Database Users

Vibrant GPS Test: Motorola CLIQ vs TWO Vibrants initial lock

Here's the Video, for those who want to see first hand the Vibrant initial GPS locking issue:
I decided to compare my two new Samsung Vibrant's to my Motorola Cliq...
I tried with and without the fix, and tried with and without wireless, and with and without use wireless networks... all resulted in the same results... The Vibrant GPS has a problem.
Test Case
1. Power off
2. Power on
3. Start GPS Test
Results:
Motorola Cliq: ~ 1 second
Vibrant 1: ~ 70 seconds
Vibrant 2: ~120 seconds
I repeated the the test several times, and the vibrants had random results from 1 to 10 minutes to find the initial lock.
After the initial lock, subquentiant locks took less than a second, however anytime the vibrant is shutdown, or hours pass, the vibrant goes back to taking minutes to lock.

awesome video.. i noticed a couple of things that were very interesting in this video:
one, i noticed after owning *cough*several*cough* cliqs that the cliq keeps the GPS polling in the background periodically. the cliq also runs in MS Based mode. i found this out after being on the road with my band with this phone. when my network signal is lost so is my GPS lock. that probably contributes to the faster lock displayed in GPS test. the software seems to keep the GPS locked in the background all the time.
two, i also noticed that the vibrant in the middle that showed a single sat lock in GPS test also displayed the same time discrepancy that i discovered and posted about in my reply in the "GPS fix" thread. the vibrant also seems to keep the GPS "off" when not in use by any programs.. and it seems to have a relatively cold startup. this probably contributes to the phone sipping battery as compared to the cliq. the vibrant also comes stock with the GPS in "stand alone" mode. this makes the GPS separate from the mobile network. in theory you should still be able to achieve GPS data and lock independent of your network connection status. this is helpful when navigating in an out of network area.
i do agree that the GPS on the vibrant needs to be fixed.. but i am very convinced that the problem is in the way that the software reads the raw data from the GPS and Compass and also how the hardware is utilized.. and not related to any hardware failure. i also agree that one thing i liked about the cliq was that the compass and gps were always bang-on accurate. even if the rest of the phone was a total fail.

This depresses me to no end. I love my Vibrant, and these issues are what's keeping me at bay with a return. So long as they just came out and admitted there was a problem, that they intended to fix, I would be happy.
What do you guys think? Is it worth it to keep the phone and hope that the OTA / 2.2 update fixes the issues? Or are we about to be left in the dust by lack of support?

im of the firm belief that the issues are software based and therefore very fixable.. i also was shown the email that mentioned the 2.2 update for the Vibrant that will be released in the "next couple of weeks." so.. im keeping mine. my GPS works well enough for now that its usable until an update is issued.

captain_awesome said:
awesome video.. i noticed a couple of things that were very interesting in this video:
one, i noticed after owning *cough*several*cough* cliqs that the cliq keeps the GPS polling in the background periodically. the cliq also runs in MS Based mode. i found this out after being on the road with my band with this phone. when my network signal is lost so is my GPS lock. that probably contributes to the faster lock displayed in GPS test. the software seems to keep the GPS locked in the background all the time.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure why they would change the code that already worked very well with the cliq... Turn the cliq on and BANG it locks with and without use wireless network setting
I hear that the galaxy s used newer gps hardware, so while I'm hopeful it's a software issue, I'm not so sure. Every app now days is using location services, so this is a MAJOR issue if they can't get GPS to lock on in seconds

dalepa said:
I'm not sure why they would change the code that already worked very well with the cliq... Turn the cliq on and BANG it locks with and without use wireless network setting
I hear that the galaxy s used newer gps hardware, so while I'm hopeful it's a software issue, I'm not so sure. Every app now days is using location services, so this is a MAJOR issue if they can't get GPS to lock on in seconds
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what code are you referring to?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Is this news? I had a CLIQ and there have been several updates to it's GPS capabilities. Even the latest update (6 months after it's release) is supposed to improve lock time. I was happy with the CLIQ's GPS performance but it wasn't always good. The Vibrant has no problem getting a quick lock or seeing a bunch of sats with acceptable SNR levels. It just doesn't connect to nearly as many as it should and eventually it will take longer to get a lock (I'm back to a few seconds but who knows how long that will last) which seems completely like a firmware issue.
With some new tweaks I did to the GPS, I get a quicccccccccck lock from a FRESH reboot and this is only after 10 seconds or so. This is subject to get worse or stay the same but obviously, the GPS isn't flawed but the firmware is. It also seems like if it was to lock onto more sats, that it would be really good.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

