I'd like to make a unique single thread with all the issues related to gps on DHD and the procedures/tips to make it work better.
MY EXPERIENCE
I was ready to go to dinner to my girlfriend's uncle (50km far away). I bought my DHD two days before. Ok, let's try gps. Google navigator. Started driving and my phone didn't get a lock. After five minutes of driving, i needed some help from navigator. Nope, still no gps lock. I stopped the car, got out with DHD in hand and lock again in two minutes with the sky in sight. No problem until destination. At the end of the dinner, on the road again. For the first 3 minutes, gps lock. Then lock lost, gps icon blinking and nothing. Tried to reload the phone. Fast boot first time and complete reboot the second time. I didn't stop the car this time, tried while driving (my girlfriend handled telephone while i was driving ).
It took 45 minutes to get lock again. Thanks god, i learned the route on the journey there.
The same thing happened again three times in the next days.
I thought that some software installed corrupted my phone.....(sorry, i was used to the windows mobile whims!!!!).
Hard resetted, but the problem was always there. Without logic, sometimes i had gps lock, sometimes not. Sometimes my DHD was keeping the lock until destination, other times gps lock was lost while moving.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
Not all the people complaints about gps on DHD. I don't know why but there are many people who have problems using it. I think that, except for the faulty devices with defective gps chip, the behaviour is the same for all devices. Only the people perception about the performances of gps are different, and their behaviours of use. I had different expectations about gps. I was used to start driving without gps lock, my HtcHD would have always found lock in one minute anyway. Even if moving, even if many clouds or raining.
People who arrived to Android coming from Windows Mobile do experience a general lack of speed in locking gps position and a very different way about gps is handled by the OS.
My DesireHD hardly locks gps where my previous HtcHD locked gps in few seconds.
The same difficulties I have now with DesireHD, I had them too when I installed Android on my HtcHD. But I thought it was the unstable Android SD ROM's fault.
Another issue is the speed of hot start: DHD seem to have a very very short term memory in fact of gps. Hot start is really hot only if you reconnect within short time.
My HtcHD was able to reconnect in few seconds even if hours passed from the previous lock, if not moved.
My new DHD needs more time to lock, even if the previous lock was 30 minutes before. It happens to take 45 seconds or more to lock again if the sky is not completely in sight.
Even if I get lock with GPS Status, shutdown the program and I reopen it few seconds after, gps lock is not immediate. It takes almost ten seconds to lock.
I think I have to forget the Winmo performances in fact of gps, on Android.
(I think it's the only thing i'm gonna be missing, anyway......)
I think i'll have to wait for the lock before start driving from now.
ISSUES EXPERIENCED BY USERS
- DHD locks gps but when moving it loses the lock and it stays for minutes (from 10 to 60) looking for it again. -
Let DHD get an outdoor strong gps lock for some minutes before starting to move.
- DHD is unable to find a lock. Phone never ever locked gps, whether indoor or outdoor, with the whole sky in sight.
Try resetting AGPS data and let your phone get a lock without data connection, outdoor with the sky in sight on a plain stable surface
If you never ever succeed to get a lock, you should consider to have a faulty chip on your device. I think it's better to contact HTC Repair service.
- DHD behaves with no logic. Sometimes it finds a lock in seconds, sometimes it takes ages to find a lock.
Let DHD get an outdoor strong gps lock for some minutes before starting to move.
- DHD is unable to find a lock if any data connection is available.
Try resetting AGPS data e let your phone get a lock without data connection, outdoor with the sky in sight on a plain stable surface
TIPS
Do all of these steps. And, except for the first, try to do them all the times you use gps. And evaluate the improvements, if there are.
One time procedure:
- Force the phone to lock gps without any data connection and check APN type (see below for the link to step-by-step procedure).
It is important to put the phone outdoor on a stable and straight surface in order to get a strong lock, with a complete view of the sky.
My advice is to empty a-gps data BEFORE doing this operation (this can be done with GPS Status - Menu => Tools => MAnage Agps state => Empty data - The program is free and doesn't need root permissions)
Before every use of gps:
- Use FasterFix (needs root permissions) to change NTP server zone. The system/etc/gps.conf file contains parameters for NTP server and AGPS data. In mine i find that the ntp server used is located in northamerica. I live in Rome so I use Fasterfix to change it, forcing to use european ntp server. I don't know why but Android changes by itself this file, putting again north america server, so i have to change it more than once in a day to keep it using european server.
NOTE: Fasterfix gives back an error the first time you open it, choose the seerver and try to apply it. Only the second or the third attempt, it returns an ok result. Don't mind error. Don't worry about it. Even if returned error, it did its job anyway.
- Synch Device clock with atomic time. I use ClockSynch (needs root permissions), but every program capable of doing the same thing can be used. This is intended to help device in calculating your position. More accurate time means less corrections by the software, faster position calculating and a more accurate position.
- Let the phone get a strong lock BEFORE starting to move with your car. A couple of minutes before, you should let your phone on a stable surface, with sky in sight. Outdoor, obviously. Better if outside the car.
This thing could seem stupid, i know. But let your DHD get the lock in a place where it has a good view to the satellites. Let it acquire precision (you can see it in the left middle part of the screen, using GPS Status). Start moving only when precision has reached a minimum value (expressed in meters/feets - lower value, more accurate). You will see that gps lock will be more and more stable than before.
- Use a task killer program to kill all the processes which may use gps. I noticed that if one or more program able to use gps have been left opened in background, sometimes, without logic, something goes wrong and Gps receiver is no longer reachable by software.
In this situation if I open GPS Status, I see gps icon blinking, but in fact no satellites are seen by the program. I mean that on the screen is not shown 0/3 or 0/5 satellites. On the screen i see nothing about the number of sats, neither 0/0, empty. And in some situations this thing cannot be true (i.e. if i am completely outdoor with a perfect sky view).
RESOURCES
Gps lock without data connection: http://wccftech.com/2010/09/09/solving-gps-nofix-problem-cyanogenmod-6-nexus/
Gps Status: http://www.appbrain.com/app/gps-status-toolbox/com.eclipsim.gpsstatus2
FasterFix: http://www.appbrain.com/app/fasterfix/com.Double.FasterFix
ClockSync: http://www.appbrain.com/app/clocksync/ru.org.amip.ClockSync
Advanced Task Killer: http://www.appbrain.com/app/advanced-task-killer/com.rechild.advancedtaskkiller
EDIT: I have a stock ROM. Nothing upgraded. The only modification is the root access permissions granted with visionary.
Good thread, helpful and insightful.
I am going to download all those applications as I too have been experiencing Slow GPS lock.
Just 1 possible solution for you, have you tried to upgrade your radio? This may sometimes help solve GPS problems.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
No, I didn't upgrade my radio.
I'd like to do it but i'm very hesitant to mess around with my phone like this.
P.S. Let me know if you had some improvements.
giegi_dc said:
No, I didn't upgrade my radio.
I'd like to do it but i'm very hesitant to mess around with my phone like this.
P.S. Let me know if you had some improvements.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Updated radio can make a MASSIVE difference. One of the best things you can do to your phone if you're having any kind of GPS / 3G / Wifi issues.
Go to:
Menu > Settings > About Phone > Software Info
Where it says Baseband Version, this is your radio version.
For me the most annoything that happens with GPS is that when playing a music and using at the same time an offline map gps program, when a voice or some ding dong sound happens, the music played stops and resumes after those gps sounds ends...
I think this is due to Android sys... even WinMobile it's better on this...
Thanks for the tips. My GPS is locking on very quickly now and even inside buildings. I used clocksync + GPS status + Fasterfix. Fixing to around 8 - 9 satellites indoors and 12/12 outdoors.
Done.
Great.
It Works!!!!
initially it would take me a good minute or two to acquire a precise location INDOORS, now it does it in 10-15 secs!!!!!!
i was already using GPS Status, this is with FasterFix.
Thanks.
so strange I never had problem with GPS, always fixes in less than 10 second and never loses as well.
I use iGO and it never let me down.
I had problem with gps-lock from the beginning.
Tried the link above "gps-lock without dataconnection"
Now it locks within seconds
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
Personally, I've had no problem with gps for apps such as Google navigation where the screen stays on.
It's a different story, however, for apps like cardio trainer where the phone loses gps lock when the screen is off. I understand this is a known issue with Android 2.2 and has been fixed for 2.3+. I don't know if anyone else has problems with this.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
magnus66 said:
I had problem with gps-lock from the beginning.
Tried the link above "gps-lock without dataconnection"
Now it locks within seconds
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but mine desire didnt work? first when take out the sim card ,reset and download data ..it work like charm..lock around 10 sec..then put sim card back it took age cant find satelite to lock..
anyone know what wrong?
On my DHD, indoors, GPS sucks badly.. apps such as "aroundme" its pretty useless, just hangs finding a signal. but outdoors when I use navigation, etc it works okay. I dont use GPS that much anyway, so cant complain. It is a tad annoying when your indoors and cant find stuff though.
I've had really big problems with my GPS.
Could not get a lock so I rooted my phone and upgraded the radio. Changed the gps.conf file and reset A-GPS settings and tried GPS without a dataconnection. None of the suggested things above did work, so I downgraded the radio to stock and unrooted my phone and sent it to a repair center.
Hopefully they will fix it.
I have a Hero (root) and a Desire (stock) and they get a lock on within seconds and works flawless even indoors.
I guess HTC has a lot of faulty GPS modules in their Desire HD mobiles, but not all are using GPS so therefore we only hear about some of the problems.
Trying the Nexus one fix as in the first post, after taking SIM out, I do not get any GPS signals on GPS Status, if I put SIM back in I get fixes but GPS unusable as it keeps losing connection whilst in journey. The steps I have taken so far are as follows:
* Take your SIM out of the Nexus One
* Power on the device
* Turn WiFi on
* Turn GPS on
* Open application: GPS Status (ver 3.4)
* Go into its Settings menu
* Click on GPS and Sensors
* Click Manage A-GPS state
* Click Reset
* Click Manage A-GPS state again
* Click Download [You'll see a message telling you that a data connection is needed, ignore it]
* Now put your phone on a stable, straight surface in order to enable the phone to get a lock, within GPS Status. This time, you’ll see your phone get the lock way faster than before.
Any help will be appreciated.
onesolo said:
For me the most annoything that happens with GPS is that when playing a music and using at the same time an offline map gps program, when a voice or some ding dong sound happens, the music played stops and resumes after those gps sounds ends...
I think this is due to Android sys... even WinMobile it's better on this...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
quoting my self...
There's some developments about this issue...
Or one use the nice HTC Gps Software (at least the version that cames with gingerbread) or use the iGO Amigo.
I tried the iGO Amigo and I finally can listen to music at same time when the voice from iGo speaks!!! There's no interruptions at all like on the majority of GPS softwares that I tried on my DHD (don't know how it works on another devices)
I think that this issue is something that is only developers fault cause initially I thought it was due android design, maybe it was only possible to play something only from one app at a time. (ie. not play two things from two different apps simultaneous) but I figure that after all that is possible.
Bad developers!!!!
GPS Problems: finally the solution
Hi all,
Here I want to tell my experience with HD Desire GPS to help all those who were (like me) desperate.
The way to solve exists ! Read to the end to know how.
I bought my HD Desire in January 2011 (from Euronics in Rome - Italy) and after one week of use the problems began with the GPS.
It did not fix more ... but above all there were more than 1 or 2 visible satellites ... even in open sky, in good conditions, even outside for 30 minutes.
The phone was obviously still immaculate (without root and with the original ROM and RADIO) then I went back to the shop where I bought ... and using GPS-Status the seller has found that actually did not work.
Very kindly he changed my on the flight the phone ... I installed GPS-Status on the new phone just replaced and now everything works fine (fix in less than 10sec and 7 / 8 satellites visible).
I came at home and for 2/3 days it worked wonders but soon it began again with the same GPS problems.
No more fix and at maximum 2/3 satellites visible.
Building on the fact that the phone had been replaced and ... GPS Status actually had made a fix in less than 10 seconds ... (When I had replaced) ... I said, Sure ... is certainly a software problem and not an hardware one ... because the phone is a new one.
So I did a factory reset ... reset all settings as the original ... and retried. Nothing.
The GPS was dead for the second time in two weeks.
Then, I began a careful search on various forums (both Italian and international).
I've tried everything ... really everything ... but nothing. It does not work !
Tried GPS-Status (A-GPS Reset, Download), then fasterfix (it.pool.ntp.org) then I started to change ROM (root, S-Off and ENF S-Off), then I tried all possible Radio and RIL in all combinations. Sometimes happen that the fix was very fast and this gave me the illusion (temporary) of having finally found the solution. However, on time (sometimes even after a few minutes) the problem returns back!
I also tried to clean the contacts of the GPS as shown in this video on youTube(h**p:/*w*wdotyoutubedotcom/watch?v=7qm_z65LA8k).
At the end ... after 4 months of trying all... I sent back in warranty the phone to the HTC service (S-ON and leave to unroot because it was under warranty).
After 10 days of impatient waiting, HTC gave me back the phone and say that the GPS was faulty and had been replaced.
I redid a restore using Titanium Backup Pro ... restoring back all in the exact same conditions I had when the GPS was not working.
Now everything works wonderfully !!!
Im using the original ROM (RUU 2.36.405.8), original Radio (12.54.60.25U_26.09.04.11_M2) and the original Kernel (2.6.35.10-g0956377).
Fix in 10/20 sec (everytime), with at least 7 / 8 satellites (tested for several days now).
Moral of the story ... There are lots of HTC Desire HD phones (probably the first stock) that today are still in the form of stocks and inventories in some shopping malls / shops with the GPS module that is broken !!! (it works for a few days and then no longer works).
The only way is to send back your phone in warranty and ensure that GPS module is replaced (having first restored with all unroot and S-OFF as otherwise the warranty does not apply).
Believe me ... if you have tried everything ... this is the only way!
Now I'm an happy HTC Desire HD owner (with Gingerbread) with a GPS which is a splinter.
Im currently using Navigator, Google Maps, CoPilot and everything works great !
I hope this post may help and comfort those who are desperate and can not run the GPS on the Desire HD.
Greetings to all.
Andrea.
Related
Just surveying how well the GPS on the Touch works for most people. It seem as though many people still have problems, even after the carrier updates and all the hacking done here. I personally could never get the GPS working consistently without using Alltel Navigator, which cost $10 a month.
My current theory is that the phone's radio injects noise into the GPS receiver, either because it shares an antenna with the phone, or for the same reason why a powerful radio signal (like driving past a transmitter tower) can overwhelm the front end of receivers that aren't even near the transmitter's frequency.
Evidence: If I launch Google Maps when I'm offline, and I can select "Use GPS" and avoid having Google Maps try to go online before it acquires at least 3 GPS satellites, it seems to lock on within a minute or so about 90% of the time.
If anything causes the phone to go online before I've acquired GPS, it almost never seems to succeed.
If I take/make a voice call, or engage in sustained data transfer, it almost always seems to lose the GPS signal.
If I pan/scroll the map and cause Google Maps to need a BIG chunk of data, it will probably lose the GPS signal.
I'd be interested to hear whether anyone else has noticed a similar inverse correlation between RF activity and GPS acquisition.
Hmmm, I haven't noticed any correlation between data and location, it's an interesting theory though. It takes me anywhere from a minute to 15 seconds to get a lock, and when occasionally satellite signal drops out, Google maps finds it again within 10 seconds or less. I'm a verizon user, btw, and I use GMaps, Live, and TomTOm7+GpsViewer.
Mine works great -
Mine works great - I have Garmin XT for turn-by-turn and it seems to find satellites pretty fast - The other day I decided to try a little experiment and I set up both my Sony GPS and my Touch and pressed "go" at the same time and the Touch GPS was just a fraction of a second behind the Sony (both from a cold start), which I think is pretty good - I have no problem using Windows Live, but for some reason the most recent Google Maps doesn't work as well, it can take forever (seemingly) to lock.
baud rate
after doing a little more
research, i found a post
suggesting to use the
57600 baud rate in google
maps. it worked and i got
a lock within about a minute
sorry bought the english
im typing on my phone here
at work.
my 6800 locks consistanly with in 15 seconds. Just bought the wife a 6900 and its been taking about 1-2 minutes. Not sure why that is.
i had a lot of trouple with my gps being inconsistent and what not. this post on ppc geeks fixed the problem now i connect 6-11 satsellites in 30 seconds or less. duno if it'll help u but u can try it:
http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=36377&highlight=shadow-tech+agps
not taking any credit for that guide it was pmed to me im pretty sure all acknowledgements are made within the post itself.
Use this to get your GPS working well...
My GPS works excellently with Google maps, as well as with iGO8. I can lock into about 8 sats in 15 seconds or so using the AstroGPSLauncher that AstronusX created and posted at this thread.
Took me just a couple of minutes to create the shortcut and put it in my program list.
I might lose satellites in iGO8 if I get a phone call and take it, but it will get back the sats after a minute or two once the phone call has completed.
Hope this helps.
Steve
Carrick1973 said:
My GPS works excellently with Google maps, as well as with iGO8. I can lock into about 8 sats in 15 seconds or so using the AstroGPSLauncher that AstronusX created and posted at this thread.
Took me just a couple of minutes to create the shortcut and put it in my program list.
I might lose satellites in iGO8 if I get a phone call and take it, but it will get back the sats after a minute or two once the phone call has completed.
Hope this helps.
Steve
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have M2D plugin?
I have NFSFAN Rom and Igo8 is really pain. If you switch to Today or just phone - there is no way to get IGo back. Have to Reset.
Yes, I've been running iGo8 on NSFFAN's 1.08 ROM. I agree that it dogs down damn bad when I get a call while running iGo, but I can get it back up without having to reset if there isn't anything else running. It does take quite awhile to get sat locks back though after switching over to phone. It might be quicker to close out of iGo and restart.
Thanks for all the helpful post guys, that 57600 baud rate didn`t last to long. It was just as inconsistant as anything else I tried. I`ve heard about the Shadow Tech`s Fix for a while now but never tried it till last night. I am having some trouble with the dialing ##3424 step. I`ve tried the different 3424 numbers, and using task manager to open Dmrouter.exe under /DIAG parameters. Nothing happens on my phone, and I don`t see HTC Diag in Device Manager on XP. I have another post on the Shadow Tech Fix thread, but if anybody here knows what I`m doing wrong I`d appreciate a little info.
BTW I`m using NFSfans alltel 1.02 rom
pknyo said:
Thanks for all the helpful post guys, that 57600 baud rate didn`t last to long. It was just as inconsistant as anything else I tried. I`ve heard about the Shadow Tech`s Fix for a while now but never tried it till last night. I am having some trouble with the dialing ##3424 step. I`ve tried the different 3424 numbers, and using task manager to open Dmrouter.exe under /DIAG parameters. Nothing happens on my phone, and I don`t see HTC Diag in Device Manager on XP. I have another post on the Shadow Tech Fix thread, but if anybody here knows what I`m doing wrong I`d appreciate a little info.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you go into windows and execute Dmrouter.exe it should, it may not change anything on your screen. Easy way to tell is if you have an activesync connection, execute it, and if activesync disconnects then your in it. Another way is to check task manager, and see if it is running.
There was a problem with the driver for the Vogue in WModem. I found a thread with the fix:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=462712
Valahalla? I know it has to do with GPS just wondering what it is
Phone shows up as Palm treo modem
I got dmrouter.exe working, but in vista it shows up as palm treo modem after drivers are found and installed. I`ll try again in XP and see if it happens again.
Wow I finally got this to work (Shadow Techs Fix)
It took about a day and a half, but I finally got it!
1.) I flashed back to Official Alltel 6.1 Rom and skipped customizations.
2.) I followed the steps in this thread http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=36377&highlight=shadow-tech+agps
3.) Reflashed back NFSFAN`s 1.02 Rom. I then tested it out and 10 seconds later I had 8 satellites locked on me.
Thanks to everybody who helped me out here with your posts. I started this thread as just a kinda survey to find out if I was not alone in having so much difficulty making my phone work as it should, and ended up a very happy Touch owner.
on alltel
it almost never works. shadow-tech's fix helps immensely
im in dominican republic
and i never manage to get a gps signal.
=/ is it me or the phone?
or the fact that this island is worst then the one in LOST
I checked the accuracy of the GPS on my phone about a year ago- Sometimes I work with surveyors, so we matched my vogue against a survey grade GPS to determine how off it was- My phone was +/- 3 feet (1m) in latititude and +/- 10 feet (3m) in longitude. I think that's pretty damn good. This was in a refinery in NJ, USA, with lots of big steel tanks around.
First I was using gps toggle, now I'm running NSFANs 6.5 v8 with gps viewer. I never have trouble getting a lock after about a minute of warming up.
Concerning the Shadow tech fix some of you guys have used here : http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=36377&highlight=shadow-tech+agps
I was wondering if this fix has already been incorporated into all the cooked ROMs for the Vogue that have come out since March '09?
make sure your wifi/apn work well.
it works great on NERO V3 and V4.1
method:
dial *#3214789650# into lbs
first choose:app setting
1:Sessing Type
(Tracking)
2:test mode
(H/W Test)
3p mode
(H/W Sensitivity Test)
4:start mode
(Cold start)
5:GPS Plus
(ON)
6:
(ON)
7:
(50)
8:
(OFF)
second choose supl/cp setting
1: FQDN type
(Custom Config)
2:
supl.nokia.com
3ort
7275
4:SUPL security
ON
5:AGPS mode
(SUPL)
then back to home and reboot your device.
after it, get into lbs again
1.choose delete gps data
2.get position test
3.after located, change 1st "cold start" into "hot start".
completed.
get more detail from
bbs.gfan.com/android-503202-1-1.html
I had 3 and now running 4.1. GPS picked up within 3 - 4 seconds with v3. With 4.1 my GPS picked up in 2 seconds. I did not have to modify any files.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Here's the best fix:
1.) Install Nero 4.1
2.) Leave it alone.
The end.
If that doesnt work:
1.) Install Nero 4.1
2.) Do the hardware fix
3.) Leave it alone.
The end.
my solution: get a new phone once a suitable 4" replacement comes out on t-mobile.
it works!
this by far is the best solution!
