Database Users

My phone keeps randomly shutting off. Ideas?

Earlier, my G2 shut off on me about 5 times. -_-
First, I had it sitting in the car ,tried to take a pic but the stupid voice recognition menu kept coming up so I gave up and set it down in the console. When I got home, the phone felt warm and was.. off.
Then, I turned it on.. stuffed it in my pocket. A moment later, I pulled it out and YET AGAIN when I pushed the button I was greeted by a quick vibe and the HTC screen -_-
Then a few minutes later I ran a speed test (checking HSPA+ out in Vegas).. put it down on the table.. come back.. PHONE IS *(@#% DEAD AGAIN.
I HATE YOU! *glares at phone*
It's killing me because it either happens several times in a row, or doesn't happen for days! I've tried replacing the sim card, replacing the SD card.. moving the battery... no dice.
Maybe it's my SIM card? Would that cause it? My last phone did that -_- And I'm silly to have not yet changed the SIM lol
Good thing I have a spare sitting in my bag.

What battery are you using? Aftermarket? Is so, did you remove the sticker around the battery? If you did then make sure you place a piece of tape on the battery to avoid making contact with the metal sd card holder. The metal on metal causes it to shut down.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

Interesting. I've also been having random shutdowns (not reboots, which I've seen mentioned elsewhere, due to a hardware fault) --
HTC Desire Z, using default battery, but I'll try isolating it anyway with a slip of paper or something.

OP you on a custom rom with overclock? maybe your clocking your phone too high or low?
Also if the phone for whatever reason gets too hot or cold it will turn itself off.

Please see this forum: Phone powers down and won't turn back on w/o pulling the battery
I strongly believe that this may be an issue with the GPS and/or Google Maps. Once I have the GPS off, this has not occurred. Can anyone else try this?
I have the Bell Desire Z NAM with stock HTC Sense 2.2 ROM.
It seems to be quite prevalent, see the bottom of this review: T-Mobile G2 is speedy sequel to original Android

I think you may be onto something with that GPS note, but my phone doesnt' need the battery pulled to restart.
Also, it's running the stock firmware, stock battery (just exchanged battery and got a new SIM card yesterday, and it shut off again today.. so those aren't the problem)... so any issues I'm having are 100% stock related...
This time it shut off after using Maps so....

i read somewhere (trying to find the source) that some G2's were experiencing random restarts / shutdowns due to low signal strength. Not sure how valid this is but you might want to look into this as well.

fablife said:
i read somewhere (trying to find the source) that some G2's were experiencing random restarts / shutdowns due to low signal strength. Not sure how valid this is but you might want to look into this as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was true before we received the first OTA update. Since then though the problem has been fixed.

I think it was definitely the GPS, that said I just got done with a really long phone call about this and have a replacement on the way.. but that was way too much effort AND I have to pay shipping (it's not much, but seriously.) I'm not happy that T-Mobile was THAT big a pain in the butt about getting the phone replaced with a new one in the 30 day return period.
Going by the pointers one of my close friends on sprint (that used to be on AT&T) gave me, I'd say this could've been worse with another provider.. but it shouldn't have been. The reception isn't the best so the customer service should make up for that, and it sorta does.. but it sorta doesn't.
Oh well.

I have been experiencing almost the same thing for the past week or so. I have tried a few things such as lowering clock speeds, changing roms, and not using maps or GPS. Nothing has stopped the shutdowns. I cant seem to find a pattern in the things the phone is doing when it shuts off because it rarely does it when i have the screen on, also it never does it if music is playing or if i am watching a video. I will say that it seems to happen alot when i am in spots i know are dead spots for phone signal. I flash roms a fair amount so it is hard to say this has started after flashing a rom, but I will say it never did this before I flashed my first sensui 3.0 rom.
I am thinking its one of two things, something with the radio and/or its firmware or something with the sdcard because at least one senseui 3.0 rom said something about sdcard formatting.
I hope all this helps the smart people come up with idea on what wrong with our phones.

djrajir said:
I have been experiencing almost the same thing for the past week or so. I have tried a few things such as lowering clock speeds, changing roms, and not using maps or GPS. Nothing has stopped the shutdowns. I cant seem to find a pattern in the things the phone is doing when it shuts off because it rarely does it when i have the screen on, also it never does it if music is playing or if i am watching a video. I will say that it seems to happen alot when i am in spots i know are dead spots for phone signal. I flash roms a fair amount so it is hard to say this has started after flashing a rom, but I will say it never did this before I flashed my first sensui 3.0 rom.
I am thinking its one of two things, something with the radio and/or its firmware or something with the sdcard because at least one senseui 3.0 rom said something about sdcard formatting.
I hope all this helps the smart people come up with idea on what wrong with our phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Desire Z had the same problem and I returned it to HTC Service for repair. They said they change some cables? and a new battery. It has been nearly 3 days and I haven't experienced a single shutdown but there was one time it restarted by itself.

