Related
I've written up a full review of the GPS:
http://briefmobile.com/samsung-epic-4g-gps-test
YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7PBst2OBCw&feature=player_embedded
I tested the GPS with Google Navigation, Maps, and My Tracks applications.
Observations overall:
- Accuracy was slightly off (as shown by My Tracks... worked perfectly in Google Navigation)
- Worked reliably over hours of navigating to and from destinations --- NEVER lost my car
- Compass seems off in My Tracks, shows correctly in Google Navigation
Check out my article for more details. Overall... thumbs up. GPS works well. Always worked with navigation perfectly.
Glad to see it works but still concerned about the lack of accuracy. The Evo my wife has seems to have a much more accurate lock than what was shown in the video.
kennethpenn said:
I've written up a full review of the GPS:
http://briefmobile.com/samsung-epic-4g-gps-test
YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7PBst2OBCw&feature=player_embedded
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) Thanks for this test. So far I see no results that would appear to be a hard stop. But in the other thread, you mentioned that your Epic GPS accuracy was not as good as your G1. So I am still concerned. I think performance on this new, expensive, high-end Android should be at least as good as the performance of the oldest Android model.
Also, driving is the least demanding test of the low-level GPS, and there are many applications for it besides vehicular navigation. On other Galaxy S platforms, the GPS tracks seem to get smoothed or interpolated, which in driving tests seems okay most of the time because the motion of the vehicle ovewhelms the underlying errrors in the smoothing algorithm. The result is that the GPS seems great while moving pretty straight, but can veer off-course on turns, corners and stops. You did mention similar symptoms. (And then navigation programs mask errors further by snap-to behavior layered onto the smoothed GPS output.)
I know it must seem that I am never satisfied, but I am always interested in more rigorous testing. Often a better My Tracks test is over a walking course, preferably along with a benchmark device such as the G1. And the whole track -- not just isolated snapshots -- then can be shared with us via upload to Google.
For example, look at my own tests of the Vibrant vs G1 here.
(If you are worried about your own privacy, just test in some location other than your home. I went to an apartment complex in my neighborhood.)
2) Another set of GPS-bug symptoms reported on other Galaxy S platforms is the failure to use and lock on to enough satellites. That is best seen not through tracking or navigation apps, but by utilities that read and report the detailed performance of the GPS from the Android system. The two most popular utilities for this testing are GPS Test and GPS Status. Among other things, they will tell you how many satellites the GPS thinks it sees, their signal strength as SNR, and how many are actually being used for a fix. Could you try those utilites and report the results?
3) You haven't told us exactly how your test unit came into your hands. But we do know from other intelligence that at least some pre-sales demo units were selectively shipped before the latest Samsung software was installed. So it is useful to know the build date of your unit, as shown by internal file date stamps. (Perhaps this can clear up some confusion about other reported tests.)
4) From the latest build dumps we have seen, it appears that the Epic -- uniquely among Samsung S variants -- has a system utility called GpsSetup. Can you see any evidence that this utility is installed on your unit? If so, what does it do? Are there configurable settings? If so, what are the default settings, and what settings are you using?
Thanks again for your work.
Regarding the compass ...
From the review:
My Tracks Observations:
... Compass pointer totally off. ...
Google Navigation Observations:
... Compass points the right way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think this simply means that the compass sensor -- and/or the low-level software that drives it -- remain bad on the tested Epic unit. In My Tracks, the compass is driven by the on-board magnetometer of the phone and is supposed to move when the phone's physical orientation changes. In Google Navigation, the compass is fixed relative to the maps streamed from the app's servers.
The FUBAR compass on Samsung S phones is sort of related to the GPS bugs, because some apps read both sensors. So users often perceive them as the same problem. But they are two separate issues.
Looks like it's the defective compass spoils the accuracy.
I know it's not going to prove much, but here is a video with another user saying the GPS is fine on the Epic:
http://androidandme.com/2010/08/news/sprint-epic-4g-qa-part-1/
6 minutes in.
It's also a good video worth watching if you'd just like to see the phone in action some more. I'll post this in the reviews thread as well I suppose.
hydralisk said:
I know it's not going to prove much, but here is a video with another user saying the GPS is fine on the Epic:
http://androidandme.com/2010/08/news/sprint-epic-4g-qa-part-1/
6 minutes in.
It's also a good video worth watching if you'd just like to see the phone in action some more. I'll post this in the reviews thread as well I suppose.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With the correct gps settings no sgs phone has issues standing still. You wont see anything wrong with the gps until you use it while driving. Everyone with a sgs phone should know this. If I had a sgs phone & a epic the first thing I would do would test the gps while driving and post a video. I think its weird how no one will do this. I am getting a epic first thing tues am and will post video of speed of the epic vs sgs phone with lag fix, gps test while driving & video\pic quality. Since these are the main things in question.
shep211 said:
With the correct gps settings no sgs phone has issues standing still. You wont see anything wrong with the gps until you use it while driving. Everyone with a sgs phone should know this. If I had a sgs phone & a epic the first thing I would do would test the gps while driving and post a video..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, in my experience the opposite tends to be true about SGS phones. Driving tests tend to obscure the accuracy problems. Standing still and walking tracks are tougher tests of accuracy. And videos are not as detailed as actual My Tracks output uploaded to Google, where we can all zoom in an explore ther results in detail on a map or satellite background. Some problems that can show up driving are the cases where the GPS track veers off-road on turns and stops.
I have seen plenty of driving "reviews" and "tests" of the GPS in other variants of the phone that erroneously report everything is fine (which is why I still take the OP's results with a grain of salt, no offense). My own testing with Vibrants showed relatively decent tracking while driving, but very poor accuracy when stopped or moving as a pedestrian.
EDIT: I finally found and watched the newly linked Youtube video here, and was totally unimpressed by this reviewer. He was cluelessly misinformed about the status of the GPS problems on other platforms, and his andecdotal report of using the GPS on the Epic through Google Navigate app proved nothing at all.
BTW, for a good summary of the GPS problems on Samsung Galaxy S phones generally, see this post at the international I9000 forum. These issues are much more complex than superficial reviews engage.
boomerbubba said:
Actually, in my experience the opposite tends to be true about SGS phones. Driving tests tend to obscure the accuracy problems. Standing still and walking tracks are tougher tests of accuracy. And videos are not as detailed as actual My Tracks output uploaded to Google, where we can all zoom in an explore ther results in detail on a map or satellite background. Some problems that can show up driving are the cases where the GPS track veers off-road on turns and stops.
I have seen plenty of driving "reviews" and "tests" of the GPS in other variants of the phone that erroneously report everything is fine (which is why I still take the OP's results with a grain of salt, no offense). My own testing with Vibrants showed relatively decent tracking while driving, but very poor accuracy when stopped or moving as a pedestrian.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand what you are saying. Going over 60 mph the gps performs better then when going slow and making turns or tracking a run. But standing still I have never had it not lock and work. The only videos of the epic are of standing still lock times.
shep211 said:
I understand what you are saying. Going over 60 mph the gps performs better then when going slow and making turns or tracking a run. But standing still I have never had it not lock and work. The only videos of the epic are of standing still lock times.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not talking about an apparent locking problem. I'm talking about the other symptom of the GPS bug: lack of accuracy.
There are many reports -- and I have experienced this myself on Vibrants -- where the satellite signal appears to lock. But the accuracy of the lat/lon coordinates being reported is all over the place. And they can be outside the theoretical range of accuracy being reported. For example, GPS Test or GPS Status --reading the ouptut of the Android listeners, which in turn are reading the onboard GPS chip -- may say the fix is supposed to bee accurate within 20 feet. But the coordinates are a couple hundred feet away from the actual location, and meandering over time.
boomerbubba said:
Actually, in my experience the opposite tends to be true about SGS phones. Driving tests tend to obscure the accuracy problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with this. Driving programs "snap" to streets obscuring lateral positioning inaccuracy.
boomerbubba said:
EDIT: I finally found and watched the newly linked Youtube video here, and was totally unimpressed by this reviewer. He was cluelessly misinformed about the status of the GPS problems on other platforms, and his andecdotal report of using the GPS on the Epic through Google Navigate app proved nothing at all.
BTW, for a good summary of the GPS problems on Samsung Galaxy S phones generally, see this post at the international I9000 forum. These issues are much more complex than superficial reviews engage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I absolutely agree. Where are the important tests????:
TTFF (time to first fix) from RTN (factory start) with several different devices, eg touch Pro 2, Evo, etc in same location.
TTFF from cold, warm and hot starts with competing models in same place. IE how well is assistance and cache working
Number of birds and SNR, ie how good is actual autonomous gps hardware "
HDOP, VDOP PDOP ""
I am seeing multiple poorly done youtubes that could easily be tower triangulation which under good conditions will get you >30' standing still but blow once you start moving. These guys are not just not reporting SNR, they are not even reporting number of sats and HDOP!
The ops tests (and thank you) are not too bad, but there is no data. For example he says: "Also, the GPS occasionally took more than 10 seconds to “lock on” with a cold start." That is the average for top smartphones for an actual cold start. a cold start is no current Ephemeris or almanac stored. starting up a data connection and pulling assistance data (almanac and ephemeris) of visible birds is a agps "cold start" and typically takes at least ten seconds (a few minutes in standalone gps)./
New '98 feet' bug on Epic GPS
Now that the Epic is out, we are starting to see the usual confusing mix of anecdotal impressions of GPS performance.
Over on another forum, one interesting fact is emerging: There seems to be a new bug, unique to the Epic's implementation of GPS: The imputed accuracy is being reported by several different testers in different scenarios, always at 98 feet! It is as if this number is hard-coded into the GPS firmware.
See Testing the GPS Satellite usage on your new Epic, the right way. Have "use wireless networks" off and Epic GPS - does yours work or not?
boomerbubba said:
Now that the Epic is out, we are starting to see the usual confusing mix of anecdotal impressions of GPS performance.
Over on another forum, one interesting fact is emerging: There seems to be a new bug, unique to the Epic's implementation of GPS: The imputed accuracy is being reported by several different testers in different scenarious, always at 98 feet! It is as if this number is hard-coded into the GPS firmware.
See Testing the GPS Satellite usage on your new Epic, the right way. Have "use wireless networks" off and Epic GPS - does yours work or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The gps has most of the same issues the others have but the epic doesn't lag when it does work.
Some gps videos I made while working Tuesday. Epic gps worked 1\3.
epic gps fail 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7HUQAKg6Lc
epic gps fail 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV1Na51Dy5A
A 'known issue' with Epic GPS?
FYI, a user on another forum is reporting that Sprint tech support acknowledged a "known issue" with the GPS.
boomerbubba said:
FYI, a user on another forum is reporting that Sprint tech support acknowledged a "known issue" with the GPS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the link. I have had the same issue where it wont lock and takes over 5 mins then when it does lock it takes 3-5 mins for it to get your correct location. It looks like the only thing they improved was agps but gps still needs the new driver coming out in September. I really hope Samsung fixes the gps issues.
boomerbubba said:
Now that the Epic is out, we are starting to see the usual confusing mix of anecdotal impressions of GPS performance.
Over on another forum, one interesting fact is emerging: There seems to be a new bug, unique to the Epic's implementation of GPS: The imputed accuracy is being reported by several different testers in different scenarios, always at 98 feet! It is as if this number is hard-coded into the GPS firmware.
See Testing the GPS Satellite usage on your new Epic, the right way. Have "use wireless networks" off and Epic GPS - does yours work or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went into my local sprint store that had 2 epics on display with my wife. We were there to decide if they're worth almost $800(waiting for price drop). So I loaded gps status on both demo epics, accuracy 98ft, they also displayed 1-2 less sats than my g1 which had @20-60ft accuracy sitting on the counter 10" lower and directly between the epics. I know this is a static test and doesn't mean much, when I asked the sales people if I could drive around....just kidding.
I talked to a sprint district manager at work today and he confirmed the epics have a gps issue and button issue.. He said a fix is coming out for the gps issue, but the buttton issue is only on some first batch of epics and to take mine back..
kgold708 said:
I went into my local sprint store that had 2 epics on display with my wife. We were there to decide if they're worth almost $800(waiting for price drop). So I loaded gps status on both demo epics, accuracy 98ft, they also displayed 1-2 less sats than my g1 which had @20-60ft accuracy sitting on the counter 10" lower and directly between the epics. I know this is a static test and doesn't mean much, when I asked the sales people if I could drive around....just kidding.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yet another confrirmation of the new '98 feet' bug!
kgold708 said:
I went into my local sprint store that had 2 epics on display with my wife. We were there to decide if they're worth almost $800(waiting for price drop). So I loaded gps status on both demo epics, accuracy 98ft, they also displayed 1-2 less sats than my g1 which had @20-60ft accuracy sitting on the counter 10" lower and directly between the epics. I know this is a static test and doesn't mean much, when I asked the sales people if I could drive around....just kidding.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got my captivate for $50 from amazon. Im sure the epic will drop to $50-100 with in 1 month on amazon. Its at $200 now with free activation.
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Epic-..._1_4?ie=UTF8&s=wireless&qid=1283358779&sr=8-4
What I am finding is poor Signal to Noise, on average about 10db lower on average for the same birds than Touch Pro2 and Treo Pro are showing while keeping them all in the same spot. For example one satellite is showing me as very healthy 41 on Treo Pro (HTC made Palm), 39 on Touch Pro 2, and same bird is 27 on Epic. It also seems to jump to usage of some of the really bad snr birds.
I am also wondering about what is going on with trigger of almanac and ephemeris population over 3g. I am getting inconsistent results on that.
There is a third problem which is that with 4 >17 SNR birds in view, which should be adequate and give hdop of <2, position still seems to jump and be incorrect by an average of 30' to 60'
Can anyone tell me what your SNR values are? best would be compared to other known good gps smartphones in same location.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...372,0.018947&z=16&iwloc=00048f225d8da9a32da25
on a very very clear day with the Vibrant in my cycling jersey pocket on my back.
supl.google.com
sky hook on
MS Based
a few blips but its fairly close. but should be better. It's not unusable like some say.
It is unusable for some people, you happened to be able to use skyhook. If you were in the middle of nowhere that wouldnt help you.
Yea I used it also and it seems to be a bit off on the track
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Never been unusable for me either. Actually fairly accurate ill have to do a my tracks later....
Lol you guys sound like some of the customers I deal with everyday. These are consumer grade devices. If you want something accurate go buy a Trimble GPS device and spend the thousands of dollars it takes to acquire one. I think even with the hiccups, your tracks are pretty decent. This is a cellphone, not a true GPS device.
BTW I work for Garmin so with my background of GPS and how it works this is probably why the inaccuracies in your track do not bother me. One thing you have to understand there are so many factors that can play into why you might of had these spikes....Heavy tree coverage, cloud over cast, power lines, tall buildings etc...Signal multi-path can also play into these types of spikes. Not bashing, but I think it does a pretty good job for what it is.
Steeltippin said:
Lol you guys sound like some of the customers I deal with everyday. These are consumer grade devices. If you want something accurate go buy a Trimble GPS device and spend the thousands of dollars it takes to acquire one. I think even with the hiccups, your tracks are pretty decent. This is a cellphone, not a true GPS device.
BTW I work for Garmin so with my background of GPS and how it works this is probably why the inaccuracies in your track do not bother me. One thing you have to understand there are so many factors that can play into why you might of had these spikes....Heavy tree coverage, cloud over cast, power lines, tall buildings etc...Signal multi-path can also play into these types of spikes. Not bashing, but I think it does a pretty good job for what it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Um I am sorry I disagree with you, with my first smart phone, the G1 took seconds to lock on to 4+ birds ... and my vibrant .. see's 10 and locks on to 1 .. and its not even the one with the strongest signal ... then there is an issue. I think that is what people are complaining about.
I agree .. if the true purpose of getting something is for GPS alone, then a Garmin etc .. is great.
aohmer said:
Um I am sorry I disagree with you, with my first smart phone, the G1 took seconds to lock on to 4+ birds ... and my vibrant .. see's 10 and locks on to 1 .. and its not even the one with the strongest signal ... then there is an issue. I think that is what people are complaining about.
I agree .. if the true purpose of getting something is for GPS alone, then a Garmin etc .. is great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The G1 had almost the same exact problem with the GPS when it was first released in October of 08. In the beginning of December, it was updated OTA and it was fixed completely. The update for the Vibrant is coming this month, have faith.
scooterman said:
supl.google.com
sky hook on
MS Based
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Skyhook is not GPS. Period.
scooterman said:
a few blips but its fairly close. ...ore it a 7/10, usable, but far from the best.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The release notes for the new Obsidian 2.2 ROM from TW says the GPS is "very accurate". I'm assuming it's got the real 2.2 drivers and SW.
It would be interesting to see a comparison of the JI6 and 2.2 GPS accuracy.
I've definitely had issues with significant inaccuracy using the Vibrant GPS for driving. It's usually fine, but sometimes it goes into rapid recalculations due to miscalculating my location on nearby streets. It's can be quite annoying if you're depending on it. I've used several standalone GPS units over the years and haven't seen this behavior before. In some ways the Vibrant GPS is better than my current standalone unit, but this inconsistent accuracy is a significant flaw.
I'm hoping 2.2 will include some improvements.
samnada said:
The release notes for the new Obsidian 2.2 ROM from TW says the GPS is "very accurate". I'm assuming it's got the real 2.2 drivers and SW.
It would be interesting to see a comparison of the JI6 and 2.2 GPS accuracy.
I've definitely had issues with significant inaccuracy using the Vibrant GPS for driving. It's usually fine, but sometimes it goes into rapid recalculations due to miscalculating my location on nearby streets. It's can be quite annoying if you're depending on it. I've used several standalone GPS units over the years and haven't seen this behavior before. In some ways the Vibrant GPS is better than my current standalone unit, but this inconsistent accuracy is a significant flaw.
I'm hoping 2.2 will include some improvements.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Although GPS test reports an accuracy of 6-10 yards roughly, once I start Maps, the accuracy varies on a much wider range. Driving in big city is not much fun when you could be anywhere within a 200 yard range.
I just got the JI6 update and the GPS is definitely much better. However, I was wondering how it matches up to the GPS on other smartphones.
Does anyone have a Nexus One or another android phone to compare it to? Could you please post some results. Only post results from the official OTA JI6 update.
I just got my OTA update this morning.
I am comparing my Vibrant with my BF's Nexus One (running Froyo 2.21) using GPS test.
The result:
Nexus views fewer satellites and locks them much faster than my vibrant on the other hand Vibrant views more satellites locks them a bit slower (Nexus : in view : 8 in use 8 instantly, VIbrant in view : 13 in use 7)
Nexus has better accuracy 9.9 feet VS. 22ish feet on vibrant.
I definitely like the gps on my vibrant much better after the OTA.
I am curious about the GPS performance test among other samsung galaxy s brethren (Captivate, Epic 4G, and Fascinate)
yea my nexus had much better GPS
and got instant lock when any app required gps location
but vibrant works perfectly fine just takes little longer
Just tested against N1 in a real life situation using C:Geo on both phones and the N1 had me rock solid on a Geocache and the Vibrant had me 15 feet off of it plus after trying to get my bearings it decided to start wondering off and I ended up in another county in 3 minutes. The N1 GPS just works and work rock solid, the Vibrants GPS is obviously not a hardware issue but a software issue. The reason I say that is because when I got the Vibrant Geocaching was a no go at all, wouldn't even lock onto enough sat's to be useful. Now at least it has me within 15 feet of my caches.
So all in all it has improved, but it is still not as good as my old N1.
Gps on the vibrant sucks. I honestly believe it's a hardware issue. JI6 update addressed a stupid software issue that prevented the gps to lock onto satellites probably due to wrong time information, but even after that, performance is really lacking.
I have a nexus one, and it gets a fix in less than 5 seconds with an accuracy of 2 m (6 feet). Once it gets a fix, it doesn't wander all over the map. It stays put.
The vabrant ( before and after JI6) doesn't get an accuracy better than 6 meters (20 ft). That's not to bad, but in google maps, it starts jumping all over the map until it settles -usually- at the farthest place from the actual location.
After JI6, the gps locks very quickly, definitely an improvement, but it it's more important the accuracy than the TTF.
In google navigation, when you stop at a red light, the inaccuracies og the gps and its constant jumping from place to place, triggers re-route after re-route. This is uncomfortable and dangerous when you are driving in an unfamiliar area.
The phone is great, but could have been better had some minimal QA been done.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
reddragon72 said:
Just tested against N1 in a real life situation using C:Geo on both phones and the N1 had me rock solid on a Geocache and the Vibrant had me 15 feet off of it plus after trying to get my bearings it decided to start wondering off and I ended up in another county in 3 minutes. The N1 GPS just works and work rock solid, the Vibrants GPS is obviously not a hardware issue but a software issue. The reason I say that is because when I got the Vibrant Geocaching was a no go at all, wouldn't even lock onto enough sat's to be useful. Now at least it has me within 15 feet of my caches.
So all in all it has improved, but it is still not as good as my old N1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This saddens me. I used to be able to cache almost exclusively off of my G1, unless under heavy cover.
studing
After manually flashing the updated (the OTA bricked my phone), I tested the GPS on its own, as well as side by side with my wife's G2. While JI6 allows the Vibrant to get a satellite lock in seconds, the accuracy of the GPS is virtually nonexistent, with the location bouncing all over the place. Forget about stopping at a red light - the cursor will start jumping around, sometimes placing me 2-3 blocks away from my actual location. While driving on a local highway (with a clear view of the sky), the GPS would frequently lose signal, although it would lock on again in a few seconds. Although the Vibrant can now get a satellite lock, the accuracy has not been fixed. The G2 does not suffer from these issues, reporting accuracy of 4-6 feet and getting a much quicker satellite lock than the Vibrant.
I am starting to think it is definitely a hardware issue. With GPS test I am getting locks on 9 of 10 or 10 of 12 satellites, but the bar is not very high for the signal on any satellite. Driving down the road it losses signal randomly. My G1 and HD2 had much better GPS performance.
I guess I will live with this until it is time to get another upgrade phone for the cheap price. Maybe the new Mytouch when it comes out. I have extra lines on my account just so I can get early upgrades. An extra line using the same minutes is $5 a month. It is worth it to me to keep getting new phones and selling the other phone on ebay.
Just did a side by side test with my Vibrant running Bionix 1.7 with the JI6 modem.bin vs. my wife’s brand new G2. My Vibrant instantly saw 13 satellites and took around 10 seconds to lock 11 of those 13. Initially it showed 90 ft. accuracy and after around 20-30 seconds it was bouncing between 18-25 ft. on accuracy. On my wife’s G2 as soon as I opened up GPS Test it saw 11 satellites and locked all 11. It initially showed 20 ft. on accuracy and then after 2-3 seconds it showed 12 ft. on accuracy. I watched it for about 2-3 minutes and it didn't really move as far as how many satellites it had locked or its accuracy.
Gps will never be as good as other phones lets face it, but it does the job, it haven't failed me yet since ji2 and up..... Not perfect but usable... I'd rather have a not so great gps that still works vs a n1s multi touch bug that don't get real mt......
Take the good with the bad
I just flashed the ji6 and although the GPS is improved it is far from being fixed. With my Nexus One and G2 I get a fix within 5 seconds and usually locks on all birds. With the Vibrant it takes much longer and the best it can do is 5 out of 12 birds. This GPS is a real shame as it takes a marvelous phone and makes it less than stellar IMO. I would love to use the Vibrant as my Main Phone but with the GPS still not quite right it is not happening as I use GPS everyday throughout the day/.
For those that have gotten the update, what are your GPS settings now? Is it a different server?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Agreed with most comments already posted. The update helped to lock faster, but accuracy really sucks. Google navigation only works about 70% of the time. I find my location drifting to side streets quite often which keeps triggering re-routes all the time. I lose lock randomly (although it does regain lock fairly quickly).
Overall, compared to all other android smart phones I've used, the accuracy/reliability of gps is horrible.
I've also lost all hope in a software fix. With all the press it got and the two plus months to release a fix with marginal improvement...means one of two things.
1-samsung software engineers suck or
2-its a hardware issue and they've done the best they can with software to optimize the broken hardware.
Although both may be true to some degree ... I think we are dealing with case #2...
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Roomates Nexus one sees 7 satellites, 10 seconds lock.
My vibrant JI6 sees 9 satellites, 4.5 minute lock
GPS is no worse than the other phones I currently have access to.
Google Maps doesn't jump around like Google Navigation. Google needs to implement smoothing software into their navigation program. Copliot works great with JI6 and Google Navigation gets Parkinson's disease at stop lights. Like I said, same place and Google Maps shows me as stationary while Google Navigation is all over the place
heygrl said:
GPS is no worse than the other phones I currently have access to.
Google Maps doesn't jump around like Google Navigation. Google needs to implement smoothing software into their navigation program. Copliot works great with JI6 and Google Navigation gets Parkinson's disease at stop lights. Like I said, same place and Google Maps shows me as stationary while Google Navigation is all over the place
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. With CoPilot it works perfect. I havnt noticed any jumping around at all. The only problem I have had with the GPS since JI6 is that it sometimes takes 3-5 minutes to get a lock on my location.
Try to delete your GPS Data and make sure it's all stock under lbstestmode. I get locks fairly quickly.
kgbkny said:
While JI6 allows the Vibrant to get a satellite lock in seconds, the accuracy of the GPS is virtually nonexistent, with the location bouncing all over the place. Forget about stopping at a red light - the cursor will start jumping around, sometimes placing me 2-3 blocks away from my actual location. While driving on a local highway (with a clear view of the sky), the GPS would frequently lose signal, although it would lock on again in a few seconds. Although the Vibrant can now get a satellite lock, the accuracy has not been fixed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got the identical behavior last night. Is the GPS that flawed that it thinks it's moving when it's not? If they could at least have the software not move the pointer when you're standing still that would likely make a huge difference. Instead it moves you onto another street and starts speaking out "corrections".
So after using both DK28 version of FroYo as well as the stock 2.1 release, I have noticed that while actually being able to acquire and use a GPS (satellites, not wireless networks) signal seems greatly improved, the accuracy of the GPS is worse.
As an example, on DI18 (2.1) I can sit at my desk and the GPS will usually pinpoint me within about 3-5 feet based upon the mark on Google Maps with the satellite layer turned on. With DK28, it pinpoints me in my neighbor's house to the south or across the alley behind my neighbor's house (also to the south), so it is off by at least 50 or 60 feet.
Has anyone else seen this behavior?
You're getting a lock through the cell towers, not GPS. Try running GPStest free version on market for a true gauge on how well your GPS is locking.
riceknight said:
You're getting a lock through the cell towers, not GPS. Try running GPStest free version on market for a true gauge on how well your GPS is locking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That isn't possible, since I never have "use wireless networks" on because I use an Airave at home and if I am using wireless networks for a location it puts me about 25 miles away from my actual location.
I do, however, think it is an issue with the Google LBS. I just re-installed Sprint Navigation and my location was spot on correct.
The best test of actual accuracy is to use My Tracks to record GPS tracking both driving and walking -- outdoors. Not only can you zoom in and compare those tracks with the road or path overlaid on the Google maps or sat photos, you can easily post a link to those tracks for peer review in forums such as this.
This actual accuracy is different from the imputed estimate of accuracy reported by GPS Test. In fact, there is a known bug in that imputed estimate in the stock Epic, where the accuracy estimate is always reported at a fixed 30.0 meters (98.4 feet) although the actual accuracy on the ground is pretty good -- assuming that a good multisatellite lock is achieved. That bug is reportedly fixed in the DK28 versions.
Navigation programs are the worst tools for testing, because they impose another layer of post-processing within the app, including a snap-to-road function.
I wouln't pay much attention to indoor performance. Your Android GPS is intended primarily for outdoor use. It might happen to work indoors, depending on building construction, windows, etc., but that is just serendipity.
I've been using Torque to record OBD2 & GPS data and it seems to pretty much always be accurate to within about 10 ft (3 m) or so based off the satellite maps. It was exactly the same in DI18, so I haven't noticed much difference other than faster locking. Running stock DK28.
Never heard of an Epic running Di18 getting a better lock than 98 foot accuracy.
muyoso said:
Never heard of an Epic running Di18 getting a better lock than 98 foot accuracy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are not talking about the bogus 98-foot (30.0 meter) estimated accuracy, which is simply a bug that causes the system GPS to lie to the Android OS listeners with an arbitrary, hard-coded value and has nothing to do with how accurate the fix really is. They are talking about actual accuracy relative to the user's position on the ground. That has always been pretty good on my Epic once a good multi-satellite lock has been achieved.
DK17 (Using Quantum 1.4 currently) gets me locked within 1 foot at times. It's extremely accurate and I can even keep wi-fi on when the GPS is on and tracking me (CardioTrainer, Maps, Navigation, GPS Test).
Hello,
Got a gs2 and still have my incredible s so I tested GPS precision: got 4 meters for the HTC and not stable and lower precision 18/20 meters on gs2.
Is something adjustable with new kernels?
Another two questions : about voice low quality ( someone said that it depends from noise reduction filet) and low volume during a call are these issues already addressed by some roms?
Low volume and quality with earphones is addressed too?
Thanks!
GPS is a disappointment. On my old pda asus a696 precision is much better. I wish gps was working better for me, I use it with sport tracking software. I changed ntp server, played with all kinds of gps apps, updated AGPS data, helped a bit but fix is still slow and precision is almost always more then 30m.
If anybody saw an improvement on some ROM or kernel, please let me know.
Attached my device info.
bzpwhx2 said:
Hello,
Got a gs2 and still have my incredible s so I tested GPS precision: got 4 meters for the HTC and not stable and lower precision 18/20 meters on gs2.
Is something adjustable with new kernels?
No as no reported flaw in GPS so nothing with GPS altered that i have seen.
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i am honestly very disappointed with the sgs2's gps precision. tested it side by side with the HTC Chacha...rebooted, cleared gps data and redownloaded it (Gps status app), then run test on both devices for abt 2-3 mins.
SGS2 7/7 satelites, error 40m!!!
HTC Chacha 10/10 satelites, error 6-10m!!!
frm both rooted 2.3.4 and stock firmware ...
I agree that the precision (error) is bad on the S2. However, in my experience, when I open maps and look at the location, it seems to be just about dead on. Meaning, even though there is often a blue circle, the center of the circle is extremely close to my actual position. So, I think the issue may be with how the phone calculates the "error" and not with any real inaccuracy. It feels like the reported error value is double what it should really be based on my position on google maps. This is just my experience, ymmv.
TheSopranos16 said:
I agree that the precision (error) is bad on the S2. However, in my experience, when I open maps and look at the location, it seems to be just about dead on. Meaning, even though there is often a blue circle, the center of the circle is extremely close to my actual position. So, I think the issue may be with how the phone calculates the "error" and not with any real inaccuracy. It feels like the reported error value is double what it should really be based on my position on google maps. This is just my experience, ymmv.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with this. I was puzzled at first too when I looked at the accuracy reading, but then I realized that the actual positioning was much better than the reported 'error margin'.
The GPS itself is fine, but whatever algorithm they use to report accuracy is flawed..or should I say, could be better.
TheSopranos16 said:
However, in my experience, when I open maps and look at the location, it seems to be just about dead on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here.
jimbiye said:
I agree with this. I was puzzled at first too when I looked at the accuracy reading, but then I realized that the actual positioning was much better than the reported 'error margin'.
The GPS itself is fine, but whatever algorithm they use to report accuracy is flawed..or should I say, could be better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GPS accuracy is a statistical estimate of the maximum error and many assumptions must be made when calculating this, and I don't think different manufactureres does this in the same way.
So a HTC could very well report better accuracy than SGS2 but provide worse position (or vice versa).
Here is an interesting article about GPS accuracy, it mainly concerns static accuracy (reported accuracy in specifications), but the problems are basically the same for dynamic accuracy.
http://www.romdas.com/technical/gps/gps-acc.htm
When I've logged driving on a highway with SGS2 (with my tracks, i e no map matching or other filtering) the position is often within the correct lane but still SGS2 reports 10 meter accuracy (good GPS reception). But once in a while the position drifts a bit further away, mabe 5-10 meters. I would guess I get similar results with other modern smart phones with good GPS even if they report 4 meter accuracy. What phone is wrong in this case? The one reporting 4 meter accuracy that often is correct or the one reporting 10 meters that is even more often correct?
So please compare the phones by logging routes simultanously with "my tracks" instead. I've seen very few tests doing this, and SGS2 seems to do very well in the few tests I've seen
But not only the accuracy is an issue but initial fix is very slow compared to other phones. Even in hotstart mode when it had fix ten minutes ago it still most times takes over a minute to get a fix vs 7 to 10 secs on my Sgs 1
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk
I had this problem and found that disabling wifi with data enabled led to much faster first fixes - I assume because the a-GPS data could be obtained more quickly direct from the carrier rather than over the wifi?
Also my UK phone shipped with a US NTP time server. I have since rooted and used GPS Aids to change this and refresh the other GPS data and now have no problems getting a first fix, usually in under 10 seconds.
Last week i traveled to Bosnia and used GPS on my SGS2 for the first time. I have only good words for it as with IGo it was very accurate (in a meter).But as i see with Google maps app GPS is wrong up to 20m.
I was also concerned about the gps first cause it seemed to show very inaccurate results and I have used gps with running a lot. However after using it to track my tracks I have to say that its 98% perfect. Also used it to navigate while driving and its also perfect. Samsung has just done something which makes it look like it would be more inaccurate but reality it is not.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
same here. I tested GPS performance a few times when i was walking (relatively static), the error was never under 10 meters, however it did not have a problem tracking my position.
In the other hand, I did have some long long GPS locks from time to time, once in a while the GPS just cannot seem to find my position, despite the fact that I am standing outdoors with no tall buildings around.
Overall experience, just acceptable.