SM-G900F. UK BTU Firmware no GPS - Galaxy S 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

This is a summary of my post I have already made on sammobile.com forums.
My GPS isn't working. I have tried several custom roms & the stock BTU firmware & it just seems to keep searching for GPS but never gets a lock.
Phone Details
Original CSC btu
PDA Version g900fxxu1ane2
CSC Version g900foxa1ane2
Baseband Version g900fxxu1ane2
Android Version 4.4.2
I have tried the phone is safe mode
If I have Wifi & Location on at Home Google Maps does find my location approximately on the map. However, the searching for GPS locator blinks but never locks on a Satellite. This is the case at home or in the car. For example if I put a journey into waze or google maps & start driving I never get location lock. I never had these issues with my S3 LTE on either software.
I tried:
power off the phone
remove sim card
power on
power off
replace sim card and power on
I downloaded GPS Status for the play store. It keep searching but never gets a lock.
The phone was bought brand new in a sealed box from someone local who won it in a competition. The phone was rooted so therefore my knox counter is 0x1
Any thoughts what I might try to sort this?

..

fffft said:
Yup. There are way tooooo many variables that could cause a GPS fail. It's worth looking at the most likely causes at the outset as you have been doing. But at this point it would be useful to try and narrow this down to a software vs hardware issue.
You said that you acquired the device brand new. So the obvious question would be: did you try it full stock i.e. confirm that the GPS worked when you first got it? If so, hardware problems just became a lot less likely.
At what point did you first notice GPS issues?
Have you dropped it? If so, how long ago. And did you have any GPS quirks whatsoever start to crop up after the impact?
In an effort to discern software vs hardware, I would normally suggest doing a backup, then do a 100% version to stock, which I gather is BTU. Confirm that the CSC matches the baseband and see if the GPS works then. It's unclear from your post if you did that. If so, describe how you went about it in detail. I suspect you did this, but perhaps not thoroughly. It's worth looking for essential bits that you might have missed there.
In particular, I highly doubt that you reset NV /NAND and so forth where any non-volatile GPS misconfiguration may persist.
And have you done an extended search to see if anyone else is having GPS issues with the particular custom ROMS that you had installed?
.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cannot remember if the GPS worked out of the box. I noticed a few weeks back when I tried waze that it couldn't get a lock. So thought it might have been a bug in waze. Within the last week or so I tried Google Maps with the same result.
The phone hasn't been dropped or knocked.
I have done several full wipes & flashed the stock rom from odin. I did attempt to flash other UK specific network roms ( vodaphone, o2) but that fail on ext4 which from my research indicates that it will not allow me to downgrade the fimware.
I have googled & searched & not found anyone with this particular model with the same issue.
I have tried many custom roms in the hope that one of them might allow working gps. I read somewhere of someone with a different phone doing a 'dirty flash' when gps was operational back to a stock rom & getting it working.
Have spent quite a few days trawling threads & trying things to no avail

..

fffft said:
It's unfortunate that you don't know if the GPS worked when it was brand new.
Regardless, you still need to narrow it down to software vs hardware. Trouble shooting is nothing if not attention to detail. So it's not enough to say that you tried going back to stock. We need to know exactly, in detail how you went about that. Because almost everyone misses some steps that should be done but they missed. Usually that doesn't cause grievous problems. But when issues like this arise, then we need to know if you crossed all the T's and dotted all the I's because they could impact your issue.
So you're going to love my suggestion to do it again if you didn't keep notes the first time. No other step is as likely to resolve or at least shed key insight onto what is going on. And Odin has extended capabilities to wipe the NAND, etc that I'm sure you didn't invoke the first time.
The key issue is not searching for posts of whether anyone with your specific model has GPS issues. That would be ideal but there could easily be commonality between models. Did anyone, with any device have GPS issues with those particular custom ROMS. If so, can you link to the GPS posts?
The bottom line is that software issues are much more likely than hardware ones. And distinguishing the two pivots on reducing as many variables as we can. So we want to go back to full stock firmware. Methodically. Go back to stock, then wipe the /data partition in that order, clear the system cache, confirm the write e.g. CSC, et cetera. And wipe NAND NV as well, if necessary. If you do that carefully, then you have a reasonable basis to move into the hardware realm.
Concurrently, I'm concerned that you may have overlooked or ruled out of hand posts on the custom ROM GPS issues that could give insight on what is going on.
Troubleshooting sure is fun, isn't it?
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure is fun
Will try another stock flash with the setting you suggest & report back. Thanks :good:

109
AlistairS said:
Sure is fun
Will try another stock flash with the setting you suggest & report back. Thanks :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, so I tried another flash of the stock rom with everything ticked in ODIN. Still no GPS. I have gone through the custom rom threads on on here & the only thing that might work is downgrading the firmware which would require a pit file & involve a lot of risk of bricking the device permanently
Have asked in another thread for a pit file.

..

fffft said:
You aren't providing any details which precludes us from helping you in any meaningful way. A one line summary does nothing to confirm that you haven't missed key steps or any opportunity to offer you useful advice. It's simply not possible to confirm or rule out a lot of things without a detailed description.
I also think that we'd be having a different conversation if you had really checked everything in Odin.
Do you see any difference between the two examples below?
I tried another flash of the stock rom with everything ticked in ODIN.
vs.
With the phone starting at a baseband of g900btuu1ane2
I cleared the system cache from the stock recovery mode
Used Odin v. 3.09 with f. reset & auto timeout checked
to flash BTU 4.4.2 G900BTUV1ANF2 (entered in the AP line)
Odin completed without any errors
Wiped data partition from recovery mode
Tried to get a GPS lock outside without success
Used application mgr to force stop, clear cache, data for location services
GPS still won't lock (waited 15 min in open terrain)
Requested a pit file here: http://link... et cetera
I wish you luck either way. But I don't understand how you think you can get good advice from people who have no idea what steps you took along the way?
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, so I am running stock recovery & cleared system cache as you said.
Odin 3.09: F Reset Auto Reboot both ticked
G900FXXU1ANE2_G900FOXA1ANE2_G900FXXU1ANE2_HOME.tar.md5 entered in the AP Line
Odin Completed without any errors
Wiped data from recovery & rebooted.
Phone setup.
No gps lock - tried google maps, setup a test journey no gps lock.
Rebooted to recovery again & wiped cache.
Ran Odin 3.09 again with additional options ticked: Nand Erase All, Phone Bootloader Update, Phone EFS Clear.
G900FXXU1ANE2_G900FOXA1ANE2_G900FXXU1ANE2_HOME.tar.md5 entered into BL, AP, CP & CSC Lines
KLTE_EUR_OPEN.pit entered into PIT Line & therefore RE-Partition Ticked
Odin completed once more without issue
Wiped data from recovery & rebooted.
Phone setup.
No gps lock - tried google maps, setup a test journey no gps lock
Does this help?

..

fffft said:
It does help a lot. We can't spot the pitfalls and pots of gold that we know about; or understand any degree of nuance without detailed descriptions.
Some follow up questions about details that the description didn't cover, so that we can eliminare some possible culprits -
Does your baseband (BTU?) match the new stock firmware (FOX)?
If not, is there a specific reason that you didn't revert to BTU?
Are you testing the GPS in open terrain i.e. not in a valley or city with tall skyscrapers?
How long did you wait to see if it would lock?
Requisite silly question ----> is Location enabled in the quick settings menu?
In the settings menu > connections location.. what is listed for each category.. e.g.
Mode? Recent location requests? Location services? Location sources?
Can you install this free GPS app and see if it reports a GPS lock?
Even if does not fix a location, does it show a signal from any satellites?
If not, go to settings menu > applications > application mgr > all > location services
Choose force stop > clear cache > clear data
Reboot and see if the GPS status app reports any satellite signals now?
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The file I downloaded from sammobile was G900FXXU1ANE2_G900FOXA1ANE2_BTU.zip It is the btu file as far as I can see? I am testing GPS outside it is not a built up area & on my old phone I was able to get a lock quickly in the same locations. I downloaded GPS Status & ran it it. It keeps looking for a GPS locations but never locks on to any satellites. Location is enabled with High Accuracy settings. I have also set it to GPS only & Power Saving with no difference.
I am able to force stop location services but there is no cache/data to clear. Rebooting made no difference

AlistairS said:
The file I downloaded from sammobile was G900FXXU1ANE2_G900FOXA1ANE2_BTU.zip It is the btu file as far as I can see? I am testing GPS outside it is not a built up area & on my old phone I was able to get a lock quickly in the same locations. I downloaded GPS Status & ran it it. It keeps looking for a GPS locations but never locks on to any satellites. Location is enabled with High Accuracy settings. I have also set it to GPS only & Power Saving with no difference.
I am able to force stop location services but there is no cache/data to clear. Rebooting made no difference
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get an instant lock even indoors with 15 sats connected out of 22. It might be a hardware issue in your case if you allready tried reflashing a stock rom and have the correct gps settings

..

gee2012 said:
I get an instant lock even indoors with 15 sats connected out of 22. It might be a hardware issue in your case if you allready tried reflashing a stock rom and have the correct gps settings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, its looking increasingly like that is the case. However, want to exhaust all possibilities before having to return to samsung

fffft said:
Thanks for the information. Getting closer to conclusions.
Just to clarify.. does the GPS status app show any level of sattelite signals? Even if doesn't lock. Or does it show absolutely zero signals? If you are uncertain, can you make a screenshot after it has been searching for 5+ minutes?
And what was listed in the settings menu > connections location?
e.g. Mode /Recent location requests /Location services /Location sources
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Recent Location Requests
GPS Status
Gallery
Google Play Services
Google Search
Maps
Waze
Location Services
Google Location Reporting
Location Sources
My places

..

