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I9000XXJPM. Some say GPS is fixed and its perfect now. Is that true ???? Please share your experience.
Galaxy S I9000XXJPM still not the best GPS
varunkumars said:
I9000XXJPM. Some say GPS is fixed and its perfect now. Is that true ???? Please share your experience.
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Hi, I've tried I9000XXJPM. That version still has some GPS limitations. The version seems better than 1 or 2 months ago (the position is more exact) but it makes long time to converge. It seems Samsung has added a kind of position smoothing/averaging (~30 sec time constant).
So, I would conclude that I9000 is still okay for GPS driving but not the best one (I drive often with it; GPS Navigation works fine but finds the wrong street 5% of the time in average, mostly in cities or crossroads). After some benchmark with other Samsung and HTC phones, I can say that I9000 is definitely not the best one.
Some more detailed info about my benchmark:
1- I camp to a certain location and observe that my Galaxy S Google Maps app finds my location with +/- 5m within ~20-30 sec (with the help of the GSM triangulation so-called A-GPS).
2- I move 20 meters away (it takes 10 sec to walk).
3- Every 5 seconds I see the blue arrow slowly moving in the direction I am going to, with a delay of ~10-15 seconds.
4- After 60 seconds my Galaxy S has found my new location with +/- 5 m precision.
5- When I move back to the original position, the same delay/smoothing towards the original position is observed; it takes again 60 seconds.
My two benchmark phones (HTC, other Samsung) don't show that smoothing effect. Every 5 seconds (10 seconds sometimes) my current position is updated correctly (still with +/- 5 m precision).
I'm starting to believe that the problem is a hardware design problem (maybe noisy GPS antenna, influenced by other RF signals, maybe GSM antenna), and Samsung implemented a kind of smoothing/averaging effect in order to compensate the imprecision and let the applications point to more exact location, at the cost of long time to converge.
What's the opinion of GPS experts around?
Hi, I purchased S3 mini around december 2012, one of the main reasons why I bought it was the gps/glonass-feature, since I figured it would provide me with more accurate tracking while running. Previously I had used a Samsung Galaxy Gio phone for running, and with rooting and a gpsfix (changed the server) it provided accurate gps in long half-marathon runs and so forth. The issue with that phone was that the battery life was terrible.
Now, the S3 mini is brilliant in battery consumption, but the gps accuracy has been horrid. It locks a satellite within seconds, several satellites are in use immediately. So, nothing to complain there. However, it is almost one street off, throughout my run. It tracks usually 1-2 kilometers less distance than the Gio, which manages to stay on the road I'm running on perfectly. If I'm to believe the S3 mini, I frequently run in water and through people's backyards...
Now, I have attempted the usual tricks, cleared agps, updated it before runs, calibrated the compass with GPS status indoors and outdoors. But nothing seems to work. Many times the gps will track perfectly when I'm headed, let's say northwards for several kilometers, but then when I turn to go west-east or southwards (for example) the gps accuracy goes off. I'm hoping this is an issue that could be easily fixed, since it's a shame that such a fabulous phone like the s3 mini fails to be a good running partner.
My S3 mini is not rooted, most of the gps fixes only fix satellite locking. My issue is inaccuracy, and yes, many people think it's normal, but having had perfect tracking with an entry-level smart phone like Samsung Galaxy Gio, I fail to understand why my S3 Mini does not excel in this area.
What else should/could I try? or just use my gio while running and hope it doesn't run out of battery in 1,5 hours.
I have also noticed the inaccurate gps of the s3 mini. After some positional testing I have decided that the gps is just not V good on this phone including being mounted on shoulder.
I also have an issue where gps locks up and freezes when the phone sleeps. I have yet to overcome this. I'm hoping it's a kernel issue brought about by flashing.
After years of smartphone soul searching, I now use a Garmin 405cx for sports, etrex10 for work and hiking, and a tomtom for sat navigation. I only now rely on the shoddy gps for View ranger Os mapping on the phone. Based on its performance I've started purchasing paper maps and now use those to navigate while walking and hiking.
This makes me very sad. I love android and like the s3mini. However yesterday I contemplated throwing it across lane 3 of the M20.
Sent from my GT-I8190 using Tapatalk 2
Hi, I have a same problem with my new Samsung Galaxy S3 mini and Sports Tracker. And many other reporting this problem. Sports Tracker works fine with my ZTE Blade. The first I thought that the fault is in bad GPS module in my phone. But the GPS work fine with Navi software. I realized that in Navi software the phone screen is always on and with Sport Tracker go in stanby. And when the screen go in standby the gps stop working. And when the signal is repeatedly interrupted then for a long time does not want to connect. Solution is that you in Sport Tracker settigs set Screen backlight to Always on. Now the problem is that the random clicking Stop suspended yor current workout. I do not know if fault is with Jelly Bean ROM or with Samsung Galaxy phones. Later I again tested navi app IGO Primo and if I turned off the screen GPS also go on off.
