and day light, it switch after about 50meter when already was inside the tunnel. This mean it is not 100% accurate but work well. Consider which has travel a street named "street of tunnel". In the same travel, the GPS of the my Iphone3gs with tomtom lost the signal always and employ many more time for take the signal again.
In city, have used POI features on the Galaxy S, and work well!
I'm "sorry", but cannot say "have a problem with GPS", because not have any problem with this GPS, for now. Some day ago has a problem with alarm clock, always have a problem with copy/paste from gmail and yahoo e-mail, but not with GPS.
For who interested, have the original rom, android 2.1-update1, only rooted.
Regards
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

Related

Goodbye Galaxy S

I have finally sold my galaxy s i9000 today....
After about 3 weeks of using the device and having all the problems with the phone i decided to sell it.... although the decision was an easy one because it was easy to sell the phone at a profit since actually there are high demand for the phone and limited supply.... i guess most people still dont know about all the problems that this phone has.....
at my age, 36, i dont wish to spend too much time trying to fix the phone like applying rom, fixes, firmware etc.... i just want a smartphone that works well out of the box....
so after so many problems i experience using the phone i decided to sell it....
problems i faced:
- GPS very inaccurate and sometimes cannot lock signals and shows me in different country.... not to mention it cannot track continuously....
- Phone hangs when i am in a conversation and another caller comes in....
- quite frequent lags that sometimes can only be fixed by restarting the phone
- email apps takes long time to load the contents
- GSM signal quite erratic, phone must be held certain way to avoid drop in signals.... just like iphone 4 but maybe not as severe.... i am not sure....but it bothers me because i can see the signal dropping 2-3 bars when i hold it certain way
-keyboard which i just cannot get accustomed to, i dont know if its a problem of the touch screen sensor which is not precised or because of the size of the device that is a bit too wide....but the bottom line is that i find myself making lots of typing mistakes when using it one handedly
- overall samsung touchwiz quirks and the widgets are not to my liking....
- firmware fix update for my asia pacific region doesnt seem to come along fast enough... i only see one update which is the one thats giving me all the problems mentioned above..... but i see the european firmware gets update very frequently.....this makes me mad.... but the bad thing is that even the european updates seems to be still having most of the problems, especially the gps problem....
so after thinking thinking thinking... i sold it.... and i sold it after only 30 minutes of posting my advertisement in internet....
i just thought i'd share my experience......
youre the first people who dissapoint about this phone AFAIK
so how much did u sell this phone?just wanna know
I don't have any of those problems, neither do a lot of other people. Still on the stock ROM, no tweeking, nothing.
You should have asked for a replacement phone first before getting rid of it. By the looks of it there's a dodgy batch of them.
strange thing is we all want the best but its never good enough, I mean if any phone comes out and all is great people still want more and ways to better it, its human nature I guess and yes its a pain now and then but the strange thing is there is also a joy/kick out of things like roms, to get these small/big changes and play around with them, its true we can all say that it should come out and be 100% of what people paid for but......well never going to happen, and where would the fun be if it did lol
GPS I see people on about this, where I live it (north uk)tracks me from 20 meters to 2 meters (down to speed)
Tachikoma_kun said:
I don't have any of those problems, neither do a lot of other people. Still on the stock ROM, no tweeking, nothing.
You should have asked for a replacement phone first before getting rid of it. By the looks of it there's a dodgy batch of them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you saying you never experience *ANY* lag on your phone? This sounds very strange to me, as the lag problems seem to be an inherent problem of the phone's hardware/software architecture. I can hardly believe what you are saying, or maybe you have just not used your phone intensively enough. Otherwise me and a LOT of other GS users can get ready to return their phones for a replacement.
I can understand your frustration, widjaja. The lags are very annoying, and I myself have encountered times where I got an incoming call which I simply could not answer because the phone was too busy loading the friggin' call interface. It is however clear that Samsung themselves will come with an official fix for this, and in the meantime we have the homebrew fixes. For me, this is enough reason to stick with this phone until it is fully ridded of its problems. After all, apart from the buggy annoyances, it is the most powerful Android phone out there.
widjaja74_us said:
I have finally sold my galaxy s i9000 today....
After about 3 weeks of using the device and having all the problems with the phone i decided to sell it.... although the decision was an easy one because it was easy to sell the phone at a profit since actually there are high demand for the phone and limited supply.... i guess most people still dont know about all the problems that this phone has.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey there, sorry to hear that!
this isn't meant as a response but more as a general comment on the issues you faced to compare the asian/european version (i've got the european version).
DISCLAIMER: i'm talking about my device. chime in if your experience differs from mine!
widjaja74_us said:
at my age, 36, i dont wish to spend too much time trying to fix the phone like applying rom, fixes, firmware etc.... i just want a smartphone that works well out of the box....
so after so many problems i experience using the phone i decided to sell it....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i hear you. although i don't get what your age has got to do with your phone but still you're right. time spent fixing things which should work out of the box is lost time. period.
widjaja74_us said:
problems i faced:
- GPS very inaccurate and sometimes cannot lock signals and shows me in different country.... not to mention it cannot track continuously....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my fix is immediately and as accurate as it can get with a civilian phone.
talked about the asian region gps issue with a friend yesterday and we suspected it might be something about gps being dimmed near north korea for military reasons but i guess that was just us crazy talking.
widjaja74_us said:
- Phone hangs when i am in a conversation and another caller comes in....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no hangs with concurrent calls whatsoever
widjaja74_us said:
- quite frequent lags that sometimes can only be fixed by restarting the phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
besides the lag already being discussed in another thread, i don't experience frequent lags. and even this so called lag is just a minor annoyance when compared to the performance of other android-devices or the iphone-series (at least the couple devices i got ahold of in the last years).
widjaja74_us said:
- email apps takes long time to load the contents
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
email app loading in a split second over hier (stock & gmail)
widjaja74_us said:
- GSM signal quite erratic, phone must be held certain way to avoid drop in signals.... just like iphone 4 but maybe not as severe.... i am not sure....but it bothers me because i can see the signal dropping 2-3 bars when i hold it certain way
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i can hold my phone any way i want and have the same reception as other phones in the same area (elevator = little to no reception, top of building = great reception, subway = flaky/depends if underground/overground, etc) and with all other phones i had before.
