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Strange error I haven't noticed until a few weeks ago.
I've tested in both Damage Control v1, v2.05, and Fresh 2.0d (current ROM i'm running)
With google maps/nav it always places me about 50 feet+ to one side of the street. It moves with the vehicle just fine, but always puts me on a side street, so if I'm traveling down a 2 lane highway it's constantly saying "turn right onto hwy xxx"
My GPS is always DEAD ON accurate though. I mean even inside my house if I'm at the front of the house it puts that dot within 5 feet, if I goto the back of the house (bedroom) it puts me RIGHT OVER that spot. The movement however is not so great. My phone while in the GPS mount has a clear view of the sky through the windshield.
Am I the only one experiencing this?
Google NAV is basically useless, because of the annoying constant re-routing.
I had this on Thursday when I was traveling for the holiday. I was using DC2.0r2 at the time however. I didn't have the same experience with my last install of DC2.05. I will repost after my trip today. Might be some time.
Bump...
10char
Same here.gps problem with 2.1?
Yes I have this problem. It's been mentioned in the main damageless thread and the bug thread so I think people are aware of it.
I was having the same issue with the dcr2 but it went away when I wiped and went over to freshes. Might be cuz It's based off the latest Sprint leak?
Works very well for me on dcv2. I think it's almost as good as co-pilot with the directions. It's so easy to start by going "navigate to 123 fake st". I usually had to restart my phone every time I wanted to use co-pilot otherwise it couldn't find a gps signal.
Also seeing this issue.
When I fired up navigator it started telling me to make the first turn (down the street) before I even got in my car -- so I had to use maps instead. Using maps, my marker was always a bit off. For example, it was showing me consistently North of the road (not on any road) when I was traveling West. Not sure exactly when this started, but I am currently running Fresh 2.0d, just for the record.
EDIT: Also, just FYI, this is with a good and proper GPS lock. It does follow my every move and turn, and is entirely responsive, but it seems as though my location is consistently mis-calibrated somehow, and always by the same amount/direction.
Anyone tried pushing one of the 1.5 gps.conf files to a 2.1 rom and seeing if it makes a difference?? I remember that was a fix in the early 2.1 roms from flipz that came out. Try it and see.
All seemed to be working OK today for me. This is like my third/fourth flash of a 2.1 ROM that seemed to have done it for me. No more flashing for a little while. Not that it is a fix at all, but I've had it both not work and work after switching out a few different ROMs.
I was going to make a thread on this. It was off for most of my trip. I muted the audio and just watched for my exit. After awhile it moved me on top of the road and it was ok, but it did it again a few other places.
It was a really odd bug. DC2.05
It worked for me in D1. But it's off in D2. GPS seems to be fairly accurate when just finding my location in maps. It's when I start to nav that it goes off.
It actually started doing that thing today where it can't find a GPS signal until it's restarted again, so I guess it's not unique to the ROM or nav software. My phone just seems to be bad with GPS if it's been a while without a fresh restart.
Has anyone tried using the Sprint Navigation on this or is it just Google's beta Navigation application? For me I never did actually try the Sprint nav, just stuck in the Google one. I knew where I was going the whole time, so instead of trying things I just shut it off.
There seems to be MANY factors that affect the GPS on these tablets and exchanging one for another *may seem* to get you a better unit. I bought a second a500 unit today and when I first brought up google maps, it had my fix as soon as the screen opened. Cool, this must be a better unit than my other right? Not necessarily because I believe the new unit used my wifi for the quick fix. As soon as I turned off the wifi assistance, the unit no longer gave me immediate fixes. I loaded gps status and the new unit struggled to find just 1 satellite. My other unit which I've had 2 weeks, is now suddenly a gps 'mofo' as it finds and locks position really quick, sometimes in 5 or 10 seconds (wifi assist turned off). The only thing I installed recently is gps monitor, but that's just gives you a monitoring status in the taskbar. It does state that it's turning off gps when you exit maps, which if it does may help conserve battery.
So I'm not sure why my A500 decided to suddenly work really well with GPS. When I first bought it, it was actually kind of terrible. Of course I have the 3.1 update on my unit, but the new one is still 3.01. I don't know how much of a difference that makes either. I had planned on buying an Asus unit today, but could not find the 32gb unit locally (not settling for 16gb).
My unit is stock and not rooted. I don't see a need to root it because so far it's working quite well. If only the microphone pickup was better, but I can live with talking louder at it or into the top of the unit. I have to do that with my samsung galaxy phone also.
Rob
It's funny, the very first time I used the GPS It took forever to find & lock on to sats. Now it's really fast. I'm thinking it has a " learning curve" ?
Update : Tried in the same place tonight , it only picked up 1 sat & didn't lock.
It is aGPS which means Assisted. It uses WIFI to set your location and search for satellites based on that location.
There are a number of factors which affect the GPS on this unit, as the original poster stated. I've been researching this for sometime, and found a number of things that could lead to a replacement unit working better than a current unit.
I've another thread on this subject, but I'll post the cliff notes here.
The following can affect GPS on your unit:
Obstruction (Roof, Cover)
Weather (Clouds vs Sun)
Internet Access
Nearby magnets
Compass Calibration
Your almanac server (gps.conf)
For starters, download a program called "GPS Test", not to be confused with "GPS Status and Toolbox", which you should also have for different reasons.
Plug your unit in and set it up in a spot where you know you can get a signal on other devices (phone, etc). This does not include your basement, but it also doesn't have to be outside. A woodframe house will not usually obstruct the signal enough to interfere. Use your best judgement.
Start up GPS Test and go into the settings menu. Select the option where the screen stays on all of the time. Check to see if your unit will ever pick up any satellites. If it takes more than 30 minutes and you are sure you should be picking up satellites, this indicates a problem. The first step should be diagnostic.
Leave it run overnight. If you look at it in the morning and find a multitude of satellites then your GPS receiver is working fine. This means your GPS can see the satellites, but the only way it can find them is through sheer dumb luck. It needs to be told where to look, and its having problems getting that information. The problem is likely with your compass or almanac.
If you arrive in the morning to find no satellites at all, then your GPS is likely broken (not unheard of) or you need to try again in a better location.
If you know your GPS transmitter is working, the next step is the check your compass. This is where GPS Status and Tools comes into play. The first screen you see when you open the program will be the compass. Make sure north == north. If it does not, almanac data is useless because the tablet won't know which way to look. GPS Status and Toolbox comes with a compass calibration tool. Use it. If your compass will not stay pointed north, then your compass is broken. If it works, then its time to look at your almanac.
Unless your system is rooted, there is no point in reading further. All the following steps require root access.
There are two files that you need to be concerned with. They are /etc/gps.conf and /etc/gps/gpsconfig.xml
You either need to edit them manually, replace them with pre-configured optimized versions for your region (link below), or use a program (fasterfix) to edit them for you. Results with each approach may vary.
I won't go into this step into detail since its been covered a million times on the forums already. I will provide a link:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1068416
This is the one that helped me the most, but there are others.
Best of luck. And remember: Hardware failure is a real possibility, but so is a crappy environment. Make sure there is no outside interference and you're not trying to get your location from an underground bunker and wondering why it doesn't work. A little common sense goes a long way.
Cheers,
-PW
long time lurker on this site.
I just bought an A500 and have been trying to get this GPS to work.
The first one I got had 3.01. I first tested GPS and it worked fine. Was able to get connected to the satelites no problem. Downloaded and installed 3.1 on it and now GPS doesn't work at all. Tested it with the two programs: GPS test and GPS utilities.
Stood outside on a clear day and nothing happened. Tested all the settings and still not one satellite.
After reading a lot of the threads and doing a lot of searching I exchanged it for another one.
Did the same thing. Tested it on 3.01 and it worked then installed 3.1 and it didn't work again on this second one. Went throug all the troubleshooting steps: deleted the cache, reset the gps, etc. Even left it on over night sitting at GPS Test and Google Places.
Doesn't make sense that it works on 3.01 and not on 3.1. Sounds more of a software issue than a hardware issue. But for it to work with some others with 3.1 then I may exchange it for another one again.
