Database Users

So, you bought a Vibrant... (my $.02, no refunds))

So I ditched WinCE for iOS... and now I have ditched iOS for Android. The Vibrant is my first Android device (and my first foray into a Samsung Mobile device... I am an unabashed HTC Fanboi). What has struck me, after sifting through numerous forums and entertaining a myriad of debates... is the wide of array of problems users have encountered... and their utter surprise (and sometimes outrage). Now, far be it for me to judge any other persons experiences... but I feel that I should remind everyone that most if not all Hi-tech product launches are plagued with some issues (some major, some minor) and that the burden (and duty) of early adopters is to wade through these issues and help mature the community and product. Now if these issues prove to be a hardware failing or unacceptable QC...then carries and manufactures should be held responsible to make things right. However, software issues (which is what I would attribute to most if not all the Vibrants problems to)... are ALWAYS going to be fleshed out with greater acuity and action by a large, well-informed and ambitious user base. We are just better suited and more motivated to do so than Corporate programmers... who are usually on deadlines and have more than one project cooking.
With that said, if you are unhappy with the device... by all means, return it. That is your right as a consumer (and is protected by the 14 day remorse period).
Anyway here are some facts about my user experience... since they seem to have been more favorable than a lot of other peoples:
1. I purchased my Vibrant on launch day, with a ship date of 7/8/2010
2. I did in fact have flaky GPS out of the box (1-3 min initial locks, not always... but enough to be considered an "issue")
3. The compass is for all intents and purposes unusable (however, the fact that it has been identified as an issue between raw and polled/avg data can be overcome with software coding).
4. I did not experience what I consider to be lag (coming from iOS or WinCE... I know lag)... however my App base is still rather small (20 non-stock)
5. I have yet to root my device... but did not have market issues on either 3g or wifi (yet)
6. I did apply GPS fix ( with multiple configs... eg: standalone plus new supl data, hot v cold start, ms based...etc) and did find that it did provide faster locks... but still, would not consider it a true "fix")
With all of that said and all that I read (righteous indignation and all) I almost succumbed to popular sentiment and swapped my device for a new one.
Instead, I went with a factory reset and had the following observations:
1. The device did seem snappier... but this may just be perceived rather than actual.
2. Stock settings on GPS have all of a sudden performed much better. I did not perform fix and I am getting consistent lock under 25 sec, navigation works exceptionally well, and both GPS status and test apps confirm 2-4 sats in use. Now again, this is still sub-par performance and a fix needs to be pushed OTA ASAP.
3. 3G and wifi perform the same (which is flawless... so no complaints)
Ultimately, I think TW 3.0 was not fully baked... and given the hardware on this device, it begs for Froyo (or GB beta ). Given time, some serious empirical testing and enough research... I truly believe all issues are faulty firmware and not a Hardware or QC problem. Now I could be wrong... only time will tell.
But when it is all said and done, I love my vibrant... and Android is the shizzzz.
When I root, I will post any issues that result.

This has been my exact experience with the phone, although I rooted my phone and have not performed a factory reset:
-Still using the GPS 'fix' and get 5-10 sec locks with good accuracy.
-After rooting, every once in a while (one of four times) I have to log into Google Talk before accessing the market.

I did a reset as well and it eliminated a lag I had. This thing flies now. The compass however is not as accurate or as fast as my Nexus one compass. I tried the navigation and it works fine.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Coming from a n1 I make sweet love to my vibrant everynight.. me and my girl have a 3some with it...

I've factory reset and done the GPS "fix" a couple times now, and none of it helps. My GPS locks fairly quick, but it never picks up more that 2 satellites and (in GPS Test) it only connects to the two satellites with the highest SNR. It's also very inaccurate in Google Maps, the indicator jumps around a lot.
I actually have no other problems than GPS issues, so I'm going to exchange it a little later today.

temperbad said:
Coming from a n1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I ever borrow your phone you'll understand why I wipe it down real good before I put it to my ear.

Bravo OP! This is just the nature of things. When android dropped on the G1 the community had a bloody out cry... Low and behold, two years later the phone is still being modded/upgraded. Where the only thing lacking now is the hardware. With time and patience im sure the vibrant will soon be seeing some light in the modding world.
For the ppl who complain, go buy an iphone
;o)
Catchin' the VIBE on the XDApp

All~G1 said:
For the ppl who complain, go buy an iphone
;o)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah right, can't fking JB my iPhone 3GS with new bootrom. Without JBking, it's useless for me.

No more GPS problems

I bought my Galaxy S few weeks ago and I could barely use the GPS. It took way too long to get it working and still it was inaccurate.
Few days ago I flashed JM2 firmware and installed app called TrackerBooster (can be found in the Android Market). Now the GPS works perfectly, takes only few seconds to get it connected (outdoors). I have used it now like 15 times and max. time I had to wait was 20 seconds.
I'm not sure does TrackerBooster app need to be installed, might work well without it, haven't tested.
I hope this helps those who have problems with GPS but this is just my experience, I would wait for other comments before flashing new a firmware.

It's called new firmware flashing syndrom for GPS. Basically, if you flash to any new firmware, your GPS will work for a few days.

As Foxbat said, a full flash/reset cycle improves results on the pathetic, schizophrenic and overall random SGS GPS implementation. But I am not going to be a smart ass and insinuate you don't know what you're talking about.
Instead I'll just ignore all the previous "the GPS issue is fixed" claims by many users who prematurely yelled "fixed" and just cowardly quote one of my favourite authors..."Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan
Plus we shall also ignore the previous 308 users who have "cried Wolf"^-1. Please refer to your favorite fable author for proper reference.

Its occurred so many times, it actually has it's own syndrome!! FFS

Beowulf_pt said:
As Foxbat said, a full flash/reset cycle improves results on the pathetic, schizophrenic and overall random SGS GPS implementation. But I am not going to be a smart ass and insinuate you don't know what you're talking about.
Instead I'll just ignore all the previous "the GPS issue is fixed" claims by many users who prematurely yelled "fixed" and just cowardly quote one of my favourite authors..."Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan
Plus we shall also ignore the previous 308 users who have "cried Wolf"^-1. Please refer to your favorite fable author for proper reference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you still trolling the forums about your GPS problem even after you sold your Samsung if you ever had one from the beginning. I have never had serious problem as many others and if only 308 of millions have had a problem it must certainly be a really good GPS. Stop trolling you only because look like an ignorant user who really do not want to make the phone better but want to promote NOKIA.

For sure, milsjg. You can add me too as ignorant, 309th user who's GPS sucks d*ck hard.

I wish my GPS sucked d**k... that would at least make it useful! ) 310th user here noticing GPS issues... that said while I was on JM7, I managed to record a very very close to perfect track using mytracks... for the walking section of my test it went perfectly even showing where I retraced my steps to go to poo bins! But when I got on to driving it went a bit mental and I apparently drove through the fire station, the wrong way round roundabouts and demolished a few streets worth of houses, but occationally it did show me going down the right side of the road!

You forget that before he even got it, he was complaining that he was reluctant to buy the phone because of reports about lag and GPS (and then, proceeded to buy it anyway).
The main problem is that people have different quality of acceptance for GPS. Some people expect a signal which compares with a fitness GPS (accurate within 2 or 3 meters generally), and some of us don't care if it drifts off by 20m.
Any technology which doesn't have a definitive state will get various opinions...

andrewluecke said:
You forget that before he even got it, he was complaining that he was reluctant to buy the phone because of reports about lag and GPS (and then, proceeded to buy it anyway).
The main problem is that people have different quality of acceptance for GPS. Some people expect a signal which compares with a fitness GPS (accurate within 2 or 3 meters generally), and some of us don't care if it drifts off by 20m.
Any technology which doesn't have a definitive state will get various opinions...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But then when it comes to navigation (arguably the principal purpose of having GPS in these devices) things go totally haywire! ) Personally I wonder whether GPS was installed purely for marketing purposes, to allow app developers (and of course google!) to snoop as to where their users are and how they are using their devices. For that there's no need for close tracking! )

not sure why you would fault beowulf for buying, if as you indicate he had some concerns - the damn phone is drop dead gorgous. If any product could stimulate optimism or optimistic hope, even in a skeptic, this phone would. And that's what makes it so frustrating.
I'm going to hate sending it back (i negotiated an extended buyer remorse return period) but if GPS isn't corrected by mid sept, this phone is history
samsung having released it w/o working gps is maybe forgiveable, but then even assuming they didn't know about the issue before release, it's been over 90 days since the asian release, and it's still not working.
Lay on top of that that samsung announced the GPS had been "validated" in the EPIC 4G, and it turns out it isn't. That did nothing but strengthen my doubts on samsung delivering a solution.

Tried this tracker booster app, makes no difference, gps still horrendous. If some people think that a 20m accuracy variation is acceptable for a gps lock they are a bloody fool.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

Bynar010 said:
Tried this tracker booster app, makes no difference, gps still horrendous. If some people think that a 20m accuracy variation is acceptable for a gps lock they are a bloody fool.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then it must be the firmware I flashed. There's a big difference with JM2 and the previous FW I had, if I remember right it was JF3.
The accuracy is good, for example Endomondo regonizes few meter changes. (like changing side of the road).

Sorry to offend you but Beowulf_pt has no SGS and still he is lurking around complaining. If you think about it ,there must be some reasons that I and several others have a perfectly normal (no correction) GPS on our SGS. Why is it working so different for different persons? Some logical alternatives would be error in a batch of phones (switch it), or operator programming has messed it up (get new operator), or just overload caused by program running in background, memory and task mangers etc ( educate yourself or wait for a proper kernel - see below) or in some cases just plain trolling of some non SGS owners (see my last reply).
The GPS chip is new and according to the web only recently the code for efficient low level drivers, for the linux kernel, has started to appear on internet (23 august). It will take some weeks before they are implemented so I would bet that they have fixed it by the end of September. You know, bad driver = slow, no calender etc. You will notice it specially when you use program that uses lots of resources (Maps and My tracker). It is much more efficient with Cardiotrainer for example or GPS test. (see my third conclusion above). I have noticed that (at least for me) it takes 5 - 10 sec to get a first lock in GPS test but half a minute at least in Maps or My Tracks.
Another tip is to run for example GPS test for one minute or so before My Track so the GPS gets some satellite data downloaded (calenders). The time also helps the GPS to calculate the exact position to use as a start point. You normally need a minute or so if the calenders are to old or you moved to get the right positions.
Iphone 4 has a good GPS (3 is crap according to some owners and it is not fixed. Do you hear any complaints?). The chip is one generation older than SGS and Apple do not need to wait for the kernel to be changed in there Iphone. They do it them self and by the way Iphone 4 is not really multitasking which means that GPS programs can easily be prioritized.
Well this is a short version. The net is filled with facts and if you start read a little you can start puzzle together what the cause is for your faulty GPS (nearly nobody believes its hardware any more).
By the way, I am not ignorant and I know rather much about GPS and how to evaluate tracking (I have written several scientific papers on tracking of wildlife where at least one was on the subject - evaluation of ARGOS tracking devices using GPS as reference). I have owned several mobiles and GPSes, programmed and built fish tracking devices, and did my thesis on wildlife tracking. I stating this not to try to end the GPS discussion but to make it a little bit more "scientific" and not so emotional like the comments on my last reply. There still nobody that knows how many that has a problem with the GPS. We only know that a few of millions have complained and a few of millions have said there satisfied with it.

Bynar010 said:
Tried this tracker booster app, makes no difference, gps still horrendous. If some people think that a 20m accuracy variation is acceptable for a gps lock they are a bloody fool.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On the contrar my friend, 5 - 15 meters is what you can expect and that means that the fix has 95 % certainty to be in that interval. 20 is a little bit above what you can expect but not much. In good dedicated trackers or a good phones you can get 5 meters (which I often get after 30 sec outside) and 2,5 for some fixes but not constant. A mobile is not a dedicated GPS and with the suspected driver problem 20 would not be bad. Try with GPS test, under open sky, and holding it at the bottom of the phone. Before you start you should turn off and on the GPS and close all task managers and started programs. You know that home means often that you leave the program running in the background but using back shuts it down. And wait for 30 - 60 seconds. If you get 10 be satisfied it,s a phone and not a dedicated GPS.

My touch hd would actually follow the f$$king road. Not too much to ask that a brand new smart phone would do the same is it? Its nothing short of pathetic. Even my old tytn2 was superb as a gps device for navigation, this thing cannot be trusted.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

I for one am getting SICK of installing fw's hoping for a fix for GPS.
They put a good hardware-wise device out.. But its kinda shoddy the fw development isn't equally as good. I have flashed nearly ALL the fw's to no real avail..
I am started to get frustrated after all this patience..

FWIW
Running 2.2 with no lag, fix no root, no apps to help. Google Nav and Co-Pilot work flawlessly. Mytracks follows me walking down the pavement at the correct position and on the correct side of the road with very few deviations.
I really cannot see what all the fuss is ablout here.

Tehpriest said:
FWIW
Running 2.2 with no lag, fix no root, no apps to help. Google Nav and Co-Pilot work flawlessly. Mytracks follows me walking down the pavement at the correct position and on the correct side of the road with very few deviations.
I really cannot see what all the fuss is ablout here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well try it in a car and get supprised...

praun said:
well try it in a car and get supprised...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is where I use both Co-Pilot and Google Nav.....

Beowulf_pt said:
..y quote one of my favourite authors..."Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I rather stick with Popper. Extraordinary evidence or support isn't that hard to get (look at the paranormal claims etc). What is more difficult and more fruitful to come by is some clever tests that eventually will or can refute a claim. If a theory will pass those tests it is actually more trustworthy then when it gets "extraordinary" evidence.
Again, no theory will stand till the end of time, how extra-ordinary our evidences may be.
Lol, back to the gps.

Galaxy S: is it all about hardware issues solved in recent manufacturing?

Edit 30 dec 2010:
see my last post in page 4
GPS suc*s when tested in high roads density urban areas
Hi,
I see many debate here about Galaxy S issues, mainly lag and GPS.
I was scared when got one, but finally, becoming a fan boy too:
In answer to this topic:
DSF said:
1) Test Google search (press and hold option button in home). Press a leter, for eg N. Now you have to wait seconds. Just web, apps are in searchable items. Without web suggestions
2) Swype
3) Manage apps
4) List processes
5) Apps shortcut
6) TouchWiz app drawer
7) Browser (still on JP6 ATM)
And so many issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I tested in my SGS, recently bought (3 weeks):
GPS driving on road behaves like my Sirf III module (but under Navigon, google maps not tested)
Google search is fine (lag less than 1sec)
Swype: really smooth
Manage apps: small lag, max 1 sec or less
Apps shortcut: first time just 1-2 sec, than instant
App drawer is fine, lag is really minimal to abscent, far less than 1 sec when it is there
Browser: no issues
It came with JM7 bundled, never updated firmware as I don't see the need. Bought it in october, just after an out of stock long period
I'm really thinking there are some hardware issues solved recently. My SGS seems to behave like the one from "fanboy"
I'm not going to become a fanboy, just maybe helping with my case. If it is really hardware dependent issues, a mass RMA would help samsung to admit the problems (that they look like have solved in newer devices?). After all, Apple, with their small antenna bug was finally more fair than Samsung.
I really open this topic to give a positive feedback. I also wonder why I have a "perfect" SGS, while many have a bad one? If it is not hardware, what can it be?
Maybe people that get new units, bundled stock with a new firmware (mine was JM7), should give a feedback here.
If it is hardware, why not RMA and put pressure on Samsung

jonny_ftm said:
Hi,
I see many debate here about Galaxy S issues, mainly lag and GPS.
I was scared when got one, but finally, becoming a fan boy too:
In answer to this topic:
So I tested in my SGS, recently bought (3 weeks):
GPS driving on road behaves like my Sirf III module (but under Navigon, google maps not tested)
Google search is fine (lag less than 1sec)
Swype: really smooth
Manage apps: small lag, max 1 sec or less
Apps shortcut: first time just 1-2 sec, than instant
App drawer is fine, lag is really minimal to abscent, far less than 1 sec when it is there
Browser: no issues
It came with JM7 bundled, never updated firmware as I don't see the need. Bought it in october, just after an out of stock long period
I'm really thinking there are some hardware issues solved recently. My SGS seems to behave like the one from "fanboy"
I'm not going to become a fanboy, just maybe helping with my case. If it is really hardware dependent issues, a mass RMA would help samsung to admit the problems (that they look like have solved in newer devices?). After all, Apple, with their small antenna bug was finally more fair than Samsung.
I really open this topic to give a positive feedback. I also wonder why I have a "perfect" SGS, while many have a bad one? If it is not hardware, what can it be?
Maybe people that get new units, bundled stock with a new firmware (mine was JM7), should give a feedback here.
If it is hardware, why not RMA and put pressure on Samsung
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many people still have release-day SGS's and they work just as good as yours; some people have the problem and some just do not. Was there a hardware update? We don't know and if there was, why would Samsung not announce something and try to put themselves in a terrible position?
We just don't know. I have a release-day SGS myself and the only problem I've had was the button's delaying (which is quite annoying) and "the Black Screen of Death" a few times (which was fixed by not putting on a hard-case from Bell).