Phone screen always ON is also not an ideal solution. Because the signal is still losing, but every once for a second.
I tried various apps: GPS Status (settings: Background behavior/The app will keep the GPS running even the device screen is turned off.
But it does not work).Tracker Booster, Keep My GPS Alive, but without success
Is there any solution for this?
I've got the same problem while using GPS in a running application (like runkeeper, runtastic or endomondo).
I know this is an old thread, but I want to ask if anyone has found a solution for this problem.
I would be very thankful!
I have the exact same problem. After two months of GPS hell with my SII I got a new SIII mini. Initial GPS lock and detection goes really quick (22 satellites). If I do a quick turn in running it seems that it tracks a bit of until the end. It may be 100 meter or 200 meter on a 10 kilometer (and people indeed say it's normal, but with my SII it was perfect)
Could it be processor related? I run with a bluetooth heart rate sensor, google music, running app, etc. I tend to believe if I switch of 3G that it goes better.
Any other suggestions on this?
I have basically come to the conclusion that the GPS on this phone is ****, primarily due to the OS sleeping it. Which is a battery saving strategy. We do have very good battery life on these devices.
The GPS doesn't have any issues if an app is using it, like (Viewranger recording a track). This prevents the OS sleeping it. However accuracy of the GPS on SGS3M is poor. But really if you after doing serious tasks that require even a hint of accuracy then purchasing a dedicated device is the way forward. If you run try the Garmin range of fitness devices. If it's work try a hiking GPS I use a etrex 20 for assisting in surveying trees. Recording my movements across a site and the locations of any trees with works associated.
I think the phone manufacturer decided that the accuracy issue was not a concern as many navigation apps would snap the users location to roads and such.
Don't hold out for any solution. I can say the only thing to ensure is the latest firmware. I have the latest which isn't available on the "BTU" location code. However the German firmware works fine with my UK device. Check the Dev thread for latest stock rom, (pretty rooted).
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
gaze eademno
ninjalandpirate said:
I have basically come to the conclusion that the GPS on this phone is ****, primarily due to the OS sleeping it. Which is a battery saving strategy. We do have very good battery life on these devices.
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Click to collapse
I don't know what to think from it. If I track a car drive with it (using Endomondo), it uses a perfect track to road tracking.
Also initial running tracking using Endomondo is fine. It seems that a sudden change in direction (eg a sudden change from south to nord) let's down the accuracy. It's strange because the device has a very good satelite detection and fast lock.
NicolasBE said:
I don't know what to think from it. If I track a car drive with it (using Endomondo), it uses a perfect track to road tracking.
Also initial running tracking using Endomondo is fine. It seems that a sudden change in direction (eg a sudden change from south to nord) let's down the accuracy. It's strange because the device has a very good satelite detection and fast lock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This morning I had a spectacular improvement.
What has changed:
I installed the latest 4.1.2 official build from sammobile.com
I ran without 3G location services. (pure on GPS)
I also switched the device from being upside down on my left arm, to being straight on my right arm.
Possible something that has nothing to do with it: my work e-mail policy was not yet enabled on the device.
I also ran a slightly other route (but there was still a sharp turn halfway involved), and the signal corrected itself perfectly.
My bluetooth heart rate was enabled, 3G was enabled and google play music was enabled.
So the thing I'm eager to try is: enabling location services again, and doing the route that caused trouble again.
But to be honest ... I think it's the new 4.1.2 build that solved it.
My gf's phone has XXAMG1 build and it has exactly this same issue. GPS shuts down a couple of minutes from start.
Recently I found out that my GPS becomes inaccurate when I enter into the forest. I use it mostly for navigation while mountain biking. The position defers after 10 to 20 minutes for 200 to 400 metres. The position error direction is almost every time in the direction of departure point that means that GPS position stays behind me. When I check GPS reception with GPS test, there are always 5 to 12 satellites in use with estimated error up to 5 metres. The interest thing is that if I switch GPS off and then again ON, the new first fix is very accurate. After that, if I continue cycling, the position becomes inaccurate again. I have tried different programs (sports tracker, view ranger, orux maps, Google maps) with same results.
Any suggestions very welcome.
Same issue here (example included)
Same issue here. S3 Mini and Endomondo. Tracks start to differ after a certain amount of time (refer to attached JPG)
Chatted with Samsung about this issue and they told me that this is caused by the fact that all Galaxy phones have AGPS, where an internet connection is neccessary for the GPS to work. But I am not sure that this is the problem...
Samsung told me that I am the only person indicating this is a problem so it's probably my phone. Perhaps good to file an official support request at Samsung?
My few thoughts on this...
On stock rom everything was working well. except for the rom itself.
On maclaw cm 10.1. gps worked well until after an hour or so of use for tracking. then gps decided that I'm cca 100 meters away from spot where I was standing. it just translated my position and stayed translated the whole time until I turned gps on/off.
On Stock i8190XXAMJ3 gps was amazing, it was locking onto satelittes even inside the house, but it had the same issue like cm10.1 rom.
Now I'm on S5style_i8190XXANA2_v1 and for now gps look good, didn't have any issue, hope it will stay like this.
just to say, I've played with gps.conf, with various apps like gps status, gps test, resetting agps data, trying different apps for tracking and nothing worked. after a while, gps simply translates my position and stays like that.
to reply to myself...
for some reason every stock rom I flashed with cwm apparently didn't flash baseband with it (or something went wrong), so phone was showing original baseband version. then I flashed baseband ANA2 separately and now gps shows no problems stated in previous post.
I've had the same problem on my S3 mini. I'd tried a few apps to track my sport activities before I've found working one - Navime Sport Tracker. Since then I've been using it and faced no problems with GPS and tracking. Unfortunately app only works in Poland. So you may ask why I'm writing about this. I do so because I reckon that problem sometimes lies in a tracking app itself. E.g. in the same place where Navime was detecting 7-13 satellites Endomondo (with identical GPS settings) managed to find 1 or 2. That's how I solved my problem. And one more thing - I use stock-Samsung Android 4.1.2 (newest).
My usual GPS config:
- GPS is ON (obviously)
- using wireless network to fix GPS is OFF (option on the top)
- GPS data available for Google services is ON (option on the bottom)
- data connection is ON
Proof:
navime.pl/trasa/348283/Katowice-Pszczyna+17.04.2014
Hi pcm266
I know this is a reply to a post a year old, but this is the closest description of the problem I continue to experience. Perhaps you and others are still looking for a solution.
This is NOT simply a matter of poor connections due to loose screws. I tried a month ago tightening screws, checked every setting but the problem persists. Loosened then tightened screws again yesterday. Today I ran with both my S3mini and my old Samsung GIO. The GIO recorded perfectly!
Your sentence "Many times the gps will track perfectly when I'm headed, let's say northwards for several kilometers, but then when I turn to go west-east or southwards (for example) the gps accuracy goes off. " is pretty well what I see happening.
What is puzzling is that S3mini worked perfectly in a race on 29 March. ??? Have not been able to repeat that.
Tightening screws is certainly not helping me. I am sure that this is a software error. There is a consistency in the type of error that is not is the type of error I would expect from intermittent connections.
Another strange thing is that the S3mini tracking is pretty good when travelling in a car. It is when I ran - which is of course much slower than a car - that the tracking is worse. Something to do with collecting too much data and doing some sort of averaging????
My son runs with an S3. Never had a single tracking problem.
A tip re the GIO battery: The Lithium-hydride batteries in laptop battery packs have the same charging characteristics as the batteries in the Samsung phones. I simply soldered wires from the contact points in the phone to a battery taken from an old laptop pack. (Usually when these battery packs fail, most of the individual cells are still good. I use them in all sorts of applications. ) The battery is fastened to the back of the Gio with duct tape. The phone no longer has a simcard in it, so I keep it on airplane mode. The battery stays charged for days!
Guys, I've never experienced this GPS problem. My S3 Mini has completely accurate readings both in car and while walking. You can try and update your phone to a newer firmware version if it's still on a firmware from a year ago. Don't know what else to suggest, God bless my S3 Mini for not having this problem, 'cause I use GPS frequently
Hello, I have the same problem with inaccurate gps after some time. Is there any solution. I use this phone only for running, so for me it is not a problem to flash another rom. I hope someone can give me a solution or a rom that works while running.
Good afternoon everyone. I do hope I am posting this in the correct forum. I am going to cheat and copy/paste my original G+ post because:
1 - I'm lazy
2 - It has all the information (I believe).
Anyone else have the HTC One (M7) and having an issue with the orientation sensor?
More specifically.... anyone have the HTC One with CM11 and having issues with the orientation sensor?
I use GPS Status and Toolbox on a regular basis. It used to work just fine, but since the 4.4.2 update (assumed timeframe), the compass doesn't work nor does the pitch/roll indicator.
I installed Elixir 2 and it is showing the orientation sensor as being present and functional, but it's not getting any data. Nor is it getting data from:
• Gravity Sensor
• Linear Acceleration Sensor
• Magnetic Field Sensor
• Rotation Vector Sensor
Again, they are all showing as present. I get green bar showing active, but no graph data (which tells me it's not receiving information for those sensors).
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
HTC One
CM11 (currently on a nightly, though I am awaiting a "stable build" update)
4.4.2
I "fixed" the issue.
It was an issue with the CM build. I just went back to a 12/26/13 nightly and it's working.
PS: Off-topic... this 5 minutes between postings for us newbs is ridiculous. I understand the purpose... but 5 minutes is extreme.
I would require some assistance - from the Gear 1 users who still use it, and are willing to help. Basically since the Tizen update I have the same-ish battery life as with Android as long as I don't use the Auto-Lock feature, which was my favorite. As soon as this feature is enabled, I can barely make it through the day with one battery charge.
Now here my question, could, whoever cares to help, try to enable this feature on his/her phone for one day, and report back the results?
Basically what I am suspecting is, that with Tizen update, Samsung killed the Bluetooth Low Energy layer. It is now only used until the device is connected (for Advertising), after that, the watch and the phone switch to standard BT EDR. I can trace with a Bluetooth Low Energy analyzer that the BT LE connection is dropped, however I cannot trace the BT EDR connection with my analyzer so far. I will try to get a spectrum analyzer to check in which bands the watch actually keeps communicating with the Phone, but I am almost definitively positive that it is not BT LE. Which means, Samsung is either willingly trashing the Gear 1 in favor for Gear 2+ (for marketing purposes), as the Gear 1 has bigger battery than the Gear 2, or they screwed up both, due to a problem in the Android 4.4.x, where the BT LE stack is partly broken (by Google), so they can use it also on their newer phones, which have 4.4.x running on them.
thanks,
meh
I use auto-lock all the time.
I used it the Gear 1 launched and have used it since switching shortly after the Tizen update.
I haven't noticed a problem with battery life. If anything, the battery is better.
The biggest effect on battery life for me is the watch face.
I get the best battery life using one of the inbuilt digital faces with a black background.
I use the shortcut watch face with black background and orange font.
If I use any of the analog faces (inbuilt or downloaded from store) then battery life is a lot worse.
On a typical day, I can have 50% battery left after about 12 hours.
Using my favourite analog face (Moonlight) it will usually be about 20% after about 12 hours.
Always with auto lock and motion wake on. Screen brightness at 3.
Interesting topic on BT low energy-if I recall, the android galaxy gear needed 4.3 jelly bean in order to utilize BTLE. Some Samsung phones at the time, gs3 as an example, used proprietary methods to utilize BTLE.
Can you provide screenshots or testing data on your findings?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using XDA Free mobile app
stevedrz said:
Interesting topic on BT low energy-if I recall, the android galaxy gear needed 4.3 jelly bean in order to utilize BTLE. Some Samsung phones at the time, gs3 as an example, used proprietary methods to utilize BTLE.
Can you provide screenshots or testing data on your findings?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using XDA Free mobile app
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Click to collapse
Well at the moment, I just managed to brick the gear completely while trying to downgrade to android ... seems to be hanging at boot, and Odin keeps trying to setup a connection; so it seems beyond saving. Will try to flash it from work once more, if it fails, I am free of the Samsung curse If not, I will add the logs today from both android (and tizen hopefully).
cheerios,
meh
Back with more info ...
I managed to unbrick my Gear, and to flash Android back on it. It seems it has the same behavior. Advertisings are only used to notify that the watch is there, as soon as the mobile phone sees it, it will (and on android might even not) connect shortly on BLE and then move to BT Classic.
See the attached picture / diagram of the BT LE connection that happens, until the watch terminates it.
I honestly do not understand why Samsung is not using the BLE layer more, it would bring, as far as I used BLE so far, much more battery performance, perhaps twice what is offered for now.
Please take this only as measurements from someone with some experience and limited tooling related to what can be traced on BT LE. There might be some magic what might be going on, which I am unable to trace, like private BT LE connections and so on. If someone has a broadband BT capture device at hand (they are very expensive) to monitor all channels at the same time, we might get additional information, for now, I just have this basic toy, which can trace on a single channel at a time, so it needs to get the start of the connection, and hop the hopping sequence of the bluetooth LE sequence synchronous to the master/slave communication. If Samsung handles some private hopping data, which I am not able to trace - they still might use BT LE, but I doubt it, as BT LE APIs are very limited on Android, so only very few magic can be done from the phone.
And what I was saying in the part about Android 4.4.x and BT LE in my first post above, my affirmations are based on my development experience with BT LE on Nexus 5 (which had major problems, including BT Chip / BT stack rebooting randomly while BT LE energy was used - especially when RSSI reading, and on Android L RSSI reading is disabled / does not work at all).
Oh, and what I forgot to mention is:
a.) Tizen has the exact same behavior
b.) the radiated tx power of the watch measured by the phone is 0dB! I am not sure how accurate the phone is, but that is basically 30-50dB more than any slave I could find to toy with (and I have several: stuff from work, step counter from fitbit, and other ...).
And now one more point:
c.) It seems that now the Android version has the same current consumption as the Tizen (Auto-Lock drains the battery). I think Samsung changed something in the Gear Manager when Gear 2 was released.
cheers,
meh
richlum said:
I use auto-lock all the time.
I used it the Gear 1 launched and have used it since switching shortly after the Tizen update.
I haven't noticed a problem with battery life. If anything, the battery is better.
The biggest effect on battery life for me is the watch face.
I get the best battery life using one of the inbuilt digital faces with a black background.
I use the shortcut watch face with black background and orange font.
If I use any of the analog faces (inbuilt or downloaded from store) then battery life is a lot worse.
On a typical day, I can have 50% battery left after about 12 hours.
Using my favourite analog face (Moonlight) it will usually be about 20% after about 12 hours.
Always with auto lock and motion wake on. Screen brightness at 3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And to your answer, in the first 3 months or so of the Samsung Gear 1 (or at least until Samsung started to release the Gear 2), I had with Android, Motion Wake, Auto-Lock, Weather Watch Face (sync weather every 6 hours), Brightness 3, Pedometer active ~2 Days (or a bit more) of active battery life (around every 2nd night I had to charge it - but never every night, right now I can get the same performance only if I disable the Auto-Lock), so yes, something dramatically changed in the way Gear Manager talks to the Watch.
And if you want proof that something did something wrong with the Bluetooth, you can check by disabling bluetooth on your watch, then you get ~10% battery used / day. If you do not move it, even less.
cheerios,
meh
And here the final piece of proof ... I managed to get a broadband analyzer, and as it can be shown, by the tiny fat spikes, which represent communications on the BL Classic Band (yes I know it is the same as the BT LE, but I had the digital analyzer for BT LE also active at the same time, and there was no BT LE communication). So unless some other proof comes up, I can conclude that the Samsung Gear (at least the Gear 1) does not use BT LE anymore, except for Advertising packets while the Gear is disconnected, and it is stopped as soon as the Gear connects to the phone over BT Classic; all other communication happens over BT Classic.
Additionally, since with the actual (latest version of) Gear Manager and my Tizen watch downgraded to Android again, to the version where I still had 2 days with Auto Lock feature on it was not the Tizen update which thrashed that feature and generally the battery consumption, as the Android flashed watch behaves identically now. So either Samsung changed BT LE to BT Classic communication in one of the Gear Manager updates when they moved to Android 4.4.x as Android 4.4.x has problems with BT generally, and especially with BT LE data exchange (at least on Nexus 5, but I doubt it is only a device issue, as the Android part itself fails in loosing pairing data and ongoing connections), or it was always over BT Classic, but they had looser timings previously when on Android, to not drain the Watch so fast, as Android was also helping to the job a lot - thus the longer Screen Unlock timings in the Android days, and now faster, as they can communicate a lot more often, since the Tizen OS does not drain that much battery anymore.
Hello there !
Just have a look at this:
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Top left: Note 4. Bottom left: S4. Right hand side: Z2 Tablet.
All devices are configured to use the built-in GPS receiver only.
The photo was taken after waiting for more than 5 minutes.
Z2 Tablet and S4 receive 23 satellites, S4 using 18, Z2 Tablet using 16 (after a couple of seconds). But Note 4 receives 11 satellites, uses 0 (ZERO) - even after 5 minutes.
Here's a quick and shaky video: http://youtu.be/nVOF2n8AYDk
Software: I used "GPS Test" by "Chartcross". Other apps show the same results.
I tried countless comparisons, using A-GPS data and without, tried resetting the radios via the service menu - nothing helps: Note 4 GPS receiver does "see" some satellites (but always less than other devices), but just doesn't get a fix, at least not indoors.
It DOES work outdoors, but the results are similar and very poor: Note 4 takes a lot of time for the fix, uses less satellites, provides a less precise position and/or permanently loses the fix again. Even with using A-GPS data, a fix takes ages if the Note succeeds with a sat fix at all, situation becoming even worse if moving in a car. Z2 Tablet and S4 provide an almost instant fix, don't drop the fix again.
Of course I searched the net (and XDA) for that issue, found just some posts claiming the same.
Problem: Most users just see it does work outdoors, but don't realize the poor, close to subzero performance. So they believe it's all ok.
It is not.
I really hope it's just a software bug. If not, our Note 4 GPS becomes close to unusable if used in forests, under heavy rain, indoors or under other adverse conditions.
Please do a comparison yourself, check against any other GPS-enabled device - let's see if your results differ or are similar.
Please note: It does not help if your GPS just works outside. It does. But it's far, far worse than other devices - just see the photo above.
