Database Users

[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] GPS - Does it Really Require Wifi? [SOLVED/ANSWERED]

Does the Tablet Really Require the Wifi to be On to use it? Only way we can get it to work is if we turn the Wifi on and then it uses AGPS.
Downloaded GPS Status and it sorta seems to confirm this. Ive read other sites of people returning the product and getting another and GPS works outta the box w/o Wifi?
Thoughts? Solutions?
--Solved -- Issue seems defective Equipment. GPS works Fine in Airplane Mode with GPS on. Tablet was returned for another and now works.

Haven't checked this, but it seems a bit silly. Why would you need a (static) wifi connection when u use the GPS (for moving around). Doesn't make any sense. I will test this tonight.

spaanplaat said:
Haven't checked this, but it seems a bit silly. Why would you need a (static) wifi connection when u use the GPS (for moving around). Doesn't make any sense. I will test this tonight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With the one we have here I can Confirm the only way i can get it to work is with WiFi on. And Acer Support confirms this..
But there is so much conflicting information out there that Id like to see if it can get cleared up.
If people are returning them and their new ones are working fine with normal GPS then did ACER have a Bad Lot? Or are these folks just making rumors.

I've just quickly checked this with Chartcross GPS Test. With WIFI on I could see one satellite indoors. I switched off WIFI and then saw four satelites, so it would seem that WIFI does not have to be switched on for GPS to work. However, having a data connection is always a good thing to get AGPS data with.
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App

From my experiance, no it doesn't . I have been using mine with the wifi off with no problems. I use Copilot Live USA to get around all day at work. One thing is, is that Copilot freezes on me if I try to go into the settings menues.

Acer Says Yes
I chatted with an Acer rep this morning and was informed WIFI or 3G is designed to work with the GPS. GPS will not work if there is no data signal. Being hardheaded I called hoping to find someone with more knowledge on this matter and was told the exact same thing, NO WIFI/3G = NO GPS. With this set back I have decided to return.
But I am curious why some peoples are working and others are not?

Im sure my Buddy will post here soon.
but he called Acer and they are saying that it requires Wifi for GPS by Design.
So if everyone else is able to do it.. and he isnt and Acer says thats the way it should be..
Then either some folks have an "added' feature design flaw or they are Fibbing about it. Or Acer just dont know what they are talking about and my buddy has a defective one.

I do not seem to need to be connected to Wifi for GPS to work. I did notice something interesting while researching this though. 22% of my battery usage was coming from cellular. Thats a huge amount of power being used up to poll for a cellular signal that a wifi device isn't doing anything with.
I added about two hours to my battery life by turning the tablet on Airplane mode and then enabled Wifi. Thankfully the little airplane icon in the status bar is only there for a few seconds

The issue is not GPS need WiFi. It is the map need WiFi or 3G datalink in order to be updated with the GPS signal. Your tablet does not preloaded a map like a portable Garmin or TomTom GPS device does.

The GPS does not require Wifi to work, however if you are using an app like Google Maps, this app DEPENDS on wifi to download map and pois. Google Maps is not like your GPS software on your TomTom or Garmin GPS, it downloads the data using the cell modem or in this case the wifi on the device.
To summarize, if you use an app like Copilot or another GPS app that has maps predownloaded then the GPS works just fine on it's own without Wifi.
I hope this clears it up.

john0dean said:
The issue is not GPS need WiFi. It is the map need WiFi or 3G datalink in order to be updated with the GPS signal. Your tablet does not preloaded a map like a portable Garmin or TomTom GPS device does.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Neoprimal said:
The GPS does not require Wifi to work, however if you are using an app like Google Maps, this app DEPENDS on wifi to download map and pois. Google Maps is not like your GPS software on your TomTom or Garmin GPS, it downloads the data using the cell modem or in this case the wifi on the device.
To summarize, if you use an app like Copilot or another GPS app that has maps predownloaded then the GPS works just fine on it's own without Wifi.
I hope this clears it up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then Why Doesn't Foursquare, Gowalla, Or even the GPS Icon Activate.. Or Even using GPS Status.. Using GPS Status It wont do anything unless WiFi is on.
Totally Understand that you need wifi For Map Downloading. But when you have a Static Predownloaded Map using like MapDroid or Even TomTom Software the Maps are preloaded nothing to download.
So you all Are SERIOUSLY saying that your GPS works Fine with out WiFi I ask you to download GPS Status and Try it with out Wifi Being on and See if you can get your GPS to come on and get a Lock.
Because Acer Support has already said that the GPS is WiFi dependent.

sammyboy405 said:
Then Why Doesn't Foursquare, Gowalla, Or even the GPS Icon Activate.. Or Even using GPS Status.. Using GPS Status It wont do anything unless WiFi is on.
Totally Understand that you need wifi For Map Downloading. But when you have a Static Predownloaded Map using like MapDroid or Even TomTom Software the Maps are preloaded nothing to download.
So you all Are SERIOUSLY saying that your GPS works Fine with out WiFi I ask you to download GPS Status and Try it with out Wifi Being on and See if you can get your GPS to come on and get a Lock.
Because Acer Support has already said that the GPS is WiFi dependent.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, this is what I did. Turned off wifi and ran GPS status. It locked on to 3 of 6 sat so I guess it works. With wifi on it seems to locate more sat and locks on quickee.
Just to make sure in settings you do have GPS on under location and security correct?

Reply
I tried using MapDroyd with all preloaded maps, it would not give me a Red X for location until I flipped on wifi. That was the only reason I contacted tech support and both chat and phone told me the same thing. There is no power to the GPS until 3G/WIFI is active. Sounds stupid I know, I like the tablet and what nothing more than to keep it but I just refuse to keep something that is configured in such a way. I can live with the AdHoc issue since I know that can eventually be resolved.
Disclaimer - These are not my words but the words directly from Acer tech support.
Trust me I was very clear that I had maps pre-downloaded and the person on the phone was very clear what they told me about how the hardware was configured.
michaelg1030 - YES

T0yman said:
I tried using MapDroyd with all preloaded maps, it would not give me a Red X for location until I flipped on wifi. That was the only reason I contacted tech support and both chat and phone told me the same thing. There is no power to the GPS until 3G/WIFI is active. Sounds stupid I know, I like the tablet and what nothing more than to keep it but I just refuse to keep something that is configured in such a way. I can live with the AdHoc issue since I know that can eventually be resolved.
Disclaimer - These are not my words but the words directly from Acer tech support.
Trust me I was very clear that I had maps pre-downloaded and the person on the phone was very clear what they told me about how it the hardware was configured.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure I believe what they said.
I just did one more test. I turned wifi off. Reset my tablet. Made sure wifi was still off. Opened up GPS Statues and it locked on to 5 of 7 sat in less than a min indoors. I dont have any nav software with maps so I can't test that. If GPS status shows nothing with wifi off for you I'd exchange it for a new one.

sammyboy405 said:
Then Why Doesn't Foursquare, Gowalla, Or even the GPS Icon Activate.. Or Even using GPS Status.. Using GPS Status It wont do anything unless WiFi is on.
Totally Understand that you need wifi For Map Downloading. But when you have a Static Predownloaded Map using like MapDroid or Even TomTom Software the Maps are preloaded nothing to download.
So you all Are SERIOUSLY saying that your GPS works Fine with out WiFi I ask you to download GPS Status and Try it with out Wifi Being on and See if you can get your GPS to come on and get a Lock.
Because Acer Support has already said that the GPS is WiFi dependent.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
None of those programs work without a data connection. Once you use a program that works without requiring some sort of data, the GPS will work.
I don't really care what Acer says - if you call acer and ask 10 people the same question, there's a possibility you'll get several different answers.
I know what I've experienced, and that is that the gps works with wifi disabled.
I'm confused on what you're debating exactly though, are you saying that the gps does not activate/work without wifi or that it doesn't lock on to satellites?
If you want a simpler test to see if it works/activates simply refresh your weather widget manually and with no wifi connection - you'll see the gps icon pop up and it will say searching for satellites. It won't work, since the weather can't update without data but you'll see that it activates the gps.
In essence, the gps in the A500 works exactly like our cell gps, there's no difference. It's Assisted GPS (aGPS) and requires a data connection to locate the satellites quickly vs. standalone or autonomous GPS found in our Garmin/Tom Tom/etc. Without data it's going to take you 10m-20m to find a lock, with data, 3-5m. This might be what's messing with people. The good thing is if you lock on when you get into your vehicle with help from your wifi for example, then you won't have to wait for it to lock on at some other point. Since my gps is on in the tablet all the time, it's locked in and I suppose that's why I'm not having a problem in my tests.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the GPS in use on these devices uses aGPS (assisted GPS) - which uses a combination of cell tower info (if using 3G) and/or known WiFi hotspot locations to help nail down the starting location and speed up the discovery of satellites.
Y'know, the stuff that Apple & Google are getting in so much trouble for having recently

michaelg1030 said:
Not sure I believe what they said.
I just did one more test. I turned wifi off. Reset my tablet. Made sure wifi was still off. Opened up GPS Statues and it locked on to 5 of 7 sat in less than a min indoors. I dont have any nav software with maps so I can't test that. If GPS status shows nothing with wifi off for you I'd exchange it for a new one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK I will be heading that way for an exchange and update the info once I am back home. Thanks everyone for your input, like I said I like the tablet but the no GPS thing just never made since.

T0yman said:
OK I will be heading that way for an exchange and update the info once I am back home. Thanks everyone for your input, like I said I like the tablet but the no GPS thing just never made since.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good Luck.

you can get app fasterfix from market t
it worked great for me.
i also can not keeo co-pilot from crashing locking up sent them email hope its fixed
soon

Replacement
Ok I am back home after going to BestBuy and picking up a replacement Acer A500. This one grabs my current location using current setup.
Airplane Mode On
WIFI Off
GPS On
I will be going in to the city tomorrow and run a few more tests, will post a new update after but this is looking promising. Thanks again for the feedback!

[Q] Anyone Elses GPS Aweful?

I have never had my GPS locate me via google maps. My Phone has no issues. Anyone else have GPS issues? any tips? Hopefully a software update fixes it? I have a friend who has the same issue.
[Should have read "awful", not aweful]

Nothing wrong with my gps. Have you upgraded to the latest firmware? Downloaded the A-GPS data (you can get this by using an app called GPS status)? Switch OFF wifi after you do, then leave it to get a full signal lock (takes up to 15minutes or so with a clear view of the sky).

toddmp said:
I have never had my GPS locate me via google maps. My Phone has no issues. Anyone else have GPS issues? any tips? Hopefully a software update fixes it? I have a friend who has the same issue.
[Should have read "awful", not aweful]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure you are outside with a clear view of sky when you test. It can take any GPS up to 10 minutes to acquire the ephemeris information (satellite position at a certain time) and lock up. You phone cheats this by using the cellular network to provide a general location of where your are and therefore where to look for certain satellites.

thanks so much for the info guys. I had a feeling it had something to do with no cell phone band helping out. thanks!

GPS works fine here, as other have said the closer you are to the sky/window the better.

yeah..give your TF a few minutes to lock up sat positions (if you've never done this)..
this applies to most pure gps devices..cellphones can use cellular network signal to quickly locate your position but the data isn't really from gps itself.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1088120
Hope this helps
Acid lestitious 2.0. Fugumod 2.4 800 mhz

jerrykur said:
Make sure you are outside with a clear view of sky when you test. It can take any GPS up to 10 minutes to acquire the ephemeris information (satellite position at a certain time) and lock up. You phone cheats this by using the cellular network to provide a general location of where your are and therefore where to look for certain satellites.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wonder if it does the wifi cheat like maps for android phones, where it uses the known APs to determine location? I say that because when I first fired up my transformer yesterday, after connecting to wifi, I screwed around on maps and it found me inside my house in less than 30 seconds.

toddmp said:
I have never had my GPS locate me via google maps. My Phone has no issues. Anyone else have GPS issues? any tips? Hopefully a software update fixes it? I have a friend who has the same issue.
[Should have read "awful", not aweful]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its the reverse for me! in the same room of house i often cannot get a fix on my Optimus 2x. i use GPS Staus app. but i often get fix within 30secs. as a test i have both machines running the app next to each other and the transformer always gets regular fixes.
..... hmm just realised as i type this that i have a phone called optimus and tablet called transformer, and they both run android!!!

I get fixes with no wifi (ie: only GPS) within 30 seconds.

Quite the opposite, mine is extremely accurate. After it gets a fix on maps that little google person is standing right in my front yard in the satellite view! Better than my Droid!

Mine is almost instantaneous. Just tried it at home based on this thread and had a read in probably 5 seconds.

I have not been able to obtain a GPS lock until today when I set my location to use wireless networks. To me this is really stupid because the GPS shouldn't have to use any location settings to obtain a lock in my mind. That is if the GPS chip in the TF is a true GPS chip it should not to rely on a wifi signal to obtain a lock. If the GPS is turned on then it should lock.

I tested sygic gps navigation 11 and signal lock and quality was better than my galaxy s was pretty accurate
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium App

Works fine for me, apart from one minor detail. When I switch from Google Maps to another app, even for a few seconds, then the tablet has to get a lock all over again. There appears to be no way to set the GPS to keep a lock while Google Maps isn't the active program.
That, for me, makes Google Maps near-useless in a moving vehicle. Hopefully other third-party apps won't have this issue.

Google Maps is prety much useless on the Transformer for GPS navigation as a data connection is need. I have heard of people caching a route before hand but ..... Copilot Live 7 is out for android so that is one option. However if the GPS relies on a wifi signal in order to obtain a lock then it is about useless too.

toddmp said:
I have never had my GPS locate me via google maps. My Phone has no issues. Anyone else have GPS issues? any tips? Hopefully a software update fixes it? I have a friend who has the same issue.
[Should have read "awful", not aweful]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gps works fine on mine....unlike my icons or Samsung...both returned

gps does use wifi to help gps locate, theres options to turn this off in settings, i went to pick up my dock today and couldn't get a gps lock while in the car with the transformer in my lap(gps status app showed 3 sats but none would lock) just lifting it up 12 inches closer to the windshield made 7 satellites pop up and instantly started getting locks
i think proximity to a window/line of sky is a big factor, and the transformer does have a true gps chip for those who seem to doubt it, also the navigation app keeps running in the background, its better to use that than google maps

No issues with gps here. The bastard finds me every time!

jadesse said:
However if the GPS relies on a wifi signal in order to obtain a lock then it is about useless too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't rely on WiFi for a lock, it just uses it to allow a faster connection if you don't already have current ephemeris data downloaded. That's a limitation of all GPS receivers -- it takes a fair while to download the ephemeris data if you're out of date or have travelled a significant distance, and without it the device can't get a GPS fix.
You can think of the WiFi location system as analogous to a cellphone being able to use tower locations to help position itself while waiting for GPS ephemeris data.

Why is our Focus' GPS so slow???

Why is the Focus' gps so slow? I don't know what's wrong with my focus, I mean it just takes so long to get the coordinates of my location. I even have to go to a open sky area then wait for few minutes before it can successfully get my coordinates. Its just so annoying, this is a post ipad product, how come an ipad 1 can get my coordinates even inside the room without any difficulty?
Is this a hardware issue or just a firmware fix is due?

my focus gets a very quick lock about 90% of the time, every so often it will take a mintute or so to lock, but i've had this happen with pretty much every phone i've owned, so it seems about average to good for me...
the ipad1 (unless a 3g + wifi model) uses your network to locate you, which is why it's quite fast.

We have 2 Focuses, one AT&T and one Rogers. With both I get about the same time to get a fix, and that's slightly under a minute, in my location (several tall buildings near).
With what app do you check your GPS? I recommend GPS App

It's an AT&T. My ipad is a 3G+Wifi. It gets gps coordinates via gps chip and not A-gps. Most of the time the ipad gets coordinates very fast in span of 20-25 seconds, boom you know where you are in the map.
I am using the built in MAPS software to track my location. Does the software matters? I mean if the chip is really weak, what can the software do ?

jtphl said:
It's an AT&T. My ipad is a 3G+Wifi. It gets gps coordinates via gps chip and not A-gps. Most of the time the ipad gets coordinates very fast in span of 20-25 seconds, boom you know where you are in the map.
I am using the built in MAPS software to track my location. Does the software matters? I mean if the chip is really weak, what can the software do ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sometimes it does. To give you an example why: GPS without efemerides take several minutes to get a fix. GPS with efemerides take 20s to 1 min to get a fix. Efemerides are downloaded via software.
As for the app I found it to be good enough for testing the GPS part.

I can agree with you. Sometimes while driving if I take a different route than the one the phone provided for me, it will either fail to locate where I am for a few minutes or just fail completely.
I think it's time for a small update.

Is it just a minor driver issue? I hope so , otherwise, we have to live with it or change to another device.

jtphl said:
Is it just a minor driver issue? I hope so , otherwise, we have to live with it or change to another device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, other people (including me) haven't experienced any issues.
In fact, it works great for me with Turn by Turn Navigation, even inside the car on the passenger seat (not near the windshield).

Try changing some GPS settings in the focus diagnosis app
Sent from my SGH-i917 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

what are the settings in GPS I have to adjust to make it perform beyond expectations? Which specific diagnostic option I have to tweak?

Did the OP ever find a solution to this? I'm having some slow locks and the occasional non lock.
I know in the diagnostic app you can get to the GPS with*#1575# but I'm unsure of what data can possibly be changed.

I'm having the same issue on my Focus (Rogers). It never connects to sattelite and always uses aGPS. It's very annoying. I tried many different gps apps and get the same behavior - very innacurate. Garmin allways says "Can't connect to sattelite", gMaps always shows cell tower icon. My phone is unlocked using original Chevron method (not Chevron labs). I also tired to change settings in *#1575# and turn ON/OFF TLS and GLONASS but nothing helps. Should I try hard reset?

Ecstatic12 said:
I'm having the same issue on my Focus (Rogers). It never connects to sattelite and always uses aGPS. It's very annoying. I tried many different gps apps and get the same behavior - very innacurate. Garmin allways says "Can't connect to sattelite", gMaps always shows cell tower icon. My phone is unlocked using original Chevron method (not Chevron labs). I also tired to change settings in *#1575# and turn ON/OFF TLS and GLONASS but nothing helps. Should I try hard reset?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did a hard reset last night and it seems to have cleared up. I also installed this app, have to click the link in the post, searching for it didnt work.http://www.wpcentral.com/new-samsung-high-fidelity-position-enhances-gps-modifies-settings
Not sure if it's a placebo or not, but it seems to be working better.

is Focus GPS native chip or just a-gps?

Coelho_rj said:
is Focus GPS native chip or just a-gps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Assisted GPS, which includes standard GPS in Standalone mode, so it's better than any native GPS.

after my hard reset the GPS locked much quicker for about a week, then it started acting up again.
my new solution seems to be much easier than a hard reset. Just briefly switch to airplane mode then re-enable your data and open maps up again. Been working great for me.

Faster solution that's been working for me. Turn on and off location services. My phone never locks without this, which is sorely annoying.

I had this problem on 7392 rom. After updating to mango 7720 and 8107, I get fix in 3 to 7 seconds in my room Tested with gpsinfo, it's real satellite data, not agps. I have also installed high fidelity position settings app. Don't know if it's helping.
Sent from my SGH-i917. using Board Express

GPS lock time problem

Hi,When I use my phone for finding my location without using data connectivity - without relying on A-GPS so my phone finds my location after a lot of time or sometimes google maps can't find my location.
How can I solve this?
Thanks.

After day or so it won't get fix at all. Samsung just did something wrong I'm afraid. Looks like the GPS in SG2 NEEDS data to work. I found the hard way on my trip to Japan. I know no solution.

So I cant change my gps settings?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

GPS in the S2 is weird. Some days it locks in seconds other times it takes forever. I never use A-GPS.
Today I couldn't get it to lock but last night it was instant. So I restored a CWM backup from last night, rebooted and it locked instantly.
I played around with MIUI for a couple of days and found lock time much better than stock or custom rom.
Also, changing server with fasterfix makes no difference when its having problems locking.
I just don't get it.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App

GPS Aids in Market. It will take a bit of time on first lock but from then it will be fast.

sxi200 said:
GPS in the S2 is weird. Some days it locks in seconds other times it takes forever. I never use A-GPS.
Today I couldn't get it to lock but last night it was instant. So I restored a CWM backup from last night, rebooted and it locked instantly.
I played around with MIUI for a couple of days and found lock time much better than stock or custom rom.
Also, changing server with fasterfix makes no difference when its having problems locking.
I just don't get it.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you 'never use AGPS' ? Btw. my problem is not time of the lock. But the fact, that without network, I don't get fix AT ALL. With network AGPS reset helps (many apps can do that). But without network GPS works only for some time (AGPS data still valid). After that you just won't get fix. It even looks like wifi connection won't help, it has to be mobile network.

It's because of crappy gps reciever or it can be improved by another rom?
Thanks
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

It seems the problem is that GPS is in mode, where it simply relies on AGPS. In older ROMs there was app called LBSTestMode where you could change the mode to stand alone, or just AGPS based. This application is not in newer ROMs, so it cannot be switched. It clearly is just a software thing. Except it looks that there is no solution which does not involve flashing roms and/or rooting.

Dr.Sid said:
How do you 'never use AGPS' ? Btw. my problem is not time of the lock. But the fact, that without network, I don't get fix AT ALL. With network AGPS reset helps (many apps can do that). But without network GPS works only for some time (AGPS data still valid). After that you just won't get fix. It even looks like wifi connection won't help, it has to be mobile network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I never use it. I don't tick 'use wireless networks' at all. To me that's fake GPS.
Since my last post, GPS has been perfect. Am able to lock up to 11 satellites sitting on the couch. On average it takes about 10 seconds to lock. Tested it at least 20 times today.
But who knows what will happen tomorrow!!!
Man, if you can only get a lock using wireless networks then I think your GPS might be stuffed.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App

sxi200 said:
Yeah I never use it. I don't tick 'use wireless networks' at all. To me that's fake GPS.
Since my last post, GPS has been perfect. Am able to lock up to 11 satellites sitting on the couch. On average it takes about 10 seconds to lock. Tested it at least 20 times today.
But who knows what will happen tomorrow!!!
Man, if you can only get a lock using wireless networks then I think your GPS might be stuffed.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That does not mean you don't use AGPS. AGPS is method, where data about GPS satellites are not downloaded from those satellites via GPS receiver, but rather from server via. mobile network. So I'm afraid you do use AGPS, unless you disable mobile networking (and wait about day for current data to become obsolete).

One thing I've noticed is that when I run Z-DeviceTest and bring up the GPS status display, it shows that none of the satellites have almanac data, and very rarely have ephemeris data. If that's accurate, that would suggest that if you've turned off AGPS and mobile networking, you could have some trouble.

3waygeek said:
One thing I've noticed is that when I run Z-DeviceTest and bring up the GPS status display, it shows that none of the satellites have almanac data, and very rarely have ephemeris data. If that's accurate, that would suggest that if you've turned off AGPS and mobile networking, you could have some trouble.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice find. First app I know which shows this. Now I can test if that almanac is downloading via GPS satellites or not.

Dr.Sid said:
That does not mean you don't use AGPS. AGPS is method, where data about GPS satellites are not downloaded from those satellites via GPS receiver, but rather from server via. mobile network. So I'm afraid you do use AGPS, unless you disable mobile networking (and wait about day for current data to become obsolete).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok. So does that would mean it's impossible to get a GPS lock without data enabled? Or just harder to?
Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned AGPS, but instead wireless networks which show your position even though GPS is not locked.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App

sxi200 said:
Ok. So does that would mean it's impossible to get a GPS lock without data enabled? Or just harder to?
Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned AGPS, but instead wireless networks which show your position even though GPS is not locked.
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It seems it may vary with ROM, and it is possible to switch it, at least older ROMs contain service menu module (LbsTestMode) to switch it. But my SG2 seems to be unable to get a fix without network. It simply does not even try do download Almanac or Ephemerides data from the satellites.
Also for AGPS, mobile network must be used, not WiFi. As I understand it, those AGPS server names are virtual, and network provider redirects them based on location .. which is not possible via WiFi.
I wonder WHY there is such option at all. Do mobile network providers want us to be unable to get a fix without them ?

Dr.Sid said:
It seems it may vary with ROM, and it is possible to switch it, at least older ROMs contain service menu module (LbsTestMode) to switch it. But my SG2 seems to be unable to get a fix without network. It simply does not even try do download Almanac or Ephemerides data from the satellites.
Also for AGPS, mobile network must be used, not WiFi. As I understand it, those AGPS server names are virtual, and network provider redirects them based on location .. which is not possible via WiFi.
I wonder WHY there is such option at all. Do mobile network providers want us to be unable to get a fix without them ?
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Hey Dr, I think you have diagnosed my problem
Every so often I turn off data and use only wifi. One day my GPS locks in seconds then the next it takes forever.
So I have now tested it a couple of times over the last couple of days, when I can't get a lock I turn off wifi and turn on data. All of a sudden GPS locks again. Interesting!!
Hopefully that is it. Will test again the next time it won't lock.
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Ha ! Breakthrough. I could get a fix without network ! But ..
I used newer version of 'GPS Status' app. It shows state of unconnected satellites with gray/blue/yellow based on how much data it has - none/almanac/ephemerides. So you can see if there is some progress or not.
So I disabled network (both wifi and mobile), disabled location from mobile network, left just GPS on .. run GPS status and used 'Reset AGPS'.
The connection has few 'phases':
1) you get signals from satellites .. you see it in power meter .. all are gray .. and their dots on the 'sky' view are all in the N. Sure, GPS does not know where the satellites are, and does not know where you are .. so it can't know where on the 'sky' they should show.
2) Some signals/dots turn blue. That means you have almanac data. Rough position of all satellites, which is transmitted by all satellites. That already means your GPS receiver was used to download some data from the satellites. Based on this, GPS can tell very roughly where you are, and will paint dots on the skyview.
3) Some signals/dots turn yellow. That means you successfully downloaded ephemerides data from that satellite, and it can be used in fix. Have enough of them, and you are done.
4) Some signals/dots turn green - you have fix. The error will get better over time as more satellites are used.
I took me over 5 minutes .. but thanks to this tool I could see I'm indeed receiving some data and there is some progress. Also it only worked outside, under open skies. I tried that in a car, in a bus, in a train .. after 10 minutes I did not get over phase 1. With AGPS I get fix in all such situations in few seconds.
It just looks like the data decoding module for almanac/ephemerides is not the same as for the time (which is used in fix itself). While time channel is quite sensitive and fine, data channel seems to have troubles with even slightest disturbances.
Still I'm happy I made it work in the end !
Btw. the fact that AGPS does not work over WiFi still holds.

ayosopov said:
Hi,When I use my phone for finding my location without using data connectivity - without relying on A-GPS so my phone finds my location after a lot of time or sometimes google maps can't find my location.
How can I solve this?
Thanks.
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try fasterfix from market

I rarely have the data connection on (just to save battery) and WiFi is only on where I know I have a known connection - thus it is off when outside.
I put on the GPS then immediately run Sygic satnav program. I will have a fix normally within 30 seconds and a worst case of about a minute (that I can remember).
I have just tried switching off and on my phone, putting on the GPS (from the Pull down menu) and run Sygic. From switching on the GPS, I had a lock in about a minute.
KI3 Stock ROM

fred_up said:
I rarely have the data connection on (just to save battery) and WiFi is only on where I know I have a known connection - thus it is off when outside.
I put on the GPS then immediately run Sygic satnav program. I will have a fix normally within 30 seconds and a worst case of about a minute (that I can remember).
I have just tried switching off and on my phone, putting on the GPS (from the Pull down menu) and run Sygic. From switching on the GPS, I had a lock in about a minute.
KI3 Stock ROM
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Click to collapse
Could you try that with AGPS manually reset ? I recommend 'GPS Status' tool to do it, it's in 'tools' menu.

GPS lock time seems much improved in KJ4 firmware for me (i'm on orange 2.3.5)
all three DOP values in GPS Status now show figures (instead of infinity for two of them), and i'm getting reported accuracies of around 5 metres, instead of 14 - 20 metres on the older firmware.