I get 10m accuracy now whereas i used to get 1200m before...
Let me try it a bit more, but it seems it works!
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
HOLY ****?
i got 10 satellites in 5 seconds, then they all started connecting and now my accuracy is 12 meters???
I think your all connected to wifi, maybe thats why your getting good locks. Disable it and try again.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
I was out walking my dog this morning (no wifi) and while yes I was in a clearing, I turned on GPS Status for the first time since installing the new rom so it came up with the default html page explaining GPS Status, but I read it before so I closed it immediately and was already locked onto 8/11 birds. 2 seconds maybe. 7m accuracy.
On the flip side when I first got my phone I tried to use it as a GPS to navigate and drove around for 30 minutes without ever locking onto a single bird.
I understand and do believe there is a hardware problem with many Vibrants however I also believe that there has been a HUGE software problem as well.
iwillkillyou said:
I think your all connected to wifi, maybe thats why your getting good locks. Disable it and try again.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been using OP's "fix" for 3 days and so far it's working very well. I typically get locks in 10s or less, and accuracy 15-30 ft, inside. I nearly always disable wi-fi when I test GPS, but I've tried it both ways with this setup and it's working virtually the same either way.
At this point my only reservation is I've seen so many similar suggestions to tweak some setting that don't really pan out over time. This one may do the same, but so far so good.
I have done nothing but installed axura rom.ine locks in couple of seconds and works flawllesly. Even the accuracy is fantastic.
My gps went from bad to worst, 600 metter accuracy, maybe its the rom, ill try teamwhiskey. i been crying for a working gps lately.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
I do see a improvement will check it out for a few days to see if it holds
Not perfect but now I actually can get a GPS signal, which is a plus
adiprince1 said:
I have done nothing but installed axura rom.ine locks in couple of seconds and works flawllesly. Even the accuracy is fantastic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had applied both the hardware and software fixes while using many versions of Nero and my GPS would never get quick locks, usually it wouldn't lock at all.
Flashing Axura fixed my GPS too. Locks within seconds and has 7-9 meter accuracy.
Axura also fixed my fiance's GPS (with no hardware fix). She had the same issues with every other rom, slow/no locks. So I know it wasn't only my device.
I don't know what method Devs4Android used to fix the GPS, but it works perfectly. They need to sell the fix to Samsung so customers can get functioning GPS out of the box.
never had a problem with the gps locking on to sats and getting 20-40 foot accuracy. the problem is the drifting and staying locked once you start moving or just standing there. that is the problem i have. driving down the highway and bam your on the other side going the wrong way, or in the middle of the field a mile away. that is problem i have
fioricet said:
never had a problem with the gps locking on to sats and getting 20-40 foot accuracy. the problem is the drifting and staying locked once you start moving or just standing there. that is the problem i have. driving down the highway and bam your on the other side going the wrong way, or in the middle of the field a mile away. that is problem i have
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thankfully, Axura fixed that for me as well. Not only does it lock fast, but its accurate too.
After 2 days.
Last 2 days, I've tested my GPS in some different scenarios. In every one it has been quick and accurate enough.
I got 8 satellites in average, and the accuracy was of around 7-8 meters, something that has never happened before. I did the hardware fix, and it helped with the SNR values, but this is the definite best solution yet!
I'm still testing, but I've got a very good feeling about this method.
The only difference I see between this "fix" and other "fixes" is changing the SUPL server to supl.nokia.com. Since the original thread came from a Chinese forum, I'm guessing the SUPL server might work well in China. Not sure how effective this would be in the US or other countries.
That said, this isn't really a fix. All it does is change the SUPL server, which for most of us (using supl.google.com) works just fine. The Cold Start -> Delete GPS Data -> Lock -> Hot Start method will work just once because it clears bad cached GPS data if you've moved, but it's old news (dozens of other threads on this one) and it's not really a "fix."
The hardware fix is still one of the few real fixes out there.
jamesyl said:
The only difference I see between this "fix" and other "fixes" is changing the SUPL server to supl.nokia.com. Since the original thread came from a Chinese forum, I'm guessing the SUPL server might work well in China. Not sure how effective this would be in the US or other countries.
That said, this isn't really a fix. All it does is change the SUPL server, which for most of us (using supl.google.com) works just fine. The Cold Start -> Delete GPS Data -> Lock -> Hot Start method will work just once because it clears bad cached GPS data if you've moved, but it's old news (dozens of other threads on this one) and it's not really a "fix."
The hardware fix is still one of the few real fixes out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I take it you haven't tried this. I agree with what you say, however, I've been using OP's suggested settings for 4 days and see a significant improvement in lock times (only exception is I leave it set to Coldstart). I've been turning my phone off at night and after booting yesterday morning it locked in 14s first time, this morning in 7s. I know lock times can vary depending on where the sats happen to be at that moment, but this performance is much better than I was getting previously, which was in the 1-4 min range on first lock of the day. It's so simple to try there's no real reason not to see if it helps, unless you're already getting lock times like this. Only time will tell if it lasts, but so far so good.
(Running pure stock JI6, and I've also done the HW fix posted in the sticky, which definitely improved my SNRs.)
Hello wise xda guys.
Any ideas why my hd2 freezes after some time, when I use gps with osmand or maverick (or a couple of other software I tried before and unistall). It freezes completely, and I have to remove the battery. While it is working (before freezing) everything works fine.
[Another symptom (maybe irelevant) is the very slow gps fix (the first time), which deosn't really bothers me (I'm a patient person). I'm just writing it here because maybe there is a relation]
I use: Froyo 2.2.1, mod: Cleandroid 2.55, MAGLDR 1.13.
Otherwise the telephone is more or less stable
thnx
Same issue it seems...
Going to re-flash WinMo and test there.
I'm having the exact same issue lately and it is not funny/safe at all.
I first had it happening in google navigation all the time and now in iGO and Waze.
Can this be from Rafpigna's undervoltaged kernel or be a hardware issue?
Unfortunately the device freezes completely and doesn't give any error.
Does a log exist somewhere?
Any help is more than appreciated!
Yeap, still the same problem and I can't figure out why.
I've tried more than 10 different apps, but allways the same. After some time the phone freezes. I remove the battery, start the app and after a while, the same.
I tried working with battery only or with car charger only, still the same.
I removed and brought back all my apps with titanium backup, still the same.
I have a suspicion that when it stacks and after rebooting, if I leave it in peace (I mean don't do anything with the phone, just keep it without running any app), for some time (10-20 minutes), then it starts and keeps the gps app more time, than the time of the initial freezing. Maybe this is a symptom that could ring a bell to an experienced guy...
Anybody, any ideas?
I think mine is related to heat.
Left it in my pouch and placed iGO in demo on a long roadtrip. After 15 minutes the phone was warm and the screen was frozen so I had to get the batt out again.
More than frustrating since I have a 700km trip to do on Thursday.
Not sure about the heat
I had the same suspicion, that the heat was causing the freezing ) funny language ah?).
So I tested it while keeping it cool (I protect it from the sun and remove the car charger), but still the same happened. After some time it froze again. (the phone was cold)
I have a suspicion that a possible reason is the rendering of the maps. I've noticed that I have the problem, mainly when driving a car, where the maps images should change more often. I kept it in my pocket and made a few hours trekking, with no problems. Though in my pocket I had the app running in the background and I only open it a few times, just to add some points on the map.
Another sister thread
There is also this thread, by Crash-nl, with the same subject (more or less) so we can combine powers.
Check it out
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=12391898
I'm also having GPS freezing issues, but probably way worse than you guys. I just got my phone from service center, but the issue still exists. I just quote my comments from an another topic:
I've now got back my HD2 from the service center. The GPS is now working, but not in Android. When I was using WinMo 6.5 with WWE 3.14 and 2.15.50.14, the GPS worked great. Fast lock, TomTom worked well and Google Maps worked fine. Then I decided to get Android again and after I installed everything, I discovered, that I had the same exact issue like prior the repair. The GPS starts looking the signal, if it doesn't find it, nothing bad happens, but when it does find the signal, it causes the phone to freeze. Instantly after the signal is found, it causes instant freeze. Screen stays on, nothing happens. What can cause this? I haven't yet tampered with the gps.conf settings, but I don't even think that it could fix the issue. I'm really going crazy with this.
Yeah, I'm thinking also its a driver issue. My current Android build is RAFDROID 4.0.2. And since this issue seems to be exatly the same, like before the repair, the GPS probably doesn't work in the earlier versions of RAFDROID. However something has changed in my phone, because the GPS has worked with nand Android builds in the past and even with RAFDROID 3.0. Now however, it doesn't matter which build I use, the issue always exists. Could it be caused because of the GPS module? I mean, does the WinMo 6.5 QuickGPS app save the AGPS data directly to the GPS module? So could there be some kind of corruption in the GPS module? I was having some sudden reboots, while using Google Maps and TomTom in the WinMo, but I was able to fix them, by hard resetting the device.
First time I started having this issue was, when I updated from RAFDROID 3.0 to 3.1. After that, the GPS has always caused instant freezing, when using GPS in the Android. Even downgrading back to 3.0, didn't solve the issue. Now I'm having this issue with all Android builds.
It's possible that my GPS module or "chip" could be somehow broken physically, but it's no point sending the device back for repair, because they send it back and say, "there's nothig wrong with the GPS". I'm really hoping it's not a hardware issue, because if it is, there's really nothing that can be done. I have still about a year left from the warranty and changing the module myself, will void the warranty. I just cannot understand why does the GPS still work in WinMo, but not in Android? Because if the module was somehow broken, should the GPS be defective also in WinMo?
I have tried flight mode, Wifi and 3G off etc. and the GPS DOES WORK. So the chip is not dead.
Just did some more testing on mine to try to find the issue.
I have always had a freez when I used google navigation with the sat image from the start in Android. But last week it happened in iGO and Waze which scared me a bit.
As a matter of test I installed WinMo again last night. Fantastic OS btw! and installed iGO.
Everything was up and running at 2am and I decided to let it do a demotrip of about a 1000km. The demo also sets the GPS receiver active.
I placed the HD2 it next to the fan of my laptop which is always on to generate some extra heat.
This morning at 10am the demo was still running perfectly.
Just reinstalled Android on it again. After 3km's in iGO 'gps signal lost' . I cannot get it back in any way. The GPS symbol is stuck in the bar above even if you disable GPS in the settings. So reboot is the only way.
This is getting very frustrating for me since my phone needs to work as GPS and may not fail.
Also a funny one is that it doesn't seem to matter on mine if the gps.conf file is on there or not ;-) lock time when the hd2 works is approx 1min
lukesan said:
Just reinstalled Android on it again. After 3km's in iGO 'gps signal lost' . I cannot get it back in any way. The GPS symbol is stuck in the bar above even if you disable GPS in the settings. So reboot is the only way.
This is getting very frustrating for me since my phone needs to work as GPS and may not fail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having this same exact issue! However I just discovered that the local service center did not change the GPS module or antenna. So this might be the reason why my GPS doesn't work. The service center was fooled that the GPS works, because they didn't test the GPS thoroughly. YOU HAVE TO ENABLE FLIGHT MODE OR TAKE THE SIM CARD AWAY TO TEST THE GPS!. If you don't do this, you are being fooled believing, that your GPS is working, but it's not.
You guys should test your GPS, by going back to WinMo 6.5 and leave your sim card away from the phone. If your GPS can find the signal even without the sim card, congrats, your GPS is working. If you want to be double sure, enable flight mode and try again. If your GPS cannot find signal, your GPS module and/or antenna is broken and needs to be replaced.
Well my module is working.
Easy way to test it and no need to take out your sim or so.
Just use the cab file attached to this post. If you will start it the first time it will scan the ports so you can end up with a small error in regards to BT but it not a real error.
The tool will continue to com port 4 where the gps mod is active on.
Go stand outside and voila, mine starts to show bars like it should be.
I'm taking a different approach now.
Ckeared everything and also took a fully fresh formated sd-card .... (as I type now not working)
lukesan said:
Well my module is working.
Easy way to test it and no need to take out your sim or so.
Just use the cab file attached to this post. If you will start it the first time it will scan the ports so you can end up with a small error in regards to BT but it not a real error.
The tool will continue to com port 4 where the gps mod is active on.
Go stand outside and voila, mine starts to show bars like it should be.
I'm taking a different approach now.
Ckeared everything and also took a fully fresh formated sd-card .... (as I type now not working)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! You just saved my time a lot! I downloaded and installed that app and I was able to get a succesfull GPS connection and now I can even get GPS lock, when flight mode enabled or sim card removed. This was impossible before installing this app.
However it seems that we are both suffering from the same issue. GPS does not work for me in Android. It has worked in the past, but nowadays, it doesn't matter, which Android build I use, it either freezes the phone and only way to fix this, is by removing the battery or it doesn't find the signal at all. Sometimes the GPS stays on, even if I turn it off. The blinking GPS icon goes away only by restarting the device.
If you are using gps navigation software on sd card, try format micro sd card with FAT32 and DEFAULT ALLOCATION SIZE option, do not choose allocation size such as 32,64 or any other except DEFAULT.
Try it and GL.
colosos said:
If you are using gps navigation software on sd card, try format micro sd card with FAT32 and DEFAULT ALLOCATION SIZE option, do not choose allocation size such as 32,64 or any other except DEFAULT.
Try it and GL.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did anyone try this method? Looking at other threads I see people saying that only a warranty repair will fix the issue.
freezes
Hi. I had the same problem, i try everything formating sd, different builds and kernels. I disable "use wireless networks" and GPS work with no freeze.
Do you have a freezes on games?
did any one found the answer ?
is it a hardware problem ?
or a software ?
Thought I'd throw in that I'm having the same problem running hyperdroid rom on a telstra hd2. GPS finds a lock, works for about 2 mins then freezes requiring battery to be taken out to restart. I'm leaning away from a hardware issue as copilot worked perfectly on the same phone when I was running windows 6.5...
Just an update, after installing the new GPS fix from this link http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1100114
[28.May.2011][Dev] GPS Libraries v1.0 for HD2 Gingerbread the GPS freezing problem is fixed. Full credit to the developer
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA Premium App
But the problem still occurs when using Google maps, Google navigation is now fixed
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA Premium App
Hi all,
I'm facing the same issue reported in post #12. I'm actually using latest Rafdroid HD (Froyo Sense) build on SD. Do you think I can try the fix in post 18, also if it is for Gingerbread builds? Please advise.
Thank you.
There seems to be MANY factors that affect the GPS on these tablets and exchanging one for another *may seem* to get you a better unit. I bought a second a500 unit today and when I first brought up google maps, it had my fix as soon as the screen opened. Cool, this must be a better unit than my other right? Not necessarily because I believe the new unit used my wifi for the quick fix. As soon as I turned off the wifi assistance, the unit no longer gave me immediate fixes. I loaded gps status and the new unit struggled to find just 1 satellite. My other unit which I've had 2 weeks, is now suddenly a gps 'mofo' as it finds and locks position really quick, sometimes in 5 or 10 seconds (wifi assist turned off). The only thing I installed recently is gps monitor, but that's just gives you a monitoring status in the taskbar. It does state that it's turning off gps when you exit maps, which if it does may help conserve battery.
So I'm not sure why my A500 decided to suddenly work really well with GPS. When I first bought it, it was actually kind of terrible. Of course I have the 3.1 update on my unit, but the new one is still 3.01. I don't know how much of a difference that makes either. I had planned on buying an Asus unit today, but could not find the 32gb unit locally (not settling for 16gb).
My unit is stock and not rooted. I don't see a need to root it because so far it's working quite well. If only the microphone pickup was better, but I can live with talking louder at it or into the top of the unit. I have to do that with my samsung galaxy phone also.
Rob
It's funny, the very first time I used the GPS It took forever to find & lock on to sats. Now it's really fast. I'm thinking it has a " learning curve" ?
Update : Tried in the same place tonight , it only picked up 1 sat & didn't lock.
It is aGPS which means Assisted. It uses WIFI to set your location and search for satellites based on that location.
There are a number of factors which affect the GPS on this unit, as the original poster stated. I've been researching this for sometime, and found a number of things that could lead to a replacement unit working better than a current unit.
I've another thread on this subject, but I'll post the cliff notes here.
The following can affect GPS on your unit:
Obstruction (Roof, Cover)
Weather (Clouds vs Sun)
Internet Access
Nearby magnets
Compass Calibration
Your almanac server (gps.conf)
For starters, download a program called "GPS Test", not to be confused with "GPS Status and Toolbox", which you should also have for different reasons.
Plug your unit in and set it up in a spot where you know you can get a signal on other devices (phone, etc). This does not include your basement, but it also doesn't have to be outside. A woodframe house will not usually obstruct the signal enough to interfere. Use your best judgement.
Start up GPS Test and go into the settings menu. Select the option where the screen stays on all of the time. Check to see if your unit will ever pick up any satellites. If it takes more than 30 minutes and you are sure you should be picking up satellites, this indicates a problem. The first step should be diagnostic.
Leave it run overnight. If you look at it in the morning and find a multitude of satellites then your GPS receiver is working fine. This means your GPS can see the satellites, but the only way it can find them is through sheer dumb luck. It needs to be told where to look, and its having problems getting that information. The problem is likely with your compass or almanac.
If you arrive in the morning to find no satellites at all, then your GPS is likely broken (not unheard of) or you need to try again in a better location.
If you know your GPS transmitter is working, the next step is the check your compass. This is where GPS Status and Tools comes into play. The first screen you see when you open the program will be the compass. Make sure north == north. If it does not, almanac data is useless because the tablet won't know which way to look. GPS Status and Toolbox comes with a compass calibration tool. Use it. If your compass will not stay pointed north, then your compass is broken. If it works, then its time to look at your almanac.
Unless your system is rooted, there is no point in reading further. All the following steps require root access.
There are two files that you need to be concerned with. They are /etc/gps.conf and /etc/gps/gpsconfig.xml
You either need to edit them manually, replace them with pre-configured optimized versions for your region (link below), or use a program (fasterfix) to edit them for you. Results with each approach may vary.
I won't go into this step into detail since its been covered a million times on the forums already. I will provide a link:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1068416
This is the one that helped me the most, but there are others.
Best of luck. And remember: Hardware failure is a real possibility, but so is a crappy environment. Make sure there is no outside interference and you're not trying to get your location from an underground bunker and wondering why it doesn't work. A little common sense goes a long way.
Cheers,
-PW
long time lurker on this site.
I just bought an A500 and have been trying to get this GPS to work.
The first one I got had 3.01. I first tested GPS and it worked fine. Was able to get connected to the satelites no problem. Downloaded and installed 3.1 on it and now GPS doesn't work at all. Tested it with the two programs: GPS test and GPS utilities.
Stood outside on a clear day and nothing happened. Tested all the settings and still not one satellite.
After reading a lot of the threads and doing a lot of searching I exchanged it for another one.
Did the same thing. Tested it on 3.01 and it worked then installed 3.1 and it didn't work again on this second one. Went throug all the troubleshooting steps: deleted the cache, reset the gps, etc. Even left it on over night sitting at GPS Test and Google Places.
Doesn't make sense that it works on 3.01 and not on 3.1. Sounds more of a software issue than a hardware issue. But for it to work with some others with 3.1 then I may exchange it for another one again.
Wondering if it was during a certain build that other are having the same issue. Both of the ones i got were manufacturered in April. Could April just be a bad month or several months before that?
3.1 does not have any problem with GPS
Wifi assist turned off, get lock with sygic and can use the navigator.
(but)
- if you go under an express way (like I got in my country they are highway), you lost the signal very quick
HOW TO FIX ?
- buy a GPS enhancer and put in your car, that will increase the signal received and give the tablet a very big help
the poor part of the GPS tablet is the antena... the receiver is not that happy behind a metal case, and oftenly... GPS antena should be on the roof of the car, or external for better signal.
I got locked in 15s
sanaell said:
3.1 does not have any problem with GPS
Wifi assist turned off, get lock with sygic and can use the navigator.
(but)
- if you go under an express way (like I got in my country they are highway), you lost the signal very quick
HOW TO FIX ?
- buy a GPS enhancer and put in your car, that will increase the signal received and give the tablet a very big help
the poor part of the GPS tablet is the antena... the receiver is not that happy behind a metal case, and oftenly... GPS antena should be on the roof of the car, or external for better signal.
I got locked in 15s
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My guess is that Acer subcontracts out parts production for items like the GPS antenna used in the A500 and the quality of those antenna has been very inconsistent (same with the microphone). I have an A500 with a June build date and it has very good GPS pickup. It doesn't lock instantly like the Xoom does, but usually within 10-20 seconds (sometimes sooner) which is still acceptable. Surprisingly, this unit also has a fairly good microphone that picks up my voice well while holding it at any angle. It's still running 3.01 unmodified since it hasn't got the OTA yet. I previously had an A500 with an April build date (it's on the back of the box) and both the GPS and microphone performed rather poorly even with 3.1.
Rob
going to exchange this one at a different bestbuy store and see if they have a different manufacturer date. I did the exchange on Monday and hope they have a different lot.
tekageek said:
long time lurker on this site.
I just bought an A500 and have been trying to get this GPS to work.
The first one I got had 3.01. I first tested GPS and it worked fine. Was able to get connected to the satelites no problem. Downloaded and installed 3.1 on it and now GPS doesn't work at all. Tested it with the two programs: GPS test and GPS utilities.
Stood outside on a clear day and nothing happened. Tested all the settings and still not one satellite.
After reading a lot of the threads and doing a lot of searching I exchanged it for another one.
Did the same thing. Tested it on 3.01 and it worked then installed 3.1 and it didn't work again on this second one. Went throug all the troubleshooting steps: deleted the cache, reset the gps, etc. Even left it on over night sitting at GPS Test and Google Places.
Doesn't make sense that it works on 3.01 and not on 3.1. Sounds more of a software issue than a hardware issue. But for it to work with some others with 3.1 then I may exchange it for another one again.
Wondering if it was during a certain build that other are having the same issue. Both of the ones i got were manufacturered in April. Could April just be a bad month or several months before that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 3.1 you're installing is OTA or you are downloading it from somewhere ? My first unit failed with 3.1 with a downloaded 3.1 (it seemed to be the correct for Spain) ... I exchanged the unit, and this new one offered me OTA. It's working perfect with OTA 3.1
I did a test one day with GPS and found it to be marvelous if used properly.
Here is what I did.
1. I cleared my agps data with program GPS Status
2. Redownloaded the data and waited until I had like 6 up 11 fixes
Then I went out and waited at bus station and got a lock with Google maps and I travelled about 75 kilometers and had a perfect fix the entire time, I had about 5 satellites fixed constantly on average. And this was using stock everythings I love the GPS it works fine now.
In the 3.01 version I did the exact same test and it didn't work, everytime the train or bus started moving the signal was gone and stayed gone.
Now its fine! You just have to remember. That this is Agps not GPS A is for assisted, so you use the internet abit and download the data and you're fine! Just learn to use A-GPS!
I have tried everything, and nothing works. What a ****ty thing to screw up on a tablet. I'm trading mine in tomorrow, and if I have the same issue, I'm rooting and switching roms. This is ridiculous ..........
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
well well well, this one worked. I exchanged for another one.
3.01
turned it on and opened Navigator. in 10 seconds it locked into the gps. Installed gps test and saw 6 to 7 satellites, in use= 6 looked at the map and it found my location. Opened both Navigator and Places
3.1
Installed 3.1 OTA, once rebooted i opened gps test and now i see 7 satellites! Opened Navigator and worked fine. Opened Places and also worked fine. Both found my location and saw 6 to 7 satellites.
4.010.13.comgen2
wish there was a list of what this update does. installed this update and gps still works. Seeing 6 to 7 satellites. navigator and places still work.
Before i even took this tab i asked the sales guy the manufactured date. This one is from: May
GPS fix
Initially, my gps did not work that well. When I compared my gps.conf with the 2 A500's whose GPS worked very well I found that their GPS.conf contained only this
"NTP_SERVER=north-America.pool.ntp.org". I'm in US, by the way. After I rooted my A500, my GPS worked alot better. After I edited my GPS.conf the fix time was improved.
Before: outdoor : cold start and there.after
Time to fix= 5 min to infinity and 3 mins to infinity
Indoor = no GPS.
After: outdoor= 30 sec to 211 sec. and 10 sec to 90 sec
Indoor= 110 sec to 5 mins. and 29 sec to 90 sec
Hope that helps.
I'm on rooted stock 3.1.
I guess I got lucky then.
When I start mine up, it locates for the weatherbug app update feature and I've never seen it fail.
I haven't done any GPS-specific stuff with it yet, but much of the time I'm using an ad hoc connection from my phone, so it's not a wif AGPS fix.
Interesting read. Makes me want to explore the GPS feature more.
One other thing that is universal across any device using GPS, both commercial and military---your device needs to know where in the sky the satellites are. The initial gps fix will always take more time because the device doesn't have a reference fit the sats. This will also be the case the longer you go between fixes as the device will lose track of the sats over time. Aside from physical obstructions this is often the biggest contributing factor to the length of time required to get a fix.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Noob question here. So this is assisted GPS. I assume it needs the WiFI to access the aGPS servers, but they aren't necessary if a) you have a confirmed working device and b) everything is calibrated properly. Is this correct.
I just don't understand the inconsistency in the GPS fix. I have a rooted A500, with 4.010.13_COM_GEN2, manufactured in April. For some reason, I cannot get a consistent, day-to-day lock on position. I have installed and used successfully in the past:
Fasterfix
GPSFix
GPS Test
GPS Status
I have edited the gps.conf file manually to use, separately, both north-america.pool.ntp.org as well as us.pool.ntp.org;
I have used the "manage A-GPS status" to reset the status as well as downloading the assist data in GPS Status;
After several unsuccessful attempts last night, I was able to gain a GPS lock from my living room in about 20-30 seconds. Today, in the clear open air I could not obtain more than a partial lock on more than 3-4 satellites at a time, and only once obtained a fix, and then for only 20 minutes while stationary. I am now in the exact same position as I was last night, and cannot find a single *blinking* satellite.
While traveling home on the Interstate, I could see more than two satellites at a time and never got a lock on position. In contrast, my Droid (2.3.3) obtained a lock in about 5 seconds with GPS Status. Using a Bluetooth GPS unit and a Bluetooth Mouse GPS, I obtained a position lock in 2 seconds on the A500.
So what gives here? Is it a hardware problem? Why does it work so well one day and then not at all the next, with all other things being equal? It does not seem to be a software issue or sky visibility issue.
UPDATE, 8/9/11: I noticed that in the current configuration as described above, the only satellites that could be seen were those on a bearing of 000, and largely on the horizon. When a different satellite was seen, it would only appear in the northern two quadrants. I restored a back-up from two days ago, and uninstalled FasterFix but manually edited the gps.conf file to us.pool.ntp.org. The GPS fix was improved - not lightning fast, but at least 4 satellites were seen relatively quickly, without particular preference for hemisphere. Position fix still takes a few minutes - two to five minutes or so. Still working on consistency, but may switch to a custom ROM.
UPDATE, 8/11/11: This thing is driving me nuts - no clear consistency on when the GPS works or not. Tried two custom ROMs, same lack of consistent lock. Back to square 1. Droid-1 picks up 10 sats (w/o network checked), A500 only 4. Got a lock away from home this morning, cannot get one at home tonight. Taking it in for exchange tomorrow. Since the first sat it does see is always at 000 and at the horizon, I am wondering if the internal referencing for the GPS unit within the A500 is somehow not set up to handle the assist data format properly. Sort of like it is reading the data, but things are off a space or two. Thus, the GPS unit seems to look, but is looking in the wrong direction. Comments?
Hi,
I've recently aquired a Google Nexus 7. One of its great uses, I believed, would be as a driving aid, w/ cached Google Maps or with an alternative driving/location app, such as CoPilot. But, after testing it for two days I see that the device can't get hold of a GPS signal at all.
What the problem seems to be:
- The device is stuck at "searching for GPS". It never actually gets a response; no GPS at all.
What I've tried so far:
- Resetting the device to factory settings -- since it's brand new and I only had a couple of apps installed, I thought that a fresh start would be a good idea just in case.
- Moving to various locations and checking whether it was a location problem. I've tried both "on the go" -i.e. in a car- and static. No GPS at all cases.
- Downloaded GPS Status. It's always at "Looking for GPS location". My longest record so far is 10 minutes of it -- still, no GPS.
- Checked with a couple of other apps just to see if I'd find more information related to the problem, none helped. It seems that if a GPS fix isn't found, they can't offer much help.
- Disabling Google's Location Services and disabling Wi-Fi access, in case it messes up with the GPS receiver. No luck.
- Rebooting the device. Nope, doesn't do anything.
- Using GPS Doctor's -a paid-for app- auto-fix and manual fix features. Tried aquiring a GPS signal for 10+ minutes, nothing happens.
- Leaving the device for more than 30 minutes under clear sky and more than an hour next to the window, trying to find a signal. Nada. No workie.
- Dancing naked under the stars next to twelve lit black candles. No luck, but it felt great.
Things to note:
- It's running Android 4.2.1
- I'm in Greece ATM, maybe this is a country thing? I'd bet against this, just pointing it out.
- AFAIK, the device hasn't aquired a GPS signal at all so far.
- The device is brand new, never operated before I opened the box.
- It has not been rooted, messed with etc. etc. at all.
Any ideas welcome. Thanks in advance for your help!