widjaja74_us said:
-keyboard which i just cannot get accustomed to, i dont know if its a problem of the touch screen sensor which is not precised or because of the size of the device that is a bit too wide....but the bottom line is that i find myself making lots of typing mistakes when using it one handedly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the touchscreen sensor is perfectly calibrated and the swype-keyboard (is this the one your talking about?) is the best thing invented since touchscreens were invented. the tutorial takes 4 minutes to go through and i never want to go back now. this isn't just a productivity enhancement this is the path from "oh **** i have to answer this mail with my crappy phone keyboard" and "yeah let's write the last couple of mails on the subway then i'm home earlier".
or something like that..
widjaja74_us said:
- overall samsung touchwiz quirks and the widgets are not to my liking....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well there's literally hundreds of widgets to choose from and although i know you want it to work out of the box that's something you need to do for yourself as samsung can't do it right for everybody.
i'm not a huge touchwiz fan myself but it does the job (protip: LauncherPro, search for it in the market if you haven't already heard about it).
widjaja74_us said:
- firmware fix update for my asia pacific region doesnt seem to come along fast enough... i only see one update which is the one thats giving me all the problems mentioned above..... but i see the european firmware gets update very frequently.....this makes me mad.... but the bad thing is that even the european updates seems to be still having most of the problems, especially the gps problem....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well i'm feeling you especially with the new firmware seemingly creating more problems than it solves. but when comparing the release date of the phone with the release date of the new firmware my assessment is that samsung is on the fast side with this one. but i'm not very experienced with the company so maybe i'm just a lucky samsung-beginner
there is no official european update yet, hopefully in the coming days/weeks.
and as mentioned before i don't have the slightest issue with gps.
widjaja74_us said:
so after thinking thinking thinking... i sold it.... and i sold it after only 30 minutes of posting my advertisement in internet....
i just thought i'd share my experience......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
again, sorry to hear that and i hope your next phone is going to satisfy your requirements!
cheers
EDIT
Samsung Galaxy S, European version, Android 2.1-update1 vanilla, non-rooted, LauncherPro
lemme guess... your gonna buy an iPhone 4? LOL
like most ppl on these sorts of threads say, most of us have had NO problems, mayb a few stalls 5-10 secs on apps.
your 36 and expect a device with this spec to be perfect.
if you want something that performs out of the box perfectly, get a nokia that only makes calls mate.
to be honest if you dont even know you can change touchwiz just by downloading an app you shouldnt have a smartphone anyway
I smell troll
Sorry to hear that. Although at times, I've felt like sending mine back when the GPS wigs out, but the rest of the phone is better than anything else out there, so I'm sitting tight and hoping/waiting for a fix.
just curious - are you in a rural area or in the city?
and with earlier phone(s) did you have strong 3G signal?
sensi_ said:
I smell troll
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No disrespect to OP but... yea
No phone is perfect thats a fact. I have minor issues with my Galaxy S but there are ways around them, i know you said you didnt want to mess around with it but why did you buy an open source device with huge custom ability. I love the fact theres alternative for everything, i have custom keyboards, custom home screens, gmail email app of which i have 0 problems with the gmail account, everything loads in an instant.
I dont use GPS so i can't comment but i would have recommended a factory reset if you had these problems from day 1. it fixed a lot of peoples minor quirks.
I do get a little lag here and there but its bareable until an update comes out and from what ive been reading about the unofficial firmwares they are speeding up considerably.
wow if the SGS i9000 is bad for the OP, then he should never buy a Windows Mobile nor iphone based device as those are even more horrible. (that's exactly the reason why i moved to Android phones)
it'll probably make sense to just go back and use a normal 9 buttons cell phone to avoid any problem at all, then you'll have a cell phone that is good at what it does and not a multi purpose entertainment device with a build in cell phone.
skndd said:
Are you saying you never experience *ANY* lag on your phone? This sounds very strange to me, as the lag problems seem to be an inherent problem of the phone's hardware/software architecture. I can hardly believe what you are saying, or maybe you have just not used your phone intensively enough. Otherwise me and a LOT of other GS users can get ready to return their phones for a replacement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Email - No issues, I can open an email, delete it, open another one and reply in a few seconds. I don't get the "10 seconds to delete an email" issue
GPS - Accurate to 12-odd feet, the occasional spaz out to 200 feet for a fraction of a second, but that's it
Menu - no lag issues, the odd stutter where it takes maybe 1/4 a second to show the transition animation, again, barely noticable
Apps - Other than "Zombies Live!" which is slow as hell, I don't get any unresponsive screens when apps load or quit
If you want I will make a video tomorrow. I am going to an airshow in the morning, but will make it when I get back in the evening.
Have to agree with extraordinary sluggishness despite battery pulls turning off animations etc...
Too bad...so much candy in this toy.
at my age, 36, i dont wish to spend too much time trying to fix the phone like applying rom, fixes, firmware etc.... i just want a smartphone that works well out of the box....
so after so many problems i experience using the phone i decided to sell it....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Out of curiosity.. XDA is a developers forum (hence the name).. Why would you hang around if you just want an out of the box experience??
Welldone widjaja, i totaly agree with u, samsung galaxy s, what a pile of crap, i got rid of mine (at times i felt like smashing the pile of crap with a hammer or throwing it out of the window) i know have a dell streak and i couldent be happier
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
anything that runs Windows Mobile is a piece of crap, else i wouldn't have switched to an Android phone. That Dell Stinks, it's even bigger and more cumbersome than the HTC Athena
Widjaja you're not alone, i've experienced the exact same problems. It almost felt you were talking about my handset.
This would really be the best handset if it wasn't for the issues you have mentioned, really.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
This guy brings up good points, products should always work flawlessly out of the box. And for your situation, not wanting to tinker, its probably best to replace your phone with something simpler (aria). On the other hand, a few software fixes that are already out address all these issues and make this phone, the best on the market.
Gl with your next cellphone purchase.

Thoughts on why swapping Vibrant would solve issues?

Howdy...
So I have a dilemma...
First of all, overall I LOVE this phone, and have had very few issues with it. The only "issues" I HAVE had have been the "too-long-to-get-a-fix" GPS and the stuttering/inaccurate compass in G-Maps. Sure the occasional lag-spike but every phone gets that. I performed the GPS-fix and it gets a fix MUCH faster now... so I'm happy there. Only problem left is the stuttering compass.
Now my question... I've seen threads about how people have swapped their phones and fixed the issues... my question is HOW? Why would swapping make a difference? I doubt it's a "new batch" off the line, and it sure as hell isn't new software, so why the difference?
Any ideas? Thinking about doing this but not sure if it's worth it or if I should just wait and see about a potential software fix from Samsung.
I think people are just quick to assume. Its the same phone with the same firmware. I just swapped mine today and yeah the GPS and Compass worked fine at first. Now im back to the same issue. Same with laggin. I tried to not install a Task Killer and at first it was cool. But after about 5 hours of heavy use.....lagging was back. Installed task killer and now everything is cool.
SO in short....no swapping WILL NOT fix the issues.
I don't know why people are sure this works. If new phones were shipping with new software, it would have been released. I think, anyways.
Swaps of hardware would work for hardware defects if the manufacturing date is indicative of new hardware configs.
So I don't know. I'm going to call T-Mobile soon anyways. Their online chat isn't working for me at all.
You wouldnt think it would solve anything. I did a swap and both mine had the same date on the box but the second one is a bit better. It takes better night mode shots and loads quicker than my first one did out of the box. Perhaps I just had a faulty one to begin with. GPS does work better on my second one but not great and the compass is still wacky.
A swap really shouldnt fix anything but I figured why not, it's worth a shot. Worked out ok for me but I'll see in a week.
I have the home key issue and I think that swapping will help that. Seems to me that the handset has lower than normal build quality. Its possible that is why there seems to be such a difference in how the handset performs out of the box.
I am not sure why it might exactly help out with the GPS issue but guess what! I just swapped mine about 10 mins ago. It locks on near instantly now. Maps work inside my house as well so awesome.
Just to help clear up (you know, working in customer care at T-Mobile and all) the firmware on exchanged devices is Identical, so if you are having a software issue such as the several clearly discussed and posted issues, exchanging the device won't solve a thing, since the phone you will get is Identical.
You basically have two choices, either return the phone and wait for a firmware update, or enjoy the amazing phone until Samsung releases an update. (Mind this doesn't mean don't complain, by all means complain, make your voices heard, things get fixed faster if you voice your discontent.)
Since this is a flagship Samsung device and essentially is the only phone worth mentioning (including all variants) that they've had released for a while I'm sure they will support the device with timely updates. The thing is that they have to actually fix the problem, and test the fix on multiple devices, then they have to test the fix on a limited number of devices over the air, to make sure they aren't bricked, then they roll out a tiered update to all subscribers using the device, this takes at minimum a few weeks and on average 6-8 from my experience. More if your company is named Motorola.
They are usually pretty careful about this stuff especially since bricked phones cost the company a lot of money in exchanges. They want to get it right when they send the updates.
Aphotix said:
Just to help clear up (you know, working in customer care at T-Mobile and all) the firmware on exchanged devices is Identical, so if you are having a software issue such as the several clearly discussed and posted issues, exchanging the device won't solve a thing, since the phone you will get is Identical.
You basically have two choices, either return the phone and wait for a firmware update, or enjoy the amazing phone until Samsung releases an update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A very reasoned analysis. But it does beg the question a bit by assuming that there is no hardware issue implicated as all or part of the root cause of the very serious GPS problem. Right now it is only speculation that a firmware update alone can solve this problem. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking.
It does seem that another option for a customer with defective phone is to return it for a refund during the 14-day period -- or the new 14-day period that resets with the replacement phone that still doesn't work right -- and wait to see what concrete solution emerges. Or just keep requesting replacements every 14 days until there is an actual fix.
I swapped mine because of a different issue but I will say that the gps worked extremely fast on the first boot. So I also assumed that the new phone made a difference, it however did not. The phone has begun to revert back to the slow gps signal grabbing. Only thing we can do is wait for an update, which is not good business if you ask me.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
boodies-how is the accuracy of your location when it has a fix? What does Maps say about accurate to within X meters?
My opinion is that swapping doesn't fix the problem. I did an exchange anyway just in case, and I'm ending up with the same issues (plus, new phone has a loose volume key). Both phones worked fine at first and then the GPS started screwing up. I've also noticed that GPS works ok after a reboot, but I'm not going to keep restarting my phone so the GPS will work like it should.
Not sure if I'm giving up for now and waiting for a confirmation of the GPS fix before getting another one; or maybe I'll stick it out.
Keslynn said:
My opinion is that swapping doesn't fix the problem. I did an exchange anyway just in case, and I'm ending up with the same issues (plus, new phone has a loose volume key). Both phones worked fine at first and then the GPS started screwing up. I've also noticed that GPS works ok after a reboot, but I'm not going to keep restarting my phone so the GPS will work like it should.
Not sure if I'm giving up for now and waiting for a confirmation of the GPS fix before getting another one; or maybe I'll stick it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well hope you're wrong because so far with my exchanged unit, I can tell it locks on much much quicker and the accuracy goes down below 50m finally. It hovers around 8-9 meters so far. It will even lock inside the house where before it almost never did. maybe it's the exchange, maybe it's a reset that will do it. Either way, mine works now.
its in your head...
boodies said:
well hope you're wrong because so far with my exchanged unit, I can tell it locks on much much quicker and the accuracy goes down below 50m finally. It hovers around 8-9 meters so far. It will even lock inside the house where before it almost never did. maybe it's the exchange, maybe it's a reset that will do it. Either way, mine works now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it stay working, or does it start to crap out after a while as some have reported?

I have absolutely no gps issues!!

IF YOU HAVE A GPS ISSUE... I DO NOT CARE. THIS THREAD IS NOT FOR YOU. THIS THREAD IS FOR PEOPLE TO POST WHO DO NOT HAVE AN ISSUE. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THERE ARE SOME OF US OUT THERE!
I guess androidmonkey ran with my idea and made a poll (shocker, guess who is leading at the time I posted this, those with no issues...)
I'm so freaking tired of post after post about the same people having a GPS issue. It makes the phone look poor and you guys are certainly greasing the wheel well enough. Who is the minority here?
So I thought a thread of those reporting no issues would be a welcome site.
*I am not stating anything about the compass, frankly, not sure I have ever even noticed it... *
Instead of creating a boasting thread, as part of the Samsung Defense Force, why don't you post helpful information that could help every other owner of this phone?
For example: Manufacture date, ship date, actual statistics / proof of your GPS performance and so forth.
^ post helpful information? Are you serious... all I do on here is help answer questions and write guides.
I am rooted/stock. There is nothing special done, no fixes, no tweaks.... I don't feel the need to make a video of my phone as proof of this, lol.
My gps works good enough to get me somewhere ... that's all I need it for..
I agree. There's some slight downers here...
Go for it! I think a rah-rah thread might have value. It helps beat the drum to drown out the critics and all those annoying tests and facts. That way, if a GPS fix does not materialize and I have to resell my Vibrant used as a lemon, there will be better demand in the open market.
Caveat emptor. Carpe diem.
s15274n said:
^ post helpful information? Are you serious... all I do on here is help answer questions and write guides.
I am rooted/stock. There is nothing special done, no fixes, no tweaks.... I don't feel the need to make a video of my phone as proof of this, lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^ Cool story, Bro.
So, I post a reasonable request, and you respond by being a douchebag. Way to help people all the time.
How long does your your gps take to lock? If its a few seconds, then i would like to know what's different with your phone
Gps is a HUGE issue. My gps is still taking minutes to lock which is basically useless and I've turned mine off.
s15274n said:
I'm so freaking tired of post after post about the same people having a GPS issue. It makes the phone look poor and you guys are certainly greasing the wheel well enough. Who is the minority here?
So I thought a thread of those reporting no issues would be a welcome site.
*I am not stating anything about the compass, frankly, not sure I have ever even noticed it... *
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hate trolls as much as the next guy but the Samsung Galaxy S series has MAJOR issues with GPS. This is not BS, *****ing, whining, etc, its a REAL issue. I sent a link to my location to a friend the other day and the GPS said I was 30 miles away. Sometime though the GPS is spot on, im talking about within 10 feet. Other times its miles off. I know 3 people with this phone and all have the same issues. Not to mention the hundreds of people on this forum.
Please tell us your firmware version, kernel version, baseband version, manufactured date, etc.
androidmonkey said:
Please tell us your firmware version, kernel version, baseband version, manufactured date, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FW: 2.1 update 1
Base: T959UVJFD
Kernel: 2.6.29
MD, I do not have my box with me.... I got it on 7/15/10.
JonC... 1/2 of your posts are whining about GPS. I'm not spending the time to make a video for you dude.
How bout people quit making NEW threads about gps?! There is already a thread with a fix, if someone has something to say about gps issues post there and stop clogging the forum with the same ****!
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
s15274n said:
I'm so freaking tired of post after post about the same people having a GPS issue. It makes the phone look poor and you guys are certainly greasing the wheel well enough. Who is the minority here?
So I thought a thread of those reporting no issues would be a welcome site.
*I am not stating anything about the compass, frankly, not sure I have ever even noticed it... *
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude you read my mind! GREAT POST. I'm all for it. Heck, why be anti something when you can be pro something right?
I hate seeing all these posts about the gps issue as well. It does make the Vibrant look bad....so to them gps minorities, keep your problems to one thread instead having multiple threads that just spreads bad vibes across the boards...
For the record, I have ZERO problems with my GSP. It locks on pretty fast and works like a charm...
Two thumbs up for this post...
s15274n said:
FW: 2.1 update 1
Base: T959UVJFD
Kernel: 2.6.29
MD, I do not have my box with me.... I got it on 7/15/10.
JonC... 1/2 of your posts are whining about GPS. I'm not spending the time to make a video for you dude.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then go make it for the hundreds of other people experiencing the issue with the exact same device, on the exact same baseband and kernel version. Out them as the HTC sleep cells that they all are.
Also, just to get serious for a second here:
Nobody ever said that the Galaxy S wasn't a sweet device. It's simply disappointing that Locational Services are severely busted, and we worry about having to trust Samsung on their word.
You know: their word.
So, it apparently works perfectly for you. That's neat. Congratulations. Unfortunately, it doesn't work for the majority of us here. Instead of showing us how this is an isolated incident (with your seemingly 'perfect' phone), you've chosen to boast on an internet forum. This provides us with less hope than actual evidence that it could be our individual phones that are defective (which would point to hardware).
Not really sure how that helps anyone, sport.
^ blagh blagh blagh... more posts about GPS... this thread is not intended for you, you are the reason I made it.
^ Cool story, bro!
Man what dissapointment I thought someone had finally received a phone with a working GPS
The Vibrant is a great phone but let's face it, the GPS software just plain sucks and I'm sure that goes for everyone. My G1 could lock on 8 sats in my house where the Vibrant can't find a single one. Outdoors I may get 3 after 5 minutes and even then the map program is not that accurate.
I guess you started a thread to make yourself feel good but get ready to be flamed
^ Flame away. Or, wait for others with no issues to post. Either way, I'm tired of the GPS whining threads.
I too have been wondering what all the fuss is about. I would like to know a repeatable symptom that makes people think there is a problem. If it's just time to lock, well there are so many variables to consider. Sometimes my phone locks on in seconds, usually if I have used the GPS recently. If it has been longer (like days or weeks), then it takes my phone longer (five minutes???). It also depends on the weather, and if you are moving while trying to get a lock. I have owned several stand-alone GPS devices, and have used military GPS receivers too. They ALL have these same issues.
Now if the complaint is something other than lock time, then that would be a different story.
I really don't see the GPS in this phone operating any better or worse than any other GPS that I have ever used.
I got my phone the day it came out, and my serial number ends with 10.07, and using stock FW (rooted of course). No lag fix applied either (I have heard of a lot of people having issues with g maps and lag fixes).
I guess this thread backfired on the fanboy OP.
Not sent from my Vibrant using XDA App 'cause I returned it.
MrGibbage said:
I too have been wondering what all the fuss is about. I would like to know a repeatable symptom that makes people think there is a problem. If it's just time to lock, well there are so many variables to consider. Sometimes my phone locks on in seconds, usually if I have used the GPS recently. If it has been longer (like days or weeks), then it takes my phone longer (five minutes???). It also depends on the weather, and if you are moving while trying to get a lock. I have owned several stand-alone GPS devices, and have used military GPS receivers too. They ALL have these same issues.
Now if the complaint is something other than lock time, then that would be a different story.
I really don't see the GPS in this phone operating any better or worse than any other GPS that I have ever used.
I got my phone the day it came out, and my serial number ends with 10.07, and using stock FW (rooted of course). No lag fix applied either (I have heard of a lot of people having issues with g maps and lag fixes).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't comment on the past phones or gps units you may have used but I can comment on mine. Using the programs GPS Status or GPS Test:
My G1 within seconds can lock on 6-8 sats sitting in my livingroom - this phone cannot locate one that's a (hopefully) software problem.
Outdoors my G1 locks on 8-10 sats in seconds - the Vibrant barely finds 3 (I have had 4 but the signal was so weak I don't count it), again software problem. Now even with 3 sats locked, using maps it will at times show me off the road that I'm on (example, travelling on the FL Turnpike and it shows me on a parallel service road, or I exit and map shows me passing the exit before it begins to show the turn.
There is a problem with the GPS and Samsung has acknowleged it and is working on a fix (again hopefully). I certainly don't think the software on the G1 should be so far superior to the one on the Vibrant don't you?
smashpunks said:
My gps works good enough to get me somewhere ... that's all I need it for..
I agree. There's some slight downers here...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think people are being downers for wanting a major feature of their phone to work PROPERLY. Just good enough, is not good enough.
It's like saying well, while they put a nice transmission in my car, it doesn't include reverse...but that's ok because I mostly drive forward.
This "works good enough" or "I don't really use it that much" attitude isn't helping with the fact that this portion of the phone is not working as it should. No complaints for folks like that makes it easy for Samsung to drag their feet on a solution. I am on my THIRD Vibrant (switched out for reason other than the GPS, since that IS broken right now) and the GPS has not performed well enough for me to get any practical use out of it on any of them. Three different Vibrants with different manufacture dates.
There is a problem, a prevalent one. A few people experiencing the problem on just one version of the phone would be one thing, but it affects all models. How Samsung hasn't been taken to task like Apple was is beyond me.

GPS issues still persist in Epic 4G

After a nice reboot, GPS in gmaps, GPS test, and any other GPS-enabled app seems to work great. However, after a couple of hours, especially if connected over WiFi, GPS stops acquiring a lock. GPS test even shows that it "sees" a good number of satellites, but fails to lock. The only solution is a reboot, sometimes two.
I have also noticed that during the aGPS lock portion, it tends to jump between tower locations at random. After this, sometimes it will lock, sometimes it will not. I have also noticed that on rare occasions, GPS becomes unavailable altogether.
Please tell me that some among you are experiencing this issue as well? Folks at BAW are reporting the same. I have a Captivate as well, and the problem is *identical* to the issues I see there, except that the aGPS tower association happens much faster on the Epic.
We need a fix, and fast. Evo was FAR faster in acquisition, and 100% reliable.
Downloaded the latest google maps and google nav?
launch sprint nav first, close it, then try google maps/nav.
ConceptVBS said:
Downloaded the latest google maps and google nav?
launch sprint nav first, close it, then try google maps/nav.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed I have. The issue crops up after a while of non-use. Then, only a reboot comes to the rescue. Sad.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=771503
No dice. It works... at first. However, after I left my phone on the charger (and on WiFi) overnight, and started up maps this morning, again on wifi, no lock for over 3 minutes. I started up the Sprint navvy app, and no lock. I went to diagnostics and it got stuck on "waiting for gps" for over 2 minutes until the icon FINALLY stopped pumping away. However, it's still "getting GPS", so I have to tap "go back" and then once more return to GPS diagnostics. It then says "10%", which is obviously a bogus number; GPS Status shows a reasonable fix, though a few satellites are still shown with yellow bars that seem never to quite resolve.
This has NEVER happened with the Evo. Obviously, there are still some unsettling issues with this device's satellite lock.
I was able to replicate this same problem -- Left Wi-Fi on over night, was programming tasker to auto-gps when I open up the Navigation, went to test and now gps will not lock on for me either.
The epic's gps has a lot of the same issues the others have. Sprint lied about the gps being fixed. You will have to wait until Samsung releases the new drivers to get your gps working 100%. They said some time in September.
I had my epic on wifii and charged last night and I just tried my gps here at work and got an automatic lock using google maps which my hero was not that accurate.
shep211 said:
The epic's gps has a lot of the same issues the others have. Sprint lied about the gps being fixed. You will have to wait until Samsung releases the new drivers to get your gps working 100%. They said some time in September.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ROFLMAO, you really think they will get it 100%, I doubt they even know about the issue of it not working after time. And some time in sept means sept 30th or later so you can't return the phone. I love this phone LOVE LOVE this phone but if they don't fix it soon I"m out.
My Epic has successful navigated me to 3 places so far. Only once did I use it to actually so somewhere I didn't already know how to get to. It was a 25 minute drive and the only thing I noticed different from my EVO was the 98 feet circle bug plaguing the Epic.
