Database Users

[Q] Wonky GPS on AT&T S4?

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

Check if you have GPS and Mobile Networks turned on for Location.
Else return it.... and get a new one... GPS has been quick and spot on...

slider2828 said:
Check if you have GPS and Mobile Networks turned on for Location.
Else return it.... and get a new one... GPS has been quick and spot on...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GPS is quick and spot on. Per what I wrote, I have to turn it off and on for an app to be able to use it.

burhanistan said:
GPS is quick and spot on. Per what I wrote, I have to turn it off and on for an app to be able to use it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've noticed this once, where something in the background was starting a GPS lock, but seemed to cancel, and retry before it ever succeeded. Turning the GPS and location services off, then back on worked for me. Haven't had an issue since.
If you haven't tried resetting to factory default, I suggest doing so.

TwistedMexi said:
I've noticed this once, where something in the background was starting a GPS lock, but seemed to cancel, and retry before it ever succeeded. Turning the GPS and location services off, then back on worked for me. Haven't had an issue since.
If you haven't tried resetting to factory default, I suggest doing so.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I was hoping for a bit more granular approach than a full reset. I'll wait until the new OTA is applied before doing anything drastic.

burhanistan said:
Well, I was hoping for a bit more granular approach than a full reset. I'll wait until the new OTA is applied before doing anything drastic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Less drastic than returning it. I suppose it depends on how attached you are to your current setup - but I would say if you're experiencing that issue repeatedly, the factory reset is exactly what you'd need. I doubt the OTA will address it since it appears to be an isolated problem.

burhanistan said:
Well, I was hoping for a bit more granular approach than a full reset. I'll wait until the new OTA is applied before doing anything drastic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Be my guest but to get the quickest results please just turn off all gps settings then do a battery pull. Restart it and turn the gps services back on... Viola
If that's to drastic for you then your SOL
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

You can also try to download GPS Status from the play store and download aGPS data and see if that helps

mcmb03 said:
You can also try to download GPS Status from the play store and download aGPS data and see if that helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, the issue is with ANY app that requests GPS data.

So, yeah. Today's OTA update did indeed fix this. i would press my own Thanks button, but that would be sinning!

burhanistan said:
Hi all. I'm having a bit of GPS weirdness. GPS can get a lock quickly and accurately, however, I have to turn it off/on every time I open an app that uses it. Otherwise, it won't ever find the location. Once I turn it off/on it picks up and stays locked while the app is running. Also, if I switch to another app that uses GPS I have to do the same thing to get a location fix.
So obviously, the GPS function works, but something in the OS is not recognizing it until it's reset. Not the end of the world, but definitely annoying. Is anyone else seeing this?
This is on the AT&T version, by the way.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same issue here and it's driving me INSANE. lol I am on stock rom just rooted and unlocked. If i ever want to use Gps I need to turn on/off the toggle. Very annoying. Wasn't like this from day one so something must have changed. I have tried clearing the cache for Google Maps as well as re enabling all of my location settings downloading aGPS data data did not work

Do you have yahoo weather installed ?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

I do not have yahoo weather installed. Another bit of info I forgot in last post:
I do sometimes, in a quick glance, see the gps icon running out of the blue. The notification of "acquiring gps signal bla bla" is present as well.. only to disappear within seconds. So it seems as if a specific service or application is using the gps in a faulty manner, blocking other services/applications from using it. May be why resetting the gps allows the application your trying to use access it. (my only fix)
If someone could read a logcat of what's going on I could post one up
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

I've actually been combing through the logcat output and see a line reappearing often referring to "no secgps file" I do remember on my previous devices messing around with that file and others for GPS configurations. Does anyone know if this file is supposed to be included in the stock rom?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

BUMP
Seeing a few other posts in this sub forum for GPS locking issues, and most the others see the fix to turn on and off via the toggle.

tyshemi said:
Do you have yahoo weather installed ?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was Yahoo Weather for me! As soon as I deleted it the GPS started to work well with apps that need it such as Waze and Google Navigation. Wow. Thank you. I was going crazy. Tmobile GS4 btw!

Lol people probly thought I was crazy but it causes lots of issues
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

tyshemi said:
Lol people probly thought I was crazy but it causes lots of issues
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely no yahoo weather installed. I've disabled yahoo news and yahoo finance so far
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

Sucks man faulty phone then I've had zero issues after the yahoo incident
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

It does suck.. I'm starting to get the feeling its Google now. I love it and use it extensively
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

Gps won't grab a lock

So I the only thread I found on this was really old with no resolution so I'm starting a new one.
My gps will show like 0/24 on gps status immediately and not fix any. Earlier I got 2 satellites to fix ad that was all. This is outside in my car with a clear view of the sky. has anyone had any luck fixing gps issues?
Sent from my VS980 4G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

th3drow said:
So I the only thread I found on this was really old with no resolution so I'm starting a new one.
My gps will show like 0/24 on gps status immediately and not fix any. Earlier I got 2 satellites to fix ad that was all. This is outside in my car with a clear view of the sky. has anyone had any luck fixing gps issues?
Sent from my VS980 4G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you using the GPS Status app (developer MobiWIA)? I ask since that app allows you to add all the extra details in the notification bar while the GPS is searching for a lock. If so, have you tried getting a GPS lock in any other app (like Maps)? I can get a lock in all my other apps, as well as other GPS diagnostic app EXCEPT for the one developed by MobiWIA for some reason. I keep it installed though as I like to see the status in the notification bar.
I'd suggest downloading the GPS Status app if you already don't have it (the MobiWIA one), and go into Menu > Tools and click on Manage A-GPS State. Then click on Clear Cached GPS Data. Then click on the button that says Download Additional Files (well, says something similar to that). Then open up a different app and see if you can get a lock. I had to clear my GPS data and download those additional files before I could get a timely lock as well, but now I get a lock within 10 seconds while inside the house. This assumes that you haven't rooted tour phone. If you're rooted, you can do all this (and more) manually. Just clear GPS Cache and Data, and open up /system/etc/gps.conf to add any additional servers to the list, as well as tweak other GPS setting.

ya i tried those before, it's acting even dumber now, the top bad with the gps icon is solid indicating a lock. However any gps status app that I use will show no satellites locked. I get it to lock a couple after sitting there for a while on gps status sometimes though but its really shady

My past g2 did that, I returned it. Got a replacement, afraid to even root this beast.

unfaix said:
My past g2 did that, I returned it. Got a replacement, afraid to even root this beast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so after you replaced it the problem was solved?

Same issue. The GPS on this phone sucks. It'll be 4 miles off sometimes and that's even if I can get it to lock.
Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

Looks like the Verizon G2's GPS reception was compromised with the addition of wireless charging. T-mobile D801 here and I get a lock within a few seconds indoors.

th3drow said:
so after you replaced it the problem was solved?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, still as ****ty as ever.
Although it doesn't happen as often, it still more often than others.
I'm past the remorse period.
So yeah.
Here's one from yesterday where I needed to get directions while driving, it locked but didn't do jack ****.

unfaix said:
Nope, still as ****ty as ever.
Although it doesn't happen as often, it still more often than others.
I'm past the remorse period.
So yeah.
Here's one from yesterday where I needed to get directions while driving, it locked but didn't do jack ****.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I guess atleast that means it most likely isn't completely hardware related.

Mine (T-Mobile) locks in just a few seconds, even indoors!
I always have data on, so it makes the process even faster (A-GPS makes use of the cellular antennas to acquire a lock faster). It works really well actually. I have at times the GPS off and even then, my location gets pin-pointed very quickly!
Cheers!

I have the GPS lock issue sometimes. What I have found to work for me is I turn airplane mode on let it sit for a second, then turn airplane mode off. By the time airplane mode is off and BT, LTE/CMDA signal notification are coming back to life my GPS has a lock and is working like it should.
YMMV on this, but it does work for me.

Workaround for Smart Lock trusted location bug

It seems like trusted locations don't work for some people. I have found a workaround, and it works in two different locations that I tried.
Add a new trusted location, but instead of picking a suggested by maps address, move the location pointer on maps to somewhere very near your location that gives gps coordinates instead of an address. A new trusted location with gps coordinates should work now.

nabbed said:
It seems like trusted locations don't work for some people. I have found a workaround, and it works in two different locations that I tried.
Add a new trusted location, but instead of picking a suggested by maps address, move the location pointer on maps to somewhere very near your location that gives gps coordinates instead of an address. A new trusted location with gps coordinates should work now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This did not work for me. It was weird, my first trusted location worked great but my second one was actually my home location and I have tried dropping the pin everywhere around my house and it refuses to work. I am fixing to try it at work to see if that will work.

Yes I noticed this bug as well. I added "Home" which took from maps, but once I just added a new location (I didn't have to move the pin anywhere) while at home, it started working just fine.

Codiusprime said:
This did not work for me. It was weird, my first trusted location worked great but my second one was actually my home location and I have tried dropping the pin everywhere around my house and it refuses to work. I am fixing to try it at work to see if that will work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try a pick a different location right next to where the map says you are. The instructions for Smart Lock says that it has to be within 80 feet of your actual location.

wsoldier said:
Yes I noticed this bug as well. I added "Home" which took from maps, but once I just added a new location (I didn't have to move the pin anywhere) while at home, it started working just fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure that it sticks after a reboot. I had some problems with that when using addresses instead of gps coords.