Yeah my only problem with that is, I am close to my upgrade date. How much did it cost. I may still do it so I can give this phone to my kid brother.
Sent from my Htcclay's SuperCM7 G2 using Tapatalk

Just to update, I found that I can make it do it some times when playing with opening the hinge.
Sent from my Htcclay's SuperCM7 G2 using Tapatalk

Possible cause/fix found
I posted this in another thread here regarding the same problem but it appears it may have been overlooked so I'll post the info again in hopes of helping you and others having this problem.
A possible cause/fix has been found as posted on the T-mobile forums:
http://forums.t-mobile.com/t5/T-Mobile-G2/G2-Turning-off-by-itself/td-p/513575/page/4
There is a conductive metal strip along the back of the battery that looks like it may be shorting out. Check out the link for detailed fix with pics. I take no credit for this, just posting it since I'm experiencing this problem too.

Talked to tmobile CS today and was trying to get a replacement because my phone would randomly reboot and shut off. All he told me was go and pick up a new sim card. If that didn't help then they would be willing to give me a warranty replacement.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

carquote said:
I posted this in another thread here regarding the same problem but it appears it may have been overlooked so I'll post the info again in hopes of helping you and others having this problem.
A possible cause/fix has been found as posted on the T-mobile forums:
http://forums.t-mobile.com/t5/T-Mobi.../513575/page/4
There is a conductive metal strip along the back of the battery that looks like it may be shorting out. Check out the link for detailed fix with pics. I take no credit for this, just posting it since I'm experiencing this problem too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Clicking your link all I got was an empty T-Mobile page with the message "Page not found" and some some java script error message when closing the window.
Is this possible fix something else than lining the back of the battery with a strip of paper?

whpsnp said:
Clicking your link all I got was an empty T-Mobile page with the message "Page not found" and some some java script error message when closing the window.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry about that, I fixed the link and it should be working now.

Cool, thanks!
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

I'm pretty sure mine is not caused by the metal strip since my battery's all proofed. I didn't have anything wrong with it until about half a month ago, and it always happened after using GPS and left it on. If I turn it off after navigation or any other app that requires GPS the phone won't go into SOD.
I switched back to CM7 RC2 around that time and starting to get the GPS no fix problem, and it could't be fixed by the dd=/dev/.... script. So I switched into Nightly 88 or something that at least I was able to get a fix but the not-so-random freezing started.
This morning I flashed the new 7.1.0 RC1 and the phone would just turn itself off (it used to just freeze and become hot), and I got really tired of it... My old G1 was much more reliable than this.
I tried the dd=/dev script again, so far after 5 min the phone is still on with GPS on....

@carcuote
Thank you! I haven't had this issue for months now. But the solution is so easy to do that I will try our anyways.
I had this issue the first month our so when I got the new phone, but went away permanently after the second month. Maybe the contacts in the battery got a little rusted? Don't know but the solution is simple enough to try...
Sent from my T-Mobile G2

Slider unlock sometimes doesn't work with incoming call

Once in a while when trying to answer an incoming call the unlock slider won't respond. I will slide my thumb to unlock and ...nothing. When this happens the call will just go to voicemail . The workaround is to touch the power button to turn off screen , then touch it again to wake it up ,then the slider will work and I can answer the call. Sometimes this takes too long and I miss the call.
This is not a deal-breaker as it only happens 5% of the time , still it is annoying. I have tried different roms with no real difference. Anybody else have this problem? Any advice other than get a new phone under warranty?

Ditto. And I always act as you did to work around the issue, only difference is, I haven't missed a call due to this.
In any case, based on experience, the chance of this happening could be minimized (if not eliminated) by always locking the phone from the "desktop" (e.g. do not lock the phone when an app is running).
BACK STORY:
I remember this happening (more than once) when someone called me up after a train ride. And the last thing I could recall is that I have locked the phone while playing Angry Birds / Fruit Ninja / Zenonia 2, etc.
But it still sucks that it happens.

I guess my real question is , are all Nexus s doing this sporadically , even rarely , or is my phone defective?

question... are the phones plugged in to a wall charger when this happens?

Nope. Only happened to me when I under clocked the CPU with Setcpu using the powersave profile (I was just testing things out).

DKYang said:
Nope. Only happened to me when I under clocked the CPU with Setcpu using the powersave profile (I was just testing things out).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can happen any time any place

ransome7 said:
I guess my real question is , are all Nexus s doing this sporadically , even rarely , or is my phone defective?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure if everyone's having this, but I'm with you on this. I'm on stock but rooted 2.3.3. Experienced this since 2.3.1.
EDIT: My wife has this problem too, since 2.3.1 until 2.3.3 (not rooted).

cygnum said:
I'm not sure if everyone's having this, but I'm with you on this. I'm on stock but rooted 2.3.3. Experienced this since 2.3.1.
EDIT: My wife has this problem too, since 2.3.1 until 2.3.3 (not rooted).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine did it stock , I rooted and loaded roms to see if that would fix the problem , lessened but still there

My nexus s (i9020T) has exactly the same problem. I've also tried to flash different ROMs, including CM-7rc2 and stock 2.3.3, and the problem remains.
I tried to bind Multi-touch Visualizer 2 to long pressing home button, and found the when screen is unresponsive, it can still detect press near edges very well, but not the center. While I press at the edge and drap across the center, it keeps tracking my finger correctly. In addition, Locking and unlocking the screen can solve the problem temporally. I connect my phone with adb, and tried to "cat /dev/input/event0" The behavior confirms what I see in Multitouch Visualizor 2: the when the center of screen is unresponsive, nothing can be read from the device node.
I read the mxt224 touch screen controller doc, and it seems the chip features self-calibration, and thus I believe the "lock & unlock" will trigger the chip to tune it self in some way. I've also read the driver code of nexus s, htc incredible and moto droid x, all using the same controlling chip. Both HTC and moto would send calibrate command to the chip during resume, but sumsang does not. I guess this might be the reason, but I'm not skilled enough to port the drivers

I experienced it twice so far i think, but only have the device for a little more than 2 weeks.
I am on stock 2.3.1 currently.

Beside the lock&unlock method, I discovered a new way of getting screen back to work: rub your hands a couple of times and touch again... Anyway it seem the screen is not well calibrated.

problem seems fixed with my customized kernel
Last night, I modified the touchscreen driver and mach settings a bit on the source of netarchy's nice kernel, and compiled a kernel of my own. The screen now seems working well with my new kernel

Never have experienced this on the nscollab rom which is cm7 and kernel together stable. I suggest give it a shot
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

swa2k4 said:
Never have experienced this on the nscollab rom which is cm7 and kernel together stable. I suggest give it a shot
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May I know how to perform the suggested steps, i have been experience twice since i bought it on 2 weeks ago

I would like to bring this issue up again (after so long) as I am still randomly experiencing this exact issue even with Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.3 (Stock & Custom ROMs). Any fix yet?

[Q] Evo Shift keeps rebooting

Looking for some advice/help. I got my wife the Evo Shift a couple of weeks ago. Her phone has not been rooted and other than a few added apps the phone is completely stock. The phone reboots on her 4 and 5 times a day. She does not have any kind of task killer installed so that's not it. She plays Angry Birds a lot and uses Pandora quite a bit. I have also installed Sound Manager for her. Other than that I can't think of anything that would be helpful for trouble shooting. I have searched here and through Google and have not seen any info of others having this problem. I am not sure if I should root the thing or return it to best buy. I have the Evo and previously the Hero and am no stranger to rooting or custom ROMs. Just really did not see the need to root it since my wife has no idea about any of that. Any help or advice will be appreciated.
Thanks.

root and install nfinitefx's or mik's rom; you'll have less trouble than if it was stock.

danaff37 said:
root and install nfinitefx's or mik's rom; you'll have less trouble than if it was stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I was thinking. I am a little worried its a hardware problem though. I guess I could always flash back to stock and return it if that doesn't fix it.

hell return it ya got nothing to lose but a headache

Did you try a factory reset?
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App

JKILO said:
Did you try a factory reset?
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not yet. I did get some more info from my wife though. It only happens when she is at work. And she says she get some sort of "radio error". I'm starting to think it might have something to do with the building she is in. She had my hero for a couple months before I got her the shift and had no problems. It had CM 6.1 running though.

hauntedchild said:
Not yet. I did get some more info from my wife though. It only happens when she is at work. And she says she get some sort of "radio error". I'm starting to think it might have something to do with the building she is in. She had my hero for a couple months before I got her the shift and had no problems. It had CM 6.1 running though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im running mine stock and rooted and dont have any problems with reboots. sounds like a app is probably screwing something up

i had a similar problem with one of the streaming media apps i used to use a month or so ago i cant remember the name but for some reason if i lost signal it would crash the phone and need to be rebooted
i took it off and installed tuneinradio and it worked better anyways

My shift was rebooting itself 3 to 4 times a day, I just rooted it and it seemed to stop rebooting itself for a day. Now its starting to reboot itself again, but not as often.

I am almost convinced its a hardware problem. Sounds too rare to be anything else. Maybe bad memory or something.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

I had a freezing issue with my phone which people suggested possible due to pandora and bluetooth. Perhaps you have the same issue?
Anyway, try to find "bluetooth for automotive" settings for pandora and turn it off.
I wouldn't recommend rooting your phone if you think its broken. You might just end up breaking it further and render your warranty void.
If you can't fix it, get sprint to replace it.
i dont need a signature

This may be resolved by now, but I got my shift previously used. When I first activated it, I was getting some radio errors and I could not make calls or send sms messages, but the email worked fine. I contacted Sprint customer service via chat from the website and they did something from their end to fix it. I had to turn off my phone and she said now wait till I tell you to turn it back on. I waited 5 minutes and when I turned it back on, everything was fine. So I would take it in or contact Sprint and see what they say. As for not sure if you wanna root it for her, I would definitely recommened it, she doesn't have to take advantage of all the advanced tweak that some use but it will just make the phone a lot smoother and easier to use. IMHO.
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App

Michael61182 said:
This may be resolved by now, but I got my shift previously used. When I first activated it, I was getting some radio errors and I could not make calls or send sms messages, but the email worked fine. I contacted Sprint customer service via chat from the website and they did something from their end to fix it. I had to turn off my phone and she said now wait till I tell you to turn it back on. I waited 5 minutes and when I turned it back on, everything was fine. So I would take it in or contact Sprint and see what they say. As for not sure if you wanna root it for her, I would definitely recommened it, she doesn't have to take advantage of all the advanced tweak that some use but it will just make the phone a lot smoother and easier to use. IMHO.
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the input. I think I'm going to go ahead and root it. After keeping an eye on the situation its seems its only happening when she is at work. I can't imagine it will fix it but I think its worth a shot.

I think I fixed mine. I tried to use navigation and it kept force closing, that was strange because I've used it before with no problems. I googled around and found some info that if you had another text to speak engine in your phone then uninstalled it without setting it back to pico as default it would cause nav to FC, which is what I had done. So I set it back and checked "Always use my settings" in the Voice section of settings, nav started working and the reboot issue went away for the past 7 days.
I don't really know crap about phones and most tech stuff for that matter (heck 99% of what is said in these forums goes over my head) but I think why this fixed it is either nav or some app was trying to use pico or something and when it couldn't the phone would get an error and reboot itself. I may be wrong (probably am) but maybe she deleted something or changed a setting some app needs and that is causing her problem. Hope this helps in someway or at least gives you another direction to start checking.

[BUG] Other person can't her me mid-call, mic gets muted

Hi,
in the last days with my S3 on every call I had which went for more than 1 minute the other person suddenly couldn't hear me anymore. Sometimes it happened after a minute, sometimes after 3 minutes, but in the last 4 calls it happened every time!
Reception came back after some seconds and from then on it was really bad, the other person had hard problems understanding me.
I searched around and found this thread of GNex owners having the same problem:
http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-nexus/472451-vzw-other-person-cant-hear-me.html
Then I found it in the Issues DB too
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=24019
Do you guys know more? it is really bad, since this is my business phone so nearly every call is an important one and it really bugs me out.
Anyone having same problems?
I hope someone can help me out.

Yes I have the exact problem. It's driving me nuts and I've tried different roms and kernels.
Sent from my GT-I9300

Have you tried to DISable the noise canceling feature?

No but I will try it and report back.
By the way I'm on stock LF6 4.0.4 in Germany (with o2 as my carrier. Unbranded. )
Is the noise canceletion buggy?
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

I've read that some kernels cause issues like this.
Also, in UK, in Birmingham on Orange, I have been having issues like this, and it usually occurs when the Signal Switches over from Orange to T-Mobile, mid call, and once onto T-Mobile signal, the call breaks up or goes quiet.
Maybe an issue switching from 2G to 3G or back mid call also?

BobFL said:
Have you tried to DISable the noise canceling feature?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will try also. The only reason I haven't got rid of this phone is it mostly happens on o2 calls, I am on giffgaff which is run by o2, The op is o2! Hmmm
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

just yesterday I again had the issue....and my noice cancelling was off...so this is not causing it....
I'm bumping this in hope someone has a cure.
The new rom LFB is not yet published for Germany but for UK. Perhaps it makes a difference? Can somebody in UK with LFB who previously had the issue please check?

Same problem, no solution
I'm facing the same issue. Tried searching for any possible explanations, but haven't found anything conclusive.
I've tried disabling and enabling noise cancellation and all combinations of the in-call options.
There are 2 or 3 main theories which I've encountered:
1. The microphone goes to sleep when the phone display does. As soon as someone seems to not able to hear me, I move the phone away and the screen wakes up. This seems to sort it out temporarily.
2. Someone had posted on FixYa indicating that they tried putting a small piece of cotton after removing the back panel just behind where the mic is. Haven't tried this!
3. Everyone else seems to think that a factory reset would set it right. I haven't tried this as I need to find a bit of time to do this.
Also, I'm wondering if flashing to CM9's RC1 or 2 will sort out the issue. I'm thinking that it has to be a software glitch. In fact, someone reported that they solved it this way (can't remember where).

the-0ne said:
I'm facing the same issue. Tried searching for any possible explanations, but haven't found anything conclusive.
I've tried disabling and enabling noise cancellation and all combinations of the in-call options.
There are 2 or 3 main theories which I've encountered:
1. The microphone goes to sleep when the phone display does. As soon as someone seems to not able to hear me, I move the phone away and the screen wakes up. This seems to sort it out temporarily.
2. Someone had posted on FixYa indicating that they tried putting a small piece of cotton after removing the back panel just behind where the mic is. Haven't tried this!
3. Everyone else seems to think that a factory reset would set it right. I haven't tried this as I need to find a bit of time to do this.
Also, I'm wondering if flashing to CM9's RC1 or 2 will sort out the issue. I'm thinking that it has to be a software glitch. In fact, someone reported that they solved it this way (can't remember where).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which ROM are you using right now?

Ihad the same issue on CM9 and got rid of it by flashing another radio. I originally had the xxlef, tried the xxlfb and ended up with the xxlf5 which works fine so far.

Try this for a fix
goto settings
sound
Toggle on then off or off then on the screen lock sounds then try again :good:

the-0ne said:
Also, I'm wondering if flashing to CM9's RC1 or 2 will sort out the issue. I'm thinking that it has to be a software glitch. In fact, someone reported that they solved it this way (can't remember where).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey,
just so you know. I am on CM9 and I have kind of the same issue. Sometimes audio is unidirectional, both ways actually, unable to recreate it so far. What always seems to work is my bluetooth headset. Switiching between the two of them makes me lose audio entirely. I have tried many things, even rebooting the phone Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't. I'm guessing it has something to do with BT.
I am NOT facing the issue with losing audio in the middle of the call when the display goes to sleep. The display goes to sleep because of the ligth sensor, btw. - not because the system is idling The display is not needed once the phone realizes it's attached to your ear (lights off).
It's driving me nuts
BUT: CM9 is amazing so far. It's fast, it's open, everything works just fine. Except for the phone as a phone of course

change modem

Oomahey said:
Which ROM are you using right now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Using Stock right now. OTA updates till Jun 26th.
badaeng said:
Ihad the same issue on CM9 and got rid of it by flashing another radio. I originally had the xxlef, tried the xxlfb and ended up with the xxlf5 which works fine so far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine's currently DDLF3
winwiz said:
Toggle on then off or off then off the screen lock sounds then try again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've just tried this, will report back. How do you think lock sounds affect the mic, though?

avetny said:
change modem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does CM9 come with an integrated modem switcher? I don't like messing around with "packages" too much. The more you mod everything, the less stuff has got to do with each other and it is more likely to run into trouble, because as a developer you can't really consider every side effect
So if this is actually about the modem (which I doubt, because the connection is just fine, it's just the audio output and input that is kind of broken) - what modem would I use with CM9? Can I just flash a random one over the current one?
Appreciate the advice.
Andreas

I notice that as soon as I take the phone away from my ear and the screen lights up I can again be heard... Wonder if there's a problem with the light off sensor affecting the mics too... It ALWAYS goes away when I remove the phone from my ear and the light sensor allows the backlight to come on again...
Might be a crazy thought but the evidence does seem to support this. I haven't turned off the light sensor in settings yet, if I even can, but was going to try next call...

I updated to BLG8 and I will see tomorrow if it happens again. Today I already had one call which lasted 11 minutes without interruptions. I will report as soon as I got more calls to test.

I had the same prob...
I just reflashed the official firmware frm the service centre.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app

Same problem here. Tried several roms, kernels and modems. Only one working for me is Checkrom v3 with xxlbf... but here also after a while some calls it reappears... I reflash modem and I am set for the next couple calls... then again
Ps: i am from Romania on Vodafone
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

I'm the OP and I now didnt had the problem for 2 months with the last stock ICS build.
It seems to be resolved.
I'm now on JB since today (XXDLIH) and will report if it comes back.

Solution to GPS won't Lock

I've been struggling for months with problems getting a lock with the GPS. It started with Lollipop 5.0.1 but gradually. Then when I installed a 5.1.1 rom, I could no longer get a lock at all. I tried all the fixes I could find. I even Odin'd back to ANJ7 so I could reset the GPS NV with the hidden menu.
Finally I came across a post that was a variation on the advice to tighten the screws on the back of the phone here: https://www.reddit.com/r/galaxynote...e_4_gps_problems_possible_solution_helped_me/. His situation was almost identical to mine so I tried it and it worked - instant GPS Lock! Hope this helps someone. Here is his post (thanks whoever you are!) for convenience:
[–]the_fixit_guy 0 points 3 months ago
I solved this problem on my Note 4 after months of trying nearly everything. The solution is below, but first let me show you what happened and what I tried:
-I had Kit Kat on my ATT Note 4 and no GPS Issues -I upgraded to Lollipop and then eventually started to notice GPS issues, but not right away -I tried all of these in various permutations with some success, but eventually the problem came back: --Rebooting --Deleting cache partition --Removing SD card --Removing SIM
Using GPS Status (free from Chartcross Limited), I would get 0 for satellites 'In Use' and all bars were at 0 signal strength.
I thought either to exchange my phone, but others have tried that to no avail, so I thought it might be Lollipop, but my issues started some time after the upgrade.
Finally, I came across a suggestion to tighten the screws of the phone, but I did it a bit differently because the screws were already tight. Here's what I did to fix it:
-Power off -Remove back cover -Remove battery -Remove SIM -Remove SD card -Remove all screws -Hold top of phone in left-hand and bottom of phone in right-hand and counter-rotate hands in a wringing motion to gently flex the phone. Not too much, but just enough to get things moving slightly. Do this a few times. -Replace SD card -Replace SIM -Place phone face down on a clean soft surface and gently press down with thumbs on every surface except the SIM, SD and battery area. Use firm pressure, but don't overdo it - just enough to reseat whatever is underneath. Also do this on the exposed areas where the metal contacts show through plastic cutouts. -Gently press down on the SIM and SD areas, but do not crush the metal covers - just enough pressure to flex the metal without bending them, and you will hear the SIM contacts make a few sounds - this is ok. -Replace all screws -Replace battery -Replace cover -Power on the phone -If you don't already have GPS Test from Chartcross Limited, install it (you can use any GPS app you like, but this one is free and will show you the signal strengths). -Run GPS Test and wait for a GPS FIX. You should see the satellites on a bar chart with colors, which should be at least yellow or green. Then the status should change to 3D Fix.
Ever since I did this, Google Maps now works (as opposed to location indicator blinking all or most of the time and chewing through my battery). I can drive again!

I recommend the app "TopNTP". It has fixed the GPS on several of my devices.

WaxysDargle said:
I recommend the app "TopNTP". It has fixed the GPS on several of my devices.
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As have been previously discussed in this forum in very technical detail, changing NTP servers has 0 affect on GPS. What you observed was a placebo effect.
@Dumbo53 do you have another phone with working GPS to which you can compare signal strength?

mxxcon said:
As have been previously discussed in this forum in very technical detail, changing NTP servers has 0 affect on GPS. What you observed was a placebo effect.
@Dumbo53 do you have another phone with working GPS to which you can compare signal strength?
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You are implying with your statement that I didn't do any controlled testing or systematic verification on my aforementioned devices. The fact is that this app resolved configuration issues I've had in the past.
Don't be such a blorkus about it. I'm just trying to help.

WaxysDargle said:
You are implying with your statement that I didn't do any controlled testing or systematic verification on my aforementioned devices. The fact is that this app resolved configuration issues I've had in the past.
Don't be such a blorkus about it. I'm just trying to help.
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Please explain how you performed controlled testing or systematic verification?
As I mentioned elsewhere on this forum, I have quiet a lot of development experience working on NTP protocol, so please go into as much technical detail as you can.
Thank you.
edit: you are also welcome to chime in in this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=62843024&postcount=46

No but no need. Once I did the above my phone's GPS was like it was when the phone was new. It locks instantly. I've since used Maps again and it doesn't miss a turn. I'd almost forgot how good it was. It's made my phone feel brand new again. In retrospect I think I had an intermittent connection that finally failed. Maybe it started when I dropped it. Flexing and pushing down on the back reseated something.
Sent from my SM-N910T3 using XDA Free mobile app

mxxcon said:
Please explain how you performed controlled testing or systematic verification?
As I mentioned elsewhere on this forum, I have quiet a lot of development experience working on NTP protocol, so please go into as much technical detail as you can.
Thank you.
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Click to collapse
You misunderstand. I never claimed to know how it works and I'm not gonna explain my methods to you. I'll just tell you that it worked for me. I understand the placebo effect very well and was aware of it. Sorry to tell you that that app absolutely resolved my issue. I troubleshoot for a living and know what verification entails.
If you're done waving your pecker at me you'll notice that I don't care about your experience. Just disagree and move on.
What's with you ppl on these forums, anyways? Always wound up. Chill out already. You know people are starving somewhere right now?

Dumbo53 said:
No but no need. Once I did the above my phone's GPS was like it was when the phone was new. It locks instantly. I've since used Maps again and it doesn't miss a turn. I'd almost forgot how good it was. It's made my phone feel brand new again. In retrospect I think I had an intermittent connection that finally failed. Maybe it started when I dropped it. Flexing and pushing down on the back reseated something.
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So sometimes you used to have strong signal but sometimes almost nothing? It's not like it was constantly bad?
---------- Post added at 02:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:49 AM ----------
WaxysDargle said:
You misunderstand. I never claimed to know how it works and I'm not gonna explain my methods to you. I'll just tell you that it worked for me. I understand the placebo effect very well and was aware of it. Sorry to tell you that that app absolutely resolved my issue. I troubleshoot for a living and know what verification entails.
If you're done waving your pecker at me you'll notice that I don't care about your experience. Just disagree and move on.
What's with you ppl on these forums, anyways? Always wound up. Chill out already. You know people are starving somewhere right now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow..Who's wound up? What pecker waving? Did you see me show you any kind of attitude? Wow... What crawled up your ass and died?

Yeah sometimes it worked normally. As I said it gradually went bad - working sometimes normally but more and more refusing to work at all. This wasn't a problem of weak signal. The GPS just wouldn't work at all - no update of position for long periods though I'd moved. When I installed the 5.1.1 rom it packed up entirely. Perhaps the heat of the backups and installs in reality finished the tenuous connection I still had. I can see now that it was never a software problem.
Sent from my SM-N910T3 using XDA Free mobile app

I was having problems with the GPS also and after doing research this solution kept popping up being a little skeptical I decided to send the phone to Samsung and was informed the repair would be expensive so finally decided to bite the bullet and try tightening the screws,for the last two months the GPS has worked flawlessly so I can confirm this is a viable solution and before replacing paying for repair it should be tried.

I tried this repair, and gave it thorough testing. My gps has been flawless since.
Thank you!
Sent from my SM-N910T3 using Tapatalk

I just tried this and it didn't work for me.
Removed all the screws, twisted my phone a bunch of times, pushed down everywhere, reassembled it and No change in GPS quality.

I'm not surprised. It won't work for every gps problem, plus you need a bit of luck! I will say that I pressed pretty hard; as hard as I thought I could do without breaking the screen's glass underneath.
Sent from my SM-N910T3 using XDA Free mobile app

I uses toptnp in the playstore.... Works for me!
Sent from my SM-N910T