The reviews of GPS Doctor indicate that it MIGHT solve your problem. It's a paid for app at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.epekware.gpsdoctor&hl=en
peterk-1 said:
The reviews of GPS Doctor indicate that it MIGHT solve your problem. It's a paid for app
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Thanks for the reply. Since it was only 1,5 euros I gave it a try -- no luck. After using both auto-fix and the manual fixes and searching for a GPS fix for 10+ minutes, it doesn't seem to work.
Sorry I've just re-read your initial post and saw you had tried GPS Doctor.
You've tried it outside. Is there any indication that signals are being received - satellite number and a bar graph that changes colour when a satellite has been "resolved". Is this a Greek model? - If it was for a different market then it may be that it is trying to resolve the satellites to give a location in the intended market (once a location has been fixed the GPS will quickly get a fix when powered up again within say 100km using the data it stores, the almanac etc you can clear in GPS Doctor). Before returning the unit I'd give it a try by leaving it with a view of the sky for at least 30mins
peterk-1 said:
Sorry I've just re-read your initial post and saw you had tried GPS Doctor.
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It's actually not your fault -- I've added GPS Doctor to my initial post *after* you've suggested it & I've tried it, for bookkeeping and so that other who try to help see at one place what I've tried doing so far.
peterk-1 said:
You've tried it outside. Is there any indication that signals are being received - satellite number and a bar graph that changes colour when a satellite has been "resolved". Is this a Greek model? - If it was for a different market then it may be that it is trying to resolve the satellites to give a location in the intended market (once a location has been fixed the GPS will quickly get a fix when powered up again within say 100km using the data it stores, the almanac etc you can clear in GPS Doctor). Before returning the unit I'd give it a try by leaving it with a view of the sky for at least 30mins
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Yep, I've tried it outside. It's a Brittish model, not a Greek one, but I'm trying to use it in Greece ATM. There's no indication whatsoever that it has resolved a connection to a satellite when I'm trying, so I guess it'd be reasonable to say that it hasn't reached one so far.
I'll try your suggestion. 30 minutes of straight satellite-searching it is -- thanks again!
*Update*: 30 mins doesn't seem to do the trick. I'll keep trying, then, until a better suggestion comes up.
There is an app called GPS Test or GPS Test Plus which will show the strength of each satellite signal received. My Nexus 7 often gets a lock inside a wood frame house but going outside with a clear view of the full sky works fastest. Hope you are not using a conductive case as the antennas are on the rear of the tablet.
jinx100 said:
There is an app called GPS Test or GPS Test Plus which will show the strength of each satellite signal received. My Nexus 7 often gets a lock inside a wood frame house but going outside with a clear view of the full sky works fastest. Hope you are not using a conductive case as the antennas are on the rear of the tablet.
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Hi, thanks for the suggestion. I've tried GPS Test -it's under the "couple of other apps" that I've mentioned trying in my OP- but it seems that my Nexus 7 doesn't even get a satellite signal to begin with -- thus GPS Test displays no information.
I'm not using a case and I've tried leaving it for about 30 minutes under the clear sky. No signal at all. I have it by the window, ATM, just searching & on charge.
Okay, after quite some time out in the open sky and next to the window, I'm quite sure it's not about finding the time to contact satellites or anything of the such. The device simply cannot find my location.
Any new ideas?
Send it back if possible,sounds like a faulty GPS.
There are location setting hidden in accounts,see if they are on.
Sent from my A100 using xda app-developers app
My problem with the GPS is that it will SEE the satellites (according to several GPS test apps), it just won't lock on to any - no matter how strong the signal or whether or not I'm indoors or out.
Kodiack99 said:
There are location setting hidden in accounts,see if they are on.
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Hi, thanks for the reply -- do you mind sharing more info on this one?
Try faster fix, its free but requires root.
Sent from my GT-I9100
alferret said:
Try faster fix, its free but requires root.
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I'm not sure of what you mean by that, could you please elaborate? Thanks!
Sino316 said:
Hi, thanks for the suggestion. I've tried GPS Test -it's under the "couple of other apps" that I've mentioned trying in my OP- but it seems that my Nexus 7 doesn't even get a satellite signal to begin with -- thus GPS Test displays no information.
I'm not using a case and I've tried leaving it for about 30 minutes under the clear sky. No signal at all. I have it by the window, ATM, just searching & on charge.
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If Settings - Location access - location access ON and GPS checked yet you still receive no satellites then your GPS function is defective. Return it to the seller.
Same GPS issue with N7
Hi OP, did you get any solution for your problem?
I am facing a similar issue, I am trying to use GPS on a US bought N7 in India.
Is this a common problem, i have tried many gps apps, but none shows my location.
If your N7 is new and GPS never worked properly and your various location settings are correct, you might want to return & exchange it for a different unit as it could be a hardware problem, beyond any software or Apps-based solutions here. If you are using a weather app, does it find & use your location info?
I had a similar issues with GPS and eventually returned that malfunctioned unit locally to exchange it, upgraded from 16GB to 32GB unit as it was also having the random touch-screen key-pressed issues, etc. It either won't find the location and/or is off by a few miles to as much as a thousand plus miles, sometimes putting the N7 in the middle of the ocean, LOL. The new 32GB unit is flawless.
What I recommend is to try to download from Google "Play Store" - GPS Status by MobiWIA (v 4.0.1 is what I'm running on mine - has been using this for 2 years on multiple devices and it worked for us here - USA) Basically, it download & update, refresh and give assisted hand to the built-in GPS receiver - it run in the background and will turn on to track/lock on to various GPS satellites, inititially showing 5 to 7 sources indoor and at many as 8 to 12 sources within 60 seconds. Outdoor and clear view of open sky, it will lock faser & find more satellites. It is ad-supported and free, not a metered trial-ware
With a WiFi signal, Google Maps open quickly and zoomed it quickly to my locations in 15 seconds - very accurate and as good as when I'm using it on our HTC devices - same is true when I use Nav(free) USA - free off-line GPS software with preloaded maps as it does not drain the battery quickly.
I like the giant 7" screen for "cool" naviagation but until I'm comfortable with a solid & secure mount inside our Honda CRV, I'll stick with the smaller 4" screen of our HTC smartphone with unlimited 3G data access, as a drop will risk breaking the fragile glass lens that's prone to cracking.
similar issue but...
Had already tried Faster Fix (which gave error) and Faster GPS (which managed to reset GPS.conf) but still couldn't get Google Maps to lock in GPS. Was wondering if problem was GMaps or N7.
I googled 'nexus 7 can't get GPS lock' and ended up here. Decided to try GPS Status which showed everything working as it should ('copy location to clipboard' option lets you verify the location via browser). Went back to GMaps hoping GPS Status might help it along, but still got the same 'your location is temporarily unavailable.'
So not hardware must be software. Didn't have to look far checked 'other apps' in the GPS Status program and discovered Orux Maps, free. Upon starting and clicking GPS button didn't take it more than a few seconds to get the lock.
OP issue might still be hardware but thought I'd post here in case someone else ends up here.
i know its an old post but i am facing the same issues here! at the beggining i thought i have got a faulty device. Thats why i bought a used one and tested it before purchase live. The GPS was working just fine. I installed Cyanogen 13 opened GPS Status again and found Satelite. I thought everything was working like it should be. After 10 Min. i went to the car and drove to a friend without any issues. After 3 hours i went home again without any problems. But as the tablet restarted i never got a satelite signal again... always looking for my position.
I am pretty sure thats a software issue. Went back to stock firmware. Problem remains.