fffft said:
@AlistairS
Thanks for all that. No one can say that you haven't jumped through all the hoops.
You've done just about everything possible to assure that you are 100% reverted to stock and checked a cadre of likely suspects along the way. The upshot of which is that you've checked all the firmware nooks and crannies.. and the most likely system level settings and it all adds up to there being no sign whatever that you are receiving any satellite signals. I'll talk about a few long shots in a moment - because that is about all there is left that you can still test for without a service manual and bench equipment.
Although software issues are far, far more common with GPS, all of the ducks are lining up to say that you have a hardware issue. That usually means a loose or damaged antennae connection, but unless you are comfortable disassembling your phone - it seems to be at a point where all I can suggest is sending it in for service. Hopefully under warranty i.e. I have no idea if you are within your warranty or not.
I wish I had an easier solution for you, but given that we are working with a stock configuration, the usual sort of sundry misconfigurations and app related conflicts are ruled out of hand. Wiping the data partition earlier was to ensure that no user settings were interfering and as you wiped the NAND as well, we've reset the NV as well to the degree that we are able to do so. I suppose that ten or so satellites above your horizon may have just all died today. Or that you may be perched on a 100,000 watt radio tower (i.e. exceptionally strong interference), but both situations seem unlikely.
So.. long shots, if you want to go the extra mile:
I have a little lingering doubt about your firmware being a BTU image. I'm not saying that you are wrong, it's just a naming convention that is atypical of the firmwares I usually use. Have a look at some of the other firmware images (from the same site - I believe you said Sammobile) and see if they are named consistently. Only if your image is an oddball would I counsel installing yet another image. You'e tested at least two different ones, so the odds of both having serious GPS bugs is vanishingly small.
It's a long shot, but you could search and see if anyone in the forum has posted about serious GPS bugs on the 900F. The likely fix if there are any is flashing an alternate radio (modem). Newer or older, just trying to find a working radio at this point.
And I will explain how to open the S5 service menu as there are a few GPS settings there that you can check. Other than that I can only say good work on checking all of the possibilities, but it appears that you have a hardware issue.
Service menu (GPS)
On the phone keypad dial *#0011#
That should bring up an information screen.
In the upper right corner, click on the menu icon (3 dots)
On the pull down menu click on back
Then open the menu again and select key input, then type a capital Q into the box and press OK
Then open the menu one more time, select key input, type 0000 in the box and press Ok
Wait ten seconds and then the screen should refresh to the service mode menu
It should look something like this:
ServiceMode
[1] PROTOCOL STATE
[2] UE SETTING & INFO
[3] ETC
[4] DEBUG SCREEN(OPEN)
Press [2], then {1], then [1].. and then you should see a [6] GPS
Press [6] on the GPS menu, then
Press [1] Smart assistant, then
Press [2] Control
This brings us into the GPS menu
Press [1] Cell info monitor. It should say something like State Initialized
Press menu > back, then [2] Enable module
Press menu > back, then [8] which may say Gathering mode to (Normal or Dumb). Click it regardless (it's a toggle)
Then exit the menu, reboot, cross your fingers and see if your GPS works. Keep in mind that this is a long shot, a prayer and faint hope rolled up into one. I don't expect it to work. But it's all we have left to check.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was able to flash a virgin mobile UK firmware but the GPS result was the same.
Ok so going through to the GPS service menu: State is Terminated. I enabled the module I have it now on State Finding. But nothing beyond that. Rebooted. Went back into service menu & its showing as terminated again Re enabled again. However, never gets beyond this.

..

fffft said:
Most GPS issues are software based and on most phones you would have solved the GPS issue by now. You've checked everything that you can. There is nothing left to check. You wiped all of the user settings, went back to 100% stock. Tried three different firmwares. And checked all plausible related settings. That eliminated any third party app conflicts, user setting problems and the possibility that a given release had a serious GPS bug.
Your phone's location services are running but it shows no hint that it is receiving any satellite signal at all. You now have a solid basis for assuming that it's a hardware issue, that needs a shop to test the actual hardware directly.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for all your help. I really appreciate it

Meant to update this thread. Phone was sent back to Samsung for repair. No problems

..

Related

GPS on X1a not working at all

Dear xda-developers members,
[skip the first paragraph to avoid useless chitchat]
I usually avoid posting in forums when I can't contribute to the soultion of a problem but rather ask questions. This is mostly due to me feeling stupid years on when I stumble upon my then pressing problems. Anyway:
I'm having problems with my X1, more specifically the GPS receiver. I know users have reported problems before, so I don't seem to be alone after all. Let's start out with a
Description of the problem:
No software I tried so far gets anywhere near to a fix using GPS. Google Maps reports it's searching but won't find anything, Chartcross "GPS Test" hangs on "Starting up GPS", TurboGPS sometimes displays a satellite in the very center and finally there's the "HTC GPS tool" which shows this:
The "satellites" change in rather fast succession. This can't be right, can it? So far I have not gotten any fix at all. This was the case from the very beginning (got it off ebay by the way, said to be used for about 2 months). The HTC Tool as well as TurboGPS echo some seemingly gibberish data ("$GPGSV,4,1,16,32,,,,31,,,,30,,,,29,,,*70" and counting down, less often "$GPVTG,,T,,M,,N,,K,N*2C" and things like that).
What I tried so far:
I tried multiple ROMs (R2A stock, R1A stock, 6.5 based, 6.1 based, very light ones, very heavy ones), basically all available Radio ROMs and yes, I switched off AGPS, I tried activating Bluetooth, not touching the backside as proposed by some, etc. It appears to be the X1a Version of the phone, if that is any help. COM-Ports have been switched, windows management of the device has been checked and unchecked, the baud rate has been changed to multiple values. Nothing.
I'd gladly supply you with any further information that might by useful. I think I don't need to stress how excruciatingly annoying this behaviour is. Exchanging the device is not really an option since a) I'll be in Canada in 17 days and I doubt my local dealer could fix this in the given time frame and b) I don't have the receipt - ebay, you see.
Best regards in hope of a solution...
do you try inside or outside ?
gps's generaly never get a signal inside
Nice one, but believe me, I tried outside. I tried on roofs. I tried in the streets. I tried with loads of free sky above my head. My stand alone GPS reciever (Garmin Geko 201) picks up many (at least 5) satellites in less than one minute.
@Tikurion
"The HTC Tool as well as TurboGPS echo some seemingly gibberish data ("$GPGSV,4,1,16,32,,,,31,,,,30,,,,29,,,*70" and counting down, less often "$GPVTG,,T,,M,,N,,K,N*2C" and things like that)"
Not gibberish actually, but NMEA GPS data flows, so your receiver is aquiring some data. Google NMEA if you want to understand these data sentences better.
No fix ? I have only 2 suggestions here;
1) try on hard reset with no AGPS (of course), updated QuickGPS data and a clear outdoors "line of sight"
2) the more recent radio ROM's (eg 1.11.25.76 or 1.14.25.55) do give very quick and accurate fixes if conditions in 1) above are there
ianl8888: I said seemingly, right ? What I meant was: I know it's not actually gibberish. But how do you explain me receiving the exact same values even if I'm in a cellar with absolutely no possibility of receiving anything?
I will yet again try another hard reset, although this then would be number... 15 I believe XD. AGPS is turned off already and radio rom is 1.14.25.55 at the moment. We'll see.
Thank you so far of course. Your help's always invaluable .
I dunno if it helps or not, but i had a similar problem. I found that no software could actually get a gps signal from the unit...it was like the software wasn't actually able to control/turn on the gps or something. the weird thing was that i noticed the "on the road" panel was able to get data. So, i tried running TT6 with the on the road panel running, and it worked. so then i launched google with on the road panel working, and it worked. to this day, if i want to run a gps dependent software, i must start on the road panel first. kind of weird but it works. I'm waiting for R3 to see if the problem goes away or not.
Ian
I tried what ianl8888 suggested multiple times - to no avail.
Also completelyhis: Thanks, but the On-the-Road Panel doesn't pick up anything either. Won't change status after "Determining current location".
tikurion said:
I tried what ianl8888 suggested multiple times - to no avail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like warranty time - seems your GPS antenna may be disconnected (poor or dry solder joint) ??
Unhappily, a not all that infrequent issue with PDA's. I once spent several weeks figuring out how to dis-assemble an Eten X500, re-solder the offending joint and then re-assemble the thing. It was way out of warranty, of course.
my problem with touch HD is similar... all sats bunched on top..
i went for servicing
Well, after temporarily bricking my X1 (tried to reinstall original SPL for service the wrong way) and solving that by using the Service Updater-thingie I sent to support, hoping they will be nice with me, despite not sending the warranty card or the receipt.
Use A-GPS .. for me it even worked inside my house... ( no my house is not a box of 50cm by 50cm.. but one big farm

[Q] GPS: lots of sats in sight, none connected.

I've played Ingress for several months. One thing I do daily is recharging 20~30 portals during my commute by bus -- open Ingress after getting on a bus, waiting for the GPS to get fix, and collect XMs and recharge.
However, in the recent one or two months, my phone's not able to get me GPS fix near my home -- even on a square. GPS status shows many sats in yellow, but none becomes green. Rebooting the phone doesn't solve it.
When I get to another place, two or three kms from my home, my phone still can't get fix. What's strange is, if I reboot my phone there, and try GPS again, it usually gets instant fix.
Also, I can always get instant fix anywhere near my working place.
I have two questions:
1. Which of the software parts affects GPS performance? I switched among multiple ROMs during these months, but I should be always on cloudyfa's KK baseband.
2. Anyone else has encountered the situation that you stand on a square on a not-so-cloudy day, with no high building around, 24 sats in sight, but your phone just can't connect to any? Has anyone solved it? How?
Try using faster fix app and change the ntp to your location and see if that helps
danial.aw said:
Try using faster fix app and change the ntp to your location and see if that helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. That didn't make any difference.
coolcfan said:
Thanks. That didn't make any difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download GPS Test from the Play Store, go to the app settings and press Update A-GPS while your data connection is on. Wait a few moments and the app should lock on to GPS satellites. You should be good to go from there.
robogo1982 said:
Download GPS Test from the Play Store, go to the app settings and press Update A-GPS while your data connection is on. Wait a few moments and the app should lock on to GPS satellites. You should be good to go from there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GPS Status from play store also has that A-GPS downloading feature, and that's not helping me either.
If not changed nothing in software that can cause bad reception (build prop edit, rom, ...) try something hardware
Réparer en 5 minutes le GPS LG g2: http://youtu.be/UdDJqFxpRy8
siggey said:
If not changed nothing in software that can cause bad reception (build prop edit, rom, ...) try something hardware
Réparer en 5 minutes le GPS LG g2: http://youtu.be/UdDJqFxpRy8
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! Good video. I will try it after having tried all software ways.
Which properties in build.prop affects GPS performance? I'd like to check them first.
Also, try TopNTP app before opening up the phone.
I've been through a few smartphones and running various ROMs on each, here's my observation.
a. If the phone's gps takes long time but eventually locked then those apps mentioned above do help.
b. If the phone's gps take long time and never locked then those apps above are useless, they won't do a thing.
My advice 1: restart the phone and see the gps gets locked reasonable fast, if not
My advice 2: changing ROM. Do focus on firmware first before touching hardware.
Long time means 15' or more.

Note 3 GPS, doens't works without Internet?

Is for real that Galaxy Note 3 GPS don't geo-locates you without Internet connection?
I've sent it 3 times to repair (samsung official partner) and they tell me that it has to be connected to internet to work the GPS location?
I think i'd tried with Internet and it still doesn't work! don't locate my with GPS (even having Internet) Thanks. Regards.
Yes, it depends quite unbelievably high on Assisted GPS. Just reboot your phone, and then try to get a lock, you will see it will take a long time, very long time to get a lock. So you just need to go outside under open sky and have a lock, then it will work as long as you don't reboot the phone, even without the help/data of A-GPS. But if you reboot the device again, you need to do that previous step once again.
Don't know why this happens, it's really weird, but well I don't reboot the device much, so it's okay. Still this is the first phone which is behaving like that.
PS: I have tried all the mods previously, GPS fix mod, that NV Rebuild one, and maybe another one too, none of them actually worked for me. Just thought about saying this.
By the way, when you are asking a question, you should ask it in Q&A section, cause that's where you shall ask a question, not here.
Thanks a lot! Sorry about posting here... but I need to know if Samsung Galaxy Note III has a phisical GPS hardware, and, even late, if it has to work without internet ... people who has tried to repair it, told me that it doesn't have one ¿?
Thanks again!
devilsdouble said:
Yes, it depends quite unbelievably high on Assisted GPS. Just reboot your phone, and then try to get a lock, you will see it will take a long time, very long time to get a lock. So you just need to go outside under open sky and have a lock, then it will work as long as you don't reboot the phone, even without the help/data of A-GPS. But if you reboot the device again, you need to do that previous step once again.
Don't know why this happens, it's really weird, but well I don't reboot the device much, so it's okay. Still this is the first phone which is behaving like that.
PS: I have tried all the mods previously, GPS fix mod, that NV Rebuild one, and maybe another one too, none of them actually worked for me. Just thought about saying this.
By the way, when you are asking a question, you should ask it in Q&A section, cause that's where you shall ask a question, not here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dabezt said:
Is for real that Galaxy Note 3 GPS don't geo-locates you without Internet connection?
I've sent it 3 times to repair (samsung official partner) and they tell me that it has to be connected to internet to work the GPS location?
I think i'd tried with Internet and it still doesn't work! don't locate my with GPS (even having Internet) Thanks. Regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) The GPS-lock is MUCH, MUCH faster with Assisted-GPS, which on my Note 3 seems to require a CELLULAR DATA CONNECTION (WiFi is not the same).
2) Without A-GPS you need to be outdoor (ideally NOT between tall buildings or metal structures) and you might need to wait as much as 10 minutes for the very first GPS lock.
Use the free "GPS Test" program from the play store to see how the details are - there is even a command to reset AGPS data in case that might improve things).
Oh, and QUESTIONS GO IN THE Q/A FORUM!!!
devilsdouble said:
Yes, it depends quite unbelievably high on Assisted GPS. Just reboot your phone, and then try to get a lock, you will see it will take a long time, very long time to get a lock. So you just need to go outside under open sky and have a lock, then it will work as long as you don't reboot the phone, even without the help/data of A-GPS. But if you reboot the device again, you need to do that previous step once again.
Don't know why this happens, it's really weird, but well I don't reboot the device much, so it's okay. Still this is the first phone which is behaving like that.
PS: I have tried all the mods previously, GPS fix mod, that NV Rebuild one, and maybe another one too, none of them actually worked for me. Just thought about saying this.
By the way, when you are asking a question, you should ask it in Q&A section, cause that's where you shall ask a question, not here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@devilsdouble @xclub_101 What is lock and how to get it.
Sent from Galaxy Note 3 SM-N9005
In the picture I'm attaching you can see what is happening to me:
http://s2.subirimagenes.com/fotos/9178330gps1.jpg
As you can see, after 20 minutes at a place open to sky, with data connection active (H+) and with gps activated, and after cleaning AGPS and reloading AGPS, the GPS Test app shows some satelites (with low numbers) with no signal, and a few ones (with higher numbers) with a little bit of signal (not more than 14) in orange (not enough).
GPS notification icon and message ("waiting gps") is always blinking.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
is it a GPS Antenna issue?
Or is it a GPS software configuration (something like another region config. etc.)?
Thanks!
dabezt said:
Thanks a lot! Sorry about posting here... but I need to know if Samsung Galaxy Note III has a phisical GPS hardware, and, even late, if it has to work without internet ... people who has tried to repair it, told me that it doesn't have one ¿?
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Obviously Note 3 has GPS hardware, with A-GPS. And even it has GLONASS (Russian GPS).
To answer to your question, Internet will help to speed up the fixing progress (by downloading a small amount of A-GPS data), but Internet is optional and not mandatory.
If you use an online maps (e.g Google Maps), of course you need Internet connection to display map data.
If you use an offline map (e.g Sygic) you dont need the Internet connection.
dabezt said:
In the picture I'm attaching you can see what is happening to me:
http://s2.subirimagenes.com/fotos/9178330gps1.jpg
As you can see, after 20 minutes at a place open to sky, with data connection active (H+) and with gps activated, and after cleaning AGPS and reloading AGPS, the GPS Test app shows some satelites (with low numbers) with no signal, and a few ones (with higher numbers) with a little bit of signal (not more than 14) in orange (not enough).
GPS notification icon and message ("waiting gps") is always blinking.
is it a GPS Antenna issue?
Or is it a GPS software configuration (something like another region config. etc.)?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude if under open sky your phone is taking up to 20 minutes then there is seriously something wrong with it. Regardless of data being on of off, under open sky a phone of Note 3's calibre should never take more than 2-3 minutes. That's simply awful dude.
But still just do a fresh install of the ROM (unless you are already on a cleanly installed ROM) and make sure the gps.conf file has servers supported for your location (continent I mean). If not then download Faster Fix from Play and change region accordingly and give it a try.
If all above fails and phone still takes any more than 5-6 minutes to get a lock under open sky, then service centre should be your only option.
dabezt said:
In the picture I'm attaching you can see what is happening to me:
...
As you can see, after 20 minutes at a place open to sky, with data connection active (H+) and with gps activated, and after cleaning AGPS and reloading AGPS, the GPS Test app shows some satelites (with low numbers) with no signal, and a few ones (with higher numbers) with a little bit of signal (not more than 14) in orange (not enough).
GPS notification icon and message ("waiting gps") is always blinking.
is it a GPS Antenna issue?
Or is it a GPS software configuration (something like another region config. etc.)?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would say GPS antenna (or more likely the connector going from the antenna to the motherboard) - even indoor I easily get 3-4 satellites which are above 20 (yellow) in SNR.
devilsdouble said:
Dude if under open sky your phone is taking up to 20 minutes then there is seriously something wrong with it. Regardless of data being on of off, under open sky a phone of Note 3's calibre should never take more than 2-3 minutes. That's simply awful dude.
But still just do a fresh install of the ROM (unless you are already on a cleanly installed ROM) and make sure the gps.conf file has servers supported for your location (continent I mean). If not then download Faster Fix from Play and change region accordingly and give it a try.
If all above fails and phone still takes any more than 5-6 minutes to get a lock under open sky, then service centre should be your only option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've to be root in order to run Faster Fix... and I think I've to 'break' the warrantie to be root and I will get 0x01 knox so I will not be able to sent it to Samsung oficial service center... Thanks!
dabezt said:
I've to be root in order to run Faster Fix... and I think I've to 'break' the warrantie to be root and I will get 0x01 knox so I will not be able to sent it to Samsung oficial service center... Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn this KNOX and Samsung's horrible warranty policy. At least here in my place the nearest service centre is run by some fools and KNOX on or off, they don't even know how to check, or whether should they :laugh: And I hope as long as I stay with Samsung these intelligent people don't get fired However for every phone they do ask before taking the phone whether the user has rooted it or not, but you just need to say one thing, what? What is root? What are you talking about?