Wondering if it was during a certain build that other are having the same issue. Both of the ones i got were manufacturered in April. Could April just be a bad month or several months before that?
3.1 does not have any problem with GPS
Wifi assist turned off, get lock with sygic and can use the navigator.
(but)
- if you go under an express way (like I got in my country they are highway), you lost the signal very quick
HOW TO FIX ?
- buy a GPS enhancer and put in your car, that will increase the signal received and give the tablet a very big help
the poor part of the GPS tablet is the antena... the receiver is not that happy behind a metal case, and oftenly... GPS antena should be on the roof of the car, or external for better signal.
I got locked in 15s
sanaell said:
3.1 does not have any problem with GPS
Wifi assist turned off, get lock with sygic and can use the navigator.
(but)
- if you go under an express way (like I got in my country they are highway), you lost the signal very quick
HOW TO FIX ?
- buy a GPS enhancer and put in your car, that will increase the signal received and give the tablet a very big help
the poor part of the GPS tablet is the antena... the receiver is not that happy behind a metal case, and oftenly... GPS antena should be on the roof of the car, or external for better signal.
I got locked in 15s
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My guess is that Acer subcontracts out parts production for items like the GPS antenna used in the A500 and the quality of those antenna has been very inconsistent (same with the microphone). I have an A500 with a June build date and it has very good GPS pickup. It doesn't lock instantly like the Xoom does, but usually within 10-20 seconds (sometimes sooner) which is still acceptable. Surprisingly, this unit also has a fairly good microphone that picks up my voice well while holding it at any angle. It's still running 3.01 unmodified since it hasn't got the OTA yet. I previously had an A500 with an April build date (it's on the back of the box) and both the GPS and microphone performed rather poorly even with 3.1.
Rob
going to exchange this one at a different bestbuy store and see if they have a different manufacturer date. I did the exchange on Monday and hope they have a different lot.
tekageek said:
long time lurker on this site.
I just bought an A500 and have been trying to get this GPS to work.
The first one I got had 3.01. I first tested GPS and it worked fine. Was able to get connected to the satelites no problem. Downloaded and installed 3.1 on it and now GPS doesn't work at all. Tested it with the two programs: GPS test and GPS utilities.
Stood outside on a clear day and nothing happened. Tested all the settings and still not one satellite.
After reading a lot of the threads and doing a lot of searching I exchanged it for another one.
Did the same thing. Tested it on 3.01 and it worked then installed 3.1 and it didn't work again on this second one. Went throug all the troubleshooting steps: deleted the cache, reset the gps, etc. Even left it on over night sitting at GPS Test and Google Places.
Doesn't make sense that it works on 3.01 and not on 3.1. Sounds more of a software issue than a hardware issue. But for it to work with some others with 3.1 then I may exchange it for another one again.
Wondering if it was during a certain build that other are having the same issue. Both of the ones i got were manufacturered in April. Could April just be a bad month or several months before that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 3.1 you're installing is OTA or you are downloading it from somewhere ? My first unit failed with 3.1 with a downloaded 3.1 (it seemed to be the correct for Spain) ... I exchanged the unit, and this new one offered me OTA. It's working perfect with OTA 3.1
I did a test one day with GPS and found it to be marvelous if used properly.
Here is what I did.
1. I cleared my agps data with program GPS Status
2. Redownloaded the data and waited until I had like 6 up 11 fixes
Then I went out and waited at bus station and got a lock with Google maps and I travelled about 75 kilometers and had a perfect fix the entire time, I had about 5 satellites fixed constantly on average. And this was using stock everythings I love the GPS it works fine now.
In the 3.01 version I did the exact same test and it didn't work, everytime the train or bus started moving the signal was gone and stayed gone.
Now its fine! You just have to remember. That this is Agps not GPS A is for assisted, so you use the internet abit and download the data and you're fine! Just learn to use A-GPS!
I have tried everything, and nothing works. What a ****ty thing to screw up on a tablet. I'm trading mine in tomorrow, and if I have the same issue, I'm rooting and switching roms. This is ridiculous ..........
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
well well well, this one worked. I exchanged for another one.
3.01
turned it on and opened Navigator. in 10 seconds it locked into the gps. Installed gps test and saw 6 to 7 satellites, in use= 6 looked at the map and it found my location. Opened both Navigator and Places
3.1
Installed 3.1 OTA, once rebooted i opened gps test and now i see 7 satellites! Opened Navigator and worked fine. Opened Places and also worked fine. Both found my location and saw 6 to 7 satellites.
4.010.13.comgen2
wish there was a list of what this update does. installed this update and gps still works. Seeing 6 to 7 satellites. navigator and places still work.
Before i even took this tab i asked the sales guy the manufactured date. This one is from: May
GPS fix
Initially, my gps did not work that well. When I compared my gps.conf with the 2 A500's whose GPS worked very well I found that their GPS.conf contained only this
"NTP_SERVER=north-America.pool.ntp.org". I'm in US, by the way. After I rooted my A500, my GPS worked alot better. After I edited my GPS.conf the fix time was improved.
Before: outdoor : cold start and there.after
Time to fix= 5 min to infinity and 3 mins to infinity
Indoor = no GPS.
After: outdoor= 30 sec to 211 sec. and 10 sec to 90 sec
Indoor= 110 sec to 5 mins. and 29 sec to 90 sec
Hope that helps.
I'm on rooted stock 3.1.
I guess I got lucky then.
When I start mine up, it locates for the weatherbug app update feature and I've never seen it fail.
I haven't done any GPS-specific stuff with it yet, but much of the time I'm using an ad hoc connection from my phone, so it's not a wif AGPS fix.
Interesting read. Makes me want to explore the GPS feature more.
One other thing that is universal across any device using GPS, both commercial and military---your device needs to know where in the sky the satellites are. The initial gps fix will always take more time because the device doesn't have a reference fit the sats. This will also be the case the longer you go between fixes as the device will lose track of the sats over time. Aside from physical obstructions this is often the biggest contributing factor to the length of time required to get a fix.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Noob question here. So this is assisted GPS. I assume it needs the WiFI to access the aGPS servers, but they aren't necessary if a) you have a confirmed working device and b) everything is calibrated properly. Is this correct.
I just don't understand the inconsistency in the GPS fix. I have a rooted A500, with 4.010.13_COM_GEN2, manufactured in April. For some reason, I cannot get a consistent, day-to-day lock on position. I have installed and used successfully in the past:
Fasterfix
GPSFix
GPS Test
GPS Status
I have edited the gps.conf file manually to use, separately, both north-america.pool.ntp.org as well as us.pool.ntp.org;
I have used the "manage A-GPS status" to reset the status as well as downloading the assist data in GPS Status;
After several unsuccessful attempts last night, I was able to gain a GPS lock from my living room in about 20-30 seconds. Today, in the clear open air I could not obtain more than a partial lock on more than 3-4 satellites at a time, and only once obtained a fix, and then for only 20 minutes while stationary. I am now in the exact same position as I was last night, and cannot find a single *blinking* satellite.
While traveling home on the Interstate, I could see more than two satellites at a time and never got a lock on position. In contrast, my Droid (2.3.3) obtained a lock in about 5 seconds with GPS Status. Using a Bluetooth GPS unit and a Bluetooth Mouse GPS, I obtained a position lock in 2 seconds on the A500.
So what gives here? Is it a hardware problem? Why does it work so well one day and then not at all the next, with all other things being equal? It does not seem to be a software issue or sky visibility issue.
UPDATE, 8/9/11: I noticed that in the current configuration as described above, the only satellites that could be seen were those on a bearing of 000, and largely on the horizon. When a different satellite was seen, it would only appear in the northern two quadrants. I restored a back-up from two days ago, and uninstalled FasterFix but manually edited the gps.conf file to us.pool.ntp.org. The GPS fix was improved - not lightning fast, but at least 4 satellites were seen relatively quickly, without particular preference for hemisphere. Position fix still takes a few minutes - two to five minutes or so. Still working on consistency, but may switch to a custom ROM.
UPDATE, 8/11/11: This thing is driving me nuts - no clear consistency on when the GPS works or not. Tried two custom ROMs, same lack of consistent lock. Back to square 1. Droid-1 picks up 10 sats (w/o network checked), A500 only 4. Got a lock away from home this morning, cannot get one at home tonight. Taking it in for exchange tomorrow. Since the first sat it does see is always at 000 and at the horizon, I am wondering if the internal referencing for the GPS unit within the A500 is somehow not set up to handle the assist data format properly. Sort of like it is reading the data, but things are off a space or two. Thus, the GPS unit seems to look, but is looking in the wrong direction. Comments?
Hello,
Recently noticed my GPS barely works. If I'm out in an open field it can get medium strength locking from satellites in GPS Status. My wife has identical phone and gets the type of GPS signal I would expect to get. Side by side my phone simply cannot get much. Indoors forget about it. It use to be so good. I certainly have dropped this phone here and there but in the past it never influenced GPS. Is there any possible software/firmware side of things that could be causing it? I may have installed apps or updated apps but I didn't do any tinkering with the GPS specifically or with flashing roms or whatnot since this summer--and it worked fine then after any tinkering---this is a recent development.
Can anyone provide any ways to troubleshoot this? Possible the GPS chip is partially broken? I mean.. it can get signal.. just piss poor and struggles mightily. Almost can't get it in the car, loses GPS lock under tree cover, etc. Very temperamental.
Seems a little bit like 4G has also degraded but a little more unsure of that.
bump! Any help, methods to trouble-shoot between hardware/software. I tried to erase modemst1/2 see if that would jog anything, no effect.
thanks
water- said:
Hello,
Recently noticed my GPS barely works. If I'm out in an open field it can get medium strength locking from satellites in GPS Status. My wife has identical phone and gets the type of GPS signal I would expect to get. Side by side my phone simply cannot get much. Indoors forget about it. It use to be so good. I certainly have dropped this phone here and there but in the past it never influenced GPS. Is there any possible software/firmware side of things that could be causing it? I may have installed apps or updated apps but I didn't do any tinkering with the GPS specifically or with flashing roms or whatnot since this summer--and it worked fine then after any tinkering---this is a recent development.
Can anyone provide any ways to troubleshoot this? Possible the GPS chip is partially broken? I mean.. it can get signal.. just piss poor and struggles mightily. Almost can't get it in the car, loses GPS lock under tree cover, etc. Very temperamental.
Seems a little bit like 4G has also degraded but a little more unsure of that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's freaking Christmas, just buy yourself a new phone
Sent from my HTC One using XDA Free mobile app
tempting..and I will in a few months when my contract is up. But this was a spectacular GPS for navigating in the backcountry with downloaded maps. Would love to be able to retain that use after it is no longer a primary phone.
please, any troubleshooting suggestions would be appreciated!
I've had very few problems since switching to Waze and SlimKat. It was horrid under CyanogenMod no matter what I used.
I had been having similar problems under stock KitKat. Here's what I noticed, maybe something will help you:
Resetting aGPS data and re-downloading wouldn't help.
Sometimes GPS would never give a location with plenty of satellites locked to. I modified some build.prop stuff to give me a horribly inaccurate lock in these cases. It was also usually fixed with a reboot.
GPS status would show TONS of satellites overhead, but never be able to lock on to more than one of them. Making sure I had wifi turned on (even if I was in the middle of nowhere with no wifi signals) eliminated this problem.
Something would randomly disable the GPS while I was using it, when it turned it back on a short time later it wouldn't lock (usually due to one of the above issues). I eventually concluded it was how Google Maps and some of the new location stuff works these days. I assume it's trying to save GPS power, other programs were much better. Solution: F Google maps; I only use it as a fancy yellow pages these days. I had stuck with the old, old, version (that still supported Latitude), but had to update when I went to KK and that's when my problems started. This is just another thing that pisses me off about it. I use Waze for navigation now (though I miss lane guidance and using my own text to voice software).
Some GPS bugs can be resolved by flashing to stock firmware, getting a GPS lock and while locked on GPS, reboot straight to recovery and flash your new ROM. After doing that once I have flashed (too) many ROMs with no GPS locking or accuracy issues.
Also make sure your GPS is set to high accuracy and not battery saver.
Sent from my RAZR M on BlissPop Lollipop 5.0.2 from Tapatalk
ezdi and kronik.. thank you for suggestion. unfortunately to no avail even with full reset.
sometimes really seems like my general phone reception, wifi, gps, and data (1x/3G, 4G) are all haywire. Certainly they all work. But the data is never as strong as it should be. Often seems like it needs to be jogged (airplane mode on, then off)/dead areas--while my wife's phone is solid (same razr m but rooted with unlocked BL and stock rom). Likewise on the GPS. it can certainly find and lock satellites but in GPS Status only ever reach 'half bar' strength green.. they use to be able to lock multiple sats at max level.
It's odd...we are talking about the 'radios' of my phone, no? or mostly? I generally consider digital electronics to either function, or not. That they function at all--can receive pings from a satellite, can transmit data to and from towers... tells me the electronics are functional and this is software side. UNLESS there is some radio hardware component that is an amplifier of sorts. If that electronic was broken it would make sense why things function but appear weak/spotty.
thoughts?
aside from my contract being up in a month and what the hell next phone I should get from verizon... haha. But no I'd love to get my phone back to where it was and have a dedicated backcountry/hiking/skiing GPS... which it wouldn't be capable of now (it was..when it worked).
Cheers
bump bump
I posted this in another thread but it probably needs its own.
I just installed a Corehan 7" Android unit running 5.1 (lollipop)
https://www.amazon.com/Corehan-Android-Double-Bluetooth-Navigation/dp/B01G3LE5R8
The GPS worked great for about 5 days then progressively got worse. Now it doesn't work at all. I tried resetting AGPS but to no avail. Waze stopped working so I installed Google Maps. That worked right away then stopped working 30 minutes later. ( NO GPS signal)
With Waze if I uninstall Waze and reinstall it it works great for about ten minutes then starts to lose GPS signal.
I have 3 GPS test apps installed as well and they can all locate 3-6 satellites but none can get a location lock anymore. Could this be a symptom of a bad GPS antenna?
Is this a typical issue with these Chinese head units? I am tearing my hair out trying to figure out whats wrong. It seems like a software issue since it works immediately if I uninstall an app and reinstall it. (or that is just a crazy coincidence)
I also can run Waze on my phone right next to the head unit and it will work flawlessly.
Not sure how to troubleshoot or fix this. Any ideas?
First thing you can do, is check the location of the GPS antenna. Try putting it up on top of your dashboard (just for testing). Also check that the gps wire is connected to the head unit firmly. If that doesn't make it work adequately, return it.
doitright said:
First thing you can do, is check the location of the GPS antenna. Try putting it up on top of your dashboard (just for testing). Also check that the gps wire is connected to the head unit firmly. If that doesn't make it work adequately, return it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this makes no sense if it was working correctly for days then progressively has gotten worse. Not to mention I already said it can locate 3-6 satellites (out of 12 or more shown on the radar) but doesn't get a location lock.
Citznfish said:
this makes no sense if it was working correctly for days then progressively has gotten worse. Not to mention I already said it can locate 3-6 satellites (out of 12 or more shown on the radar) but doesn't get a location lock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has the weather gotten worse over a few days (yep, even WEATHER can impact satellite reception -- ever try watching satellite TV in a thunderstorm?)? Has the antenna MOVED during that time (which can happen if you hide it under your dashboard and it slips around)? There are a lot of reasons why reception can get worse over time. And you need more than just to "see" some satellites to lock onto a location. They have to be HEARD, CLEARLY.
So like I said, YOUR FIRST STEP has to be to reposition the antenna such that it has OPTIMAL reception.
doitright said:
Has the weather gotten worse over a few days (yep, even WEATHER can impact satellite reception -- ever try watching satellite TV in a thunderstorm?)? Has the antenna MOVED during that time (which can happen if you hide it under your dashboard and it slips around)? There are a lot of reasons why reception can get worse over time. And you need more than just to "see" some satellites to lock onto a location. They have to be HEARD, CLEARLY.
So like I said, YOUR FIRST STEP has to be to reposition the antenna such that it has OPTIMAL reception.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
weather is fine. Antenna is firmly mounted with velcro to where the factory antenna would have been. It is in the optimal position, as I said it has no problem reading multiple satellites, just can't get a location lock.
upgrade ??
I bought this one last year http :// cdun-zzh-an-01.strikingly. com
And I was wondering if there is a way to upgrade to android 6 or 7.
Do you know something about it?
My phone takes a lot of time getting a GPS fix, sometimes it doesn't succeed after minutes of waiting. I compared it to some Samsung phones, those connect within seconds...
The connection seems stable after getting a fix, but getting a fix is very hard for this phone...
Is anyone else experiencing this?
You're not the only one, mine's also broken. Looking around at the official Moto forums, it seems like this is a fairly common issue with the G4 Play.
So far stock was broken, CM 14.1 has been no better. If I use GPS Status & Toolbox it will eventually get a lock and maybe the accuracy will get down to +/-30m, but if any other app that calls for location (Google Maps, Pokemon Go, etc), if the GPS is turned on at all, it will almost never lock unless switch to GPS Status, but once it gets a lock, the accuracy will keep dropping till its greater than +/-300-400m before losing the lock and eventually the phone just shuts down GPS and stops trying. Literally not location or app settings make any difference, neither does factory reset.
I've had 2 G4 Plays so far. The first was the Amazon Prime version, it had no location issues at all and was totally rock solid, but boot loader could not be unlocked, so I sold it to a friend for his kids to use for Pokemon Go since it was a great device for that. This second one may as well not have came with GPS.
Edit: I've returned to stock and zero difference. I'm not messing with this anymore, 2.5 weeks was long enough trying to fix it, I'm replacing it through Amazon.
I was heaving issues too, changed my SIM to the second slot and it's quite better now. I even play PoGo.
Sent from my Moto G Play using XDA-Developers Legacy app
The problem is actually quite simple: The G4 Play cannot connect to Russian satellites (GLONASS). Under GPS Status and a few other apps, they are perma-greyed out. All of my LG phones connect to them just fine. What kills me is that the feature is listed under Motorola's website, and the phone knows they are there (even on CM14.1), but it simply refuses to use them.
I'm not sure of this. I used MapFactor and GPS Status & Toolbox, and the IDs of the satellites are also in the GLONASS range (https://github.com/mvglasow/satstat/wiki/NMEA-IDs). Do you have a US only version of G4 Play? I have the international version.
nick_white said:
I'm not sure of this. I used MapFactor and GPS Status & Toolbox, and the IDs of the satellites are also in the GLONASS range. Do you have a US only version of G4 Play? I have the international version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can confirm my 1607 is US Retail. I tested multiple GPS apps (including GPS-S&T) and while I got signal from GLONASS satellites, it straight up refused to connect to a single one, even if the satellite had better signal than a comparable US satellite. I don't know if it's possible to flash a new modem for this model yet.
Try this app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.android.gpstest
It gave me the best fix than all the others. I don't know what this guy do but it connects to more satellites and gets a fix faster.
I also have a Moto G4 Play mobile with the same problem.
You won't believe that touching to the gps device on the back side of the phone solved the problem to some extent. I go for running every morning and I use Runkeeper to track my moves. So how much distance I cover in a day is much important for me and thus gps accuracy also. But my location is tracked like a heart rate monitor of a hospital. But one day I was experimenting with my phone and found that if I remove the back cover of the phone and touch to the part where it was written Harpia GPS S01, the signal of the gps boosted and the radius of the blue circle became shorter to about 4-8 metres that means I was getting more accuracy than before. So from that day whenever I go to run, I remove the back cover and put a finger on the gps set and the problem somewhat solved. But this was only a part of the story. My father owns a Micromax Unite 3 mobile and he also used to run daily. What to say about the latter, it gives an accuracy of unbelievable 1 metre. On the latter, the runkeeper even tracks the change of lane or the side of the road. I am just jealous of the phone even though it costs 4000 rs less than mine.
