Related
We have a few HD2's in the office and just playing around with all the apps. The compass seems to be either plain wrong or flaky at best. Mind you we are in a building so that is unlikely to help.
Just wondered if someone has test it's accuracy.
It's accurate.
But remember that electrostaticity will make your sensor to not work accurately!
Tried it
rphillip said:
We have a few HD2's in the office and just playing around with all the apps. The compass seems to be either plain wrong or flaky at best. Mind you we are in a building so that is unlikely to help.
Just wondered if someone has test it's accuracy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
in several places, and even after re-calibration.
was off by up to 90 degrees.
It can be .. in car for example. But in on outside, no way. The error should be in degrees.
Electronic compasses tend to be very sensitive to any metal around, so watch out. But generally HD2 compass should work very, very well.
Here is video how to calibrate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP3d00Hr14o
I recommend doing it a bit slower. But this move. I totally didn't get it from the HTC description.
That's totally different from how I tried to calibrate it!
Any idea how I can recalibrate it? It's showing something crazy here...
for me it asks for calib every time i start it, maybe a soft reset?
But ye, i also did a way different calibration at first (bscly drawing a figure 8 in the air as if the bottom of the device was a pen) but doing the one shown in vid its now spot on compared to a analog compass, thx for the tip!
So, I happened to accidentally launch Google Sky map and found that the map auto-rotated to the direction (due west) immediately. I thought possibly Eugene373's Vibrant9 ROM had some extra GPS mojo that no one had mentioned and I was all excited until I turned my phone to landscape and saw the bearing get all jacked. After a few seconds I realized the issue with the compass is that it is not compensating for the orientation of the screen. If you hold your device in "portrait mode" and perfectly vertical, the compass works flawlessly and fast. If you change the orientation to anything off that axis (ie turn the phone to "landscape" or rotate the phone so that it is not perfectly perpendicular to the ground), the compass gets slower and further off it's correct bearing. This would explain why occasionally I seem to have "decent" compass functionality while other times it is completely jacked up. So the good news in my mind is that this should be fixable via software, and there is an immediate work around to being able to use things that require the compass to work (hold your phone in a portrait orientation).While I prefer (as I assume most people do) to view maps, google sky maps and layar with the phone in a landscape orientation, at now I can use the apps now whereas before they were completely unusable.
If someone else figured this out, please let me know. As far as I can everyone knew the compass wasn't working but noone knew "why".
K
my compass has been fine, but i read somewhere that if you need to "recalibrate" it, you just make a swinging motion with the phone in your hand. i guess the movement is supposed to reset it or something?
i dunno. hasn't been an issue for me
It seems to be calibrated fine as long as you "hold it right" (credit to Steve Jobs for that one.... )
Nope. Even when I hold it in perfect "portrait" orientation it's really, REALLY slow to adjust to movement...even when said movement is on an axis level with the ground. You're right, though, other orientations seem to completely throw it for a loop. Laying it flat seems to work the best for me.
I can usually get it to work ok, but it's flaky and nowhere close to the performance I've seen in the compass in other, cheaper Android phones. Forget about SkyMaps...when I hold the phone pointed upward to look at stars the compass just spins to wherever it wants to.
It's not just my device, either, I've personally had 2 Vibrants that were exactly the same way, and others seem to be sharing the experience (those who know what the compass does, anyway...it has nothing to do with GPS). Calibrating helps a little, but it doesn't get it to the point of what I would consider "working well."
Well, glad it worked on mine, sorry it doesn't seem to be more universal.
:|
klkarlin said:
Well, glad it worked on mine, sorry it doesn't seem to be more universal.
:|
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just curious...after your compass "settles" and you turn 180 degrees how long does it take for the compass to settle again? How does it compare with other Android phones?
OK, after being so annoyed with the Navigation on this phone not working, I finally found a fix that is working for me and I am in shock that what I did produced a working GPS. First, anyone who doesn't know how to take apart the black cover (not the battery cover) do a search. Next, after removing the cover, the GPS Antenna without a doubt is one right next to the power button. I found this out by putting a piece of electrical tape over every gold connector that touches an antenna, then closing the black cover, turning on the phone, running gps test, and after trying different spring connectors, I noticed I had the correct one when the app GPS Test couldn't locate any satellites. Next, I also noticed that on the inside of the cover that I took off, the one that requires six screws, there is a silver looking strip that is supposed to make contact to the connector that has a full metal top part, so when the cover goes back on, the silver strip must make contact to this negative grounding harness top. I added a bead of solder to the silver strip on the inside of the black cover so that I knew it was making contact. I believe that this is a source of everyone's problems with navigation. That strip must be a shield and the design doesn't look like it makes good contact to the connector's ground metal plate. You'll see what I mean when you open the cover.
Next, while I had the cover off, I wrapped a 30 gauge wire around the gold spring pin that connects to the GPS antenna and ran that wire down the side of the phone right along the PC Board in hopes that it extends the antenna. I just ran it like 3 inches and remember, I ran it down, not up. The GPS antenna already goes up. I put a tiny bead of solder on the wire where it contact the gold spring contact that is attached to the PC Board so that it does not come off accidentally. And believe me, it is really simple. You cannot mess anything up. Just a dab of solder is all it takes.
I put the black cover back on, and then ran the GPS test app and at one point I had 12 satellites read and used with a 7 foot accuracy!!! Next I went to the Navigation app and started playing around with different addresses and my navigation WORKED!!! I am still in awe three days later. I drove from New Jersey to Rhode Island yesterday and had the Nav running for the entire trip. Only one time did I get a small circle about the size of a half inch which lasted for 4 seconds. At that point, I was driving though a forest type side road with limited sky view.
Please try this fix for anyone who has Navigation issues with their Nexus S and let me know if it fixes it.
Dan
Awesome. Samsung should have hired you before they released the Nexus S and 1st-gen SGS phones. My Captivate never had reliable GPS. I might as well have had Ray Charles giving me directions.
Funny thing is Google nexus phones are bugged...
Nexus one multi touch bug
Nexus s compass not working...
I think the issue here is with whoever was choosing and picking the hardware that would have powered a nexus...
HTC and Samsung do not surprise me... But Google not testing the compass on a flagship phone before releasing scares me :-\
Luckily my gps works fine (i9023 here) but the broken compass create a lot of troubles with gps navigation as very often the phone thinks to be driving in the reverse direction...
The nexus one digitizer wasn't a bug. Just a crappy digitizer. It worked as it meant to. It sucked but wasn't a bug.
The GPS and compass issues for the nexus s are different as well. Some devices have crappy ones and apparently don't work. My GPS and compass works perfect on the other hand. Always has
evcz said:
Funny thing is Google nexus phones are bugged...
Nexus one multi touch bug
Nexus s compass not working...
I think the issue here is with whoever was choosing and picking the hardware that would have powered a nexus...
HTC and Samsung do not surprise me... But Google not testing the compass on a flagship phone before releasing scares me :-\
Luckily my gps works fine (i9023 here) but the broken compass create a lot of troubles with gps navigation as very often the phone thinks to be driving in the reverse direction...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have problems with navigation, even tho i hardly ever use it. However, this compass thing; I downloaded an app called Smart Compass and it works really well... Where I know it's north, the compass points north and so on. but mind you, I got my phone after companies stopped selling it so I might've gotten the last of the good batch
Could you post a photo of the finished fix so I can check if I'm going to fry something ? Thanks !
@VOLTAGEROCK:
post some photos for better help if it's possible, before and after modifications please
thanks in advance
I will but gimme a day or two. All I know is I'm on day five and its still working!
wow
Sent from my
RESSURECTED Nexus S
CM10 NIGHTIES
DmA81 said:
Could you post a photo of the finished fix so I can check if I'm going to fry something ? Thanks !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I should have at the time of doing it, but I didn't know what i was doing was going to work!! Now I have to take the phone apart again, but you give me a reason to hook up my Touchstone from the Pre while the phone is open and accessible. I will do my best to put the pics up in a timely manner and in the meantime, if there's anyone out there, go to the iteardown fix it (i think that's what its called) and look at the video or pics of the Nexus being taken apart.
Again, I have no reason to believe that I didn't fix the problem as it's working everytime, when it wouldn't work at all before the mod. When you're looking at the phone from the back, the GPS antenna location has a letter G engraved into the black cover after the battery cover has been taken off. It's right below the electrical type tape that covers the antenna FYI.
*#*#gpsclrx#*#* always fixed my gps woes and i had a lot. no hardware mod required.
Sputnikk23 said:
*#*#gpsclrx#*#* always fixed my gps woes and i had a lot. no hardware mod required.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What does that do by the way.? Because my mod works everytime and you never have to use the code you just put up. Even though I appreciate you putting that there. Also, what type of problems were you having with your navigation? Did it work periodically? Did it never work like mine? Just curious as to the problem you had with your navigation. Thanks
Dan
I can confirm this hardware mod fixed voltages gps. He's gone thru 2 nexus s phones and both GPS would constantly lose the position every few minutes then reacquire, and show a huge circle for his position. Somehow this hardware mod fixes some design issue with the nexus s where a shielding isn't properly grounded. And also he extended the GPS antenna with a wire for good measure.
By the way it was the sprint nexus s 4g he modified.
Please post pictures to go with your narrative. I would like to try this!
O
RogerPodacter said:
I can confirm this hardware mos fixed voltages gps. He's gone thru 2 nexus s phones and both GPS would constantly lose the position every few minutes then reacquire, and show a huge circle for his position. Somehow this hardware mod fixes some design issue with the nexus s where a shielding isn't properly grounded. And also he extended the GPS antenna with a wire for good measure.
By the way it was the sprint nexus s 4g he modified.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the clarification nation, Podact.
VOLTAGEROCK said:
What does that do by the way.? Because my mod works everytime and you never have to use the code you just put up. Even though I appreciate you putting that there. Also, what type of problems were you having with your navigation? Did it work periodically? Did it never work like mine? Just curious as to the problem you had with your navigation. Thanks
Dan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wipe gps data. not the same thing as the gps status wipe (which didn't work for me). try it, doesn't really hurt anything. seems a software code is worth a shot then opening up the phone you know?
Some ROMs it never worked. Other ROMs it was sporadic. When I would get it to work, it always eventually "lost" its ability to lock, etc.
But hey.. if you want to get all hyper-sensitive over your mod.. go for it. Was just throwing another method out there for the faint of heart.
Sputnikk23 said:
wipe gps data. not the same thing as the gps status wipe (which didn't work for me). try it, doesn't really hurt anything. seems a software code is worth a shot then opening up the phone you know?
Some ROMs it never worked. Other ROMs it was sporadic. When I would get it to work, it always eventually "lost" its ability to lock, etc.
But hey.. if you want to get all hyper-sensitive over your mod.. go for it. Was just throwing another method out there for the faint of heart.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sensitive as I cried at your remark, and then I got really hyper and started running in circles with joy that my nav works. So I guess you're right, I am hypersensitive! Btw, I was being nothing but nice to your reply. Its OK. I forgive you.
Pics requested
Check out the pics. One of them shows some solder on the silver shielding so it makes better contact with the connector when they close back up. The other shows a 30 gauge red wire soldered to the gps pin and running down the phone. Hope this clears up what you guys need to do to get the gps to finally work on this dag gone phone.
.I've been using navigation and never had such a problems.my gps always locking under 10sec and doesn't loosing signal.
Btw i live in UK and using nav in big city.
Do a search for Nexus S 4g on sprint nav problems and you'll see a whole slew of people with problems.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda app-developers app
Hey guys, i've been trying to calibrate the compass for a couple days.. And as I type this I tried again and for the first time it calibrated properly.. but yeah all the times I tried before it didn't work.
I've gone in *#0*# sensor and I'd get the green bar with a 2 or the red bar with a 0. Just now for the first time I got the blue bar with the 3. Is it normal it requires calibrating so often?
Would this explain why my GPS is always very wonky? My general positioning works but it always thinks I'm turning once I reach a corner or when I'm driving on the highway, it thinks I take pretty much every exit and recalculates the route every time which gets really annoying.
I thought the magnetic sensors would not really get interfered with a magnetic car mount. I've had a magnetic mount on my OnePlus One and Nexus 4 forever and i've never had these gps issues.
daviiiiiid said:
Hey guys, i've been trying to calibrate the compass for a couple days.. And as I type this I tried again and for the first time it calibrated properly.. but yeah all the times I tried before it didn't work.
I've gone in *#0*# sensor and I'd get the green bar with a 2 or the red bar with a 0. Just now for the first time I got the blue bar with the 3. Is it normal it requires calibrating so often?
Would this explain why my GPS is always very wonky? My general positioning works but it always thinks I'm turning once I reach a corner or when I'm driving on the highway, it thinks I take pretty much every exit and recalculates the route every time which gets really annoying.
I thought the magnetic sensors would not really get interfered with a magnetic car mount. I've had a magnetic mount on my OnePlus One and Nexus 4 forever and i've never had these gps issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok. That's exactly what's happening with mine (Exynos S7 Edge). I thought it'd be caused by the Samsung Backpack I'm using, because it uses wireless charging and the coil interferes with the various location sensors. Do you also happen to have the Samsung Backpack. I'm gonna have to use Navigon without the Backpack and see if I still get those "erratic ghost turns". I use the compass on the Edge Panel about three to four times a day and almost always I have to calibrate it.
nitrous² said:
Ok. That's exactly what's happening with mine (Exynos S7 Edge). I thought it'd be caused by the Samsung Backpack I'm using, because it uses wireless charging and the coil interferes with the various location sensors. Do you also happen to have the Samsung Backpack. I'm gonna have to use Navigon without the Backpack and see if I still get those "erratic ghost turns". I use the compass on the Edge Panel about three to four times a day and almost always I have to calibrate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, no I don't have the backpack. Does your calibration works every time? What kind of car mount do you use?
I also have the Canadian variant on Rogers.
Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk
daviiiiiid said:
Hey, no I don't have the backpack. Does your calibration works every time? What kind of car mount do you use?
I also have the Canadian variant on Rogers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it works every time. I'm using the Samsung EE-V200 car mount. It's a plastic car mount without any metal parts except the 4 screws that hold the rubber suction cup piece in place.
nitrous? said:
Yes, it works every time. I'm using the Samsung EE-V200 car mount. It's a plastic car mount without any metal parts except the 4 screws that hold the rubber suction cup piece in place.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah ok. Yeah hopefully someone has an answer for the ghost turns...
I remember trying to use this tablet solely as a GPS for my car, it never quite worked alright, I thought it was the Lolipop upgrade then I thought it might be something wrong with the antenna hardware.
It finds my position, with approximately 100 meters precision then it keeps jumping around up to 300 meters, things gets better while moving but it has no clue what direction I'm going when I come to a stop.
I have tried many apps and tweaks to fix the GPS, none have worked. I remember the GPS working once when this tablet was new,
that's it, or maybe I was hallucinating?
In all these cases the tablet was using a stable internet connection in my car.
Tried Kitkat, Lolipop, custom and stock kernel :crying:
nitzero said:
I remember trying to use this tablet solely as a GPS for my car, it never quite worked alright, I thought it was the Lolipop upgrade then I thought it might be something wrong with the antenna hardware.
It finds my position, with approximately 100 meters precision then it keeps jumping around up to 300 meters, things gets better while moving but it has no clue what direction I'm going when I come to a stop.
I have tried many apps and tweaks to fix the GPS, none have worked. I remember the GPS working once when this tablet was new,
that's it, or maybe I was hallucinating?
In all these cases the tablet was using a stable internet connection in my car.
Tried Kitkat, Lolipop, custom and stock kernel :crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So true. Gps sucks. Not accurate and takes long time to get the position.
Now i am not even able to use my tab. It always freezes within few seconds after i turn on the tab. Tried every possible solution. Used custom rom, stock rom, stock kernel, custom kernel, flashed fresh rom via apx mode nv flash. :crying:
My tab even freezes in recovery and had to hard reboot it.
Even posted a thread in xda but no solution given by ny1.
It's not so bad with Kitkat, after uninstalling everything leaving the rom completely naked with the barely essentials to not leave it glitchy the performance is acceptable.
Got 41k on Antutu, the lowest score was memory which scored 57 lol.
I suspect this tablet does not have a proper compass sensor, I've changed and resoldered the antennas but it hasn't changed anything.
Seems like a problem with drivers or hardware level.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Lol I finally sorted it out.
Who would put a compass between a couple of magnets?
Exactly, it's the magnets for the flip cover making the compass sensor utter useless.
Removing them fixes the GPS issue. They're actually inside the tablet near the upper bezels where holds the pen.
nitzero said:
Lol I finally sorted it out.
Who would put a compass between a couple of magnets?
Exactly, it's the magnets for the flip cover making the compass sensor utter useless.
Removing them fixes the GPS issue. They're actually inside the tablet near the upper bezels where holds the pen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to remove compass
fu24 said:
How to remove compass
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You must take the magnets off, the compass is needed in order to make the GPS to work properly, get a metal object and stick it to the tablet.
That's exactly where the magnet for the flip cover is located, just carefully pry the tablet open and remove them.
There's two of them.
Please note you must take off the pen, the SD card and the flip cover to open the tablet.
You shouldn't have problems to open it up using ordinary tools such as plastic pry tool or even a credit card.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro