Database Users

[Q] Anything more needed after GPS fix?

I have a non-rooted Vibrant. After the OTA J16 fix a couple of weeks ago, the GPS went from non-functional (hardly ever locked on any satellites, even after many minutes) to quite good (usually locks on 6-9 satellites within 10-30 seconds). The Google Navigation works well and stays on track 99% of the time. However, Google Earth seems a little wonky. It can locate me in my neighborhood and usually within my 1-acre yard, but, after I'm located, it can begin to wander around by 100-200 feet even when I'm standing still...not always, but sometimes. Am I expecting more than I should?
I know how to get into my GPS settings with the dialer. Is there any point in clearing the GPS data? I assumed that the J16 update would have reset this. I'm generally happy with the GPS function now, but wonder if there is anything more I should do now that it works pretty well.

Can we take another run at this?
Ok, I'm a little surprised that I didn't get even one response to this. Let me try a slightly different approach.
How good can the GPS in a smartphone be? Do any of you have any model of phone where the GPS is blazingly fast to lock, never gets lost or off track, and is always dead-on? Since the Vibrant is my first phone with GPS, the only thing I have to compare it to is my Garmin navigation unit, which is less-than-perfect.
So, can anyone give me a reality check or a realistic set of expectations? Thanks.

After the J16 update, my Vibe's GPS is a bit better than my G1's GPS. Both are lightyears ahead of my girlfriends TomTom.

after the update, my GPS still does not work. I think the GPS is just absolutely horrible and I really do hope they release a new software fix because the ji6 did nothing for me.
to compare, my g2 was able to find my location within 5 seconds. in terms of my location, it was pretty dead on within a few feet, and also accuarate in the direction I was facing.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

ZX3ZX4 said:
Ok, I'm a little surprised that I didn't get even one response to this. Let me try a slightly different approach.
How good can the GPS in a smartphone be? Do any of you have any model of phone where the GPS is blazingly fast to lock, never gets lost or off track, and is always dead-on? Since the Vibrant is my first phone with GPS, the only thing I have to compare it to is my Garmin navigation unit, which is less-than-perfect.
So, can anyone give me a reality check or a realistic set of expectations? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All my Nokia phones had great GPS. Locks were pretty fast, but they were dead on and I don't remember ever losing the signal outside.

I haven't had to use the gps much since fixed, but it locks on in a reasonable amount of time now and within 20 feet usually. What I don't know yet is if it stays locked on while driving.
To be honest though, it's still much better than the magellan gps I bought last November. That thing wouldnt lock on unless I was out on the road. Not inside my house right up against a window, not under a carport. I'm satisfied for now as long as it stays locked when I use it for roadtrips.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

allthrottle said:
That thing wouldnt lock on unless I was out on the road. Not inside my house right up against a window, not under a carport. I'm satisfied for now as long as it stays locked when I use it for roadtrips.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If that is what you looking at, I haven't seen one GPS unit in any store with an acquired signal.

GPS fixed with UK Froyo?

I guess the title says it all. Has the official UK froyo release fixed the GPS?
This is the swinging factor on which phone I get!

No.
Eleven chars

I don't know about fixed but mine is certainly a lot better. It no longer loses lock every 5 mins or so using route tracker pro. and it turns back on properly after using waze - so averall a great improvement.

No.
Suggest you get something else if GPS is important to you because it is absolutely crap on the Galaxy S. It is inaccurate and will jump back and forth at regular intervals. It will also lose lock very easily if there are high buildings around. I can't even get a lock sitting on the top deck of a bus and next to the window.

Yes in a big way. 10sec lock.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

I'm not so worried by how long it takes to lock, more-so by how it keeps the lock and can track an accurate location.
I'm assuming it is still all over the place then.

brisnick said:
I'm not so worried by how long it takes to lock, more-so by how it keeps the lock and can track an accurate location.
I'm assuming it is still all over the place then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you are right, useless for what you need.

Why not RMA, ask for a new built phone, test GPS and report back?. I'm sure it will be ok in most cases. It looks like it was fixed on later hardware but no one is going to make Samsung admit it

No here too, better but still tracks really badly at times. Will look into an rma when I get some time to. Pity because apart from the gps I really rate this phone.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

Well, so far, based on my experience in the last 3 days, it is better. At least it seems like it is. I used RunKeeper quite a lot before, the tracks showed me flying over the river and stuff like that, but after I got FroYo, it got better. My tracks are more exact and it seems the GPS reception is not lost, like it used to. We will see how it will go on...

Huge no. It takes sometimes up to half an hour to get lock and then only lasts mins.
Add to that the advertised (here in australia anyway) free navigation which does not work here (no, google maps is not free navigation, its google maps. Navigation is navigation). Its an awesome phone but, and i may regret saying this. The horribly slow, misleadingly advertised, failure of a phone nokia N97 wins on delivering gps by a long shot. There i said it, its out there.

No. GPS still not working for me. Yesterday I couldn't even get a fix (outside, no tall buildings, no overcast)
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

Those of you that know me here will know I have dedicated a large slice of my spare time in trying to find out as much information as possible.
Throughout that time my GPS was totally useless running on one of the very first SGS's released in the UK.
Anyway, I altered nothing on the phone left it on it's stock ROM and did the upgrade last Saturday.
In short Kies totally wrecked the phone and I had to resort to using Odin to sort out the mess.
I've since told Samsung exactly what happened and my thoughts to Kies.
However, you are asking what is the GPS like.......
I have nothing to gain. Far from it I would be at the very front in damning Samsung for using Kies but the honest answer from me on GPS is for the very first time I can say I totally am impressed with it.
Whilst sat in my home, a good 10 feet away from the window in a large house with thick walls and three floors I get a lock within seconds and notice again for the first time many locked Satellites with signals above AND below 20SNR, yes below 20... (Prior to the upgrade not once did I receive a locked signal on anything other than above 20).
More importantly under My Tracks the lock follows my movements accurately and not once loses it's signal.
I took the dogs out this afternoon for a long walk and each time I checked the phone I noticed the compass showing the correct bearing and the GPS signal right bang on top of my position.

No... bought a SGS in the UK last month and have been using it in Brazil. GPS has been completely useless for me. Froyo seemed to help at fist, but yesterday it took over 20 minutes to lock in google navigation. Terrible!!!

Easy to get a lock whilst walking, when i get in my car it becomes near useless.

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).

Samsung changed the GPS antenna in vibrant

Hi today I bough a Samsung vibrant from T-Mobile an the date on the box is 10/26/10 and it came already updated software and I truer the GPS and its perfect locked in 8 seconds and while I was driving it kept on the road spot on. I had vibrants before maybe 4 of them and the back cover is smooth I think the ones I had before I fulfilled feel the dots now its smooth. I think they changed the phone internals becouse even the vibrants I had before after update the GPS was crap. Anyone had any experiance?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Mine locks pretty quick too, I never had any GPS problems since I got the phone two weeks ago.

So does that mean the rest of us that got our phone, few months back are screwed?

That's what owning a samsung phone is like always getting screwed. The days are numberd
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

What?! Does this mean we wont get a fix for the other people? I'm always travelling and GPS is one of the most useful things I need... my old blackberry has a perfect GPS isn't this meant to be a smartphone
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

The thing is that all the phones have something wrong or screwed IP there is no phone that is perfect its just us we are beeping to perfectionists.

My wife and I got ours on the buy 1 get 1 free deal. Ours are both dated 09/26/2010. The SIM Serial # on hers ends in 22288F and mine end in 22296F.
It takes me about 45 second to a minute to get a lock running Axura 2.0.4 and I got a lock using 6 of 7 satellites with accuracy of about 70 feet.
My brother-in-law standing right next to me with a HTC Dream G1 locked on 12 of 14 satellites in about 9 -10 seconds and a accuracy of 10 feet running stock.
My wife running stock saw 2 satellites and never got a lock.
EDIT: This thread is now depreciated. Please visit http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=878970 for a fix. I thought I would put the edit here so you don't have to read to page 7 to see the link to the fix.

they didnt change the antenna..give it a few days and i gurantee u it wont work as good

My gps has worked since day one
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

You did not buy a GPS Receiver, you bought a phone with a GPS antenna which is used to track your movement. It just also happens to receive signals from GPS satellites that you are able to use. If you require dead on GPS location then you should go buy a GPS Receiver.
Think of all the things this phone does. It doesn't do any of them better than a device designed to do just that. All-in-one devices are never as good as the devices they are designed to combine.

Zylograth said:
You did not buy a GPS Receiver, you bought a phone with a GPS antenna which is used to track your movement. It just also happens to receive signals from GPS satellites that you are able to use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is correct, BUT when pretty much EVERY other Android phone on the market out performs it in this aspect, there is a flaw in the system. As stated, the G1 locks on faster & stays locked on much better than this phone.
With that said, I tell the GPS where I want to go, and by the time I've left my neighborhood, it's working great. The fact that it takes 10 times longer to lock on doesn't really matter to me.
Using all of the Bionix ROMs and now using the Axura 2.0.5 ROMs, I've been happy with my GPS. When I was using complete stock, it was crap. IIRC, JI6 wasn't bad though.
I'm currently playing with a friends Galaxy Tab and inside nowhere near a window, it locked on and showed my location without the wireless network assist or verizon location assist being turned on (but that could just be because the phone is bigger and would therefore use a larger antenna).

It's just sad what has happened to businesses, they really just don't care about consumers. I really doubt we'll ever see a fix and if we do, i doubt it'll work for more than 50% of people. I've never been so disappointed with a company. The only thing we can do is just never buy samsung again. Just so disappointing all around.

Microwave frequencies antenna design is fraught with both peril and magic
tjhart85 said:
I'm currently playing with a friends Galaxy Tab and inside nowhere near a window, it locked on and showed my location without the wireless network assist or verizon location assist being turned on (but that could just be because the phone is bigger and would therefore use a larger antenna).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NOPE! All antennas must be designed with a physical length that matches the frequency they are designed to operate at. For GPS this is 1575.42 Mhz and therefore due to the physics of radio frequency ALL GPS antennas are about 7.5 inches long, they have to be to work. Antennas typically work better if they are designed with some type of coil (wrapped around something) so by the time you take 7.5 inches of wire and coil it the resulting antenna is quite small. You can also make a panel antenna by creating a trace of conductive line on a flat surface, but the length still has to be the same to work. Regardless of the size of the device it is going into, if you want the antenna to work at a specific frequency it must be a specific length - end of discussion.
So if the GPS issue varies from phone to phone so much, assuming the antenna is the problem, but it can be affected by software, what is likely the problem? Logic would say that it might be either poor quality control in manufacturing causing slight variances in length (at 1575.42 Mhz a small difference in length can make a big difference) or a design that partially obstructs the antenna. Software can not fix the physical antenna issue, but it can compensate by attempting to filter noise better thus increasing the receiver sensitivity, boosting transmit power, or by shifting phase of the signal to make minor adjustments to the effective conductive length of the antenna.
Another possible issue (but less likely because I see no way for software to effect this) is that Samsung did not get a good impedance match between their antenna and their radio. If this was the case you would lose a great deal of signal to and create a lot of noise because of reflective power. Transmitting at a lower power would reduce over all signal, and boosting power would just create a greater reflective power problem.

lolcopter said:
My gps has worked since day one
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditto
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

I too am a replacement Vibrant GPS lover now. Both phones were stock. It has been a week with the new phone and I have not seen any decrease in the GPS performance yet. The old phone had mic issues
I have read many of the GPS posts, but will admit I have not read them all so I don't know if this was talked about yet. While outside tonight as I was doing my daily test I turned the phone upside down so screen is facing the ground and my signal improved from the mid 30's of the "in use" sats to the low to mid 40's. It was nice to see a lot of green for a change. Accuracy improved too. Not sure how the GPS gear is mounted in the phone, but it sure looks like there is a lot stronger signal coming in the the back side then the screen side.
My "use wireless networks" is off
I did this test a number of times while keeping the phone the same distance from the ground. Same results. If there is any other questions or other tests I would be happy to do what I can.
So there you go, the GPS works great, we all just need to hold the phone above our heads..

Zylograth said:
You did not buy a GPS Receiver, you bought a phone with a GPS antenna which is used to track your movement. It just also happens to receive signals from GPS satellites that you are able to use. If you require dead on GPS location then you should go buy a GPS Receiver.
Think of all the things this phone does. It doesn't do any of them better than a device designed to do just that. All-in-one devices are never as good as the devices they are designed to combine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My g1 and mytouch 3g and nexus all had great GPS. The sgs is advertised as the premier device. We have every reason to expect GPS to work and we have absolutely no reason to think one of the advertised features will be broken. GPS is a huge part of smartphones, and since its proven to work on thousands of handsets for years it should work on our vibrants. Maybe new technology gets flexibility but this is GPS we are talking about, its been done and been done perfectly a thousand times over. The phone has plenty of small bugs which is acceptable. Its not acceptable for GPS to be f****d. I think even Samsung would say its unacceptable that I have to carry around my nexus one for its GPS. My vibrant works until I'm about 2/3 of the way to my destination. So basically my screen starts spinning when I'm about as lost as possible. Thank God for my nexus one

GPS on the Vibrant is not a hardware issue. If they have change the hardware, which I doubt, it wouldn't have fixed anything unless they also changed the software. And if they've fixed the software -- which they did in JI2 and JI6 for most people -- then we'll get that fix with the official 2.2 release. OR you could just flash a custom wrong and get good GPS now.

