I've been struggling for months with problems getting a lock with the GPS. It started with Lollipop 5.0.1 but gradually. Then when I installed a 5.1.1 rom, I could no longer get a lock at all. I tried all the fixes I could find. I even Odin'd back to ANJ7 so I could reset the GPS NV with the hidden menu.
Finally I came across a post that was a variation on the advice to tighten the screws on the back of the phone here: https://www.reddit.com/r/galaxynote...e_4_gps_problems_possible_solution_helped_me/. His situation was almost identical to mine so I tried it and it worked - instant GPS Lock! Hope this helps someone. Here is his post (thanks whoever you are!) for convenience:
[–]the_fixit_guy 0 points 3 months ago
I solved this problem on my Note 4 after months of trying nearly everything. The solution is below, but first let me show you what happened and what I tried:
-I had Kit Kat on my ATT Note 4 and no GPS Issues -I upgraded to Lollipop and then eventually started to notice GPS issues, but not right away -I tried all of these in various permutations with some success, but eventually the problem came back: --Rebooting --Deleting cache partition --Removing SD card --Removing SIM
Using GPS Status (free from Chartcross Limited), I would get 0 for satellites 'In Use' and all bars were at 0 signal strength.
I thought either to exchange my phone, but others have tried that to no avail, so I thought it might be Lollipop, but my issues started some time after the upgrade.
Finally, I came across a suggestion to tighten the screws of the phone, but I did it a bit differently because the screws were already tight. Here's what I did to fix it:
-Power off -Remove back cover -Remove battery -Remove SIM -Remove SD card -Remove all screws -Hold top of phone in left-hand and bottom of phone in right-hand and counter-rotate hands in a wringing motion to gently flex the phone. Not too much, but just enough to get things moving slightly. Do this a few times. -Replace SD card -Replace SIM -Place phone face down on a clean soft surface and gently press down with thumbs on every surface except the SIM, SD and battery area. Use firm pressure, but don't overdo it - just enough to reseat whatever is underneath. Also do this on the exposed areas where the metal contacts show through plastic cutouts. -Gently press down on the SIM and SD areas, but do not crush the metal covers - just enough pressure to flex the metal without bending them, and you will hear the SIM contacts make a few sounds - this is ok. -Replace all screws -Replace battery -Replace cover -Power on the phone -If you don't already have GPS Test from Chartcross Limited, install it (you can use any GPS app you like, but this one is free and will show you the signal strengths). -Run GPS Test and wait for a GPS FIX. You should see the satellites on a bar chart with colors, which should be at least yellow or green. Then the status should change to 3D Fix.
Ever since I did this, Google Maps now works (as opposed to location indicator blinking all or most of the time and chewing through my battery). I can drive again!
I recommend the app "TopNTP". It has fixed the GPS on several of my devices.
WaxysDargle said:
I recommend the app "TopNTP". It has fixed the GPS on several of my devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As have been previously discussed in this forum in very technical detail, changing NTP servers has 0 affect on GPS. What you observed was a placebo effect.
@Dumbo53 do you have another phone with working GPS to which you can compare signal strength?
mxxcon said:
As have been previously discussed in this forum in very technical detail, changing NTP servers has 0 affect on GPS. What you observed was a placebo effect.
@Dumbo53 do you have another phone with working GPS to which you can compare signal strength?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are implying with your statement that I didn't do any controlled testing or systematic verification on my aforementioned devices. The fact is that this app resolved configuration issues I've had in the past.
Don't be such a blorkus about it. I'm just trying to help.
WaxysDargle said:
You are implying with your statement that I didn't do any controlled testing or systematic verification on my aforementioned devices. The fact is that this app resolved configuration issues I've had in the past.
Don't be such a blorkus about it. I'm just trying to help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please explain how you performed controlled testing or systematic verification?
As I mentioned elsewhere on this forum, I have quiet a lot of development experience working on NTP protocol, so please go into as much technical detail as you can.
Thank you.
edit: you are also welcome to chime in in this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=62843024&postcount=46
No but no need. Once I did the above my phone's GPS was like it was when the phone was new. It locks instantly. I've since used Maps again and it doesn't miss a turn. I'd almost forgot how good it was. It's made my phone feel brand new again. In retrospect I think I had an intermittent connection that finally failed. Maybe it started when I dropped it. Flexing and pushing down on the back reseated something.
Sent from my SM-N910T3 using XDA Free mobile app
mxxcon said:
Please explain how you performed controlled testing or systematic verification?
As I mentioned elsewhere on this forum, I have quiet a lot of development experience working on NTP protocol, so please go into as much technical detail as you can.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You misunderstand. I never claimed to know how it works and I'm not gonna explain my methods to you. I'll just tell you that it worked for me. I understand the placebo effect very well and was aware of it. Sorry to tell you that that app absolutely resolved my issue. I troubleshoot for a living and know what verification entails.
If you're done waving your pecker at me you'll notice that I don't care about your experience. Just disagree and move on.
What's with you ppl on these forums, anyways? Always wound up. Chill out already. You know people are starving somewhere right now?
Dumbo53 said:
No but no need. Once I did the above my phone's GPS was like it was when the phone was new. It locks instantly. I've since used Maps again and it doesn't miss a turn. I'd almost forgot how good it was. It's made my phone feel brand new again. In retrospect I think I had an intermittent connection that finally failed. Maybe it started when I dropped it. Flexing and pushing down on the back reseated something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So sometimes you used to have strong signal but sometimes almost nothing? It's not like it was constantly bad?
---------- Post added at 02:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:49 AM ----------
WaxysDargle said:
You misunderstand. I never claimed to know how it works and I'm not gonna explain my methods to you. I'll just tell you that it worked for me. I understand the placebo effect very well and was aware of it. Sorry to tell you that that app absolutely resolved my issue. I troubleshoot for a living and know what verification entails.
If you're done waving your pecker at me you'll notice that I don't care about your experience. Just disagree and move on.
What's with you ppl on these forums, anyways? Always wound up. Chill out already. You know people are starving somewhere right now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow..Who's wound up? What pecker waving? Did you see me show you any kind of attitude? Wow... What crawled up your ass and died?
Yeah sometimes it worked normally. As I said it gradually went bad - working sometimes normally but more and more refusing to work at all. This wasn't a problem of weak signal. The GPS just wouldn't work at all - no update of position for long periods though I'd moved. When I installed the 5.1.1 rom it packed up entirely. Perhaps the heat of the backups and installs in reality finished the tenuous connection I still had. I can see now that it was never a software problem.
Sent from my SM-N910T3 using XDA Free mobile app
I was having problems with the GPS also and after doing research this solution kept popping up being a little skeptical I decided to send the phone to Samsung and was informed the repair would be expensive so finally decided to bite the bullet and try tightening the screws,for the last two months the GPS has worked flawlessly so I can confirm this is a viable solution and before replacing paying for repair it should be tried.
I tried this repair, and gave it thorough testing. My gps has been flawless since.
Thank you!
Sent from my SM-N910T3 using Tapatalk
I just tried this and it didn't work for me.
Removed all the screws, twisted my phone a bunch of times, pushed down everywhere, reassembled it and No change in GPS quality.
I'm not surprised. It won't work for every gps problem, plus you need a bit of luck! I will say that I pressed pretty hard; as hard as I thought I could do without breaking the screen's glass underneath.
Sent from my SM-N910T3 using XDA Free mobile app
I uses toptnp in the playstore.... Works for me!
Sent from my SM-N910T
Related
Earlier, my G2 shut off on me about 5 times. -_-
First, I had it sitting in the car ,tried to take a pic but the stupid voice recognition menu kept coming up so I gave up and set it down in the console. When I got home, the phone felt warm and was.. off.
Then, I turned it on.. stuffed it in my pocket. A moment later, I pulled it out and YET AGAIN when I pushed the button I was greeted by a quick vibe and the HTC screen -_-
Then a few minutes later I ran a speed test (checking HSPA+ out in Vegas).. put it down on the table.. come back.. PHONE IS *(@#% DEAD AGAIN.
