Since some think that the GPS hardware (that can't be fixed by software settings) in the Captivate is crap, do you think that Samsung should use hardware from a different GPS provider in their next version of the phone? Does Broadcom have any GPS hardware in other phones that work well? Other than buying a Garmin phone, are there any other phones out there that use "true" GPS, as in one that you would find in a "real" handheld GPS device? I see/hear a lot of people returning their phones strictly because of the GPS not working well.
I'm just wondering if there will ever be a GPS fix for my Captivate, if the hardware is at fault. If it is a poor GPS chip in the phone, there's not much we can do about it, unless the GPS manufacturer updates their driver and they produce some type of software fix.
I updated my Captivate with the OTA update that claims to "fix" GPS performance. It has improved from never getting a fix to providing one relatively quickly. However it loses the fix moving, it loses the fix for NO REASON when stationary (sitting on a surface with a clear view of the sky), goes nearly a minute without updating at times and isn't accurate. People that are using it and saying it works great have never used a real GPS before. The Captivate is useful for location based services at best and hopefully with more improvements navigation.
I compared it side by side with a 9 year old Garmin eTrex and the ancient eTrex blew the Samsung out of the water. Initial fix on the Samsung was faster (thanks to AGPS) but while the Garmin hovered between 6-8ft CEP and the Galaxy S was about 32ft CEP. This makes the Garmin about 30x more accurate in my book.
This was both outside and INSIDE in my home. To the naysayers that say GPS shouldn't be working indoors please take a walk. It depends on the construction of your home. The fact that a 9 year old GPS receiver that was never known for its sensitivity beats the pants off off the Galaxy S really speaks to how much of a terrible joke the phone's GPS is.
If I could I would return the phone. This OTA update was AT&T and Samsung's fix for the GPS and I believe they're going to say it's "done". Because they'll claim to have fixed it already I hold out no hope that this issue will be further addressed and am upset I have the phone. GPS is a basic feature for such a well-spec'ed phone - we shouldn't be thankful when features work - we should demand that they do.
I'd say probably that's all Samsung can do for its crapy implementation of BroadCOM 4751 chip. The GPS chip may be the latest and greatest (newer than the one used in iPhone4, BCM4750) but we are the beta testers for BroadCom/Samsung as the chip is very new (released in April 2010) and never field tested in any devices.
I have no doubt that we will see great GPS performance from this chip later on from other phones or GPS devices. Just not from any of the current Samsung Galaxy S phones. There is only so much they can do to compensate in software for the bad hardware implementation. Ultimately they have to change the board design and/or chip designs to address the real issue. I just can't see Samsung willing to recall millions of existing SGS phones back and replace the motherboard on each one of them.
The update was certainly discouraging. The phone really has no ability to track you correctly on GPS when moving and it loses its lock frequently. Wasn't there a leaked vibrant rom that fixes the tracking part of GPS? Having something like that come to the Captivate is really the only hope we have left at this point.
I'm not a GPS expert, but since basically every phone that comes out these days has a working GPS, I really can't understand how Samsung managed to screw this up. I'm sure that GPS is quite complicated, but aren't the methods and alrogithms for calculating position from the data pretty well established at this point? I don't know why its this difficult for them to get this right. They souldn't have to reinvent the wheel with this; just implement an existing algorith. I wish I knew what is so challenging for them, it seems way to easy for this much time to go by without addressing this properly.
This needs to go in Q&A or General.
TheSopranos16 said:
They souldn't have to reinvent the wheel with this; just implement an existing algorith.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is not the algorithm, it is the chip. For what ever reason, Samsung decided to use the latest and greatest, but untested, GPS chip that was officially anounced only the spring of 2010. Basically, we are beta testers for BroadCom for its BCM4751 version 1.0 sillicon. Of course, adding a slighly bigger or better GPS atenna inside the phone probably will help too but Samsung has to cut corners somewhere (they always do)
I'm also disappointed with the GPS in this phone. I have a standalone Garmin that I bought this summer, but its nice to know that I can use the phone if I don't have my Garmin with me...but I can't rely on this thing.
I had the Nexus One before this and its GPS was great. I used it on a 300+ mile trip between St. Louis and Chicago and it never lost its fix.
I like the Captivate better for its screen, true multitouch and better graphics processor (although I don't really notice a difference there).
I like the Nexus One better for more ROMs (Cyanogen), stock Android, WORKING GPS, first for updates.
IF (and that's a big IF), they can get GPS to be reliable while driving, then I will prefer this phone.
It is very frustrating. I purchased 2 Captivates, one for my wife and one for myself. Both phones are factory still. The wifes gps works excellently, fix within 5 seconds (indoors too).....whereas my gps couldn't find me if I was the only crumb on the plate.
I returned the first phone. The second phone handed to me worked just as my wifes did. Excellent gps fixes. This phone unfortunately had the turn off problem. If the phone was in my pocket for any period off time it would turn off.
I returned this one for a third phone. The third phone stays on but still has the gps problem.
Is it the device, the hardware or the software, you be the judge!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
drez22 said:
It is very frustrating. I purchased 2 Captivates, one for my wife and one for myself. Both phones are factory still. The wifes gps works excellently, fix within 5 seconds (indoors too).....whereas my gps couldn't find me if I was the only crumb on the plate.
