Related
I've written up a full review of the GPS:
http://briefmobile.com/samsung-epic-4g-gps-test
YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7PBst2OBCw&feature=player_embedded
I tested the GPS with Google Navigation, Maps, and My Tracks applications.
Observations overall:
- Accuracy was slightly off (as shown by My Tracks... worked perfectly in Google Navigation)
- Worked reliably over hours of navigating to and from destinations --- NEVER lost my car
- Compass seems off in My Tracks, shows correctly in Google Navigation
Check out my article for more details. Overall... thumbs up. GPS works well. Always worked with navigation perfectly.
Glad to see it works but still concerned about the lack of accuracy. The Evo my wife has seems to have a much more accurate lock than what was shown in the video.
kennethpenn said:
I've written up a full review of the GPS:
http://briefmobile.com/samsung-epic-4g-gps-test
YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7PBst2OBCw&feature=player_embedded
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Click to collapse
1) Thanks for this test. So far I see no results that would appear to be a hard stop. But in the other thread, you mentioned that your Epic GPS accuracy was not as good as your G1. So I am still concerned. I think performance on this new, expensive, high-end Android should be at least as good as the performance of the oldest Android model.
Also, driving is the least demanding test of the low-level GPS, and there are many applications for it besides vehicular navigation. On other Galaxy S platforms, the GPS tracks seem to get smoothed or interpolated, which in driving tests seems okay most of the time because the motion of the vehicle ovewhelms the underlying errrors in the smoothing algorithm. The result is that the GPS seems great while moving pretty straight, but can veer off-course on turns, corners and stops. You did mention similar symptoms. (And then navigation programs mask errors further by snap-to behavior layered onto the smoothed GPS output.)
I know it must seem that I am never satisfied, but I am always interested in more rigorous testing. Often a better My Tracks test is over a walking course, preferably along with a benchmark device such as the G1. And the whole track -- not just isolated snapshots -- then can be shared with us via upload to Google.
For example, look at my own tests of the Vibrant vs G1 here.
(If you are worried about your own privacy, just test in some location other than your home. I went to an apartment complex in my neighborhood.)
2) Another set of GPS-bug symptoms reported on other Galaxy S platforms is the failure to use and lock on to enough satellites. That is best seen not through tracking or navigation apps, but by utilities that read and report the detailed performance of the GPS from the Android system. The two most popular utilities for this testing are GPS Test and GPS Status. Among other things, they will tell you how many satellites the GPS thinks it sees, their signal strength as SNR, and how many are actually being used for a fix. Could you try those utilites and report the results?
3) You haven't told us exactly how your test unit came into your hands. But we do know from other intelligence that at least some pre-sales demo units were selectively shipped before the latest Samsung software was installed. So it is useful to know the build date of your unit, as shown by internal file date stamps. (Perhaps this can clear up some confusion about other reported tests.)
4) From the latest build dumps we have seen, it appears that the Epic -- uniquely among Samsung S variants -- has a system utility called GpsSetup. Can you see any evidence that this utility is installed on your unit? If so, what does it do? Are there configurable settings? If so, what are the default settings, and what settings are you using?
Thanks again for your work.
Regarding the compass ...
From the review:
My Tracks Observations:
... Compass pointer totally off. ...
Google Navigation Observations:
... Compass points the right way.
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Click to collapse
I think this simply means that the compass sensor -- and/or the low-level software that drives it -- remain bad on the tested Epic unit. In My Tracks, the compass is driven by the on-board magnetometer of the phone and is supposed to move when the phone's physical orientation changes. In Google Navigation, the compass is fixed relative to the maps streamed from the app's servers.
The FUBAR compass on Samsung S phones is sort of related to the GPS bugs, because some apps read both sensors. So users often perceive them as the same problem. But they are two separate issues.
Looks like it's the defective compass spoils the accuracy.
I know it's not going to prove much, but here is a video with another user saying the GPS is fine on the Epic:
http://androidandme.com/2010/08/news/sprint-epic-4g-qa-part-1/
6 minutes in.
It's also a good video worth watching if you'd just like to see the phone in action some more. I'll post this in the reviews thread as well I suppose.
hydralisk said:
I know it's not going to prove much, but here is a video with another user saying the GPS is fine on the Epic:
http://androidandme.com/2010/08/news/sprint-epic-4g-qa-part-1/
6 minutes in.
It's also a good video worth watching if you'd just like to see the phone in action some more. I'll post this in the reviews thread as well I suppose.
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With the correct gps settings no sgs phone has issues standing still. You wont see anything wrong with the gps until you use it while driving. Everyone with a sgs phone should know this. If I had a sgs phone & a epic the first thing I would do would test the gps while driving and post a video. I think its weird how no one will do this. I am getting a epic first thing tues am and will post video of speed of the epic vs sgs phone with lag fix, gps test while driving & video\pic quality. Since these are the main things in question.
shep211 said:
With the correct gps settings no sgs phone has issues standing still. You wont see anything wrong with the gps until you use it while driving. Everyone with a sgs phone should know this. If I had a sgs phone & a epic the first thing I would do would test the gps while driving and post a video..
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Click to collapse
Actually, in my experience the opposite tends to be true about SGS phones. Driving tests tend to obscure the accuracy problems. Standing still and walking tracks are tougher tests of accuracy. And videos are not as detailed as actual My Tracks output uploaded to Google, where we can all zoom in an explore ther results in detail on a map or satellite background. Some problems that can show up driving are the cases where the GPS track veers off-road on turns and stops.
