[Q] Wonky GPS on AT&T S4? - Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi all. I'm having a bit of GPS weirdness. GPS can get a lock quickly and accurately, however, I have to turn it off/on every time I open an app that uses it. Otherwise, it won't ever find the location. Once I turn it off/on it picks up and stays locked while the app is running. Also, if I switch to another app that uses GPS I have to do the same thing to get a location fix.
So obviously, the GPS function works, but something in the OS is not recognizing it until it's reset. Not the end of the world, but definitely annoying. Is anyone else seeing this?
This is on the AT&T version, by the way.
Thanks!

Related

GPS issues..

The GPS on my phone has not been locking since I flashed CM7. I searched through some fixes but none seemed to help. I went back to the backup I had before I put CM7 on and the gps seemed to lock just fine. So I tried to flash while it had a lock but still nothing. I even tried using the GPS status app and that did nothing. Any other fixes that could help? Thanks
Have you tried flashing a different kernel? Maybe x99's or scaryghoul's as they are aosp roms their in the dev section. Always wipe your dalvik-cache b4 you flash a new kernel,I have very few issues when I do.
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA Premium App
My GPS actually locks instantly after I flashed CM7 and x99
I have only one problem. Sometimes it'll lose a signal and will never get signal again on its own.
The quickest and only solution (that I know) is to quickly exit Navigation, then go in and tap on the most recent trip and voila, instant GPS lock again.
Not a huge problem, but a weird annoyance.
doratheconquistadora said:
My GPS actually locks instantly after I flashed CM7 and x99
I have only one problem. Sometimes it'll lose a signal and will never get signal again on its own.
The quickest and only solution (that I know) is to quickly exit Navigation, then go in and tap on the most recent trip and voila, instant GPS lock again.
Not a huge problem, but a weird annoyance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I assume you mean Google Navigation? If so I think that is a problem with Google Navigation itself. I have the exact same issue on my stock but rooted Shift. It will lose GPS lock, usually within the first couple of minutes. It then is never able to reestablish the lock on its own. If I exit Navigation and go back in, or turn the GPS off then back on it gets a lock and keeps it.
I just started trying Google Navigation. I have been using Telenav since getting the Shift about 2 months ago. With Telenav I never lost GPS lock.
i've found, atleast for me, that this tends to happen when i have GPS off, then turn it on to use it and open telenav and it just cannot find a GPS lock. so i leave GPS on and reboot my phone, open televav back up and it finds a GPS lock pretty quickly. it's like if i turn off GPS, i can't get it to work again until i reboot my phone...
needless to say, GPS sucks ass on this phone. i've never had a phone with GPS problems like this one. but other than that, everything is perfect.
mine happens when somebody attempts to call me, the lock disappears. after i ignore the call, like others have stated it locks on instantly when i go back into navigation. but i do prefer telenav over google... traffic is on point :]
i've been having gps issues, i think its a bug in google maps. havent had time to test root on it yet
It seems like nothing wants to work. I installed the x99 kernel and my GPS will still not connect. It seems like it will only connect when I'm on stock. For some reason I cannot get it to work with CM7.
Look up the ##gpsclrx# fix. I don't remember all the steps but it requires you to reflash a Sense rom, dial ##gpsclrx#, enter your MSL (found via MSL Reader on HTC devices), reboot, maybe clear cache, and then reflash your rom of choice. Fixed my CM7 gps issues (even with the MSL "password" prompt telling me that the password was wrong).
Nan to stock . Use GPS on stock leave it on. Nan to or redownload cyanogen and GPS will work. Happens to me when first putting in a rom sometimes.
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App
Caromsoft said:
I assume you mean Google Navigation? If so I think that is a problem with Google Navigation itself. I have the exact same issue on my stock but rooted Shift. It will lose GPS lock, usually within the first couple of minutes. It then is never able to reestablish the lock on its own. If I exit Navigation and go back in, or turn the GPS off then back on it gets a lock and keeps it.
I just started trying Google Navigation. I have been using Telenav since getting the Shift about 2 months ago. With Telenav I never lost GPS lock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have this exact same problem with Google Navigation. It "loses the lock" after a few minutes like clockwork, but I can get a perfect one again right after, making me believe that it is the application and not the GPS. Is there any fix to this?? It really is annoying.
spenzher said:
I have this exact same problem with Google Navigation. It "loses the lock" after a few minutes like clockwork, but I can get a perfect one again right after, making me believe that it is the application and not the GPS. Is there any fix to this?? It really is annoying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also have the same problem. Would be interested in a fix because it's very annoying.