For me, that's all I need my GPS for. I start it from my car sitting still. I can't get a lock inside my house when I want to use maps for something, but I couldn't get that with my Evo either. My apartments have an inter-dimensional beast living within the walls that feeds on dreams and cell phone reception...
robl45 said:
ROFLMAO, you really think they will get it 100%, I doubt they even know about the issue of it not working after time. And some time in sept means sept 30th or later so you can't return the phone. I love this phone LOVE LOVE this phone but if they don't fix it soon I"m out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung knows of the gps issues and has said they are working on the issue. The gps not working after the first few days is a know issue on all galaxy s phones. Are they going to fix it 100%? Who knows. I returned my captivate and bought a new one just so I can see if the gps gets fixed. If it does not get fixed this month i will be returning my captivate again.
I would guess its probably that the GPS stops coming back from standby... hopefully that is just a driver issue, and not the hardware failing to respond to wakeup singals.
I'm not holding my breath... Sammy is very content to think that the Epic's GPS is performing to spec. They have even said that it meets all their standards and requirements. We need to make some noise.
I have no faith in Samsung making fix so I took it back to Rshack got refund today .
Just to be clear...Samsung never stated that the Epic was going to SHIP on day one with the update.
It may well be a few weeks until the promised update starts rolling out and it's hard to say which Galaxy S carrier will be first.
Sent from Samsung Vibrant
I can't believe people return this phone over not so great gps. It sucks yea but hell what phone out is worth leaving this for ?
My gps has gotten me to plenty of places. And no offence but if your 30 meters off and you can't find your destination then maybe you buy a real one... this phones the ****..
Stresa said:
Just to be clear...Samsung never stated that the Epic was going to SHIP on day one with the update.
It may well be a few weeks until the promised update starts rolling out and it's hard to say which Galaxy S carrier will be first.
Sent from Samsung Vibrant
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd agree with you, except that Sammy specifically stated that the Epic's GPS was performing according to their specifications. I take this as meaning that there will be NO update to Epic phones. Infact, many Captivate and Vibrant forums are supposedly pulling files off the Epic in order to "fix" the GPS issues on those phones... I just see this dragging on and on and on, but maybe I'm just used to HTC's inability to push out fixes in any reasonable time - hopefully Sammy will be different.
I just re-read the quote that I've seen in news stories and I would agree that it seems to imply that the Epic was fixed and the Vibrant and Captivate were pending.
It's not clear to me where this quote originated from within Samsung and I'm wondering if there are any language translation issues creeping into this causing a misunderstanding.
Sent from Samsung Vibrant
smashpunks said:
I can't believe people return this phone over not so great gps. It sucks yea but hell what phone out is worth leaving this for ?
My gps has gotten me to plenty of places. And no offence but if your 30 meters off and you can't find your destination then maybe you buy a real one... this phones the ****..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apparently many (some) people can not survive day to day living with out being coddled by technology...
Stresa said:
I just re-read the quote that I've seen in news stories and I would agree that it seems to imply that the Epic was fixed and the Vibrant and Captivate were pending.
It's not clear to me where this quote originated from within Samsung and I'm wondering if there are any language translation issues creeping into this causing a misunderstanding.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think there was a mistranslation. I have no doubt the words of that Samsung statement were carefully parsed by English-speaking marketers and lawyers at both Samsung and its carrier partners. The skill is called dissembling -- giving a false impression by half-truths without actually telling a gross lie.
Note that Samsung did not actually promise to fix the GPS issues in time for the Epic release, but it sure gave that impression, and Sprint acquiesced. For that matter, Samsung has never committed to "fix" the GPS -- which would mean admitting something is broken -- only to "optimize" it. That might be construed to mean anything, and will be so construed if no complete fix materializes. Yet the public paraphrases the statement optimistically and credits Samsung with more of a commitment than it really has made.
This is not naive corporate behavior, but rather sophisticated spin.

final solution to gps problem

So my second replacement of this galaxy s still got the ass-paining GPS problem. I had to phone orange again complaining the problem. Orange refused to exchange a different phone for me and told me to go find samsung. But I insisted that the phone was a part of the service they provided, if I was not satisfied I would have to go to them. they finally agreed to give me a third replacement to see what's going on. I'm now waiting at home for the phone to come. Although I doubt I would see any difference on this one, let's say according to law I now have right to return this phone if it's still got the GPS issue.
After I spoke to Orange, I sent an email to samsung mobile uk to tell them the problem. Today I received an email reply:
"Thank you for contacting Samsung Electronics.
Regarding your case, kindly note that the phone needs to be taken to the nearest Samsung authorized service centre to be checked by an engineer as this may be a software issue.
You can follow the link below to locate the nearest Samsung authorized service centre based on your postal code. Kindly make sure that you have selected “Mobile phones” from the drop down menu.
http://www.samsung.com/uk/support/location/supportServiceLocation.do?page=SERVICE.LOCATION
Please note that if this turns outto be a hardware issue, the phone might have to be sent in for repair.
Our manufacturer warranty covers damage caused due to a manufacturer fault and excludes any damage caused by misuse. Please make sure that your phone has not been dropped or exposed to water."
Now I have 2 options. after I receive this final replacement, if it's still got the GPS issue, I can either ask Orange to return the phone and exchange,which I think would be quite tricky,but a good chance to succeed; or I can go to local samsung service and ask them to check and repair the phone for me.
I checked samsung service location, basically it's on every carphonewarehouse store, not difficult to find one near you. I think people with gps issue should really go to ask for repair.
I will keep update this thread until either the phone's got fully functioning GPS or the phone's been returned.
UPDATE: NO 6th replacement has been proved having GPS problem as well. Contacted orange again and they told me they will start an investigation on what's with this phone. Next monday they will call me back to provide a solution, either fix the phone's GPS or exchange me a different phone.
Today I went out on highway, tested gps on both galaxy s and orange san francisco, within 30 mins driving the orange san francisco worked like a charm, no delay, no flaw; galaxy s on the other hand, lost signal for more than 6 times, showed me driving out of the highway...really upset and thought it only fair if gps performance should be better on galaxy s due to much much higher price. Well it's opposite... I would be glad if monday they exchange me a different phone and put an end to the terrible experience i had with this phone...
I am on my fourth handset at the moment and it’s just as bad as my first. I have tried every combination of firmware and fixes but have seen little improvement.
I am now waiting for Vodafone to release their Froyo build officially and when flashed to this it’s going back permanently. Its blatant false advertising and misrepresentation to claim the i9000 is capable of running satnav apps properly. And yes I’m talking about full satnav not just Google apps.
Such a shame as I was so looking forward to CM6 on this handset.
Not exactly relevant, but "final solutions" aren't always successful
Someone needs to amend the title of this thread, as once again its very misleading!
SkinBobUk said:
Someone needs to amend the title of this thread, as once again its very misleading!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'm not sure what's misleading? the solution is to send it back for repair or replace. no one can fix it on his own. you think you can come out a better solution than mine? welcome to try!
I had similar problems with Samsung galaxy S Unlocked sim free.
This is now a distant memory since the official upgrade to Android 2.2.
GPS works excellent.
Check in Samsung Kies, if your phone is ready for an upgrade.
ehe12 said:
i'm not sure what's misleading? the solution is to send it back for repair or replace. no one can fix it on his own. you think you can come out a better solution than mine? welcome to try!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't you think that if the solution was to simply exchange the phone for another that people would of done this allready, let alone the number of people on handset #4,5,6 and still their gps is not as expected.
Your title reads "Final solution", what you gonna do if samsung cant fix it? Do you have any evidence they can?
I dont wanna start an argument or cause any offence but the first thing people will think when they see that title is that contained in this thread is a solution to their gps problems. Instead all they will find is a post from you explaining what samsung and orange have advised.
Also you made another thread stating that the gps problems cannot be fixed by software, and yet in your first post in this thread you've put samsung think its a software problem.
You seem to be believing whoever u talk too and then posting it up for us.
If and when you do finally get a working gps then post away, but there is no need for misleeding posts, etc.
Have you guys tried this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=728611 ? It worked for me.
SkinBobUk said:
Don't you think that if the solution was to simply exchange the phone for another that people would of done this allready, let alone the number of people on handset #4,5,6 and still their gps is not as expected.
Your title reads "Final solution", what you gonna do if samsung cant fix it? Do you have any evidence they can?
I dont wanna start an argument or cause any offence but the first thing people will think when they see that title is that contained in this thread is a solution to their gps problems. Instead all they will find is a post from you explaining what samsung and orange have advised.
Also you made another thread stating that the gps problems cannot be fixed by software, and yet in your first post in this thread you've put samsung think its a software problem.
You seem to be believing whoever u talk too and then posting it up for us.
If and when you do finally get a working gps then post away, but there is no need for misleeding posts, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not believing anything ok? I did quote the whole email from samsung service, but I didn't believe the "software" part. What I'm trying to say is get your device back to samsung as soon as possible to have it fixed. If samsung cannot fix it? law says you can return it!
again as I'm saying, the quote from samsung service is just to remind people, contact their local samsung service to check the phone! why are you focusing on the mentioned "software problem"? OK even yes it's software problem, can you fix it? you obviously can't! then what? live with it? hell not for me! contact your local samsung service to get it fixed! that's the final solution to this GPS problem! all I'm saying is if you can't fix it, you have to send it to samsung service, and that's the only final solution!
also as you might be interested, the Orange staff I spoke to told me the following thing: when I sent my phone back, they didn't just accept everything I said, they did test the phone. According to their technician, there's something wrong with the integrated GPS.
can you fix the GPS? no you can't. I can't either. my solution will be send it to samsung so that they can repair it for me. why are you calling it misleading? my solution has a great chance to get the gps fixed!!!and if not, you've proved it's not fixable and you can return or exchange your phone!
We seem to have differant understandings of the world solution.
Fair enough samsung might be able to fix it. But i doubt it as everybody else would have done the same thing or samsung would have released some sort of press release.
And yes if they cant then you should be entitled to a refund/exchange, etc. But that aint a final solution in any sense of the word.
so youre exchanging the phone over and over and hope to have a better gps? did not realized by now that they all have fhe same gps and they all work the same so still exchanging? is the world going nuts?
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
SkinBobUk said:
We seem to have differant understandings of the world solution.
Fair enough samsung might be able to fix it. But i doubt it as everybody else would have done the same thing or samsung would have released some sort of press release.
And yes if they cant then you should be entitled to a refund/exchange, etc. But that aint a final solution in any sense of the word.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well in my opinion, I paid for a fully functional phone, if even the manufacturer cannot fix it, there is no way I can accept it and return/exchange it is the only solution for me.
maybe you think this is not a solution, but it does solve my problem.
so far I don't know how many have sent their phones back, but I think it might be a huge number.
bilboa1 said:
so youre exchanging the phone over and over and hope to have a better gps? did not realized by now that they all have fhe same gps and they all work the same so still exchanging? is the world going nuts?
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as there are many people claiming that their GPS work flawlessly, also someone claimed manufacturing dates may decide the quality of the phones, I am trying to prove either of them. even these aren't true, at least I prove that this issue won't be fixed by exchanging phones and I get my legal right to force the phone company to exchange/refund the phone for me. Also if many people do the same thing, the number of returned phones would become so large that samsung might finally have to admit this and file a recall.
this is harmless to all consumers, why not?
So why do several people have a good GPS in their SGSes. If it were hardware problem, how does it come that some people can change phone for 4 times and not get any better results and others have good GPSes from the start? I start to lean towards the idea that the SGS GPS is not great but normal. People have the idea that the phone should have an equally good GPS as for example the screen witch is superb. Well they start to test the GPS and depending on several parameters (not the weather as seems to be a common misunderstanding) the GPS breaks down or they could not get an instant position within 1-2 meters (which is impossible with a cold or semi cold start if you do not have a cruise missile handy). They start fiddling around and mess up the GPS so it do not work at all.
The urban canyon problem that many refers to is a problem that even the high end dedicated GPSes have (look for reviews on the net). They are of course better then the SGS but heck you bought a phone not a GPS.
I do not say that there are no faulty SGSes out there. But so what there have been 7 million sold and there must be some. I also think that the SGS may be hiding the full potential somewhere deep in the hardware and it can be unlocked by some low level upgrade of the GPS. However I am content with the normal function of the GPS and of course I hope that future upgrades can make it better.
However there are evidently some trolls in these GPS forums which you can see if you reading all the mails. However there are not many, but they are rather irritating, in the sense that they will not listen to arguments and even if you show them a good track (which have been posted several times) they will deny it and accuse the user of incompetence instead of trying to find out why there phone is broken.
milsjg said:
So why do several people have a good GPS in their SGSes. If it were hardware problem, how does it come that some people can change phone for 4 times and not get any better results and others have good GPSes from the start? I start to lean towards the idea that the SGS GPS is not great but normal. People have the idea that the phone should have an equally good GPS as for example the screen witch is superb. Well they start to test the GPS and depending on several parameters (not the weather as seems to be a common misunderstanding) the GPS breaks down or they could not get an instant position within 1-2 meters (which is impossible with a cold or semi cold start if you do not have a cruise missile handy). They start fiddling around and mess up the GPS so it do not work at all.
The urban canyon problem that many refers to is a problem that even the high end dedicated GPSes have (look for reviews on the net). They are of course better then the SGS but heck you bought a phone not a GPS.
I do not say that there are no faulty SGSes out there. But so what there have been 7 million sold and there must be some. I also think that the SGS may be hiding the full potential somewhere deep in the hardware and it can be unlocked by some low level upgrade of the GPS. However I am content with the normal function of the GPS and of course I hope that future upgrades can make it better.
However there are evidently some trolls in these GPS forums which you can see if you reading all the mails. However there are not many, but they are rather irritating, in the sense that they will not listen to arguments and even if you show them a good track (which have been posted several times) they will deny it and accuse the user of incompetence instead of trying to find out why there phone is broken.
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Click to collapse
I did GPS test fairly and equally. I have another coupla phones, san francisco, hero and touch diamond. I use them all at the same time. SGS is the only one has problem. Clear?
the 4 SGS I got all have the same issue, in the mean time my other models (san francisco, hero, touch diamond) all work great. Does this make sense to you how bad GPS on SGS is? So I replace it 3 times, so what? I just need it to be as good as my other phones. is it too much to ask?
milsjg, we dont expect sgs gps to be better than a dedicated gps device such as tomtom.We just want it to be as gps of some other phones, even some 2 years old nokia phones are much better on that. Thats the problem
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ehe12 said:
I did GPS test fairly and equally. I have another coupla phones, san francisco, hero and touch diamond. I use them all at the same time. SGS is the only one has problem. Clear?
the 4 SGS I got all have the same issue, in the mean time my other models (san francisco, hero, touch diamond) all work great. Does this make sense to you how bad GPS on SGS is? So I replace it 3 times, so what? I just need it to be as good as my other phones. is it too much to ask?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But why do lots of people have fairly good GPSes? You have to try to answer that question before you are pursing your answer. I have a fairly good (not exceptional missile good) GPS and I have posted several good tracks using different programs.
I also not an idiot and VERY familiar with GPS and programming. I do not mean to insult you if you are not trolling but just telling everybody that all SGS has a faulty GPS because you have had bad experience is not special good idea if you want to keep out of the trolling zone. I just searched for Iphone "GPS problem" on the net and found several links to GPS problems on the iPhone. So recommending from your experience to buy for example iPhone or any other phone in order to be happy with the GPS is very dangerouse.
The Htc Hero link below may clarify my point. Read if you dear because you have a faulty GPS on your Hero according to the link and there plenty more of that on the net. Get the drift?
http://community.sprint.com/baw/thread/27731;jsessionid=B0162F04F9DF9DCFFFC245A792A481BA.app2jive1
milsjg said:
But why do lots of people have fairly good GPSes? You have to try to answer that question before you are pursing your answer. I have a fairly good (not exceptional missile good) GPS and I have posted several good tracks using different programs.
I also not an idiot and VERY familiar with GPS and programming. I do not mean to insult you if you are not trolling but just telling everybody that all SGS has a faulty GPS because you have had bad experience is not special good idea if you want to keep out of the trolling zone. I just searched for Iphone "GPS problem" on the net and found several links to GPS problems on the iPhone. So recommending from your experience to buy for example iPhone or any other phone in order to be happy with the GPS is very dangerouse.
The Htc Hero link below may clarify my point. Read if you dear because you have a faulty GPS on your Hero according to the link and there plenty more of that on the net. Get the drift?
http://community.sprint.com/baw/thread/27731;jsessionid=B0162F04F9DF9DCFFFC245A792A481BA.app2jive1
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Click to collapse
I don't know to be fair. That's why I keep asking my contract provider to replace it for me. I thought if that's something about luck, replacing it as many times as I can could finally get me a working one. But... so far I have 4 in a row all bad GPS. Guess I'm just not lucky at all...
Other than replacing it, I don't know what else I can do to solve this problem. I like this phone and not until final stage will I return it. So far I'm just trying so hard to get one with good GPS. If you have any positive idea please let me know. I only care about this phone's GPS, the link you posted has nothing to do with my GPS issue.
milsjg said:
But why do lots of people have fairly good GPSes? You have to try to answer that question before you are pursing your answer. I have a fairly good (not exceptional missile good) GPS and I have posted several good tracks using different programs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
also where are you? I'm really curious how good your phone's GPS is. If you live in UK, would you mind come over to my place and show me?
I live in Manchester. If anyone has a SGS with fully functioning GPS, could you contact me and let me see how good your GPS is? I'm really interested to know if "Good GPS" really exists.
Sorry Sweden, However try to get hold of a phone with a different operator. Did not htc have a specific problem with Telestra (I do not know
If I spelled it right)
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