GPS issue - satellites in use, but no position - Galaxy Note 3 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi everybody.
I have SM-N9005 phone, currently running Temasek V16.0.
My GPS usually works fine, however sometimes it finds the satellites and uses them but doesn't get GPS fix for a long time (actually - never, as far as my patience go, which was about 15 minutes). After rebooting the phone the GPS fix is almost instant, with no problem.
So, what can cause GPS to be unable to get a fix, while it can use the satellites. Seems to be software related as reboot makes it fine. It is not ROM related, cause I've had it on stock as well as custom ROMs. Anybody can think of a fix that doesn't require me to reboot?

No, I have given up on GPS of this phone, Snapdragon variant. As you said, rebooting the phone makes the GPS lock fast/ instant, but for normal usage sometimes GPS just won't lock. All I can gather from my personal experience is its about Assisted GPS. When you are restarting your phone the AGPS data is being downloaded automatically, that is how Android works anyway, and that's probably why the phone gets a super fast lock after a reboot. Use app like GPS Status or something to have the phone download AGPS data at short interval, see if that helps in anything or not.
However I have never had any problems when I am outside, the GPS locks within 30-45 seconds no matter what, its the inside problems which used to bug me, but as I said, I have given up.

Hm, I've never seen such a problem. I use my N9005 for travelling across Europe quite often, and it usually locks within 10 seconds to 2 minutes, depending on the location and the number of satellites.
Aside from the occasional glitch, of course. Like going backwards or sideways. :silly:
And it seems to think I'm somewhere off the coast of Norway right now. That one creeps me out quite a bit...
The thing is that when you reboot, it uses all available connections to pinpoint your location. Including your mobile data. (And WiFi if available.) So if you turn on location services right after rebooting, your approximate location is still in the cache.
Triangulation Over Data works within seconds, as opposed to the time required to lock on to the satellites in orbit when it is only allowed to use GPS. If you turn on the higher location modes, it locks much quicker. You can turn it back to GPS once your location has been established.

ShadowLea said:
The thing is that when you reboot, it uses all available connections to pinpoint your location. Including your mobile data. (And WiFi if available.) So if you turn on location services right after rebooting, your approximate location is still in the cache.
Triangulation Over Data works within seconds, as opposed to the time required to lock on to the satellites in orbit when it is only allowed to use GPS. If you turn on the higher location modes, it locks much quicker. You can turn it back to GPS once your location has been established.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am talking about GPS only. I use GPS Status app for a long long time (with my previous Android devices as well), so I can monitor the GPS fix. After reboot I get GPS position almost instant or sometimes I need to go into GPS status app and re-download A-GPS data (which is max 1h old, because of my settings) and then I get my fix.
When my problem occurs NOTHING (short from reboot) can get it to get a fix. I tried deleting and downloading A-GPS data, turning location on and off and from high precision to power saving - it just won't work. Of course I'll get postition from WiFi or cell towers, but GPS just won't fix, even with 12 satellites in use, after waiting over 15 minutes (which should be more then enough, cause whole GPS almanach is transmitted over 12,5 minutes and I get it from A-GPS anyway).

I would start by wiping the phone installing stock rom and testing . Still a problem then its hardware .

