Related
Is anybody's working to satisfactory? Or am I the only one?
I never really used GPS till I got this device and only from the complaining here had it really got me interested . Although I use GPS maybe 3 times a year, I've made it a point to use it every drive I take to see if its still working.
I always get a lock within 5 seconds to at most a min. Stationary or moving don't matter. I've never had my phone say location not available.
My phone always sees 11 or more and only locks on to 3 or 4 once it locked 7...
When I hit navigate to then a destination it instantly finds me and routes me. While driving it every now and again has a blue circle but that's usually during lots of overpasses turns on freeways and etc. For the most part it has no circle ...
I will admit every now and again it'll lose route and not reroute so I back out and hit navigate again and back to navigating.
Its even found me in portland Oregon in the city.
So my question is, although GPS could be better I.e. faster lock, more birds to lock on and tracking while moving, it still has served its purpose and found me my way a few times when I'm lost.
On the way home I will use it again and it will find me almost instantly and navigate me all the way home...
Am I lucky? Or do others work good enough to get around, yes could be better, but is yours good enough like mine to where even if they don't fix it, its not that big of a deal cause for the most part for me it works?
Another thing is I'm beggining to think its hardware and software. Reason is messing with the settings does improve or have different results, but on the other hand the gps fixes seem to give everyone different results and why would Samsung release them all with poor GPS just to supposedly fix it in a few weeks/ wouldn't it have been easier to fix then ship em out?
Who knows, no one is for sure, but I just want to know who's is atleast satisfactory like mine? Maybe I just don't have high GPS standards cause I don't use it to get 1 meter off. If I'm atleast 50 meters away I think my eyes and brain can help me find the other 50 meters.
So are you satisfied even though it needs improvements? I am. I don't think it needs fixed, but as Samsung says "optimized".
Please no there are many GPS threads comments this is a little different ...
Is your GPS useless, or does it get the job done, not how you wish, but gets it done?
Edit: this is no gps fixes. Pure stock.
Mine isn't as terrible as some people say on here, but there are definitely problems. Latitude, for instance, often falls back to network location even with a clear view of the sky. Driving, it will randomly drift far enough that the GPS goes to rerouting mode, trying to bring me back on course. And there are times that it just refuses to get a lock for 10-15 minutes, though luckily that doesn't happen too often. Definitely worst GPS performance than my G1.
But, all that being said.. Not so bad that I'm really stressing about it. I'll give Samsung/TMO a few more weeks for an update and hopefully they patch up the issues with Froyo. If not, or if the update gets delayed, I'll start tinkering with the fixes from the forums.
mine works fine too. quick to lock, navigation works perfectly. i was locking on 3-4 satellites last time i tried.
it's not very good indoors, and often has trouble determining location, but outdoors it has been completely satisfactory.
this is all with gps on, and use wireless networks off, btw. completely stock, and the compass works fine too.
Is anybody's working to satisfactory? Or am I the only one?
I never really used GPS till I got this device and only from the complaining here had it really got me interested . Although I use GPS maybe 3 times a year, I've made it a point to use it every drive I take to see if its still working.
I always get a lock within 5 seconds to at most a min. Stationary or moving don't matter. I've never had my phone say location not available.
My phone always sees 11 or more and only locks on to 3 or 4 once it locked 7...
When I hit navigate to then a destination it instantly finds me and routes me. While driving it every now and again has a blue circle but that's usually during lots of overpasses turns on freeways and etc. For the most part it has no circle ...
I will admit every now and again it'll lose route and not reroute so I back out and hit navigate again and back to navigating.
Its even found me in portland Oregon in the city.
So my question is, although GPS could be better I.e. faster lock, more birds to lock on and tracking while moving, it still has served its purpose and found me my way a few times when I'm lost.
On the way home I will use it again and it will find me almost instantly and navigate me all the way home...
Am I lucky? Or do others work good enough to get around, yes could be better, but is yours good enough like mine to where even if they don't fix it, its not that big of a deal cause for the most part for me it works?
Another thing is I'm beggining to think its hardware and software. Reason is messing with the settings does improve or have different results, but on the other hand the gps fixes seem to give everyone different results and why would Samsung release them all with poor GPS just to supposedly fix it in a few weeks/ wouldn't it have been easier to fix then ship em out?
Who knows, no one is for sure, but I just want to know who's is atleast satisfactory like mine? Maybe I just don't have high GPS standards cause I don't use it to get 1 meter off. If I'm atleast 50 meters away I think my eyes and brain can help me find the other 50 meters.
So are you satisfied even though it needs improvements? I am. I don't think it needs fixed, but as Samsung says "optimized".
Please no there are many GPS threads comments this is a little different ...
Is your GPS useless, or does it get the job done, not how you wish, but gets it done?
I'm the same, I don't use GPS that much, but when I do it works fairly well. Its not the best I've used but it gets the job done. Only once when I was driving on the freeway could it not lock on.
I remember reading that a GPS fix leaked for the Captivate and it seemed to fix the issue. And the new SGS phones coming out for Verizon and Sprint seem to have better luck with GPS.
For me too GPS locks 95% times. However Navigation is the only application that crashes my phone once in a while....and I dont like that
Mine seems OK, with the light use I've given it. Haven't tested it out with route-tracing software like some have -- but for just getting an accurate lock, it seems on par with other phones I've used. (Maybe a little slower to lock.)
I had tested my GF's Samsung Moment alongside my Vibrant many times and the Moment hooks to GPS quickly and consistently. I cannot think how Samsung could implement an inferior GPS in their flagship phone!
My gps works flawlessly, when I read all these threads its hard to remaster because everyone I use gps it takes a matter of seconds to lock in and route me to my destination. Even in my area of living which is outside of the city it is very vet close to where I actually am and even right on. I would be frustrated if it didn't work as I do use my gps every so often but it is precise in my experience and I'm very happy with the final product.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
I now have two GPS's in two of our cars. The primary reason for buying a GPS a while back was so I could meet up with guys that I often 4wheel with in various locations. I would get lost when somebody told me to meet them in a city that I didn't know very well. My wife saw how handy my GPS was and took it. I finally got a G1 and it was used as a backup in case the wife wouldn't let me use "My GPS".
Anyways fast forward a year or so. We bought a second GPS for her car. Why because she got the new one of course.
Now that I have 2 GPS's in my cars my phone has been well a secondary or I should say hardly ever used. However when I'm on foot and I get backwards its always been nice to know I could fire up my GPS and find my way somewhere. Lord knows I've been lost a few times in down town Seattle. Wandering around and firing up maps and then using the by foot option has saved me many times. Sure it didn't have to be accurate since all I needed to know was do I walk 3 blocks north then 1 to the west or is it 3 blocks to the west then 1 block to the north?
The Vibrant GPS works when I need it, but honestly I really wish it was a bit more like the G1. Its nearly useless when I use CardioTrainer and a few more apps.
I have had my Vibrant for about 45 days and the GPS has been awful since day one. I have tried some of the fixes which did help a little bit but I still have problems. The GPS cuts on and off so much that Cardio Trainer is pretty much useless most of the time. It has started to freeze on me while attempting to use Cardio Trainer today, which necessitated pulling the battery. The GPS normally shows me about 2 of 3 miles from where I actually am. The compass is just about totally useless. This is a wonderful phone and would be a fantastic phone if the compass and GPS just worked normally. I am starting to be concerned with the phone starting to freeze up as it has not done that in the past.
Mine worked great for a few weeks. Even though it wouldn't lock more than 3 or 4 satellites the performance was completely satisfactory. Then it got a little quirky with accuracy and my position started jumping around a lot. Then it started positioning me miles from where I actually was sometimes, causing Maps to lock up, causing the entire phone to lock up, and generally being unreliable.
Over the past week or so I've had to reboot the phone half the time I try to use the GPS in order to get it to work. I can usually get it to work at a satisfactory level eventually, but it's far from painless. I haven't tried any of the "fixes"...my GPS settings are stock.
On my first phone the GPS and phone in general was a disaster.
Once returned, my second phone is "ok" for driving assistance use, it takes awhile for a lock but it works. But I otherwise leave GPS turned off or else my phone will randomly shut down/reboot.
With trepidation I applied a no lag fix and it has turned my opinion of the phone from "meh" to wow (even though I was not even sure I had a lag problem, but little did I know).
So if GPS gets fixed and 2.2 deployed, and assuming 2.2 solves lag or a no-lag fix is implemented for 2.2, then I will be very happy. But it sure seems like a bit of grief to get to that point. Anything goes wrong down that path, and I'll focus on HTC or other devices... cause for similar past issues with hardware I never buy HP
mjpacheco said:
So if GPS gets fixed and 2.2 deployed, and assuming 2.2 solves lag or a no-lag fix is implemented for 2.2, then I will be very happy. But it sure seems like a bit of grief to get to that point. Anything goes wrong down that path, and I'll focus on HTC or other devices... cause for similar past issues with hardware I never buy HP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Add a compass fix to that list and I'm there with ya.
After applying the gps fix I haven't had a problem since. I use the gps daily and have only had 1 restart. Had my vibrant since day 1. Maybe I just got lucky.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
I completely understand the need to get the GPS fixed, but I have to honestly ask...why do so many people seem so worried about the compass?
Are there that many of you out there that wander around using the compass all the time ? Is it because of apps like Layar ?
Using a smartphone as a compass/gps on a hike is useless if you plan to be out more than a few hours so that can't be it.
Is it just the principle of the thing ... that they provide the feature so it should work properly out of the box?
I'm not trying to be a wise ass here...I'm honestly curious.
Sent from Samsung Vibrant
Stresa said:
I completely understand the need to get the GPS fixed, but I have to honestly ask...why do so many people seem so worried about the compass?
Are there that many of you out there that wander around using the compass all the time ? Is it because of apps like Layar ?
Using a smartphone as a compass/gps on a hike is useless if you plan to be out more than a few hours so that can't be it.
Is it just the principle of the thing ... that they provide the feature so it should work properly out of the box?
I'm not trying to be a wise ass here...I'm honestly curious.
Sent from Samsung Vibrant
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In a word: yes.
While I don't use Layar much, it would be great if it worked. I've tried to use Google Skymaps several times and gave up due to the compass completely freaking out when I hold the phone up to, you know, look at the sky. It's nice the have a working compass for Google Maps...even if it's just for street view. Yelp taunts me with directional functionality that doesn't work, and I could go on. In general I'd like to know that apps that use the magnetometer to detect orientation (and who knows what will come along that will use that functionality) will work. I don't think that's too much to ask.
Now, I also do a lot of city navigation on foot, and having a compass to figure out which way to walk when I come up from a subway on my way to a meeting is a huge help. Seriously. At that point I don't have a GPS because I've been underground.
I've used Android devices (like the G1) that are old-ish, and I've used Android devices that are not considered high-end devices with working compasses, so yeah, on principle I expect my high-end $500 device to work at least as well as they do. Had I known about the worthless compass before I purchased the phone it would have given me pause...I probably would have at least considered another device. It bugs me that such a simple piece of functionality being broken will prevent me from using apps and features that I'd otherwise find useful on my expensive device.
Now I have a Swiss Army knife with a broken saw blade. Yeah, it's just the saw blade, but I paid for one with a working saw blade, dammit, and it wasn't cheap.
dex1701 said:
In a word: yes.
While I don't use Layar much, it would be great if it worked. I've tried to use Google Skymaps several times and gave up due to the compass completely freaking out when I hold the phone up to, you know, look at the sky. It's nice the have a working compass for Google Maps...even if it's just for street view. In general I'd like to know that apps that use the magnetometer to detect orientation (and who knows what will come along that will use that functionality) will work. I don't think that's too much to ask.
Now, I also do a lot of city navigation on foot, and having a compass to figure out which way to walk when I come up from a subway on my way to a meeting is a huge help. Seriously. At that point I don't have a GPS because I've been underground.
I've used Android devices (like the G1) that are old-ish, and I've used Android devices that are not considered high-end devices with working compasses, so yeah, on principle I expect my high-end $500 device to work at least as well as they do. Had I known about the worthless compass before I purchased the phone it would have given me pause...I probably would have at least considered another device. It bugs me that such a simple piece of functionality being broken will prevent me from using apps and features that I'd otherwise find useful on my expensive device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that sucks dude. i just noticed what you were saying about google sky map, mine was tripping out for a little while but then it finally settled down. can't really tell if it's pointing in the accurate direction because it's daylight
my compass has worked just fine on maps though. it always points me in the right direction, and even the compass on the "gps status" app is correct, birds locked on or not
lolcopter said:
that sucks dude. i just noticed what you were saying about google sky map, mine was tripping out for a little while but then it finally settled down. can't really tell if it's pointing in the accurate direction because it's daylight
my compass has worked just fine on maps though. it always points me in the right direction, and even the compass on the "gps status" app is correct, birds locked on or not
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I hold the phone "just right" I can usually get the compass to work ok in things like Maps where accuracy isn't terribly important. It's still painfully slow compared to other Android devices I've used, though. Most I've seen have nearly instantaneous compass updates when you turn...on my Vibrant (both of them) I have to wait a while for it to settle down before I can tell how it's reading. When I hold it in an odd position...like you do for Skymaps...it's all over the place. Sometimes it works, but it's hard to tell unless you're manually keeping track of which way is North, which kinda defeats the purpose, eh?
dex1701 said:
If I hold the phone "just right" I can usually get the compass to work ok in things like Maps where accuracy isn't terribly important. It's still painfully slow compared to other Android devices I've used, though. Most I've seen have nearly instantaneous compass updates when you turn...on my Vibrant (both of them) I have to wait a while for it to settle down before I can tell how it's reading. When I hold it in an odd position...like you do for Skymaps...it's all over the place. Sometimes it works, but it's hard to tell unless you're manually keeping track of which way is North, which kinda defeats the purpose, eh?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
true
hopefully samsung releases a fix baked into some froyo here soon. they had better do SOMETHING this month anyway
Hey all,
First off, I'm very excited to start working with everyone here at the Iconia A500 forum! Secondly, is anyone else having issues with the GPS? I went into Google Navigation and it constantly said "searching for GPS." I never got a result. Thanks!
Same issue, I eventually got a brief fix but its not good.
I did a test, with GPS Status.
2 android, my nexus one and my acer A500.
nexus one 8 satellites
A500 3 satellites
Yeah, so far it looks like the a500 is as bad or worse than the vibrants before the devs got hold of the source and fixed it.
same problem only get 2 satellites
fasrerfix from market
this improves the speed.i think it works bye membering or knowing the sat in your view
so less time guessing on best ones
FYI, returned my A500 for a different on, same issues with GPS as the old one...
Make sure all GPS settings are enabled or won't work. I have tried it and works even without wi-fi connection
Required:
Root access
Fasterfix app from market
read all of this post so you don't screw yourself.
Instructions:
To speed up google maps nav: Install "Fasterfix" app from market, open app, accept super user permissions, pick region (!!!never change this) then test via google maps navigation. Should speed it up $hit load, just as fast as my incredible when it was new. Hope this helps
Honestly until android comes up with a fix for the maps app I'm going to use WASE GPS found in market you won't get a search for signal b.s. unless you close app and come back to a recent destination.
FYI!!!!!!!! DONT REPICK or you will have to do the steps
It appears I was having some issues cingularly in the davlik cache because I changed my region because I figured what the fnck, and that screwed up my speed so when you pick your region stick with it or you will slow the crap out of navigation plus to fix it you will have unistall fasterfix, delete" [email protected]@[email protected][/email]" under davik-cache, reinstall pick region, test via navigation.
Info:
Sorry about last post: you will only need to open Fasterfix app once.
Misc:
It appears that fastfix is server based location finder, what ever that means
I did a quick test earlier.
Got a fix from the driveway then set a course in Navigation - left the house and it wasn't until a few minutes into the drive that the signal was strong enough that I had a pretty good real-time representation of my status on screen. Meaning, after a few minutes, I could see the blue arrow moving along the road as I drove, while initially, it was still and would pop around for a bit.
When I got to my location I check the satellites and I was connected to 7 of them from 10 it could see.
It took about 5 minutes to find and connect to any sats from the driveway. As stated, it was another 2-3 minutes after initial connection that the signal was consistent enough to show me a real-time loc as I drove.
I figure, if you can see/connect to at least 1 sat, then it's fine. Once connected, and you're in motion, it will find and connect to more if there are any available.
I rarely, if ever, can connect to any satellites while indoors. I don't see this as a limitation of the a500, but gps in general. Sometimes you can, sometimes you can't. It's not something you should rely on.
To properly test your gps, standing still in the backyard isn't going to cut it, regardless if your other devices do or not. Do a proper test. Make sure you have a connection to wi-fi (with location aware on) set a course in Navigation and wait until you connect - head out.
While I don't discount the possibility of there being a hardware issue with some people's tablets, I don't believe there is an inherent flaw in the a500 gps.
The fix has been posted please search for it.
Thread closed.
The fix has been posted please search for it.
Thread closed.
From Acer. Sorry, no details or ETA at this time. But it's a good rumor non the less.
At least you state it's a rumor. But still, from Acer how? Email support? A phone tech? You bangin' the CEO's daughter?
GPS fix for what? For the fact that I CAN use GPS without wifi?
Yeah, who's the rumor from?
You read it somewhere, after you wrote it? ;-)
did not know we need a gps fix.tell you rumor friend recovery is needed
pleaseeeee
us blonde chics break our stuff alot
giggles
I saw it on another site. They did not provide any more info, hence the word rumor.
Also, for those of you that are lucky enough to have units that have working GPS, good on you. However, there are many of us that can't get any sats to lock.
Although it is a rumor, I'll take it. Here is hoping for a fix soon!
although the app keeps freezing, co-pilot did get a lock in my house
I pull 3/7 in my house, which is a shoddy Mexican affair with lots of cinderblock and rebar, so a real signal killer. 6/9 or so outside. All within a minute of starting.
For you non-workers, I hope there is a fix. For me, I want more video codecs supported.
how about a cell standby fix
I'll take a cell standby fix before GPS. It's killing my battery. Sirplane mode and all.
yea felt like the GPS has worked just fine!
I'm having issues with no GPS even standing outside. It will eventually lock on 1-2 satellites after about 2 minutes when my phone will see 7-8. I'm either going to return or "hope" for a fix. It will not work if there isn't wifi available, so I think it may be a bug.
Anyone else with this problem? Compass is waaaaay off too.
S
number of sats
GPS status locked 4 of 4 in my house in under 45seconds
I chatted with support today they say the GPS is a known issue it will be fixed with a software update no eta
Mine has not been able to lock-on to satellites for several days, but starting last night I noticed that it began working just fine.
gps google maps or tablet issue
i think.the.gps issue is google maps.One you install and run a third/oarty app /utility it works fine.There is no doubt there is a issue.
Try geting co-pilot it will crash on you.several times loading but go slow head to menue settings then sound turn off the startup sound and the beeps.It will become very stable after/and i get a fix on 3 sats in the house in like 1.5 minutes at max.After co/pilot gets a fix i can then launch google nav and it will get a fix nearly instantly sometimes.and sometimes it will have to be restarted several times.With that said even co-polot is not near as accurate as myDelorme on my laptop.from a cold start.it even takes 3 minutesto get a withen 6 inch fix maybe accuracy will come from the update.I really need gps to work so i dont haveto pack my laptop in my workvan with me anymore.
Someone should create a driver for the/delorm earthmate 4 i think is what mine is usb
hint hint
Thanks for letting me rant about this
the blonde chic
Erica
There seems to be MANY factors that affect the GPS on these tablets and exchanging one for another *may seem* to get you a better unit. I bought a second a500 unit today and when I first brought up google maps, it had my fix as soon as the screen opened. Cool, this must be a better unit than my other right? Not necessarily because I believe the new unit used my wifi for the quick fix. As soon as I turned off the wifi assistance, the unit no longer gave me immediate fixes. I loaded gps status and the new unit struggled to find just 1 satellite. My other unit which I've had 2 weeks, is now suddenly a gps 'mofo' as it finds and locks position really quick, sometimes in 5 or 10 seconds (wifi assist turned off). The only thing I installed recently is gps monitor, but that's just gives you a monitoring status in the taskbar. It does state that it's turning off gps when you exit maps, which if it does may help conserve battery.
So I'm not sure why my A500 decided to suddenly work really well with GPS. When I first bought it, it was actually kind of terrible. Of course I have the 3.1 update on my unit, but the new one is still 3.01. I don't know how much of a difference that makes either. I had planned on buying an Asus unit today, but could not find the 32gb unit locally (not settling for 16gb).
My unit is stock and not rooted. I don't see a need to root it because so far it's working quite well. If only the microphone pickup was better, but I can live with talking louder at it or into the top of the unit. I have to do that with my samsung galaxy phone also.
Rob
It's funny, the very first time I used the GPS It took forever to find & lock on to sats. Now it's really fast. I'm thinking it has a " learning curve" ?
Update : Tried in the same place tonight , it only picked up 1 sat & didn't lock.
It is aGPS which means Assisted. It uses WIFI to set your location and search for satellites based on that location.
There are a number of factors which affect the GPS on this unit, as the original poster stated. I've been researching this for sometime, and found a number of things that could lead to a replacement unit working better than a current unit.
I've another thread on this subject, but I'll post the cliff notes here.
The following can affect GPS on your unit:
Obstruction (Roof, Cover)
Weather (Clouds vs Sun)
Internet Access
Nearby magnets
Compass Calibration
Your almanac server (gps.conf)
For starters, download a program called "GPS Test", not to be confused with "GPS Status and Toolbox", which you should also have for different reasons.
Plug your unit in and set it up in a spot where you know you can get a signal on other devices (phone, etc). This does not include your basement, but it also doesn't have to be outside. A woodframe house will not usually obstruct the signal enough to interfere. Use your best judgement.
Start up GPS Test and go into the settings menu. Select the option where the screen stays on all of the time. Check to see if your unit will ever pick up any satellites. If it takes more than 30 minutes and you are sure you should be picking up satellites, this indicates a problem. The first step should be diagnostic.
Leave it run overnight. If you look at it in the morning and find a multitude of satellites then your GPS receiver is working fine. This means your GPS can see the satellites, but the only way it can find them is through sheer dumb luck. It needs to be told where to look, and its having problems getting that information. The problem is likely with your compass or almanac.
If you arrive in the morning to find no satellites at all, then your GPS is likely broken (not unheard of) or you need to try again in a better location.
If you know your GPS transmitter is working, the next step is the check your compass. This is where GPS Status and Tools comes into play. The first screen you see when you open the program will be the compass. Make sure north == north. If it does not, almanac data is useless because the tablet won't know which way to look. GPS Status and Toolbox comes with a compass calibration tool. Use it. If your compass will not stay pointed north, then your compass is broken. If it works, then its time to look at your almanac.
Unless your system is rooted, there is no point in reading further. All the following steps require root access.
There are two files that you need to be concerned with. They are /etc/gps.conf and /etc/gps/gpsconfig.xml
You either need to edit them manually, replace them with pre-configured optimized versions for your region (link below), or use a program (fasterfix) to edit them for you. Results with each approach may vary.
I won't go into this step into detail since its been covered a million times on the forums already. I will provide a link:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1068416
This is the one that helped me the most, but there are others.
Best of luck. And remember: Hardware failure is a real possibility, but so is a crappy environment. Make sure there is no outside interference and you're not trying to get your location from an underground bunker and wondering why it doesn't work. A little common sense goes a long way.
Cheers,
-PW
long time lurker on this site.
I just bought an A500 and have been trying to get this GPS to work.
The first one I got had 3.01. I first tested GPS and it worked fine. Was able to get connected to the satelites no problem. Downloaded and installed 3.1 on it and now GPS doesn't work at all. Tested it with the two programs: GPS test and GPS utilities.
Stood outside on a clear day and nothing happened. Tested all the settings and still not one satellite.
After reading a lot of the threads and doing a lot of searching I exchanged it for another one.
Did the same thing. Tested it on 3.01 and it worked then installed 3.1 and it didn't work again on this second one. Went throug all the troubleshooting steps: deleted the cache, reset the gps, etc. Even left it on over night sitting at GPS Test and Google Places.
Doesn't make sense that it works on 3.01 and not on 3.1. Sounds more of a software issue than a hardware issue. But for it to work with some others with 3.1 then I may exchange it for another one again.
Wondering if it was during a certain build that other are having the same issue. Both of the ones i got were manufacturered in April. Could April just be a bad month or several months before that?
3.1 does not have any problem with GPS
Wifi assist turned off, get lock with sygic and can use the navigator.
(but)
- if you go under an express way (like I got in my country they are highway), you lost the signal very quick
HOW TO FIX ?
- buy a GPS enhancer and put in your car, that will increase the signal received and give the tablet a very big help
the poor part of the GPS tablet is the antena... the receiver is not that happy behind a metal case, and oftenly... GPS antena should be on the roof of the car, or external for better signal.
I got locked in 15s
sanaell said:
3.1 does not have any problem with GPS
Wifi assist turned off, get lock with sygic and can use the navigator.
(but)
- if you go under an express way (like I got in my country they are highway), you lost the signal very quick
HOW TO FIX ?
- buy a GPS enhancer and put in your car, that will increase the signal received and give the tablet a very big help
the poor part of the GPS tablet is the antena... the receiver is not that happy behind a metal case, and oftenly... GPS antena should be on the roof of the car, or external for better signal.
I got locked in 15s
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My guess is that Acer subcontracts out parts production for items like the GPS antenna used in the A500 and the quality of those antenna has been very inconsistent (same with the microphone). I have an A500 with a June build date and it has very good GPS pickup. It doesn't lock instantly like the Xoom does, but usually within 10-20 seconds (sometimes sooner) which is still acceptable. Surprisingly, this unit also has a fairly good microphone that picks up my voice well while holding it at any angle. It's still running 3.01 unmodified since it hasn't got the OTA yet. I previously had an A500 with an April build date (it's on the back of the box) and both the GPS and microphone performed rather poorly even with 3.1.
Rob
going to exchange this one at a different bestbuy store and see if they have a different manufacturer date. I did the exchange on Monday and hope they have a different lot.
tekageek said:
long time lurker on this site.
I just bought an A500 and have been trying to get this GPS to work.
The first one I got had 3.01. I first tested GPS and it worked fine. Was able to get connected to the satelites no problem. Downloaded and installed 3.1 on it and now GPS doesn't work at all. Tested it with the two programs: GPS test and GPS utilities.
Stood outside on a clear day and nothing happened. Tested all the settings and still not one satellite.
After reading a lot of the threads and doing a lot of searching I exchanged it for another one.
Did the same thing. Tested it on 3.01 and it worked then installed 3.1 and it didn't work again on this second one. Went throug all the troubleshooting steps: deleted the cache, reset the gps, etc. Even left it on over night sitting at GPS Test and Google Places.
Doesn't make sense that it works on 3.01 and not on 3.1. Sounds more of a software issue than a hardware issue. But for it to work with some others with 3.1 then I may exchange it for another one again.
Wondering if it was during a certain build that other are having the same issue. Both of the ones i got were manufacturered in April. Could April just be a bad month or several months before that?
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Click to collapse
The 3.1 you're installing is OTA or you are downloading it from somewhere ? My first unit failed with 3.1 with a downloaded 3.1 (it seemed to be the correct for Spain) ... I exchanged the unit, and this new one offered me OTA. It's working perfect with OTA 3.1
I did a test one day with GPS and found it to be marvelous if used properly.
Here is what I did.
1. I cleared my agps data with program GPS Status
2. Redownloaded the data and waited until I had like 6 up 11 fixes
Then I went out and waited at bus station and got a lock with Google maps and I travelled about 75 kilometers and had a perfect fix the entire time, I had about 5 satellites fixed constantly on average. And this was using stock everythings I love the GPS it works fine now.
In the 3.01 version I did the exact same test and it didn't work, everytime the train or bus started moving the signal was gone and stayed gone.
Now its fine! You just have to remember. That this is Agps not GPS A is for assisted, so you use the internet abit and download the data and you're fine! Just learn to use A-GPS!
I have tried everything, and nothing works. What a ****ty thing to screw up on a tablet. I'm trading mine in tomorrow, and if I have the same issue, I'm rooting and switching roms. This is ridiculous ..........
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
well well well, this one worked. I exchanged for another one.
3.01
turned it on and opened Navigator. in 10 seconds it locked into the gps. Installed gps test and saw 6 to 7 satellites, in use= 6 looked at the map and it found my location. Opened both Navigator and Places
3.1
Installed 3.1 OTA, once rebooted i opened gps test and now i see 7 satellites! Opened Navigator and worked fine. Opened Places and also worked fine. Both found my location and saw 6 to 7 satellites.
4.010.13.comgen2
wish there was a list of what this update does. installed this update and gps still works. Seeing 6 to 7 satellites. navigator and places still work.
Before i even took this tab i asked the sales guy the manufactured date. This one is from: May
GPS fix
Initially, my gps did not work that well. When I compared my gps.conf with the 2 A500's whose GPS worked very well I found that their GPS.conf contained only this
"NTP_SERVER=north-America.pool.ntp.org". I'm in US, by the way. After I rooted my A500, my GPS worked alot better. After I edited my GPS.conf the fix time was improved.
Before: outdoor : cold start and there.after
Time to fix= 5 min to infinity and 3 mins to infinity
Indoor = no GPS.
After: outdoor= 30 sec to 211 sec. and 10 sec to 90 sec
Indoor= 110 sec to 5 mins. and 29 sec to 90 sec
Hope that helps.
I'm on rooted stock 3.1.
I guess I got lucky then.
When I start mine up, it locates for the weatherbug app update feature and I've never seen it fail.
I haven't done any GPS-specific stuff with it yet, but much of the time I'm using an ad hoc connection from my phone, so it's not a wif AGPS fix.
Interesting read. Makes me want to explore the GPS feature more.
One other thing that is universal across any device using GPS, both commercial and military---your device needs to know where in the sky the satellites are. The initial gps fix will always take more time because the device doesn't have a reference fit the sats. This will also be the case the longer you go between fixes as the device will lose track of the sats over time. Aside from physical obstructions this is often the biggest contributing factor to the length of time required to get a fix.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Noob question here. So this is assisted GPS. I assume it needs the WiFI to access the aGPS servers, but they aren't necessary if a) you have a confirmed working device and b) everything is calibrated properly. Is this correct.
I just don't understand the inconsistency in the GPS fix. I have a rooted A500, with 4.010.13_COM_GEN2, manufactured in April. For some reason, I cannot get a consistent, day-to-day lock on position. I have installed and used successfully in the past:
Fasterfix
GPSFix
GPS Test
GPS Status
I have edited the gps.conf file manually to use, separately, both north-america.pool.ntp.org as well as us.pool.ntp.org;
I have used the "manage A-GPS status" to reset the status as well as downloading the assist data in GPS Status;
After several unsuccessful attempts last night, I was able to gain a GPS lock from my living room in about 20-30 seconds. Today, in the clear open air I could not obtain more than a partial lock on more than 3-4 satellites at a time, and only once obtained a fix, and then for only 20 minutes while stationary. I am now in the exact same position as I was last night, and cannot find a single *blinking* satellite.
While traveling home on the Interstate, I could see more than two satellites at a time and never got a lock on position. In contrast, my Droid (2.3.3) obtained a lock in about 5 seconds with GPS Status. Using a Bluetooth GPS unit and a Bluetooth Mouse GPS, I obtained a position lock in 2 seconds on the A500.
So what gives here? Is it a hardware problem? Why does it work so well one day and then not at all the next, with all other things being equal? It does not seem to be a software issue or sky visibility issue.
UPDATE, 8/9/11: I noticed that in the current configuration as described above, the only satellites that could be seen were those on a bearing of 000, and largely on the horizon. When a different satellite was seen, it would only appear in the northern two quadrants. I restored a back-up from two days ago, and uninstalled FasterFix but manually edited the gps.conf file to us.pool.ntp.org. The GPS fix was improved - not lightning fast, but at least 4 satellites were seen relatively quickly, without particular preference for hemisphere. Position fix still takes a few minutes - two to five minutes or so. Still working on consistency, but may switch to a custom ROM.
UPDATE, 8/11/11: This thing is driving me nuts - no clear consistency on when the GPS works or not. Tried two custom ROMs, same lack of consistent lock. Back to square 1. Droid-1 picks up 10 sats (w/o network checked), A500 only 4. Got a lock away from home this morning, cannot get one at home tonight. Taking it in for exchange tomorrow. Since the first sat it does see is always at 000 and at the horizon, I am wondering if the internal referencing for the GPS unit within the A500 is somehow not set up to handle the assist data format properly. Sort of like it is reading the data, but things are off a space or two. Thus, the GPS unit seems to look, but is looking in the wrong direction. Comments?
My phone takes a lot of time getting a GPS fix, sometimes it doesn't succeed after minutes of waiting. I compared it to some Samsung phones, those connect within seconds...
The connection seems stable after getting a fix, but getting a fix is very hard for this phone...
Is anyone else experiencing this?
You're not the only one, mine's also broken. Looking around at the official Moto forums, it seems like this is a fairly common issue with the G4 Play.
So far stock was broken, CM 14.1 has been no better. If I use GPS Status & Toolbox it will eventually get a lock and maybe the accuracy will get down to +/-30m, but if any other app that calls for location (Google Maps, Pokemon Go, etc), if the GPS is turned on at all, it will almost never lock unless switch to GPS Status, but once it gets a lock, the accuracy will keep dropping till its greater than +/-300-400m before losing the lock and eventually the phone just shuts down GPS and stops trying. Literally not location or app settings make any difference, neither does factory reset.
I've had 2 G4 Plays so far. The first was the Amazon Prime version, it had no location issues at all and was totally rock solid, but boot loader could not be unlocked, so I sold it to a friend for his kids to use for Pokemon Go since it was a great device for that. This second one may as well not have came with GPS.
Edit: I've returned to stock and zero difference. I'm not messing with this anymore, 2.5 weeks was long enough trying to fix it, I'm replacing it through Amazon.
I was heaving issues too, changed my SIM to the second slot and it's quite better now. I even play PoGo.
Sent from my Moto G Play using XDA-Developers Legacy app
The problem is actually quite simple: The G4 Play cannot connect to Russian satellites (GLONASS). Under GPS Status and a few other apps, they are perma-greyed out. All of my LG phones connect to them just fine. What kills me is that the feature is listed under Motorola's website, and the phone knows they are there (even on CM14.1), but it simply refuses to use them.
I'm not sure of this. I used MapFactor and GPS Status & Toolbox, and the IDs of the satellites are also in the GLONASS range (https://github.com/mvglasow/satstat/wiki/NMEA-IDs). Do you have a US only version of G4 Play? I have the international version.
nick_white said:
I'm not sure of this. I used MapFactor and GPS Status & Toolbox, and the IDs of the satellites are also in the GLONASS range. Do you have a US only version of G4 Play? I have the international version.
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I can confirm my 1607 is US Retail. I tested multiple GPS apps (including GPS-S&T) and while I got signal from GLONASS satellites, it straight up refused to connect to a single one, even if the satellite had better signal than a comparable US satellite. I don't know if it's possible to flash a new modem for this model yet.
Try this app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.android.gpstest
It gave me the best fix than all the others. I don't know what this guy do but it connects to more satellites and gets a fix faster.
I also have a Moto G4 Play mobile with the same problem.
You won't believe that touching to the gps device on the back side of the phone solved the problem to some extent. I go for running every morning and I use Runkeeper to track my moves. So how much distance I cover in a day is much important for me and thus gps accuracy also. But my location is tracked like a heart rate monitor of a hospital. But one day I was experimenting with my phone and found that if I remove the back cover of the phone and touch to the part where it was written Harpia GPS S01, the signal of the gps boosted and the radius of the blue circle became shorter to about 4-8 metres that means I was getting more accuracy than before. So from that day whenever I go to run, I remove the back cover and put a finger on the gps set and the problem somewhat solved. But this was only a part of the story. My father owns a Micromax Unite 3 mobile and he also used to run daily. What to say about the latter, it gives an accuracy of unbelievable 1 metre. On the latter, the runkeeper even tracks the change of lane or the side of the road. I am just jealous of the phone even though it costs 4000 rs less than mine.
ashishwebmail said:
You won't believe that touching to the gps device on the back side of the phone solved the problem to some extent. I go for running every morning and I use Runkeeper to track my moves. So how much distance I cover in a day is much important for me and thus gps accuracy also. But my location is tracked like a heart rate monitor of a hospital. But one day I was experimenting with my phone and found that if I remove the back cover of the phone and touch to the part where it was written Harpia GPS S01, the signal of the gps boosted and the radius of the blue circle became shorter to about 4-8 metres that means I was getting more accuracy than before. So from that day whenever I go to run, I remove the back cover and put a finger on the gps set and the problem somewhat solved. But this was only a part of the story. My father owns a Micromax Unite 3 mobile and he also used to run daily. What to say about the latter, it gives an accuracy of unbelievable 1 metre. On the latter, the runkeeper even tracks the change of lane or the side of the road. I am just jealous of the phone even though it costs 4000 rs less than mine.
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Click to collapse
Sounds like connector failed. Someone on the Lenovo forum had theirs repaired by moto and the antenna connector was what they fixed. Betting mine (and yours) are that. I replaced mine through Amazon, so far the replacement device has been working.
I'm wondering if it's a bad design on the antenna or just manufacturing defect and bad QA on some units.
Kadah said:
Sounds like connector failed. Someone on the Lenovo forum had theirs repaired by moto and the antenna connector was what they fixed. Betting mine (and yours) are that. I replaced mine through Amazon, so far the replacement device has been working.
I'm wondering if it's a bad design on the antenna or just manufacturing defect and bad QA on some units.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dumb question, but if the connection is exposed upon removal of the cover, isn't it possible to tear into and reconnect/solder without taking it to a manufacturer? I mean, what I see are two screws to the right of the headphone jack, a plastic cover that says "Harpia GPS S01," and what looks like some kind of antenna watermark.
mkollersms said:
The problem is actually quite simple: The G4 Play cannot connect to Russian satellites (GLONASS). Under GPS Status and a few other apps, they are perma-greyed out. All of my LG phones connect to them just fine. What kills me is that the feature is listed under Motorola's website, and the phone knows they are there (even on CM14.1), but it simply refuses to use them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. I've just checked mine (European XT1602) and it does that, too - the GLONASS satellites are showing up, but are not being used.
When I was in stock rom after some time the gps stopped working well, don't know why. Now with Aox 14.1 is working fine, I don't understand the satellites but the accuracy is pretty good
ronaldotalison said:
When I was in stock rom after some time the gps stopped working well, don't know why. Now with Aox 14.1 is working fine, I don't understand the satellites but the accuracy is pretty good
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Not seeing any active Russians on that image. Your phone might still be having the same problem as everyone else.
I've bought a xt1602 yesterday. The GPS is excellent. I get a fix in few seconds with solid signals, but without glonass.
Update on the current replacement G4 Play: GPS is starting to fail on it as well. I've hardly even used it, maybe only a dozen times in the last several weeks. So far that's 3 of 3 that are defective. I think I'm going to return this one to Amazon too, not sure I want to try a 4th.
mkollersms said:
Not seeing any active Russians on that image. Your phone might still be having the same problem as everyone else.
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I see russian satellites on his picture. How do you know that they were not active?
sevenRA1 said:
I see russian satellites on his picture. How do you know that they were not active?
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Because the three that I see are missing values under the "Flags" column. That hints at the aGPS data being there but that the phone might not have interfaced with them. The UI says 12 of 22 sats are connected. Of the 13 US shown, 12 have all fields with information and the thirteenth is missing info in one column. Granted, all of this is conjecture.
I think u are right. Ive tested it today by myself. But ive to say that this mobile phone has got a VERY fast GPS fix, atleast where i live. (Germany)
I also have bad GPS, thing I've tried:
Reset to factory settings
Safe boot
GPS Toolbox
I will now try putting the sim card in the second slot, like suggested here on the forum. Keep you posted!
Unfortunately putting the SIM card in the second slot did not better the situation. Back to the shop...