GPS Issues: Post your results - Desire HD General

Seems lot of people is having GPS issues. Difficulty to get a FIX, poor precision.
So i'm starting poll to see if it's general or only some are having problems.
Here is the test protocol :
- Download 'GPS Status' from the market
- Go outside
- Wait for GPS Status to get a fix (it can take 5 to 10 minutes)
- After the fix, count how many satellites the GPS detects, the number may increase slowly until it stabilise.
- Note the précision range you get.
If you have multiples android phones, repeat this test with the others ones to compare. Better to do them at the same place, same time.
Post your results : Phone model, Rom version, time to get the fix, number of satellite, précision, cloudy or clear sky.
Here are my results I did two days ago with 4 phones, cloudy sky :
- htc hero with cyanogen 6.1 => less than 1 minute fix, 9 satellites, precision 6 to 9 meters
- htc desire with stock sense => less than 1 minute fix, 9 satellites, precision 3 to 5 meters
- htc desire HD stock sense => 5 minute fix, 5 to 6 satelites, constantly loosing the fix. precision between 15 to 30 meters
- htc desire HD, cyano 7 RC2 (my phone) => 5 minute fix, 5 to 6 satelites, constantly loosing the fix. precision between 15 and 40 meters
Today, sunny day :
- Samsung galaxy S official froyo rom : 1 minute fix : 6 to 7 satellites, precision 10 to 15 meters.
- htc desire HD, cyano 7 RC2 (my phone) => 1 minute fix, 6 to 8 satelites, precision between 13 to 20 meters
Things are better than on a cloudy sky, but still far behind the hero or desire.

HTC desire HD
7 satalites,, error or 6m, but here the annoying thing!!!
in locations and google maps it places me about 1.4k away from where I actually am and the placement that it reads in those are the exact same that it's reading in GPS Status... so it's not an error of 6m it's an error of 1.4km!
i've restarted the phone and redone the factory settings tried with wifi/data/gps/ all it just doesn't seem to get a proper fix on me

DHD Running CM7 RC 2
Cloudy day: 10 satelites and error of 6m

Will try now and post it later.

Took about 20secs to get a fix:
-Sunny weather with some clouds
-Found 7 satelites
-error 9m
Position in google maps is perfect.
Using DesireHD, Android Revolution HD 3.1 with radio Radio_12.35d.60.140f_26.06.03.24_M2
Radio could be important to GPS fix i think.
greez

clouds5 said:
Using DesireHD, Android Revolution HD 3.1 with radio Radio_12.35d.60.140f_26.06.03.24_M2
Radio could be important to GPS fix i think.
greez
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, maybe.
Mine is the recommanded one in the radio thread : 12.28e.60.140fP_26.04.02.17_M2
My phone is radio S-OFF, can i upgrade it without loosing root ?

To upgrade the Radio you need ENG S-OFF.
you wont loose root when you upgrade the Radio.
but changing Radio doesnt necessarily mean that you'll get better results. It could also be worse afterwards and the process can brick your phone, although unlikely!

did it again and got the same error only this time had 6 satellites and after leaving it there for 3 min it finally locked onto where I actually am...then lost it a minute later and there are now clouds... any radio pack I can download? and how to do it? i probably fall into a middle east Africa radio pack as I'm South Africa

crazyst3ve said:
did it again and got the same error only this time had 6 satellites and after leaving it there for 3 min it finally locked onto where I actually am...then lost it a minute later and there are now clouds... any radio pack I can download? and how to do it? i probably fall into a middle east Africa radio pack as I'm South Africa
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, i'm wondering if GPS technology is not a little bit random. depending on the satellites position and other things. Sunday, i was on a park, clear sunny sky, light wind, no buildings, some trees. Couldn't get a proper fix.
2 days ago, i was getting a fix after waiting 5 minutes, then repeatedly loosing it for a short time. never more than 6 satellites and very poor précision.
Then this morning, sunny sky again, fix after 1 minute, 7 satellites, 15m precision, but not loosing the fix.
Now i upgraded the radio, but sky is cloudy again. 2 minutes to get a fix. precision 20m. 6 or 7 satelites. But when i let the phone alone on a table, it magically went to 9 satellites and 9m precision. Took the phone back in hands. the precision droped again to 15-20m and 7 satelites. Looks like the iphone antenna bug. Started to move the phone around me, the number of satellites droped again to 5. and so the précision. Seems very sensitive ! And doesn't seems any better with the new radio.
What is strange is that the Hero and the original desire have a much better precsion ! 9 satellite and 5m holding them in hand under a cloudy sky.
The good thing, is since i switched from my nexus one to the desire HD, i run 20% faster during my workouts

popopow said:
The good thing, is since i switched from my nexus one to the desire HD, i run 20% faster during my workouts
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ah that is a plus side and yeah I can't understand while previous phones are stable but not the DHD, even tho as far as I know the antenna in the DHD is the same as the desire...how do you mess up that :/

Sitting in my truck I get a fix in about 10 seconds. I get between 6 and 10 satellites with 2-4m precision.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App

Desire hd, Leedroid 2.2.2, radio 26.04.02.17_m2.
Fix in 20 sec from cold, 8m accuracy.
I had cm7 rc2 on here the other day and it was taking like five minutes to fix and google navigation lost fix in mid route about three times. Didn't take me long to restore my sense based nandroid.
Sent from my Desire HD pocket rocket.

I get a fix in some 15 seconds. It sees 9 satellites and gives an error of 6 metres.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App

I got a fix in 14 sec (warm fix, i missed it the first time)
with about 6 sats (was 9 at one point)
Cloudy day.
Error of about 14m. (was as low as 5 and as high as 30)

My Case-Mate Pop case is interfering with the GPS performance. Satellite locks take a significantly longer time to occur and the spread fluctuates from 10-40 meters. Satellite lock time and accuracy are much better without the case.
Anyone else having problems, try using your GPS without your case to see if it makes a difference.
Here's a video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=pVh96ffr6z0

Stock ROM
OUTDOOR: GPS Fix after 5/10 seconds, with the precision that arrives to 1/2 meters after a minute.
INDOOR: Hard to get a fix without clear and direct sight of the sky.

Desire hd
8/8 locked
Error 6m
Took about 30 seconds
This was done in my house not outside
Using ARHD 3.1, 1.3.8 buzz kernel, recommend radio, performance patch 3.1 and fasterfix from market its free
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App

Time to get a fix and accuracy is one problem I often get, which is annoying, but what I really don't understand is the way the phone looses the signal once it has a fix.
I've had various HTC devices over the years, all on WM until the DHD. ON my last phone for example (Touch Diamond 2) once you had a fix, it was rock solid. You could change apps or even have 2 different programs using the GPS and it wouldn't miss a beat. With the DHD it couldn't be more different.
For example, say I am in "Maps" and have a good fix and accurate position. I then search for a destination and select "Driving Directions". Google Navigator opens, and then starts searching for a GPS signal!!! It takes a while before it locks on and then works out the directions. Why does it do this!!?? If I then switch to another program, it does the same. So annoying! It's the same if I use GPS status to download AGPS info. I get a fix with GPS Status, but when I switch to another application the GPS signal is dropped and it takes a while to fix again.
STOCK ROM

ARHD 3.1 and reccommended radio.
Fix in less than 5 seconds.
8-11 satelites.
around 5m accuracy.
Couldnt get a GPS lock at all when roaming on my holidays.

LeeDrOiD v2.2.2 + Cingular radio (see sig for build number).
Fix in less than 5 seconds, accurate to around 20m then closes in to around 5m after a few seconds more. First time using GPS since moving from ARHD to LeeDrOiD so I'm quite impressed. Tested outside of course.

Related

HD2 GPS perfomance

Hi All,
At the moment i own a TP (a.k.a HTC Raphael), but i'm thinking about buying a new phone and the HD2 is one of the candidates. Before buying i would like to know if the GPS performance of the HD2 is up to scratch?
For some unknown reason reviews never (...hardly) include GPS tests.....WHY!!!??
The GPS performance of the TP even with the official HTC patches is still worthless. Waiting for a fix could take an hour (i'm NOT exaggerating).
pi_mento said:
Hi All,
At the moment i own a TP (a.k.a HTC Raphael), but i'm thinking about buying a new phone and the HD2 is one of the candidates. Before buying i would like to know if the GPS performance of the HD2 is up to scratch?
For some unknown reason reviews never (...hardly) include GPS tests.....WHY!!!??
The GPS performance of the TP even with the official HTC patches is still worthless. Waiting for a fix could take an hour (i'm NOT exaggerating).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i know what you are talking about, i had an TP before my HD2 too, and i have to say there is world of difference between them. with my tp i had to wait about 15 mins. with hd2 about 10 seconds.. even inside buildings i get a fix! with my tp i wouldnt even hoped for that.
so yeah its a LOT better
The HD2 is in a different GPS league from the TP, Diamond, etc. They were a disaster.
IOW it's much better IMO.
Works pretty good. I just enable QuickGPS when I flash a ROM and I never have any issues (never tried using GPS without that!)
I've an everage GPS fix in ~15sec.... It's brilliant! even from cold start!
Sometimes you get GPS even in very light buildings
GPS is awesome, simply awesome... outside get a fix in a few seconds with full sat coverage (all the columns show a satellite) inside it takes a few seconds longer and again full columns... there is barely any lag on the journy (icon vs real travel)...
GPS fix in 30 secs in Street Navi, 15 secs in Aviation software ...... great!
Also, 10-15 seconds, outside even less...
What I find amazing: Even in my living room, sitting about 1,5m away from the window, I get fix to 7-10 satellites within 20 seconds...
(Always with fresh QuickGPS data)
when i had a diamond i had no issues at all, the hd2 is a lot faster
I have never used GPS on a PDA before but have a dedicated (new) TomTom GPS unit and when I decided to try my HD2 I mounted them both in the car and ran tests.
Within 5 minutes my mind was made up. The TomTom was outperformed in all areas. The route recalculation is much much MUCH faster than the TomTom and the same applies for the aquisition of the GPS signal. Combine this with an awesome screen and it is perfect. I play music throught the headphone socket to my car stereo and run GPS at the same time. When a call comes in the music mutes and resumes when I hang up. The GPS unit runs in the background without any issue. The TomTom GPS unit is now in the cupboard collecting dust.
I have never used quick GPS as I have never had a need.
I agree, HD2 GPS works like a charm.
QuickGPS - what for!?
After reading the feedback in this thread, I suddenly remembered the QuickGPS. Last time I used it was two months ago, because... it was there to be used! Without QuickGPS I get a fix in my HD2 in around 5 seconds! I am not joking! Never felt the need to go for QuickGPS. BTW, went just now to Options and ticked "Download QuickGPS automatically". Why not!? I have Copilot 8 and love it. Just missing the QWERTY keyboard. Otherwise, there's no better combination in the world when it comes to portable phone-music-GPS-video-Internet-camera-etc, etc.
Wow! Thnx u guys for the feedback!
I can live with getting a fix within 30 sec's on a cold start (coming from an avrg. 15 mins for a fix). The HD2 seems to be the PDA/Phone that i have been waiting for since the dawn of Pocket PC 2002 .
HD2 here i come!
I've found the HD2 to actually get a GPS signal even inside my dad's car. no other gps device can get a signal through the windscreen. It's weak on the HD2, but there!!!
A bluetooth GPS stick cannot even penetrate it.
HD2 GPS is a joke!
I do not mind much if the GPS locks indoor, though HD2 does it very easily indeed (and fast). I find really bad is the very poor precision of HD2 GPS - it constantly gives a 20-40 meters error in all directions (no matter in the city or in open field, no matter how many sats are found, even 10). My old Samsung i780 has an error within 2 meters. Just record your path (on feet) with e.g. RunGPS or NaviComputer and you will see the the ugly zigzag line instead of a smooth one which I used to have with i780. Of course if you are not lucky to have HD2 with much better GPS than my..
(It is almost OK with TomTom car navigation, though, with occasional map rotating and recalculating the route).
GPS is very fast and precise here, definitely the best GPS signal out of all the WM phones I've owned
My GPS with iGO conects in about 10sec and its very precision. Corect in area of 3-4 meters
DMAND said:
GPS is very fast and precise here, definitely the best GPS signal out of all the WM phones I've owned
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is interesting, maybe your old Tmous radio (..50..) is doing a miracle. i have 2.09.51.03 radio, the previos 2.07.51 had the same bad GPS precision.
However, how do you know that it is precise? If I simply looking at a Google map standing still, I see pretty precise spot which my GPS gives, but once I begin to move, the position begis to jump 20-40 meters to all directions..
HD2's GPS really rocks! My old N95 took about 15 mins to fix.
yep fast here as well about 10 sec for a fix cold.

No change of my GPS settings but the GPS works for me since few days

I just would like to share what happened to me until now because I know that many people have troubles with the GPS.
When I was with Eclair, the GPS precision was under 50m but it didn't manage to fix satellites. It could see between 4 and 6 of them but it could rarely fix it. I even called Samsung Customer Service but they told me I needed the 3G to use my GPS otherwise it couldn't work... I changed the GPS settings of my phone as some tutorials showed, I also tried GPS optimisation and GPS Booster Lite but nothing worked and even after 20 or 30 min, it couldn't get the fixed satellites.
I used in my conditions : outdoor, indoor, in train, in car, by walking in several countries (France, Germany), with clear sky, cloudy, etc. But the resulst was the same : NO GPS. Even after more than 15 min of waiting...
Then I updated to Froyo last Monday. I tried my GPS again. The result was the same : 7 satellites but no fixed ones. (outdoor, in the train with hard rain).
BUT, on Wednesday night I tried (clear sky, in the city) and I even managed to get 10 satellites! After that i got 8 or 9 fixed satellites. I couldn't believe it. I changed nothing for the GPS settings of my phone. (The only difference I formated the phone on Monday night I installed all apps on Tuesday, I don't know if it has an impact or not...)
Then I tried in the train of the same day : 8 fixed satellites and they still get fixed. I try to restart my phone to check if it is still working after that, but it does. I tried in a car too and it worked. And even at my home but stuck to the window I could get 6 fixed satellites whereas even before I couldn't get any fixed ones...
I tried this morning in the train and it got 5 fixed satelllites in 10 or 15 min whereas the sky was not clear at all.
So now I understand nothing. During the train it didn't lose the fixed satellites, even when I went through several long tunnels, it could find me even so. Everytime the precision was under 15m. The mimimum I got was 5 m according to GPS status. I just hope it will keep on working like that.
The thing that I don't understand it is that for several months (I have the phone since July) it didn't work even if i changed the settings and even outdoor with a clear sky, but now it works even when it rains... Is it because I got Froyo recently ?
I am open to share my experience of GPS with you to know why it suddenly worked for me and if it suddenly works for some others of you.
PS : I have an unbranded Samsung Galaxy S (I9000) with Official Froyo 2.2 (JPA), no root, no custom rom, no lagfix.
PS2 : I checked my settings for the GPS and it is excatly the same as this post : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=842694. All except the accuracy which is 50 for my phone, instead of 30 in the post. I think it is since the Froyo update. They changed the GPS settings. Before it was not that.
You droped it?
But great that its finally working as it should for you!
compuse said:
You droped it?
But great that its finally working as it should for you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No i didn't. Maybe my phone is starting to work well or is getting more mature

[Q] Would you like to help me fixing the GPS?

Hi all, i'm dealing with HD2 android nand installation since 3 days.
I've been able to have everything working like a charm except the gps... that damn thing doesn't want to work in any way.
It works correctly in winmo6.5, i tried copilot and the internal gps tool started seeing satellites each by each to end getting a fix in around 1 minute. Absolutely acceptable!
Android is a whole different story.
Gingerbread:
MDJs 2.5/2.6 it doesn't work. Tried changing libs manually, renaming, chmodding, fasterfix, changing the radios 3 times (2.15/2.14/2.12).. no way!
Froyo:
Installed a CleanDroid rom (basically a CM6.1 clean build), launched gps status and no go... wait! linked! from 0 to 6 satellites linked! is that normal?
Well, i was happy anyway... finished congifuring the rom, went out, tried again with Gmaps... searching... 5 minutes... 10 minutes... gps status says no signal.
Reboot, gps status, no signal.
Powered off the gps then on again, gps status fix in 1 minute (again, from zero to 6 satellites suddenly). Then i'm trying again now and it still acts strangely.
No go for 15 minutes, then it fixed (7 sats). Exit from GPS status, waiting 3 seconds, opening it again, 15 minutes, no fix... same exact position!
It's, in a single word, frustrating.
Currently i'm on Cleandroid Froyo rom, radio 2.15.50.04 (it came with stock HTC WM6 rom), magldr 1.2. All roms installed through CWM.
Any hint that could help me solving the only problem i get with this puppy?
Cheers.
Edit: forgot to say that i don't know if AGPS date are working correctly in GPS status, every time i try to download them it says "AGSP data will be downloaded as soon as there will be internet connection" (or something like that). It goes by it self that internet connection is alway up and running (3G or WIFI).
Updates: tried with miui and desire rom, same behaviour.
Reinstalled WINMO6.5 and tried a littlebit, it gets a fix in 1 to 2 minutes but i can see the satellites in the tool. After fix it keeps the connection.
Anyone of you can please let me know how is GPS status acting on your HD2s?
I've a nexus one too and GPS status starts showing stallites slowly, one by one untill it get a fix. The few times i got a fix on the HD2 it was suddenly, no satellites where showing before. Is it acting the same on your HD2s? I'm becmoing mad 'casue by the blueprints both HD2 and Nexus should have the same chipsets and the nexus is really really fast in getting the signal (with or without agps).
Another thing, since my HD2 is brand new (it came back from HTC for repair the 4th of jan) may it use a different GPS module? Is there any way i can check it?
Cheers.
Works fine with me,
MDJ 2.5 CM7
2.12.50 Radio
Fasterfix set to Netherlands. AGPS downloaded via GPS-Status.
Get a pretty quick fix, about 2 minutes.
Didn't change any lib, since it should work out of the box with MDJ 2.5.
Also, the first time a fix will take some time longer, so just wait till you get a fix.
Eelkede said:
Works fine with me,
MDJ 2.5 CM7
2.12.50 Radio
Fasterfix set to Netherlands. AGPS downloaded via GPS-Status.
Get a pretty quick fix, about 2 minutes.
Didn't change any lib, since it should work out of the box with MDJ 2.5.
Also, the first time a fix will take some time longer, so just wait till you get a fix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks but i already waited very long... 15 minutes on a balcony in the middle of an open street is too much, i didn't get a single satellite showing in this time!
The nexus gets the signal in 2 minutes without AGPS and after erasing GPS data. It also starts showing satellites after 15 seconds at worst.
The 2 uses the same rom (cm6.1 froyo) and same tools, tests were made side by side.
By the way, could you please help with my other question? Does your GPS status show satellites slowly or suddenly?
Thanks.
I have no problem with 2 hd2s, 1 running mdj 2.6 and 1 is running desire hd.
Sent from my HD2 Droid HD using XDA App
There is definitley a problem with the GPS, I have pretty much the same experience as the OP, sometimes it fixes sometimes it doesn't. When it does fix it suddenly has 6-8 satellites after finding 0 for 10 minutes.
Also some other guys reported this behaviour, it doesn't show anything untill it gets a fix. I think this is due to libgps which is probably still in development.
At least i hope! Today i gave it another try, went out in the middle of nowhere and had a 15 minute walk in around 30sqmt with gps status open and leo on my hands.
No fix...
Hope some developer may look at this and help me out understand what's wrong with my unit. Also logs say everything is working correctly... but it doesn't.
Did you try to reflash the ROM?
Also I get a pretty sudden fix of satellites, it will scan, and suddenly comes up with 5 fixed satellites of 8, it was also pretty quick this time. Less than 1 minute!
i flashed like 10 roms, some of them twice...
Some good news! It seems that using WINMO + SD Rom it works every time, it's just someway slow in locking the position and it doesn't matter if i just got lock or not.
Used Cope's gingerbread rom, first got fix with winmo, then with phone in the same position switched to andorid ad got a lock in around 5 minutes with GPS status, then i switched to Maps and got another lock in around 2 minutes. Not exactly fast but it's working at least! I don't know if it will become better with usage, i'll keep you updated.
In the meantime who was stuck as i was could give it a try.
Cheers.

[Q] GPS

Hey everyone. Last week I got the MT4G. I noticed that my GPS is acting funny. I am able to get a lock on to satellites on Google Map but it has the blue circle around my location and says approximately 20 meters (on average tho I can get 10m to 60m). I am using GPS Test (by chartcross limited) from the app store which has a section that shows the GPS's accuracy in feet. Both the GPS Test and Google Maps show the best my MT4G's gps is up to 20 meter(google)/feet(gps test). This is with 6-9 satellites. I live in NYC and my HTC TyTN II worked fine (which just got stolen after many years). It was able to locate me without any blue circle or approximation.
Can someone confirm that the GPS get around 20 feet/meter on Google Map. Maybe someone can download GPS Test and share there results. I need to know if the GPS is defected so I can replace the phone before the return period ends.
PS: I originally rooted it. Then used CM7 for a day. Tried to restore back to stock using clockwork mod 3 but that failed multiple times (i had 2 backups both failed) so I restored it using Football's Glacier_TMOUS (ROM). So I'm back to stock, not rooted (as of now). -This GPS issue exisited when I got the phone, after root, after CM7 and still exist. I know others have reported a similar issue, but I dont know what to do. (i am lucky to have the good screen, and really dont want to have to return it and gamble for a good gps and a good screen).
Many Thanks in Advance.
as long as the ring is small your fine. GPS isnt exactly accurate down to the last foot or inches. honestly i think anything within the 5-25ft range is pretty normal.

GPS reception

Sorry if this has been covered, search aint working just now.
Indoors, I put my Hero next to my girlfriend's X10 mini and opened GPS status on both phones. Within a few seconds, her phone had found and locked on to a satellite. A few seconds later, she had 6 satellites in view and a pretty accurate GPS lock. Several minutes later, my Hero could still see no satellites at all.
Why is my GPS reception so sh*t compared to hers? If I'm outdoors I have no problems at all but it seems pretty lame to have that much of a difference between our 2 devices. I've downloaded and installed GPS fixes to no avail. Does the Hero just have a crappy receiver? Is there a radio you can recommend to fix this?
I've always had issues with the Hero indoors.. even next to windows! I've tried a number of different radios with no luck. I'll just chalk it up to the x10 being a newer device.

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