I HATE YOU! *glares at phone*
It's killing me because it either happens several times in a row, or doesn't happen for days! I've tried replacing the sim card, replacing the SD card.. moving the battery... no dice.
Maybe it's my SIM card? Would that cause it? My last phone did that -_- And I'm silly to have not yet changed the SIM lol
Good thing I have a spare sitting in my bag.
What battery are you using? Aftermarket? Is so, did you remove the sticker around the battery? If you did then make sure you place a piece of tape on the battery to avoid making contact with the metal sd card holder. The metal on metal causes it to shut down.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Interesting. I've also been having random shutdowns (not reboots, which I've seen mentioned elsewhere, due to a hardware fault) --
HTC Desire Z, using default battery, but I'll try isolating it anyway with a slip of paper or something.
OP you on a custom rom with overclock? maybe your clocking your phone too high or low?
Also if the phone for whatever reason gets too hot or cold it will turn itself off.
Please see this forum: Phone powers down and won't turn back on w/o pulling the battery
I strongly believe that this may be an issue with the GPS and/or Google Maps. Once I have the GPS off, this has not occurred. Can anyone else try this?
I have the Bell Desire Z NAM with stock HTC Sense 2.2 ROM.
It seems to be quite prevalent, see the bottom of this review: T-Mobile G2 is speedy sequel to original Android
I think you may be onto something with that GPS note, but my phone doesnt' need the battery pulled to restart.
Also, it's running the stock firmware, stock battery (just exchanged battery and got a new SIM card yesterday, and it shut off again today.. so those aren't the problem)... so any issues I'm having are 100% stock related...
This time it shut off after using Maps so....
i read somewhere (trying to find the source) that some G2's were experiencing random restarts / shutdowns due to low signal strength. Not sure how valid this is but you might want to look into this as well.
fablife said:
i read somewhere (trying to find the source) that some G2's were experiencing random restarts / shutdowns due to low signal strength. Not sure how valid this is but you might want to look into this as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was true before we received the first OTA update. Since then though the problem has been fixed.
I think it was definitely the GPS, that said I just got done with a really long phone call about this and have a replacement on the way.. but that was way too much effort AND I have to pay shipping (it's not much, but seriously.) I'm not happy that T-Mobile was THAT big a pain in the butt about getting the phone replaced with a new one in the 30 day return period.
Going by the pointers one of my close friends on sprint (that used to be on AT&T) gave me, I'd say this could've been worse with another provider.. but it shouldn't have been. The reception isn't the best so the customer service should make up for that, and it sorta does.. but it sorta doesn't.
Oh well.
I have been experiencing almost the same thing for the past week or so. I have tried a few things such as lowering clock speeds, changing roms, and not using maps or GPS. Nothing has stopped the shutdowns. I cant seem to find a pattern in the things the phone is doing when it shuts off because it rarely does it when i have the screen on, also it never does it if music is playing or if i am watching a video. I will say that it seems to happen alot when i am in spots i know are dead spots for phone signal. I flash roms a fair amount so it is hard to say this has started after flashing a rom, but I will say it never did this before I flashed my first sensui 3.0 rom.
I am thinking its one of two things, something with the radio and/or its firmware or something with the sdcard because at least one senseui 3.0 rom said something about sdcard formatting.
I hope all this helps the smart people come up with idea on what wrong with our phones.
djrajir said:
I have been experiencing almost the same thing for the past week or so. I have tried a few things such as lowering clock speeds, changing roms, and not using maps or GPS. Nothing has stopped the shutdowns. I cant seem to find a pattern in the things the phone is doing when it shuts off because it rarely does it when i have the screen on, also it never does it if music is playing or if i am watching a video. I will say that it seems to happen alot when i am in spots i know are dead spots for phone signal. I flash roms a fair amount so it is hard to say this has started after flashing a rom, but I will say it never did this before I flashed my first sensui 3.0 rom.
I am thinking its one of two things, something with the radio and/or its firmware or something with the sdcard because at least one senseui 3.0 rom said something about sdcard formatting.
I hope all this helps the smart people come up with idea on what wrong with our phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Desire Z had the same problem and I returned it to HTC Service for repair. They said they change some cables? and a new battery. It has been nearly 3 days and I haven't experienced a single shutdown but there was one time it restarted by itself.
Yeah my only problem with that is, I am close to my upgrade date. How much did it cost. I may still do it so I can give this phone to my kid brother.
Sent from my Htcclay's SuperCM7 G2 using Tapatalk
Just to update, I found that I can make it do it some times when playing with opening the hinge.
Sent from my Htcclay's SuperCM7 G2 using Tapatalk
Possible cause/fix found
I posted this in another thread here regarding the same problem but it appears it may have been overlooked so I'll post the info again in hopes of helping you and others having this problem.
A possible cause/fix has been found as posted on the T-mobile forums:
http://forums.t-mobile.com/t5/T-Mobile-G2/G2-Turning-off-by-itself/td-p/513575/page/4
There is a conductive metal strip along the back of the battery that looks like it may be shorting out. Check out the link for detailed fix with pics. I take no credit for this, just posting it since I'm experiencing this problem too.
Talked to tmobile CS today and was trying to get a replacement because my phone would randomly reboot and shut off. All he told me was go and pick up a new sim card. If that didn't help then they would be willing to give me a warranty replacement.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
carquote said:
I posted this in another thread here regarding the same problem but it appears it may have been overlooked so I'll post the info again in hopes of helping you and others having this problem.
A possible cause/fix has been found as posted on the T-mobile forums:
http://forums.t-mobile.com/t5/T-Mobi.../513575/page/4
There is a conductive metal strip along the back of the battery that looks like it may be shorting out. Check out the link for detailed fix with pics. I take no credit for this, just posting it since I'm experiencing this problem too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Clicking your link all I got was an empty T-Mobile page with the message "Page not found" and some some java script error message when closing the window.
Is this possible fix something else than lining the back of the battery with a strip of paper?
whpsnp said:
Clicking your link all I got was an empty T-Mobile page with the message "Page not found" and some some java script error message when closing the window.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry about that, I fixed the link and it should be working now.
Cool, thanks!
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
I'm pretty sure mine is not caused by the metal strip since my battery's all proofed. I didn't have anything wrong with it until about half a month ago, and it always happened after using GPS and left it on. If I turn it off after navigation or any other app that requires GPS the phone won't go into SOD.
I switched back to CM7 RC2 around that time and starting to get the GPS no fix problem, and it could't be fixed by the dd=/dev/.... script. So I switched into Nightly 88 or something that at least I was able to get a fix but the not-so-random freezing started.
This morning I flashed the new 7.1.0 RC1 and the phone would just turn itself off (it used to just freeze and become hot), and I got really tired of it... My old G1 was much more reliable than this.
I tried the dd=/dev script again, so far after 5 min the phone is still on with GPS on....
@carcuote
Thank you! I haven't had this issue for months now. But the solution is so easy to do that I will try our anyways.
I had this issue the first month our so when I got the new phone, but went away permanently after the second month. Maybe the contacts in the battery got a little rusted? Don't know but the solution is simple enough to try...
Sent from my T-Mobile G2
I've looked through this forum to try to find the answer to my issue.
I have a rooted Droid X which seems to have difficulty finding and locking onto the GPS satellites.
I have downloaded the "GPS Test" and "GPS status" apps which show that I have between 0-7 satellites in view but maybe 1 is locking on. Other times I have 10 satellites in view and all of them are locked on. Unfortunately, more often than not, fewer satellites are locked on.
I have tried clearing the aGPS data, clearing the google maps Cache, removing the battery, dialing *228. For my location I have "use wireless networks, use GPS satellites, and enable assisted GPS" clicked yes
I don't particularly want to do a factory reset as I've seen on some forums that it didn't fix the problem.
