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Tilt GPS sometimes does not receive satellites

Using IGO (legal).
This happens with the new standard AT&T ROM, and with the previous one as well.
IGO starts and quickly obtains satellites, then every now and then, without any obvious reason, I get a verbal warning that no satellites are found, and the GPS icon turns red.
After a few seconds, or even a couple of minutes, GPS signal is restored.
The Tilt is positioned near the windshield, and the problem does not occur in "urban canyons".
I don't have any other GPS app with maps that I can use to check this.
I'd appreciate any ideas.
Thank you.

You could try a free app like Microsoft Live Search or Google Maps to check against IGO. I haven't really noticed mine dropping signal unless I do go into a real canyon or something like that. One thing - when the phone goes into Standby, the GPS chip turns off for battery conservation. Is it possible that your phone is going into standby when you lose signal?

mine does the same after update to the new att rom, and honestly, i dont have an answer for you.
Live search cannot ever find any satalites, which is why I have resorted to using Google Maps. It works fine for me. So try using google maps. its works much faster and more reliable in finding sats, imo.

try a different radio. it has been reported that it works for some.

replies
snooginsguy: No, it always happens when navigating.
grandpareza: not sur ethere are googlemaps for my country (at least not with any reasonable resolution). Will check later.
P1Tater: Replacing the radio requires HardSPL, which I haven't sone yet. As I said, I'm still with the original ROM. I live abroad, so there's no issue with warranty. It's just that I'm concerned I might brick my device.

i heard that you have to update with quick gps everytime before you use your actuall gps... that would improve the sat tracking a lot better

It's on auto update
So that's not the issue.

G1 GPS

Hi, i had problems with my GPS, i had enabled the two option avaliable in the location settings. However i am able to find my location using the cell tower, but my gps sign just keeps on flashing and it was not able to lock to satellites. May i know if it is hardware issues or software?
I am able to lock to satellites before, however now it takes forever. Thank You.

Are you trying outside? It's difficult to get a signal inside.
"GPS Status" free from the market shows you some good data, like how many birds it can see.
BTW "flashing", the icon itself is appearing and disappearing or the icon is animating? Also what ROM are you on and in which application(s) are you trying.

This may not help that much but I damaged my long coax to the gps chip while I changed my housing. Since then it acts the same as you described, so you could be experiencing a hardware issue. The parts for the gps can be found online for about $40 if you determine its a hardware issue.

Reply
Hi, i am on KB7SQI's Rogers Mod 2.3, hmm i did tried it outdoor before and it refuses to lock on to the satellite. The icon of the gps will come on and off, it does not stay fixed, i have also tried on Google Maps App. It cannot detemine my location. Locking onto the satellite should take a few seconds, however mine took forever.
I am hoping it is not a hardware issue, importing parts would be very very expensive for me. I believe if it is a hardware issue,the icon will not even appear. Is there anyway i could test out whether my gps chip is working? Thank You.

hazeline said:
Hi, i am on KB7SQI's Rogers Mod 2.3, hmm i did tried it outdoor before and it refuses to lock on to the satellite. The icon of the gps will come on and off, it does not stay fixed, i have also tried on Google Maps App. It cannot detemine my location. Locking onto the satellite should take a few seconds, however mine took forever.
I am hoping it is not a hardware issue, importing parts would be very very expensive for me. I believe if it is a hardware issue,the icon will not even appear. Is there anyway i could test out whether my gps chip is working? Thank You.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you try a factory wipe/reset?

Reply
I have just upgraded from v2.1 with a wipe, thus this is a wierd problem for me. Any Idea, besides hardware problem? Thanks

[Q] how accurate is the GPS accuracy reading?

With my Cappy, I use GPS Status and it tells me sometimes its 10 metre accuracy but the blue circle on maps is bigger than that. WTF?

It depends if you're using relative GPS or proper GPS.
If you search around you can find out how to use LBSTestMode (which will tell you how accurate and how quick the GPS fix on your position). I'd tell you what the code is to get into that, but it's different depending on what version of Android you have at the moment.

I am running Serendipity 6.2 do i still have access to that?

Yep, you should.
Go to the phone dialer, and put in *#3214789650#
You should see the GPS menu there.

thanks. I got in there now. What do you mean by relative GPS vs proper GPS

Your GPS will get a really rough "guesstimate" of your location really quickly, but it usually takes a while to get your proper location (within 5~40 meters).

There are (at least) two apps which will help you to see what your GPS is doing and why it is reporting what it is reporting. Both can be found in AppBrain and both are in the Market:
Chartcross GPSTest
GPS Status
In addition, GPS Status allows you to refresh the A-GPS data which speeds up the GPS finding satellites from your current position. (I don't think A-GPS data is refreshed automatically by Android; it was in my HTC WinMobile phone).
I think GPSTest is the easier to understand app and you can see the instant a lock is established with each bird. GPS Status reports to you how long it takes to get its first reliable position reading (which takes a minimum of three birds). Although there is overlap in their functions, the two apps together make one fantastic app!
Overall, for the most reliable GPS information, with full position information and fast position updates WiFi should be on and A-GPS data recently updated (which can be kept updated through WiFi). See this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GPS
The way accuracy is determined is by an algorithm which looks at the number and location of the satellites to which the GPS is locked. In general, the more "locked on" birds, the better accuracy will be. The accuracy reading can be misleading. If you have four birds locked and loose two, it will take several seconds to report the change in accuracy. If you are moving and lose and re-lock birds repeatedly, the accuracy value can be 'way off.
BTW, it is the forth "locked on" bird that makes it possible to report altitude.
If where you actually are and where the GPS says you are are not the same, the fault is not exactly attributable to the GPS. What causes this is most likely lost and regained locks on a minimum of three birds. When you are looking at Google Map (for instance) you really don't know what your GPS is doing. At any point in time, Maps could have no consistently useful GPS data (due to the inability of the GPS to "see" three birds). Probably what should happen is the blue triangle should simply disappear unless the GPS is locked on three birds but maybe Google thought that would be un-nerving. So, the blue triangle "wanders" as the GPS "wonders" where you are. Of course, a better SNR in the thirteen receivers which are the GPS would help. When Maps doesn't report where you are correctly, you can see what your GPS is doing with GPSTest. Hope this helps.

[Q] Why my Bionic never gets a GPS fix?

Since the JB update, my phone can never get a GPS fix. I have used both GPS Status & GPS Test which, after 30 min outside in an open area, briefly found up to 7 satellites but no GPS fix. Maps and Nav refuse to work without a proper GPS fix. Suggestions?
EDIT: Here is a video of how I got it working, which seems hardware: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6XyGOrO6-4

[Q] GPS dropping in sleep/standby

Hi,
I've done a fair amount of searching on here and google regarding the gps issues with this phone. Tightening the screws definitely helps with the lock time, but I am still having issues with the device dropping gps lock when the display is off.
I have an S3 Mini running stock Android 4.1.2 and mainly use Viewranger for mapping and the GPS status app. Both apps work fine while the display is on, but when it goes off, gps lock is lost after an indeterminate amount of time. Setting GPS Status to 'Use gps when screen is dimmed' makes no difference.
I use both of the above GPS apps on a HTC Wildfire and a Galaxy Tab 8.9 and neither drop GPS lock when the screen is dimmed, so it is definitely an issue the S3 mini.
Here's hoping for a fix on this otherwise great device!
TIA

fourth ooplotel
Maybe I should rephrase the question
Is anyone here *not* having a problem with GPS lock when the display sleeps?
Ta

I hav the same problem which means I'm unabble to use running apps.... Have you found a solution?

No fix yet unfortunately, and it's looking increasingly like there never will be one.
I've been taking a GT8.9 in my backpack for GPS on walking trips. I'll also keep my old wildfire in case I need a pocket-sized GPS device that actually works!

elshiftos said:
No fix yet unfortunately, and it's looking increasingly like there never will be one.
I've been taking a GT8.9 in my backpack for GPS on walking trips. I'll also keep my old wildfire in case I need a pocket-sized GPS device that actually works!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, i've just purchased the S3 mini phone and I have the same problem. Previously I had a Wildfire S one and I've never had any problem, even taking into account I use GPS to track my trip when I sail on the sea. I'll try to summarize some clues I've found:
- Samnsung Galaxy S3 mini with Android 4.1.2
- I usually use "Marine" app, from Navionics join "GPS Status"
- The problem only appears with "track" option, after stand-by, but after an indeterminated amount of time.
- Once we check the GPS is not working, I can see on GPS Status the satellites but no one providing position (i.e. value of 0/12 on pos/sat field). Finally I need to restart the app, GPS Status and the GPS to get the connection again.
- In other forums I've ridden about not to switch off the screen to avoid Android turn off the GPS because of energy safe mode. With tracking function should not be necessary do it.
I hope anyone can give us some light.

jesvig said:
Hi, i've just purchased the S3 mini phone and I have the same problem. Previously I had a Wildfire S one and I've never had any problem, even taking into account I use GPS to track my trip when I sail on the sea. I'll try to summarize some clues I've found:
- Samnsung Galaxy S3 mini with Android 4.1.2
- I usually use "Marine" app, from Navionics join "GPS Status"
- The problem only appears with "track" option, after stand-by, but after an indeterminated amount of time.
- Once we check the GPS is not working, I can see on GPS Status the satellites but no one providing position (i.e. value of 0/12 on pos/sat field). Finally I need to restart the app, GPS Status and the GPS to get the connection again.
- In other forums I've ridden about not to switch off the screen to avoid Android turn off the GPS because of energy safe mode. With tracking function should not be necessary do it.
I hope anyone can give us some light.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same problem and think I have the solution (I am still testing, but sofar so god).
Use Keep My GPS Alive (testing) or GPS Keeper Lite / Keep Alive (still to try). Look for them in google play.

miguel.bo.martins said:
I have the same problem and think I have the solution (I am still testing, but sofar so god).
Use Keep My GPS Alive (testing) or GPS Keeper Lite / Keep Alive (still to try). Look for them in google play.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the suggestion but I tried both of those apps and neither prevented the gps dropping lock when the screen was off. In fact, my gps/map application would stop tracking my location when the screen was on and either of the above were running in the background, so they actually made the situation worse!

jesvig said:
- Once we check the GPS is not working, I can see on GPS Status the satellites but no one providing position (i.e. value of 0/12 on pos/sat field). Finally I need to restart the app, GPS Status and the GPS to get the connection again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have the same problem. Often 0/12 with "strong" signal. But no FIX. And it happens short time after 11/12 (or so).
This happens with various ROMs (all based on Stock)
bye,
thegrobi