hol17 said:
Many people still have release-day SGS's and they work just as good as yours; some people have the problem and some just do not. Was there a hardware update? We don't know and if there was, why would Samsung not announce something and try to put themselves in a terrible position?
We just don't know. I have a release-day SGS myself and the only problem I've had was the button's delaying (which is quite annoying) and "the Black Screen of Death" a few times (which was fixed by not putting on a hard-case from Bell).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi. Just a couple of questions for you if you dont mind.
1.) When you say "Black Screen of Death, do you mean the weird Coma/Crash syndrome? Mine from Bell as well just started doing this about 60 days into owning it and it has happened a total of 3 times in the last 5 days or so.
2.) What do you mean it was SOLVED by not putting on a Hard Case from Bell? I have one from Bell (looks like leather on the back) and you now have me wondering. I have had the case almost since day one though and my phone just started the Coma/Crash as mentioned above about 60 days after owning it. Please advise...
3.) A bit off topic but I see you are rooted on JH2. Can you please tell me how you rooted the device? I have tried the update.zip files I have found before but none of them ever work for me. Do you need to be sim unlocked for the root to work? Please advise...
Thank You...

@yiannisthegreek
1.) When you say "Black Screen of Death, do you mean the weird Coma/Crash syndrome? Mine from Bell as well just started doing this about 60 days into owning it and it has happened a total of 3 times in the last 5 days or so.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes; try to wake the phone and I just can not, no matter what I do and thats when...
SEGWAY
2.) What do you mean it was SOLVED by not putting on a Hard Case from Bell? I have one from Bell (looks like leather on the back) and you now have me wondering. I have had the case almost since day one though and my phone just started the Coma/Crash as mentioned above about 60 days after owning it. Please advise...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll break it down for you; my problem with the BSOD started to happen after I attached my cases I bought from Bell (the semi-clear hard grey case and the fake crocodile skin case). The cases felt VERY snug to my phone, almost 'death-gripped' (which meant the cases were difficult to take off, almost 'ripping-the-backplate-off' difficult) and I could feel heat through the case. After taking them off, I have never had the BSOD since, although my phone feels a bit naked. I had also UNROOTED my phone but the BSOD happened a few days later (with the case on).
3.) A bit off topic but I see you are rooted on JH2. Can you please tell me how you rooted the device? I have tried the update.zip files I have found before but none of them ever work for me. Do you need to be sim unlocked for the root to work? Please advise...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the post where I got my update.zip:
Code:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=7536130&postcount=11
The steps were guide-lined here:
Originally Posted by AllGamer
Step 1. root your phone
Bell's I9000M is slightly different than the regular I9000
most of the root methods mentioned on other topics will not work.
Even the 3 button recovery mode has been disabled
After some experimentation this is the working method
download the update.zip from this topic (Thanks to jentech)
http://ip208-100-42-21.static.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=7536130&postcount=11
then you need to run adb devices to make sure your phone is listed
(ADB is part of Android SDK, download it from the source http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html )
if you get something like
Code:
adb.exe devices
List of devices attached
900098c722a9 device
(if you run adb.exe devices and comes back with an empty list, then make sure you have set the phone into debugging mode Application > Settings > Development > USB Debugging)
then you are can execute
adb.exe reboot recovery
this will take you to the recovery screen
now if your device works with the Power + Volume Up + Home button, then you can skip that, however in my case the 3 button mode didn't work
select the update.zip with the volumen up down button, then hit home screen, it should say installing in yellow, then you are done, it reboots back to normal, and now you can install Busy Box
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hope that helps

I got mine also after the "outstock" period.
Got 2, first one had weird issue, rebooted for no reason and, in the end, USb would work and, everytime I pluged it in (PC or recharge) it would reboot in a loop :S
All of this in the first week
Got it exchange and since then, no reboot, no connection issue, no "lag" and GPS is more than decent (I use it to track jogging and it's right on the spot)
Manif. date of this one is 10.09.21 (specific date on the battery, on the device itself it's 10.09, no day)
I do wonder the same thing as you do, might be a good idea to note the manif. date and if user has issue or not...It might give help to some of us with unreliable SGS get it exchanged!

If the manufacturing date gives different hardware, I would definitely send it back again to get a latest one. My replacement didn't solve the GPS issue...will talk to orange uk again tomorrow...

I agree with thread creator. My SGS works fine right at the beginning (except the lag). I see a date on the battery which is 2010.08.03.
I also think it may be hardware-related issues.

Car navigation software such as Navigon accepts an enormous range of errors though. But the errors are exposed when using GPS for fitness purposes (because if the tracks swing wildly side to side then you do the 10km jog in 7km).
I think it might be hardware these days, but waiting for froyo official to see. After that I'll return my phone as many times as necessary

apart from the gps inaccuracy, there's nothing to complain about! the sgs is simply brilliant however, i'd be happy if they put in more ram on the device :|
the gps update frequency is bad, and sometimes is terribly inaccurate

Has anyone tested, one of these phones, with a bluetooth sirf 3 gps?
I would assume, to a certain extent, that it would help prove, if it is a hardware fault or not.
Are there other factors involved, however?