----
I found two videos showing a part of the problem (without being noticed by the "reviewer"):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHDVZEKBD8M
GPS test starting at 3:41. Note that the Note 3 retains it's satellites after the fix (8/21), while the number of the satellites used by the Note 4 wildly changes.
At 4:17, it drops to 4, causing losing the fix for a moment - note that the colors of the satellite signals momentarily change from green to yellow/grey.
Similar with the other video of the same reviewer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X3Ucqnu9_g
GPS test starting at 3:57. Note that the Note 3 retains it's satellites after the fix (14 to 15 of 22), while the number of the satellites used by the Note 4 again constantly changes.
At 4:34, it drops to 2, causing losing the fix for a moment - note that the colors of the satellite signals momentarily change from green to yellow/grey.
That's what I observe with my Note 4, too.
And that's what causes that expanding and shrinking of the blue "GPS accuracy" circle around your position in Google Maps, that's what causes showing a momentarily wrong position while driving.
I am not sure if this is a real fault or just the results of a different approach by Samsung - MAYBE they try to use a kind of diversity algorithm causing that short "dropouts".
In any case - it's a bad thing. And an issue wreaking havoc in the background, broadly unnoticed by the majority of Note 4 owners (which regard the GPS as working perfectly just because the sat fix doesn't take long), I fear.
But it might be model or firmware specific.
So please check if your Note 4 shows the same behavior.
The speed of a GPS fix does not say anything as there are too many different factors of influence involved; sorry.
---
I had been asked why indoor reception is important at all. Here's the answers:
1) Indoor reception is an indicator of the sensitivity of a GPS receiver. Under the open sky, just every GPS receiver delivers a sound performance - so you cannot see differences.
But if you've got a good indoor reception, you'll also get a high sensitive under problematic conditions - e. g. under bad weather conditions, in cities where you are surrounded by tall buildings, or in regions like forests or even underwater. Performance in locations like forests is highly important for outdoor enthusiasts or people doing geocaching.
And you'll be quite happy if your navigation software leads you to your destination even if it's raining cats and dogs - instead of being forced to leave your car to ask for directions.
So if your device performs well indoors, it is very likely to also perform well in every demanding outdoor situations.
Practical, personal example: Every year, I leave for a months vacation to Asia. I usually don't follow the beaten tourist tracks, I prefer the secluded, more unknown places. That often leads me into jungle regions, tall trees everywhere. If I can't rely on a solid GPS fix, I can get lost in no time.
If I know that my Note 4's indoor reception is pretty good, I can be assured it won't leave me if I'm out in the middle of nowhere.
2) Most of the time, you use for mobile phone indoors. At your home, at shopping malls, you name it.
Of course you know where you are, so it might sound needless to know your GPS position.
But just have a look at your power options, at the information about your battery drain: Settings > Power Saving, tap the chart.
Then have a look at the "Location on" graph.
You'll notice that your GPS receiver is active pretty often - even if you don't use it actively and knowingly.
That's because many apps use the GPS in the background - like Google does; GPS is used every time you utilize e. g. Google Now, or use your browser (remember the question if you wish to allow the browser know your location ? - If you agreed, it will use GPS, even if you aren't aware of that).
If you've got good GPS reception, GPS will be used just for a very short time. But if the reception is bad (e. g. caused by bad indoor reception), the GPS receiver will be on for a long time; could be for hours.
That drains your battery significantly.
So good indoor reception is also one of the keys to good battery life.
You see, it's not just over nothing. It SEEMS like that at first sight - but be rest assured: I am a very practical person (e. g. I don't care at all about benchmarks - if a device just fulfills my needs, I don't need any more information). I don't care if e. g. the front camera distorts my pretty face.
But I care if a malfunction shortens battery life or leads to vital features becoming unusable if external conditions aren't optimal.
And please don't forget about the most important impact of such discussions: This way, Samsung gets aware of a problem. So there's a chance that the problems will be solved by an update - for the benefit of ALL users, even if they weren't aware about the problem at all.
If you report the problem to the Samsung "support", you can be sure nobody will care about it. I checked that myself (for Germany, to be precise): I reported a problem more than seven times. Always the same problem, always using a different name. The staff always assured me that the issue was stored in the system and forwarded to the technicians. Guess what ? - At every next call (or chat), I was told that I was the only one reporting it, nobody else had that problem.
But threads at XDA are likely to be noticed by Samsung - and the media.
For me, if it can get me from place A to B when I'm driving or walking in an unknown area, then it's OK.
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That's one of the reasons why I raise that problem.
As said: If your GPS receiver works well, it WILL navigate you safely from A to B. But if it's sensibility is weak, it will do so under bright sunshine, but will fail if there's heavy weather, as such conditions attenuate the GPS signal strength significantly. Result: Under heavy rain, your device will be unable to navigate you safely from A to B.