What tweaks did you do to get 10 seconds after reboot?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

dalepa said:
What tweaks did you do to get 10 seconds after reboot?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's all temporary stuff so I wouldn't bother.

heygrl said:
With some new tweaks I did to the GPS, I get a quicccccccccck lock from a FRESH reboot and this is only after 10 seconds or so. This is subject to get worse or stay the same but obviously, the GPS isn't flawed but the firmware is. It also seems like if it was to lock onto more sats, that it would be really good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ooh, that's interesting. You seem to have six locks, and two of those are reported "00" and are red? How are you getting locks there?
What tweaks did you make to keep zero's on your phone?

Try this. mines locks very fast using these settings
these are my application settings in LbsTestMode (use SGS tools to get into it)
session type >tracking
test mode >s/w test
operation mode >standalone
start mode >hot start
gps plus >on
dynamic acuracy >on
acuracy >1
gps logging >on <----this is very important

why did you dig up an 8 month old thread??

darksandz93 said:
why did you dig up an 8 month old thread??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because he thought he could help someone.
Why did you post in an 8 month old thread if him resurrecting it offended you so much? Just let it die again.

and who said i was offended? its simple question out of curiosity. how bout you get off your high horse buddy.

Maybe our GPS isn't so bad after all..

DROID with network based location off, GPS based location on
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Vibrant with network based location off, GPS based location on
Same story for one DROID X at this store even with it's AGPS on (there is an option within the location menu for enabling or disabling aGPS on the X), but another DROID X got a quicker fix than both of those DROID's however I suspect it was polling GPS before I opened up maps. The Vibrant pulled that location in about 10 seconds, no "Location Unavail." Msg at all and it was all indoors.

ha thats the same store i bought my vibrant from i can tell your by rainbow and 215 but yeah i havent really had issues with my gps at least that i know of it seems accurate to me

Side by side comparison with my G1 shows me (at least) that the 2 Vibrants I've tested take about 10x as long to get a fix and use about 1/10th the number of satellites.

I haven't had a single gps error since before the vibrant was even released but judging by how many people are I suspect certain batches were defected

Maxy6 said:
Side by side comparison with my G1 shows me (at least) that the 2 Vibrants I've tested take about 10x as long to get a fix and use about 1/10th the number of satellites.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same story for me, except my Vibrant side-by-side with my Blackberry 8900 (can't confirm # of satellites but I can confirm time to get a lock).
Anecdotal evidence isn't convincing me that Samsung is dragging their feet here.

Maxy6 said:
Side by side comparison with my G1 shows me (at least) that the 2 Vibrants I've tested take about 10x as long to get a fix and use about 1/10th the number of satellites.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds bad but can we get some guesstimates in time? 1secondx10=10 seconds. 10secondsx10=100seconds..
In MS-Based mode under LBSTestMode (whether or not this actually makes any changes to GPS behavior, that's what I have it in) It takes no time to get a lock.

gps works great for me. I get a lock in doors instantly..... Its a little off though in doors but out doors its spot on. I dont need to find a pot of gold so within 20 feet is good for me.

Locational services work, maybe, one out of five times for me. When they try to locate me, it shows me in a neighboring city for at least five minutes. If I wait forever, it will sometimes finally update with the correct location.

So im at work in a huge brick building. With just my location on it puts me about 10 blocks away. I went outside on the deck at work in a open view, opened google maps again and saw I was still 10 blocks away, I pulled down my notification bar and turned gps on, within 4 seconds it found me right dead smack center of my work building.
I dont know, I dont have any issues though. Thing works great for me...

The thing is, it sometimes works quite well. I haven't been able to nail now a pattern with it. Turning on AGPS helps a lot, sometimes. Other times it fails to download the data for AGPS and drops to standalone mode, which is what it should do, but why would the download seem to fail when the G1 sitting next to it works fine? I've tried various settings for the server and such, all of them work sometimes.
The other irritating thing is when it seems to download the almanac, then proceeds to sit there "seeing" only one satellite (SNR bars in GPS Test). It knows which ones are in the sky, it should use that to get the GPS chip tracking all of them at once, as it has the channels. It's acting like a single channel receiver sometimes. That's a big reason why AGPS is so fast, it knows which channels to listen on, no need to search for signals.
I didn't have the G1 before the GPS was fixed, but it sounds a lot like our issue. The way the SGS acts leads me to think it's software related, likely the GPS driver or firmware. The actual RF performance seems pretty good, sometimes better than the G1 going by the SNR reported. It's just acting like it's often getting poor instruction from the driver/OS level.
My biggest complaint is that Samsung and TMobile are trying to act like it's not a problem. If Samsung can't reproduce it, they aren't trying or they have programmed the GPS chip in such a way that it works in their location. Samsung is a global company, there's no excuse for not testing a flagship device in multiple countries. And in todays market, there's no excuse for not being upfront and honest with your customers. Nor is there one for not beta testing with real customers in every major market you want to enter.
If I were running things over at Verizon, I'd be laughing my way to the bank and telling Samsung to keep their busted SGS. They were smart enough to get more than one manufacturer with a "superphone" and don't need Samsung. Between the Droid X and the Incredible, they have got TMO and AT&T spanked hard.

Yea, how long until their competitors start running ads poking fun at it, like the no jacket required ads last week making light of the iPhone antenna problems? HTC and moto should be all over this.

I am unable to get a lock indoors and outside it takes 20sec to a minute or more to lock on and then it turns on and off sporadically. It will seem to be fine and then it just does not function and then in awhile it seems to be better. I have the MS etc. fix enabled and before that it was not functioning with any kind of regularity or accuracy. I get 1 of 12 in use at the most and most of the time I get zero in use.The accuracy after it finally gets a lock is adequate but not great.I use Cardio trainer on a daily basis several times per day and it is just awful as it locks on and off and leaves me with terrible accuracy. Indoors it shows me about 2 to 3 miles away and most of the time it picks up no location at all. An email I received back from Samsung after complaining stated that they have not found the cause of any problem and they are continuing to try and find the cause and resolve the issue. I called tech supp and they at least mentioned that there might be an issue and could give me no other information. That is not very reassuring to me as the device has been out internationally for some months now and out of the box has had GPS issues. Really makes me question my decision to purchase this device. I do love it but the GPS is a integral part of my usage and it does not look like there is any help anytime soon. I am just past the 14 day period so a refund is not possible. I was holding on to the hope that Samsung would act quickly or even just act on this issue and I guess I was betting on a tired horse.I guess Samsungs track record speaks for itself and it is not too pretty. I really do prefer using it to my N1 it has tremendous potential to be as good or better than any phone on the market.

How's the GPS?

How is the GPS on the G2/Desire Z?
Is it fast? Can it lock quickly on the signal? Is it accurate?
I'm currently using a SGS I9000, and let just say it is quite crap.

GPS is pretty ****ty for me. Not as bad as (I assume) the GalaxyS line, but still pretty ****ty. 30m is unacceptable when my Droid (1) can get me walking around my house.
edit: Lock on takes for-frickin-ever indoors (if at all), and is decent outdoors. Yes, I've run gps status and cleared/redownloaded gps data, before anyone asks, lol.
Again, spoiled motodroid former user. I'd go back but vzw rapes with charges, and I like the G2 aside from the horrid (imo) gps. Ymmv.

zerosx's report is the first negative report i've seen re the GPS - mine's on the money (usually within 10') and 40-45 seconds from cold start to a lock on 4-9 satellites. not unusual to see a lock on 11 sats out of 11 in view
below is a screen capture of GPS Sat map i took, while in the house. It actually had me located withing 10 feet of where i was, until i plugged the phone into the usb port to take the screen capture and it jumped back 10 feet more at the instant i plugged it in.
did a "my tracks" log on a short trip across town - none of the path that looked like a drunk had drawn the lines like on my Vibrant, no cutting across corners at turns, no driving 75 feet off to the side of the road, etc
check the forums - you won't see any threads on the GPS - there just haven't been any issues
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

Meh, maybe I got a bad one? I really don't know, I seriously can't get the damn thing working.

i wasn't attacking the credibility of your report, just stating it was the first one i've seen
you might consider taking it back for exchange cause mine is eerily spot on - i say "eerily" cause after the vibrant, being located on the right block of my subdivision while outside, was a lucky day. Inside the house, it wouldn't even lock on one satellite

I have had issues with it picking up GPS in my house as well. Right now I have been looking at the GPS Test app and it still displays 0 satellites. When I go to Google maps my location is close but about 10 m off or so. When I am outside I have not had a problem with it. Yesterday I was able to pick up 4 to 6 satellites within about 40 sec. I'll try out the Tracks app later today and see if it is accurate.