@jonny_ftm just try a Froyo build. I was pretty happy with Eclair in terms of performance (of course some issues where there too, but not that many).. but froyo has some nice additions (eg: input cursor, copy text from browser, flash support, etc) but it sucks in terms of performance. Even the latest builds (JPO, JPA) seems to suck as some realistic people report.
I have ~ 150 apps in app drawer

I will check the date of manufacture of my phone later and report back.
It could be a good idea to start with this to see if there's really a trend to better hardware with later manufacturing dates.
Sadely, it is not that simple. If in mobile phone industry it works just like in PC electronics, even manufacture date of phone won't help. I explain: intel chipsets on motherboards were often "buggy" in some extent on first production. Later, they enhance the product and produce new build versions of chipset correcting hardware issues. Now, it's upon to motherboard manufacture to use the last chipset build or not. Most time, motherboard manufacture will use old chipset stocks before moving to new one.
So, if we want to know this for sure, only SN and build dates on chipsets inside the phone will be the ultimate proof. Sadely, unlike in PC world, less people open their phones to check components unless they break the screen...
Anyhow, phone manufacturing date can help as early dates would have necessarly early components. Later built phones could or not have the last chipset though.
DSF said:
@jonny_ftm just try a Froyo build. I was pretty happy with Eclair in terms of performance (of course some issues where there too, but not that many).. but froyo has some nice additions (eg: input cursor, copy text from browser, flash support, etc) but it sucks in terms of performance. Even the latest builds (JPO, JPA) seems to suck as some realistic people report.
I have ~ 150 apps in app drawer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- I won't try Froyo. Until it is final, we can't say Samsung s**ks, it is just beta testing. My phone works great with original JM7 it came with, I don't need Beta Froyo features if they make the phone unusable. Now, I understand people that need these features getting frustrated. Hopefully, it is not my case, so can't help here
- I only have around 30 applications, I think I won't have more than 50-60 include stock apps. Even a PC with quadcore CPU, 16 Gigs of extreme fast RAM, RAID setup and tons of applications/processes installed will slow down. I don't expect a tiny smartphone to do a better job there. The only OS that was rock stable despite tons of applications is Palm OS, now dead :-(

Mine had 16 6 10 on the battery and I experience the gps issue.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

Latest phone aren't struggling with lag out of the box anymore.

householddog said:
Has anyone tested, one of these phones, with a bluetooth sirf 3 gps?
I would assume, to a certain extent, that it would help prove, if it is a hardware fault or not.
Are there other factors involved, however?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried using my external holux bt gps (which really kicks ass)....but to my surprise i figured android doesn't support external bt gps devices natively! so, google maps or navigation does not bother picking up gps info from the external device. android still has no support....bottom line so we're pretty much stuck with what our sgs can do! sucks i know!

Actually, from what I was led to beleive from the test in the accesories, BT GPS seems to work with everything:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=818688&highlight=GPS
See post #10

nope....even in post#10 he mentions that "in theory"! it just wouldnt work and i did a serious amount of research only to realize android doesnt support external bt based gps devices. however, i havent tried in froyo....will do it tomorrow and post if i have any luck!

All working fine here - manufacturing date 25/08/2010

Very interesting, the date manufacture theory I stated seems not that wrong from the few feedback in this thread. If we have more feedback, it will become evident, for those doubting it, that Samsung is just making fun of his customers. They don't intend to admit any defect and won't recall phones unless forced by a massive customers action.
I'm happy I got mine only in October. When I receive my microSD card, I'll open it and add my contribution with manufacturing date for my working out of the box phone.
All this means it is very bad news for people with very laggy, battery consuming and bad GPS phones

dreamtheater39 said:
nope....even in post#10 he mentions that "in theory"! it just wouldnt work and i did a serious amount of research only to realize android doesnt support external bt based gps devices. however, i havent tried in froyo....will do it tomorrow and post if i have any luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just install Bluetooth GPS Provider. It's simple.

Main Epic GPS bug likely not addressed in Upcoming Foryo release

Just flashed one of my Epics. I am under the distinct impression that the main bug is not fixed. I am getting less locks on froyo epic than on two other epics held in same place with cold start workaround. The fact that it took four minutes to get first fix means that even on the first attempt it did not properly fill the almanac/ephemeris cache! That first fix should have taken about 5 to 10 seconds!
Will report some additional testing over the next few days.

aero1 said:
Just flashed one of my Epics. I am under the distinct impression that the main bug is not fixed. Will report some additional testing over the next few days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keep in mind that this is a leak, a beta at best - it's still using the DI18 modem.bin.

aero1 said:
Just flashed one of my Epics. I am under the distinct impression that the main bug is not fixed. Will report some additional testing over the next few days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
we don't know yet...cause most likely the fix will be in modem not the rom and the devs don't have the modem yet....The rom just helped out the accuracy...

Why dont we wait for Froyo to actually be released before we say things dont work.

I agree, that people should not post thread titles that suggest they are part of the official source or internal testing unless they actually are.

My gps locks within 10 seconds on froyo and eclair. No mod needed.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

joefx13 said:
My gps locks within 10 seconds on froyo and eclair. No mod needed.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you had any idea as to how the bug presents you would know why it will sicne you just flashed your phone.
Jedi2155 said:
I agree, that people should not post thread titles that suggest they are part of the official source or internal testing unless they actually are.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to XDA. I have spoken to ADS doing the testing.

aero1 said:
Just flashed one of my Epics. I am under the distinct impression that the main bug is not fixed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a given! The official Froyo on the International SGS's GPS didn't get fixed, so why would they fix it on the Epic?
Personally, I say the problem is hardware and Samsung will brush this under the run. Really, it's not like the phone isn't selling and they're getting ready to put out a new Flagship phone. Why would they invest time and money into fixing something that going to be replaced soon and is still selling well?
I think the only way they will fix it is if there is a lawsuit and they are forced into it. Outside of that, all Galaxy S variant owners, that don't have a working GPS, is SOL.

If it's not fixed I'll have to let go of samsung. There's no reason something like this should be ignored. It was annoying on the moment, and now it's annoying on the epic. My evo and hero never had a problem.

How is it that I have never had an issue with the GPS? It works flawlessly for me. It isn't very accurate, but it locks on near instantly every time as long as I am outside. Doesn't seem like there is a bug at all to me, other than the accuracy of the lock.
Might just be something you guys are doing or some setting you changed.

muyoso said:
How is it that I have never had an issue with the GPS? It works flawlessly for me. It isn't very accurate, but it locks on near instantly every time as long as I am outside. Doesn't seem like there is a bug at all to me, other than the accuracy of the lock.
Might just be something you guys are doing or some setting you changed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it was something people were doing, you'd see GPS issues on all phones that have GPS. Currently, no phones seem to have an issue with GPS except for Samsung Galaxy S phones.
What might cause different issues (some have decent GPS, others can't even get a lock, some in the middle) is the antenna may be marginal. A marginal antenna might work or have issues based on just how well it's soldered in. Too much solder, not enough, or it got soldered in at just a slight angle... Who knows other then Samsung, and their not saying or fixing it. If it was just a software problem, I'll bet they would have had it fixed by now and you wouldn't see such a wide variety of problems.

muyoso said:
How is it that I have never had an issue with the GPS? It works flawlessly for me. It isn't very accurate, but it locks on near instantly every time as long as I am outside. Doesn't seem like there is a bug at all to me, other than the accuracy of the lock.
Might just be something you guys are doing or some setting you changed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you running the leaked Froyo release? (That is what this thread is about.)
The general property of the GPS locking bug is that it does not occur under all conditions. It's root cause is buggy handling of the GPS cache after it becomes stale. There are many things that can cause the time-dependent cache to be cleared or refreshed, including frequent use of the GPS or rebooting.
How do you even know that you have a good GPS lock if the fix is inaccurate? Do you use a utility such as GPS Test to show how many satellites are being used? Since the actual accuracy of the GPS, when it does get a multi-bird lock, is pretty good, my bet is that you don't have a good satellite lock at all. In any case, if the bottom-line accuracy is poor, it cannot be said that your GPS "works flawlessly."

muyoso said:
How is it that I have never had an issue with the GPS? It works flawlessly for me. It isn't very accurate, but it locks on near instantly every time as long as I am outside. Doesn't seem like there is a bug at all to me, other than the accuracy of the lock.
Might just be something you guys are doing or some setting you changed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are threads everywhere on how to replicate this problem. Enable WiFi or 4G, wait 4 hours, then try to get a lock. Your phone won't. It is unable to get assistance data over anything other than Ev-DO/1x-RTT.

I have seen anecdotal reports on the main DJ29 thread in which users first experienced good GPS performance, but later the GPS locking failures started. This is completely consistent with the buggy behavior of the stock Epic. (There also is a lot of noise from naive cowboy "testers" proclaiming that their GPS works fine with the new ROM. Their GPS units would work just as fine -- temporarily -- if they only did a factory reset of a stock Epic. They have no clue how to test for this GPS bug.)
Meanwhile, there are skimpy reports that there is a later Froyo version, DK05, which also includes an updated modem.bin module. Unfortunately, that version is not generally available for testing.

I am CONSTANTLY AMAZED at people saying they have no gps problem AND THEN they follow it up with "I mean it's off by 100 to 300 feet, but I have no gps problem"
If the gps doesn't show EXACTLY what room you are sitting in - in your house, YOU HAVE A PROBLEM.
I for one use the phone exactly like a normal person does - I walk in and out of wifi zones all day, I use it to talk, I hardly turn it off and power cycle it
AND in that situation, even with cold start enabled THE EPIC GPS IS USELESS!!!
If it's not fixed in the next release, I'm selling it, even though I love it and I will NEVER buy another Samsung product again.
There have been MULTIPLE times the GPS lets me down, across ALL different APPS. It's purely PATHETIC on Sprint and Samsungs part.

J3ff said:
I am CONSTANTLY AMAZED at people saying they have no gps problem AND THEN they follow it up with "I mean it's off by 100 to 300 feet, but I have no gps problem"
If the gps doesn't show EXACTLY what room you are sitting in - in your house, YOU HAVE A PROBLEM.
I for one use the phone exactly like a normal person does - I walk in and out of wifi zones all day, I use it to talk, I hardly turn it off and power cycle it
AND in that situation, even with cold start enabled THE EPIC GPS IS USELESS!!!
If it's not fixed in the next release, I'm selling it, even though I love it and I will NEVER buy another Samsung product again.
There have been MULTIPLE times the GPS lets me down, across ALL different APPS. It's purely PATHETIC on Sprint and Samsungs part.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Worked perfectly for me with cold start on DI18. Room to room and driving. Locked on within 1 minute. I updated to Froyo. Now I have never gotten a lock.

J3ff said:
I am CONSTANTLY AMAZED at people saying they have no gps problem AND THEN they follow it up with "I mean it's off by 100 to 300 feet, but I have no gps problem"
If the gps doesn't show EXACTLY what room you are sitting in - in your house, YOU HAVE A PROBLEM.
I for one use the phone exactly like a normal person does - I walk in and out of wifi zones all day, I use it to talk, I hardly turn it off and power cycle it
AND in that situation, even with cold start enabled THE EPIC GPS IS USELESS!!!
If it's not fixed in the next release, I'm selling it, even though I love it and I will NEVER buy another Samsung product again.
There have been MULTIPLE times the GPS lets me down, across ALL different APPS. It's purely PATHETIC on Sprint and Samsungs part.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont know how you can call something useless that works well for driving navigation. Sure, it is not accurate. It can only pinpoint your location to a circle with a diameter of 98ft. Obviously we would all love to see this fixed. But to say that it is useless is just dumb. It might be useless for certain applications, but for the most used application it is usable. Not great, but useable.
Also, the main complaint I have heard from people is that the GPS simply wouldn't lock, not that it wasn't accurate. As a response to that, I am perfectly comfortable saying that mine is working perfectly, because my GPS locks within 5 seconds consistantly. Sure, it doesn't lock onto 9 satellites and the location data it is providing isnt super accurate, but it can reliably pinpoint my location on this massive planet to within 100ft within 5 seconds of me asking it to.
Don't mistake this response for me defending any of its shortcomings. It is not as accurate as any of my previous phones, which is ridiculous. My only defense of it is that it locks near instantly.

you are not set to have it only work on GPS.
98 feet is not accurate. Sorry but where I live there are LOTS of roads within 98 feet of me.
Actually, i was at a bar about an hour ago and a girl asked me to find directions from where we were, to her car........ it was aabout 600 feet inaccurate. We were sitting in a bar, and it was showing us sitting on I95.
yea that as impressive for a top of the line phone.
NOT

J3ff said:
I am CONSTANTLY AMAZED at people saying they have no gps problem AND THEN they follow it up with "I mean it's off by 100 to 300 feet, but I have no gps problem"
If the gps doesn't show EXACTLY what room you are sitting in - in your house, YOU HAVE A PROBLEM.
I for one use the phone exactly like a normal person does - I walk in and out of wifi zones all day, I use it to talk, I hardly turn it off and power cycle it
AND in that situation, even with cold start enabled THE EPIC GPS IS USELESS!!!
If it's not fixed in the next release, I'm selling it, even though I love it and I will NEVER buy another Samsung product again.
There have been MULTIPLE times the GPS lets me down, across ALL different APPS. It's purely PATHETIC on Sprint and Samsungs part.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so sell it? whats stopping you.. you are going to get another phone with better GPS but its going to suck at everything else the Epic does very well. I for one am willing to take ****ty gps vs a ****ty phone

J3ff said:
I am CONSTANTLY AMAZED at people saying they have no gps problem AND THEN they follow it up with "I mean it's off by 100 to 300 feet, but I have no gps problem"
If the gps doesn't show EXACTLY what room you are sitting in - in your house, YOU HAVE A PROBLEM.
I for one use the phone exactly like a normal person does - I walk in and out of wifi zones all day, I use it to talk, I hardly turn it off and power cycle it
AND in that situation, even with cold start enabled THE EPIC GPS IS USELESS!!!
If it's not fixed in the next release, I'm selling it, even though I love it and I will NEVER buy another Samsung product again.
There have been MULTIPLE times the GPS lets me down, across ALL different APPS. It's purely PATHETIC on Sprint and Samsungs part.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) Phone works for driving nav, the only reason I need a GPS chip in the phone. I don't care if Twitter knows I'm at a mistress' house while I tweet, in fact, I would hope that it wouldn't know.
2) Unlike my former Hero, I have never been portrayed on the map on a biway. The Hero did it all the time and it used to piss me off to no end. Who cares if the phone can tell you what address you're at, but can't tell if you're in the bathroom or in bed? You do realize that building materials can affect this issue (and since I live in Florida where houses are mandated to not fall down during a hurricane, pretty thick material).

List of problems with Galaxy S II

Hi peeps, my first post here on XDA nice to meet all of you.
Ill try to list of the problems I found so far in the galaxy S II
p.s. some problems are related to android software itself:
anti-aliased small text, HTC phones do not have this problem
horrendous battery usage after updating to KE7, android OS taking more than 40%
android stock browser does not render original website fonts
touch screen is less sensitive than other phones e.g. iphone
the lock screen is just not practical when it comes to unlocking, you have to move it quite far to unlock when set to picture only
when waking the phone using home button, it briefly shows the background app, this doesn't happen when waking from power button, trust me this is annoying
More issues:
Wifi signal bar shows weak signal, but infact the signal itself is strong, as confirmed with a speed test
cannot disable battery full warning sound
hopefully these will be fixed, ill try to think of some more and add them.

Thanks for the list.
It's sad to have such a spectacular phone have issues like these... I'm pretty sure all will be fixed with updates and custom ROMS from some amazing Devs on here...but still.
Hopefully sooner than later!
Do keep us updated

Hey.
I must disagree with you on some points.
- the battery usage is not that catastrophical. I had an SGS before and I must say that, contrary to my expectations (bigger screen, more features, improved hardware), the battery is holding up nicely.
- touch screen is great. a friend of mine has an iphone 4 and we did a lot of comparing. I did not encounter any issues when scrolling or whatsoever. On the contrary, I see a big leap between these two devices when it comes to tactile control.
- I didn't notice any issues with the lock screen. The same lock screen was on SGS (well.. aproximately). Still... this is the point of a lock screen - to swipe it as much as possible in order to prevent unlocking it accidentally. You will get used to it really fast.
- regarding the background app -> it didn't happen to me but based on my previous experience with Android OS I am not going to deny that this isn't possible.
By the way are you experiencing all these bugs with KE2 or you already upgraded to KE7?

bogdan1234 said:
Hey.
I must disagree with you on some points.
- the battery usage is not that catastrophical. I had an SGS before and I must say that, contrary to my expectations (bigger screen, more features, improved hardware), the battery is holding up nicely.
- touch screen is great. a friend of mine has an iphone 4 and we did a lot of comparing. I did not encounter any issues when scrolling or whatsoever. On the contrary, I see a big leap between these two devices when it comes to tactile control.
- I didn't notice any issues with the lock screen. The same lock screen was on SGS (well.. aproximately). Still... this is the point of a lock screen - to swipe it as much as possible in order to prevent unlocking it accidentally. You will get used to it really fast.
- regarding the background app -> it didn't happen to me but based on my previous experience with Android OS I am not going to deny that this isn't possible.
By the way are you experiencing all these bugs with KE2 or you already upgraded to KE7?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
another negative thread. sigh.
btw
Sliding the wallpaper horizontally is almost the exact same distance as you would slide the default android unlock screen...

the battery is certainly very good, until i updated to KE7, now android OS eating up 50%.
the touchscreen certainly feels different, however the problem is also related to the fact that the iphone knows your finger actually touches the link e.g. on a webpage by a roughly a millimeter below it, because of the way you hold it , it is slightly at an angle. i guess that's something i need to get used to, as i just switched to android from ios.

linkin85 said:
the battery is certainly very good, until i updated to KE7, now android OS eating up 50%.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My battery's actually improved on KE7. Did you update on top of KE2 or did you wipe the phone and hard reset after the update? I did the latter. My phone's been up nearly seven hours with moderate use and still has 65% battery left. And I appreciate you sharing your individual feelings toward the phone. But, based on some of the posts I've read on this forum, I don't think there was, is, or will be a phone that meets all of the stated expectations.