GPS problems but no one has a solution

I posted a while ago about the GPS failing to find even a single satellite. I got no responses, just a redirect to this forum. Since then I have searched and searched but no one has a solution to this common problem. I watched a video about cleaning the antenna contacts and performed this cleaning - no help. I have tried numerous apps that are supposed to help - no help. I took the tablet out of its case - no help. I even set the tablet out in the backyard for 45 minutes with a GPS app running as was suggested by someone - no help. I can't find anything at all about updating or re-installing GPS drivers or firmware so i don't know if that is even an option, but if there is a way to do this I would sure like help trying that. I have Titanium backups from before the GPS outage but I don't know which ones control the GPS.
It is as though this is a taboo subject and no one wants to even talk about it, but I did see that LOTS of people are having the same problem. Doesn't anyone have a solid solution short of just buying a new tablet? The GPS worked on a flight from TX to TN last March but never worked again after that. Could something on that flight have jammed or disabled my GPS?
If anyone has a solid solution based on actual resolution of this same problem, a lot of people would appreciate knowing about it.
Thank you.
Oooh i luv a good conspiracy! xD
Although i don't think taboo has any thing to do with it, now, if we were talking about dwarf elephants,sodomy and juggling then that would be troubling! But i think the empire is too busy tripping over the trump disaster to jam your gps. xD
okay, start by cycling through your back ups and find the one that worked, though i don't know much about titanium backup. It would have been smarter to use an actual recovery to make you backups.
The reason most common for not finding an answer or even a lead to one is insufficient data.
I have a tab4 and gps doesn't work, is literally nothing to go on.
What OS and/or firmware were/are you running? Did you install a custom kernel? Did you modify your OS with questionable applications or modifications that came at a cost or broke something?
What tab 4 is your tab 4? there are about 11-16 of them. Specifying the 8.0 is still not good enough.
It is interesting that you got some function on a flight. That's definitely worth a ? . I don't think a "jamming device" would fry your gps though.
I would say that you should first restore your tab back to cherry, meaning the original state you purchased/recieved it in and walk your mod process forward. Take notes and get logs.
m
Moonbutt74, thanks for responding.
My Tab 4 8.0 is model SM-T330NU
It's rooted & has several of the nice apps that can be used on rooted devices. Nothing was added between the time the GPS worked and when I noticed it not working. I am ALMOST certain of that. If there were a way to check logs for changes maybe I could get a clue - hadn't thought of that 'till now. Do you know how to do that? I suppose restoration to original state may end up being necessary, but I would sure like to avoid that. Everything else works just as I like it except for the fact that Google is still spying on me. There's no stable custom ROM yet as far as I can tell.
Yes, GPS worked fine on several commercial flights. It's fun seeing things on the ground and seeing what they are on the map + knowing speed and ETA.
O,
okay that's the main question, in -flight i guess your "line of sight" to gps satellites is unhindered, if it's anything like satellite tv service, then what's you situation on ground? Meaning canopy, and cloud cover. Back up your full current rom through recovery to external sd card. And then revert your tab to it's factory state. If you haven't modified the contents of your system directory after rooting then after doing factory reset while in recovery should put you back to your initial state.
Logging,
if you don't know how to set up adb there are plenty of threads dedicated to the subject, get that set up.
once your tab is cherry, get it connected to your pc abd run adb shell
once in adb shell run logcat -c to clear your log
start a gps related function or app
run logcat without any arguments for a "live" logcat
You have a huge log to go through , but go through every line.
You'll get the idea of how to read the log as you go.
We know that as of the LP 5.1.1 update to the sm-t330nu that samsung tried to disable ir blaster, so who knows?
I didn't know the wifi variants had gps.
m
moonbutt74 said:
O,
okay that's the main question, in -flight i guess your "line of sight" to gps satellites is unhindered, if it's anything like satellite tv service, then what's you situation on ground? Meaning canopy, and cloud cover. Back up your full current rom through recovery to external sd card. And then revert your tab to it's factory state. If you haven't modified the contents of your system directory after rooting then after doing factory reset while in recovery should put you back to your initial state.
Logging,
if you don't know how to set up adb there are plenty of threads dedicated to the subject, get that set up.
once your tab is cherry, get it connected to your pc abd run adb shell
once in adb shell run logcat -c to clear your log
start a gps related function or app
run logcat without any arguments for a "live" logcat
You have a huge log to go through , but go through every line.
You'll get the idea of how to read the log as you go.
We know that as of the LP 5.1.1 update to the sm-t330nu that samsung tried to disable ir blaster, so who knows?
I didn't know the wifi variants had gps.
m
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have posted this in a new thread, but I'll tell you the short version: My Allow Mock Locations was disabled in Settings/General/Developer options/Allow mock locations...). When I enabled this my GPS started working. Such a simple thing but a total odyssey to find out about it. OB

GPS not working on SM-N910F. Show much "In view" satellites, but 0 "In use"