how to make GPS persistently lock on?

how to make the nexus 4 GPS persistently lock on to satellites? because on the nexus 4, GPS would lock on only if you are in a maps app, but if you exit, say if you press home or go check your music player, then it would lose the lock. it would have to re-lock when you re-enter the maps app. this is very annoying. on the iphone, once the GPS is locked on, then it's persistently locked on, regardless if you are in home screen, maps app, or whatever. it only loses lock if you turn off gps. how to fix this on the nexus 4?
You do realize this will nail a battery in 2 or 3 hours right?
Oh, you mean the app in suspended state, uhmmmm, not sure lol
jinjin12 said:
how to make the nexus 4 GPS persistently lock on to satellites? because on the nexus 4, GPS would lock on only if you are in a maps app, but if you exit, say if you press home or go check your music player, then it would lose the lock. it would have to re-lock when you re-enter the maps app. this is very annoying. on the iphone, once the GPS is locked on, then it's persistently locked on, regardless if you are in home screen, maps app, or whatever. it only loses lock if you turn off gps. how to fix this on the nexus 4?
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I don't think there is an Option for that. To reduce Battery usage, GPS is paused when an app is no longer actively using it.
If you were in Navigation app, then the GPS would stay on.
skezza said:
You do realize this will nail a battery in 2 or 3 hours right?
Oh, you mean the app in suspended state, uhmmmm, not sure lol
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Click to collapse
i guess you only read the title and didn't even read my post. even so, if you just read the title then you misunderstood my title. i said keep gps "persistently lock on", NOT "persistently on". there's a difference. that's means when i turn on gps, i want to to keep locking on to satellites once it's gets a signal. but like i said, right now, it will only keep the lock on if you stay on a maps app, if you switch apps, like to check your music, then it loses the signal and when you switch back to the maps app, then it has to relock on. this is very annoying and often relocking to satellites take a long time. on iphones, if you turn on gps and it locks on to satellites, then the gps stays locked on until you shut if off, irregardless of whether you are in a maps app or not. this is very useful, since you don't have to re-lock everytime when switching between apps and maps apps.
If you're rooted, try the app FasterGPS which allows you to amend your NTP pool which might improve your GPS locking times.
It also had some advanced settings but I can't tell if any of those can fix your main issue of getting persistent locks.
UberSlackr said:
I don't think there is an Option for that. To reduce Battery usage, GPS is paused when an app is no longer actively using it.
If you were in Navigation app, then the GPS would stay on.
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Click to collapse
see that makes no sense from a user perspective. poor implementation from google IMO. i mean if you turn on GPS, then it's already expected that you want to use it, so it should be kept locked on. sure sometimes you want to switch between apps while using a map to say change music or etc, but that should be no reason to turn of the GPS lock. i mean if you turned it on, then means you're going to use it for a while, so that's poor judgement on google. it's not like someone is going to turn on gps and forget to turn it off the whole day. also relocking is a pain, especially if it took a while for your GPS to even lock on in the first place. also wouldn't trying to relock waste alot of battery anyway, i don't see the point it...very inconvenient.
jinjin12 said:
see that makes no sense from a user perspective. poor implementation from google IMO. i mean if you turn on GPS, then it's already expected that you want to use it, so it should be kept locked on. sure sometimes you want to switch between apps while using a map to say change music or etc, but that should be no reason to turn of the GPS lock. i mean if you turned it on, then means you're going to use it for a while, so that's poor judgement on google. it's not like someone is going to turn on gps and forget to turn it off the whole day. also relocking is a pain, especially if it took a while for your GPS to even lock on in the first place. also wouldn't trying to relock waste alot of battery anyway, i don't see the point it...very inconvenient.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well from a different users perspective its makes sense. I use GPS.. via Navigation, via Google Now, and etc. But I don't want it on all the time when I don't need it, and I certainly do not want to have to Enable and Disable it every time I need it. If I need to do a quick search for a store/restaurant/etc, all I have to do is Ask it... if I had to Enable it every time I wanted to do that, it would require another step..