This! GPS Status shows no satellites indoors. It's quite frustrating.
Larry - haha no prob. I didn't give it a second thought, and you're pretty much describing my former iphone4 to the letter. It was... creepy.

The GPS works fine if I just want to lock down where I am but the moment I start trying to use it in my car for turn by turn it goes south quick. It loses all signal and is stuck on "Searching for GPS..." for about 2 minutes then comes back and gives me about 30 seconds of information before freezing up again.
It's an improvement coming from the Vibrant but still not as solid as my Nexus One.

Mine is flawless, locks up withing seconds and it's super percise. The native nav app also works rather well.
GPS is one of the strongest points of my phone.

Mine is pretty accurate.

gps is all good here

Mine Locks way way faster then my old ass G1

GPS is fantastic. Locks about twice as fast as my nexus one does. 5ft-10m accuracy generally.

The GPS has been the best I have had. It locks a lot faster than my N1.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

Well, today I haven't been able to use GPS at all. No lock. I cleared everything through GPS status and still no joy. Earlier in the week I had trouble, but that was due to a setting I had turned on in Beautiful widgets. I turned it off, and everything was fine. Its still turned off so now I'm left scratching my head. Granted, we're experiencing ****ty weather today due to a Nor'easter, but it isn't that bad, as I'm having no issues with my satellite tv signal. Typically I've been able to acquire lots of satellites (8 or more typically) anywhere in my home, so I'm a little worried, especially since I just past my remorse period and am now into t-mobiles "go **** in a hat" part of phone ownership. Any suggestions? I've done two battery pulls today and GPS is still dodgy. Stuff like this makes me miss tin cans and string.

since you've already noticed one app affecting your GPS, have you thought about backing all your apps up to your SD card (OnTheFLy backup app) and then un-installing them, doing a factory reset and seeing if GPS functionality comes back?

Yeah, I thought about that. Gps started working again a short while ago. I'll probably give the backup/wipe deal a shot tomorrow. Out of all of the apps I've installed that have options concerning control of gps the beautiful widgets home weather widget is the only one that appears to knacker gps functionality. We shall see.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

if its the beautiful widgets with animations, iirc some folks have complained about that update version
i'm still running the first version, with no problems

It works very well with in 5 feet. I believe the G2 is A-GPS it uses cell towers
and other means too track your location.

I used it in LA all last week when visiting. It was awesome and there was only one time where it navigated incorrectly.

Taking Samsung to consumer court

Hi,
As we all know the Galaxy SL GPS is piece of crap, I have contacted Samsung support many times but their technical team does not know the difference between GPS and GPRS. They have no answer to how to fix the problem (at least Indian support team) or there is no fix. Anyways I am now highly frustrated with the GPS on the phone and with their customer support.
I have not rooted my phone, the firmware on the phone is DDKB2 (not updating it yet or rooting the phone because it will affect the warranty) latest available from Kies.
My question is to all Galaxy SL users what is the max number of satellites has your phone ever locked. (irrespective of the firmware version) For me the max was 4. It took 5 mins to reach this figure under open sky on this phone while Xperia arc and HTC wildfire were able to lock 20 satellites from the same location in seconds.
Is the GPS on phone really a piece of sh1t ? Just confirm this and I am prepared to sue Samsung in consumer court over this.
Adding to this, while traveling in a vehicle the other two phones (mentioned above) were showing realtime progress of the vehicle on the road, whereas Galaxy SL was highly inaccurate and even the wrong position shown was not updated constantly.
Edit : Please use 'Gps Test' or similar apps to check.
This is my best result so far.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

Dude go through the forum.ddkb sucks in respect to gps.all europran firmwares hav super fast gps.bt yes all indian firmware sucks when it comes to gps.
Sent from my GT-I9003 using XDA App

rdr_m said:
Dude go through the forum.ddkb sucks in respect to gps.all europran firmwares hav super fast gps.bt yes all indian firmware sucks when it comes to gps.
Sent from my GT-I9003 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's why I am curious to know that after all the proposed fixes how much improvement is there, if I install 2.3.4 the unofficial way how much will be the improvement. i have read in some threads that there is no software fix and users are hardware modding.