Related

GPS

I cant seem to get my GPS working all the time. I've got some Freecaddie software but the GPS seems to work when it wants. What do I need to do to get it to work everytime I use the software?????
It should work out of the box, and works very well.
For the first fix though, stand under open sky for a while.
Are you using the GPS indoor? Getting a fix indoor is quite difficult and not possible in most cases until you are not standing next to a window.
i have a similar problem, i´m using igo on my hd and it worked very good in the beginning, but since a while when i start it, it gets a normal gps fix but then the gps connection only lasts a few seconds (5-6) and then looses connection for about 30 secs and when it finally finds it again it lasts again only 5-6secs...
can anyone help me? it´s very annoiying when i´m in a foreign town where i don´t have a good orientation and my navi system won´t help me at all
Hmmmmm - this should work "out of the box" whenever you use a GPS application.
Try this free app: Chartcross GPS Test 1.04 http://www.chartcross.co.uk
It will scan for a GPS device if you have one (as HD does).
that´s not my problem, igo finds my gps receiver...
GPS signal dissapears for 30 seconds then re-appears.
This is resolved by a soft reset, although in one case (When I actually was lost) it took 6 consecutive soft resets to finally start working whereas normally it only takes one or two...
I would be very interested to hear if anyone has a resolution to this issue?? or any idea's what may cause it not to work properly before one or two soft resets??
mine kept stopping for 30 seconds while I was driving, soft reset is a bit of a pain.. does QuickGPS help ?
mikewd said:
mine kept stopping for 30 seconds while I was driving, soft reset is a bit of a pain.. does QuickGPS help ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely, having QuickGPS updated won't hurt. Some people says it doesn't help much, but it should. It downloads updated data from satellites so that the internal GPS does not need to wait for that info. Anyway, GPS worked for me out of the box, without QuickGPS; it does the work very well and is quick fixing the position. Try GPS Test, as said above.
I have Duffy's 1.7 ROM (and admittidly this issue has only started since I loaded this ROM, Quick GPS is on, but shouldn't affect anything ONCE the satalites are locked... what happens is the satalites pick up for 30 seconds then off for 30 seconds then on then off ad infinitum. I use Tom Tom 7 and CheckPOInt, other than that fairly standard apps... core player etc. At the mo I'm just in the habit of soft reseting before starting GPS, from a soft reset button in touchflo programs its not so bad. Anyone else experiencing this exact thing of 30 on and 30 off??
The problem of losing GPS regularly happens if you have assisted GPS active. Uncheck this and all will work fine.
Does it still lock on fairly quick without Agps? I must admit I have not tried yet.
I have a problem where I've tried TomTom7 and in the GPS status screen it shows up to 7 or 8 satellites really quickly (maybe 10 seconds) then they all disappear a few seconds later, and it says something like "Are you sure you aren't inside a building?" (yes, I just didn't notice obviously!), then a few seconds later they all appear again & then off & on etc.
It's annoying but when they are showing they give a relevant position and speed.
Is this the same problem? No-one knows what is causing it I assume?
Crett, ( and a bunch of you above) sounds like you have AGPS enabled. AGPS (assisted GPS) must be disabled or it will do exactly what you are describing.
Cheers, and yes, I have got Agps activated. But it doesn't explain why it happens though.
Does the gps still work well without the download assistance?
It works flawlessly without AGPS and from what I remember (not 100% on this) , the AGPS is a bug through all HDs (drivers prolly) might even be throughout other htc phones
Svegetto said:
It works flawlessly without AGPS and from what I remember (not 100% on this) , the AGPS is a bug through all HDs (drivers prolly) might even be throughout other htc phones
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as i understood it, if your cellphone provider does not submit a proper agps signal, the htc always resets the gps with the faulty data. so switch of agps.
how do I disable agps??
cheers
Start, Settings, System, AGPS Settings, Disable.
And yes, it's working fine with it disabled.
Thanks
viczena said:
as i understood it, if your cellphone provider does not submit a proper agps signal, the htc always resets the gps with the faulty data. so switch of agps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmm haven't heard that but good to know. Now is the problem that htc coded it wrong (waiting for a wrong signal that doesn't come?)? That would be my take on it, since i haven't heard of anyone having the agps working (otherwise I'd think it would be the cell companies fault).
not sure if this helps, but i was just pratting around with settings in tomtom as mine was loosing signal every 30secondstoo. changed to max baud rate on com 4 and its now working sweet as

GPS initial lock problem... Still

Fix applied and still having initial lock issues...
Power off and back on to test initial locking...
Lbstestmode is taking about a minutes to obtain a lock, while maps and gps test is taking up to 15 minutes if used for initial lock.
Once the initial lock is obtained, all is fine until next power, or long sleep
Am I alone?
My gps settings are default except I have changed standalone to MS-based and accuracy to 100. What I do is if the gps isn't locking really fast, I delete GPS data then run a get posistion test for a minute or three. I usually get between 10-14 satellites. Afterwards, my gps locks on very quickly and accurately. The fact that I have to clear GPS data and re-run the posistion test leads me to believe (or should I say hope) that the gps problem is software based.
Chalup said:
My gps settings are default except I have changed standalone to MS-based and accuracy to 100. What I do is if the gps isn't locking really fast, I delete GPS data then run a get posistion test for a minute or three. I usually get between 10-14 satellites. Afterwards, my gps locks on very quickly and accurately. The fact that I have to clear GPS data and re-run the posistion test leads me to believe (or should I say hope) that the gps problem is software based.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I power off/on, I also have to run the get position test for several minutes, then all is fine. I'm not sure if power is what causes it to loose its data, or time plays a factor...
dalepa said:
If I power off/on, I also have to run the get position test for several minutes, then all is fine. I'm not sure if power is what causes it to loose its data, or time plays a factor...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea I have the same problem. Time definitely plays a factor, because when I go to sleep and wake up I have to clear the data then run the position test. But once I run the position test, the GPS locks on very, very quickly and accurately, which makes me feel hopeful that an OTA update could fix the problem. But since I bought the phone off contract I have 30 days to return...so if Samsung doesn't official release a statement by then I may have to return this amazing phone
Chalup said:
Yea I have the same problem. Time definitely plays a factor, because when I go to sleep and wake up I have to clear the data then run the position test. But once I run the position test, the GPS locks on very, very quickly and accurately, which makes me feel hopeful that an OTA update could fix the problem. But since I bought the phone off contract I have 30 days to return...so if Samsung doesn't official release a statement by then I may have to return this amazing phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I installed flixster and it tried to locate me via gps and couldn't...after I closed flixster, the gps was still open (still trying to get a signal) and sucking my power... Looks like it may mainly be an issue indoors
The gps initial locking issue needs to get fixed soon! My wifi only iPad locates me every time in about 2 seconds
It's going to suck if this great phone is flawed by gps