Also my tech skills are not very great. I've heard the term ROM before with rooted phones, not really sure what it means
Does anybody have any suggestions of how to fix this issue? I really am reliant on the GPS.
Thanks! Its much appreciated when you get a chance
Maybe you can PM me about it as well. Have never got a GPs lock on this rooted, leaked, 2.3
Jmoney47 said:
Mod edit: as I told you in the other thread, I'll PM you about this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I don't want to sound rude, but I wonder what the need to PM is all about? A lot of people, including myself, are having this same problem. What is the big secret here? Why can someone who has a solution just post it here for everyone to see?
Geez!
My best guess is because it would be a repeat thread then.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App
I had the same problem running on .573. installed .595 and locking on good again.
jshaas2 said:
Maybe you can PM me about it as well. Have never got a GPs lock on this rooted, leaked, 2.3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is not what the pm is about. I posted instructions on a possible fix but our admin decided that he would remove them
Jmoney47 said:
That is not what the pm is about. I posted instructions on a possible fix but our admin decided that he would remove them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah. Well that explains it. My apologies to you.
Medicstud007 said:
I've looked through this forum to try to find the answer to my issue.
I have a rooted Droid X which seems to have difficulty finding and locking onto the GPS satellites.
I have downloaded the "GPS Test" and "GPS status" apps which show that I have between 0-7 satellites in view but maybe 1 is locking on. Other times I have 10 satellites in view and all of them are locked on. Unfortunately, more often than not, fewer satellites are locked on.
I have tried clearing the aGPS data, clearing the google maps Cache, removing the battery, dialing *228. For my location I have "use wireless networks, use GPS satellites, and enable assisted GPS" clicked yes
I don't particularly want to do a factory reset as I've seen on some forums that it didn't fix the problem.
Also my tech skills are not very great. I've heard the term ROM before with rooted phones, not really sure what it means
Does anybody have any suggestions of how to fix this issue? I really am reliant on the GPS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was there a solution for that? I am having the same problem here.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1247683
or
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=17081413&postcount=1
also
make sure the gold connector on the back left inside the battery area is out enough where it is touching the battery door when attached
(can you tell I've searched around on this topic for some time)
Okay I come to all you smart people for knowledge. I am experiencing an issue with my GPS where it won't lock onto my location at all. I followed the steps in the OP but... no avail. I have the app "GPS Status" and it shows 0/0 Satellite fixes. I read that the gold tab in the picture I have uploaded next to the battery pull tab is the GPS trigger and I have also read that it is the WiFi antenna. So what I did was take the battery cover off and took a pair of tweezers and made metal to metal contact with the gold tab and within 5 to 10 sec I got satellite reception. So I looked at the back of the battery cover and could see the wear and tear on the back where the tab has been rubbing. Not sure if there was a pad there at one time or another to make contact with the tab. I then took the tweezers and ever so gently pulled up on the tab so it would make contact with the battery cover in case it was not or wasn't good enough. I placed the cover back on and instantly lost satellite coverage, I removed the cover and it come back. I ran this on off with the cover a few more times and every single time I would place on the battery cover is killed the GPS but after removal I would get GPS back. I have not dropped the phone nor have it around water etc. Any help on this as to what I could do would be greatly appreciated. I called Verizon earlier today about this before tinkering with it on my own and they are sending me out a replacement phone.....but the catch is it is a Droid X2. For the 1st time in my life I don't want a new phone hahaha. Thank you for your time. Oh and if it helps I am running MIUI on .605
My GPS hasn't been working for a while now, and I always assumed it was a 1software issue. I've tried SBFing to .340, .602, CM7, and am currently on MIUI.. all with no luck. Long story short, it was a hardware issue.
I noticed while holding the phone in a certain way with the battery cover off, I would get a fix on all satellites almost instantly (using GPS Status). After some testing, I found that putting pressure on the piece of plastic between the battery pull tab and SD card was the solution.
With a little MacGyver ingenuity (folded a movie stub in half, placed on that spot, and put the cover back on), I now have perfect GPS reception, indoors and out.