I returned the first phone. The second phone handed to me worked just as my wifes did. Excellent gps fixes. This phone unfortunately had the turn off problem. If the phone was in my pocket for any period off time it would turn off.
I returned this one for a third phone. The third phone stays on but still has the gps problem.
Is it the device, the hardware or the software, you be the judge!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its still hard to say. Signs are starting to point towards hardware, but it could also just be poor drivers, which will eventually get fixed hopefully.
I've said this in another post.. but these phones are being produced on an assembly line - errors get made - the phones are all using the same hardware.
this is my #5 captivate - the last 2 phones were battery issues, but att replaced the entire phone.. I tested gps before I left the store with the new phone -
everyone needs to understand that there will ALWAYS be problems - It's technology. If your GPS didn't work within the first 29 days, take it back!
There is a reason Samsung is creating a "fix" for the GPS - they aren't RECALLING the phone because of a hardware problem. I will eat my words if the phone gets recalled because of a bad "GPS chip." But for now, if you are within 30 days and you aren't happy, please go return it, test the new phone in the store before you leave!
There is still SOME home for this chipset. Nokia is developing a device with the same chipset. I made a thread in i9000 - Android Development forum with the linux driver source code written by Nokia. We'll have to see. If Nokia releases a device with this chip and the GPS works, we know it's Samsung's fault.
Has anyone ever tried to get a comment from Broadcom about the GPS issues? Since its their chip and there are over a million Galaxy S phones out there, I would think it would be appropriate for them to weigh in on this...
born_fisherman said:
I've said this in another post.. but these phones are being produced on an assembly line - errors get made - the phones are all using the same hardware.
this is my #5 captivate - the last 2 phones were battery issues, but att replaced the entire phone.. I tested gps before I left the store with the new phone -
everyone needs to understand that there will ALWAYS be problems - It's technology. If your GPS didn't work within the first 29 days, take it back!
There is a reason Samsung is creating a "fix" for the GPS - they aren't RECALLING the phone because of a hardware problem. I will eat my words if the phone gets recalled because of a bad "GPS chip." But for now, if you are within 30 days and you aren't happy, please go return it, test the new phone in the store before you leave!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to realize that the percentage of the bad SGS with GPS issues are too high to be caused by any reasonable manufacturaing defects.
You can't test GPS properly in a store without going through a driving test. Period. The problem with the GPS is not about whether or not you get a lock, it is whether or not the phone can keep an accurate lock on you while driving. Unfortunately, most ppl didn't realize this at all.
Samsung will not recall the phone even if it turns of the GPS chip or motherboard is the problem. It is not some kind of safety issue.
TheSopranos16 said:
Has anyone ever tried to get a comment from Broadcom about the GPS issues? Since its their chip and there are over a million Galaxy S phones out there, I would think it would be appropriate for them to weigh in on this...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Broadcom made some small fixes in the driver. That's why with JH7, you can see your phone can lock on to more than 8 satellites now. Old drivers will only allow max lock of 8 satellites and minimal SNR value of 20. New driver allow lock on to more than 8 satellites and minimal SNR value of 10 or so. But unfortunately, it didn't improve moving accuracy.
So when you go to the AT&T store take the phone outside and the phone you are going to walk away with doesn't see any satellites, you should just take it and run?
I'm saying this with experience. I've had 2 phones that didn't pickup any satellites even after waiting 5 minutes.
My current phone immediately saw satellites and got a lock within 45 seconds.
Regardless if you are moving or not, the phone should be able to see satellites - I understand the problem is when you are mobile and keeping the lock, this is not my argument.
my argument is that people are still complaining that they can't get a lock even after the OTA update - Test your phone before taking it home. That's all. Not a big deal if you ask me! If your new LCD TV with HD tuner isn't picking up HD channels, you would bring it back right??
My gps was pretty terrible until I flashed Cognition the first version. Now my gps works amazingly and never has the blue circle of ambiguity. Very happy with the gps performance now. So much that I haven't flashed the cognition that is updated with JH7. Worried it could brea kit haha. might as well try though.
Yeah, the new one (Cognition v2.1) with OTA JH7 in it is pretty bad based on my reading. JH7 is an old firmware. Original Cognition has some files from T-Mo Vibrant JI2 firmware which is newer than JH7.
Our only hope is that the final version of Froyo has some improvement baked into.
Related
Lets see if I understand this correctly....
on the samsung galaxy s GPS system, there are 2 options:
1)Use wireless networks: Set the device to use the
wireless networking to indicate your location
2)Use GPS satellites : Enable the GPS receiver to indicate your location
For now, we know that using the option 2 gives us crappy results (loosing signals, cannot lock sattelites, jumping around etc)
Now, for option 1: choosing option 1 means that launching the maps application should indicate where your location is currently by using some kind of triangulation method based on the availability of GSM signal, so it should even work when you are indoor or whenever there is a GSM signal......
But apparently on this phone, it only shows your initial location, then after that even if you have moved 1 km from your initial location, the location indicator arrow is stuck at your initial location, meaning that it doesnt track you and your movement, which means both options simply dont work on this phone....
On my wife's iphone, the GPS functionality works wonderfully even when i am inside a building and it keeps updating your location as you move continuosly.
It just shows you how careless and hasty samsung is in launching this product that even the simplest form of GPS functionality, one that is based on GSM triangulation method, also doesnt work..... and they still went ahead with the launch.....
Absolutely no problems with GSM or GPS positioning now that I'm using I9000XWJG5. Locks on satellites within 22 seconds from switch on. Thats at 30m precision. After 10 seconds more gets to 5m precision.
This is from inside my building. (Using GPS Status to check)
Same here. Your wife's phone probably also uses the mobile network to keep location inside buildings, or wireless networks. Try enabling skyhook, that is all i did.
used skyhook, and assited mode, accuracy set to 50, changed supl/cp settings, but compared to my g1 or hd2 or e61 or 10 year old bt/gps mouse the gps quality is just rubbish. (XXJF3)
no problem even without skyhook, but using skyhook gets locking much faster
i'm comparing it to my old HTC Athena, which takes sometimes over 5min to lock to 1 satellite in the great white open sky.... sigh...
sometimes it wont even lock if the weather is poor, takes like 30min or more to lock, under those conditions.
simply insane.
so SGS i9000 is like a dream to use.
g1 / hd2 / e61 only take seconds to get a full lock with accuracy about 3m. in my opinion skyhook and gps plus are needless if you have a working cb a-gps.
From my experience its the rom. As my gps worked fine with default FE3 (optus au) rom even indoors but when i flashed G5 (latest euro) i could only lock onto one sat outdoors even with skyhooks setting. Then i installed Samset 1.2 update.zip the gps works again, thats just my 2cents
widjaja74_us said:
It just shows you how careless and hasty samsung is in launching this product that even the simplest form of GPS functionality, one that is based on GSM triangulation method, also doesnt work..... and they still went ahead with the launch.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the record I haven't had any issues with GPS other than it being fair slower than my Milestone.
Didn't you sell your Galaxy S anyway?
Unimaginative said:
For the record I haven't had any issues with GPS other than it being fair slower than my Milestone.
Didn't you sell your Galaxy S anyway?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey mate, I think I've seen you around the WP forums.
Quick question for you - I have a Milestone and am currently contemplating throwing it on eBay and grabbing the Galaxy S. Is there anything you miss from the Milestone?
ShaggyDragon said:
Absolutely no problems with GSM or GPS positioning now that I'm using I9000XWJG5. Locks on satellites within 22 seconds from switch on. Thats at 30m precision. After 10 seconds more gets to 5m precision.
This is from inside my building. (Using GPS Status to check)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The same here. The problems start when I go out and start to drive around in my car. My GPS is absolutely useless when you move around outdoors, but locks in a few seconds indoors.
widjaja74_us said:
Lets see if I understand this correctly....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me see if I understand this correctly. You have sold your SGS and you are still coming back here to crap on about the GPS and other small things which are only occurring on some people's phones and not others?
For the record, everything on my phone has been running silky smooth since day one. Lag only occurs with too many apps open and this is to be expected from an operating system that can multitask.
navmanyeah said:
Let me see if I understand this correctly. You have sold your SGS and you are still coming back here to crap on about the GPS and other small things which are only occurring on some people's phones and not others?
For the record, everything on my phone has been running silky smooth since day one. Lag only occurs with too many apps open and this is to be expected from an operating system that can multitask.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I sold my phone at a profit because currently i cannot afford to have unreliable phone in doing my job... then i searched for something better and can't find any.... so i'm still following the forum to see of all the problems i experience have been fixed .... if thats the case, i might buy another one....
and for the record, i didnt crap about the GPS, i'm just investigating it deeper, becase GPS is important for me...
Thats crap for you
Has anyone pulled the phone apart and read the serial number off the chip. We are trying to compair it to the US phone. If you have the info thanks Ours is a Broadcomm BCM4751 (Captivate)
Can I ask how you know the Captivate has a BCM4751 chip? Did you disassemble and see it? It appears that the Galaxy S generic being sold everywhere else outside the US has the BCM2075 chip that integrates BT and FM radios; at least that's what's being reported by others here.
If it were true that the Captivate/Fascinate/Vibrant in the US are using the BCM4751 chip, then it would truly mean these phones have no FM capability at all and there is no prospect of rooting the phone to disable a software level crippling.
This pisses me off. I was willing to forgo the front facing camera of the US versions, but the fact that they (apparently) went so far as to have samsung supply a different GPS chip to eliminate the FM radio so you are FORCED to use some ****e, data intensive service like AT&T radio instead is just outrageous. With the GPS/compass/antenna problems seemingly going ignored by samsung, maybe I won't get this phone at all.
http://www.broadcom.com/products/GPS/GPS-Silicon-Solutions/BCM2075
bugmenever said:
Can I ask how you know the Captivate has a BCM4751 chip? Did you disassemble and see it? It appears that the Galaxy S generic being sold everywhere else outside the US has the BCM2075 chip that integrates BT and FM radios; at least that's what's being reported by others here.
If it were true that the Captivate/Fascinate/Vibrant in the US are using the BCM4751 chip, then it would truly mean these phones have no FM capability at all and there is no prospect of rooting the phone to disable a software level crippling.
This pisses me off. I was willing to forgo the front facing camera of the US versions, but the fact that they (apparently) went so far as to have samsung supply a different GPS chip to eliminate the FM radio so you are FORCED to use some ****e, data intensive service like AT&T radio instead is just outrageous. With the GPS/compass/antenna problems seemingly going ignored by samsung, maybe I won't get this phone at all.
http://www.broadcom.com/products/GPS/GPS-Silicon-Solutions/BCM2075
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the Galaxy S might have the BCM20751 but untill someone tears down the phone and checks with their eyes. The US Captivate was torn down and it is a 4751. But the 4751 doesn't have BT on it. So it could be all the phones have a 4751 with a seprate BT and FM. The 4751 is supposed to be a better GPS unit then the BCM20751 though.
ah, I see it on the Captivate general forum now. The only teardown of the generic Galaxy S that I have seen anywhere is the original one done in Korea a month ago. The pictures from that disassembly are too low-res for me to make out chip IDs. I tried going through their video of the teardown frame by frame too, but again, I can't see the numbers clearly and I saw nothing that resembled a broadcom chip. The Captivate board layout is much different than the Galaxy S, I can't really even see where the broadcom chip should be on it either.....
You're gonna love this. On my Galaxy S, According to jupiter.xml:
<gll
LogPriMask="LOG_DEBUG"
LogFacMask="LOG_GLLAPI | LOG_NMEA"
FrqPlan="FRQ_PLAN_26MHZ_2PPM_26MHZ_300PPB"
RfType="GL_RF_4751_DANUBE"
BrcmRFwildBase="0x1E2D6409"
BrcmRFclkDiv="21"
BrcmRFclkRefHz="26000000"
pps-enable="false" pps-offset-ms="0" pps-width-ns="100"
/>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I changed the RfType to GL_RF_2075_BRCM and it just didn't work.
Well thats good. We've accomplished something. But Broadcomm says this is the best GPS they have ever made some hopfully samsung messed up the code and we get a super good GPS.
TBH - I think we may actually be waiting on the driver from Broadcom. Something about Broadcoms reputation as an open source provider is in question.
sjdean said:
TBH - I think we may actually be waiting on the driver from Broadcom. Something about Broadcoms reputation as an open source provider is in question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it could deff. be broardcoms side. They better fix it.
Is the 4751 used in any other phones just want to see the performance of the gps on this chipset in other devices..
The mere fact that we have Broadcom chip for GPS and not some off brand that I've never heard before like InCrystal really, really points to a serious issue with the drivers/firmware for the GPS. The phone should be operating in MS-Based mode out of the box anyway and I don't know why it isn't. That's not the only problem it has but standalone mode is not what it should be operating in. Nearly all phones GPS' are truly the pits without network assistance.
Lots of phones use Broadcom for GPS, right off of the top of my head, the iPhone is one of them!
Well I really hope it can operate in stand alone mode reasonably well, it should be able to, I dont see why a phone couldn't. agps is mainly just for helping get locks faster at startup and possibly in areas where gps signals are weak but agps is not going to help you out of the city much etc etc.
However yeah I really hope it is a driver issue and if so broadcom and samsung need to get together or its going to drag both their names down.
Kilack said:
Well I really hope it can operate in stand alone mode reasonably well, it should be able to, I dont see why a phone couldn't. agps is mainly just for helping get locks faster at startup and possibly in areas where gps signals are weak but agps is not going to help you out of the city much etc etc.
However yeah I really hope it is a driver issue and if so broadcom and samsung need to get together or its going to drag both their names down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well like I said there appears to be some other issues besides the fact that they ship in standalone mode which is awful for any phone.. aGPS is the first choice for most phones (Galaxy S is an exception I suppose!) before falling back to standalone mode which does take 2-3 minutes for a fix. Standalone GPS will always take a few minutes to get a lock, a phone certainly isn't going to perform better than a Garmin and I have yet to see one of those in standalone mode lock faster than a phone with aGPS. aGPS is for an initial fix regardless of other circumstances and it's why phones get such snappy fixes.
Ok, but I posted elsewhere that there's a whole stack of a lot happening behind the scenes, which Im not even Samsung know what's going on.
First, even in Standalone mode, you see data being streamed in the initial few seconds, so there must be something in there.
But Ok, we have:
Operation Mode under LBSTestMode - MS Based, MS Assisted, Network Provider or standalone
GPS Plus - Uses the OneXtra servers
Skyhook - Another form of AGPS
SUPL Settings
And irrespective of what you set the SUPL settings to:
Jupiter.xml - Points to both www.spirent-lcs.com as an acSuplServer then points to bcmls2.glpals.com as the LbsServer.
Then under Location and Security, we have the ability to Use Wireless Networks (using WiFi and Cellular Networks). Even if this is switched off, the phone still wants to enable Wireless and see what's out there.
So that's what, 6, perhaps 7 or even 8 seemingly different settings, different methods, of A-GPS.
No wonder the phone is getting confused.
Cya
Simon
sjdean said:
Ok, but I posted elsewhere that there's a whole stack of a lot happening behind the scenes, which Im not even Samsung know what's going on.
First, even in Standalone mode, you see data being streamed in the initial few seconds, so there must be something in there.
But Ok, we have:
Operation Mode under LBSTestMode - MS Based, MS Assisted, Network Provider or standalone
GPS Plus - Uses the OneXtra servers
Skyhook - Another form of AGPS
SUPL Settings
And irrespective of what you set the SUPL settings to:
Jupiter.xml - Points to both www.spirent-lcs.com as an acSuplServer then points to bcmls2.glpals.com as the LbsServer.
Then under Location and Security, we have the ability to Use Wireless Networks (using WiFi and Cellular Networks). Even if this is switched off, the phone still wants to enable Wireless and see what's out there.
So that's what, 6, perhaps 7 or even 8 seemingly different settings, different methods, of A-GPS.
No wonder the phone is getting confused.
Cya
Simon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting, so standalone isn't really standalone at all
I wonder if any of the problems are actually being caused by agps especially as a lot of the "fixes" by users were basically changes to the agps.
Curious....., if you google skyhook and you see how samsung and I think even apple used skyhook etc and all the big fanfare etc over it but it seems to be disabled in this phone.
and some of the fixes were to use the google location server right?
(weren't google roasted around the world for wardriving and recording wifi sites and also the data? hehe), now i know why they did it.. for location services I guess... a bit off topic but just now seeing why there were even interested in wifi sites etc.
So.. this broadcom chip... its supposed to be good? can we eliminate the hardware as being a bad gps chipset?
Other things to keep in mind when determining the chip are BT and wifi. The 2075, for example, provides bt 2.1, which rules out its presence on the SGS, unless samsung decided to install multiple bluetooth chips. So, the chip we are looking for provides either bt, version 3.0 and wifi N and GPS, or one or 2 of those 3, which makes the 4751 way more likely indeed. I also don't see a reason to change the internals of the phone.
Gps is a Qualcomm RTR6285 like desire, nexus, some blackberry.
careace.net/2010/06/09/disassembly-of-the-samsung-galaxy-s/
news.danawa.com/News_List_View.php?nModeC=4&nSeq=1742568
sesamee said:
Gps is a Qualcomm RTR6285 like desire, nexus, some blackberry.
careace.net/2010/06/09/disassembly-of-the-samsung-galaxy-s/
news.danawa.com/News_List_View.php?nModeC=4&nSeq=1742568
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This:
news.danawa.com/News_List_View.php?nModeC=4&nSeq=1742568
must be the korean version (hardware is diferent)
for example :
http://www.careace.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/galaxy-s-disassembly-29.jpg
http://www.danawa.com/cms/popup_image.php?url=http://img.danawa.com/cms/img/2010/07/06/14.jpg
Audio codec is the same (wolfson)
Configuration files show tha GPS chip is bcm4751 in european galaxy s (not GPS BT FM BCM20751 or BCM2075) in captive there are photos also.
it REALLY seems like a driver issue. I can get a lock within seconds in MS based mode like all other Android phones with 6 meter accuracy tracking in my car but the performance diminishes after that and the phone requires a reboot for another fix -- IF GPS doesnt cause a lock up trying to get a lock.
Anyone else notice the same behavior in MS based mode?
Sent from my SGH-T959
as i have said in the gps issue thread my settings are as they were from the factory, and at least for now my gps works, in test mode it sees 9-11 satalites, and locks 5-7 of then in about 9 secs, it even suprised me today when i was stood on my staires surrounded by brick walls it managed to get a fix.
this was however not the case with the first one i had, no matter what i tried i could not get a reasonable fix, so it seems to me like some phones are better then others, even thought they are the same phones, this is why i suggested it could be a faulty batch but that is not the case, so i have no idea why this one works and the other never.
if you want the settings: gps is set to oo
application setting
session type: tracking
test mode: s/w test
opperation mode: standalone
start mode: hot start
gps plus: on
dynamic accuracy: on
accuracy: 50
skyhook: off
use pc tool: off
supl/cp setting
sever fqdn: custom
server: www.sprint-lcs.com
server port: 7275
supl secure socket: on
agps mode: supl
hope these can be of use for someone, please note im in the uk.
edit: just tested out my window and got 8 found / 8 locked satalites in 12 secs
Things are getting even more weird...
I was browsing around in the jupiter.xml file shipped in the JP2 firmware and found what I suspect must be a a typo:
arp-supl-reaiding-time-sec = "1200"
Shouldn't that be: arp-supl-reading-time-sec = "1200" ?
With all that mucking about with wads of configuration files and a bazillion places where (conflicting) settings can be made, this doesn't exactly make me feel better about the reliability of AGPS on this device.
edit: nah, probably not a typo (read as 're-aiding', duh) but an unfortunate name choice anyway. At least it appears consistent with what the app is expecting.
i need to bay galaxy s mainly for GPS , but i heard a lot of proplems regarding the GPS , i need to know before baying is it true , what is the exact proplems and could it be fixed for real ..... and is it work off line or not ... and if work offline is it work with voice navigation or not.... i will appreciate your responces
drsemsemicu said:
i need to bay galaxy s mainly for GPS , but i heard a lot of proplems regarding the GPS , i need to know before baying is it true , what is the exact proplems and could it be fixed for real ..... and is it work off line or not ... and if work offline is it work with voice navigation or not.... i will appreciate your responces
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are looking to mainly use it as a GPS unit, I might advise otherwise, as some do struggle with their GPS signal. There are a few known errors, some with fixes, and others do not experience any problems at all. If you are looking for a quality phone that includes GPS, Galaxy is a great choice. If you're looking for a quality GPS that includes a phone, Galaxy may not be the best option.
Kops said:
If you are looking to mainly use it as a GPS unit, I might advise otherwise, as some do struggle with their GPS signal. There are a few known errors, some with fixes, and others do not experience any problems at all. If you are looking for a quality phone that includes GPS, Galaxy is a great choice. If you're looking for a quality GPS that includes a phone, Galaxy may not be the best option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I run the SGS with ALK CoPilot Sat Nav software. Initial GPS fix can be a little slow, but otherwise ok. Copilot requires no online connection, although it can make use of one for traffic updates etc, and the voice prompts work well.
Running Froyo XXJPO
PhilPassmore said:
I run the SGS with ALK CoPilot Sat Nav software. Initial GPS fix can be a little slow, but otherwise ok. Copilot requires no online connection, although it can make use of one for traffic updates etc, and the voice prompts work well.
Running Froyo XXJPO
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I use Google Maps. Lock will take about 3-5 minutes on average. I can usually speed up the process by launching GPS Test app, and finding where my phone gets best satellite reception to lock a signal. I otherwise have no issues with the GPS
I use Sygic Mobile Maps, Igo and Navigon. Locking never takes more than 15 seconds, and navigation is perfect. All the problems that existed in Eclair 2.1 versions have disappeared. I'm very happy with the GPS.
First off, Galaxy is a phone (and a great one) with a GPS, not the other way around. If you want rock solid GPS, buy a GPS! The chip, the antena, the optimisation will just be better on a standalone GPS.
Then, if you want to have the addition of a GPS chip on the phone, IMHO, it's a great bundle. I get fast and precise fix and I can even use it to track my jogs (and listen to music while I'm at it!). Google Maps and such nav apps are pretty neat and effective.
So, basicaly, if you need a GPS with a phone, buy a GPS and a phone...
If you want a great bundle with GPS function, SGS is the way to go!
gingerbread updates make the gps better, for me the jvo modem (jvh rom) made a huge difference for the better. it got lock way faster (below 1 min vs 2-3 on js3) and saw more satellites
Between the HTC Sapphire (HCT Magic), the ACER liquid and the Samsung Galaxy S, I had in my hands this last one has the worst GPS.
On my unit it's sometime barely usable.
Some people have good GPS in their SGS and are very happy, but many other have bad units. There are many different fixes in the forums, but we still are waiting for a official one.
The SGS is a good Android phone, but if GPS is really important for you, I won't recommend it. If you are lucky you will have a good GPS, but you can also have a bad one...
GPS is also varying. I thought it was fixed with the 2.2.1 update, but today I had problems. Even power cycled the phone and reset the GPS data with the GPS Status app. And now, indoors, it is suddenly working again.
All very strange.
In truth people have wildly varying experiences with the GPS in the SGS. For some it works perfectly, for others it pretty much is unusable. It is a widely documented problem with several known and possible causes.
At times I get locks with an accuracy in the tens of kilometres for example. Normally I get locks around 30m to 10m however - when I am outside. Lock times are not really a problem but stability and accuracy are.
As for fixes, there are a few, but as before people report wildly different outcomes on each one. Most of the fixes involve voiding your warranty and they may not even work for you.
Honestly the Galaxy S is a great phone and I love mine - One of the best out there in many markets. However if GPS is your primary concern I would strongly recommend you look at other models. At the very least buy from somewhere with a solid return policy and the ability to perhaps swap out for a different phone. You could just as easily buy a perfect SGS as a dud.
The brand new SGS2 has reportedly got a much better GPS unit fitted (it's a different GPS chipset!), and might be a better choice if looking for a new phone, and your budget stretched that far.
The SGS, as others have said has a varied set of problems both hardware and software based. The latest firmware has sorted it for many, and there are various tweaks, if you did find problems.
The hardware itself was more a problem on the earliest units (pe-october), with then having poor contact inside to the antenna, although some post-october units suffer from this too. This can be fixed on all of them by opening the unit and bending or soldering the contacts.
As long as you buy it from a place with a good returns policy... Or but a second hand unit you can test before purchase, then the SGS should be fine... But many would love an SGS2 if buying again now!
Hope this helps
Mike
Garbled meaning induced by swype when posting from XDA app on SGS I9000.
xpcomputers said:
The brand new SGS2 has reportedly got a much better GPS unit fitted (it's a different GPS chipset!), and might be a better choice if looking for a new phone, and your budget stretched that far.
>>Still a percentage whining about poor GPS but my SGS 1 and two perfect.
The SGS, as others have said has a varied set of problems both hardware and software based. The latest firmware has sorted it for many, and there are various tweaks, if you did find problems.
>>Some users had no problems at all on SGS 1
The hardware itself was more a problem on the earliest units (pe-october), with then having poor contact inside to the antenna, although some post-october units suffer from this too. This can be fixed on all of them by opening the unit and bending or soldering the contacts.
>>. likewise the press on GPS trick may be a help as will setting the GPS up as per posts on the subject .
As long as you buy it from a place with a good returns policy... Or but a second hand unit you can test before purchase, then the SGS should be fine... But many would love an SGS2 if buying again now!
I would be quite happy with either based upon my experiences . Plus as above buy try and return if not happy .
14 million SGS users happy .
jje
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make such test as this guy -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHaIuGZgIxQ
is your tracking as crap as his? mine is, ive managed to make gps lock in seconds to 5m accuracy but that is not helping in precision tracking
hahaha look what ive found
http://www.scribd.com/doc/36341108/CSR-v-Broadcom
http://news.priorsmart.com/csr-v-broadcom-l34y/
that includes 'our' chip also
settlement
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-01-10/broadcom-csr-settle-patent-fight-over-gps-devices.html
and what is fun part of this story?
SGS2 uses CSR chip not Broadcom one
whhaaaat you say
SiRFstar IV was announced in mid 2009 http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2350815,00.asp <- sgs 2 - reported working with 1m precision, locking fast and inside no problems with precision tracking
BCM4751 was announced in early 2010 http://www.gpsworld.com/consumer-oe...s-single-chip-gps-mobile-devices-bcm4751-9520 <- sgs - 5m with 15m stepping that was upgraded in nexus s to 5m stepping, no precision tracking - rookie mistakes on drivers and setup, innacurate
draw your own conclusions =]
Anyone having GPS issues with this phone? I'm using it with Google Navigation and it isn't getting a good lock on a signal. I'm seeing the blue circle around my location changing sizes and the GPS will frequently show me suddenly on a different nearby road trying to reroute me.
I have not had any issues with GPS. It has worked for me quite well. What you describe sounds like 1 of 2 things. 1, possibly a weak or lapsed coverage area. I have seen this with automotive GPS units. The signal doesn't lock, or the vehicle travels thru an area that is obstructed and the mapping software basically tries to guess where you should be based on the last known location. 2, possibly hardware. With the same devices, the issue has come up from improperly mounted antennae, or damaged/faulty units.
If it happens everyhwere, I would lean toward faulty hardware. If you only notice it in certain areas, then more likely #1.
Also, on this phone I did notice that VZ Navigator is pre-installed. You don't happen to have that subscription do you? Not sure it will conflict, but its possible. I don't use it, really itching for root access so I can remove things like that.
Thanks. I just wanted to be sure it wasn't the phone design as I had a Samsung Captivate where it was a known problem.
Yea, I'm also planning to root this phone as Verizon really loaded this one up with too much pre-installed software.
Thanks. I just wanted to be sure it wasn't the phone design as I had a Samsung Captivate where it was a known problem.
Yea, I'm also planning to root this phone as Verizon really loaded this one up with too much pre-installed software.
I had this issue actually. What I did is disable all the lacation options(network, google, standalone gps) and then just enabled gps standalone and restarted the phone and then opened weatherbug and it locked right in within 3 secs
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Hello. I just got the D 415 from t-mobile. GPS is working, but not quite as well as it should be. Seems to lock on location and then go away or general flakiness. I have not rooted the phone yet. Are there any tips for settings that could be applied to the phone without rooting?
Sent from my LG-D415 using XDA Free mobile app
Spartan_Don said:
Hello. I just got the D 415 from t-mobile. GPS is working, but not quite as well as it should be. Seems to lock on location and then go away or general flakiness. I have not rooted the phone yet. Are there any tips for settings that could be applied to the phone without rooting?
Sent from my LG-D415 using XDA Free mobile app
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None that I'm aware of.
Most tweaks are just changing settings in the appropriate file within the devices file system. But root access is needed in order to do so.
I should mention that the GPS is a little flaky on my D415 as well. Might be the norm, dunno...
shinobisoft said:
None that I'm aware of.
Most tweaks are just changing settings in the appropriate file within the devices file system. But root access is needed in order to do so.
I should mention that the GPS is a little flaky on my D415 as well. Might be the norm, dunno...
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After owning this phone for three months, I'm worried it might be the antenna, since when I'm in the car, the signal will drop out, and pressing the back side of the phone against my sunroof always make it get its lock back. Might just be one of those issues where the antenna needs line-of-sight to the sky to work :/
In any case, Might be using my old windows phone as my primary nav. device unless there's a confirmed fix.
I have a D405. I used to have a samsung galaxy s3 mini -which was arguably a cheaper device- and had next to no issues recording my cycling rides on strava. On my D405, it won't even pick a GPS signal to begin with. Google maps GPS fix isn't as accurate as the sgs3 mini either, and sometimes well over a 100 meters or more discrepancy. There's another D405 owned by a family member and it's not faring much (if any) better... Thus, I don't think any kind of navigation can be possible with this device, which is a huge let down. Which is a shame because i was enjoying my experience very much with this device until i encountered the crappy GPS...
I have no problems with gps or strava , works very good. No difference with my Garmin.
Sent from my LG-D405n using XDA Free mobile app
Gps
Here also no issues, gps is much faster than on previous phone samsung galaxy y.
Greets Peter
LG L90 d405n
I think LG used substandard GPS hardware. I have people reporting GPS works great but my own experience, even on stock, it seems flaky to me. GPS wont lock for me if I'm inside but it will outside.
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In some models cars the gps connection is difficult, also some buildings, this has to do with the cage of faraday that shields from a good connection.
So i took my mum's d405 to my cycle ride yesterday and strava picked up a signal and recorded my entire ride just fine. Also, on GPS status & toolbox it will pick up 10 or more satellites out in the open. But my own d405 won't pick up a single satellite. I'm now thinking my d405 has a defective GPS antenna/hardware since both phones are on the same settings. I'll be taking it back to the shop soon.
Yes
I am having tons of GPS issues with my LG D415. It has been driving me crazy (location: Seattle). What's happened:
-Midway through a route, Maps will say "Lost GPS connection"
-Other times it will simply stop tracking the route and lose the position (assuming I am where I was 5 minutes ago); later it will lock into the GPS and begin giving directions again.
I've tried updating Maps. T-Mobile replaced the phone, assuming it was that particular phone that was the problem. But with the new LG D415, I have the same problems. Using GPS Status and GPS Test apps, It seems the phone has a hard time fixing on satellites. Not sure what to do at this point. May try and see if TMobile will take their phone back and try another network.
I worked on the initial deployment of GPS technology to DoD aircraft over 20 years ago and can tell you that the signal is weaker than you can imagine. It is below the noise level so it's not surprising when you can't lock it inside a building. The fact that different phones have different results speaks to the different antennae of the phones. Again, not surprising. Yes, having a clear view of the full sky is the best way to get optimum accuracy/results. What I've seen is that there's an error of about six feet when I use Google maps and my GPS. It could be anything from less than the best hardware resolving the signal to a position to a different earth model inside the phone's GPS hardware to Google maps being less than accurate. I figure that if I can get a position to six feet; I can avoid falling off a cliff by finishing the job with my eyes.
Jim
anything new on your issue?
Spartan_Don said:
Hello. I just got the D 415 from t-mobile. GPS is working, but not quite as well as it should be. Seems to lock on location and then go away or general flakiness. I have not rooted the phone yet. Are there any tips for settings that could be applied to the phone without rooting?
Sent from my LG-D415 using XDA Free mobile app
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I just purchased 2 phones before I saw this.. I got them through ebay, brand new but with only 14 return. I'm trying to get LG to provide support for mine, have you done anything with yours?
I use GPS constantly, this phone has a weak antenna for GPS.
My phone was picking GPS signals very weakly and could not get a fix to any satellites. I explained my problems in the previous page in detail. The distributor where i live resisted swapping the phone with a new one, and i accepted a main board swap instead, performed under guarantee. They put another (hopefully a new) main board in the phone. But the problem still persists, which is baffling to say the least. Isn't the GPS antenna of this device on the main board ? Even worse still, the device now seems to restart itself randomly. In the ~2 hours i've spent with it after it's been returned to me, it restarted itself 3 times...
If I didn't have one more of the exact same device (which has no problems whatsoever) i would've said i was doing something wrong...
The same night i posted the above message, the phone went full kaput (never go full kaput ). They swapped the mainboard again but the device went bust before even leaving the shop. So there was no option other than to offer a new device. I'm now waiting for my new phone to arrive. Don't buy a phone from a 3rd world country. If this was in the USA or the UK, i know my device would've been swapped for a new one the first time, no questions asked. Choose something you won't have qualms about tossing in the trash if you have to buy.
My girlfriend just bought this phone from T-Mobile and immediately began complaining about GPS quality issues. It looks like there is no fix for this. Should she attempt to return it for a different phone? She has next to no directional skills and relies heavily on GPS.
DanielWEWO said:
My girlfriend just bought this phone from T-Mobile and immediately began complaining about GPS quality issues. It looks like there is no fix for this. Should she attempt to return it for a different phone? She has next to no directional skills and relies heavily on GPS.
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GPS is flaky at best, even on stock. We all have different results for several builtin devices. Namely the camera as well as GPS. Other than that it's a pretty good device.
Sent from my LG-D415 using Tapatalk
DanielWEWO said:
My girlfriend just bought this phone from T-Mobile and immediately began complaining about GPS quality issues. It looks like there is no fix for this. Should she attempt to return it for a different phone? She has next to no directional skills and relies heavily on GPS.
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Sorry this is a month too late. Have her install GPS Status & Toolbox app and test the device in open terrain. It should easily pick 10+ signals within 20-30 seconds. If it's not, have her take it back for a swap.
GPS problem
I believe the GPS problem is a software issue, when I got the phone it used to get the signal very fast, 6 seconds or so, but now even with Gps fix app, it takes an eternity an then looses very easily, but gps fix even shows 20 or more sats but takes ages to lock the signal.
shinobisoft said:
None that I'm aware of.
Most tweaks are just changing settings in the appropriate file within the devices file system. But root access is needed in order to do so.
I should mention that the GPS is a little flaky on my D415 as well. Might be the norm, dunno...
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Click to collapse
If I am rooted, what are some tweaks for the GPS? The GPS on my d415 is definitely flakey.