GPS after the update

I think I've updated my phone with something called Kies mini... I am trying to check my location with the gps but it aint even close to where I live!!!
Everyone talks about how satellites has their gps locked on to but I have no idea how to see that... with gps test.
HELP PLEASE! It has been always showing the same location doesnt matter which city I'm on! (before the update too)...
I think once I have tested this gps fix that was around, but then I went back to normal settings (i guess)... cause it didnt work
Now it it says that I have ECLAIR.UVJI6
I am new to all this
Search the market for an app called "GPS Test". It will show you all of the information you're looking for.
Well, I'm still having GPS difficulties with the newest update (Running Bionix 1.9).
ECLAIR.UVJI6 is the newest update, so don't worry about that.
cwoodworth said:
Well, I'm still having GPS difficulties with the newest update (Running Bionix 1.9).
ECLAIR.UVJI6 is the newest update, so don't worry about that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At least I have the right update :/
tenchi-kun said:
Search the market for an app called "GPS Test". It will show you all of the information you're looking for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have GPS Test and GPS Status... The first one doest even move at all when I start the application and the second one on the bottom show it seems that is loading something forever. Where do I see the sats? Have no idea. From the second one I will guess that it could be that part that says "fix/sats" and right now is saying 0/2.
My goodness... The damn gps would so useful to stop loosing myself on the German streets
Nothing that I can do to fix it? Is there any news about if this is the last official fix for the gps?
My GPS was working great when I first odin JI6, now all of the sudden it just stop working, I try to odin it back to JI6 again and it still doesnt work so well.
I'm testing the GPS out right now. I've had the phone since wednesday, tried google maps and it's never been able to get my location. I just installed JI6 today and ran GPS test for the first time. I got 0 satellites for a couple of runs until my 3rd try where it eventually got up to 10.
Even though I get locks on GPS test, google maps/navi still can't pick up my location so it's useless =\
In my specific case, I found that the JI6 GPS update did not perform much better than the original version. Yes it was better, but certainly not as good as the JI2 update. So, I've applied the JI2 update and things seem to work much better.
Also, I've found that turning off wifi when making the initial GPS lock really helps reduce the amount of time needed to initially lock.
Good luck!
^ second that. Try to turn off wifi.
Try these maybe:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=728894
FYI - Ive had good luck changing to MS Based:
From link-
""In MS-Based mode, the network provides the satellite information to the device, based on a rough estimate of where the device is located, and the device acquires the GPS signals from the satellites and calculates its location. After the initial fix, the device operates like an autonomous GPS receiver, until the satellite information must be refreshed, at which time the device goes back to the network to update the satellite information. MS-Based mode is appropriate for applications that require the device location to be updated rapidly, such as a navigation application. Can the GPS work in autonomous mode? No, the GPS receiver requires the assistance of the network elements to acquire its initial location fix.""
i flashed bionix 1.9 and had more problems with gps than when i was running 1.5. atleast before it was sort of accurate... and found a couple sats after 2-3 minutes. but iwth 1.9... nothing and not even the correct side of the street (showed me east while i was way west). then i found someone who had a gps fix based on j12 and it was in zip so... i mounted that to me SD and reinstalled using clockwork recovery... now within seconds i get gps ... extremely accurate... AND... lock on to most of the satelites that are available. i love it!
Right, so here are my thoughts and experiences while using the new JI6 update:
1) Way more accurate than the previous couple of builds that I have tried. When the GPS does lock, it usually locks onto 10/12 birds and finds my location within 5-6 meters. Not bad! Definitely not as good as when I had GPS working via one of Eugene's Franken-Twiz ROMs (between 2-3 meters), but definitely good enough for daily navigation.
2) The fix for damn sure didn't fix any of the satellite aquisition problems that our phones have been experiencing. Typically for me it will aquire satellites right off the bat about 50% of the time. Other times I'm left waiting 20+ minutes for it to get a lock.
3) Solution I have found to get a quick fix. Type in *#3214789650# (for the new JI6 update) and delete the GPS Data cache. I think it's the last button on the list. After the cache is cleared, use the top button on the list to perform a location test. I've seen this take anywhere from 30 seconds up to 2 minutes... sometimes a bit longer if I am in an area with poor signal coverage. Once I have aquired a successful lock on multiple birds, I simply back out of the application and am good to go. If I leave GPS constantly on, I have found that my phone will maintain the lock almost indef. If I turn the feature off during the day to conserve battery life I have found that it will usually aquire a lock within 30 secs or so of me turning GPS back on IF I am still in the area where I turned the feature off. If I drive to an area an hour or so away from where I turned it off, I usually have to repeat the above process to get a quick fix.
