[Q] GPS Lock /w No Data Plan Possible? - Vibrant General

Alright so I've applied both eugene's GPS fix as well as the Lbs test fix, but none seemed to work. On the Lbs Test, I can see the phone finding 11-12 satellites, a few with signals up to high 30s to low 40s dBHz, but even after 30 minutes of waiting, none of them ever locks.
I want to know if this has anything to do with my lack of a data plan. I noticed the settings required access to a SUPL server, and I'm not sure if wifi would cut it.
I only recently bought this phone without a contract, and wanted to test it out first using just wifi. Right now the APN setting is SMS only.

I get a GPS lock with wifi. Make sure you are standing outside with a clear view of the sky (but still within range of your wifi network)

Related

GPS Reception is terrible

Just curious if anyone else has issues with GPS reception on their sprint touch. I upgraded to the latest htc rom earlier in the week and everything is great except I cannot get GPS to hook up - I've had it work only once.
i upgraded too and i'm using GPS with GoPilot Live, iGO8 and Garmin Mobile XT and it works without issue.
what GPS program are you using with your touch?
Google maps is the only application i've tried. It will search (and search, and search) but doesn't find any or only 1 sat.
Make sure all your settings are correct and try using something like GPS Viewer to get the initilal lock.
Any hint on which settings, and what the the correct values for those settings would be?
Thanks for the tip on GPS Viewer - I will def check it out!
Thanks,
Tim
First, make sure you have the proper Radio/ROM, I assume you do.
Second, under System Settings>External GPS
Programs>COM4 Port
Hardware>(None) Baud Rate>4800
Access>Check Manage Automatically
Third, under Personal Settings>Phone
Services>Location Setting>Location On
Fourth, the Registry
I know of only one value that may help if you change, there are more, but haven't seen them, and I believe it's different on some carriers, like Sprint
HKCU>Software>HTC>SUPL AGPS>GPS Mode
For the inital sat lock, make sure you stand outside on a clear sky and wait at least 5 min, if it takes that long.
The first time I did this, I was trying from inside, finally tried it outside after 3 days of no luck, but now it works quite well. I usually get connected under 30 seconds. As long as your in the same area when you reconnect it should be quick, the first is usually the longest. And I personally use LiveSearch for the directions.
Change from 2 to either 4 or 1, this may help, never really guarenteed though
I was in Boston this weekend and noticed the GPS on my Touch would not lock in a signal in the financial district surrounded by tall buildings. But when I have a clearer view of the sky it works fine. Are you in an open area when you are using it?
hapa_dude said:
I was in Boston this weekend and noticed the GPS on my Touch would not lock in a signal in the financial district surrounded by tall buildings. But when I have a clearer view of the sky it works fine. Are you in an open area when you are using it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It surely helps! Any obstructions will make it harder to pickup the signal.
TheChampJT said:
First, make sure you have the proper Radio/ROM, I assume you do.
Second, under System Settings>External GPS
Programs>COM4 Port
Hardware>(None) Baud Rate>4800
Access>Check Manage Automatically
Third, under Personal Settings>Phone
Services>Location Setting>Location On
Fourth, the Registry
I know of only one value that may help if you change, there are more, but haven't seen them, and I believe it's different on some carriers, like Sprint
HKCU>Software>HTC>SUPL AGPS>GPS Mode
For the inital sat lock, make sure you stand outside on a clear sky and wait at least 5 min, if it takes that long.
The first time I did this, I was trying from inside, finally tried it outside after 3 days of no luck, but now it works quite well. I usually get connected under 30 seconds. As long as your in the same area when you reconnect it should be quick, the first is usually the longest. And I personally use LiveSearch for the directions.
Change from 2 to either 4 or 1, this may help, never really guarenteed though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was having problems with mine too until I did the 4th one and changed it to a 1 from 2 and it works much better. Try it and see you can always turn it back to 2
This helped me
http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=173024
My apologies if this has already been posted somewhere. I did a search and came up empty...
So like a lot of people, I've been having some major problems with the GPS's reliability on the Touch (yep, last week's flavor of the week). It connects only when it feels like it, and numerous resets seem to temporarily solve the problem. Well, changing the following registry value seemed to solve all of my problems:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Comm\ConnMgr\Providers\{7C4B7A3 8-5FF7-4bc1-80F6-5DA7870BB1AA}\Connections\Phone as Modem]
"Enabled"=dword:00000000"
Change the value to 0, and soft reset.
It appears that the GPS, by default, makes use of the "Phone as Modem" data connection to take advantage of aGPS, but if a "Sprint PCS" data connection is already active, the GPS doesn't swap connection methods and ultimately hangs. This problem is exacerbated if you have Push services or other data connections running.
I personally haven't noticed any problems with disabling PAM, but as usual, your mileage will vary. For me, I get GPS locks within 15 seconds when I'm in a reasonably accessible location, and I no longer have to reset-and-pray to get this thing working.
bill22 said:
http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=173024
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My apologies if this has already been posted somewhere. I did a search and came up empty...
So like a lot of people, I've been having some major problems with the GPS's reliability on the Touch (yep, last week's flavor of the week). It connects only when it feels like it, and numerous resets seem to temporarily solve the problem. Well, changing the following registry value seemed to solve all of my problems:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Comm\ConnMgr\Providers\{7C4B7A3 8-5FF7-4bc1-80F6-5DA7870BB1AA}\Connections\Phone as Modem]
"Enabled"=dword:00000000"
Change the value to 0, and soft reset.
It appears that the GPS, by default, makes use of the "Phone as Modem" data connection to take advantage of aGPS, but if a "Sprint PCS" data connection is already active, the GPS doesn't swap connection methods and ultimately hangs. This problem is exacerbated if you have Push services or other data connections running.
I personally haven't noticed any problems with disabling PAM, but as usual, your mileage will vary. For me, I get GPS locks within 15 seconds when I'm in a reasonably accessible location, and I no longer have to reset-and-pray to get this thing working.
Link not working, repost.
hate to tell you this, but if you are using the builtin GPS, a clear view of the sky does nothing to improve your gps position locking. our phones have AGPS which means it is fake GPS. It uses the distance from cell towers to triangulate your position, not satellites. Thats why you can get a lock inside with no view of the sky.
some ROMs have different settings on them so following the above directions should work. Or you can do like me and find a better ROM

