Database Users

Can I damage GPS with long time usage?

Hi guys and gals,
I'm considering to use my hd2 on bike using gps as a tracking device, speedometer and of course for navigation. I would be constantly charging it from dynamo.
The question is, can a lengthy usage, let's say 6 hours long damage the gps unit. How about display, can it somehow "burn out" after some longer time?
Thanks.

No, though I personally would buy a device made for that. Garmin and Tomtom make one specifically for outdoor use.

+1
If you gonna use it "professional" use "real" GPS.
Its the same with camera and professional fotographing

Yeah, I know that. But I'm considering using HD2 because i will have it with me anyway, so I'm trying to cut down on weight everywhere possible.
So, I'm aware of better going with dedicated device, but I'm considering all options.

i think the gps chip in the hd2 is pretty awesome, and it is made for getting gps connections also gps is a very low-energy and passive system so i would not be scared about damage... it's made for using it. i've used the gps a damn lot on my old raphael and it never seemed to get any "worse" or something...
greetz

Great, thanks for the answer. I was a bit worried because using gps seems to make some heat, so I thought that gps is doing some hard job which could damage it after longer usage
Are current displays in HD2 like devices durable enough? For example, will they be alright for 2 years when I will often use it with display always on?

ulukai3 said:
Great, thanks for the answer. I was a bit worried because using gps seems to make some heat, so I thought that gps is doing some hard job which could damage it after longer usage
Are current displays in HD2 like devices durable enough? For example, will they be alright for 2 years when I will often use it with display always on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No person in their right mind would pay close to $600 for a device that works only 24 months.

Well you know, it's a bit different when you use it as phone and all around device compared to using it 6 hours with display always on. Ok, maybe it's not different, but that's why I'm asking.

That you cant know ever for sure. It can last for 6 years...or 6 hours. But it should be all ok no matter what... After all, you have a varanty

Smartmob said:
That you cant know ever for sure. It can last for 6 years...or 6 hours. But it should be all ok no matter what... After all, you have a varanty
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wtf is a varanty?
naa im kiding you lol
Good point though. The only thing I'd be worried about is it raining on me phone

You stand much more chance of damaging the phone through vibration / dodgy charger adapter.......You say "Dynamo" so I'm assuming some old oil dripping "riveter "

Im using my HD 2 as a data collector and have it running with GPS, Mapping and Data collection software for up to 4-6 hours a day (with spare batteries)
proberly running around 60-100 hours a month. Being doing it for around 4 months now with no problems.
The GPS is equall to or better then comparable commercial GPS units.
In fact I replaced a Trimble Nomad with the HD 2 as the HD 2 GPS is better
and the HD 2 easier and faster to operate

No. Have had the GPS on for a whole charge on my HD2. No issues there. GPS signal reception in the device is very good.

The display is the problem. It's almost useless outside. Get device especially made for that.
Outdoor GPS or specialized cycle GPS will last a day on batteries, will be very robust, will be partially waterproof. All that can be 'applied' to HD2, with some effort. But most importantly, such device will have trans-reflective display which is much better readable outside, and backlight can be turned off, which increases battery life even more.

forest.ranger said:
Im using my HD 2 as a data collector and have it running with GPS, Mapping and Data collection software for up to 4-6 hours a day (with spare batteries)
proberly running around 60-100 hours a month. Being doing it for around 4 months now with no problems.
The GPS is equall to or better then comparable commercial GPS units.
In fact I replaced a Trimble Nomad with the HD 2 as the HD 2 GPS is better
and the HD 2 easier and faster to operate
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would you mind to elaborate on the battery life on continuous GPS tracking? I also have a total of 4 batteries, the original + 3 HK oems that costed a real deal and pack some energy in them no matter what. But I never tested it for long time tasks like GPS for example

When I'm data collecting I turn off sense and phone & data functions.
Using the internal GPS, OziExplorer and Data Collection software we usually get 3-4 hours continuous use from a standard battery.Even on a long day Ive never used more then 2 batteries.
We used to run IPAQ hx4700 units and blue tooth GPS, and the HD 2 standard battery use compares favorably if not slightly better then these units, probably due to not having to use the blue tooth gps on the HD 2.
We have ordered both the HD 2 and the Mugan extended batteries which we expect will give us hopefully all day usage on a single battery.
As we are using the HD 2,s in the New Zealand Bush we have them in the Otterbox 1900, totally waterproof and works perfectly through the protective screen.

Forgot to mention that I have the back light on full, my eyes are not what they used to be and I find it helps in direct sunlight.
However the HD 2 screen is much easier to read in direct sunlight then the hx4700 and the trimble nomad one of the many reasons we like using them.

I don't know if the GPS unit can damage, but in my Nokia 6110 Navigator it was damaged after some time, I think it was less than 1 year, cause I had warranty left for it and they have sent me a new phone. The couldn't repair it unfortunately, so well it's possible the GPS unit damages (I used the GPS 5 hours a week I think)

zdrux said:
No person in their right mind would pay close to $600 for a device that works only 24 months.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lemme fix that for you... Who buys a device lile the HD2 and actually keeps it more than 2 years?
No problem with gps, and with the LCD screen. I wouldn't say the same with the OLED ones that start to come out.
You mention powering with dynamo... don't forget to regulate to 5v, I'd also advise an external battery buffer.

forest.ranger said:
When I'm data collecting I turn off sense and phone & data functions.
Using the internal GPS, OziExplorer and Data Collection software we usually get 3-4 hours continuous use from a standard battery.Even on a long day Ive never used more then 2 batteries.
We used to run IPAQ hx4700 units and blue tooth GPS, and the HD 2 standard battery use compares favorably if not slightly better then these units, probably due to not having to use the blue tooth gps on the HD 2.
We have ordered both the HD 2 and the Mugan extended batteries which we expect will give us hopefully all day usage on a single battery.
As we are using the HD 2,s in the New Zealand Bush we have them in the Otterbox 1900, totally waterproof and works perfectly through the protective screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
forest.ranger said:
Forgot to mention that I have the back light on full, my eyes are not what they used to be and I find it helps in direct sunlight.
However the HD 2 screen is much easier to read in direct sunlight then the hx4700 and the trimble nomad one of the many reasons we like using them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sounds awesome, with backlight at 100%, considering the phone radio in stanby doesn't drain that much anyway so disabling it shouldn't increase battery life that much.

Thoughts on YOUR Atrix?

Delete.

i'm very happy with the phone. the only caveat i really have (which a lot of people don't seem to have) is battery life. i get about 13-14 hours with 3-4 hours of display-on time, while others have been reporting double that.
as far as motoblur is concerned, if you just get another launcher and use Titanium Backup Pro to freeze motoblur Home and other services, then you won't even have to think about it.

rdubyah said:
I should be receiving my Atrix for AT&T tomorrow, this will be a HUGGGGGGEEEEEE upgrade from my measly HTC Hero (Sprint CDMA) that I have modified to the ends of the Earth. I'm in need of more power and amazed at the stuff you can do with the Atrix.
My question to you all, has this phone met or surpassed your expectations? Did it fail to achieve those expectations? Tell me what you think of this phone, I have been reading so many reviews about the phone I feel like I know all technological aspects about the phone as well, haha.
How fast were you to get rid of MotoBlur?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I can speak for a lot of people in saying that, as far as the Atrix goes, I am in love with the "potential" this phone has. But as far as meeting those expectations, well, that's something to be debated. There are areas where the dual core shines and other areas it seems it is not harnessing the full power. Then couple that with AT&T's network restrictions and Motorola's lockdown on the device, I'm going to have to say that I am disappointed in the Atrix as of now. That could change if there is a break through in the bootloader or if AT&T gets its act together and starts offering the "High speeds" we were promised. Only problem is though, my 30 days is almost up and I don't know if I can hold onto the phone in hopes of "potential".

Coming from a captivate I love this phone...everything works includi.g the gps. Most of motoblur is gone on my phone. The phone is amazingly fast but does have an occasional hiccup. An unlocked bootloader would turn this into the best available android phone but its one of the top
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

live4nyy said:
...Only problem is though, my 30 days is almost up and I don't know if I can hold onto the phone in hopes of "potential".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in the same boat. In terms of hardware, this phone is a beast. I can even live with the screen quality and the terrible camera. But software side, I am really hoping to see a unlocked bootloader or I might be very tempted to take this phone back...

bleuiko said:
I'm in the same boat. In terms of hardware, this phone is a beast. I can even live with the screen quality and the terrible camera. But software side, I am really hoping to see a unlocked bootloader or I might be very tempted to take this phone back...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I'm high up on the fence because if I do return it I am going to switch carriers as well.

I'm really enjoying it... coming from a Tilt2, it's a major upgrade. Straight out of the box, it's very enjoyable... I'm not dissapointed at all.. it's only going to get better once they get this beast unleashed
Camera is quick and decent.
GPS is amazingly fast...
Browser is snappy and loads everything great
WiFi is a little weak...
and I actually like the screen.. It's not best screen ever made, but it's actually a very nice display.
I was getting terrible battery life, but somehow a hard-reset solved that problem, and i'm able to get more than a day of heavy use no problem.
Just picked up a second one for the wife (coming from an iphone 3g) and she's really enjoying it a lot as well

I like the Atrix. I upgraded from an iPhone 3G. I realize that it's not the best it can be as far as unlocking right now, but it is better than what I had. I only wish I could afford the webtop dock right now for times I'm on the road. Nothing a netbook couldn't fix though.

as far as the battery, it really has to do with what you're doing. I've seen mine go 39 hours over a weekend with normal use, or 16 hours when i'm streaming pandora constantly at work. My building for work also isn't great for signal, so the phone is constantly working for signal, which uses battery.
The other day i did ~5 hours of pandora at work, then fired up the GPS, which was on for ~1.5 hours guiding me, screen on, not plugged in. few phone calls and web use and it was almost dead after 15 hours.
This phone is miles better than the aria i had before it, and it will only get better as more things are updated to take advantage of the tegra 2 platform. Won't matter if this phone gets cracked or not, it will get better and better for a while either way.

cegna09 said:
as far as the battery, it really has to do with what you're doing. I've seen mine go 39 hours over a weekend with normal use, or 16 hours when i'm streaming pandora constantly at work. My building for work also isn't great for signal, so the phone is constantly working for signal, which uses battery.
The other day i did ~5 hours of pandora at work, then fired up the GPS, which was on for ~1.5 hours guiding me, screen on, not plugged in. few phone calls and web use and it was almost dead after 15 hours.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow... 39 hours. I get about 17 hours of use from it, which is much better than any other smartphones I've ever used so I'm happy... but I can't imagine hitting that number. I do have bluetooth and wifi on all the time.

I like my Atrix, the only problems i see is that the webtop is very limited, but some people over the developer section are working on that, and also the speeds which since T-Mobile was bought it definitely will become faster alongside with HSPA+ and LTE being utilized together. It has lots of potential to run REALLY great, but this is the first phone of its kind, it'll always have problems in the beginning.

bleuiko said:
Wow... 39 hours. I get about 17 hours of use from it, which is much better than any other smartphones I've ever used so I'm happy... but I can't imagine hitting that number. I do have bluetooth and wifi on all the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and that cuts the battery way down. powering all the radios is a large power drain. I never turn on a radio i don't need, so 90% of the time wifi, bluetooth, gps, etc are off. Mobile data is always on, and i i never try and tell it to revert to 2g.

cegna09 said:
as far as the battery, it really has to do with what you're doing. I've seen mine go 39 hours over a weekend with normal use, or 16 hours when i'm streaming pandora constantly at work. My building for work also isn't great for signal, so the phone is constantly working for signal, which uses battery.
The other day i did ~5 hours of pandora at work, then fired up the GPS, which was on for ~1.5 hours guiding me, screen on, not plugged in. few phone calls and web use and it was almost dead after 15 hours.
This phone is miles better than the aria i had before it, and it will only get better as more things are updated to take advantage of the tegra 2 platform. Won't matter if this phone gets cracked or not, it will get better and better for a while either way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
see... i wish i had that same kind of success.

It's always hard to determine battery life from these posts because people's definition of "moderate" and "heavy" usage differ a lot. This is why it would be nice if the phone had gingerbread where the battery plot actually shows the wake time, wifi time, signal strenth, display on, etc. so people could quote their results rather than just guestimating. The best way to tell is really just display on time since that's pretty much the biggest draw.
Based on my limited testing I can get about 4-5 hours of display on time with auto brightness. The absolute best I could squeeze out of my nexus S is almost 4 hours which is to be expected since it's 1930mah vs. 1500mah. I MIGHT do some battery drain tests before I return the Atrix but I'm not sure... those take time. I know the Nexus S can go about 7-8 hours playing a video while in airplane mode so I'm wondering what the Atrix could achieve.

dinan said:
It's always hard to determine battery life from these posts because people's definition of "moderate" and "heavy" usage differ a lot. This is why it would be nice if the phone had gingerbread where the battery plot actually shows the wake time, wifi time, signal strenth, display on, etc. so people could quote their results rather than just guestimating. The best way to tell is really just display on time since that's pretty much the biggest draw.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We do have all those indicators in the Battery manager. I average about 13-14 hours with 3-4 hours of display, unless i'm doing something like streaming March Madness via flash, then it drops to like 7 hours with 2-3 hours of display.

Love it.
Honestly out of all the phones i've had this is the main one.
Screen great looking.
Speed is unreal and I mean like lightening fast :O
The games and apps that work just look and run crazy good!
Camera imo is great not going to replace main cameras but great for stills and videos, would be nice to see the 1080p recording update out soon though
Motoblur stuff which I like :O lol can be frozen and a custom launcher introduced without you even thinking about the motoblur lag.
Battery life is very good I can get a whole day at college 8:30 until 6 heavy usage and still get home with 30-40% left which is great to me
Fingerprint reader is also a great little feature that gets yours friends a little jealous lol
Only thing I don't like is the battery door creaks, I know its nothing major but its just a little annoyance other than that the build quality is great very sleek device!

I'm really bored with my Atrix there's no developement community. You can't do **** with a locked bootloader. Even the iphone is more open than this pos. It's going back tommorrow **** motorola.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

@ Exador... Amen brother!!!!
Sent From My Atrix Using Tapatalk

I'm a firm believer in the "garbage in, garbage out" philosophy. Yes this phone has one or two legitimate issues (touch screen acting up after x seconds continuous touch), but for the most part is good. How many apps do you have installed? How many do you actually use? Every month i clean out my phone of apps that haven't been used in a couple weeks. I usually see a little bump in battery life each time since less apps are itching to use the data connection or other resources.
how many widgets are you running? I don't really notice it on the Atrix, but on my aria when i had 5 home screens riddled with widgets, it was laggy and slow. Drop it down to 2 screens with a simple setup, and it was snappy.
My point is, most of the time, little issues are probably user generated. I see it all the time with computers. But it's way easier to blame the hardware and software than look for the cause of your problem. again, i'm not down playing the few legitimate issues.
next time i pull a 39hour run i'll post specifics of what i was using it for in the battery thread.

I'm very happy with mine. I don't have much of a desire to put a custom ROM on, so the locked bootloader isn't an issue. The speed of this device is just levels beyond my Nexus One. I can't remember a time so far where I've had any lag. Plus, I don't have to worry about app space the way I did with the N1.

User tip: Don't accidentally leave Google Sky Map on while you sleep.

Well I somehow rolled over my phone in bed while the screen was unlocked and turned on Google Sky Map. A couple hours later I awoke and checked the time on my X10. It was the hottest it's ever gotten. I exited Google Sky Map and turned off the screen and moved the phone to a cool spot.
Checked the historical temperature using Juiceplotter. It got up to 60°C. Averaged 56°C for the 2.5 hours. That is troubling.

Silly22 said:
Well I somehow rolled over my phone in bed while the screen was unlocked and turned on Google Sky Map. A couple hours later I awoke and checked the time on my X10. It was the hottest it's ever gotten. I exited Google Sky Map and turned off the screen and moved the phone to a cool spot.
Checked the historical temperature using Juiceplotter. It got up to 60°C. Averaged 56°C for the 2.5 hours. That is troubling.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a useful tip, although not many people intentionally would leave Google Sky Map on while they're sleeping.
On a related matter, when the phone or any other similar gadget gets hot DON'T try to force it to cool down using blow-dryers or placing it in the fridge etc... It will do more harm than good. Better leave it where it was, switch it off for 10 minutes and let the CPU calm down on its own.
The motherboard will thank you!
Xperia X10i via Tapatalk

Lol, I've ran it really hot as well. Never with google sky though.
I mounted it on my windshield during the day, used it as a GPS, and streamed pandora for an hour or two at the same time. HOT.
At least we're not alone. Same thing with the Nexus One, HD2-Android, original Droid, etc. All those with a first gen snapdragon.
Thanks for the tip My_Immortal. I usually let it cool down if it gets too hot. But if I was in a rush... would probably had tried to actively cool it down, haha.

Lol the arc gets hot by itself sometimes in my pocket

My_Immortal said:
That's a useful tip, although not many people intentionally would leave Google Sky Map on while they're sleeping.
On a related matter, when the phone or any other similar gadget gets hot DON'T try to force it to cool down using blow-dryers or placing it in the fridge etc... It will do more harm than good. Better leave it where it was, switch it off for 10 minutes and let the CPU calm down on its own.
The motherboard will thank you!
Xperia X10i via Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think Google Sky Map overrides the auto screen shut off and kept the a-GPS going the whole time and that's why the temp. kept rising.
Yeah, when I turned it off I just moved it to another cooler part of the bed. Think I would have done more damage by throwing it in the fridge. I wonder if there is some sort of temperature threshold where android or the phone will turn itself off regardless of what's running.

Silly22 said:
I think Google Sky Map overrides the auto screen shut off and kept the a-GPS going the whole time and that's why the temp. kept rising.
Yeah, when I turned it off I just moved it to another cooler part of the bed. Think I would have done more damage by throwing it in the fridge. I wonder if there is some sort of temperature threshold where android or the phone will turn itself off regardless of what's running.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, Google Sky Maps uses GPS, accelerometer, compass, keeps screen on...
Very stressful to the CPU! Luckily it only makes sense to use it outside at night, which mostly means in lower temperatures!
I had an overheating incident once while using xRecovery.
The phone was making a nandroid backup and I fell asleep during,
when I woke up 5 hours later, the backup was finished of course,
the screen was on (it never goes off in xRec) and the battery was so HOT I could barely touch it!!!

My_Immortal said:
Yes, Google Sky Maps uses GPS, accelerometer, compass, keeps screen on...
Very stressful to the CPU! Luckily it only makes sense to use it outside at night, which mostly means in lower temperatures!
I had an overheating incident once while using xRecovery.
The phone was making a nandroid backup and I fell asleep during,
when I woke up 5 hours later, the backup was finished of course,
the screen was on (it never goes off in xRec) and the battery was so HOT I could barely touch it!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, did your battery not drain to 0%? xRecovery drains battery for me :O. When I was on school I was making a nandroid backup for installing straight after school CM7. But after the break I forgot to get out of xRecovery and phone was on for 50 minutes. Battery drained from 80% - 15%... Really awfull that you can't turn of screen ...

I don't think heat is a big problem. I use my x10 in my car as the navigation. When the sun hits front window it usually gets more than 50deg C on hot day. So far everything is ok.

Silly22 said:
Well I somehow rolled over my phone in bed while the screen was unlocked and turned on Google Sky Map. A couple hours later I awoke and checked the time on my X10. It was the hottest it's ever gotten. I exited Google Sky Map and turned off the screen and moved the phone to a cool spot.
Checked the historical temperature using Juiceplotter. It got up to 60°C. Averaged 56°C for the 2.5 hours. That is troubling.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's a good tip...
another good tip is to not sleep beside your phone. Also don't shower with it, or take it out on a date... It'll always make you pay

HouseM said:
I don't think heat is a big problem. I use my x10 in my car as the navigation. When the sun hits front window it usually gets more than 50deg C on hot day. So far everything is ok.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
According to the manual it's not.
Check the link in my signature about the radio and battery drain.

pngface said:
Lol the arc gets hot by itself sometimes in my pocket
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe you should disable searching automatically for a network. Because when you travel it searches for other networks and stuff that cause your phone to be hot and drain battery. Using another baseband could also fix it, but I that's not available yet for the Arc I think. So try locking it on one network.

OmegaRED^ said:
According to the manual it's not.
Check the link in my signature about the radio and battery drain.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have read your post. I'm sure is a lot of truth in it. But there is not much you can do about sun heating your phone while using navi in car. I place my device near AC wents but still temperature is high.
Anyway there is 2 years warranty so if the phone will break because of that I'll just replace it.

HouseM said:
I have read your post. I'm sure is a lot of truth in it. But there is not much you can do about sun heating your phone while using navi in car. I place my device near AC wents but still temperature is high.
Anyway there is 2 years warranty so if the phone will break because of that I'll just replace it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only if SE lets you. "trust me when i say this"

other apps i also found this problem,:-
1. google maps, if left for more than 1 hour during navigation,
2. paradise island (that realy makes the phone like a furnace 62c

viper619 said:
other apps i also found this problem,:-
1. google maps, if left for more than 1 hour during navigation,
2. paradise island (that realy makes the phone like a furnace 62c
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude any app that uses the internet a lot or is a bit heavy on the cpu = a lot of heat.
It's a flaw in the radio or it's software "one SE loves" cuz eventually all our phones will melt.
"planned obsolesce"

It's a flaw in the radio or it's software "one SE loves" cuz eventually all our phones will melt.
"planned obsolesce" [/QUOTE]
true :d they realy love busting our pockets for thier new phones. btw even if u used google maps without data connection, it does over heat the phone, maybe its a flaw in my phone or something.
cheers

OmegaRED^ said:
Dude any app that uses the internet a lot or is a bit heavy on the cpu = a lot of heat.
It's a flaw in the radio or it's software "one SE loves" cuz eventually all our phones will melt.
"planned obsolesce"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really a flaw in just the X10. While it's true that the radio on the X10 can be very power hungry, the new basebands regulate it better. The issue has to do with the chipset.
ALL first generation snapdragons have the same issue. They ALL emit a ton of heat when cpu and peripheral chips undergo heavy activity. You'll find the same issues in other forums with the Nexus One, HTC HD2 (running Android), HTC Desire, original Droid, etc.
Not really planned obsolescence when it was the best chipset available at the time. Newer chipsets are going to be (and so far have been) better.

totalundone said:
Not really a flaw in just the X10. While it's true that the radio on the X10 can be very power hungry, the new basebands regulate it better. The issue has to do with the chipset.
ALL first generation snapdragons have the same issue. They ALL emit a ton of heat when cpu and peripheral chips undergo heavy activity. You'll find the same issues in other forums with the Nexus One, HTC HD2 (running Android), HTC Desire, original Droid, etc.
Not really planned obsolescence when it was the best chipset available at the time. Newer chipsets are going to be (and so far have been) better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At the price of $1250 i expected more from the device.
I also expected the device that works as a smart phone.
My mistake.. it's just a normal phone.

OmegaRED^ said:
At the price of $1250 i expected more from the device.
I also expected the device that works as a smart phone.
My mistake.. it's just a normal phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you paid $1250 for an X10, you've been conned heavily!

My_Immortal said:
If you paid $1250 for an X10, you've been conned heavily!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what phones cost in our country.
I bought it when the device just hit the market here.
Well my uncle paid for half of it as a present.
But still a lot of money.

[Q] GPS - SGSII Vs. iPhone4

Hi,I read this review:http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_sensation_vs_galaxy_sii_vs_optimus_2x-review-608.php
I have HTC HD2.
I want to buy SGSII but I worry about the GPS on SGSII.
I mean to lock time and sensitivity tests.
I did a comparison with iPhone 4,and iPhone defeat my HD2 at lock time test.
Does SGSII have a better GPS receiver ?
Thanks.

ayosopov said:
Hi,I read this review:http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_sensation_vs_galaxy_sii_vs_optimus_2x-review-608.php
I have HTC HD2.
I want to buy SGSII but I worry about the GPS on SGSII.
I mean to lock time and sensitivity tests.
I did a comparison with iPhone 4,and iPhone defeat my HD2 at lock time test.
Does SGSII have a better GPS receiver ?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi There,
not sure about the GPS hardware in the SGS2 but i have had an iPhone 4 and also a Desire HD, IMO i think the SGS2 is much quicker and more reliable at getting a lock, when im outside it takes less than 10secs to get an Exact lock. took a lot longer on DHD and iPhone 4
hope this helps !
P.S. SGSII is an amazing phone, best one out at the moment get it !

Are you running android on your HD2? A-GPS isn't properly working on the HD2 with android yet (see tytung's thread in the HD2 section) so the iphone would be faster.
I came from the HD2 to the SGS2 and the GPS seems to be great so far. Lock from cold in >10s and error is around 5m.
Watch out though, when I got my SGS2 the gps.conf file was set to north-america rather than uk (where I am). That'll make a difference to lock time.

I noticed that gps won't fix without a-gps, am i the only one?

Razer(x) said:
I noticed that gps won't fix without a-gps, am i the only one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine usually locks within 10-12 seconds outdoors/ clear sky even without AGPS.
However sometimes it will fail to lock even though GPS app show 5-7 satellites in view. If I then switch on a-gps it will get a lock most of the times.
However even with AGPS on, it has failed to lock on 3-4 occasions (~2 months usage)! After trying for over 5 minutes, I rebooted the phone and all was fine and dandy!

Just tried mine, it took 29 seconds with a-gps disabled, no wifi help or anything.

Tested cold boot a few roms ago .
Cold boot 4mins and 8 sats with 45 feet .No Wifi No Mobile Towers .
Subsequent lock on are lightning fast .
Only tool used is to change gps.conf to a local time server via faster fix .
Tests using my tracks show much better than SGS1 .
jje

dave_t321 said:
Are you running android on your HD2? A-GPS isn't properly working on the HD2 with android yet (see tytung's thread in the HD2 section) so the iphone would be faster.
I came from the HD2 to the SGS2 and the GPS seems to be great so far. Lock from cold in >10s and error is around 5m.
Watch out though, when I got my SGS2 the gps.conf file was set to north-america rather than uk (where I am). That'll make a difference to lock time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you mean to this theard:http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1100114&highlight=GPS
Does update KE7 really fix the GPS problem?

Does update KE7 really fix the GPS problem?
No as no specific GPS problem on this phone .
jje

Ive used the gps on this phone half a dozen times with Google maps and every time is locked in under 5 seconds. Accurate to 10 meters.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

People might believe this after the SGS effort but the GPS works ok. It kills the battery at about 1 percent a minute and turns the thing into a nice heater, which will come in handy in the winter, so it's a shame its the summer. At least it works and is a step in the right direction. YAY.

Just a quick note: SGS2 has a beast GPS. It locks in less than 10 seconds outside.

The gps on this phone locks in 6 seconds when I'm inside a building. No BS. Using google maps.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

diehard2222 said:
The gps on this phone locks in 6 seconds when I'm inside a building. No BS. Using google maps.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With a-gps maybe..

parker7 said:
People might believe this after the SGS effort but the GPS works ok. It kills the battery at about 1 percent a minute
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Click to collapse
That's better than the nexus one
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium App

Mine work perfectly. I live in a village and have a very bad gsm signal with no 3G. In AirPlane mod and with A-GPS it's normaly starts in 10-20 seconds. Sometimes at home near window it takes 30-50 seconds.

Razer(x) said:
With a-gps maybe..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huh?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

So wich phone will give more reliable latitude/longitude values?
Thanks.

diehard2222 said:
Huh?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With data connection the fix is very fast, without it can take 4-5 min

parker7 said:
People might believe this after the SGS effort but the GPS works ok. It kills the battery at about 1 percent a minute and turns the thing into a nice heater, which will come in handy in the winter, so it's a shame its the summer. At least it works and is a step in the right direction. YAY.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine locks in under 20sec....and certainly does not drain the battery at 1% per min....I lost about 25% battery after 1hr10 mins today.
I am on Cognition Rom, so not sure if that makes a difference.

GPS fix takes forever

When I place the Note 3 in the windowsill, it takes minutes to get a fix. Lift it up and hold it to the window, it takes 30-60 seconds. 3-4 meters from the window, in the sofa? Forget about it. It is as if the a-gps isn't active and a fix has to be established the old fashioned way.
All localization options are turned on. I have tried a clean setup, but no difference. Never had this problem with my Note 2. Do I have bad hardware, or have I missed something?

sbcdk said:
When I place the Note 3 in the windowsill, it takes minutes to get a fix. Lift it up and hold it to the window, it takes 30-60 seconds. 3-4 meters from the window, in the sofa? Forget about it. It is as if the a-gps isn't active and a fix has to be established the old fashioned way.
All localization options are turned on. I have tried a clean setup, but no difference. Never had this problem with my Note 2. Do I have bad hardware, or have I missed something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe faulty gps hardware. Mine locks on in about a second every time inside or outside
Sent from my SM-N900P using xda app-developers app

Mine is fast too.... looks like you may have a faulty one.
Sent from my SM-9500N using Tapatalk Pro.
If you find my post useful, a click on the 'thanks' is appreciated.

It's a function of satellite geometry. The one thing agps does for you is help you get the gps almanac faster. With a fresh almanac, the receiver knows which satellites are in view which significantly speeds up the time it takes to get a fix. Having access to fresh almanac data can't make the satellites any more visible though. Take your phone outside with a clear view of the sky. If you still can't aquire a fix, then you might have a problem. Saying it doesn't work reliably indoors is akin to saying you can't hear the speaker very well when its underwater.
I'm sure many will jump in with anecdotal evidence of gps working indoors, but that still can't fix bad geometry. You need 4 vehicles in view to get a fix.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

Thanks for all the replies. Looks like my hardware might be bad.
I am aware how this works. Have had more than 30 top of the line smartphones with gps since the Mio A701, which is almost ten years ago. The Note 3 has the worst indoor reception I have seen for at least five years. Ever since a-gps and wifi locationing, getting a fix indoor haven't been a problem. That's why I said it seems like the a-gps isn't working. But I guess it always will work, as long as there's a data channel open, right?

sbcdk said:
Thanks for all the replies. Looks like my hardware might be bad.
I am aware how this works. Have had more than 30 top of the line smartphones with gps since the Mio A701, which is almost ten years ago. The Note 3 has the worst indoor reception I have seen for at least five years. Ever since a-gps and wifi locationing, getting a fix indoor haven't been a problem. That's why I said it seems like the a-gps isn't working. But I guess it always will work, as long as there's a data channel open, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indoor reception is on a par with the Galaxy S4 which my partner has. I find it hard to get a signal indoors with either but my Nexus 7 is a lot better at it. I wouldn't be too quick to accept this as a hardware fault, just a design fault.

Once you've obtained a fix, agps becomes moot. Your receiver already knows which satellites are in view. If you can't get fix minutes later agps isn't the issue. It's los to the satellites.
I'm speaking to you as someone who actually works at the Gps master control station.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

I do reboot between tests, as the hardest fix is the first. That said, the following takes longer than I would expect too, but not nearly as long as the first.
When strolling today, I checked the g-maps fix twice, with said reboot in between. Both times I had a fix in 8-10 seconds. That's about the same time my iPhone 5 uses without any data (a-gps), but still way better than yesterdays results. Can't figure out why this changes so much.