I've tried every iteration of option combinations from the lbltest menu, and have mostly been greeted by similar results, with no one option particularly speeding up the process. Based off of this I am assuming the issue probably lies with the caching of stale data on our phones, and it's inability to purge this data on it's own.
The one thing I haven't tried yet is the JI2 fix mentioned above. I might give this a whirl and see how it works!
BTW, I'm an expat working in Europe, so this might also be the cause of my slow lock times... however every other GPS I own works magnificently over here.
Moped_Ryder said:
Try these maybe:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=728894
FYI - Ive had good luck changing to MS Based:
From link-
""In MS-Based mode, the network provides the satellite information to the device, based on a rough estimate of where the device is located, and the device acquires the GPS signals from the satellites and calculates its location. After the initial fix, the device operates like an autonomous GPS receiver, until the satellite information must be refreshed, at which time the device goes back to the network to update the satellite information. MS-Based mode is appropriate for applications that require the device location to be updated rapidly, such as a navigation application. Can the GPS work in autonomous mode? No, the GPS receiver requires the assistance of the network elements to acquire its initial location fix.""
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the first "fix" for the gps? I tried once but it didnt work.
I have tried pretty much all the "fixes" I can think of and this is what I have found. No matter the source (root mods, Bionix, J12/J14/J15/J16-leaked and OTA), changing from 'standalone' to msbased helps tremendously. Also using the google server and port is much much better for faster locks and maintaining lock even if you are not in clear view of the sky (tree, buildings etc will affect you lock). I willl say the stock JFD with the msbased and google server and port was better than just about all the other ones I have tried with the stock standalone and spirint server.
IMO The OTA J16 is the fastest and most accurate (less than 10 feet everytime, less than 30sec fix everytime) that I have tried, but even that required me to use the google server and port, and also switch to msbased.
theking52 said:
i flashed bionix 1.9 and had more problems with gps than when i was running 1.5. atleast before it was sort of accurate... and found a couple sats after 2-3 minutes. but iwth 1.9... nothing and not even the correct side of the street (showed me east while i was way west). then i found someone who had a gps fix based on j12 and it was in zip so... i mounted that to me SD and reinstalled using clockwork recovery... now within seconds i get gps ... extremely accurate... AND... lock on to most of the satelites that are available. i love it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, do I need to root my phone for that?
cathardicnotion said:
Right, so here are my thoughts and experiences while using the new JI6 update:
1) Way more accurate than the previous couple of builds that I have tried. When the GPS does lock, it usually locks onto 10/12 birds and finds my location within 5-6 meters. Not bad! Definitely not as good as when I had GPS working via one of Eugene's Franken-Twiz ROMs (between 2-3 meters), but definitely good enough for daily navigation.
2) The fix for damn sure didn't fix any of the satellite aquisition problems that our phones have been experiencing. Typically for me it will aquire satellites right off the bat about 50% of the time. Other times I'm left waiting 20+ minutes for it to get a lock.
3) Solution I have found to get a quick fix. Type in *#3214789650# (for the new JI6 update) and delete the GPS Data cache. I think it's the last button on the list. After the cache is cleared, use the top button on the list to perform a location test. I've seen this take anywhere from 30 seconds up to 2 minutes... sometimes a bit longer if I am in an area with poor signal coverage. Once I have aquired a successful lock on multiple birds, I simply back out of the application and am good to go. If I leave GPS constantly on, I have found that my phone will maintain the lock almost indef. If I turn the feature off during the day to conserve battery life I have found that it will usually aquire a lock within 30 secs or so of me turning GPS back on IF I am still in the area where I turned the feature off. If I drive to an area an hour or so away from where I turned it off, I usually have to repeat the above process to get a quick fix.
I've tried every iteration of option combinations from the lbltest menu, and have mostly been greeted by similar results, with no one option particularly speeding up the process. Based off of this I am assuming the issue probably lies with the caching of stale data on our phones, and it's inability to purge this data on it's own.
The one thing I haven't tried yet is the JI2 fix mentioned above. I might give this a whirl and see how it works!
BTW, I'm an expat working in Europe, so this might also be the cause of my slow lock times... however every other GPS I own works magnificently over here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gonna try this out! cheers
finds sats but won't lock on...
I'm still having GPS problems post-update. I've never installed any custom ROMs or any custom GPS fixes other than some tweaking in the LbsTestMode menus, which I have since reverted to the default.
In the LbsTest or the GPS Test app I get the same results: the phone always finds 10-12 satellites just fine (levels in the 20s) but it never locks onto my location. GPS Test will say "In View: 10" for 20 minutes but "In Use" always stays at 0.
Anybody have any ideas here? I was really hopeful that I'd finally have a functioning GPS after this update.
cathardicnotion said:
Right, so here are my thoughts and experiences while using the new JI6 update:
1) Way more accurate than the previous couple of builds that I have tried. When the GPS does lock, it usually locks onto 10/12 birds and finds my location within 5-6 meters. Not bad! Definitely not as good as when I had GPS working via one of Eugene's Franken-Twiz ROMs (between 2-3 meters), but definitely good enough for daily navigation.
2) The fix for damn sure didn't fix any of the satellite aquisition problems that our phones have been experiencing. Typically for me it will aquire satellites right off the bat about 50% of the time. Other times I'm left waiting 20+ minutes for it to get a lock.
3) Solution I have found to get a quick fix. Type in *#3214789650# (for the new JI6 update) and delete the GPS Data cache. I think it's the last button on the list. After the cache is cleared, use the top button on the list to perform a location test. I've seen this take anywhere from 30 seconds up to 2 minutes... sometimes a bit longer if I am in an area with poor signal coverage. Once I have aquired a successful lock on multiple birds, I simply back out of the application and am good to go. If I leave GPS constantly on, I have found that my phone will maintain the lock almost indef. If I turn the feature off during the day to conserve battery life I have found that it will usually aquire a lock within 30 secs or so of me turning GPS back on IF I am still in the area where I turned the feature off. If I drive to an area an hour or so away from where I turned it off, I usually have to repeat the above process to get a quick fix.
I've tried every iteration of option combinations from the lbltest menu, and have mostly been greeted by similar results, with no one option particularly speeding up the process. Based off of this I am assuming the issue probably lies with the caching of stale data on our phones, and it's inability to purge this data on it's own.
The one thing I haven't tried yet is the JI2 fix mentioned above. I might give this a whirl and see how it works!
BTW, I'm an expat working in Europe, so this might also be the cause of my slow lock times... however every other GPS I own works magnificently over here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
exact same issue. drive an hour away and the gps is hosed unless you clear it and start it again.
I am also overseas. I wonder if grabbing the GPS settings from I9000 would help? Does anyone have them or know where to find them?
EDIT: nevermind they are the same settings
00sivan said:
exact same issue. drive an hour away and the gps is hosed unless you clear it and start it again.
I am also overseas. I wonder if grabbing the GPS settings from I9000 would help? Does anyone have them or know where to find them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used the GPS for hours going between statelines with JI6, no problems requiring a signal when I closed out GPS.
The_Tim said:
I'm still having GPS problems post-update. I've never installed any custom ROMs or any custom GPS fixes other than some tweaking in the LbsTestMode menus, which I have since reverted to the default.
In the LbsTest or the GPS Test app I get the same results: the phone always finds 10-12 satellites just fine (levels in the 20s) but it never locks onto my location. GPS Test will say "In View: 10" for 20 minutes but "In Use" always stays at 0.
Anybody have any ideas here? I was really hopeful that I'd finally have a functioning GPS after this update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reboot the phone, it usually works in this case.
heygrl said:
I used the GPS for hours going between statelines with JI6, no problems requiring a signal when I closed out GPS.
Reboot the phone, it usually works in this case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the thing is... mine worked in the states with the stock JFD without any problem. flawless.
it stopped working when i got overseas. and hasn't worked well since. It really seems like it ONLY works well in the states. I mean I can get it to work if I clear the data all the time, reset the phone all the time, but it's not supposed to work like that. It should just find me when i open maps like any sound person would expect from the device. can anyone contend? is anyone having flawless GPS functionality outside the US?
heygrl said:
Reboot the phone, it usually works in this case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've rebooted at least 5 or 6 times, as well as clearing the GPS cache ("Delete GPS Data" in LbsTestMode) numerous times as well. Still never gets a location lock despite seeing 10-11 satellites.

GPS Fix!

It seems that the majority of people have absolutely no GPS issues. But I notice every time that I factory reset, I can't get a GPS lock, which is absolutely weird. I can't acquire location on GenieWidget either initially. If anyone else out there is having GPS issues or Location issues then try this.
How to fix for both:
1. Download GPS Test from the market (the free one)
Run it, and leave it running until the GPS On light turns green and it has satellites in use and tells you the meters accuracy. That means a lock. This can take a few minutes.
After this happens, GPS locks very quickly even after reboots, very weird.
Now even after this, GenieWidget still can't acquire location.
2. Turn on WiFi, but don't connect to anything, you don't have to.
When WiFi is on, go back to the GenieWidget and hit refresh.
It'll find your location even though you're not on a WiFi network.
Now disable WiFi and it'll be able to acquire your location every single time.
Weird stuff.
damn... sounds like Samsung is STILL failing with LBS. It's very frustrating on my Captivate.
I turned it on before and got a fix in about 45 seconds. About the same time as my Slide.
skinien said:
damn... sounds like Samsung is STILL failing with LBS. It's very frustrating on my Captivate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a one time issue though it seems. I think actually it all depends on getting that 'first' lock. The phone will go to sleep if you wait on maps too long. So I just use that app, go into settings, and hit Keep Awake then leave it sit til it locks. After that, I can get a lock in 1-5 seconds every time after reboots upon reboots.
It locks just as quick as my Evo, 10-15 seconds for me. I use my GPS so much if its not getting a good lock I would return the damn thing over and over until it work how it should. Even 45 seconds is a stretch...my G1 locks faster than that...
Anderdroid said:
It's a one time issue though it seems. I think actually it all depends on getting that 'first' lock. The phone will go to sleep if you wait on maps too long. So I just use that app, go into settings, and hit Keep Awake then leave it sit til it locks. After that, I can get a lock in 1-5 seconds every time after reboots upon reboots.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Quite right. There's a big difference between "cold" and "warm" GPS startup.
When the phone is brand new, or after a hard reset, it will always be a "cold" start. The phone has no clue about where it is in the world, or even if it has the correct time. So the very first thing it does is to look around and try to spot any GPS satellites. Then it tries to download the almanac data.
For GPS to lock, quite a lot of data needs to be downloaded from the satellites. This takes between 30-60 seconds uninterrupted view of at least 3 satellites. If you're moving around, the view of the satellites may be interrupted, and the phone will have to start over again. This process can be speeded up a lot with A-GPS.
After the first lock, things go much faster. The almanac data is already on the phone, and the position of the last GPS fix is known.
The thing that confuses most people is that an Android phone will try to navigate by other means when there's no GPS lock. By cell tower, or by WiFi hotspot. Cell tower gives your location instantly, but with a very large margin of error. If your position is way off, then you're not navigating by GPS, but by other, less accurate means.
I actually can't get location from the cell towers >.< But yeah my GPS is locking in 1-5 seconds now.
Still no luck with above... will not turn green just stays yellow

[Q] GPS doesn't work while driving in Waze or Google Maps

Hello I'm having a problem with my GPS signal. I followed this guide to fix it but still have the problem: http://androidforums.com/threads/gps-fix-dummies-guide.761247/
I have NO PROBLEM getting my accurate location within 1-5 seconds when sharing location on whatsapp/telegram or other apps. Even opening Google Maps or Waze, they also detect my location very very fast. I'm taking less than 5 seconds and it's very accurate.
The problem comes when I try to NAVIGATE with Waze or Google Maps. This is when I'm outdoors in my car of course. My phone doesn't get a GPS signal. It takes a very very long time, sometimes 10 minutes to get a lock on. The funny thing is that when I followed this guide and I put the airplane mode on, the apps got a lockon on the GPS, but as soon as the airplane mode was off they lost GPS signal and had a problem locking on.
I have the GPS TOOL app installed and outside I get a lockon of about 10-15 satellites of 22 but it doesn't happen instantly. It takes from 10 to 60 seconds to get a lockon. But that is not even the problem. I could live with that, but the real issue is that the signal comes and goes. So sometimes the apps have a lockon for 1 minute and then they lose it for 3 minutes and again and again.
When I'm indoors it takes about 30 minutes to get a lockon on but I get from 1 to up to 6 satellites even though my apartment is the one on the top. There are no other apartments above it so I should have a bit more of a chance to get a signal. But it barely connects and sometimes never. The issue is the same. It may connect sometimes but it loses signal. 1 minute it remains connected and them loses it for 5 minutes and so on.
I attached some screenshots of how waze never has a GPS connection (unless I turn airplane mode on. I'll test this later on the road trying to get some place and I'll update if this really makes the GPS lockon but it's not ideal to have to use airplane mode to get a lock on GPS but not have internet for anyethign else). I have also attached the specifications of my phone. I hope you can help me out. It's a samsung galaxy s5 mini. And mainly I want to know if this could be because of the KITKAT firmware because I have read that many phones have GPS problems now, or if this could actually be a problem with my phone. I hope not becuase it's a new phone. I have one month with it and I'm in Mexico.
Thanks!!
Sorry, this forum covers all the standard size S5s but not the S5 mini. Try your question in http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s5-mini as there will be more people with the same device as you there.

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