GPS not working on SM-N910F. Show much "In view" satellites, but 0 "In use"
Have problem with GPS. It never can find satellites, even under clear sky. "GPS Test" application always show many "In view" sattelites and zero "In use" satellites.
Changing android version (even CM) doesnt help.
Anyone help! How to fix this problem?
AlexN said:
Have problem with GPS. It never can find satellites, even under clear sky. "GPS Test" application always show many "In view" sattelites and zero "In use" satellites.
Changing android version (even CM) doesnt help.
Anyone help! How to fix this problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same issue here, I'm starting to think hardware issue, did you find a fix?
I had the same problem and I tried everything, different ROMs, different programs, to no avail.
It probably is a hardware issue. The GPS connectors inside the phone do not make contact with the GPS antenna on the backplate. Open the phone and raise the connectors a little, very gently, so you don't break them. Before closing it, put a tiny paper under the connectors, so it won't happen again. It's not very easy, but not too hard either.
Thanks
I ordered a phone repair kit (small screw driver etc) yesterday as I suspected the same. I'm going to open her up when it arrives, I'll let you know what I find.
Cheers for the reply
R
Took mine apart, extended all the pins I could see bilut same issue. Where exactly are the GPS pins and antenna? All I could find online was stuff for the note 3.
Cheers
R
rickoneeleven said:
Took mine apart, extended all the pins I could see bilut same issue. Where exactly are the GPS pins and antenna? All I could find online was stuff for the note 3.
Cheers
R
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To the right, as you see the device from the back. It's the two tiny pins on the up-right corner.
Cheers
I'll take another peek tonight
Just opened it up again, give them a good extend but the issue remains. I think I'm a special case though, I got mine from Hong Kong (sent to UK) and then through a custom ROM Modem/Bootloader on without testing anything - idiot. So after further reading I think my issue may be related to CSC stuff, although I'm not sure exactly what that means yet - I'll keep reading.
Cheers for prompt reply.
R
Hello, I had the same issue when running android 5.1
It was after waiting a long time to get some good gps lock. Assuming it was an hardware problem I also checked out the 'pin' issue.
But amazingly, when flashing a android 4.4.4 rom, the gps is now awesome!
It now has almost instant lock everytime and I use it all the time for tracking my running and cycling. So I noticed the difference quickly between android 4 and 5 with the gps. It's like there's a big software bug in the 5 version.
Thanks choko, the one good thing I did before the flash was take a picture of all the info in "about phone" and a full backup including efs etc, so one of my steps when I have more time is a full roll back to stock (4.4.4).
Just need to locate the stock bootloader and modem for my "special" Hong Kong device.
Cheers all
R
I couldn't get a GPS connection on my Note 3 and was about to take it apart when I came across GPS Status Test and Fix I ran it and then everything was sorted! I've just bought a Note 4 and thankfully the GPS worked first time (I'm on MM now)
Thanks wold
I tried that and clicked the buttons at the bottom and it just varied between 0/19 and 0/24, not sure if that means my phone is "seeing" the sats but just not locking or what.
Feel so close to a fix yet so far away as I've tried everything apart from a CSC reset thing I read elsewhere. But that formats your phone so waiting for when I have more time.
Cheers all
R
Okay all - tried flashing back to my original backup from when it was new but it got stuck in reboot loop. I found the exact firmware online that came with my phone, flash it including modem etc and the phone booted as new, no warning sign it had been rooted or any recovery's installed. Even got offered some security updates once I'd logged in. Even after all that and comparing my ABOUT PHONE info to my original screenshot and confirming they all matched exact, I still have the same problem.
Some times when it's broke, I guess it's just damn broke!
Good luck with your journey's my friends, may the odds be forever in your favor.
This solution is the one that finally fixed the GPS on my Note 4 (currently on Android 5.1.1).
I had tried all the other options I could find on the internet (clearing cache, removing SD card, removing/reinserting SIM, calibrating compass, changing location modes, clearing AGPS data, etc., etc., etc.). None of them helped. Powering down, removing the back, then removing all the screws (about a dozen I think), then twisting the case gently several times in a "hand wringing" motion, followed by pushing firmly around the back to reseat anything that may have come loose inside (I did get a satisfying click of something snapping back together around the camera area), and then reassembling everything finally fixed the problem.
I now get a GPS fix in 3-4 seconds while inside on the main floor of a two story home. I get a signal-to-noise ratio that ranges between 15 and 30 and typically get a fix on around 10 satellites now (while indoors). Outdoors the performance is outstanding; the SNR is even better and the time to fix is nearly instantaneous. Before the fix I was lucky if it even got a fix on 3 or 4 satellites and it would often take several minutes, if ever.
I use GPS Test by Chartcross Limited to confirm satellite signal-to-noise ratio and time to first fix. I used to use GPS Status & Toolbox, but I prefer the GPS Test GUI and it has many of the same functions (including clearing and updating AGPS data). Incidentally, before the fix if I cleared the AGPS data I was lucky if I ever got a fix indoors; usually I had to go outdoors and wait many minutes to get the first fix. Now, I will get a fix while inside within 15 seconds after clearing AGPS data.
My Note 4 is like new again. And, as an added bonus, my battery life seems to have improved immensely. I suspect that the poor satellite reception made the GPS run nearly full time trying to get a fix. Now it seems to have dramatically reduced the battery drain required to run the GPS. I suspect that many of the reports of poor battery life are actually Note 4's that have poor GPS satellite reception problems.
AlexN said:
Have problem with GPS. It never can find satellites, even under clear sky. "GPS Test" application always show many "In view" satellite and zero "In use" satellites.
Changing android version (even CM) doesn't help.
Anyone help! How to fix this problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same problem it shows many in view 20 OR 26 but doesn't fix to any of them. SM-N10F
1-Opened my phone clean all the points pins No avail.
2-Forced Stop the location services then In view 0 in use 0 (google play services and google play-store)
3-Changed online found GPS drivers gps.default.so etc..... Goes to boot loop.
4. Still waiting for solution.
Test Apps ---- GPS STATUS AND TOOLBOX PRO GPS TEST AND FIX FASTER GPS
PUT MY IMEI TO IMEI INFO AND IT SAYS THAT ITS SM-N910C OR SM-N9108V MODEL PHONE.. STRANGE I DONT THINK SAMSUNG KNOX WILL LET OTHER MODEL FIRMWARE BE INSTALLED ON THIS HARDWARE. PLZ CHECK YOURS AND REPORT.
AND DONT SAY ITS A HARDWARE PROBLEM IF IT IS THE GPS IS INTEGRATED IN QUALCOMM SOC SO IT SHOULD BURN ALSO.

Categories

Resources