I'm not sure if this is the issue for everyone with a Droid X and GPS problems, but it should at the very least help some.
Please take the poll and spread the word if this is a solution for you. I know I'm not the only one who has thought about tossing my phone out the window over this issue.
It works!
Wow. Just wow.
I have been having GPS problems on my Droid X for months now. I had tried almost everything: Formatting SD card, downloading AGPS data, wiping cache, factory reset, different ROMs, etc.
NOTHING WORKED
I was about to give up, but today I had some free time before work so I thought I would give it another, final, shot. I Googled the problem for the umpteenth time and found your post. "Interesting," I thought to myself, "I've never thought of trying that."
So I popped off my batter cover and with the GPS test app running applied a small amount of pressure on the little plastic peg located below the pull tab.
INSTANTLY GPS test picked up seven different satellites! I jumped out of my chair I was so excited! I instantly decided to create an XDA account (I've been a lurker for about a year now) just so that I could thank you! I loved using my GPS so much because I am horrible when driving in places that I'm not familiar with, it was such a downer to not be able to use it, I felt like my phone was only at 75% without it.
But you changed all of that!
I love you!
I want to hug you!
+1000 Internets/cookies/kudos to you, good sir!
May you have the best Karma for the rest of your life!
Sincerely,
An extremely happy, GPS renewed, Droid X user
interesting. I usually find that GPS problems are rom related 9 out of 10 times.
I like my GPS too I've always known my network and GPS issues to be rom related. I'll have to see how that works next time. Thanks for sharing your discovery.
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
I didn't believe it at first... but he's right!
I had my doubts when I read about the "pressure fix" to my DX GPS problem. I did a lot of testing and it works. I was able to get 8-9 satellite fixes in 4-8 seconds. As soon as I let off on the pressure all satellites were lost usually right away but sometimes I had the fix for 15-20 seconds. When I put the battery cover on I also lost satellites right away. I found I could also apply pressure through the battery cover and get a fix within 10 seconds.
I called VZW tech support and after I convinced the first tier script reader that I indeed had a problem that they couldn't fix I went to tier two. He asked a few questions and I told him my woes (but not the pressure fix) and he immediately sent out a replacement phone. The replacement works great... fixes in seconds even inside a steel hulled ferry boat!
Something else you can try is updating your roaming capabilities. dial *228 and press 2. Seemed to help a lot with me. Getting several satellites within 5-10 seconds, vs. 20 minutes before lol
If you are having the gps issue on all roms and pressure makes it work, it's more than likely a cold solder joint an I would get the phone replaced under warranty.
bizarre
I just wanted to say I have this same problem on the same phone. I noticed if I touch the back of my phone in a certain area, the GPS lights up and everything works great. If I take my finger off it, the GPS loses me. It is just bizarre... I am calling them tomorrow for a replacement phone but I wanted to say thanks for posting this because I thought I was going nuts!
edit: I cut off a strip of a thin cardboard price tag from a pair of jeans I bought a few weeks ago and inserted it into the back of the phone like the OP stated, closed the battery case, and now I have eleven satellites. If I take out the piece of cardboard they all go away. I had been looking for a solution for weeks and now, finally, joy!
Yeah I knew that issue for awhile. Atleast 7 or 8 months. It will help with wifi issues too. I remember at one point my friend was going threw droid x's like there nothing. There has to be something loose up there. I wanted to open it up and try to find a real fix but just never cared. I figured if i lose wifi or need gps i know the quick fix.
Thank you!!!
I started having gps issues right around the time I started rooting and roming so I assumed it was the roms. I tried flashing the fixes but nothing worked. I even temporarily went back to stock but it didn't fix the gps problem. I found this today and immediately fixed the problem. I used my gps the whole day and haven't had a problem. If something changes I will be sure to come back and let all of you know.
You know... it might be caused by doing multiple battery pulls which is something you tend to do a lot when first learning to rom your phone.
Me too
My wife and I both have DroidX original flavour, and both have had the GPS stop working after about a year. To call it annoying would be an understatement. Both phones are unrooted, have the latest update on them (4.5.621.MB810).