XXKB3 solved the problem for me. My GPS locked in seconds now.

dude take them to court ,gps on this phone really suks ,atleat after this they will send quality products to indian market

The problem is only in the software. Hardware is very good. I have XXKB3:
1. With the cold start on open air (no clouds, but under the tries and near buildings) I take signals of 3 satellites after 2-3 seconds
2. after 5 seconds It locks
3. After ~10 seconds I see about 8 satellites. (6 with good signal)
Before I had Nokia 5800. It takes several minutes to lock. And if I was driving car it takes more and more time (it would be better to stop, wait for a lock and drive then).

x86phre3x said:
XXKB3 solved the problem for me. My GPS locked in seconds now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How many satellites?
For a moving source you need more satellites as the connection with every satellite is not constant, how does the device behave when in a moving vehicle?

tarey_g said:
How many satellites?
For a moving source you need more satellites as the connection with every satellite is not constant, how does the device behave when in a moving vehicle?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was driving in the storm (very big storm, in my city it took out tries with its roots from the ground and it was very cloudy) for more then 300km. Sometimes I was driving with 140km/h. No lost locking at all. But before I used GPS Aids to take latest LTO data, and I had internet connection for all my way (to take map and so on).
It's really good device for me and it suits me well. With my native XEKB1 I was not tested GPS because I reflash my phone after 2 days of playing with it.

XXKB3 solves the GPS problems many ppl have mentioned.
I do not know how many satellites it uses/doesn't, I just know it works (and thats all that matters).

Bro, taking them to court will be a waste of your time as you know the indian courts and justice system.
My advise is, try rooting it and flash different rom which meets your gps needs.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App

Filing a case in consumer court is very easy, I will go to samsung service centre this weekend for last time, if they still cant help then I will go ahead with original plan.

Try this: use FasterFix (requires root) to set the ntp server nearest to you, then use GPS Aids (requires root aswell) to download and inject the XTRA data. Once you 've done that your GPS "should" be able to see enough satellites to get a good lock.

To those who are getting v.quick fixes with the newer European firmwares and other miscellaneous fix. How does it fare when doing voice navigation?
For me , I get v.quick locks (after some hacks..6-10 satellites in view and all), but still not reliable during voice navigation, loses signal in the car. So, I believe that is a h/w issue, but then, I guess many phones will be having this issue to a certain extent.. (not able to follow you properly when travelling in a car with windows closed? .. iPhone 4 which I have played around with ,definitely does the tracking v.well)..

dude.. just check out dis thread b4 u go 2 court...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1069416

10 fix within 10 seconds. Stock and custom roms. Maybe hardware issue?
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App

Correction
I'll just make a correction to my prev post... Instead of following that link in the post try these things and ya i have personally tried this settings & it worked
i havn't done any rooting or upgrading or anythin, its just the basic DDKB2. I had to reset my phone to factory settings due to a different problem. SO when i tried using the gps after reset there comes the same prob again
First thing i tried was that link, but it doesnt seem to work very well then i followed these steps...
1. Download the app "GPS AIDS V2" from android market (free version is more than enough)
2. Turn off your internet & gps & go to codes/tools in GPS AIDS
3. Select GPS Test >Application settings & make the following changes
Change Operation mode to "MS Assisted"
Change Accuracy to 100
4. Now turn on gps & internet, Go back to GPS AIDS Select GPS Status
Now it will start locking satellites
Using this method i was able to get a lock with 10 satellites in about 15-20 seconds & was getting an accuracy of 5-10 meters
And one more thing.. i am not a big fan of samsung.. Right now i am facing some other issues with this stupid device... Anyways just trying to help..

I was having the same problem as you guys, but all I did was change the ntp server to india (using gps aids) and setting mode under GPS settings to "ms-based" instead of 'standalone'...
Actually the GPS on this phone is really quite weak, I get good quick locks and signal strength but indoors it struggles under a tiled roof whereas my xperia x10 used to do it great indoors too! Oh and the applying pressure to a certain point trick actually does work! Try it out...

GPS issue

I have my S3 since Saturday. Sunday was actually the first day to test it. The only thing I did Saturday was to update it, OTA.
Of course, I took it for a drive several hundred miles. Everything looked good. It fixes the location very fast and accurate... many times better than my previous S2... however, at one point it did lost the location....... after a reboot it started working fine again and was able to complete my drive very happy about it.
Unfortunately, I have to say, the serious problems started Monday.
My S3 is loosing the satellites constantly. A reboot fixes the problem, but again, after about 10 minutes, it looses the satellites. No matter what I am running, waze, Google maps, GPS Test Pro etc., it is all the same: it sees a big number of satellites, but it doesn't lock on them... even if the signal strength is considerable good with some of them (that could turn them to green if in GPS Test Pro).
I don't see any reason why it would loose the lock of the satellites.
Getting tired rebooting my S3, I tried a couple of tools from the market: GPSfix and GPSaids... although I am not sure about the first one, even that it helped, the later one helps indeed. After running it and return to my navigation program the S3 starts locking the satellites again and fast and very price... for another 10 minutes.
Not sure what to do... guess my next step is to root my device and try FasterFix and other tools that requires root... or even try a custom rom and different rom/modem.
Any idees, suggestions?
The phone is purchased from Vodafone Romania.
AP: I9300BUALF1
CP: I9300BULF1
CSC: I9300VFGALF1
Thanks in advance.

To be on the safe side I think you should return it, otherwise flash xxalf6 rom and check if you still have the same problem
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

how about trying to calibrate the compass first
http://jjpda.blogspot.sg/2011/10/how-to-calibrate-your-compass.html

Another thing I noticed:
for example, at home, with or without wifi enabled, I let the GPS on for more than an hour and haven't noticed it loosing the lock on the satellites.
I guess it happens only when my position changes (driving).
So, am I the only one with this strange behavior of the S3?
It might be as well, as you suggest, the firmware/modem branded version from Vodafone Romania.
I will certainly contact Samsung and ask them about it.

the_slasher said:
how about trying to calibrate the compass first
http://jjpda.blogspot.sg/2011/10/how-to-calibrate-your-compass.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will give it a try...

I am on Omega V6, and the GPS literally saved my friends and I over this weekend in the desert with almost no gas and no reception.
THANK YOU SGS3!

I had to rotate it a lot to get to 3 where the line pointing to North (I guess) was blue.
LE: Now I will give it a drive test to tell if it helps.

SlimJ87D said:
I am on Omega V6, and the GPS literally saved my friends and I over this weekend in the desert with almost no gas and no reception.
THANK YOU SGS3!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't really helps me... how about when you were on stock rom?
GPS' performance was one of the main reasons I switched from S2 to S3... being able to point me down in areas where's no GSM network and no roads.

I am using the navigation regularly for a 2 hours car trip. I haven't noticed any lost position, Crossing the country side with about 30mn without gsm connection.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

This is what it was looking like yestarday...
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

spookyx said:
This is what it was looking like yestarday...View attachment 1158790
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the app, hit menu then settings and clear agps the update agps. Used to help me on the S2, especially when far from home or overseas. Even though it shouldn't need it bit try just in case.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

I have a strange problem:
I'm on omega 6.0 and my GPS fixes 14-18sats in about 5-10 seconds. sometimes ti finds satellites and just don't fix them without data connection or Wifi. Tried both LF2 and LF5 modems. cleaning cache and dalvik cache helped. but I'm aware it will happen again
any ideas? I'm using GPS status and toolbox to monitor GPS

I have calibrated the magnetic sensor. From 1 went to 2 and then to 3. From 2 to 3 had to spin the phone A LOT.
Anyway, left the house with GPS on. The GPS stayed locked for about 2 hours.
Later on the day, the GPS started to lose the lock again.
I checked again with the magnetic sensor and it was down to 1 again. Brought it quickly to 2 again. GPS started working.
Minutes later, GPS lock lost again. Using GPS Test Pro (clear AGPS) or GPS aids or other similar application... or even doing the magnetic (re)calibration offers only a TEMPORARILY solution.
Beside trying a different/newer modem/rom, does anyone have a permanent solution to this stock UNrooted rom?
Thanks.
Anyone else from Vodafone Romania experience this issue as well?

I am coming to the conclusion that the magnetic sensor is broken (keeps decalibrating) and that affects seriously fixing the location.