Pretty lame, Milhouse. All the delay in getting Lollipop out and a major feature like this doesn't work?
When I turned on Smart Lock it already showed my house as a trusted location. When I tried to add a second pin at home it showed the map of my house with a circle around the whole properly and said "this place is already trusted". So it obviously knows that I am home. Location is in high accuracy mode as it suggested. Yet when I power off the screen and back on it still wants my fingerprint each time.

nabbed said:
Try a pick a different location right next to where the map says you are. The instructions for Smart Lock says that it has to be within 80 feet of your actual location.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried that multiple times. It's weird, it works at every location I've set except home or around my home.

So now I have it working... here is what I did:
1) Turn off the default "Home" value it had for me
2) Add a new pin here at my house, showed the GPS coords on the map, etc
3) Waited a little bit and it started to work
The waiting part was key, as it did not start working immediately after setting it up. I thought perhaps this was the original problem so I removed my new pin and re-enabled the original home and then once again waited. This time it never started working. So I reverted all the steps and waited a bit more and it's working now with my new pin and the original home disabled.

Once I added a second location and let G Maps find me (which happens to be the exact spot I typed in under Home) it's now working. Go figure. Not sure if I should go back and delete the other location or not. If it isn't affecting battery, I see no point.

I've added a second location near home from Google Maps and, for the time being at least, it's working.

Now that it's working, I went ahead and removed the second location that I created and it still works fine back on the original address I used to set it up. Odd.

And now today I wake up and it's not working. Location still enabled, even tried rebooting the phone. Just doesn't work. Quite frustrating.

Funny thing is on my wifes note4 it was the exact opposite to get it working. It first selected gps coordinates and that didnt work so i had it suggest an actual address and it worked.

bbeelzebub said:
Now that it's working, I went ahead and removed the second location that I created and it still works fine back on the original address I used to set it up. Odd.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did that also. And it didn't work. But then it started working! Tomorrow is another day. ?

the best work work around for me was to add the houses to the left and right of my house.. once i did that and had 3 locations including mine it worked perfect

sfld said:
the best work work around for me was to add the houses to the left and right of my house.. once i did that and had 3 locations including mine it worked perfect
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sound like you had to cover a much larger area than an 80-foot radius.
Perhaps the Google bug is in that it cannot get a good location lock on our current location.

Doesn't anyone's 6P keep forgetting it's in a trusted place?

Mine does, at my home all the time. My 5X in testing alongside doesn't seem to do it, but still checking.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Ah!.. Almost "glad" to see I'm not alone in this case. =/

Was wondering why it wasnt working for me earlier, too. It definitely forgot my home as a trusted place.

Yup, can confirm as well. It's finicky; sometimes it works normally, other times it requires a passcode.

My nexus 6 did this all the time but my 6P does exactly the same on stock unrooted. Luckily the fingerprint scanner makes it really easy to unlock the phone now so it's less of an issue but still annoying not to have it working properly. My location is on high accuracy by the way.

Mine does occasionally.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Mine never worked even once. It asked me if I wanted to add my home as a trusted place. i added it and it still needs pin every time I am there.

I had this happen to me all the time on my N6. With the 6P, I gave up on Trusted Places because of Nexus Imprint. It's just much easier to use and I imagine better for battery life since the phone doesn't need to poll your location to find out if you're in a trusted place or not.

Hasn't worked for me on all my Nexus phones. I live on a frontage road. When I bring up maps it shows my location 100 yards down the main road. Once GPS kicks in it finds my real location.
I've submitted a location error to Google a dozen times, but it hasn't been fixed.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

I got mine to start working perfectly. As long as I have WiFi and locations set to on then it remembers my trusted places.
One thing to note, when you add a trusted place it isn't automatically turned on. You have to add it then click on it to turn it on. I didn't know about the second step which was why mine wasn't working.

On my Note 4, it rarely worked.
On my 6p, not all the time but better than the Note 4

It worked great for a long time on my Nexus 6 and then Google started updating the Google Play Services about a month ago or so and since then it never worked properly...

Same problem here. Even with all the location stuff turned on it only works when it wants to. Trusted devices on the other hand continue to be awesome...

Had this occasionally on N6, somewhat a fix is to include a few trusted places for same location
And I never use the existing Home location, that never worked for me for some reason.

Screen Lock Problem - Randomly Stops Requiring Passcode/Iris/Fingerprint

After a couple days of using my phone without a reboot I notice that it stops requiring unlock credentials such as my pin, iris or fingerprint. I will be able to swipe to unlock the phone and the security is completely removed.
Has anyone else noticed this? If I reboot the phone the security goes back to normal.
The only app I have that I think could cause this is BxAction to remap my bixby button to google now.

Under settings > security > smart lock there are options for keeping your phone unlocked in certain situations, e.g. in trusted places or when connected to a particular bluetooth, check to see if nothing is enabled there, and usually it locks after a reboot like you listed

Stupid question: have you enabled face recognition?

Did you set your screen lock to happen immediately or is it delayed?

kash20 said:
Under settings > security > smart lock there are options for keeping your phone unlocked in certain situations, e.g. in trusted places or when connected to a particular bluetooth, check to see if nothing is enabled there, and usually it locks after a reboot like you listed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
pete4k said:
Stupid question: have you enabled face recognition?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SeanForester said:
Did you set your screen lock to happen immediately or is it delayed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok so I uninstalled bxactions to see if it was causing the problem. It appears it was not the culprit.
I currently have my phone setup to use iris, fingerprint and pin. It will work normally for approx one day.
Then all of a sudden it doesn't require my credentials to unlock. I have smart lock setup to not require credentials when connected to BT in my truck and when at the GPS location of my house. I'm currently sitting at work and it's swiping to unlock without reading my iris or fingerprint.
My lock delay is 5 seconds and auto when I press the lock button.
If I reset the phone it starts working normally again.

Now that I think about it I have a feeling its something to do with smart lock thinking I'm either still at home or that I'm still in my truck.

I'm having the same exact problem and I have the same exact setup as you! It started doing this a couple days ago. I have Smart Lock set to keep the phone unlocked when I'm at home (GPS coordinates) and when connected to bluetooth in my car. I got to school yesterday and noticed the phone wasn't requiring my irises or fingerprint anymore. I let it be for a little while to see if it would correct by itself and it didn't. I restarted the phone and that fixed it but it did it again this morning! It seems as though Smart Lock isn't registering I'm not at home or in my car. This is huge security flaw.

volfan22 said:
I'm having the same exact problem and I have the same exact setup as you! It started doing this a couple days ago. I have Smart Lock set to keep the phone unlocked when I'm at home (GPS coordinates) and when connected to bluetooth in my car. I got to school yesterday and noticed the phone wasn't requiring my irises or fingerprint anymore. I let it be for a little while to see if it would correct by itself and it didn't. I restarted the phone and that fixed it but it did it again this morning! It seems as though Smart Lock isn't registering I'm not at home or in my car. This is huge security flaw.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If others are having this issue then I agree as well this is a huge issue.
I just went home on my lunch break and the screen lock is still working normally. I connected to my truck when I was on my way home. I didnt pay attention if it was requiring any type of unlock when I was home.

nadrojcote said:
If others are having this issue then I agree as well this is a huge issue.
I just went home on my lunch break and the screen lock is still working normally. I connected to my truck when I was on my way home. I didnt pay attention if it was requiring any type of unlock when I was home.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have On body detection turned on by chance? That may be your issue. Located in smart lock settings.

Outbreak444 said:
Do you have On body detection turned on by chance? That may be your issue. Located in smart lock settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No the only smart lock options I have enabled are bt in my truck and GPS at home.

Outbreak444 said:
Do you have On body detection turned on by chance? That may be your issue. Located in smart lock settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have that setting checked either. Just bt for car and gps for house. Not a huge deal for me personally because I'm pretty much always around people I trust but this really is a huge security flaw if it is happening to a lot of people.

Are you looking at the screen when swiping the lock screen? The iris recognition is actually very fast and you only see the alignment screen if it cannot immediately read your iris.

Outbreak444 said:
Do you have On body detection turned on by chance? That may be your issue. Located in smart lock settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OCedHrt said:
Are you looking at the screen when swiping the lock screen? The iris recognition is actually very fast and you only see the alignment screen if it cannot immediately read your iris.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I purposely pointed it away from my face to test this.
I haven't had it happen since the day after creating this post. I wonder if some Samsung apps were updating over night and causing the issue.

I added a post about this two days ago in this forum area. Try turning off finger gestures from advanced settings
Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

Bedeadu said:
I added a post about this two days ago in this forum area. Try turning off finger gestures from advanced settings
Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weird how they would be linked. I did notice that my fingure print gestures stopped working the other day too. I turned the setting off and back on and it started working.

After several days of the phone working properly when I traveled out of town, it is doing this again. I am at school, which is not a location I am using for trust locations, and the phone is staying unlocked. This is honestly pretty ridiculous and needs to be addressed. The only thing I can think is that I am connected to the same wifi network at my apartment (campus housing that is off campus) and while on campus. Maybe the phone is thinking I'm still in the same location since the wifi networks are the same?

Bedeadu said:
I added a post about this two days ago in this forum area. Try turning off finger gestures from advanced settings
Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just tried this as my screen lock isn't currently not working.it didn't make a difference having gestures turned on or off. I tried turning wifi and GPS on and off as well. Only way to get it to work again is reboot.