[Q] Anyone else having trouble with cellular location service (i.e., My Location)?

Gah...this seemed like it was resolved for me, but now it's come back. When I have the GPS off and "Use Wireless Networks" turned on, my Vibrant (and every other smartphone I've owned in the past 5 years) has been able to use cellular location service to approximate my location. Again, I'm not talking about GPS. GPS is turned off.
This is really irritating as I use a lot of apps that require my location (weather, etc.), and I really don't want to turn on the GPS every time they need to estimate what part of the city I'm in...it just isn't necessary and takes too long. Location service is necessary for aGPS to get a quick satellite lock even if I was willing to use GPS.
It works great when I'm connect to wifi, but just using cell towers it usually either doesn't work or shows my location as somewhere I was hours ago. I'm in Chicago, by the way. Anyone else having this issue? I'm trying to determine if this is a problem with my phone or if T-Mobile's network in my area is just temporarily stupid. Thanks!
I've noticed that even with my gps turned on as long as I'm not constantly running an app that uses my location the gps will just blip on for whatever its needed for and then when you don't need it anymore its turns off, not wasting much battery.
I have noticed that my margin of error on my vibrant seems to be bigger than on my G1, but I can't fully confirm that, however I would probably turn to saying that its tmobile's issue with their towers (triangulation and all that jazz)
bessertier said:
I've noticed that even with my gps turned on as long as I'm not constantly running an app that uses my location the gps will just blip on for whatever its needed for and then when you don't need it anymore its turns off, not wasting much battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem is that aGPS needs to use the location service to approximate your location...otherwise it takes a long time to get a GPS lock. Since my location service has been acting up I haven't been getting quick GPS locks anymore.
bessertier said:
I have noticed that my margin of error on my vibrant seems to be bigger than on my G1, but I can't fully confirm that, however I would probably turn to saying that its tmobile's issue with their towers (triangulation and all that jazz)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hope so. I've never had problems with other phones in this area, so I hope it's not the Vibrant. I've already had it replaced once for a bad Menu "button."

[Q] Clock Auto-Update and GPS

Clock Updates
I recently traveled to Los Angeles with my TF. When I turned on my TF and connected to WiFi, I expected it to update the time based on the GPS location. It did not.
So I checked the clock settings, and it is set to auto-update the time (Network time I think it's called). Curiously, it's set to -5 Central Time (which -6 is Central, -5 is Eastern). Not sure why, but this was a pretty odd setting to me.
GPS
This is more of a curiosity question. In the air, I decided to see where I was. I figured, "I have a GPS in my tablet, it should be able to tell me where I am." I was wrong! It was not able to grab a satellite while in the air, which seems silly to me.
Is it a true GPS or does it get location data from somewhere else? Seems to me like it SHOULD work in an airplane, but I might not understand the technology appropriately.
It is typically rather difficult to get a workable GPS signal on an aircraft. You generally need to be right up against a south facing window.
EtherBoo said:
Clock Updates
I recently traveled to Los Angeles with my TF. When I turned on my TF and connected to WiFi, I expected it to update the time based on the GPS location. It did not.
So I checked the clock settings, and it is set to auto-update the time (Network time I think it's called). Curiously, it's set to -5 Central Time (which -6 is Central, -5 is Eastern). Not sure why, but this was a pretty odd setting to me.
GPS
This is more of a curiosity question. In the air, I decided to see where I was. I figured, "I have a GPS in my tablet, it should be able to tell me where I am." I was wrong! It was not able to grab a satellite while in the air, which seems silly to me.
Is it a true GPS or does it get location data from somewhere else? Seems to me like it SHOULD work in an airplane, but I might not understand the technology appropriately.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ive also noticed that if your moving it doesnt grab the signal as good as if your connected Via a mobile hotspot or your cell. The only way it works flawlessly, is if you turn the map on standing still to see the area where your at.
Like the commercial where they get stranded and the guy holding the Transformer gets out of the car and turns on GPS and it locks on. if i do that , it works perfectly but moving in a car it fails to update on time as i move
Other thing to keep in mind is that the system uses A-GPS where it uses the data connection to download info on the current locations of the GPS satellites therefore equaling a much faster lock on. If you don't have a data connection, naturally you'd find it take longer to lock on. I've tried the GPS sitting in my room, a good 15 feet from a shaded window and I can lock on 9 or so satellites relatively quickly. I imagine that your movement speed also affects the lock speed and a plane is usually moving a little bit.
Good to know about the GPS, thank you.
So what's up with the Clock not updating and claiming CST is -5 GMT?
Many commercial gps chips have a relatively low max speed limit. They are ok for normal vehicle travel, but will not work in aircraft or other high speed vehicles. This is by design. Prevents them from being used for military purposes
Only 1 time have I been able to successfully get a GPS lock while in the air, using my old WinMo phone + a BT GPS receiver, while on a flight to HI.
The GPS chip was accurately measuring the speed at ~600 MPH. I don't think there are limits until you get into the supersonic (missile speed) range.
So what's with the clock since the GPS question has been answered?
Sorry, I know this is slightly old, but as far as I know it's because of DST.
was daylight saving time set. Also remember some locations in the US do not use DST. Check your settings. It does not read actual local, time, but rather reads GMT and does the math. If you give it the wrong inputs, it will give you the wrong answer.

Strange GPS behaviour on Virgin SGS2 rooted to Rogers

Here's what happens... if I have just GPS enabled (no Wi-Fi), and I tell it to locate my position while I'm at home, it tells me I'm about 5-10 kilometers away. It's in the correct town, but isn't near where I actually am, and I'm standing right in the open, no buildings or anything.
Now, if I enable GPS and Wi-Fi, it tells me I'm currently where I USED to live, which is about 50km away from my real position. The place it tells me I am is actually right near my gym and where I used to live, but I haven't lived there for close to two years but I still frequent the gym.
Anyway, I'm totally confused. I could understand that if I enabled my Wi-Fi and it's telling me that I'm near where I used to live, it could have something to do with having the name of my wireless router cached at that location, even though it hasn't actually existed at that location for two years. What leads me to believe that this is some sort of caching issue is that if I am at work and use the GPS (or anywhere else I don't frequent for that matter) it locates me fine, instantly.
So... what can I do?
Anybody have any idea? This is awfully frustrating...
You could try using GPS status from the market to reset and download your AGPS data?
That fails i would backup data and factory reset as symptoms are of faulty settings . You could also replace the modem .
jje
I'm also having issues, "GPS Status" app sees 10 satellites but never locks. This is outdoors.
With your Wifi location issue, I think that's because the google vehicles collecting street view data recorded your wifi SSID to be at your old house, which is why it thinks you're there.
EDIT: I should also mention, mine worked fine before rooting, then I used Chainfire's kernel to root and I have the issues that we're seeing (JP_XSG_KG2 and ZS_OZS_KG2).
One of the reasons I'm waiting on a proper Canadian Kernel to use.... too many unknowns.
Fixed!
Using a different kernel and ROM (XXKG6, Android 2.3.4):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1124396
GPS locks within about 5 seconds outside and network speeds seem to be the normal for Rogers.
Do you have a working 3G connection?
So, I downloaded that GPS app and did everything that it had available... nothing really helped. When I'm anywhere but my house, the GPS locks fairly fast, but can still be somewhat slow.
I believe I was having no issues as well before rooting, and I used CF Root as well. I obviously agree regarding updated firmware from Samsung/Virgin... I'm sure it could very well resolve this and some other issues.
I have a 3G connection... it's always listed as H+ though.
GIR said:
Do you have a working 3G connection?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep! It indicates 3G when idle, and when I'm using the data connection it switches to H+. Rogers download speeds of ~4Mbps.

[Q] GPS lock problem after kk

Seems to have GPS lock problems after kk update. Very difficult to get lock, and even when lock is eventually found, signal drops off easily. Anyone with this problem and have a solution for this?
koj012 said:
Seems to have GPS lock problems after kk update. Very difficult to get lock, and even when lock is eventually found, signal drops off easily. Anyone with this problem and have a solution for this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest I have seen that on my 4.3, where GPS lock takes more than twice longer (sometimes 5-10 times) than on my S3 - there is another thread on that somewhere. I was hoping 4.4 to come with improved firmware on that one, but apparently not so much
i'm not on kitkat, but i have problems with gps.
however, problems occurs only when recording a track with "my tracks" from google.. as navigation apps works fine, no issue with the signal. only my tracks is giving me huge gaps between checkpoints..
I dont have gps locking problem in kitkat, but with directions while navigation, gps marker points in opposite direction.
Sent from my SM-N900 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
xclub_101 said:
To be honest I have seen that on my 4.3, where GPS lock takes more than twice longer (sometimes 5-10 times) than on my S3 - there is another thread on that somewhere. I was hoping 4.4 to come with improved firmware on that one, but apparently not so much
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have actually had the same problem, I thought it was only me. I ran stock Italy ROM 4.3, but don't see any improvement under 4.4.2 Poland. Even GPS Status app does not seem to help.
xclub_101 said:
To be honest I have seen that on my 4.3, where GPS lock takes more than twice longer (sometimes 5-10 times) than on my S3 - there is another thread on that somewhere. I was hoping 4.4 to come with improved firmware on that one, but apparently not so much
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting, my GPS lock in MapsWithMe Pro is almost instantaneous. About 5 seconds, usually. Unless I'm indoors, but you can't blame a phone for the laws of physics.
N9005 DBT 4.3 MK2/MJ7/MK2
If I use Google Maps, it will only triangulate if I turn on 'Use WiFi', 'Allow Google Location' and more of that rubbish, and even then it takes about 5 minutes to get a lock.
My advice: Stop using Google Maps.
ShadowLea said:
Interesting, my GPS lock in MapsWithMe Pro is almost instantaneous. About 5 seconds, usually. Unless I'm indoors, but you can't blame a phone for the laws of physics.
N9005 DBT 4.3 MK2/MJ7/MK2
If I use Google Maps, it will only triangulate if I turn on 'Use WiFi', 'Allow Google Location' and more of that rubbish, and even then it takes about 5 minutes to get a lock.
My advice: Stop using Google Maps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. I almost NEVER use Google Maps (OK, maybe for testing stuff) - and I can only wonder how you got that idea anyway Generally I am very happy with Sygic and I also use GPS Test for quick testing, also Accurate Compass (for very quickly calibrating the compass).
2. I have now tested MapsWithMe for like 2 days and I can guarantee you that the "instantaneous GPS lock" is COMPLETE bullsh*t - the program is only caching your last position (which generates huge problems if you move between locks), then it tries to use location data from your WiFi connection if that is active; if not it then tries to use some very basic and EXTREMELY INACCURATE positioning based on GSM cell towers (at which point the error displayed for my position was in the order of 1-2 km); during all those steps the program also fires-up the GPS - but it acquires the lock EXACTLY with the same speed (or complete lack thereof) as any other program attempting GPS lock
3. What still remains a little surprising for me is that sometimes (like well over 50% of time but NOT 100%) my GPS lock is MUCH, MUCH faster (in any program) if I have the Mobile Data connection active (which normally I rarely have); once I have the GPS lock I can then stop the Mobile Data connection and the lock remains perfectly good. EDIT: However the WiFi connection does NOT seem to make ANY difference on GPS lock whatsoever.
Isn't this basicly what AGPS should be doing. It requires a data connection to get the positioning fix faster than just using the GPS. once it gets the location it does not need the data that much. Except for google maps to download the map and navigation information, and this is why it needs a data connection all the time.
Sygic does not need a data connection for the map nor navigation. But, of course, having a data connection well get the fix faster.
y2kkingboy said:
Isn't this basicly what AGPS should be doing. It requires a data connection to get the positioning fix faster than just using the GPS. once it gets the location it does not need the data that much. Except for google maps to download the map and navigation information, and this is why it needs a data connection all the time.
Sygic does not need a data connection for the map nor navigation. But, of course, having a data connection well get the fix faster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, I had no surprise from the fact that aGPS can work
What I might have not mentioned above (fixed that now) was:
- a WiFi connection never improves things
- my old i9300 never needed the mobile data connection (or any kind of connection - that made basically no difference on it).
Those two seem to suggest that the Note3 "GPS driver stack" is worse than the old i9300. Also the fact that the mobile data connection does not improve things in 100% of the cases was IMHO interesting to note.
xclub_101 said:
1. I almost NEVER use Google Maps (OK, maybe for testing stuff) - and I can only wonder how you got that idea anyway Generally I am very happy with Sygic and I also use GPS Test for quick testing, also Accurate Compass (for very quickly calibrating the compass).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, miscommunication. I did not mean you used Gmaps, I meant people in general. Gmaps is a nightmare, on 50Mbps LTE it still barely loads... Even on my homenetwork of 120Mbps WiFi it takes ages to load the map itself, surely the packages are not 1GB a piece?