If you search the net a bit, you'll also find a lot of similar threads where people ran into exactly that situation with the Note 4: On the road, the GPS lost position, leading them nowhere, showing their location 100 m away from the street, and so on.
---
Here's three COMPARISON (!) videos I just took.
Note 4 GPS vs. Z2 Tablet GPS - indoors, good conditions (near window)
Note 4 GPS vs. Z2 Tablet GPS - indoors, worse conditions
Note 4 GPS vs. Z2 Tablet GPS - outdoors
Identical device settings (internal GPS use only, A-GPS data loaded).
If you wonder why the Note 4 performs worse outdoors: It's because the device is flat on the ground. Reception is better with the Note 4 slightly angled.
We got a GPS fix in all three cases; in two cases, the Note 4 achieved a real quick GPS fix.
That's what's making most of you cry out in ecstasy: "Oh ! I've got a fix ! And so fast ! It's such a great device !"
But: Note 4's GPS sensitivity proved far worse than the Z2 Tablet's GPS in all three cases.
THAT'S THE PROBLEM, GUYS.
What I ended up doing once is opening the phone and pulling the springs a bit for better contact with the GPS antenna. Was good to me on the Note 3.
you have a defective phone. i just measured time to cold fix and it was 1.5 seconds indoors on my 910U.
Mine is set to GPS only, google location services OFF.
Have the same lousy gps and bad reception compared to my iPhone 6 plus. Got the phone replaced today but still bad gps and bad signal so in my house I can't even call with it when the same sim in my iPhone gives enough signal for calling. Gonna return the note, feels like they did a "Apple" antennagate with som bad antenna design
Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk
What "Location Mode" do you have on? When mine is on "high accuracy" it jumps all over. When i set it to "gps only" its pretty good. Not sure this has anything to do with you issue or not.
I just tried that software, and after about 60 seconds it was locked on 14 and accurate to 12 feet, sitting indoors.
ChickenWingSoup said:
What "Location Mode" do you have on? When mine is on "high accuracy" it jumps all over. When i set it to "gps only" its pretty good. Not sure this has anything to do with you issue or not.
I just tried that software, and after about 60 seconds it was locked on 14 and accurate to 12 feet, sitting indoors.
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Click to collapse
If you open Google Maps and scroll in all the way, how far is the dot from where you're actually sitting in your house?
Like right on the money or 5', 10', 20', ?
My S4 was on the money. My Note 3 consistently has me about 30-50' from where I actually am.
It's one of the reasons I'm considering an N4 upgrade.
@Class said:
What I ended up doing once is opening the phone and pulling the springs a bit for better contact with the GPS antenna. Was good to me on the Note 3.
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Click to collapse
As far as I saw, the GPS antenna is not in the cover; so it won't help pulling any springs. :/
ChickenWingSoup said:
What "Location Mode" do you have on?
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Tried both modes, results are similar. Right now the Note 4 is next to me, trying to get a fix.
Number of used satellites is permanently changing second-wise: 4, 3, 2, 3, 2, 1, 3, 3, 2, 2, 3, 1, ...
I just tried that software, and after about 60 seconds it was locked on 14 and accurate to 12 feet, sitting indoors.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't help much as an indoor fix heavily depends on many factors like satellite positions, positions of windows and phone, wall material, and so on.
Sometimes I get a quick fix indoors, in most cases it just fails.
Different with Z2 Tablet and S4: Just ALWAYS a fast fix, S4 even fets a sat fix in the basement, where the Note 4 doesn't even see a single satellite.
We need comparisons with other devices.
Chefproll said:
Tried both modes, results are similar. Right now the Note 4 is next to me, trying to get a fix.
Number of used satellites is permanently changing second-wise: 4, 3, 2, 3, 2, 1, 3, 3, 2, 2, 3, 1, ...
Doesn't help much as an indoor fix heavily depends on many factors like satellite positions, positions of windows and phone, wall material, and so on.
Sometimes I get a quick fix indoors, in most cases it just fails.
Different with Z2 Tablet and S4: Just ALWAYS a fast fix, S4 even fets a sat fix in the basement, where the Note 4 doesn't even see a single satellite.
We need comparisons with other devices.
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Having the almost the same fix and locked satellites on my s5, note 4 and Note 10.1 tablet indoor concrete apartment building . They lock on 12 to 15 satellites in less then 30 seconds. no problem
I had the exact same symptoms with my lg g2. When set to high accuracy, the location would jump around. Also, it would see satellites, but take forever to get a fix.
When set to GPS only, it would work fine.
Never was able to fix it.
I have a feeling that it worked fine at first and that this weird behavior started after a firmware update. Could not verify, coz I did not know how to downgrade.