ashishwebmail said:
You won't believe that touching to the gps device on the back side of the phone solved the problem to some extent. I go for running every morning and I use Runkeeper to track my moves. So how much distance I cover in a day is much important for me and thus gps accuracy also. But my location is tracked like a heart rate monitor of a hospital. But one day I was experimenting with my phone and found that if I remove the back cover of the phone and touch to the part where it was written Harpia GPS S01, the signal of the gps boosted and the radius of the blue circle became shorter to about 4-8 metres that means I was getting more accuracy than before. So from that day whenever I go to run, I remove the back cover and put a finger on the gps set and the problem somewhat solved. But this was only a part of the story. My father owns a Micromax Unite 3 mobile and he also used to run daily. What to say about the latter, it gives an accuracy of unbelievable 1 metre. On the latter, the runkeeper even tracks the change of lane or the side of the road. I am just jealous of the phone even though it costs 4000 rs less than mine.
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Sounds like connector failed. Someone on the Lenovo forum had theirs repaired by moto and the antenna connector was what they fixed. Betting mine (and yours) are that. I replaced mine through Amazon, so far the replacement device has been working.
I'm wondering if it's a bad design on the antenna or just manufacturing defect and bad QA on some units.
Kadah said:
Sounds like connector failed. Someone on the Lenovo forum had theirs repaired by moto and the antenna connector was what they fixed. Betting mine (and yours) are that. I replaced mine through Amazon, so far the replacement device has been working.
I'm wondering if it's a bad design on the antenna or just manufacturing defect and bad QA on some units.
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Dumb question, but if the connection is exposed upon removal of the cover, isn't it possible to tear into and reconnect/solder without taking it to a manufacturer? I mean, what I see are two screws to the right of the headphone jack, a plastic cover that says "Harpia GPS S01," and what looks like some kind of antenna watermark.
mkollersms said:
The problem is actually quite simple: The G4 Play cannot connect to Russian satellites (GLONASS). Under GPS Status and a few other apps, they are perma-greyed out. All of my LG phones connect to them just fine. What kills me is that the feature is listed under Motorola's website, and the phone knows they are there (even on CM14.1), but it simply refuses to use them.
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Interesting. I've just checked mine (European XT1602) and it does that, too - the GLONASS satellites are showing up, but are not being used.
When I was in stock rom after some time the gps stopped working well, don't know why. Now with Aox 14.1 is working fine, I don't understand the satellites but the accuracy is pretty good
ronaldotalison said:
When I was in stock rom after some time the gps stopped working well, don't know why. Now with Aox 14.1 is working fine, I don't understand the satellites but the accuracy is pretty good
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Not seeing any active Russians on that image. Your phone might still be having the same problem as everyone else.
I've bought a xt1602 yesterday. The GPS is excellent. I get a fix in few seconds with solid signals, but without glonass.
Update on the current replacement G4 Play: GPS is starting to fail on it as well. I've hardly even used it, maybe only a dozen times in the last several weeks. So far that's 3 of 3 that are defective. I think I'm going to return this one to Amazon too, not sure I want to try a 4th.
mkollersms said:
Not seeing any active Russians on that image. Your phone might still be having the same problem as everyone else.
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I see russian satellites on his picture. How do you know that they were not active?
sevenRA1 said:
I see russian satellites on his picture. How do you know that they were not active?
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Because the three that I see are missing values under the "Flags" column. That hints at the aGPS data being there but that the phone might not have interfaced with them. The UI says 12 of 22 sats are connected. Of the 13 US shown, 12 have all fields with information and the thirteenth is missing info in one column. Granted, all of this is conjecture.
I think u are right. Ive tested it today by myself. But ive to say that this mobile phone has got a VERY fast GPS fix, atleast where i live. (Germany)
I also have bad GPS, thing I've tried:
Reset to factory settings
Safe boot
GPS Toolbox
I will now try putting the sim card in the second slot, like suggested here on the forum. Keep you posted!
Unfortunately putting the SIM card in the second slot did not better the situation. Back to the shop...