2. I have now tested MapsWithMe for like 2 days and I can guarantee you that the "instantaneous GPS lock" is COMPLETE bullsh*t - the program is only caching your last position (which generates huge problems if you move between locks), then it tries to use location data from your WiFi connection if that is active; if not it then tries to use some very basic and EXTREMELY INACCURATE positioning based on GSM cell towers (at which point the error displayed for my position was in the order of 1-2 km); during all those steps the program also fires-up the GPS - but it acquires the lock EXACTLY with the same speed (or complete lack thereof) as any other program attempting GPS lock
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I travel an average of 600KM a day.
Yes, MWM caches the last position. Which is hilarious from time to time, last week it thought I was still in Zurich when I was actually in Berlin. If you click the gps icon three times again, it repositions. Waiting for it to refix automatically takes ages.
I do not have WiFi on the Autobahn, (If only! ) and 70% of the journey I do not even have a mobile signal.
3. What still remains a little surprising for me is that sometimes (like well over 50% of time but NOT 100%) my GPS lock is MUCH, MUCH faster (in any program) if I have the Mobile Data connection active (which normally I rarely have); once I have the GPS lock I can then stop the Mobile Data connection and the lock remains perfectly good. EDIT: However the WiFi connection does NOT seem to make ANY difference on GPS lock whatsoever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nothing suprising about that. It uses the celltowers to triangulate by sending a data package, as opposed to attempting to connect to three satelites. If the network is fast enough (UMTS and above) it is much easier to get an accurate position. GPRS doesn't work all that well, nor does having 1 bar of signal on anything but LTE.
WiFi only helps if there are active points nearby (no need to connect to them, detecting them is sufficient) and you have 'use wireless networks' enabled under Location Settings.
I just tested: WiFi and Mobile Data off, No network signal, on the Fyra (Highspeed train. Or as much as the NS can manage, anyway.) from Schiphol Airport to Breda @160kph. Got a lock with SpeedView in 15 seconds, detected 24 sats. Not instantaneous, but then you can't ask for that at such speeds.
I do have to say, on the previous firmware it took much, much longer. About 1-2 minutes. And I tried a Dutch Note 3 yesterday, it required almosylt a minute on the same firnware version.
The weather also influences the signal, clear skies vastly improve things. As does solar activity. Last October you could wait an hour and not get a lock, due to a solarstorm causing too much magnetic interference in the atmosphere. Even my GPS locator itself took almost half an hour.
Send From My Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9005 Using Tapatalk
ShadowLea said:
...
Nothing suprising about that. It uses the celltowers to triangulate by sending a data package, as opposed to attempting to connect to three satelites. If the network is fast enough (UMTS and above) it is much easier to get an accurate position. GPRS doesn't work all that well, nor does having 1 bar of signal on anything but LTE.
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually original aGPS doesn't quite work that way at all - here is some info from some of the guys doing some of the Linux kernel drivers for aGPS devices (I can not guarantee it is 100% accurate but fits OK with other info that I have seen):
http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Hardware:AGPS
And another thing to remember when testing GPS - after a successful GPS lock it is very likely that you will have a MUCH faster 2nd GPS lock for up to about 2 hours. So any such immediate 2nd lock should be see in the above context, also the lack of it
Least this problem isn't just me. Always used to track my rides with Endomondo without a hitch but I went out for the first time since KitKat and I couldn't tell you how many times it dropped out on that 2 hour ride ... but it was alot
Xalies said:
Least this problem isn't just me. Always used to track my rides with Endomondo without a hitch but I went out for the first time since KitKat and I couldn't tell you how many times it dropped out on that 2 hour ride ... but it was alot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems to be a very common problem. Read somewhere that this is a software issue and there is a fix if the phone is rooted by flashing a patch on it. But I'm not about to root my phone and lose the warranty. SAMSUNG please release an update quickly that fixes this problem.
koj012 said:
Seems to be a very common problem. Read somewhere that this is a software issue and there is a fix if the phone is rooted by flashing a patch on it. But I'm not about to root my phone and lose the warranty. SAMSUNG please release an update quickly that fixes this problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am rooted (with knox 0x0 ) and I have looked into that patch - the one that I saw only sets a different AGPS server address and has minimal or no impact - actually I have a strong feeling that there is something in the CSC that overrides it, which explains why the AGPS server only improves things for me when connected only on mobile data and not over wifi.
IMHO that seems to be mostly a firmware / software driver issue - on my old S3 it looked like there was a lot more "caching" of the "GPS almanac" and slightly more pre-calculation of the "GPS ephemeris", possibly on the application CPU on the phone (which has humongous general-computing power compared with the CPU used inside the GPS circuit, which however is highly more specialized). On the Note 3 it seems to work in a "safer" approach in which older (than like 2 hours) GPS almanac data is considered inaccurate and so is the time otherwise used to pre-calculate GPS ephemeris (which time to be honest I have seen WILDLY inaccurate on some carriers, something like 27 seconds away; and of course if the time is not carrier-set the phone time can easily be tens of minutes away ).

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