Our symptoms were they same - you start up GPS and start Navigator or Google Maps, and for the first two minutes, everything was fine. And then the GPS looses the signal and there is nothing you can do to bring it back.
I had read on another board that Weatherbug caused a lot of problems with the GPS, and after uninstalling that (and installing Weather.com's app), the GPS actually did start working better, but it would still loose the signal permanently most of the time.
I actually went through uninstalling everything else on my phone trying to figure out which of the 100 apps I have installed that had messed up the GPS, and still had no signal. And then I read this post.
I'm going to add another variable to this fix, and that would be heat. Taking off the batter cover works for me, but I have also noticed that on hot, sunny days, when the phone is in the car dock, there is almost nothing I can do to get the GPS to work. But at night, when the phone is cool, even without taking the cover off and applying pressure to the knob next to the pull tab, the GPS seems to work almost flawlessly.
I'm going to call Verizon tomorrow to see if I can get replacements for both my wife's and mine phone. I don't know if they will, considering my wife's phone is almost two years old, but we can't wait until July when her replacement discount becomes available for her to have a usable GPS. Considering this seems to be a design flaw in the original DroidX given the sheer number of postings all of the internet describing the exact same problem, I'm thinking they had better replace them for free.
Thank you for this post!! You've solved a problem that has been bugging us for months, and now that I know its an endemic problem, you probably saved us a LOT of money!
I know this is an old post, but I am looking for any suggestions to get my GPS working again. I have tried with the cover pulled and applying pressure to the plastic piece and have had no luck, I get no satellites. I have updated roaming capabilities, I have changes ROMS, still to no avail. I have used GPS Status to reset and download A-GPS state and it will not work. The GPS never finds any satellites indoors or out. I have tried flashing a baseband radio and had no luck doing that either.
Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
So I have done some research about this issue already and there doesn't seem to be a definite answer around so maybe this thread can clear things up for me. Anyways I have a Note 4 on T-Mobile, and I use Waze, a lot, and I rarely ever get a GPS lock, it usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes before I get one and then when I do, it will skip around or my location will "teleport". So people have said to use the app "TopNTP" and this seems to help slightly, but it still takes forever to lock. I have used multiple GPS reconfiguration apps and this seems to be the only one that helps slightly. I have also done the usual, factory reset, reset app settings, root, unroot, custom and stock rom, and nothing seems to work. I also know that its not just my location because I used to have an HTC One M8 that worked flawlessly, and to top it off, a friend of mine has a Note 4 with the same issue. I would just like to know if this is happening to other people and if there is a way to fix it. Another thing I saw floating around the internet was some guy put a piece of copper tape inside the back cover of his and it seemed to give him a stronger signal. I don't know if this is a cruel joke or not but I am honestly probably going to go to home depot and try this because I just don't know what else I could possibly try besides getting a new phone, so any help is appreciated.
Ivrim said:
So I have done some research about this issue already and there doesn't seem to be a definite answer around so maybe this thread can clear things up for me. Anyways I have a Note 4 on T-Mobile, and I use Waze, a lot, and I rarely ever get a GPS lock, it usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes before I get one and then when I do, it will skip around or my location will "teleport". So people have said to use the app "TopNTP" and this seems to help slightly, but it still takes forever to lock. I have used multiple GPS reconfiguration apps and this seems to be the only one that helps slightly. I have also done the usual, factory reset, reset app settings, root, unroot, custom and stock rom, and nothing seems to work. I also know that its not just my location because I used to have an HTC One M8 that worked flawlessly, and to top it off, a friend of mine has a Note 4 with the same issue. I would just like to know if this is happening to other people and if there is a way to fix it. Another thing I saw floating around the internet was some guy put a piece of copper tape inside the back cover of his and it seemed to give him a stronger signal. I don't know if this is a cruel joke or not but I am honestly probably going to go to home depot and try this because I just don't know what else I could possibly try besides getting a new phone, so any help is appreciated.
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I have the same issue. In doing some research there are A LOT of others in the same boat. I had GPS issues with my Note 3 and now the NOTE 4 is a POS as well. I am probably going to get another (NOT SAMSUNG) device and return this as defective and sell the replacement.
Sorry to hear about your problem. I have a Note 4 N910F international. I have been using navigation driving around texas for a few days now without problem. It locks immediately when I enable gps. Have you tried turning on mobile data or wifi if you are in range? This will help with quicker position acquisition.
My problem with Note 4 is poor LTE receprion eventhough my 2 S4' s get full bars.
Hi there,
I have a D801 I bought this summer in the US and recently I'm having problems with the GPS. I got it with stock LP, and I think back then it was working fine. Then, I started testing different roms, and at some point it broke. I guess it is a software problem, but I don't know how to fix it (I search in each rom's thread but it should be working ok).
I'm currently using this ROM http://forum.xda-developers.com/tmobile-g2/development/rom-tmo-lp-extreme-v1-0-4-16-15-t3084681
Software details: http://imgur.com/GhqDN9D
I have tried fasterGPS (to set it for Spain) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.fastergps&hl=en and GPS Status https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eclipsim.gpsstatus2&hl=en but it takes forever to lock into a satellite (1/26), and even then it is not able to get the correct location in Google Maps (tried outdoors in several places already).
Any help? Any additional info you may need?
Thanks in advance!
i think most people who have had problems with the GPS on this phone have given up. the GPS is just flaky to non functional. There is a mod out there where you raise the antennae pins to contact the case using something to shim them. that might or might not help. I did it on my LS-980. I also did it on my Samsung Note i717 and it solved it.
I think part of the equation is software related. I updated my rom to Dirty Unicorns and my GPS was working most of the time. but when it refused to lock, nothing could make it. on stock, I had a weird condition where the GPS would work only if my phone was in 3g mode, not LTE. However, when my phone got stuck in 3g mode, would never switch back to LTE without turning off and on mobile data. I am currently back to stock but my GPS doesn;t work.
tekweezle said:
i think most people who have had problems with the GPS on this phone have given up. the GPS is just flaky to non functional. There is a mod out there where you raise the antennae pins to contact the case using something to shim them. that might or might not help. I did it on my LS-980. I also did it on my Samsung Note i717 and it solved it.
I think part of the equation is software related. I updated my rom to Dirty Unicorns and my GPS was working most of the time. but when it refused to lock, nothing could make it. on stock, I had a weird condition where the GPS would work only if my phone was in 3g mode, not LTE. However, when my phone got stuck in 3g mode, would never switch back to LTE without turning off and on mobile data. I am currently back to stock but my GPS doesn;t work.
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Nice... Then I'll give a look at that tutorial. I was hoping to fix it by flashing some radios/basebands or the likes, but we seem to be on the same boat. It is not that I use GPS that much, but I didn't expect such problems in a previous flagship phone. Anyways, thanks for your help :good:
cheveoner said:
Nice... Then I'll give a look at that tutorial. I was hoping to fix it by flashing some radios/basebands or the likes, but we seem to be on the same boat. It is not that I use GPS that much, but I didn't expect such problems in a previous flagship phone. Anyways, thanks for your help :good:
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Don't get your hopes up on that tutorial. GPS is notoriously bad on G2. So many people have problems. Mine doesn't work at all and I gave up like the previous poster said. Not a big deal for me except when I'm trying to use Uber!
waingro808 said:
Don't get your hopes up on that tutorial. GPS is notoriously bad on G2. So many people have problems. Mine doesn't work at all and I gave up like the previous poster said. Not a big deal for me except when I'm trying to use Uber!
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Well, I finally had the time to try the antenna hack (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfS4LpfcLfg) and it went from locking to none to locking to 12 out of 20 sats. Finally I can be happy this phone (also running CloudyG2 btw). We'll see how long does it last though...
Thank you all!
Here's a weird situation, just recently used the TOT method to restore my phone back to stock, and after installing the updates to bring me to zvh, my gps is working again. Still a little flaky but mostly working.
Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk