Can someone help me confirm if this is normal GPS behavior? I'm rooted on ANG3 with the latest maps 9.2.0.
If I start maps after a reboot, or when GPS is "cold" like using for the first time in the morning, the GPS indicator in the status bar will come on for a second or two, then just turn off - at which time maps stops updating my location. It does this same behavior with other GPS apps, including navigation. I found out if I wait like 10 seconds, the GPS status bar indicator comes back on and remains on - from then on behaving normally. After that, I can close maps, reopen, use navigation, use GPS status or GPS test apps, etc., all normally.
I had initially been closing whatever GPS app I was using and reopening when this happened, and the problems kept repeating...but if I found out if I just wait for those 10 seconds or so, then the problem is completely resolved until the next reboot or cold start (like if I wait 10 hours to use a GPS app again).
So do other people have that same GPS behavior immediately after a reboot or from a cold GPS start - where GPS only comes on for a second or two, then turns off for 10 seconds or so, then comes back on and will remain on and work normally?
If not, any idea what the problem might be? I've tried clearing cache of gps apps and clearing dalvik cache...but maybe this is normal behavior?
No problems with my gps here, i personally keep it turned off until i need to though so not sure if that factors in to it, you may need to take it in because that sounds like a possible hardware issue. Have you tried a factory reset/reflashing?
Sent from my SM-G900A using Tapatalk
Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I wonder if leaving your gps off mostly, and only turning it on when needed might affect the behavior I'm talking about. I haven't tried a factory reset yet...was hoping to avoid that, and especially didn't want to do it if others have the same gps behavior. Maybe someone else who leaves gps enabled can test this out by rebooting and opening maps?
netter123 said:
Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I wonder if leaving your gps off mostly, and only turning it on when needed might affect the behavior I'm talking about. I haven't tried a factory reset yet...was hoping to avoid that, and especially didn't want to do it if others have the same gps behavior. Maybe someone else who leaves gps enabled can test this out by rebooting and opening maps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hate to be the bearer of bad news and all that, but i feel like if it was that big of an issue there would be more people posting about it. I know you don't want to but a factory reset fixes most issues, i may be wrong though so feel free to wait it out and see if someone has a solution :/
Sent from my SM-G900A using Tapatalk
I had a chance to check the behavior of my wife's Galaxy Alpha (uprooted). Actually, her gps seems to act similarly except that the period of time it spontaneously turns off is more like 5 seconds instead of 10. But that leading me to think what I'm seeing is normal. I'd still appreciate some confirmation though, so if someone could:
1. Turn on gps
2. Reboot
3. Open maps and observe the gps indicator in the status bar for about 30 seconds
4. Report if the indicator disappears during that time and for how long
netter123 said:
I had a chance to check the behavior of my wife's Galaxy Alpha (uprooted). Actually, her gps seems to act similarly except that the period of time it spontaneously turns off is more like 5 seconds instead of 10. But that leading me to think what I'm seeing is normal. I'd still appreciate some confirmation though, so if someone could:
1. Turn on gps
2. Reboot
3. Open maps and observe the gps indicator in the status bar for about 30 seconds
4. Report if the indicator disappears during that time and for how long
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I gave it a shot, no issues here, im no where near stock though so im not sure how much thats worth.
Sent from my SM-G900A using Tapatalk
netter123 said:
Can someone help me confirm if this is normal GPS behavior? I'm rooted on ANG3 with the latest maps 9.2.0.
If I start maps after a reboot, or when GPS is "cold" like using for the first time in the morning, the GPS indicator in the status bar will come on for a second or two, then just turn off - at which time maps stops updating my location. It does this same behavior with other GPS apps, including navigation. I found out if I wait like 10 seconds, the GPS status bar indicator comes back on and remains on - from then on behaving normally. After that, I can close maps, reopen, use navigation, use GPS status or GPS test apps, etc., all normally.
I had initially been closing whatever GPS app I was using and reopening when this happened, and the problems kept repeating...but if I found out if I just wait for those 10 seconds or so, then the problem is completely resolved until the next reboot or cold start (like if I wait 10 hours to use a GPS app again).
So do other people have that same GPS behavior immediately after a reboot or from a cold GPS start - where GPS only comes on for a second or two, then turns off for 10 seconds or so, then comes back on and will remain on and work normally?
If not, any idea what the problem might be? I've tried clearing cache of gps apps and clearing dalvik cache...but maybe this is normal behavior?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=56982923
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using XDA Premium HD app
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not sure what's going on, because I haven't really tweaked anything but it's now acting normal most of the time even after fresh reboots. But I did still replicate the behavior several times on my wife's stock Galaxy Alpha. Anyway, I'm going to be keeping my eye on it and trying to see if I can figure out what variables seem to be causing the behavior. If anyone else ever notices this though, please post.
Just an update: the behavior had seemed to fix itself, but this was while I was traveling out of town for the holidays. Back home now, and the behavior returned. Since I've replicated this with my wife's stock Galaxy Alpha, I'm wondering if this has something to do with my home location being set in maps...or? Seems weird that it resolved while traveling but continues when back home. Really surprised nobody else has noticed this. Maybe it's something specific to my home location? Guess I will keep checking on it and report back if I figure anything further out.
Related
Hello guys,
with some of the latest firmwares (M2/especially M5) I'm experiencing a new bug - namely that the GPS simply turns off after 3 minutes of usage. I'm testing this with applications like Google Navigation or GPS Test and after a few minutes the GPS Symbol in the notification bar just disappears and the apps don't receive any position/data update.
Any ideas?
greetings
Alex
check your auto task killer
I didn't install any... I also tried to turn off almost every service running but the behaviour stays the same.
interestingly the app that uses the GPS stays open
Same happened to me. I couldn't solve it so a reflash seems to have done the trick. Can't be to sure since I haven't tested it that much so far.
I take that back. It's happening again and I can't understand why. Happens with all apps, NDrive, Navigon, GPS Status and GPS Test.
Did you find a solution?
darn...
first reflashing helped, but happens again now exactly as you describe...
It's very annoying because beside this GPS works quite well
My wife and I both have the captivate and for some reason her GPS is always on. (The icon in the notification bar is always blinking) Its getting to be really annoying since her battery life has gone to complete crap, lasting no more than a few hours at most. How can I figure out what is causing the GPS to constantly be running?
I don't have this problem on my phone, it is just hers that does it.
It's likely an app still running in the background, grab one of the plethora of free task managers on the market, should help you narrow it down
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Will one of these programs list everything that is running? I ask this because the GPS turns on immediately as the phone boots, and stays running. So, I know its not an errant app.
Yes they will
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
You can turn off GPS
You can trun off the GPS by going to settings->location..-> uncheck use GPS
eitan123 said:
You can trun off the GPS by going to settings->location..-> uncheck use GPS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While this is a good temporary solution for saving battery, I don't consider it a fix because then the phone would have no GPS capabilities at all.
The phone should behave the way mine does, when something requests to use the GPS, the icon shows up in the notification bar, otherwise, it does nothing. Her notification bar ALWAYS has the icon on it, blinking away and doing something.
I am going to try some task managers tonight and see if we can narrow it down.
tikicult said:
Will one of these programs list everything that is running? I ask this because the GPS turns on immediately as the phone boots, and stays running. So, I know its not an errant app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apps can start as soon as the phone boots. Again, I suggest going through the apps you have installed that use GPS and review each one to be sure nothing is amiss.
My friend got a Captivate this week. His GPS also runs constantly. I compared our phones side by side, and he had almost no apps running - just the basic apps. We totally cleared out his home screens. I was completlely puzzled why his GPS was running.
We both went to Settings->About Phone. He was running firmware 2.1, I was running firmware2.1-update1. He just got his phone, I'm not sure why it has the older firmware on it.
I'm wondering if this is the reason?
Perhaps deactivate google location update information services.
If it happens from the get go with no apps running, your gps could be running simply to let google know your location. Reset system to factory and opt out of (allow my location - or something like that)
give Startup Auditor a try - free app on android market
If you are within return period take it back and have it replaced. You shouldn't have to use any fixes on a brand new unit. Now if you've messed with custom ROMs or kernals that could be the cause. If you've done nothing to it and it's stock I'd do an exchange.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
It's got to be an app running in the background. You didn't happen to go into the GPS test service menu, did you? Because I know some people go there and press home instead of back to quit it, and the test app runs in the background (though I would imagine once the battery dies and the phone is recharged and restarted, it probably wouldn't still be running...
Last week, I traveled to some remote area that only has 2G data service. I found my phone's GPS stayed on when I fired up the Google map and closed the app right after. This never happens when I'm in 3G data service area. The GPS will be off automatically even before the home screen shows up.
I have to use the power widget to toggle the GPS off and on to turn it off.
So, it may be something special about EDGE service.
I was able to produce a similar issue twice by switching away from the camera app using the home button without having taken a picture. This is obviously with geotagging turned on in the camera options. I even turned GPS off, but it went right back to searching for satellites when I turned it back on.
This is inside a building with no hope of getting a GPS fix.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Try use the back button instead of home button to get out of your camera app. Most apps will do a cleanup/release resources when using back button. But if you use Home button, most apps will stay running in memory without release any resources.
Sorry if this is a dupe, I can't seam to search just a form form with the mobile app.
Has anyone else has a issue where after a few days GPS stops working? Anything that requests a fix doesn't get anything, maps and gps fix. Toggling GPS or Airplain modes doesn't fix it. I end up having to reboot, thanks for no reboot option in the power menu moto, and then it works fine.
It seams like a odd bug. I do use task killer somewhat frequently. Are there any apps that will let me restart gps?
Sent from my DROID3 using XDA App
I am having the same issue. One day it works fine, then a couple days later, no go! It doesn't even bring up the icon in the status bar showing that it is trying to get a fix. I have a hard time believing that no one else is running into this issue.
A reboot fixes it, so I have this strange feeling there is an app/process of some sort that is making it hang...
Same here. Always does it at the most inconvenient times too.
There have been satellite issues over the last few weeks - solar flares and whatnot - that have disrupted service. Task killers, also, could also be screwing up your system. Tasks aren't the same thing on your phone that they are on Windows, and don't actively use up power and memory. Android generally manages tasks quite well. Using a task killer is wasting more energy than not using it would, I'd bet.
I get the same issue.
I put the GPS widget on a home screen. I click GPS off - wait a sec - and click it back on. Works.
I usually have to reboot as well. I've noticed the gps icon just doesn't show up at all.
which reminds me. I really hate VZ navigator. It keeps running.
Alright. post 2 (trying to keep it useful...)
Seem to be having an issue that I can't take care of that I've tried everything that I know that I believed could be causing the drops. The issue I'm having is any time I turn the screen off while driving my GPS will lose its connection after about 5 minutes. I was also losing data so I figured it was an application causing that issue with that problem I got resolved by removing the battery saving application called battery guru. That was actually shutting my data connection off with my screen off so I got rid of that completely but I still seem to have the problem with my GPS drops. My data stays up just fine but it seems like clockwork every 5 minutes the screens off I'm driving and I get that voice GPS connection lost. All I have to do is click the back button in Google Maps and reload my route and BAM its right back up and going. Now I can leave the screen on and I will not lose the GPS signal whatsoever until I turn the screen off. Have went through all the settings that I know of and of course the only battery saving application that I had installed and I can't seem to find the issue. I also use the search tool and couldn't find anyone else with a problem like mine. Does anyone have any suggestions or have seen this on their device? I'm beginning to think this may be a hardware issue I'm not sure. But if it was a hardware issue you would think I would be losing the connection all the time not with just the screen off which leads me back to a software issue. I'm going to keep freezing apps with titanium to see if I can find another culprit. I just don't have anything else installed that should have anything to do with that. Thanks in advance for any help for insight you may have.
flyinj54 said:
Seem to be having an issue that I can't take care of that I've tried everything that I know that I believed could be causing the drops. The issue I'm having is any time I turn the screen off while driving my GPS will lose its connection after about 5 minutes. I was also losing data so I figured it was an application causing that issue with that problem I got resolved by removing the battery saving application called battery guru. That was actually shutting my data connection off with my screen off so I got rid of that completely but I still seem to have the problem with my GPS drops. My data stays up just fine but it seems like clockwork every 5 minutes the screens off I'm driving and I get that voice GPS connection lost. All I have to do is click the back button in Google Maps and reload my route and BAM its right back up and going. Now I can leave the screen on and I will not lose the GPS signal whatsoever until I turn the screen off. Have went through all the settings that I know of and of course the only battery saving application that I had installed and I can't seem to find the issue. I also use the search tool and couldn't find anyone else with a problem like mine. Does anyone have any suggestions or have seen this on their device? I'm beginning to think this may be a hardware issue I'm not sure. But if it was a hardware issue you would think I would be losing the connection all the time not with just the screen off which leads me back to a software issue. I'm going to keep freezing apps with titanium to see if I can find another culprit. I just don't have anything else installed that should have anything to do with that. Thanks in advance for any help for insight you may have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is called a nexus. Google stock has always had that issue. Unfortunately nexus users spend most of the time locked in a basement and never happen to use gps, therefore they will say their gps works just fine.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A
Really? Interesting. Don't remember that on my galaxy nexus but don't know that I ever used the gps honestly. Anyone else confirm this?
ambervals6 said:
Is called a nexus. Google stock has always had that issue. Unfortunately nexus users spend most of the time locked in a basement and never happen to use gps, therefore they will say their gps works just fine.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FYI my gps DOES work fine... But I forgot you know my experiences better than me. My bad. Stupid response.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
My GPS on my Nexus 6 is and always has been amazing. (Thanks for reminding me to compare that when I get the 6P). I use my GPS daily to keep Waze up when I drive to watch for cops, traffic, etc. Even when I know where I'm going I use it and Google play streaming over Bluetooth and my GPS keeps connection even in Manhattan.
I would recommending getting an app called GPS status, it has a few settings to keep GPS active etc, which should solve your problem. However I have no clue what could cause something like that...
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
I don't know what might have happened, but this morning, I tried to connect my Phone to WiFi, and for some reason, it wouldn't. The WiFi toggle button that you see when you pull down the Notification Bar, now that WiFi button keeps turning on and off constantly. The time it takes between each toggle (on to off or off to on) is just about 0.5 - 1 sec. This is crazy. I can't connect to my WiFi.
I googled for solutions, no luck. I hard reset my Phone, no luck still. I wiped Partition Cache too. I entered into the Safe Mode, the same behavior happened. It's weird. It's like my Phone is possessed or something. A virus maybe?
Any input would be much appreciated. My phone is running the latest Firmware from T-mobile. And I got the update maybe 1-2 weeks ago and it had been working fine until this morning the issue started.
My phone just started doing this as well. Wifi keeps turning off and on. If I want to keep it off I have to restart my phone. If I want to use the wifi I have to manually toggle it from the wifi settings. Just weird it started doing this just recently. Maybe an app we both have installed?
I think I've found the issue. Sadly only after 3x reformatting the phone.
Go to Settings, Location, then click on Improve Accuracy, then turn off WiFi and Bluetooth Scanning (actually just the WiFi scanning would do the trick, but I decided to just turn off both of them). I suspect an update to one of Google system apps might have caused the phone's WiFi to behave weirdly like this. For the past 2-3 years I've had this phone, it had been fine with these two options turned on. It changed yesterday.
Let me know if this solution works for you.
febzz88 said:
I think I've found the issue. Sadly only after 3x reformatting the phone.
Go to Settings, Location, then click on Improve Accuracy, then turn off WiFi and Bluetooth Scanning (actually just the WiFi scanning would do the trick, but I decided to just turn off both of them). I suspect an update to one of Google system apps might have caused the phone's WiFi to behave weirdly like this. For the past 2-3 years I've had this phone, it had been fine with these two options turned on. It changed yesterday.
Let me know if this solution works for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha I was about to post this solution as well! Turning off the wifi in location accuracy fixed it. You're right about probably some Google app is causing this as this hadn't happened before yesterday. Sorry you had to format your phone to find this out...hopefully google or samsung can fix this from their end.
Thanks for this! Working for me (I'm on Tekxodus URv7.4R2 N5R9 with Emotion Kernel (r23).
Was driving me nuts. I'm a bit concerned about the loss of wifi for location accuracy though since my phone's GPS has been borked ever since i can remember.
Update: I noticed a recent review on the Play Store for Android Wear referring to a recent Wear update possibly causing the issue. I have Wear installed for a watch. Just curious if anyone experiencing this problem does NOT have Wear installed?
muzzy996 said:
Thanks for this! Working for me (I'm on Tekxodus URv7.4R2 N5R9 with Emotion Kernel (r23).
Was driving me nuts. I'm a bit concerned about the loss of wifi for location accuracy though since my phone's GPS has been borked ever since i can remember.
Update: I noticed a recent review on the Play Store for Android Wear referring to a recent Wear update possibly causing the issue. I have Wear installed for a watch. Just curious if anyone experiencing this problem does NOT have Wear installed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just uninstalled wear and same issue persist. Last app from Google that I did an update on was Google home...formally known as chromecast.
---------- Post added at 10:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:04 AM ----------
I just uninstalled Google home and the issue went away.
I do have Google Home and Android Wear installed as well. I checked the Google Home App Play Store Page and someone commented there pointing out about the issue too.
febzz88 said:
I do have Google Home and Android Wear installed as well. I checked the Google Home App Play Store Page and someone commented there pointing out about the issue too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup that was me leaving a comment haha
i have had exactly the same problem for a day or two. while disabling "location>improve accuracy>wifi scanning" stops the bug temporarily it doesn't really solve the problem. wifi scanning is an important location feature when navigating. in narrow streets or in buildings one usually does not have gps reception, also the wifi scanning technique for determining the devices location is usually faster and uses less battery than gps (how ironic).
this bug is extremely annoying. i am on an unbranded, unrooted s5 on 6.0.1 (g900f). i can not believe that this also happens with s7 and pixel phones, this is really ridiculous (see similar thread on androidcentral forum. can't post url because this is my first post). if anyone finds a permanent solution for this problem, please tell us!!!
androidschmandroid said:
i have had exactly the same problem for a day or two. while disabling "location>improve accuracy>wifi scanning" stops the bug temporarily it doesn't really solve the problem. wifi scanning is an important location feature when navigating. in narrow streets or in buildings one usually does not have gps reception, also the wifi scanning technique for determining the devices location is usually faster and uses less battery than gps (how ironic).
this bug is extremely annoying. i am on an unbranded, unrooted s5 on 6.0.1 (g900f). i can not believe that this also happens with s7 and pixel phones, this is really ridiculous (see similar thread on androidcentral forum. can't post url because this is my first post). if anyone finds a permanent solution for this problem, please tell us!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have Google Home installed? After I uninstalled that the wifi issue stopped
alanmv567 said:
Do you have Google Home installed? After I uninstalled that the wifi issue stopped
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no, i do not.
muzzy996 said:
Thanks for this! Working for me (I'm on Tekxodus URv7.4R2 N5R9 with Emotion Kernel (r23).
Was driving me nuts. I'm a bit concerned about the loss of wifi for location accuracy though since my phone's GPS has been borked ever since i can remember.
Update: I noticed a recent review on the Play Store for Android Wear referring to a recent Wear update possibly causing the issue. I have Wear installed for a watch. Just curious if anyone experiencing this problem does NOT have Wear installed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it your GPS or the Compass? If it can still detect your location but when you use, for example, the Google Maps Navigation, it couldn't really detect where/which direction you're going then it's probably just a compass issue. All you need is some calibration.
I fixed my friend's phone compass issue (and she thought her GPS was broken too) last week. The easiest way to calibrate: just download the GPS Status app and tap on the Calibration option and follow the instruction there.
Always try to calibrate your compass first as the first possible fix whenever you think your GPS is starting to go crazy, it might help.
Go to location>improve location>unchecked wifi scanning. It just worked for me
Uninstalling android wear seems to have worked for me.
febzz88 said:
Is it your GPS or the Compass? If it can still detect your location but when you use, for example, the Google Maps Navigation, it couldn't really detect where/which direction you're going then it's probably just a compass issue. All you need is some calibration.
I fixed my friend's phone compass issue (and she thought her GPS was broken too) last week. The easiest way to calibrate: just download the GPS Status app and tap on the Calibration option and follow the instruction there.
Always try to calibrate your compass first as the first possible fix whenever you think your GPS is starting to go crazy, it might help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely not the compass, been through the calibration process. Attempted many fixes including special GPS settings and utilities. At times the phone can sit there with screen on for over 10 minutes without acquiring a single satellite. I'm thinking hardware issue, possibly contacts for the antenna. In any case, not relevant to this thread...
I rebooted into recovery and wiped both CACHE and this fixed the issue. I did not change any settings in any apps either.
DirtySant0 said:
I rebooted into recovery and wiped both CACHE and this fixed the issue. I did not change any settings in any apps either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had tried this prior to reformatting my phone and it didn't help. I then wiped the cache again and reformatted the phone; in fact I reformatted and cleared cache 3x because the issue kept coming back after I reinstalled apps again. This is weird, the situation and resolution vary a lot from one user to another. Then I simply turned off WiFi Scanning under Improve Accuracy in Location, and the issue went away.
WHEW! Uninstalling Wear and Home did it for me. For now, anyway. I "fixed" it this morning by toggling Ultra Power Saver on and off, and it worked all day until I came home from work. Then nothing helped until I found this thread. Changing GPS settings didn't do it for me, but I'm still on Lollipop so my location settings are a little different.
Thank you, Febzz and Alan!
Google home was the issue!!
Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk
Changes in router's Wireless Security had caused it in my case
This is old thread but still I am posting this solution as it could be useful tip for someone in future.
I had this issue and was causing me real headache. I initially thought it was hardware failure of my phone but later I found reason is something else.
For some reason I had changed Wireless Security of my WiFi router from WPA2 Personal to something else (I guess WEP).
That was causing my phone (intex cloud 4g) often to turn on and off WiFi on its own. I changed the Wireless Security back to WPA2 Personal and phone is now back to normal (not turning WiFi on and off on its own)