As a heavy GPS user for driving navigation and sports tracking, using EndomondoPro, I can't afford to have a broken GPS. When my Exhibit II was unrooted and stock, I had occasional GPS troubles in which the GPS would not lock into a signal and whatever app I was using showed that it was still searching for GPS. This continued when I rooted the phone but kept the ROM otherwise stock. Same when I tried CM10, same with the first Slimbean 4.whatever and then with the latest Slimbean 4.2.2. Most of the time it would work, but sometimes not. I added the app PimpMyROM and tried the tweak that is supposed to improve the GPS, by indicating that I'm in North America and the United States. The app then supposedly downloads a GPS config file.
Upon loading the Nexus ROM, I was sorry to find out that GPS doesn't work at all. So I restored a nandroid of the latest Slimbean ROM. I rebooted, and found out that GPS was not working. The app GPSTest showed a handful of satellites in view and working, but no speed readout (I was walking). EndomondoPro app, which uses GPS to track sports mileage/speed showed the ?Locating message in the lower left of the screen, and would never lock onto the satellites. The GPS icon in the status bar -- the white bullseye -- kept blinking, indicating no lock on the satellites. I rebooted the phone, turned GPS on and off, rebooted again, and it still didn't work.
Then, I tried the tweak for GPS on PimpMyROM, and BOOM! The GPS worked.
Is this coincidence, or proof that there is some benefit to using that PimpMyROM tweak? Can any devloper explain what that tweak does, and why it is necessary and not already built into each of these custom ROMs?
And finally, since GPS is very important to me, does anybody know of a custom ROM that is optimized specifically to give all power and glory to the GPS function of the phone? If so, that might be the custom ROM for me.
I have also wondered about the pimp my rom tweaks. Like how does it give you better camera quality?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
It installs bravia engine or something like that which has been debunked before. A lot of tweaks are placebo effects. Its kind of like having a quad core phone. Everyone says its faster but for everyday use not so much. All 4 cores will only kick on when the phone is under a heavy load like running a benchmark. This is why I'll prob get another s3 instead of getting an s4 don't see the point in a quad core phone
Sent from my SGH-T679 using xda premium
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So there are people on here that get good (not fantastic) performance from there GPS with stock, while others like myself have terrible gps performance with stock. I can't lock on, only 2 satellites in view ext. ect, ect. I even tried all the lbstest changes people recommended and i had no change, while others say its fixed.
When I flashed JH7 from odin one click download I got really good results, locking on after a minute or less down to 10 M and with 9 statalites in view.
but I've read others didn't have the same result as me and nandroided back.
Are we sure we all have the same GPS hardware? why do all of our results vary so much with the same rom on the same hardware.
mattbeau said:
So there are people on here that get good (not fantastic) performance from there GPS with stock, while others like myself have terrible gps performance with stock. I can't lock on, only 2 satellites in view ext. ect, ect. I even tried all the lbstest changes people recommended and i had no change, while others say its fixed.
When I flashed JH7 from odin one click download I got really good results, locking on after a minute or less down to 10 M and with 9 statalites in view.
but I've read others didn't have the same result as me and nandroided back.
Are we sure we all have the same GPS hardware? why do all of our results vary so much with the same rom on the same hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It could be that some people master clear, when others haven't. I use SRE and my performance is amazing with the GPS. DG does some tweaks still i believe, and my gps tracks amazingly.
Other than that, I have NO clue why. Maybe people have more trees in the area and get less lock? Only thing I can think of.
thanks for the reply, it turns out that after doing a master reset and reflashing jf6 my gps is running better. I dont know what changed but it is performing the same as jh7 was. I guess back to the drawing board
my gpa worked better stock, and with the overclock kernel and utb. I then used jf7 and sre and I'm thinking about going without sre, or maybe move ap only version.
I didn't try jf7 without sre though so I can't know what it will do. I actually have a feeling that my recent poor performance is nothing but a coincidence though. I'll give it a few days and a road test.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Mine works fine with JF6, utb, and lagfix ext4.
Wife's also works fine with JF6 and utb.
We used google navigation on hers yesterday and it worked just fine.
Part of the problem is not everyone is testing GPS the same way. The best test is using the NAV application - and not just on a simple route in the neighborhood. Combination highway and local driving - see if the NAV thinks you are on the street or keeps trying to reroute you. Does it tell you about turns or think you missed them?
Also Track your travels and view it on Google maps - really zoom in and see if you wander through buildings.
I think some of it may have to do with system blocking - more things running in the background may have to dow ith how often the GPS updates.
So here's the deal, and sorry for posting again on GPS matters... Thing is, my GPS was really good on Juwe's 5.0 JVP with Semaphore.
(Before this I did the usual stuff - GPS bend-the-contact hardware fix, GPS aids, calibrate the compass, even Nexus S binaries - I got really good navigation with JVP)
But now, after JVQ and JVR, it's completely shot to hell. I went through many ROMs with different kernels, but it just doesn't maintain a lock, and when it does (for like 4 seconds...) it's usually with 30 m accuracy ( -> useless).
What's weird is that I usually get 5+ birds, with SNR over 28, usually around 35!!
I'm on Jetpack 3.1 with Semaphore 1.5.0, OCed to 1200 MHz, and UVed ( - really stable and fast, no FC, no reboots).
Can anyone offer some insight? Should I just go back to JVP?
Thanks
Sorry to hear this bud - I'm having the same problems and did same stuff - i.e. hardware "fix" and tried many roms. So many in fact that I have no clue as to what "helped" and what was just pot luck.
GPS on this phone is undoubtedly broken and widely documented as such. I even bought an SGS II and sent that back because of similar problems. Samsung don't give a rat's ass about this issue and it will get "fixed" in their future phones by mere coincidence (they get a decent chipset and/or decent programmer to write quality drivers) rather than any effort on their part. HTC manage outstanding GPS on all their phones in comparison to Samsung. Shame HTC don't do Super AMOLED.
Plantaman said:
So here's the deal, and sorry for posting again on GPS matters... Thing is, my GPS was really good on Juwe's 5.0 JVP with Semaphore.
(Before this I did the usual stuff - GPS bend-the-contact hardware fix, GPS aids, calibrate the compass, even Nexus S binaries - I got really good navigation with JVP)
But now, after JVQ and JVR, it's completely shot to hell. I went through many ROMs with different kernels, but it just doesn't maintain a lock, and when it does (for like 4 seconds...) it's usually with 30 m accuracy ( -> useless).
What's weird is that I usually get 5+ birds, with SNR over 28, usually around 35!!
I'm on Jetpack 3.1 with Semaphore 1.5.0, OCed to 1200 MHz, and UVed ( - really stable and fast, no FC, no reboots).
Can anyone offer some insight? Should I just go back to JVP?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I was on samsung roms I found that the GPS in JVP/Q/R was a lot worse than froyo. It only started maintaining the lock during drives when i used hardcore's T22 kernel with KC1 modem (for the 850 band in Canada).
Maybe try a different modem. I've heard that JV1 modem is better for GPS than JVQ, JVR modem. Just flash via ODIN.
Try GPS Status on the Market. There you can download GPS Assistance data...
Calibrate your compass with it and, the thing i've done:
Goto into /root/etc and edit your GPS.conf file to your actual position in this world.
Mine is europe.pool.ntp.org
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App
- the modem has slight impact of gps performance - have not noticed diff betwen jve(jv1) and jvr
- the gps.conf tweaks does not affect gps much
- the firmware itself contains some files that boos significantly gps performance (snr, ttff, birds count) those are few files here and there on system that all together makes gps working ok. that is the case in jvp jvq and jvr - still gps likes to travel own way sometimes (google navigation tested and other apps like my tracks)
DO NOT USE ANY OF THOSE WONDER/PAID APPS FROM MARKET - MORE OR LESS A SCAM TO MAKE YOU PAY THE MONEY FOR APP
if you have problems with gps on jvp/jvq/jvr that means:
- your theme/rom maker screwed up those importnt files
- your firmware instalation is not correct
- you have some hardware issue -> use warranty to replace faulty unit
this is how gps behaves not even under clear sky but at window
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=16416378&postcount=436
@The BigX: thanks, been doing that since Éclair
@$omator: I always try to flash ROMs and kernels properly (flash stock first, etc), and all the Roms I've been using have been pretty flawless in everything else but the GPS... Thing is, in GPS Status or GPS Test I get pretty good locks, even when driving (SNR over 30 for most of them, even 10 m accuracy).
It just seems like... Google Maps or Navigation don't access the same data or something, and it takes forever for a ****ty lock that lasts 4 seconds and is accurate to 50 m.
Gonna try Aura tomorrow.
Thanks for the help, guys.
was using google navigation as a car navigation, phone 'was' on front windscreen
lock was fast and more or less acurate - with problems on roads with woods around (that was very lol when i enetered the forest fix was going from 5 to 50 meters) - but 99% of time stayed on the road wo problems
it is well known problem with the chip used in sgs1 - same one is used by various devices like apple and htc ones with same ****ty results on all - so most likley the chip is just crap=)
Hi people!
On my Galaxy S i9000 I have on Juwe 5.3 (JVR) with Semaphore 1.6.0.
I have the following problem: my GPS works (good accuracy and locking speed) only when the screen is on. As soon as the screen goes off, I lose the fix and precision, while using tracking apps like Runkeeper or My Tracks and diagnostic ones like GPS Status.
I've tried to force the CPU on 1000 MHz with Voltage Control but the problem remains so I'm guessing it's not a performance issue.
Any ideas?
Everything else works fine.
Thanks!
The same happens on my phone (albeit w/ CM7), but I don't mind, since that would eat the battery. I can see how that would render certain apps useless, though. I've used a few ROMs in my day, and never noticed GPS staying locked while the screen was off. I'm interested in how you'd achieve this as well.
Hi.
Yes in fact when I was on stock the gps worked as expected but I was on froyo.
Than I updated to a beta GB and then to Juwe.
I'd prefer not to put a froyo rom just to test if possible. I'll wait for someone to come with some idea
Thanks!
Some updates:
- It seems not to be kernel releated (tried with both semaphore and CF-Root, will try also TalonDEV)
- Not rom releated also (from Juwe JVR to Simplicity JVT, passing thru stock JVT).
Any ideas?
Is there someone whose GPS stays locked even if the screen is off?
Thanks.
Interested as well. Anyone?
Hmm, my gps would always lose lock if i turned off screen (froyo too).. thought that was normal behaviour
i thought that depends on the app. navigon has a setting which says to keep gps on or off when minimised.
oswade said:
i thought that depends on the app. navigon has a setting which says to keep gps on or off when minimised.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably this is right. Should be app-related.
I used to have a lot of GPS problems, but I solved them connecting GPS for the first time with WiFi on google maps, after that, GPs worked great without wifi being necessary anymore.
gtluis said:
Probably this is right. Should be app-related.
I used to have a lot of GPS problems, but I solved them connecting GPS for the first time with WiFi on google maps, after that, GPs worked great without wifi being necessary anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will try that.
It seems that also other phones are affected by this problem/feature, after the update to Gingerbread.
Little update: the navigation app does not let the screen to turn off to not to lose gps fix.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
After flashing the AOIP rom, I find that my GPS apps find the GPS signal super fast. On Slimbean, it was taking FOREVER for my Endomondo app to find the GPS signal. For those of you who use GPS frequently, if you're having trouble with other ROMs taking a long time to lock in the GPS signal, try AOIP. Not sure if my experience is unique to my phone or geographic location, but the improvement for me is HUGE.
I have to agree. I have used almost all of the roms posted in this forum. AOIP is by far the best and my fav. Rootbox comes in second and PACMan third. As for the GPS, it really does lock on fast. I play Ingress, and it took what seemed like forever to get a lock. Now it's within a second or two.
I have a fast gps lock to, im wondering if it's because aoip was built for our phone and not a port has something to do with it
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I've noticed lately that my G920T has a terrible time keeping GPS lock. Definitely a pain when I'm trying to use Waze or other GPS apps. It seems to be significantly worse in my car but overall, GPS Status reports that most satellite signal health is bad. I don't have a case on my phone, so I really have no idea what could be the issue. I've tried resetting AGPS to no effect.
I'm currently on XtreStoLite 3.3.1, running Arter's kernel, but I have experienced this issue on other kernels as well.
I've been noticing this too. Especially when driving. It seems to happen most when an app installs/updates in the background. Toggling GPS on and off in quick settings fixes it, but it's inexcusable and impossible to do while driving, when you need it most.
socal87 said:
I've noticed lately that my G920T has a terrible time keeping GPS lock. Definitely a pain when I'm trying to use Waze or other GPS apps. It seems to be significantly worse in my car but overall, GPS Status reports that most satellite signal health is bad. I don't have a case on my phone, so I really have no idea what could be the issue. I've tried resetting AGPS to no effect.
I'm currently on XtreStoLite 3.3.1, running Arter's kernel, but I have experienced this issue on other kernels as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you running greenify? You'd have to toggle doze off... If not download the gps conf files from online and use the appropriate one for your geographic region.
I've experienced similar, as well as some other random stuff that I won't get into here, started about 5 weeks ago. Basically seems to come down to having power saving enabled and maybe screen off (I'm almost always running power save). Francis might be onto something with doze, but it shouldn't be disabling GPS while it's actively running in an app (navigation, fitness trackers, etc) whether PS enabled or screen on or not. I've had this phone since last October, done a few different ROMs, but I'm currently stock (EPF1) with just root, no other mods and have been in that state for several months (because I've been lazy), no updates or anything. Tried removing apps that might have been installed recently at the time, to no avail. No clue what the deal is, but I'm gonna flash some custom ROMs again, which hopefully solves whatever bug issue this is.
Don't think I provided any solution, but wanted to give some input as I had similar issues.
I discovered the problem. I was using Arter97's kernel. Re flashed the kernel that comes with the ROM; GPS works much better.
socal87 said:
I discovered the problem. I was using Arter97's kernel. Re flashed the kernel that comes with the ROM; GPS works much better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So that's what's going on