Database Users

Vibrant Google Maps Problem

I've had my Vibrant since launch day and coming from the G1, I'm absolutely blown away.
I do have on gripe though and that's with Google Maps.
At first, like many, I have/had GPS problems (poor/slow/no connectivity) which was seemingly somewhat corrected by the fix in this forum (thanks!).
I'm still having another problem though. About 1 out of every three times I open google maps, the phone begins to locate via GPS then freezes (zero functionality). A few seconds later the screen is black with the soft keys lit up. I've had this happen upwards of 20-30 times now. Holding the power button to kill the phone is necessary. The reason it seems like Google maps is not other GPS app has done this.
Today, using navigation, it was working good, until I lost GPS signal (due to river bluffs), and Maps never re-acquired the GPS signal, although a quick check using GPS status revealed a full lock. I had to close (task manager style) maps and re-do the navigation. Then it worked fine again until all of a sudden it locked like usual and completely froze. Hard re-boot, reopen maps, froze, hard re-boot, reopen maps, froze....and this happened 4 times before I was finally able to get in and kill the navigation request. Of course by this time I had missed my turn by about 2 miles.
I also thought it was latitude (before today's incident), since I had never used latitude on my G1; but the girlfriend got a Vibrant (her first smart phone) so we tried out latitude for kicks. But after trying it with Latitude on and off, there doesn't seem to be any ties as if will freeze both ways.
I've also tried uninstalling and reinstalling the Google Maps updates three times now with no changes.
Talking with a guy at the T-Mo store today was no help, other than he said a fix was coming within days to correct the GPS connectivity issue. For my problem though, which the phone faithfully recreated in-store to him (much to my pleasure) he recommended a new phone.
I'm not too crazy about getting a new device or doing a master reset (since I've heard this has helped some folks), so I thought I would ask for any suggestions from this fine community.
Any help or ideas would be appreciated.
EDIT: Just enabled SkyHook out of curiosity, and I haven't been able to replicate this problem yet since doing so. Even doing an immediate operation upon opening Maps its ok. Inside house got a 10m lock withing 15-20 seconds every time. I'll keep trying it some more tomorrow.

I have the same exact problem and it just recently started... want to see if anyone else has a fix or an idea.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

timafey said:
I have the same exact problem and it just recently started... want to see if anyone else has a fix or an idea.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
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Same exact problem? Frozen with black screen shortly after opening?

Have you both tried a reset? This is due to the GPS because the phone will get overwhelmed when it can't get a GPS lock.

I have noticed when my wifi is on I cannot receive a gps lock. Once I turn off wifi the gps is functional and will lock quickly; ~10 secs. I still may only lock 2-3 satellites indoors and accuracy is about 20'.
Also I am using the stock GPS settings.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

I had the issue with google maps and gps when turning gps on will freeze the phone and if it happened that the phone screen is locked you are sol.haven't had the issue since the reset though.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

I had this problem as well. Maps and sometimes Navigation would lock up my phone entirely, just as you described. I did a Factory Reset and that fixed the freezing problem, but my GPS problem was still there. I finally did an exchange and the new phone seems to be working better. I'm crossing my fingers that it will remain that way.

Same exact problem here. It happens with and without the GPS fix applied. I think the only solution is to wait and hope Samsung addresses the bigger GPS issue as I am sure it is all related.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

I have the exact same issues with my phone locking up.
I'm going to do a master reset when I get home from work. If that doesn't work, I'm going to exchange the device at T-Mobile (and hopefully extend my 14-day period, while we wait for the firmware fix).
I love this phone, but if these problems can't be fixed, I'll go back to the stone age.
I'll report back with the master reset / phone swap success rate on my end.

Ditto here. Happened to me last night.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

+1 here. Although I never had a problem with Google Maps/Navigation. It's My Tracks that caused the phone to lock up when recording a track.

medler said:
I have noticed when my wifi is on I cannot receive a gps lock. Once I turn off wifi the gps is functional and will lock quickly; ~10 secs. I still may only lock 2-3 satellites indoors and accuracy is about 20'.
Also I am using the stock GPS settings.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
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I have the same issue with "use wireless networks" enable. And wifi turned on... Something wrong with gps and wireless... I have applied the fix...
Now with wireless off I still have an issue:
Gps Test is taking 20-30 seconds when GPS has not been used in awhile. After the first lock, it then only takes 2-5 seconds for a lock.
So what's going with then initial lock?

yeah, the screen turns black and cant do anything... So Factory reset seems to fix the problem? is that the general consensus?

I have the same issue after doing a factory data reset. Just fyi.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Same here. Even after factory reset, it still does the black-screen crashing act. It's quite annoying. Actually, that happened to me while typing a text message. Samsung messed up royally. The software on this phone is pure trash. I really like this phone, but the issues are just pathetic.

I'm having the same problem on my Vibrant. It has happened before and after a factory reset, before and after the GPS fix. Without the GPS fix, I couldn't even lock onto a satellite. After running Google Maps for a few minutes, the screen goes completely blank. Sometimes, it would reset itself. Sometimes, I would have to hold the power button for a few seconds to get it to reboot. Hope they fix this soon. This makes the GPS completely useless for this phone.

Etrnaly said:
I'm having the same problem on my Vibrant. It has happened before and after a factory reset, before and after the GPS fix. Without the GPS fix, I couldn't even lock onto a satellite. After running Google Maps for a few minutes, the screen goes completely blank. Sometimes, it would reset itself. Sometimes, I would have to hold the power button for a few seconds to get it to reboot. Hope they fix this soon. This makes the GPS completely useless for this phone.
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I haven't tried the factory reset, but for everything else mention my vibrant has acted the same exact way.

I've had the same issue on both the pre-release ROM and the shipped ROM. As others have said, it seems to cause problems with all of the Google Maps-based apps (Navigation, Maps, and My Tracks). You loose signal and next thing you know, black screen with the buttons lit up.
I'm waiting for an opportunity to test it with Maverick and Trimble Outdoors to see if it's just a Google-app problem or not.
Also, a master reset (aka wipe) didn't influence it one bit. About the only thing I didn't try was removing the bundled-in maps apk and replacing it with a market one.

Report these issues!
+1 Just wanted to add that everyone should report this issue (and ALL others ie. compass, GPS, dropped calls) to T-Mobile and most importantly, Samsung. I am now on hold with Samsung level 3 tech support to update my issues with the phone. The more they hear from us, the more likely they are to come out with proper fixes in a timely fashion. If these issues stay on the forums and nowhere else, we're SOL. Do it now!
UPDATE: Eric, a L3 techie, was very appreciative of the info I gave him regarding the inaccurate GPS, GPS crashing, and compass issues. He did state that these were becoming common complaints. The compass issue was said to be less popular but he was able to reproduce the inaccuracies I and many others have, so that's a good thing. He did not have any info regarding a coming fix on anything. Regarding dropped calls (which could be a radio problem) he said, as I assumed, that it is probably a service issue that T-Mo should be notified of.

I and most others have no problems with dropped calls but the only time I get that dreaded screen is when I mess with lbstestmode
Sent from my SGH-T959

SOD and google maps?

i have noticed that every time i try to use google maps and drive i get major SOD problems and freezing and all kinds of ****.
today after driving for about 30 minutes the phone just completely lost its mind, i had to restart it 3 times in 20 minutes, every time it goes to sleep it never wakes up, when im around my area its fine no problems at all( but i dont use google maps)
only "attempt" to use maps when im driving and usually its a very painfull experience, i fn hate google maps and every time i use it i want to throw this phone out the window.
anyone else nottice the connection between google maps and SOD? or any other phone issues after or while using google maps?
im using the NexusHD2-FRG83_V1.6_(Froyo 2.2.1) build for about a weeks now with very minimal problems
only once in a while theres a pause when waking up usually it wakes up on second attempt.
today first time i used google maps on this build and it totally **** itsself after that
same with my other builds, they just crash and burn,
one locked up in same spot forever
another couldnt find my location at all
keeps restarting on another build
etc...

anyone else?

Do you use a kernel with the g-sensor patch?
Google maps used to drive me nuts as well when moving, especially when I have a gps lock (no clue why that is). With the gsensor patch it seems to work ok here at least.

google navigation on arc stops after 3 minutes

good morning,
got my arc last weekend, and have tested several options last days. google maps works perfect in my car, also Sygic Aura. gps keeps working. but when using google navigation it works for about 3 minutes max (almost not less), and then it says gps signal lost. leaving it on, does not change it, but restarting keeps it working again for 3 minutes. am i overseeing a setting???
and anybody noticing when in google market i.e. that when there is a lot of white the screen, it flickers a lot??
rgds
Patrick
ps further it looks a good phone compared to my htc touch hd with energy rom which i loved until now.

pksparks said:
good morning,
got my arc last weekend, and have tested several options last days. google maps works perfect in my car, also Sygic Aura. gps keeps working. but when using google navigation it works for about 3 minutes max (almost not less), and then it says gps signal lost. leaving it on, does not change it, but restarting keeps it working again for 3 minutes. am i overseeing a setting???
and anybody noticing when in google market i.e. that when there is a lot of white the screen, it flickers a lot??
rgds
Patrick
ps further it looks a good phone compared to my htc touch hd with energy rom which i loved until now.
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I haven't notice anything like that, would love to test it out tomorrow as I'm home now and there is no GPS connection here.
Regarding the flickering, do you mean very noticeable flickering or is barely noticeable?
as I can't see anything with my device, which means that you might need to factory reset or re-install the firmware using SEUS to test it out again..
but will report back tomorrow regarding the GPS