I have seen plenty of driving "reviews" and "tests" of the GPS in other variants of the phone that erroneously report everything is fine (which is why I still take the OP's results with a grain of salt, no offense). My own testing with Vibrants showed relatively decent tracking while driving, but very poor accuracy when stopped or moving as a pedestrian.
EDIT: I finally found and watched the newly linked Youtube video here, and was totally unimpressed by this reviewer. He was cluelessly misinformed about the status of the GPS problems on other platforms, and his andecdotal report of using the GPS on the Epic through Google Navigate app proved nothing at all.
BTW, for a good summary of the GPS problems on Samsung Galaxy S phones generally, see this post at the international I9000 forum. These issues are much more complex than superficial reviews engage.
boomerbubba said:
Actually, in my experience the opposite tends to be true about SGS phones. Driving tests tend to obscure the accuracy problems. Standing still and walking tracks are tougher tests of accuracy. And videos are not as detailed as actual My Tracks output uploaded to Google, where we can all zoom in an explore ther results in detail on a map or satellite background. Some problems that can show up driving are the cases where the GPS track veers off-road on turns and stops.
I have seen plenty of driving "reviews" and "tests" of the GPS in other variants of the phone that erroneously report everything is fine (which is why I still take the OP's results with a grain of salt, no offense). My own testing with Vibrants showed relatively decent tracking while driving, but very poor accuracy when stopped or moving as a pedestrian.
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I understand what you are saying. Going over 60 mph the gps performs better then when going slow and making turns or tracking a run. But standing still I have never had it not lock and work. The only videos of the epic are of standing still lock times.
shep211 said:
I understand what you are saying. Going over 60 mph the gps performs better then when going slow and making turns or tracking a run. But standing still I have never had it not lock and work. The only videos of the epic are of standing still lock times.
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Click to collapse
I'm not talking about an apparent locking problem. I'm talking about the other symptom of the GPS bug: lack of accuracy.
There are many reports -- and I have experienced this myself on Vibrants -- where the satellite signal appears to lock. But the accuracy of the lat/lon coordinates being reported is all over the place. And they can be outside the theoretical range of accuracy being reported. For example, GPS Test or GPS Status --reading the ouptut of the Android listeners, which in turn are reading the onboard GPS chip -- may say the fix is supposed to bee accurate within 20 feet. But the coordinates are a couple hundred feet away from the actual location, and meandering over time.
boomerbubba said:
Actually, in my experience the opposite tends to be true about SGS phones. Driving tests tend to obscure the accuracy problems.
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Click to collapse
I agree with this. Driving programs "snap" to streets obscuring lateral positioning inaccuracy.
boomerbubba said:
EDIT: I finally found and watched the newly linked Youtube video here, and was totally unimpressed by this reviewer. He was cluelessly misinformed about the status of the GPS problems on other platforms, and his andecdotal report of using the GPS on the Epic through Google Navigate app proved nothing at all.
BTW, for a good summary of the GPS problems on Samsung Galaxy S phones generally, see this post at the international I9000 forum. These issues are much more complex than superficial reviews engage.
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Click to collapse
I absolutely agree. Where are the important tests????:
TTFF (time to first fix) from RTN (factory start) with several different devices, eg touch Pro 2, Evo, etc in same location.
TTFF from cold, warm and hot starts with competing models in same place. IE how well is assistance and cache working
Number of birds and SNR, ie how good is actual autonomous gps hardware "
HDOP, VDOP PDOP ""
I am seeing multiple poorly done youtubes that could easily be tower triangulation which under good conditions will get you >30' standing still but blow once you start moving. These guys are not just not reporting SNR, they are not even reporting number of sats and HDOP!
The ops tests (and thank you) are not too bad, but there is no data. For example he says: "Also, the GPS occasionally took more than 10 seconds to “lock on” with a cold start." That is the average for top smartphones for an actual cold start. a cold start is no current Ephemeris or almanac stored. starting up a data connection and pulling assistance data (almanac and ephemeris) of visible birds is a agps "cold start" and typically takes at least ten seconds (a few minutes in standalone gps)./
New '98 feet' bug on Epic GPS
Now that the Epic is out, we are starting to see the usual confusing mix of anecdotal impressions of GPS performance.
Over on another forum, one interesting fact is emerging: There seems to be a new bug, unique to the Epic's implementation of GPS: The imputed accuracy is being reported by several different testers in different scenarios, always at 98 feet! It is as if this number is hard-coded into the GPS firmware.
See Testing the GPS Satellite usage on your new Epic, the right way. Have "use wireless networks" off and Epic GPS - does yours work or not?
boomerbubba said:
Now that the Epic is out, we are starting to see the usual confusing mix of anecdotal impressions of GPS performance.
Over on another forum, one interesting fact is emerging: There seems to be a new bug, unique to the Epic's implementation of GPS: The imputed accuracy is being reported by several different testers in different scenarious, always at 98 feet! It is as if this number is hard-coded into the GPS firmware.
See Testing the GPS Satellite usage on your new Epic, the right way. Have "use wireless networks" off and Epic GPS - does yours work or not?
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The gps has most of the same issues the others have but the epic doesn't lag when it does work.
Some gps videos I made while working Tuesday. Epic gps worked 1\3.
epic gps fail 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7HUQAKg6Lc
epic gps fail 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV1Na51Dy5A
A 'known issue' with Epic GPS?
FYI, a user on another forum is reporting that Sprint tech support acknowledged a "known issue" with the GPS.
boomerbubba said:
FYI, a user on another forum is reporting that Sprint tech support acknowledged a "known issue" with the GPS.
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Click to collapse
Thank you for the link. I have had the same issue where it wont lock and takes over 5 mins then when it does lock it takes 3-5 mins for it to get your correct location. It looks like the only thing they improved was agps but gps still needs the new driver coming out in September. I really hope Samsung fixes the gps issues.
boomerbubba said:
Now that the Epic is out, we are starting to see the usual confusing mix of anecdotal impressions of GPS performance.
Over on another forum, one interesting fact is emerging: There seems to be a new bug, unique to the Epic's implementation of GPS: The imputed accuracy is being reported by several different testers in different scenarios, always at 98 feet! It is as if this number is hard-coded into the GPS firmware.
See Testing the GPS Satellite usage on your new Epic, the right way. Have "use wireless networks" off and Epic GPS - does yours work or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went into my local sprint store that had 2 epics on display with my wife. We were there to decide if they're worth almost $800(waiting for price drop). So I loaded gps status on both demo epics, accuracy 98ft, they also displayed 1-2 less sats than my g1 which had @20-60ft accuracy sitting on the counter 10" lower and directly between the epics. I know this is a static test and doesn't mean much, when I asked the sales people if I could drive around....just kidding.
I talked to a sprint district manager at work today and he confirmed the epics have a gps issue and button issue.. He said a fix is coming out for the gps issue, but the buttton issue is only on some first batch of epics and to take mine back..
kgold708 said:
I went into my local sprint store that had 2 epics on display with my wife. We were there to decide if they're worth almost $800(waiting for price drop). So I loaded gps status on both demo epics, accuracy 98ft, they also displayed 1-2 less sats than my g1 which had @20-60ft accuracy sitting on the counter 10" lower and directly between the epics. I know this is a static test and doesn't mean much, when I asked the sales people if I could drive around....just kidding.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yet another confrirmation of the new '98 feet' bug!
kgold708 said:
I went into my local sprint store that had 2 epics on display with my wife. We were there to decide if they're worth almost $800(waiting for price drop). So I loaded gps status on both demo epics, accuracy 98ft, they also displayed 1-2 less sats than my g1 which had @20-60ft accuracy sitting on the counter 10" lower and directly between the epics. I know this is a static test and doesn't mean much, when I asked the sales people if I could drive around....just kidding.
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Click to collapse
I got my captivate for $50 from amazon. Im sure the epic will drop to $50-100 with in 1 month on amazon. Its at $200 now with free activation.
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Epic-..._1_4?ie=UTF8&s=wireless&qid=1283358779&sr=8-4
What I am finding is poor Signal to Noise, on average about 10db lower on average for the same birds than Touch Pro2 and Treo Pro are showing while keeping them all in the same spot. For example one satellite is showing me as very healthy 41 on Treo Pro (HTC made Palm), 39 on Touch Pro 2, and same bird is 27 on Epic. It also seems to jump to usage of some of the really bad snr birds.
I am also wondering about what is going on with trigger of almanac and ephemeris population over 3g. I am getting inconsistent results on that.
There is a third problem which is that with 4 >17 SNR birds in view, which should be adequate and give hdop of <2, position still seems to jump and be incorrect by an average of 30' to 60'
Can anyone tell me what your SNR values are? best would be compared to other known good gps smartphones in same location.
I bought my Galaxy S few weeks ago and I could barely use the GPS. It took way too long to get it working and still it was inaccurate.
Few days ago I flashed JM2 firmware and installed app called TrackerBooster (can be found in the Android Market). Now the GPS works perfectly, takes only few seconds to get it connected (outdoors). I have used it now like 15 times and max. time I had to wait was 20 seconds.
I'm not sure does TrackerBooster app need to be installed, might work well without it, haven't tested.
I hope this helps those who have problems with GPS but this is just my experience, I would wait for other comments before flashing new a firmware.
It's called new firmware flashing syndrom for GPS. Basically, if you flash to any new firmware, your GPS will work for a few days.
As Foxbat said, a full flash/reset cycle improves results on the pathetic, schizophrenic and overall random SGS GPS implementation. But I am not going to be a smart ass and insinuate you don't know what you're talking about.
Instead I'll just ignore all the previous "the GPS issue is fixed" claims by many users who prematurely yelled "fixed" and just cowardly quote one of my favourite authors..."Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan
Plus we shall also ignore the previous 308 users who have "cried Wolf"^-1. Please refer to your favorite fable author for proper reference.
Its occurred so many times, it actually has it's own syndrome!! FFS
Beowulf_pt said:
As Foxbat said, a full flash/reset cycle improves results on the pathetic, schizophrenic and overall random SGS GPS implementation. But I am not going to be a smart ass and insinuate you don't know what you're talking about.
Instead I'll just ignore all the previous "the GPS issue is fixed" claims by many users who prematurely yelled "fixed" and just cowardly quote one of my favourite authors..."Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan
Plus we shall also ignore the previous 308 users who have "cried Wolf"^-1. Please refer to your favorite fable author for proper reference.
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Click to collapse
So you still trolling the forums about your GPS problem even after you sold your Samsung if you ever had one from the beginning. I have never had serious problem as many others and if only 308 of millions have had a problem it must certainly be a really good GPS. Stop trolling you only because look like an ignorant user who really do not want to make the phone better but want to promote NOKIA.
For sure, milsjg. You can add me too as ignorant, 309th user who's GPS sucks d*ck hard.
I wish my GPS sucked d**k... that would at least make it useful! ) 310th user here noticing GPS issues... that said while I was on JM7, I managed to record a very very close to perfect track using mytracks... for the walking section of my test it went perfectly even showing where I retraced my steps to go to poo bins! But when I got on to driving it went a bit mental and I apparently drove through the fire station, the wrong way round roundabouts and demolished a few streets worth of houses, but occationally it did show me going down the right side of the road!
You forget that before he even got it, he was complaining that he was reluctant to buy the phone because of reports about lag and GPS (and then, proceeded to buy it anyway).
The main problem is that people have different quality of acceptance for GPS. Some people expect a signal which compares with a fitness GPS (accurate within 2 or 3 meters generally), and some of us don't care if it drifts off by 20m.
Any technology which doesn't have a definitive state will get various opinions...
andrewluecke said:
You forget that before he even got it, he was complaining that he was reluctant to buy the phone because of reports about lag and GPS (and then, proceeded to buy it anyway).
The main problem is that people have different quality of acceptance for GPS. Some people expect a signal which compares with a fitness GPS (accurate within 2 or 3 meters generally), and some of us don't care if it drifts off by 20m.
Any technology which doesn't have a definitive state will get various opinions...
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Click to collapse
But then when it comes to navigation (arguably the principal purpose of having GPS in these devices) things go totally haywire! ) Personally I wonder whether GPS was installed purely for marketing purposes, to allow app developers (and of course google!) to snoop as to where their users are and how they are using their devices. For that there's no need for close tracking! )
not sure why you would fault beowulf for buying, if as you indicate he had some concerns - the damn phone is drop dead gorgous. If any product could stimulate optimism or optimistic hope, even in a skeptic, this phone would. And that's what makes it so frustrating.
I'm going to hate sending it back (i negotiated an extended buyer remorse return period) but if GPS isn't corrected by mid sept, this phone is history
samsung having released it w/o working gps is maybe forgiveable, but then even assuming they didn't know about the issue before release, it's been over 90 days since the asian release, and it's still not working.
Lay on top of that that samsung announced the GPS had been "validated" in the EPIC 4G, and it turns out it isn't. That did nothing but strengthen my doubts on samsung delivering a solution.
Tried this tracker booster app, makes no difference, gps still horrendous. If some people think that a 20m accuracy variation is acceptable for a gps lock they are a bloody fool.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Bynar010 said:
Tried this tracker booster app, makes no difference, gps still horrendous. If some people think that a 20m accuracy variation is acceptable for a gps lock they are a bloody fool.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
Then it must be the firmware I flashed. There's a big difference with JM2 and the previous FW I had, if I remember right it was JF3.
The accuracy is good, for example Endomondo regonizes few meter changes. (like changing side of the road).
Sorry to offend you but Beowulf_pt has no SGS and still he is lurking around complaining. If you think about it ,there must be some reasons that I and several others have a perfectly normal (no correction) GPS on our SGS. Why is it working so different for different persons? Some logical alternatives would be error in a batch of phones (switch it), or operator programming has messed it up (get new operator), or just overload caused by program running in background, memory and task mangers etc ( educate yourself or wait for a proper kernel - see below) or in some cases just plain trolling of some non SGS owners (see my last reply).
The GPS chip is new and according to the web only recently the code for efficient low level drivers, for the linux kernel, has started to appear on internet (23 august). It will take some weeks before they are implemented so I would bet that they have fixed it by the end of September. You know, bad driver = slow, no calender etc. You will notice it specially when you use program that uses lots of resources (Maps and My tracker). It is much more efficient with Cardiotrainer for example or GPS test. (see my third conclusion above). I have noticed that (at least for me) it takes 5 - 10 sec to get a first lock in GPS test but half a minute at least in Maps or My Tracks.
Another tip is to run for example GPS test for one minute or so before My Track so the GPS gets some satellite data downloaded (calenders). The time also helps the GPS to calculate the exact position to use as a start point. You normally need a minute or so if the calenders are to old or you moved to get the right positions.
Iphone 4 has a good GPS (3 is crap according to some owners and it is not fixed. Do you hear any complaints?). The chip is one generation older than SGS and Apple do not need to wait for the kernel to be changed in there Iphone. They do it them self and by the way Iphone 4 is not really multitasking which means that GPS programs can easily be prioritized.
Well this is a short version. The net is filled with facts and if you start read a little you can start puzzle together what the cause is for your faulty GPS (nearly nobody believes its hardware any more).
By the way, I am not ignorant and I know rather much about GPS and how to evaluate tracking (I have written several scientific papers on tracking of wildlife where at least one was on the subject - evaluation of ARGOS tracking devices using GPS as reference). I have owned several mobiles and GPSes, programmed and built fish tracking devices, and did my thesis on wildlife tracking. I stating this not to try to end the GPS discussion but to make it a little bit more "scientific" and not so emotional like the comments on my last reply. There still nobody that knows how many that has a problem with the GPS. We only know that a few of millions have complained and a few of millions have said there satisfied with it.
Bynar010 said:
Tried this tracker booster app, makes no difference, gps still horrendous. If some people think that a 20m accuracy variation is acceptable for a gps lock they are a bloody fool.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
On the contrar my friend, 5 - 15 meters is what you can expect and that means that the fix has 95 % certainty to be in that interval. 20 is a little bit above what you can expect but not much. In good dedicated trackers or a good phones you can get 5 meters (which I often get after 30 sec outside) and 2,5 for some fixes but not constant. A mobile is not a dedicated GPS and with the suspected driver problem 20 would not be bad. Try with GPS test, under open sky, and holding it at the bottom of the phone. Before you start you should turn off and on the GPS and close all task managers and started programs. You know that home means often that you leave the program running in the background but using back shuts it down. And wait for 30 - 60 seconds. If you get 10 be satisfied it,s a phone and not a dedicated GPS.
My touch hd would actually follow the f$$king road. Not too much to ask that a brand new smart phone would do the same is it? Its nothing short of pathetic. Even my old tytn2 was superb as a gps device for navigation, this thing cannot be trusted.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
I for one am getting SICK of installing fw's hoping for a fix for GPS.
They put a good hardware-wise device out.. But its kinda shoddy the fw development isn't equally as good. I have flashed nearly ALL the fw's to no real avail..
I am started to get frustrated after all this patience..
FWIW
Running 2.2 with no lag, fix no root, no apps to help. Google Nav and Co-Pilot work flawlessly. Mytracks follows me walking down the pavement at the correct position and on the correct side of the road with very few deviations.
I really cannot see what all the fuss is ablout here.
Tehpriest said:
FWIW
Running 2.2 with no lag, fix no root, no apps to help. Google Nav and Co-Pilot work flawlessly. Mytracks follows me walking down the pavement at the correct position and on the correct side of the road with very few deviations.
I really cannot see what all the fuss is ablout here.
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Click to collapse
well try it in a car and get supprised...
praun said:
well try it in a car and get supprised...
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That is where I use both Co-Pilot and Google Nav.....
Beowulf_pt said:
..y quote one of my favourite authors..."Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan
.
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Well I rather stick with Popper. Extraordinary evidence or support isn't that hard to get (look at the paranormal claims etc). What is more difficult and more fruitful to come by is some clever tests that eventually will or can refute a claim. If a theory will pass those tests it is actually more trustworthy then when it gets "extraordinary" evidence.
Again, no theory will stand till the end of time, how extra-ordinary our evidences may be.
Lol, back to the gps.
I guess the title says it all. Has the official UK froyo release fixed the GPS?
This is the swinging factor on which phone I get!
No.
Eleven chars
I don't know about fixed but mine is certainly a lot better. It no longer loses lock every 5 mins or so using route tracker pro. and it turns back on properly after using waze - so averall a great improvement.
No.
Suggest you get something else if GPS is important to you because it is absolutely crap on the Galaxy S. It is inaccurate and will jump back and forth at regular intervals. It will also lose lock very easily if there are high buildings around. I can't even get a lock sitting on the top deck of a bus and next to the window.
Yes in a big way. 10sec lock.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
I'm not so worried by how long it takes to lock, more-so by how it keeps the lock and can track an accurate location.
I'm assuming it is still all over the place then.
brisnick said:
I'm not so worried by how long it takes to lock, more-so by how it keeps the lock and can track an accurate location.
I'm assuming it is still all over the place then.
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you are right, useless for what you need.
Why not RMA, ask for a new built phone, test GPS and report back?. I'm sure it will be ok in most cases. It looks like it was fixed on later hardware but no one is going to make Samsung admit it
No here too, better but still tracks really badly at times. Will look into an rma when I get some time to. Pity because apart from the gps I really rate this phone.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Well, so far, based on my experience in the last 3 days, it is better. At least it seems like it is. I used RunKeeper quite a lot before, the tracks showed me flying over the river and stuff like that, but after I got FroYo, it got better. My tracks are more exact and it seems the GPS reception is not lost, like it used to. We will see how it will go on...
Huge no. It takes sometimes up to half an hour to get lock and then only lasts mins.
Add to that the advertised (here in australia anyway) free navigation which does not work here (no, google maps is not free navigation, its google maps. Navigation is navigation). Its an awesome phone but, and i may regret saying this. The horribly slow, misleadingly advertised, failure of a phone nokia N97 wins on delivering gps by a long shot. There i said it, its out there.
No. GPS still not working for me. Yesterday I couldn't even get a fix (outside, no tall buildings, no overcast)
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Those of you that know me here will know I have dedicated a large slice of my spare time in trying to find out as much information as possible.
Throughout that time my GPS was totally useless running on one of the very first SGS's released in the UK.
Anyway, I altered nothing on the phone left it on it's stock ROM and did the upgrade last Saturday.
In short Kies totally wrecked the phone and I had to resort to using Odin to sort out the mess.
I've since told Samsung exactly what happened and my thoughts to Kies.
However, you are asking what is the GPS like.......
I have nothing to gain. Far from it I would be at the very front in damning Samsung for using Kies but the honest answer from me on GPS is for the very first time I can say I totally am impressed with it.
Whilst sat in my home, a good 10 feet away from the window in a large house with thick walls and three floors I get a lock within seconds and notice again for the first time many locked Satellites with signals above AND below 20SNR, yes below 20... (Prior to the upgrade not once did I receive a locked signal on anything other than above 20).
More importantly under My Tracks the lock follows my movements accurately and not once loses it's signal.
I took the dogs out this afternoon for a long walk and each time I checked the phone I noticed the compass showing the correct bearing and the GPS signal right bang on top of my position.
No... bought a SGS in the UK last month and have been using it in Brazil. GPS has been completely useless for me. Froyo seemed to help at fist, but yesterday it took over 20 minutes to lock in google navigation. Terrible!!!
Easy to get a lock whilst walking, when i get in my car it becomes near useless.
I want to compare Nexus S's GPS to Galaxy S's. So could anyone there make a simple track with Nexus S walking and driving for atleast 2km. If possible do the tracking with a Galaxy S tracking at the same time as well.
Thanks
I actually have both a Nexus S and Vibrant, so I could do this for you. Is there any particular app you have in mind to do it with?
I guess you can use MyTracks.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
I did a 14km mountain bike ride with Runkeeper on, yesterday. Was my first try with the app (normally use MyTracks but this was my first ride since switching to the Nexus S). Not sure how to share it but this link is a start.
One thing I did notice is that the beginning of my ride included a 28 mile 'warp' from where I'd been using Google Maps the day before! I guess in future I need to give it a little more time establishing that initial fix before I press start. Luckily I was able to edit out that point to get the real route.
Please someone make a Mytracks tracking With a Nexus S and another phone (preferably HTC cause those have very good GPS units) and upload the results.
There you go.
I just made this one with my Nexus S:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U....555383,-44.264713&spn=0.002128,0.003484&z=19
Keep in mind that the sky was full of heavy clouds so I can't guarantee that the GPS was operating on its full accuracy.
A couple of months ago I made a track recording with my Motorola Milestone, here's the link:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...900089483924351110.0004990b6c3698b559c65&z=14
When I first saw the Nexus S track i was like "holy sh*t this looks bad". But then I went to my old milestone track and it was almost the same. You can only see how bad it is once you zoom in a lot.
nicholasbgr said:
There you go.
I just made this one with my Nexus S:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U....555383,-44.264713&spn=0.002128,0.003484&z=19
Keep in mind that the sky was full of heavy clouds so I can't guarantee that the GPS was operating on its full accuracy.
A couple of months ago I made a track recording with my Motorola Milestone, here's the link:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...900089483924351110.0004990b6c3698b559c65&z=14
When I first saw the Nexus S track i was like "holy sh*t this looks bad". But then I went to my old milestone track and it was almost the same. You can only see how bad it is once you zoom in a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Based on these two I would say that the Nexus S GPS is still not good enough or its just the weather. I hope the latter.
I'll try to post one of my old tracks from the same location made with HTC Hero (custom ROM though) and Google MyTracks. I'd do it now but the interface is impossible on this netbook screen!
Anyway - for me the Nexus S gets a fix much faster and seems generally at least as accurate, possibly more so.
You will only get at best about 3.5m accuracy from a regular gps device without dgps (waas/egnos). No phones that I know of, support dgps. With dgps you can get accurate to about 0.9m
If you need more accuracy then there are external gps/bluetooth modules that have dgps and fast refresh rates, for about $80.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Worse GPS than N1
Anecdotally and without any quantifiable experimentation, but based on using mytracks with GPS extremely regularly for running, I can say the GPS in the Nexus S seems a bit worse thanin the Nexus One. I didn't have both in my possession simultaneously for long enough to do the same track with both but I have loads of old Nexus One tracked routes I could re-run with the Nexus S to compare. The N1 gave me trouble every once in a while too though and the clouds have been rowdy lately, possibly contributing, so I'm optimistic. It's bearable in any case other than seeming to take more of a battery drain (again, anecdotally).
OK, here's a bunch of tracks from my HTC Hero if you're interested in trying to compare them.
http://goo.gl/maps/XSG4
(For convenience, the Nexus S link from earlier is this)
As I say, based purely on my observation the Nexus S gets the fix faster. Having a zoomed-in look at the two maps would say to me they're both as accurate as I could wish for.
from what I understand, the gps chip in the ns is good in terms of performance, locks faster, keeps lock longer under low signal conditions etc but isn't necessarily any more accurate than any of the previous models wear. gps accuracy is purposely limited for civilian use and I believe most chips out there can achieve that accuracy as long as they are able to track the required number of satellites.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
eahiv said:
Anecdotally and without any quantifiable experimentation, but based on using mytracks with GPS extremely regularly for running, I can say the GPS in the Nexus S seems a bit worse thanin the Nexus One.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with this. I use my gps and navigation all the time to drive around and the nexus s gps is typically 30 - 50ft behind the positioning marker. With my N1 it felt like the marker was about 10ft within my location.
Also I notice that the gps sometimes misplaces my postioning marker on the map and the compass points in the wrong direction. These arent problems I had with my N1 but perhaps because its cloudier now than when I had my N1.
I'd give the N1 gps a 9, and the NS gps a 6. What makes up for the weird accuracy issues is the bigger screen.
Thank you for all the replies. If at all possible, could someone still make one comparison with an external bluetooth gps, for example the nokia LD-3W. Also the higher update rate GPS's would be nice to compare.
As of the results, I'd conclude that Nexus S definitely has the same GPS chip and almost the same firmware as the SGS's, but antennas have definitely been improved. Atleast now the GPS on all SGS series devices, including the Nexus S, are capable of running a "satnav" properly. Now if I only could get my compass and accelerometer working on my SGS / JPX
I'm planning on getting an external bt GPS module for autocross, I'll report back then.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
I am having GPS/GLONASS accuracy issues. Especially when compared to my stellar Note 1 and Note 2. Whether using Google Maps or GPS Test app it seems much weaker and tends to wander/waiver especially when stationary. I have always kept network assistance turned off for better accuracy at the expense of initial lock speed.
I use Navionics app for boating and a couple of athletic training apps that depend on best accuracy.
GPS radio/antenna appears to go to sleep in less than two minutes while screen still awake. Power saving mode is turned off. Indoors Google Maps was comparable with TMo display. Will compare with Best Buy's and a couple of AT&T COR store displays before returning. Just disappointed with my new flagship : (
Reminiscent of Captivate and Infuse days!
$.01 via NOTE 3
Just what I didn't want to read. My new Note 3 has the same issues. I actually had to ship it off for repairs because the GPS was so terribly bad. Comparing with my S4 it is just broken. Lets just hope it is not a design flaw but a problem with some devices only.
/ j
I cannot agree.
I were hunting for 10 hours yesterday, logging 20km with barometric altitude using Oruxmaps.
The GPS worked fine and I spent about half the battery the entire trip (>12hrs)
Ingress appears also to be very precise and nice, I do not see any difference fomr Note2 - except that barometric sensor had a slow refresh-rate with display off on GN2, now it's fast.
Got a new replacement which is much better.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I tested with GPS test and an got accuracy of 3 meters which is damn fine if you ask me. Never seen it below 5 meters before...
Hendrickson said:
I tested with GPS test and an got accuracy of 3 meters which is damn fine if you ask me. Never seen it below 5 meters before...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nevermind
Same problem with my Tmobile note 3. Using GPS test app I show far less signal strength then the note 2 which had the best GPS reception I've seen on a phone. Having much difficulty locking on to a fix in the Learjet. The note 2 had no problem! Kind of sucks. New technology shouldn't be a step back.
Going to go ahead and exchange at the store.
xero187 said:
Same problem with my Tmobile note 3. Using GPS test app I show far less signal strength then the note 2 which had the best GPS reception I've seen on a phone. Having much difficulty locking on to a fix in the Learjet. The note 2 had no problem! Kind of sucks. New technology shouldn't be a step back.
Going to go ahead and exchange at the store.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am finding it very hard to get GPS lock with this device
The T-Mobile store had me compare mine to the unit in store. Same deal. I think it's a design flaw. The note 2 was so much better at receiving gps signals. Oh well, I guess they want to leave a reason to justify the note 4.
Location works fine, but the compass is way off. When walking it points about 100 degrees to the wrong site. The map does not show the road ahead but the road sideways.
This is true even in a train. Moving at 100km/h should give you a good clue of what North is, but it's still pointing wrong.
Hoping this will get fixed in an antenna firmware upgrade... !
andomar said:
Location works fine, but the compass is way off. When walking it points about 100 degrees to the wrong site. The map does not show the road ahead but the road sideways.
This is true even in a train. Moving at 100km/h should give you a good clue of what North is, but it's still pointing wrong.
Hoping this will get fixed in an antenna firmware upgrade... !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I noticed that too! Note 2 was way better! I think you're right about the compass calibration. Is there a way to calibrate it?
Luycks said:
I noticed that too! Note 2 was way better! I think you're right about the compass calibration. Is there a way to calibrate it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I lean the phone forward, and then back up, I could rotate the compass 180 degrees.
Found a solution now! I downloaded the "GPS Status & Toolbox" from "MobiWIA - EclipSim", and ran Tools -> Calibrate Compass. The compass is much more stable now!
it seems its an issue with some phones
It seems that gps issue affects only some phones.
other have reported here that the gps reception on their Note 3's is good.
On my SM-N900T the reception is stellar!
(about the same as on my note II)
koyanishi said:
It seems that gps issue affects only some phones.
other have reported here that the gps reception on their Note 3's is good.
On my SM-N900T the reception is stellar!
(about the same as on my note II)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tested the gps reception on my Note 3 and Note 2 in my back yard to give the report that I did in the above post
but since then I have traveled by airplane and can now report that neither my Note 2 or Note 3 could get a fix while the plane was at altitude but my Galaxy S4 did get a fix without too much difficulty.
On the ground all three of these instruments will get a fix about the same time and have generally the same accuracy - except that the Galaxy S4 according to the app GPS Test will have maybe one or more satellites in view and also have one or more satellites in use - but to reiterate - according to my quick tests the accuracy on the ground is about the same in all 3 devices.
koyanishi said:
I tested the gps reception on my Note 3 and Note 2 in my back yard to give the report that I did in the above post
but since then I have traveled by airplane and can now report that neither my Note 2 or Note 3 could get a fix while the plane was at altitude but my Galaxy S4 did get a fix without too much difficulty.
On the ground all three of these instruments will get a fix about the same time and have generally the same accuracy - except that the Galaxy S4 according to the app GPS Test will have maybe one or more satellites in view and also have one or more satellites in use - but to reiterate - according to my quick tests the accuracy on the ground is about the same in all 3 devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can almost confirm that the issue is related to the Compass.
Today I was in tram, and I suddenly lost lock. In GPS test it was showing only 1 satellite "in sight" and could not lock, which was wrong. The compass was also pointing the wrong way. After I shaked a bit the phone, it suddenly switched back to a normal position, 21 satellites in sight and quickly locked.
I will try to take a screenshot next time it happens
Is this worth a send-in for repair?
Mine is also having problems. Fix is 0, in view over 10. Not sure what's going on...
Did a compass calibration and it seems stable but still no fix. N900W8.
EDIT: I am starting to think its a hardware problem. Outdoors it does work but takes a long time for a fix, and the SNR is low compared to my S II or Note II.
@Class said:
Mine is also having problems. Fix is 0, in view over 10. Not sure what's going on...
Did a compass calibration and it seems stable but still no fix. N900W8.
EDIT: I am starting to think its a hardware problem. Outdoors it does work but takes a long time for a fix, and the SNR is low compared to my S II or Note II.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not enough to do compass calibration "once" with a program.
Whenever you are in the app that must achieve a lock, while it is trying, take the phone and rotate it a couple of times with the wrist. The compass should snap back to the appropriate value and you should quickly get a lock.
I reckon that the SNR maybe lower. I know for a fact that it's lower than the Tab2 7" which, in turn, has the best signal of any phone I've compared with, including Note2 and S2.
Nontheless since I do the compass trick I get reasonable lock speed and accuracy in most conditions. On the open the lock is almost instantaneous.
Hope it helps.
McBain_666 said:
It's not enough to do compass calibration "once" with a program.
Whenever you are in the app that must achieve a lock, while it is trying, take the phone and rotate it a couple of times with the wrist. The compass should snap back to the appropriate value and you should quickly get a lock.
I reckon that the SNR maybe lower. I know for a fact that it's lower than the Tab2 7" which, in turn, has the best signal of any phone I've compared with, including Note2 and S2.
Nontheless since I do the compass trick I get reasonable lock speed and accuracy in most conditions. On the open the lock is almost instantaneous.
Hope it helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is definitely a problem both with the GPS AND the data connection on the Note 3 vs. the Note 2!
I drive a tractor-trailer for a living and use Google Navigation constantly to find my destinations (I know it's routed for automobiles and not trucks; I'm intelligent enough to NOT drive my tractor-trailer down a road it's telling me to go down that I shouldn't!) - the Note 3 is CONSTANTLY losing it's GPS lock, and displays "Searching for GPS" on the screen. The only way I can get it back is to turn off GPS and then turn it back on. Then it'll sometimes work for just a couple of minutes, or a couple of hours before it happens again. Most of the time it's just 5-10 minutes before it loses GPS lock again. My Note 2 NEVER, not even once, did this!
I live in Phoenix, AZ and drive to Las Vegas several times a week to make deliveries. There are large areas where there's no data connection at all, and in some areas where my Note 2 had a 4G connection, the Note 3 has NO data connection whatsoever! And, I'm not talking a couple of miles here; I'm talking at least a 30 or 40 mile stretch of US 93.
Yesterday, I was driving across I-40 west in New Mexico, on my way back from Wichita, KS, and Google Navigation, when it was working, looked terrible on the screen - the roads were all fuzzy and "bloated" because, apparently, it wasn't downloading all the map data.
My Note 3 experience so far has been terrible (I'm experiencing a myriad of other problems, too - TERRIBLE Bluetooth call audio; sounds on the phone, except for my music being played through PowerAmp, just stopped working, even though ALL volumes were at maximum, had to reboot to get them working; screen is "jittery" when typing, it'll sometimes type multiple characters as if I'm rapidly pressing the keys, etc, etc!); I'm returning it today to AT&T for another one. If I have problems with that one, though, I'm returning it for another Note 2!
This makes me VERY sorry I sold my Note 2 on Craigslist!
Dennis
dmw_4814 said:
There is definitely a problem both with the GPS AND the data connection on the Note 3 vs. the Note 2!
I drive a tractor-trailer for a living and use Google Navigation constantly to find my destinations (I know it's routed for automobiles and not trucks; I'm intelligent enough to NOT drive my tractor-trailer down a road it's telling me to go down that I shouldn't!) - the Note 3 is CONSTANTLY losing it's GPS lock, and displays "Searching for GPS" on the screen. The only way I can get it back is to turn off GPS and then turn it back on. Then it'll sometimes work for just a couple of minutes, or a couple of hours before it happens again. Most of the time it's just 5-10 minutes before it loses GPS lock again. My Note 2 NEVER, not even once, did this!
I live in Phoenix, AZ and drive to Las Vegas several times a week to make deliveries. There are large areas where there's no data connection at all, and in some areas where my Note 2 had a 4G connection, the Note 3 has NO data connection whatsoever! And, I'm not talking a couple of miles here; I'm talking at least a 30 or 40 mile stretch of US 93.
Yesterday, I was driving across I-40 west in New Mexico, on my way back from Wichita, KS, and Google Navigation, when it was working, looked terrible on the screen - the roads were all fuzzy and "bloated" because, apparently, it wasn't downloading all the map data.
My Note 3 experience so far has been terrible (I'm experiencing a myriad of other problems, too - TERRIBLE Bluetooth call audio; sounds on the phone, except for my music being played through PowerAmp, just stopped working, even though ALL volumes were at maximum, had to reboot to get them working; screen is "jittery" when typing, it'll sometimes type multiple characters as if I'm rapidly pressing the keys, etc, etc!); I'm returning it today to AT&T for another one. If I have problems with that one, though, I'm returning it for another Note 2!
This makes me VERY sorry I sold my Note 2 on Craigslist!
Dennis
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is essentially what's happening with my ATT Note3.
GPS just drops in the middle of navigating; the notification-bar icon just goes away. I have to toggle GPS off and back on for it to work again. While it's working, it never works well; there's at least a 15sec 'lag' time from when I move to when the screen actually updates my position - but it never truly gets a precise location. I can go to a specific location 5 different times and I'll be 15 yards away in different directions each time.
This is in any of the various mapping/navigation/gps apps, but is most notable infuriating while Ingressing.
Weird that has never happened to me. Perhaps there is a background app that makes some confusion. I have extensively tested the GPS in the last days and I confirm that the only problem that I have is with the compass, rotating the phone a couple of times makes the GPS works fine. The navigation is very good so far. However this was always in the city where the reception is good and the 4G connection is always present.
Good luck
Sent from my SM-N9005 using xda app-developers app