Related
Has anyone else checked out Waze.com free open-source navigation and mapping software? Looks really cool.
Jamie
I started playing around with this software yesterday, I must say that its pretty brilliant. Hopefully it catches on with enough people and it gets popular.
i love this new app i was amaze to hear turn by turn and speed reading very good app just wish the police option was near me and not 900 miles away
Oh! There's more to this than just playing Pac Man with my car?
looks pretty cool, I'm gonna try it out!
It is THE killer app for all paid navigation software.
IF! the provider can stay alive long enough it will catch up globally.
Then within 5 years it will be the ONLY navigation app left.
The disadvantage is how to reach as much people possible and convince them to install. Then get in the car every day and turn it on and start driving.
I DL'd it and played with it this weekend. It does have huge upside, however, it will not be a threat to navigation software. They even say that Waze is about commuting and traveling around areas you normally travel. The software helps you inteligently see what might be affecting your commute and to route you to your location using real time traffic data.
A real world example, regular navigation software iGo, Garmin, etc, will help you find a grocery store. Where Waze will get you into the fastest checkout line, based on the speed of the customers checking out, while you were still shopping for milk. I know how to get to my work, I also know that there are several alternate routes, waze is supposed to be able to tell you which one would be faster on any given day based on real time info from other drivers.
I live in the Cleveland, OH area. We get Lake Effect snow storms. These snow storms can be very small, but very intesnse. It is not uncommon for a stretch of highway a mile long to be in near blizzard conditions, and it is sunny and clear all around. You have no idea that you are going to run into this storm until you are in it. Waze could detect the sudden drop in speed, and advise others that there is an issue, thus allowing us to pick a different route.
If you hadn't noticed I am excited by the potential. They have some bugs,the software is o.k., but it needs more developing. I was driving over the weekend and was notified of an accident 300+ miles away. However those issues are being worked on.
It has real promise
boufa said:
I DL'd it and played with it this weekend. It does have huge upside, however, it will not be a threat to navigation software. They even say that Waze is about commuting and traveling around areas you normally travel. The software helps you inteligently see what might be affecting your commute and to route you to your location using real time traffic data.
A real world example, regular navigation software iGo, Garmin, etc, will help you find a grocery store. Where Waze will get you into the fastest checkout line, based on the speed of the customers checking out, while you were still shopping for milk. I know how to get to my work, I also know that there are several alternate routes, waze is supposed to be able to tell you which one would be faster on any given day based on real time info from other drivers.
I live in the Cleveland, OH area. We get Lake Effect snow storms. These snow storms can be very small, but very intesnse. It is not uncommon for a stretch of highway a mile long to be in near blizzard conditions, and it is sunny and clear all around. You have no idea that you are going to run into this storm until you are in it. Waze could detect the sudden drop in speed, and advise others that there is an issue, thus allowing us to pick a different route.
If you hadn't noticed I am excited by the potential. They have some bugs,the software is o.k., but it needs more developing. I was driving over the weekend and was notified of an accident 300+ miles away. However those issues are being worked on.
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We are both excited at the potential of this concept, but I think it could easily replace TomTom or Igo, IF Waze becomes widely and consistently used. It sounds like you think Waze is less useful when navigating to somewhere you haven't been before, but as long as other people on that route are also contributing data, Waze will still be more useful than even paid traffic subscriptions, because it is real time data from the road, not from observers. We all will need to use it all the time for it to live up to its promise.
I agree that more people need to use it. I was excited on a trip over the weekend to pass by someone going the other way... their icon showed up on my phone. Lots of cars around, no way to tell which one it was exactly, but kinda cool none the less.
The reason I think it is more of a commuter app than a navigation app it 2 things, 1) that is what it says on their FAQ page, and 2) I drove from Mentor, OH to Canton, OH a trip of about 90 miles. I knew close enough to where I was going, that I did not need navigation software, so I turned on waze and let it data collect... (It is important to let it collect data whenever possible, especially until the user base gets bigger)... the onscreen map showed only the map for the last "tile" i was in, and only showed a blank white screen for the space in front of me. On the way home it showed all of the map for the areas I was in on the way down. Now, I did NOT have it giving me directions, so that may have been the issue.
It was wet and slick, and we did see and accident on the other side of the road, a car slid off a curve on an exit ramp. I was impressed that it only took 3 or 4 presses of the screen to report it!
Cool
Hi there fellow Buckeye! I'm originally from Hubbard, a speck on the map north of Y-town.
I still believe that if we can get a large and diverse enough of a user base, we won't need to pay TomTom or Igo for maps or traffic data anymore.
BTW, have you had any trouble getting your GPS signal lately? I haven't been able to get a signal at all since yesterday. Prior to that it was nearly instant. I'd normally blame my device, but I know 2 others here in ATL who were having the same issue.
Can't say that I use the GPS that often to notice. As for Waze, I agree, there are a couple of people who drive around in my area that use it, it pops up. The software needs some significant development yet... but I am an eager early adopter. The key would be to get the truckers to use it... they are everywhere.
It's working again
Not sure what happened. It was wierd becuase one of the things I love about this program is how fast I get a lock. It is almost instant. With Igo sometimes it takes minutes to get a fix.
Thats a great idea about the truckers, btw
I take a walk everyday after lunch at the office and use RunKeeper to keep track of my progress. When I was using the Aria, I open the app, click the start button and never had trouble. With the Captivate, I have to stand on the street corner for 1 - 15 minutes before I get a GPS fix. This is unacceptable! I tried to follow the direction of the other posting and it's not helping much.
I feel like I made a bad decision to return the Aria and got the Captivate.
after reading tons of forums and post about the gps on captivate, I found out itis the google navigation software not the actual GPS, I got rid of all my problems once I switched the software to Sygic GPS, which is not free however; pm me and will hook you up!
Buy a different phone. After a year with the Captivate, no matter the tweak, GPS for navigation purposes or tracking purposes is not reliable. I used to use it with My Tracks for tracking my runs as well and it was shotty at best.
It is not Google Navigation either as Google Navigation on my Galaxy Tab 10.1 is freaking flawless.
The GPS on the Captivate sucks. Period. /endThread
After I got a refurb mine has worked and locks on quickly, but my previous Captivate did the same thing. It would take forever or sometimes not work at all.
Sent from my Captivate
The gps is spotty.. You can try turning on the control plane (hardware) also i noticed increase by removing case.. (hardware) other than that we have crappy chip with insufficient antenna..
sent from an alternate reality
The Captivate GPS is broken. Period. It doesn't work. Never has, never will. Anyone telling you anything else has low standards, poor testing, or is a liar.
With stock settings GPS is clearly broken.
That said changing the to the google SUPL server and occasionally running the "GPSRestore" app by samsung if I can't get a fix are pretty much the only GPS fixes I've ever needed.
I think my phone is a 1007.
But based on the majority of posts here my experience is not the norm.
What's the build date on your phone? I got mine recently with a Feb 2011 build date and the thing locked in seconds out of the box. I've used Co-Pilot to take me from Vancouver to Las Vegas with no issues. What bugs me about this phone is the battery life..
same
happens to me as well.
My stock captivate was great I'd get a 9 sat lock in 12 seconds nearly all the time.
I got hooked on flashing and my gps was usually crap on other roms.
Now I'm running apex 9 with a talon kernal and I'm getting a 9 sat lock in 10 to 12 again. So go figure
same here i think i got a bad phone so i send it back and a new one and everything works fine now.
Anyone telling you that the Cappy's GPS is broken is running Stock or doesn't know what they are talking about. It's not bad hardware, it's bad drivers. Use any ROM other than stock and they use updated drivers from other devices. I get a solid lock with 6-10 sats in less than 15 seconds as long as I can see the sky. the only time my GPS loses accuracy (it's usually at less than 5 meters, i.e. no circle in Google Nav) is when I go under a thick grove of trees or under a bridge.
asrrin29 said:
Anyone telling you that the Cappy's GPS is broken is running Stock or doesn't know what they are talking about. It's not bad hardware, it's bad drivers. Use any ROM other than stock and they use updated drivers from other devices. I get a solid lock with 6-10 sats in less than 15 seconds as long as I can see the sky. the only time my GPS loses accuracy (it's usually at less than 5 meters, i.e. no circle in Google Nav) is when I go under a thick grove of trees or under a bridge.
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Congrats on your fortunate luck but to insinuate that your solution is a universal fix is naive.
newter55 said:
Congrats on your fortunate luck but to insinuate that your solution is a universal fix is naive.
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There was quite a lengthy breakdown of the entire process for fixing the GPS, but basically it comes down to two problems.
1. The drivers that were shipped out with the stick ROM were HORRIBLE and did not work. through using the SGSII and Nexus S ROMS, as well as some config file fixes, they were able to fix the drivers.
2. There is a hardware bug, but it only manifests itself when the screen is oriented in landscape mode. While in landscape, the CPU has to do extra calculations which slows the phone down and also boggles up the GPS, since the GPS is CPU assisted. As long as you keep the phone in portrait mode with a clear view of the sky, you will get flawless locks. Even if you don't do these two things, you should still get decent locks with the new drivers, just not instantaneous and super accurate.
Anyone who has installed any of the latest gingerbread mods has noticed the huge increase in the GPS vs. Stock. Only a few people complain that it's not as accurate or fast as their (dedicated) TomTom's and Garmins. But no one I have seen has claimed that the GPS fix has not worked. I urge you to give a GB ROM a try.
asrrin29 said:
There was quite a lengthy breakdown of the entire process for fixing the GPS, but basically it comes down to two problems.
1. The drivers that were shipped out with the stick ROM were HORRIBLE and did not work. through using the SGSII and Nexus S ROMS, as well as some config file fixes, they were able to fix the drivers.
2. There is a hardware bug, but it only manifests itself when the screen is oriented in landscape mode. While in landscape, the CPU has to do extra calculations which slows the phone down and also boggles up the GPS, since the GPS is CPU assisted. As long as you keep the phone in portrait mode with a clear view of the sky, you will get flawless locks. Even if you don't do these two things, you should still get decent locks with the new drivers, just not instantaneous and super accurate.
Anyone who has installed any of the latest gingerbread mods has noticed the huge increase in the GPS vs. Stock. Only a few people complain that it's not as accurate or fast as their (dedicated) TomTom's and Garmins. But no one I have seen has claimed that the GPS fix has not worked. I urge you to give a GB ROM a try.
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Wrong! You can argue your point all you want but you are incorrect. I ran GB ROMS, Froyo ROMs, all of the numerous GPS fixes throughout the forums and nothing worked. GPS on my Captivate doesn't work, it is broken, I know what I am doing, I have been flashing custom ROMS for a year on it, it is inaccurate, can't hold a lock and just sucks. After dumping the Captivate for an HTC Sensation I now know what a working GPS is, it works out of the box, no need for patches or fixes, it just works. I am happy with my new device, I get over a day on battery with 5 hours of screen time without turning the brightness all the way down, 4 hours of calls all on one charge. I don't regret my decision to get rid of a broken device, Samsung makes great tv's but I doubt I will buy another Samsung phones again.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using Tapatalk
The gps on the captivate is either hit or a miss. For some it works other it doesn't. Its all in experience and opinion. You can make an excuse and try to get a captivate replacement with a better gps.
Other than the gps and a pentile screen the cappy is a pretty great phone
Gps On Mine is worthless as wel..
I find gps to be better on KF1 KH3 Roms rather than jvr, cm7, etc
Might be better but the fact is the older Captivate's have faulty gps. Newer builds have better gps performance.
I agree it's a phone issue.. had my 07/2010 Captivate for 11mos, 2 weeks.. tried everything.. one day it would lock great the next 5 days nothing.. with 2 weeks left on my warranty I went to an ATT warranty center, luckily one close to my work, and they reflashed it with brand new software from Samsung as of last week and that did nothing, they gave me a refurb( looks brand new) and running Stock Froyo I got a 9 second lock 3 times in a row, you can even tell the GPS anntenae is different than my previous phone. GPS is awesome on this new phone, old one was defective..period. Running Fasty II Gingerbread did not affect the GPS on either phone.. if anyone is under warranty, work ATT warranty support and see if they can get you to send it back for an exchange.. my wife's worked great out of the box, mine did not but the replacement is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rhiannon224 said:
Wrong! You can argue your point all you want but you are incorrect. I ran GB ROMS, Froyo ROMs, all of the numerous GPS fixes throughout the forums and nothing worked. GPS on my Captivate doesn't work, it is broken, I know what I am doing, I have been flashing custom ROMS for a year on it, it is inaccurate, can't hold a lock and just sucks.
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I agree with you. I've been posting on the FastyII Q&A forum about this. I bought my Captivate last August and have been flashing ROMs ever since. The only ROM that came close to nailing a GPS lock was Serendipity. I'm using FastyII now which is awesome, but, as usual, can't get GPS. BTW, how long are these things warrantied?
im considering buying this phone,but i hear there's problems with the GPS. my current phone has a great GPS receiver and i use it a lot for day to day navigation.How much will i be disappointed if i were to expect the same from the galaxy s?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/search.php?searchid=42858169
Here in holland I have no problems with the GPS reception...
Personally, I found that straight out of the box the gps was dreadful, but an hour later after I did the simple gps fix, it navigated me on a hundred and fifty mile round trip with no problems at all.
The fix is simple and easy and takes literally no skill. When you take your sgs out of the box, see if the gps works for you, then try the fix. If there is still no joy then take it back and say the navigation is busted and you want a different handset.
I'd certainly say its worth trying at least. Chances are can get it working and everything else that you like about droid is better on the galaxy .
It's worth remembering that the gps is not battery friendly and you'll need a potent (2A output)car charger to keep you running on the move.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Basically, in summary:
1) In late firmware, the lock is quite quick, especially compared to car GPS units. Maybe not as fast as some other phones, but fast enough. Certainly faster than my Garmin Forerunner
2) The accuracy boundaries on this phone are wrong sometimes (at least in XXJM5), but this may be a bug in that specific pre-release.
3) With JM5, the unit seems to only lock onto 8 satellites max, but, some people are saying apparently newer firmware's are locking onto more
4) People are complaining of issues getting locks when moving with the unit. However, I've experienced this on ALL GPS units I've owned. AGPS should help with this though (but I've never tested initial lock whilst moving except in a firmware where GPS was 100% broken for me).
5) In some cases, the GPS goes skitzo, this might be fixed in later firmwares
6) Finally, sometimes the track is a bit off to the side, and doesn't handle cornering well.. This is likely related to (2). But this makes it useless for fitness at the moment
Anyway, the GPS is usable, but there are serious accuracy problems with it still. Samsung has said that they are working on optimising GPS for a September update. My best advice is wait until then, because if it isn't fixed in September, the possibility that it is due to poor hardware design seems to grow significantly..
thank you for your valuable input,this forum really is the best on the internet.I'm gunna be buying it next month anyway,so lets see if the update fixes the GPS or not.To be honest,theres no other phone that can match it,so theres no alternative to this phone even if the GPS IS dodgy
The GPS sucks so hard that I'd rather use a regular map for navigation.
My Galaxy S has no gps problems. The first time i went out from house to check GPS accuracy I got GPS signal after 3 seconds. It's stable in 100% cases.
Acquiring signal is not the issue. I don't understand why people keep comparing signal to accuracy. it's not the same thing.
Exactly, there are people in other topics that are just inflating the whole issue, their claims are way exaggerated, and the original issues has already been fixed on newer firmwares, yet they refuse to accept it.
AllGamer said:
Exactly, there are people in other topics that are just inflating the whole issue, their claims are way exaggerated, and the original issues has already been fixed on newer firmwares, yet they refuse to accept it.
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Go for a 20min jog then and show a track of your perfect GPS. I have a lower standard than many of them, but all tracks I saw lost lock excessively at some point or another..
I haven't tried it myself, but can on tuesday.
damn,so many different opinions on this issue.also not being able to track my runs is a BIG minus but still not a deal breaker.day-to-day city navigation is a must though.
It's just as simple as that - you don't check gps functionality just by its fix time. you put it in your car, and start driving - if it's accurate (highly unlikely), gewd. if not - go back here and whine.
kingofkings2603 said:
damn,so many different opinions on this issue.also not being able to track my runs is a BIG minus but still not a deal breaker.day-to-day city navigation is a must though.
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The big problem is that many of them seem to be testing quickly from their chair.. There is overwhelming evidence that the GPS doesn't work accurately, but barely any showing it does.. In fact, in one case, I saw someone claim the unit was working perfectly, but the track they showed was on a straight highway, and was fluctuating excessively between both sides of the highway. And the most vocal of those who claims it works perfectly don't seem to be posting logs..
There is also some confusion between whether it is "fitness grade" or "car grade". Car navigation GPS can snap to tracks, and has more room for accuracy errors, because it can assume you always exist on the closest road, and if you use directions, it can assume you took the correct turns when it told you to do so (and correct itself a bit later). That's what most car units seem to do, and it helps compensate for most inaccuracies. It can lead to a bit of pain though if you make lots of turns, some of which aren't correct. Some people are possibly happy because they have used dedicated car units before which suck (some navman's take at least 5 mins to get a basic lock, negating any benefits of having them), but, since some phones offer better directions apparently, people are complaining it should be better.
Fitness grade requires MUCH higher resolution to be usable, because the distance is shorter (generally), and if your GPS veers off course, it gives you a false indication of jogging distance. Garmin forerunners feel generally like they are within 1 or 2 meters a of the time (but occasionally veers off 3), but from what I've observed standing still, the flaws may be less visible when moving, but simply appear as slightly off course.
Then there are those people who stare at the SNR/locked satelites for hours at end without checking whether the long/lat is actually correct, or the accuracy boundary (they see 5m accuracy, but don't actually check if it is accurate within 5 meters). I was one of these, until I realised that the accuracy boundary was wrong..
Part of the issue also comes down to firmware though. People are using pre-release/leaked firmware (which might not even be complete) and are judging the GPS quality based on that. No comment needed except, don't assume that Samsung aren't working on fixes because there is no fix in pre-release firmware.
I haven't properly tested either though personally because I use a forerunner for jogging (waterproof), and since I fly, I prefer to use maps to understand locations better. I did notice though that leaving my phone on my desk for a long period of time sometimes allowed the signal accuracy boundary to not include me (ie, allow a position of 20m away from me, but show 5m accuracy) intermittently. And this might explain the fluctuations in position many others have gotten..
Either way, it is debatable. The biggest issue is that the assumption so far is that everyone got exactly the same hardware, and exactly the same revisions. But the other problem, is that GPS quality is open to opinion, because in some areas, roads are so far spread out that even inaccurate GPS works fine for driving. It really depends on your needs. But the facts are, the accuracy of the GPS isn't worth debating anyway currently, because Samsung have already told us they are "optimising" the GPS in Sept, which may make this unit as good as a garmin forerunner anyway. All any of us can tell you as that we'll know the TRUE potential of the unit after the september patch.
But for me anyway, I think the GPS is fine (I don't need perfect accuracy, even if I needed this as a fallback in a plane)
The GPS is bad to the point of being unusable for car navigation or fitness tracking. Yes you may get a lock in GGps test but when moving the reported location is all ov
er the place.
andrewluecke said:
Then there are those people who stare at the SNR/locked satelites for hours at end without checking whether the long/lat is actually correct, or the accuracy boundary (they see 5m accuracy, but don't actually check if it is accurate within 5 meters). I was one of these, until I realised that the accuracy boundary was wrong..
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Case in point to illustrate what andrewluecke is trying to explain here about the accuracy not being exactly...well, accurate. Take a look at the attached screenshot. My GPS had a great fix with accuracy of 5m (the best it's able to report), stable for a few minutes, everything was working perfectly. Or so it seems. Except for the slight problem that I was actually standing where the red dot is... There's no scale on the screenshot, but it's a good 30-40 meters off. And that's quite common for me.
Case_ said:
Case in point to illustrate what andrewluecke is trying to explain here about the accuracy not being exactly...well, accurate. Take a look at the attached screenshot. My GPS had a great fix with accuracy of 5m (the best it's able to report), stable for a few minutes, everything was working perfectly. Or so it seems. Except for the slight problem that I was actually standing where the red dot is... There's no scale on the screenshot, but it's a good 30-40 meters off. And that's quite common for me.
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Exactly Case_. The point of the accuracy measurement is to say "you are somewhere within this range". But, with the Galaxy S, it isn't, and that shouldn't happen, at least not as often as it does (except maybe at the beginning whilst obtaining a lock"). Professional systems have something known as RAIM and FDE which detect when the accuracy may be incorrect due to external factors (such as shonky satelite, or serious atmospheric interference). But this happens a LOT, and I would have thought it affects GPS units equally (unless the Garmin forerunners in fact DO ship with fault detection, which could explain it, in which case, Samsung should implement fault detection and exclusion too, to make it usable).
Anyway.. What I am trying to say is summed up easiest with Case's post.
Fatherboard said:
Acquiring signal is not the issue. I don't understand why people keep comparing signal to accuracy. it's not the same thing.
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It most certainly is an issue. It takes a minute or longer to acquire a lock in some cases despite stationary and clear line of sight.
The people who stomp their feet with "The GPS is fine" are no different than the iPhone4 users who claim there is no attenuation in their phones.
In my case with the DDJG4 update, I see some minor issues.
Once in a while when I am at home (indoors with no visible satelites) my location shifts from bangalore to toronto. All my stuff changes to that. It looks like AGPS is not turned on or buggy becuase 80% of the times it works well. Does anybody else face the same problem ?
So when my phone takes me to toronto, i restart the phone and everythng is back to normal
SOmetimes, the location service fails to find where I am and shows Toronto in Google website. Is there anyway to avoid this.
It's just like what most people say, you can get a fix, and GPS seems fine. Try to use it, and it's a whole different story.
Somebody on the forum posted a link of a run, where the SGS GPS went everywere but on the straight line, it even made a hilarious loop. Too bad i can't find it.
People need to stop saying "Firmware updates fixed it already" as that's just not true.
Hah, there it is, posted by sjdean.
Desire, and SGS GPS.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...52.48542,-1.742063&spn=0.014138,0.045319&z=15
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...=52.48082,-1.761761&spn=0.01414,0.045319&z=15
Hello There,
Apologies for what is another thread on GPS issues, but I need to vent!
I picked up a UK Galaxy S from ebay the other week and think all in all its a great phone (coming from a 3gs and HD7).
HOWEVER, the GPS is as good as worthless.
I have tried numerous guides I have found in line (altering settings in hidden menus and the like) and nothing seems to improve the accuracy of the device.
When using Google Navigation I often find that I have the blue sphere around the cursor, which will grow rather large at almost every junction or turn I come to. Tracking also seems to lag and jitter down roads. Going in a straight line is not so much of an issue, but when my speed or direction changes, the cursor will lag, at which point my location will usually be plotted way off.
Im on firmware 2.2, baseband 19000XXJPP and build number FROYO.XXJPO.
Is there anything I can do or should I just accept that the GPS is broken and forget about it? What puzzles me is that some people seem to have no issues what so ever. Whats the latest thinking on this issue?
Such a shame for a premium device.
Thanks
I've always just set mine to cold start and it's worked perfectly for me. It even better in JPX as it seems to get a lock much quicker when driving at speed.
There is a lot of interesting information in this thread regarding the GPS.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=860148
According to what's been said on this page, there may be a possibility of rewriting the GPS daemon:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=860148&page=10
You may also want to check out this thread in the Vibrant forum
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=878970
probably the cause for people that can't get a lock to any or very little satellite. Obviously ignore all the parts about the firmware, etc. since they do not apply to our phone but the hardware should be similar.
i could only get a lock when i am cycling or jogging or even in my house. But never in a car why is that. Sometimes in the car i could see up to 8 satellites but cant get a lock
Running JPX with JK4 modem on my I9000M and it seems pretty decent. Got 5m or 10m lock consiatently within 15sec while driving in a city environment. I have been on firmwares in the past where it was totally broken. So right sw is important.
However my Aria can get 2m no problen even faster so still room for improvement. But I think Samsung is makingvit gradually better.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
chambo622 said:
Running JPX with JK4 modem on my I9000M and it seems pretty decent. Got 5m or 10m lock consiatently within 15sec while driving in a city environment. I have been on firmwares in the past where it was totally broken. So right sw is important.
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This has been my experience on JPX as well. Locking is very fast outdoors (including in the car), best accuracy I have managed is 5m. I can live with that I guess, since I don't really use the GPS all that much.
In the off chance that Samsung reads XDA, it is still not good enough. They have shown some improvement and they should, hopefully can, and hopefully will show more. Until Samsung stops SGS dev I have hope. From what I can see they are working harder than ever.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Just tilt the phone to landscape and make sure your phone is mounted as far under the windshield as possible. The sgs has a small antenna so where you mount it makes a big difference. Also for car navigation try using something like Sygic Mobile Maps instead of google nav and see if that works better.
I haven't had issues with the gps for months now.
Thanks for all the input and information guys. Some very good stuff here.
From reading some of the threads posted I can definitely see how my problems echo those of others.
Interestingly, for me, the issue seems far worse when in built up areas with lots of buildings. Someone in another thread noticed the same issue and suggested that perhaps the software could not deal with the GPS signal reflections.
Literally I will be driving down the country road near to my house with almost acceptable levels of accuracy and as soon as I turn into my village the signal will vanish almost completely.
I guess the biggest mystery to me is why some people have no issues at all, whilst others do. Having just got the phone I am not familiar with firmware revisions and the like. What is the JPX build and how does it differ from mine? What version is mine exactly (JPO)?
I had terrible GPS issues and was waiting for the update, but my co-worker also had a SGS and got the 2.2 update, it only made a slight difference to the accuracy.
I would recommend you get it fixed by Samsung, I'm convinced they have changed something in the hardware to make the GPS work. It just doens; make sense that some people have the issues and some people don't who are running exactly the same firmware.
Although if you got if from Ebay, it'll probably be out of warranty. It might not though, in which case I would class this kind of problem as a manufacturing defect, they might fix it for free.
Logicalstep
menu > settings > about phone. Under baseband and build number you will see what firmware you are on.
Just plug the phone into kies and see if you have an update, if all else fails take the phone back for a replacement or have the gps antenna replaced by samsung.
Already posted FW version (2.2 JPO).
I havent read any stories of samsung replacing GPS antennas as I understand this is a pretty common problem.
Don't think its still working in the UK...trying all the possible solutions. I am currently running JPK
LeeBear said:
You may also want to check out this thread in the Vibrant forum
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=878970
probably the cause for people that can't get a lock to any or very little satellite. Obviously ignore all the parts about the firmware, etc. since they do not apply to our phone but the hardware should be similar.
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This is interesting. FYI, the thread says that Vibrants made prior to October 2010 had a poor contact with the GPS antenna. There is a recommended physical fix.
I did a quick search and haven't seen any similar news for the international galaxy S. Is the Vibrant made by Samsung directly or through a subsidiary or OEM? There is no manufacture date on my phone or box though.
excuse me, i don't understand if there are a hardware change for galaxy s...
Can they confirm this?
Still can't believe I'm saying this but my gps went from zero to hero with jk4 froyo.
Initial lock can be slow, but is very accurate. One thing that I noticed last week that was odd, I typically use My Tracks, Nav, GPS Essentials and Gas Buddy, they all work great. Well last week I tried maps right after starting the gps radio, Maps could not get a lock. After starting one of the other apps and watching it get a lock, I went back into Maps and Maps could then find me no problem. It seems very weird to me that My Tracks can get a lock without a kickstart but Maps cannot when you would think the underlying software should be pretty near the same.
I have thoroughly tested my gps on journeys from fifty to one hundred miles and the tracks are fantastic, I've monitored my sats with gps essentials and I'm typically seeing 9-11 sats all locked on with one sat dropping intermittently.
I wish I could help the others but I can't cause I've done nothing to this phone, all stock, never modded, only updated using official methods and firmware.
Neil
My GPS was perfect initially, then poor on JPK, now perfect again on JPU. Seems more like a firmware/software issue, rather than hardware...
neil85ae86 said:
Still can't believe I'm saying this but my gps went from zero to hero with jk4 froyo.
Initial lock can be slow, but is very accurate. One thing that I noticed last week that was odd, I typically use My Tracks, Nav, GPS Essentials and Gas Buddy, they all work great. Well last week I tried maps right after starting the gps radio, Maps could not get a lock. After starting one of the other apps and watching it get a lock, I went back into Maps and Maps could then find me no problem. It seems very weird to me that My Tracks can get a lock without a kickstart but Maps cannot when you would think the underlying software should be pretty near the same.
I have thoroughly tested my gps on journeys from fifty to one hundred miles and the tracks are fantastic, I've monitored my sats with gps essentials and I'm typically seeing 9-11 sats all locked on with one sat dropping intermittently.
I wish I could help the others but I can't cause I've done nothing to this phone, all stock, never modded, only updated using official methods and firmware.
Neil
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Interesting. Do you happen to know where I stand in the firmware order with JPO?
There is a sea of information regarding firmwares and such like and it can be difficult to figure exactly where one particular firmware stands in relation to the others.
Is yours newer?
your is newer
I would think, however I'm betting their are many little variations with hardware so not necessarily is the latest the best for all devices.
I'm quite confident that general performance is affecting the gps too and a lagfix might help. This is based on observations I made with my old 2.1 when the phone was busy and hot the gps would wander all over the place.
I hope you can get it resolved.
Neil
I have had continuous issues with the Droid 3. One of my biggest issues is that the GPS seems completely unstable. I have tried turning on/off GPS options, etc...
Weather I try to use Google Maps or another application such as Endomondo, it cant maintain a lock. It seems to be able to locate me within 12 - 30 feet and then within a mile!!!
Using an application like Endomondo (running, cycling, etc), is completely useless. It can't track my location at all and when it does lock on, it only holds for a few seconds and then gone again.
I took the phone in to Verizon with a complaint about the GPs and screen issues (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1239980) and the rep said both were normal for this phone...
Has anyone figured out a way to resolve this problem?
I, too, have the same issue with GPS. I use SportyPal Pro, and cannot use my Droid 3 when running/walking. I can go for a 5 mile run, and SportyPal will show I had ran 6 miles. I can run north to south in a straight line, and when finished, SportyPal will show that I went east and west as much as 400-500 feet off of that straight line and because of that can add anywhere from .1 miles to .5 miles to that 1 mile run.
It is so unreliable that I will use my older decommisioned Droid2 to run with. It works perfectly with the same software.
If anybody has any suggestions, I'm all ears.
bishop0114 said:
I have had continuous issues with the Droid 3. One of my biggest issues is that the GPS seems completely unstable. I have tried turning on/off GPS options, etc...
Weather I try to use Google Maps or another application such as Endomondo, it cant maintain a lock. It seems to be able to locate me within 12 - 30 feet and then within a mile!!!
Using an application like Endomondo (running, cycling, etc), is completely useless. It can't track my location at all and when it does lock on, it only holds for a few seconds and then gone again.
I took the phone in to Verizon with a complaint about the GPs and screen issues (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1239980) and the rep said both were normal for this phone...
Has anyone figured out a way to resolve this problem?
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Sadly, I have the same issues.
Well with only 3 people chiming in, maybe it is bad hardware?
bishop0114 said:
Well with only 3 people chiming in, maybe it is bad hardware?
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God, I hope not. I have enough problems with this phone as it is.
No problems with GPS for me
Sent from my DROID3 using xda premium
kshen1 said:
No problems with GPS for me
Sent from my DROID3 using xda premium
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Are you using it for navigation only? Or a similar application for running/walking?
The reason I ask is because I do not notice a problem during navigation. It works great for that without any problems. Until I get to downtown Chicago. I almost expect problems there. Even with my Droid2.
i've only had issues with my gps in areas with lte. when im at college im in a city with lte support and my gps doesn't work (my friend who has an X also has issues with his gps when in areas with lte). when im home where there isnt lte support my gps works fine.
No it's not hardware mine works flawlessly and almost instantly fixes position, tho i have modded the gps.conf found in the etc folder. Details for tweaking this for your region can be found here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=13537801&postcount=1
Many thanx to 75markus for this.
Since we don't have a recovery yet to flash a zip you will need to edit the gps.conf file manually.
Oceanic region can be found in my sig below apart of my camera mod.
-smc
The problem I was having with the GPS from Day 1 is that I would occasionally notice that it would not start up at all when openning a GPS-dependant app (such as Maps or Weatherbug, etc). Whenever that happened, I would have to restart the phone, and then the GPS would be able to initialize again... at least, for a while.
Eventually, I was digging around in the setting and found the "VZW location services" option under "Location & security settings". I unchecked that option and, ever since, I've had no problem with the GPS. It seems that th VZW-based location services were causing the problem. Of course, since then, I've rooted and frozen all of the VZW bloat, so I might be able to turn that option back on with no ill effect. Still, it was as simple enough fix.
My issue might not sound exactly the same as yours, but you could give this a try and see if it helps.
-SR-
I'm not having any GPS issues on my phone. Perhaps it's based on the area your in?
I know it's satellite but.. just a guess.
WarER4X said:
The problem I was having with the GPS from Day 1 is that I would occasionally notice that it would not start up at all when openning a GPS-dependant app (such as Maps or Weatherbug, etc). Whenever that happened, I would have to restart the phone, and then the GPS would be able to initialize again... at least, for a while.
Eventually, I was digging around in the setting and found the "VZW location services" option under "Location & security settings". I unchecked that option and, ever since, I've had no problem with the GPS. It seems that th VZW-based location services were causing the problem. Of course, since then, I've rooted and frozen all of the VZW bloat, so I might be able to turn that option back on with no ill effect. Still, it was as simple enough fix.
My issue might not sound exactly the same as yours, but you could give this a try and see if it helps.
-SR-
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I have been experiencing the exact same problem and temporary solution (restarting) since day 1, on both my first and second droid 3's. Difference is, I've had VZW location services unchecked since around the time I first got the phones, and I am still experiencing the problem... even as recently as last night. I just double-checked the setting, and indeed, VZW location services is stil unchecked.
Once I have lock I usually have no problem continuously using GPS. Last night, I tracked a two and a half hour walk using the My Tracks app, including a 45 minute stop for dinner indoors. For the first 10 minutes, it couldnt find a signal, so I restarted. It got a lock almost instantly following the restart and never lost it after that. I had the app running for the whole excursion. As expected, it got a little confused while I was inside, but automatically picked the signal right back up when I got back outside and tracked my entire walk back home.
a_lazy_dude said:
I have been experiencing the exact same problem and temporary solution (restarting) since day 1, on both my first and second droid 3's. Difference is, I've had VZW location services unchecked since around the time I first got the phones, and I am still experiencing the problem... even as recently as last night. I just double-checked the setting, and indeed, VZW location services is stil unchecked.
Once I have lock I usually have no problem continuously using GPS. Last night, I tracked a two and a half hour walk using the My Tracks app, including a 45 minute stop for dinner indoors. For the first 10 minutes, it couldnt find a signal, so I restarted. It got a lock almost instantly following the restart and never lost it after that. I had the app running for the whole excursion. As expected, it got a little confused while I was inside, but automatically picked the signal right back up when I got back outside and tracked my entire walk back home.
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When you look at your walk on the map, is it true to where you actually walked? If I do that same walk on my phone, it will show me deviating off course as much as a 1/2 block and then back. I can tolerate that deviation once and maybe twice during my runs/walks. However, mine does it the majority of the time, adding bogus mileage to my walks/runs. In an hour's time, it will deviate approximately 20-30 times.
eallison978 said:
When you look at your walk on the map, is it true to where you actually walked? If I do that same walk on my phone, it will show me deviating off course as much as a 1/2 block and then back. I can tolerate that deviation once and maybe twice during my runs/walks. However, mine does it the majority of the time, adding bogus mileage to my walks/runs. In an hour's time, it will deviate approximately 20-30 times.
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Just took a closer look at the track it recorded. I definitely do see these kinds of deviations, but they seem to only be in areas where I think it'd be reasonable to expect them. I live in a suburb, so I don't have any tall building to mess with the GPS reception, instead, I have somewhat steep hillsides. It seems I get a fair amount of deviation in the (significantly) hilly areas (it looks like I was walking down people's driveways, then across their front yards, when in reality I was just walking more or less straight down the sidewalk), but in the flat areas the line has almost no significant deviations, just some minor noise. Next time, at the risk of my fiance calling me a geek, I'll take my Droid 1 along for the trip, and see how the two records compare.
a_lazy_dude said:
Just took a closer look at the track it recorded. I definitely do see these kinds of deviations, but they seem to only be in areas where I think it'd be reasonable to expect them. I live in a suburb, so I don't have any tall building to mess with the GPS reception, instead, I have somewhat steep hillsides. It seems I get a fair amount of deviation in the (significantly) hilly areas (it looks like I was walking down people's driveways, then across their front yards, when in reality I was just walking more or less straight down the sidewalk), but in the flat areas the line has almost no significant deviations, just some minor noise. Next time, at the risk of my fiance calling me a geek, I'll take my Droid 1 along for the trip, and see how the two records compare.
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I've attached screenshots from two runs. D2 is this morning's run with my Droid 2. It's flawless. D3 is the last run I did with my Droid 3. Looking at it you can understand my disgust with it. Ignore the big missing section from both shots. I wouldn't want anyone knowing the exact location of where I live. Someone might come steal my Droid 3.
eallison978 said:
I've attached screenshots from two runs. D2 is this morning's run with my Droid 2. It's flawless. D3 is the last run I did with my Droid 3. Looking at it you can understand my disgust with it. Ignore the big missing section from both shots. I wouldn't want anyone knowing the exact location of where I live. Someone might come steal my Droid 3.
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WOW... That is awful but a great example of the concern with this phone. You are actually doing much better than me. Mine is only able to triangulate down to about 20 feet and then it bounces between 20 and 300 feet!!!
I am going to call VZW today and see about a replacement phone but I doubt it will resolve the problem.
I just called VZW and once again, they said the accuracy was normal... They said none of their phones can lock on with the accuracy I described and if it has, I have been lucky. He said their phones are only accurate within 500 feet!
I explained to him that with that accuracy, it would be totally useless to use as a navigation device...
He looked through their documentation and said he has no record of other people having issues with the GPS... He also said he has no record of the blue tint when taking pictures.....
Oh well. I hope the replacement fixes it...
bishop0114 said:
WOW... That is awful but a great example of the concern with this phone. You are actually doing much better than me. Mine is only able to triangulate down to about 20 feet and then it bounces between 20 and 300 feet!!!
I am going to call VZW today and see about a replacement phone but I doubt it will resolve the problem.
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With that kind of change in accuracy, it seems like it isn't using the GPS as all, but just the cell towers. Is the GPS logo showing in the notification bar when that is happening? If it's there, is it blinking or solid?
-SR-
bishop0114 said:
I just called VZW and once again, they said the accuracy was normal... They said none of their phones can lock on with the accuracy I described and if it has, I have been lucky. He said their phones are only accurate within 500 feet!
I explained to him that with that accuracy, it would be totally useless to use as a navigation device...
He looked through their documentation and said he has no record of other people having issues with the GPS... He also said he has no record of the blue tint when taking pictures.....
Oh well. I hope the replacement fixes it...
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My humble opinion of VZW representatives...they're all full of BS. They're going to tell you what they need to tell you to get your out of the store or off of the phone if you're not buying anything. A representative's main concern is sales. Sell him another phone, renew his contract, add a line, add a feature.
This issue may be better addressed to Motorola directly. I may make that phone call today.
I just got off the phone with Motorola tech support. Same story as VZW gives. There are NO known issues with the Droid 3. I asked about the GPS, the bluish pics the cam takes and battery life. The only thing the tech would say is the phone "needs to be evaluated"