[Q] Wireless Network Location Accuracy? - Motorola Droid and Milestone General

Is there a way to better my location accuracy with ONLY the wireless network? I dont want to use my GPS for things like BeautifulWidgets and FourSquare.. but i would deffinetly like more accuracy as far as my location.. There are alot of times BW says I am about 20 miles away from where i really am, when at home.
This issue is not a lack of signal, i retain HSPA+ everywhere i am in the Kansas City metro area, but there are a few places it occasionally is off/wrong. Doing a refresh will often fix it, but there are times when it moves only a few miles closer to another location.
If you can suggest anything, that would be great.
I have BusyBox fully installed & RootExplorer, so please dont hesitate with any advanced ideas.

Ph0z3 said:
Is there a way to better my location accuracy with ONLY the wireless network?
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when you write wireless network , you mean mobile GSM? right?
its all about how many cell locations and how close they are..

yeah i mean the towers pinging me & determining my position via tower relay signal.

Related

EDGE/GPRS/3G Questions/Issues/Info

This might be a silly question, but does anyone know if the G1 will be able to access the web if you live in an area where 3G is not available yet? I live north of Los Angeles (who has 3G) in Bakersfield and we don't have it yet. I am hoping that I was not an idiot to preorder the phone and then not be able to use all the cool web features.
Thanks in advance,
Jamie
it should still work on the EDGE network
From my understanding it will work with GPRS, Edge, and 3g so you shouldn't have any problems bro by the way I understand the concern.
With a 1150ma battery, GPS, "big" screen etc, 3G will just drain the battery even quicker.
I will not worry about 3G until an extended battery is released- and the fact that 3G will not be in my market for a year of so.
aad4321 said:
Hey guys i have a htc wing now, and it does not have a gps. It looks like the gps for this phone is one of the main highlights, because it uses it for a lot of applications. Does anyone know what the gps strength will be like? Will it work will in a building, it do i have the be in direct light for like ten minuites to get a signal?
Anyone with a htc device with a gps already, does it work well?
I hear the android is a-gps, so mabye it will have the ability to somewhat work well when in a pocket, or building.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Time for a lesson on GPS... It uses satellites in the sky, and you need a view of a certain amount of satellites to find your location (4 will find you but not very accurately, the more the better). If you're in a building, and not right next to a window, no GPS will ever find your location, ever. That's like asking if your internet will work if the ethernet cable is unplugged from the back of your computer and you don't have wifi, it goes against the entire idea of how it functions.
Now, as for the quality of the HTC GPS receiver... People have complained about GPS lag, but I maintain my opinion that it's completely software related, my Fuze had none whatsoever. You don't need to be in sunlight, just have enough clear sky that it can get a reading from the satellites. I've taken trips with the Fuze even on very cloudy days and it took a little longer to get a lock (5-10 mins, it locks in like 30 seconds to a minute with clear skies) but once it had my position, it stayed true. All of the upcoming HTC devices use A-GPS, by the way. Diamond, Touch Pro, Xperia, G1...
aad4321 said:
WHAAAT? you dont want to use 3g? lol in my opinion thats 50 percent of the phones features.
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Click to collapse
He's using the battery draining as an excuse, something to keep him from pulling his hair out because he won't have 3G for another year. Anyone who's used a phone for data features on both networks knows EDGE doesn't hold a candle to 3G.
As for the original post, yes, it will give you all of the same data features on EDGE as on 3G.
The big thing with A-GPS is that it's mainly used to increase the startup speed of your GPS. Instead of waiting 10 minutes to download the almanac of the satellites in the sky from the GPS sats, it downloads the data over your data connection, using the basis of which cell site you're connected to for determining your rough location. This way it only takes about 30 seconds to get a fix instead of much longer.
The sensitivity of the GPS on phones has been fairly good as far as i've seen on devices like the Tilt and such, so I don't see why a phone with such a heavy emphasis on location-based apps would have a sub-par GPS setup. Here's hoping things work well.
Black93300ZX said:
He's using the battery draining as an excuse, something to keep him from pulling his hair out because he won't have 3G for another year. Anyone who's used a phone for data features on both networks knows EDGE doesn't hold a candle to 3G.
As for the original post, yes, it will give you all of the same data features on EDGE as on 3G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks to one and all!!! I am looking forward to my G1 and retiring my Wing.
Black93300ZX said:
He's using the battery draining as an excuse, something to keep him from pulling his hair out because he won't have 3G for another year. Anyone who's used a phone for data features on both networks knows EDGE doesn't hold a candle to 3G.
As for the original post, yes, it will give you all of the same data features on EDGE as on 3G.
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Click to collapse
3g doesnt burn that much battery unless your using it constantly like as a primary internet for your computer. also when you put your phone in sleep mode it isnt runnig in the background
haitiankid4lyf said:
3g doesnt burn that much battery unless your using it constantly like as a primary internet for your computer. also when you put your phone in sleep mode it isnt runnig in the background
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Click to collapse
Exactly... But when you're without 3G, I guess you try to justify why it's not as good, and that's what he came up with. It's like everything though, people on here try to justify why the iPhone isn't as good as the Diamond/Touch Pro, truth be told it's better in many aspects but comes short in many as well.
3g data transfer?
ok i currently have the tmo wing.. and i can connect my lappy to the tmo data network via usb port.. will i be able to do this with the g1?yes/no maybe?
iife_aint_easy said:
ok i currently have the tmo wing.. and i can connect my lappy to the tmo data network via usb port.. will i be able to do this with the g1?yes/no maybe?
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Click to collapse
I choose D... all of the above
No... it will not work out of the box.
Yes/maybe... it should work someday soon unless HTC/T-Mobile have somehow disabled that ability in hardware.
As soon as I get the phone I will be working on it on the Linux side (not an actual internet sharing app... more of a route/iptables script) and I am sure someone will work on a java solution (although a kernel solution would be faster). There was an application for the iPhone that provided internet sharing but it was banned from apple store and Google has said they won't do that so I think it should be here soon.
problems with Wireless (3g and wifi)
does anybody else have problems with the 3g?
i have tmobile and i didnt select the option for only 2g but my 3g keeps going in and out even when im in the same spot it'll go from 3g to Edge for no reason.
also does anybody have problem conecting to wifi?
i have a linksys wireless n (WRT300N) router, the ssid is visible and uts using wep security but when ever i try to connect to it it says out of range or it just stops trying to connect Please Help
haitiankid4lyf said:
does anybody else have problems with the 3g?
i have tmobile and i didnt select the option for only 2g but my 3g keeps going in and out even when im in the same spot it'll go from 3g to Edge for no reason.
also does anybody have problem conecting to wifi?
i have a linksys wireless n (WRT300N) router, the ssid is visible and uts using wep security but when ever i try to connect to it it says out of range or it just stops trying to connect Please Help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an issue with my G1 WIFI connection. If i broadcast my SSID I connect with no problems. but if i disable the broadcast it will not connect, and this is with me manually putting in the connections into the phone.
I called TMobile but they said i needed to call HTC. they didn't have a solution.
BTW, I have no WEP enabled. I just disable the SSID broadcast.
I just connected to my Linksys router with WPA2 and had 3G running, connected no problem.
Haitiankid: try entering the details of your network manually and seeing if it will connect then. Also, as for the 3G fading in and out, are you in a week signal area for 3G?
wifi working
I got my wifi to work. It was my routers fault. What I did was in went into my routers settings by typing 192.168.1.1 and entered 'admin' (no quotes) and no password. Once in my settings I changed my brocasting type from b&g mixed to all mixed changed frequency to auto, changed network key from shared to open and wifi started working. I don't know if all those steps were neccesary but it worked for me. Hope it works for some else.
As for the 3g it seems to be getting better
for those of you with the 3g/edge switching problem...
Hey, if uve got the 3g switching to edge back and forth continuously, its likely because you didnt get a new SIM card when u got the g1. It simply means you have an old SIM card that doesnt support 3g well, call tmobile up tell them your situation, theyve given most people a free new SIM card thats more compatible.
drewernxc said:
Hey, if uve got the 3g switching to edge back and forth continuously, its likely because you didnt get a new SIM card when u got the g1. It simply means you have an old SIM card that doesnt support 3g well, call tmobile up tell them your situation, theyve given most people a free new SIM card thats more compatible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think that's the case. I've had the same SIM card since 2000, no problems like this. If any SIM is too old to support 3G, I'd think one made 8 years ago would definitely be the case.
It sounds like he's in a bad coverage area, which could be lots of things. There is a coverage map on the T-Mo website, don't know if it shows 3G. Or it could be the building he's in. My phones have never worked at my grandmother's house. I get full bars on the front porch, and full bars the second I get out the back door, but no signal in the house itself. Even relatives on other networks get little to no coverage inside the house. Probably the really really old insulation and building materials are blocking the signal. At my last apartment I only had a good signal on the corner of my bed, and that disappeared when new neighbors moved in upstairs.
These are radio waves, which aren't foolproof or perfect, they encounter all kinds of interference. Nothings going to be as secure and consistant as a wired connection. Nature of the beast, unfortunately.
haitiankid4lyf said:
I got my wifi to work. It was my routers fault. What I did was in went into my routers settings by typing 192.168.1.1 and entered 'admin' (no quotes) and no password. Once in my settings I changed my brocasting type from b&g mixed to all mixed changed frequency to auto, changed network key from shared to open and wifi started working. I don't know if all those steps were neccesary but it worked for me. Hope it works for some else.
As for the 3g it seems to be getting better
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Click to collapse
Careful dude, with the security set to open anyone within range (neighbors, wardrivers, etc.) can use your wifi to get on the internet. Try using WPA or WPA2 security, but leaving it all mixed and frequency at auto.

hsdpa and gprs

Hello,
Whe i am connected to internet, my touch mostly goes to GPRS, bus i want to connect bij hsdpa. how can i change that? It is switching automatic now...
Data connections...
Switching is automatic. Your device will connect to whatever is available in your location at that time.
I'm quite amazed at how irregular the HSDPA signal is where I live. I can walk down the street a hundred yards and get it. Walk to work half a mile away and it goes off again... until I get inside, then it's back on again! Modern technology - great isn't it?

Problem with the AGPS of my N1

When the phone has GPS turned off, my location on Google Maps is 5 to 10 km off based on cell tower positioning. I am pretty sure it has nothing to do with my service provider because when I put in the same SIM card in my Nokia phone, which also has an AGPS chip, it reports my location on Google Maps pretty accurately to within 100 meters with cell tower location on and GPS off. Is this a software issue of my Nexus One or a hardware issue?
I'm from Toronto, Canada btw.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but AGPS has nothing to with cell tower triangulation per se. AGPS uses the position it gets from cell tower triangulation together with a list of satelite positions to tell the GPS chip roughly where it is so it can get a fix quicker.
I do get my position within a 100 meters with the GPS off though.
As above, that's not aGPS, it's triangulation, and it's not overly accurate. The longer you leave it, the more precise it should get though.
I saw my position reported as 'accurate to 5,000m' on Saturday, didn't last too long though.
It sounds like there is a specific problem with the service used to approximate your position in your area. It's like the tower lookup is off for some reason.
You can test this out by using your Nokia, and manually changing it from Nokia's service to Google's service. You can do that. In the position settings on the Nokia, type in Google's server address and see if your Nokia now reads 5-10 km off as well. Then you will at least know if its the lookup service or not.
Thanks for the correction. what I meant to say is that my location is way off when I have gps turned off, compared to my Nokia.
RogerPodacter said:
It sounds like there is a specific problem with the service used to approximate your position in your area. It's like the tower lookup is off for some reason.
You can test this out by using your Nokia, and manually changing it from Nokia's service to Google's service. You can do that. In the position settings on the Nokia, type in Google's server address and see if your Nokia now reads 5-10 km off as well. Then you will at least know if its the lookup service or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks. do you know what the Google server address is? I want to test it out.
supl.google.com
if ur standing still and waiting on gps itll take a really long time
if u stand close to ur wifi router with wifi on itll find a pretty accurate spot for u
if u start moving with gps on itll find u faster because your jumping between sat signals and cell towers
NexusDro said:
do you know what the Google server address is? I want to test it out.
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Click to collapse
Wont make any difference to triangulation though.
He is only interested in the triangulation service, not the actual true gps function. Nokia has their own service for this based off of a global cell tower database, and Google also has their own similar service.
He's thinking that Google's database is malfunctioning in his particular area, which is why I suggested he try out Nokia's server address to compare.
Yup, that's what I want to find out. Thanks!

[Q][UPDATED] Big issues on ATT's network?