And from your other post, about Persistently On verses Persistent Lock, they are essential the same thing is this case. To have a Persistent GPS Lock that would require the GPS to be ON... therefore Persistently ON.
Note sure why you are having so much trouble getting a GPS Lock. The Nexus 4s GPS works pretty well in my experience (better than other phones I've had) - It even locks on to my location when I'm inside my Metal Workshop.. all other phones I had to step outside before GPS would lock on.
UberSlackr said:
Well from a different users perspective its makes sense. I use GPS.. via Navigation, via Google Now, and etc. But I don't want it on all the time when I don't need it, and I certainly do not want to have to Enable and Disable it every time I need it. If I need to do a quick search for a store/restaurant/etc, all I have to do is Ask it... if I had to Enable it every time I wanted to do that, it would require another step..
And from your other post, about Persistently On verses Persistent Lock, they are essential the same thing is this case. To have a Persistent GPS Lock that would require the GPS to be ON... therefore Persistently ON.
Note sure why you are having so much trouble getting a GPS Lock. The Nexus 4s GPS works pretty well in my experience (better than other phones I've had) - It even locks on to my location when I'm inside my Metal Workshop.. all other phones I had to step outside before GPS would lock on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
again you're misunderstanding the problem. and persistently ON is NOT the same and Persistent Lock ON . you can turn on GPS via location access and the GPS would be on but never not locked on to anything, thus nothing about the GPS would show up in the status bar, but the GPS would still be on, just at a low power state. on the other hand, the GPS can be on and actually be locked on to satellites, which happens only when you enter nagivation apps, and it would show up in the status as searching for location, this would require more power. just cause you don't see anything in the status bar about GPS does not mean it's off. if you turn on it GPS in location settings, then the device is on, only difference is if it's in lower power state or actively searching for satellites. exiting out of NAV apps put GPS in lower power state, similar to a standby mode.
i never said to keep it GPS on all the time. i only said to keep it location locked on when you turn on GPS.....huge difference. who actually leaves there GPS on all the time?
btw you said you don't want to enable/disable GPS when you need to use it but also you said you don't want it on all the time. so that's already a contradiction. because right now, in order to get GPS, you would already have to go to settings>location access then turn it on. so idk what' you talking about. and the only way to not have to enable/disable it all the time, is to leave it on all day, thus you've contradicted yourself.
and not i'm having any trouble getting a GPS lock, i never said that was the problem. i said i'm having trouble keeping it locked on when switching apps. after doing some research, it seems this is the default behavior of android, which is to remove active satellite lock when you go away from a NAgivation app.....very annoying. there are some apps in the playstore that claims to keep the lock on persistent, but they haven't worked for me
jinjin12 said:
again you're misunderstanding the problem. and persistently ON is NOT the same and Persistent Lock ON . you can turn on GPS via location access and the GPS would be on but never not locked on to anything, thus nothing about the GPS would show up in the status bar, but the GPS would still be on, just at a low power state. on the other hand, the GPS can be on and actually be locked on to satellites, which happens only when you enter nagivation apps, and it would show up in the status as searching for location, this would require more power. just cause you don't see anything in the status bar about GPS does not mean it's off. if you turn on it GPS in location settings, then the device is on, only difference is if it's in lower power state or actively searching for satellites. exiting out of NAV apps put GPS in lower power state, similar to a standby mode.
i never said to keep it GPS on all the time. i only said to keep it location locked on when you turn on GPS.....huge difference. who actually leaves there GPS on all the time?
btw you said you don't want to enable/disable GPS when you need to use it but also you said you don't want it on all the time. so that's already a contradiction. because right now, in order to get GPS, you would already have to go to settings>location access then turn it on. so idk what' you talking about. and the only way to not have to enable/disable it all the time, is to leave it on all day, thus you've contradicted yourself.
and not i'm having any trouble getting a GPS lock, i never said that was the problem. i said i'm having trouble keeping it locked on when switching apps. after doing some research, it seems this is the default behavior of android, which is to remove active satellite lock when you go away from a NAgivation app.....very annoying. there are some apps in the playstore that claims to keep the lock on persistent, but they haven't worked for me
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Click to collapse
Well I'm not going to sit here and argue with you all day. But regardless of what you believe, if you go to settings>location and enable GPS, its not Constantly On... There is no "Power Save" mode it falls into. At times apps like Google Now will access the GPS to get a location, this is why it will tell you the time of travel from work to home... the toggle in settings>location is simply to allow or disallow apps access to the GPS. The GPS is not actually "On" unless its called via an app... GPS is only running when you see the GPS Icon in the notification bar. When I get home I'll find the page where Google explains this change since android ICS.
GPS on my phone stays enabled via settings>location all the time... But its only used when I open Maps, Facebook, Google Now, etc. Check your battery stats (press the graph) and you will see when the GPS is actually used.
So again, to have Persistant LOCK ON your WILL HAVE TO HAVE THE GPS PERSISTENTLY ON - MEANING YOU HAVE TO HAVE AN APP THAT IS GOING TO PERSISTENTLY CALL THE GPS .. YOU CAN NOT HAVE A GPS LOCK UNLESS THE _____ THING IS ON and GOOGLE APPS DO NOT DO THIS
I think he's getting confused. He's saying that the data from the GPS is stored so the lock speed is quicker, but it already is. On GB, it was retained and it is too on JB, so he's wrong.
My GPS never has to relock when I switch apps.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
AS was said, GPS enabled is not the same as GPS ON. Enabled just means apps have access to the API to call GPS functions. ON means it's actively searching or locked to sats.
The implementation Google uses is the same as everyone. Your phone should pull down AGPS data via your data connection once every so often so when apps go for more detailed location they the phone will calculate the sats position and lock in 2-3 seconds. Without AGPS data the phone has to do a WARM lock (or a COLD lock which can take up to 2 minutes if your phone has been rebooted since the last lock).
So your phone is not functioning correctly if you haven't blocked AGPS data. I can switch from Maps to Facebook to GPS Test apps and they all lock instantly after the initial lock with Maps (or whatever app is first). The first lock takes only 5-10 seconds also (inside my house), outside is 2-3 seconds.
shotta35 said:
AS was said, GPS enabled is not the same as GPS ON. Enabled just means apps have access to the API to call GPS functions. ON means it's actively searching or locked to sats.
The implementation Google uses is the same as everyone. Your phone should pull down AGPS data via your data connection once every so often so when apps go for more detailed location they the phone will calculate the sats position and lock in 2-3 seconds. Without AGPS data the phone has to do a WARM lock (or a COLD lock which can take up to 2 minutes if your phone has been rebooted since the last lock).
So your phone is not functioning correctly if you haven't blocked AGPS data. I can switch from Maps to Facebook to GPS Test apps and they all lock instantly after the initial lock with Maps (or whatever app is first). The first lock takes only 5-10 seconds also (inside my house), outside is 2-3 seconds.
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you have a data plan? cause i don't so i'm relying purely on the GPS itself when i'm outside. i know using mobile data, it can lock on really fast, my sister has a data plan on the note 2 and GPS locks on fast due to that cause of a-GPS.