Sent from my A0001 using XDA Premium HD app
marleyb said:
Having the almost the same fix and locked satellites on my s5, note 4 and Note 10.1 tablet indoor concrete apartment building . They lock on 12 to 15 satellites in less then 30 seconds. no problem
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Depends on your location; if your room is just under the roof, you'll experience less problems.
I added a quick video to my first post; just have a look. :/
Chefproll said:
Depends on your location; if your room is just under the roof, you'll experience less problems.
I added a quick video to my first post; just have a look. :/
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Yeah I understand your Note has a problem just saying mine has not. Even with 8 floors above me I still have a fix within 30 seconds
Got a GPS fix inside my living room in less than 30 sec. 4 meters presicion. Can't post a screenshot cause I don't have enough posts yet lol.
I get instant. No problem so far. Mine is Exynos 7 (5433) edition - N910C.
@Chefproll
What processor do you have in your GN4?
I had 2 different AT&T Snapdragon GN4's with very bad GPS.
I've found the GPS to be outstanding on the note 4. It will even locate in an airplane in under 45 seconds at a point over a thousand miles from where it was when it was last on. My HTC EVO 4G lte could not do this, the original Evo could. As for day to day use, it's been flawless.
Yippee. Another considered "based on my expert opinion and test sample of one" thread from an XDA member declaring all Note 4's to have an issue. These "expose" threads get tedious.
Here' what AnandTech found in their testing and what they are reporting maps to my experiences...
At this point, it really goes without saying that the GNSS solution of choice is the one built into Qualcomm's modem. This allows for fixes based upon initial location and time data that the modem has, and therefore in practice every GPS fix is a hot fix and takes around 5 seconds for a lock in good conditions. In the case of the Note 4, with airplane mode on and no assistance data I saw that it took around 50 seconds to achieve a lock, but this is strongly dependent upon environmental conditions. Once locked, I found that the Note 4 had quite a strong lock and quickly went down to 10 foot accuracy level without issue.http://www.anandtech.com/show/8613/the-samsung-galaxy-note-4-review/9
BarryH_GEG said:
Yippee. Another considered "based on my expert opinion and test sample of one" thread from an XDA member declaring all Note 4's to have an issue. These "expose" threads get tedious.
Here' what AnandTech found in their testing and what they are reporting maps to my experiences...
At this point, it really goes without saying that the GNSS solution of choice is the one built into Qualcomm's modem. This allows for fixes based upon initial location and time data that the modem has, and therefore in practice every GPS fix is a hot fix and takes around 5 seconds for a lock in good conditions. In the case of the Note 4, with airplane mode on and no assistance data I saw that it took around 50 seconds to achieve a lock, but this is strongly dependent upon environmental conditions. Once locked, I found that the Note 4 had quite a strong lock and quickly went down to 10 foot accuracy level without issue.http://www.anandtech.com/show/8613/the-samsung-galaxy-note-4-review/9
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For me it works that good when under open air. In the city between high building and threes it is totally worthless. I live in single-storey house made of wood and the Note 4 cant get a fix untill I leave the house. My old SGS 5 had no problems with that and not my current iPhone 6 Plus has no problems with it either. They both get a fix instantly when inside the house. But I have tested three Note 4 and no one of them get a fix inside the house. Think that is a pretty good sign that the Note 4 has worse GPS signal than most other phones. And even the carrier reception is worse with the Notes tested compared to iphone 6 Plus, a Moto G 2013 and a HTC One M8 I have tested in my house. If it is the metall rim or if it is fixable by software I dont know but I am disapointed with my Note, thought I had a faulty one first.
osetivo said:
@Chefproll
What processor do you have in your GN4?
I had 2 different AT&T Snapdragon GN4's with very bad GPS.
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Click to collapse
As mention mine is Exynos 5433 edition. I found most complain is Snapdragon 805 edition. This time Exynos perform better in every aspect.
BarryH_GEG said:
Yippee. Another considered "based on my expert opinion and test sample of one" thread from an XDA member declaring all Note 4's to have an issue. These "expose" threads get tedious.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And another "MY Note 4 is ok, so all others claiming their Note doesn't work as expected are wrong. So let's say something negative things about them and don't take it for real.".
You posted a screenshot, making it impossible to see if the device was used outdoors or indoors.
I also get a quite good reception if I am outdoors - but:
a) There's just no fix although the signal strength is sufficient. Here's a screenshot, taken OUTDOORS:
Note the time of the last GPS fix in the lower right corner. Note 4 had been on all the time, with all Google services active, so there had been a constant check for GPS positional data - with NO success all night long.
b) Indoors, reception is a horror - COMPARED WITH OTHER devices.
It's of no further use if you post a screenshot without comparing the reception with other devices.
Just be happy about YOUR device working - but this does not necessarily mean it's the same with other devices.