Hi this is the software I have on the phone.
Firmware version. 2.1-update1
Baseband version. T959UVJI6
Karnel version. 2.6.29
Build number. ECLAIR.UVJI6
I don't know if anything diferrent.
Sent from my SCH-I800 using XDA App

I don't understand the comparison to other devices and talk of "I'll never buy another Samsung device."
Since the Galaxy's screen demolishes the competition, I guess the rest of the manufacturers out the are just junk. They are supposed to be top of the line devices so their screen should be as good as this subpar samsung.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

My GPS has worked since day one.
raverj said:
Ditto
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
But certainly Samsung should be better at fixes and T-mobile couldn't be any slower.
Still by far the best device I've ever had, and I had a lot. Axura
And Froyo pull it all together.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Does AGPS actually work - or not..!

Does AGPS actually work on the Acer A500, or android tablets in general? Programs like GPS Test and GPS Status can both clear and download AGPS data, but it does not seem to affect (improve) performance at all. I have tested this MANY times and it just seems useless. My third A500 (3.01 still) seems to have weak GPS pickup and usually cannot fix or even see any sats in my house.
Rob

For me, yes it does work - I have wifi location off and can get multiple fixes indoors after some 10-25 seconds.
You may just be unlucky and still have a bad one (I've read that sometimes the gps antenna comes loose and fall behind things, interfering with the signal)

It works, at least in my case. I have had situations where it locks in a minute or 2. I have had situations where it takes 10m to lock. I have had situations where it locks on in my home, and situations where it absolutely refuses to.
What I do know is that it works and works well when I'm outside, period.
GPS are best at grabbing their signals while outdoors, in the open. People here are using it from their homes or expect it to lock on in 2m flat. While it CAN be used this way, and can lock in that quickly, it needs more time to acquire a signal indoors and if it doesn't, that doesn't mean it's broken. That just means the signal can't get through the walls. If it works today and not tomorrow, consider the possibility that there may be more clouds in the sky or external interference.
I'm sure some people have gotten bad ones, but in most cases I believe people are just trying to get blood from wine ie: they are attempting to use and get the best performance outside of the intended parameters of use of the feature.
If you're outside and have been for 30m and it doesn't work, THEN you may have a problem. Until then, works as intended.

Mine works great also. I get a lock in about 10 seconds. Go outside, and lock is much faster if don't move. I use it as a car GPS. Just wait for it to lock and then it's working great.

mine works also, i have to go outside, but it works.

I to can confirm my GPS works very well.I use the new Co_pilot.I can get a lock in the house in about 2 minutes after a tab reboot.after it locked once. A restart of the app it can lock in as little as 5 to 20 seconds.it will keep the lock.However. I have not found the issue but once in a while it can tar it forever to get a fix.even thou its seeing 5 to 7 sat's.trying to get a fix while moving takes a few minutes as well.now Google navigation will lock rather fast if I start it before I leave my drive.guessing its still using my wifi to get a fix.because it will take forever otherwise.
Co pilot I thing does something tobthe configuration file to improve GPS.
This is only my openion if you think im wrong your welcome to that.don't bash mine thank you

Hardware failure is not out of the question. I had to return two tablets for this very issue. The third tablet I got was like night and day.
1st tablet never got more than one sat, and never locked, while outside on a clear day.
2nd tablet never saw one satellite in the whole 5 days I owned it.
3rd tablet gets 10+ satellites outside and about 4 inside. Locks in about 30 seconds outside and 2-5 minutes inside. Not perfect, but useable for navigation in my car (which is what its for).
The sales manager at the store said faulty GPS was the number one reason he got this pad returned, and he got quite a few of them. He said Acer was being very tight lipped about it. I suspect they know they have a problem and are hoping it flies under the radar long enough to get a working batch out there.