Now, you may know me for having immense troubles with my network connection speed, reaching .06Mbps (60Kbps) down and rendering my phone's wireless internet unusable, regardless of ROM, modem, or any real variables.
After a new SIM card from ATT and a few lucky Master Clears (where it worked after each session for roughly one hour before locking up again), I think I may have found the cause...Or so I thought. IP addresses weren't the culprit.
What is awkward, however, is that my EDGE service now works, and it's faster than my 3G service. On EDGE, my internet is 3 times faster than that of 3G, again still poor, but an improvement nonetheless. Thus, I've concluded that it's an issue with 3G and either my cell network or my phone's 3G cell chip.
How could I go about diagnosing this issue? I want my 3G service back... I have changed modems several times, and switching ROMs doesn't do anything. Anything I can flash, use Service Mode, etc, I'm game for. I don't want to keep throwing money at ATT if I can't use the service.
EDIT: Signature is showing my current internet speeds over HSUPA. HELP!
Aus_Azn said:
Now, you may know me for having immense troubles with my network connection speed, reaching .06Mbps (60Kbps) down and rendering my phone's wireless internet unusable, regardless of ROM, modem, or any real variables.
After a new SIM card from ATT and a few lucky Master Clears (where it worked after each session for roughly one hour before locking up again), I think I may have found the cause.
On ATT's network, one is authenticated with an IP address, as you may know. This is reflected in SpeedTest.net's plank for "External IP" in the results browser.
When I was getting real download speeds (my standard HSUPA rated 5.1Mbps down, 1.7Mbps up), my phone is connected to an IPv4 address beginning with "166.199.xxx.xxx". On UMTS (where I would get anywhere between 1.6-3.4Mbps down, 1.6Mbps up), the phone is also connected to "166.199.xxx.xxx". On 2G with decent speeds, I would get the same results yet again.
However, over the past week or so (since the 16th of January), I have gotten craptastic download speeds of .06Mbps and equally lousy upload speeds of .11Mbps. I just realised that in these cases (which happen after using the phone for roughly 45 minutes after a Master Clear and permanently stay that way), my phone is connected through a "32.16x.xxx.xxx" IP address.
What does this mean? How can I force it to stay on the "166" IP/network? ATT has been of no assistance, whatsoever, so I call for your help, XDA community!
EDIT: Sometimes, I think I'm being too technical in detail because nobody ever responds, but I just don't see this going in the Android Development board.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are assuming that all of those IP addresses are routable through whatever network you are connected to. Perhaps there are some "crappy" towers connected to a piece of the network that sucks and you happen to hop around onto them?
Either way, why not just set the adapter manually using ifconfig to test your theory?
http://www.manpagez.com/man/8/ifconfig/
( Yes, I am a crusty unix administrator that would prefer for you to RTFM )
z28james said:
You are assuming that all of those IP addresses are routable through whatever network you are connected to. Perhaps there are some "crappy" towers connected to a piece of the network that sucks and you happen to hop around onto them?
Either way, why not just set the adapter manually using ifconfig to test your theory?
http://www.manpagez.com/man/8/ifconfig/
( Yes, I am a crusty unix administrator that would prefer for you to RTFM )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hm, this didn't work, speeds didn't change and I found that it's band-dependent; 32.xxx.xxx.xxx is just the 850 band for my area, while 166.xxx.xxx.xxx is the 1900 one. However, using EDGE now works since meddling with it, so I can at least reduce this to a 3G specific issue. Any pointers?

Mobile Signals work upto what Altitude ?

I was just planning to Map my Route through MyTracks App from a Flight
But , the problem is , the GSM Network will not work after few thousand feet ...
I want to know How much Altitude, cuts off the GSM Signal , and what are the alternates to get the Network Data working while still flying..
I know we can Pre-cache the Maps but...I want to do this experiment...Has anybody tried ?
unless you are on a small private plane, your phone should not have any of the transmitting antennae turned on (phone, WiFi or Bluetooth) as you'd possibly cause interference issues with flight equipment. Also it would likely breach current safety regulations, hence you are asked to turn such devices off by the flight crew before take-off.
Certain aircraft/carriers allow GSM calls, but use an on-board GSM cell to handle this, not sure if there is additional roaming cost for using this feature.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phones_on_aircraft
@indiandroid
As far as I know, it is not the altitude that cuts the gsm. Other factors are the high speed, and the amount of towers in range. Even though, the phone could connect, it has to switch towers too often to get a steady connection.
If it works though, I wouldn't worry too much about interception, as there is still no case, were phones lead to any problems.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA App
I was playing with my phone during takeoff to see how far I could go before losing signal. I was looking at the GPS, GSM signal, and even barometer sensor.
GSM signal was lost at around 3000 feet.
At 200 mph during takeoff, Google maps had a hard time 'keeping up' with my location. At 400 mph, the GPS satellites had a hard time getting a lock.
At cruising altitude, the cabin pressure drops to around 700 millibars.
It's nothing to do with altitude, it's range from the nearest mast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpxb7txWZIc&feature=relmfu
I hope I'm never on a flight with any of you. You'd think you'd be able to manage a flight without your transmitters on...
Sent from my superior GT-N7000 using Tapatalk

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