I've tested the navigation with Google and the GPS worked flawlessly for more than half an hour
So it could be your device which causing your problem or poor GPS coverage
Sent from my LT15i using XDA Premium App

Try another GPS app, I don't think GPS module can be faulty but its worth the try, also make sure you have more than 30% battery

pksparks said:
...
and anybody noticing when in google market i.e. that when there is a lot of white the screen, it flickers a lot??...
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Click to collapse
Just increase the brightness above 50% to get rid of the flickering

I notice some flickering too when i'm in my room. Seems like the autobrightness working too much ?? Not sure tho.

pksparks said:
good morning,
got my arc last weekend, and have tested several options last days. google maps works perfect in my car, also Sygic Aura. gps keeps working. but when using google navigation it works for about 3 minutes max (almost not less), and then it says gps signal lost. leaving it on, does not change it, but restarting keeps it working again for 3 minutes. am i overseeing a setting???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes same problem with my arc. Was on a 2 hour journey yesterday, a few minutes of navigation GPS signal loss, closed navigation opened backup then got a full signal instantly, a few minutes later the same thing happened, so I rebooted the phones, this fixed the problem until 30 or 40 minutes later the phone just rebooted it self, then the same problem with navigation signal loss. I switched the phone off for 2 minutes then booted back up & navigation worked until it rebooted it self again I have just done a firmware updated, hopefully this will fix the problem????

Surethom said:
Yes same problem with my arc. Was on a 2 hour journey yesterday, a few minutes of navigation GPS signal loss, closed navigation opened backup then got a full signal instantly, a few minutes later the same thing happened, so I rebooted the phones, this fixed the problem until 30 or 40 minutes later the phone just rebooted it self, then the same problem with navigation signal loss. I switched the phone off for 2 minutes then booted back up & navigation worked until it rebooted it self again I have just done a firmware updated, hopefully this will fix the problem????
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Random restarts are fixed with 2.3.3 as for now it is a known issue with 2.3.2 from Google, Nexus S had the same problem.

I have the same problem, google navigation keep on checking for navigation capability..
I change to Papago X5, and it works fine!

My phone just went haywire

This is weird my phone totally went haywire for about 30 seconds. It started playing my ringtone so I thought someone was calling me. When I looked at the phone, it had the standard lock screen. I unlocked it and the phone showed a fuzzy black and white screen. Then a random yellow page, I also noticed the gps started locating me, around the same time, navigation appeared saying that I need a licence to use navigation. After all that, the phone went back to normal. What happened?
It's been happening all night. I had to put my phone on silent.
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

Did you ever find out the problem?

IDK about the Fuzzy black/yellow screen, but the ringing and GPS Location could be caused by someone having access to your HTCSense or other phone locating app (Such as lookout, bitdefender) account.

Interesting!, Have You found the problem or solution for it? Dont know about you but the last time my Phone did Something like that when i was playing 9mm game, listening to music and some1 calling me at the same time.

I had this a couple of times
ringtone kept playing and car mode kept launching, very weird, I didnt do anything, no one was calling. the phone was not docked or plugged in.
finally it was gone after I changed the ringtone.

Awfully strange I remember this happened to me when voice command came on whilst the phone was in my pocket.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App

This isn't normal operating behaviour...I think that if these sort of things happen the ROM is most likely corrupt and should be reflashed or replaced with another.

Clean your USB-port, I had the exact same thing (especially with the car mode), cleaned the USB-port with a dentists tool and it dissapeared (along with a suprisingly large ammount of pocket lint)

this is my proplem too , but only when i am charging my phone , it opens contacts and call them while i am sleepnig , and turn on bluetooth , now i make my pho offline while on charge , but i think it may be charger proplem as it isnt the original one , it is charger of blackberry , thats what i have

Issue with Gps acting up

Hi all,
My gps and maps app are acting weird since yesterday night. I tried to reboot both app and phone, but something still seems off. I also tried to switch off and back on the gps, but it doesn't seem to have worked.
Long story short: I have a Nexus 4 with factory rom since 2013. Yesterday on the way home maps got stuck twice; it would show the road, but it wouldn't show my location.
Today I have been able to drive to the airport and return, but it often showed my location in the wrong place, especially when close to exits and parallel roads.
Any idea?
Thanks!