Gps won't grab a lock

So I the only thread I found on this was really old with no resolution so I'm starting a new one.
My gps will show like 0/24 on gps status immediately and not fix any. Earlier I got 2 satellites to fix ad that was all. This is outside in my car with a clear view of the sky. has anyone had any luck fixing gps issues?
Sent from my VS980 4G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
th3drow said:
So I the only thread I found on this was really old with no resolution so I'm starting a new one.
My gps will show like 0/24 on gps status immediately and not fix any. Earlier I got 2 satellites to fix ad that was all. This is outside in my car with a clear view of the sky. has anyone had any luck fixing gps issues?
Sent from my VS980 4G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you using the GPS Status app (developer MobiWIA)? I ask since that app allows you to add all the extra details in the notification bar while the GPS is searching for a lock. If so, have you tried getting a GPS lock in any other app (like Maps)? I can get a lock in all my other apps, as well as other GPS diagnostic app EXCEPT for the one developed by MobiWIA for some reason. I keep it installed though as I like to see the status in the notification bar.
I'd suggest downloading the GPS Status app if you already don't have it (the MobiWIA one), and go into Menu > Tools and click on Manage A-GPS State. Then click on Clear Cached GPS Data. Then click on the button that says Download Additional Files (well, says something similar to that). Then open up a different app and see if you can get a lock. I had to clear my GPS data and download those additional files before I could get a timely lock as well, but now I get a lock within 10 seconds while inside the house. This assumes that you haven't rooted tour phone. If you're rooted, you can do all this (and more) manually. Just clear GPS Cache and Data, and open up /system/etc/gps.conf to add any additional servers to the list, as well as tweak other GPS setting.
ya i tried those before, it's acting even dumber now, the top bad with the gps icon is solid indicating a lock. However any gps status app that I use will show no satellites locked. I get it to lock a couple after sitting there for a while on gps status sometimes though but its really shady
My past g2 did that, I returned it. Got a replacement, afraid to even root this beast.
unfaix said:
My past g2 did that, I returned it. Got a replacement, afraid to even root this beast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so after you replaced it the problem was solved?
Same issue. The GPS on this phone sucks. It'll be 4 miles off sometimes and that's even if I can get it to lock.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk
Looks like the Verizon G2's GPS reception was compromised with the addition of wireless charging. T-mobile D801 here and I get a lock within a few seconds indoors.
th3drow said:
so after you replaced it the problem was solved?
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Click to collapse
Nope, still as ****ty as ever.
Although it doesn't happen as often, it still more often than others.
I'm past the remorse period.
So yeah.
Here's one from yesterday where I needed to get directions while driving, it locked but didn't do jack ****.
unfaix said:
Nope, still as ****ty as ever.
Although it doesn't happen as often, it still more often than others.
I'm past the remorse period.
So yeah.
Here's one from yesterday where I needed to get directions while driving, it locked but didn't do jack ****.
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Click to collapse
Well I guess atleast that means it most likely isn't completely hardware related.
Mine (T-Mobile) locks in just a few seconds, even indoors!
I always have data on, so it makes the process even faster (A-GPS makes use of the cellular antennas to acquire a lock faster). It works really well actually. I have at times the GPS off and even then, my location gets pin-pointed very quickly!
Cheers!
I have the GPS lock issue sometimes. What I have found to work for me is I turn airplane mode on let it sit for a second, then turn airplane mode off. By the time airplane mode is off and BT, LTE/CMDA signal notification are coming back to life my GPS has a lock and is working like it should.
YMMV on this, but it does work for me.

finding location even though GPS is off?

has anyone gotten this? I have GPS off, but the finding location notification and reticle comes up and just never goes away since GPS is obviously off. how can I figure out which app is doing this? it just started, but i haven't installed any new apps lately...
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk
jayochs said:
has anyone gotten this? I have GPS off, but the finding location notification and reticle comes up and just never goes away since GPS is obviously off. how can I figure out which app is doing this? it just started, but i haven't installed any new apps lately...
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
u could install a firewall app where u can enable every app by its own. first shut all apps off, than on one by one to find out which makes this. this is what i would do. yes the app is not for GPS, but mostly when an app starts trying to find out ur location than it wants to deliver the data somewhere. so it could work like this. i have "android firewall" from the play store. its the icon with the blue shield an an android logo on it.
@jayochs GPS toggle switch actually leaves wifi and mobile network location on(Google). Just drops hardware/verizon* GPS. You can long press toggle to check. Not sure if this is your problem, but I found this odd testing and just making sure you are aware. I don't get GPS pops when completely off, I do when I toggle the switch.

[Q] Constant GPS lock-in issues

My Nexus' GPS is constantly giving me the finger. I read this thread and I believe I might have the same problem, but the latest Play services update hasn't helped any.
Setting the location setting toggle to 'Only Device' completely breaks the GPS - The phone is never able to get a lock-in until I switch back to the High/Low accuracy setting. Rebooting the device provides temporary relief, that is, until I lose my mobile signal or turn on aeroplane mode (at which point the GPS stops responding and my location is gleaned from the last know coarse network fix). I use Tasker to turn on aeroplane mode every night, so I'm essentially without any GPS connectivity until the phone is rebooted. And I really, really don't fancy doing a hard reboot every single morning. Also, it won't be doing the phone's battery any favors either.
I've tried multiple NTP apps in hopes of squishing this extremely annoying issue but no avail. I occurred to me that I can't be the only person with this issue, hence the thread. So, suggestions?
Nobody?

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