pacificwing said:
Hardware failure is not out of the question. I had to return two tablets for this very issue. The third tablet I got was like night and day.
1st tablet never got more than one sat, and never locked, while outside on a clear day.
2nd tablet never saw one satellite in the whole 5 days I owned it.
3rd tablet gets 10+ satellites outside and about 4 inside. Locks in about 30 seconds outside and 2-5 minutes inside. Not perfect, but useable for navigation in my car (which is what its for).
The sales manager at the store said faulty GPS was the number one reason he got this pad returned, and he got quite a few of them. He said Acer was being very tight lipped about it. I suspect they know they have a problem and are hoping it flies under the radar long enough to get a working batch out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All I can say is, oh my god! I bought a Xoom today and the only thing I did was install GPS Test on it. Upstairs in my room, it sees and locks 8-10 satellites almost instantly. The acer, can barely see 1 satellite in my house, forget about getting a lock, maybe it you wait long enough and don't breathe on it. Also, the SNR numbers on the Xoom are substantially better indoors than the Acer gets outdoors! There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever now that this current Acer unit I have has a defective (or just poor quality) GPS.
I uploaded a quick video of the xoom, sorry about the grainy video, it was taken with my old hp camera... You'll get the point though. I wish the GPS on the Acer worked even half as good as this Xoom appears to (so far).
Vid should be available shortly.
http://vimeo.com/26498687
Rob
ps. I also have a new Samsung Galaxy Vibrant phone, the GPS on that is just as bad as the acer, probably a bit worse.

silverball.slayer said:
All I can say is, oh my god! I bought a Xoom today and the only thing I did was install GPS Test on it. Upstairs in my room, it sees and locks 8-10 satellites almost instantly. The acer, can barely see 1 satellite in my house, forget about getting a lock, maybe it you wait long enough and don't breathe on it. Also, the SNR numbers on the Xoom are substantially better indoors than the Acer gets outdoors! There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever now that this current Acer unit I have has a defective (or just poor quality) GPS.
I uploaded a quick video of the xoom, sorry about the grainy video, it was taken with my old hp camera... You'll get the point though. I wish the GPS on the Acer worked even half as good as this Xoom appears to (so far).
Vid should be available shortly.
http://vimeo.com/26498687
Rob
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can check out mine
Indoor... after an all day rain... locked under 20 seconds
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=15472832&postcount=37

UnicornKaz said:
You can check out mine
Indoor... after an all day rain... locked under 20 seconds
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=15472832&postcount=37
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have wifi assist turned off on my xoom, plus it does not have 3g either. Your acer looks not too bad, but the xoom still obliterates it speedwise with a gps fix. This is the third A500 I have had. The first was DOA and the second one had a bad microphone. This third one has been good except for the GPS. The second one had much better functioning GPS compared to this third one. I am tired of playing musical tablets though and I want one that just plain works. I could get another Acer, but who knows if the GPS will work properly on that one or not. Compared to the Xoom, the Acer GPS does not seem very good at all. Too bad, since it's an otherwise great unit.
edit: I did some searching and it seems the Xoom has a better hardware GPS implementation, but I have not found the exact details just yet.
Rob

I guess we know what happened to all those failed GPS A500's that got returned. A few of the big chains (futureshop) has just started selling a refurbished model for $100 cheaper than the new release ones.
That was a quick turn around.

pacificwing said:
I guess we know what happened to all those failed GPS A500's that got returned. A few of the big chains (futureshop) has just started selling a refurbished model for $100 cheaper than the new release ones.
That was a quick turn around.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw that too. I wonder what the return rate on these has been? Futureshop has quite a few A500 in stock and they don't seem to be selling. People are definitely interested in the tablets, but the average consumer is going to be confused with the current choices available. Acer doesn't exactly have a stellar reputation to live up to, but I think the A500 is a pretty good unit if it everything works like it should.
Rob

Try this and all your gps problems are over at least in the US
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1152318&highlight=gps

tomlogan1 said:
Try this and all your gps problems are over at least in the US
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1152318&highlight=gps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no question that the aGPS software is not tuned ideally with new A500's. Unfortunately, for some, this is not the only issue. There IS a hardware aspect to this problem. This is evident by the fact that so many users can exchange their stock units for brand new units and get entirely different results.
The above fix will optimize your GPS locking, I'm sure; but only if your adapter actually works in the first place.
In regards to android tablets not selling, I suspect it's just marketing. Android is still the new kid on the block. Even out of the gate, most android tabs offer much more than an ipad at a much better price, but people walk right past them in order to get themselves a tablet that has the shiny white apple logo on the back. They want to be able to tell their friends that they got an IPAD.
Also, those who actually are in the know, might be a little hesitant about android at the moment. Every single android tablet currently on the market has had release problems. The ACER has its GPS and Wifi problems, the samsung has its screen issue, the Xoom has the fiasco with the SD card, the thrive has its sleep disorder. They are all minor, and they will undoubtedly get worked out. It just makes people second guess going with android.
Plus, Mac is playing the major patent troll card right now. They just hammered HTC pretty hard, and other android distributors are rightfully worried. This will no doubt affect the future of the platform as a whole.

IM am a little confussed here. why is everyone complaining because thier tabs dont gps lock indoors? most car gps's dont lock indoors. why would you even need to get a sat signal for gps in your living room? are you having trouuble finding the kitchen?
This is a great tablet and only complains i have heard from people about it is people tring to do silly things with it and then getting upset because it wont do the silly things.
Sat signals were never ment to penatrate roofs and walls thats why your direct tv dish and xm or sirius sat anntennas are OUTSIDE i think you guys are complaining about something it wasent ment to do, and why the nav program has wifi assist so that you can use the nav program at home to plan routes. then switch to the sat once you GO OUT SIDE.
But my main question still is why do you need a sat signal sitting in your living room and why are you complaining when you dont get one?
and also to the people just *****ing non stop about the charger cord really? its like your just looking to complain about something. agan the whole point of the tablet is to be portable not to be used while teathered to a wall socket. so what the cord is a little smaller then other peoples. what are you gonna do with a cord thats 2 foot longer that you cant do with this one?
This s a great tablet and all anyone is doing is complaining about stupid stuff.
well i am mad because the tablet didnt buy itself and walk to my house and set itself up for me. really sat signals arent suppose to work indoors who needs a sat signal indoors? and just because you do get one indoors dosent mean your suppose too. if your getting sat signals indoors i would be questioning the build quality of my house and not the tablet.

harlaquin said:
...if your getting sat signals indoors i would be questioning the build quality of my house and not the tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
... ...

harlaquin said:
IM am a little confussed here. why is everyone complaining because thier tabs dont gps lock indoors? most car gps's dont lock indoors. why would you even need to get a sat signal for gps in your living room? are you having trouuble finding the kitchen?
This is a great tablet and only complains i have heard from people about it is people tring to do silly things with it and then getting upset because it wont do the silly things.
Sat signals were never ment to penatrate roofs and walls thats why your direct tv dish and xm or sirius sat anntennas are OUTSIDE i think you guys are complaining about something it wasent ment to do, and why the nav program has wifi assist so that you can use the nav program at home to plan routes. then switch to the sat once you GO OUT SIDE.
But my main question still is why do you need a sat signal sitting in your living room and why are you complaining when you dont get one?
and also to the people just *****ing non stop about the charger cord really? its like your just looking to complain about something. agan the whole point of the tablet is to be portable not to be used while teathered to a wall socket. so what the cord is a little smaller then other peoples. what are you gonna do with a cord thats 2 foot longer that you cant do with this one?
This s a great tablet and all anyone is doing is complaining about stupid stuff.
well i am mad because the tablet didnt buy itself and walk to my house and set itself up for me. really sat signals arent suppose to work indoors who needs a sat signal indoors? and just because you do get one indoors dosent mean your suppose too. if your getting sat signals indoors i would be questioning the build quality of my house and not the tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please don't troll.

harlaquin said:
IM am a little confussed here. why is everyone complaining because thier tabs dont gps lock indoors? most car gps's dont lock indoors. why would you even need to get a sat signal for gps in your living room? are you having trouuble finding the kitchen?
This is a great tablet and only complains i have heard from people about it is people tring to do silly things with it and then getting upset because it wont do the silly things.
Sat signals were never ment to penatrate roofs and walls thats why your direct tv dish and xm or sirius sat anntennas are OUTSIDE i think you guys are complaining about something it wasent ment to do, and why the nav program has wifi assist so that you can use the nav program at home to plan routes. then switch to the sat once you GO OUT SIDE.
But my main question still is why do you need a sat signal sitting in your living room and why are you complaining when you dont get one?
and also to the people just *****ing non stop about the charger cord really? its like your just looking to complain about something. agan the whole point of the tablet is to be portable not to be used while teathered to a wall socket. so what the cord is a little smaller then other peoples. what are you gonna do with a cord thats 2 foot longer that you cant do with this one?
This s a great tablet and all anyone is doing is complaining about stupid stuff.
well i am mad because the tablet didnt buy itself and walk to my house and set itself up for me. really sat signals arent suppose to work indoors who needs a sat signal indoors? and just because you do get one indoors dosent mean your suppose too. if your getting sat signals indoors i would be questioning the build quality of my house and not the tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your comments are fair enough, I suppose. I'll assume you're not trolling. But I'd ask you to consider the following:
Some A500 owners (obviously, yourself included) have a working GPS module, and can use it as well as can be expected. Other A500 owners (obviously, yourself not included) have a broken GPS, and cannot use it as expected. In fact, it is broken so badly that they never get a signal under even the most ideal circumstances. There is no question that GPS performance seems to vary from unit to unit.
Considering that, your comments confuse me. Are you saying that these unfortunate A500 owners with malfunctioning GPS units have no right to complain? Are you saying they have no right to gather on a forum and try to troubleshoot the issue? Are you saying that they should not be allowed to test their units within the comfort of their own home? Are you saying they should not be allowed to communicate and compare results?
Assuming it's not too subtle, I'll leave you to detect the irony in my statement when I say that I'm deeply sorry if the strife of these less fortunate A500 owners offends you in some way.
Furthermore, I'm also sorry that you don't understand a persons desire to "play" with his or her new toy without leaving the house. Perhaps it doesn't make much logical sense, but a hobbyists enthusiasm rarely does. You can take solace in knowing that you are not required to understand it. Nor are you required to be offended by it.
Cheers,
-PW

No I am not trolling what ever that even means. Granted I may have been a bit harsh with my comments but, my point is that they are expecting thier tablet to do something tha is simply isnt ment to do. they are complainin that its broke because it is not doing something that again it was not ment to do.
gps sat signals are not ment to be recieved indoors period. go take you gps out of your car and see if it dosent lose signal indoors. it will does that mean its broken? no My point sinply was that gps sat signals were never ment to be recieved indoors on any device thats why sat tv dishes and xm radios attenas are mounted outside. because sat signals either dont penatrate buildings at all or not very well if they did then there would be no need for external attenas for t.v and sat radio.
This is why if you want to play with you nav on your tablet there is a wifi assit mode for INDOORS.
I was simply stating people are complaining about something that wasent ment to work the way they assume it should.
I am in no way putting down anyone who has a defective a500 and from what i have read the new updates have fixed most all issues. i was simply stating that not being able to get gps indoors in not a defect nothing gets gps signal or a good gps signal indoors. my comments were directed to those persons.
same as the people who are complaining because no usb charging. well if they would read they would know thier tab has two yes two 3620 mah batteries that have a greater power consumption then what usb provides and cant be recharged by usb that same as about 98% of all other tablets on the market but yet there is post after post of people complaining and saying its a defect when its not.
why is it if someone points out the truth they get accussed of being a troll? just tring to inform is all because if you go and return your iconia for something else and guess what its not gonna get gps indoors either or charge from usb because thats the nature of the beast. not a defect just trying to help sorry i worded like i did im just blunt.
Now if you want to descuse defects how about acers software? anyone else find thier clear.fi not working? Im having to use third party soft to be a client to my nas because all thiers does is show pictures but not any other files.

But nobody in this thread complained about not getting a fix indoors, you implied we were. I think we all know that indoors is obviously not the most ideal place for GPS signals. The third A500 I had to return (1st DOA, 2nd bad mic) because it performed poorly when it was in my vehicle and not much better when outside. It definitely performed worse than the one it replaced - which I would have kept except it had a bad microphone. I tested it A LOT outdoors and in my vehicle. It always seemed quite slow to find satellites, let alone get a fix. I also tested a Xoom indoors and posted a video of the results, just to show how well that unit worked even under less than ideal conditions. It may be an apples and oranges comparison though since the GPS hardware is probably different. So I returned the third A500 and I have a 4th one now. The microphone is good and guess what, the GPS seems to work quite well. Not as good as the Xoom still, but my fixes are now done in seconds as opposed to minutes. I have not tested it in the car yet, but inside the house it's maintaining a fix with pretty good SNR numbers.
If you get a chance, check out the thread I posted about the web browser 'find on page' feature being broken in the latest 3.1 update. It has worked about twice in the 20 times I have tried it.
Rob