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Hi,
the title actually says it all...
I'm planning on buying an Android phone in the next couple of weeks and the Galaxy S is my prime suspect. However, I don't want a GPS cripple since I plan on using the GPS a lot. The lagfix seems to be coming along nicely with lots of different implementations and Sammy also has plans to fix it, so I'm not worried about that, the GPS trouble on the other hand seems to be very hard to catch and might be hardware related. Has anyone found the cause for the strange behaviour yet? Are there hardware differences between the Galaxy S and the Epic 4G GPS (which apparently won't make it over the pond to Germany). And last and least, is there any real alternative to the Galaxy S coming out in the forseeable future? I'd go for the HTC Desire, but it's SOC just can't keep up with the Hummingbird performance, so it's not really an option...the Droid X is too well locked, so XDA Developers won't be able to provide such a wide vaiety of mods and updates (and that is the most important thing to me since all manufacturers seem to drop support for their "old" devices after about 6 months...)
Any information and advice is appreciated!
Thanks
GPS Problems are software related mate.
There is a "fix" under test, that uses Epic 4G files. Works quite nice, i got a lock at home, with 10meters.
Some people claim that the new OFFICIAL Sammy software JM1, improved the GPS as well, people started getting a Lock at home with 10-30meters.
So yeah.. it is Software related, nothing to worry about.
Thanks!
All the fixes I had read about so far were just augmenting the GPS with Wifi and 3G data to smooth things out and did not really fix the problem. I read about the Epic 4G firmware thingy but can't fin the thread anymore, I'll have to dig a bit deeper and see how things are going there. Let's hope it really is only software and not some defective chip or component interference...
Well.. Currently, actually, there is no proof either way. By the end of September, it is likely that if problems still remain, they are hardware flaws.
I personally believe the main problems are software.
I'm on JM5 with Epic4G "fix". Not much improvement I'm afraid. I get stationary locks, but none while moving. Also, while stationary I seem to "jump" around. Not very optimistic about the whole thing. But let's wait for that september fix and see then what is going on.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
And the strange thing is, the problem is not permament.
I get almost always a lock in 20 sec with 5m accuracy.
But if you primarely want a gps device with an android "add on", why not look at the garmin gps android phones?
Well, I'm not looking for GPS with a phone, I'm looking for the best Android Phone with good GPS...
Only samsung knows the answer. But since there seems to be such a range in severity and after all this time samsung has still not provided a real fix it could very well be that its hardware related. Well find out in september.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
The saddest thing is that Samsung still has not really commented on this. They claim that there is no GPS problem on the Epic 4G which should mean that they know about the issue, but they never said a word about the cause or possible solution or whether all they can do is augment the GPS to make it seem more accurate and smooth.
Maybe some GPS chips were faulty/dodgy and that is why not everybody has these problems...if Samsung would fess up and admit where the problem is we could all rest in peace instead of all in pieces...
CommanderROR said:
The saddest thing is that Samsung still has not really commented on this. They claim that there is no GPS problem on the Epic 4G which should mean that they know about the issue, but they never said a word about the cause or possible solution or whether all they can do is augment the GPS to make it seem more accurate and smooth.
Maybe some GPS chips were faulty/dodgy and that is why not everybody has these problems...if Samsung would fess up and admit where the problem is we could all rest in peace instead of all in pieces...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They've said they are optimising the GPS though.. The reason why developers generally don't explain patches in detail, is because there is no easy way to explain it. If they said "the GPS chip required GPS packets to be processed more consistantly, and change blah blah blah in GPS stack", only techies would understand whats going on.
Easiest way to understand, will be to diff the SGS source code when new code is released...
Well, I'm not waiting for technical mumbo-jumbo from them, but I'd like to know whether there is a fix (e.g. new GPS driver or something) or whether we'll have to send in our devices for new hardware.
The "optimizing" is what worries me really, because to my ears that sounds like improving, not fixing. Improvements have been suggested on these forums already, most augment the GPS signal with Wifi or cell data which is fine but does not solve the problem at all. If Samsung is planning to "optimize" by activating skyhook or something then the device will remain a no-go for me, if they mean "fix" by optimizing and will put int he correct parameters or drivers or whatever to make GPS work then I'll be happy. The word optimizing is just extremely dodgy and does not sound promising at all...
UPDATE:
I just found this in a swiss forum...:
If you hold the SGS in your hand or have it in your pocket the GPS reception is really bad. If you hold it with your fingers without covering the back with your hand or put it in a pouch on the outside of your backpack it wors flawlessly. Apparently covering the GPS antenna in any way badly affects the GPS signal.
I have no idea whether this is reproducibly, but if any SGS owner here wants to give it a try please let me know whether you can support these findings.
I honestly never had(serious) issues with the GPS. I'm using JM5 With Ndrive 10, locks in 30 seconds it's a little inaccurate by a 20 or 15 meters, and very rarely loose fix.
but i think it is for covering the antenna.
I still take my N96 to my work only because it has Garmin.
Does anyone have a reliable GPS on one of the newer roms? I've been using Serendipity (the last version), and have still been having problems.
It wouldn't be a big deal, except I would like to using a cycling app on the phone, and that requires a GPS that doesn't take 10 minutes to lock and looses signal every few minutes. Never mind that it can't even pin point me.
Maybe I'm just not up on todays roms, but my question is the GPS working well?
Thanks!
Using search would have supplied you with about 10,000 threads on how unreliable the GPS is even with fixes, newer roms, etc.
It all depends on your hardware and if you got lucky. If it's truly that bad, especially on any rom, then warranty it.
What cappy said. GPS in these devices is terribly unreliable and there seems to be no rock solid way to fix this. Some phones hardware seem to work better then others, if it really bothers you warranty it repeatedly until you can get a decent timed lock. My dad refused the leave the warranty center until he was able to get locks on his device in less then 10 seconds. Obviously took him a while with these crappy GPS's. He ended up with a much newer revision of the phone not sure what build number but his GPS is noticeably better then mine on the same firmware. I have a 1010 by the way and yes the GPS is aweful. I don't really use it too much other then to find general location sso it doesn't kill me but I understand the frustration with something that Samsung could of very well done a better job at.
At any rate this question has been answered all too many times. If it really kills you complain until you are satisfied. I personally don't think you will be regardless. My dad still moans and groans about his GPS even after all his complaining.
Sent from my i897 running MIUI 1.8.12 with TalonMTD kernel.
Hey all,
First off, big fan of Oxicottin's work over here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1227717
but I live in a part of the country where there's still no feedback from anyone nearby as to which modems perform better/worse with radio signal/data/etc. I've tried plenty of modems myself, but they all seem spotty and it's tough to make any kind of legitimate judgment as to which performs best.
That said, does anyone know of any software out there to track modem performance for us? As in, flash modem X, run an app in the background and let it record signal data as you move throughout your day, then do the same thing tomorrow with modem Y/Z/whatever and then after a week you have some solid information.
If not... any brilliant devs out there who want a new challenge? Seems like a tool that could potentially benefit... everyone.
P.S. Yes, I've searched already with no luck (xda, market, google, etc.).
Best thing you can get is speedtest from ookla on the market. You can run it after flahsing the modem and check upload, download and ping speeds. It also keeps a history to make comparisons.
I second this. I think it would be a really useful tool to audit different modems. Speedtest is nice but it doesn't really tell you how good your overall experience will be. If I had any coding knowledge, I would attempt making an app myself, but sadly that isn't the case. Hopefully someone will turn this idea into reality!
definitely appreciate the tip, i'll give it a try. have to say though, i'm one of those weird old-school people who would rather sacrifice data speeds than call quality/consistency (yeah, i know...). but i guess i can just assume that the best data speed also means best general modem performance (not sure if that's true or not but hey, beggars can't be choosers i suppose.)
Apparently, Qualcomm updated the drivers for the s2 and s3 chips, to support GLONASS navigation. That's great.
But when will it be enabled on the HTC phones?
I know the old Sony Xperia line got updates.
Do you think it is coming in the ICS Sense 3,6 update???
http://wmpoweruser.com/qualcomm-enables-glonass-support-for-all-snapdragon-s2-processors/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1395092
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB9pXInwh3k&noredirect=1
http://www.phonearena.com/news/All-Q...LONASS_id24830
No?
OK
Hmm.. Might not be HTC's priority number 1, since GPS system allready works pretty nicely.
Maybe in some far-future-update, but I hardly belive that its activated in the upcoming ICS update.
Well, here in Scandinavia, the GPS system isn't quite as accurate, and my Inc S frequently jumps 20-100 meters all over the place, especially when running in the forests. The Russian GLONASS system covers the northern hemisphere and would increase accuracy in Scandinavia by over 50%. Down to ~2m....
In other words - I, personally would probably see a significant improvement. That's why I'm wondering...
Monkeybrew said:
Well, here in Scandinavia, the GPS system isn't quite as accurate, and my Inc S frequently jumps 20-100 meters all over the place, especially when running in the forests. The Russian GLONASS system covers the northern hemisphere and would increase accuracy in Scandinavia by over 50%. Down to ~2m....
In other words - I, personally would probably see a significant improvement. That's why I'm wondering...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you might see that I live in Scandinavia too. And I'm well aware that GPS is really inaccurate from time to time.
But still probably not important enough for HTC. Most customers don't need GLONASS, so some regional update is highly unlikely.
You're probably right. Even though Sony updated all their old xperia phones immediately.
Too bad.
Nothing yet
Send a mail to HTC'c customer support and ask them?
Will most likely not help, but you never know until you've tried
Sent from my Incredible S using XDA
Isn't it possible to enable GLONASS in a custom ROM? HTC will never update this phone more.
Monkeybrew said:
Isn't it possible to enable GLONASS in a custom ROM? HTC will never update this phone more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wouldn't that be more of a kernel thing? Maybe Nonverbose could weigh in on the possibility of enabling it somehow.
Been reading the forums here and it seems like this has a lot of issues, especially for the EU region. No LTE 800 / 700 bands, bad GPS sometimes, bloatware and the MIUI 7.0/8.0 is something you/I don't want, but there are no really good alternatives (or are there?).
Anything else you guys could come up with or think of? :fingers-crossed:
Edit: Anyone that has fixes for all these issues / concerns / deviations?
I got a Mi5 2 weeks ago, unlocked it and tried diffrent custom roms. All worked pretty well, I really liked the phone.
I switched from an iphone 6, so wasnt that used to Android.
A few days ago I switched to MIUI 8 from xiaomi.eu and I really love it. Everything Works really smooth and think the phone is great.
Only bad thing is the missing band 20. It Works ok for Me anyway, but I lose connection in done areas.
So if you get the phone, give MIUI 8 a Chance, you might like it.
MIUI 8, hmm I'd like something more normal Andy and B20 and those, that's a big issue here. I like the name though Mi 5. Sounds British.
Seems like this one is a dead end though, might just give up on it.
I just bought a Mi 5 (64GB, 3GB) to replace my LG G2, gave in to temptation after the recent price drop. I've been meaning to buy a new phone for a while but never found anything that ticked all my boxes so decided to get something cheap and I really need a dual-sim phone right now.
First time I bought a Chinese branded phone after reading lots about them. Lots of threads about bugs and issues with ROMs etc.
Mine is a 3rd party China import set so the first thing I did was to flash a fresh official rom (it came with China rom MIUI v7) and do a factory reset. I spent a lot of time deciding whether to stick with the China rom or try the official Global rom or even the Xiaomi EU unofficial rom. In the end I installed the China MIUI v8 rom to give it a try (I heard that the Global rom doesn't perform as well) and that did not require unlocking the bootloader.
I can happily say that the phone is wonderful. So far has exceeded my expectations. Very smooth and snappy. Lots of customisation settings to play with. There is no bloatware, depends on your definition I guess. There are a few apps meant for local Chinese which are quite well done and interest me but nearly all of them can be uninstalled.
MIUI software is fine just not a fan of MIUI launcher though. Bit too basic and childish for me so installed Google Now launcher.
Build quality is great on mine. GPS works great. Camera is very good but not the absolute best. Fingerprint scanner is fast. Dual-sim works 4G+3G which is quite rare. Battery life is brilliant for me. My usage (social media, messaging, email, maps etc..., but no gaming) gets me a day and a half.
Can't help with the lack band support though (I live in Asia).