BarryH_GEG said:
My battery's actually improved on KE7. Did you update on top of KE2 or did you wipe the phone and hard reset after the update? I did the latter. My phone's been up nearly seven hours with moderate use and still has 65% battery left. And I appreciate you sharing your individual feelings toward the phone. But, based on some of the posts I've read on this forum, I don't think there was, is, or will be a phone that meets all of the stated expectations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree with that. Battery Level - 22%, Uptime: 26hrs 7 mins. Moderate use (switching from WiFi to 3G, playing some games, browsing the internet and market to download some stuff, cumulative talk ~ 45 mins, texted some messages).
I really cannot complain about the battery at all.
The only bad thing that happened to me since I bought this phone is that I cannot take my hands off it so the people around me get pissed for no reason Either way.. one of my best investments ever.

I think the inability to get mine delivered is a problem. Can't wait to get my paws on it. FWIW, IMHO, my post was as useful as this thread

mattism78 said:
I think the inability to get mine delivered is a problem. Can't wait to get my paws on it. FWIW, IMHO, my post was as useful as this thread
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I appreciate that this phone is amazing, but every phone has its flaws and I'm simply listing the problems I experienced so far.
if we don't talk about them and ignore them, they will never be fixed.
Many thanks

the god damn yellow tint on the left side of the screen on what seems a high percentage of the devices.

did it need its own thread.

intruda119 said:
did it need its own thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'd rather have a forum filled with threads titled "All is well" or "This phone works" while the problems are censored?
Anyway, I havent noticed many of those issues in the OP. Most, if not all, are hardware related - unfortunetly.
My major issues:
- The phone can run very hot
- Poor color depth (banding)
My minor issues:
- Placing a speaker on the back of a phone is as logical as placing a speaker inside the HDD rack of your computer expecting it to sound good when you're looking at the case
- Slow loading of battery. My 3Gs is miles better there
- Slight tinting on screen left to right. Not bad, but I can spot it if I look for it
What I do not see that others posted here:
- Laggy touchscreen. My 3Gs behave exactly the same, that slow pull and then it skips. So I'm used to that.
- Poor battery life. With the phone being able to warm my entire head after a long session, sucking battery amps is logical. Its not really that bad, after 24h of using the phone - not heavy, but still - its at 50%. My 3Gs (charged at the same time) is at 75% and I havent done anything with it. At the very least, its eqvivalent.
- Havent noticed the flashing background app issue. I mean come on, who the f*** turn on the screen with the awkward power button now a days? I love Samsung for blatantly ripping off iPhone, lol. When I entered a store before the S2 was even in my mind, I looked at an Optimus 2X and my first question was "Does it turn on the screen with any of these buttons at the bottom, rather than having to twist my finger to the itty bitty power button at the top?". "No I dont think so" said the store guy. I walked out.

let I also add one problem
BT connection in the car (at least AUDI) having constant problem - it drops connection (and then you have to reconnect manually) and even crashing phone down if it tries to connectn during conversation. Same problem (exept crush) was for previous SGS and very sad that Samsung didn't changed it. On SGS the only way to cope with it was to swith to custom ROM - it also strange - custom ROM's apart of stock didn't have that problems.

I must say, after having this unit for about a week, I have only one concern..
The WiFi-signal is a bit poor.. I really hope this is a software-problem, as both my SGS and my Desire HD had a better reception.
And I've read a few post stating that the reception is actually good, it just doesn't show it right. But my SGSII loses connection totally when I'm in my kitchen, something neither my SGS og DHD did.. Poor
Other than that, I couldn't be happier with my snappy, glossy new smartphone, beasting away all others when they want to compare awesome power in handsets!

xclusiv8 said:
the god damn yellow tint on the left side of the screen on what seems a high percentage of the devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure your no just half Japanese?

I think there should be an impression thread like on other forums. I am having problems since I updated to ke7 but nothing a reflash thru odin cant solve. My device have been running great before last upgrade and the only minor thing I can see is the banding. But I think its been mentioned before that its a easy software fix.

murklor said:
My major issues:
- The phone can run very hot
My minor issues:
- Slow loading of battery. My 3Gs is miles better there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to wager that you're not using the charger that came with the phone or using a random USB cable?
As I've read on here before and have noticed, if you don't use the official Samsung cables then your phone can run hot when you're charging and using apps. The phone also charges better with the official cables.
I read this when reading up on car chargers. As such I made sure that I purchased the official Samsung car dock and not some knock-off.

linkin85 said:
I appreciate that this phone is amazing, but every phone has its flaws and I'm simply listing the problems I experienced so far.
if we don't talk about them and ignore them, they will never be fixed.
Many thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, but if you bothered to read the threads you would realize that these faults/flaws HAVE been posted, and discussed at great detail. Indeed, most of the discussions are still ongoing. So your thread is redundant.

OP should take the phone back to the seller .
jje

revaz said:
let I also add one problem
BT connection in the car (at least AUDI) having constant problem - it drops connection (and then you have to reconnect manually) and even crashing phone down if it tries to connectn during conversation. Same problem (exept crush) was for previous SGS and very sad that Samsung didn't changed it. On SGS the only way to cope with it was to swith to custom ROM - it also strange - custom ROM's apart of stock didn't have that problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BT is working without any hiccups in my car (Ford).