Database Develop

Glonass

Hello everybody !
I saw that some phones (iPhone 4, Galaxy note, Samsung omnia7) had a GPS chip which also allows to use Glonass (Russian GPS). I've also seen (while searching for information about this glonass) that having 2 times more geo-localisation satellites would make the GPS lock 3 times faster.
So is it possible to enable glonass support in our phone ?
Thank you for your answers !

which phone model are you referring to?
glonass support starts from the chip itself. so if you unit's support is only GPS, then you can't enable glonass.

GNSS: Gaiileo?, dual frequency?

There is almost no information on GNSS. It probably has Galileo given that the previous generation of Huawei phones did - but some preview sites say yes others no.
The Broadcomm BCM4775x dual frequency (L1 L5) chips were predicted to lead to smartphones with < 1m GNSS accuracy this year. So far there are only two devices that have been seen in the wild and the only phone is the Exynos (EU and parts of Asia) version of the Samsung S9 Plus. Samsung has not announced or documented it or provided any interface in their software and in the relevant xda thread, the owners have not yet been able to confirm that the L5 signal is accessible .
The previous generation of Huawei phones used the Broadcomm GNSS chip prior to the BCM4775x series. We probably won't know what the p20 pro is using until there is a teardown.
If the leakers are to be believed the only two brands that will not use Snapdragon/ Qualcomm SOCs in their flagship phones this year are Huawei and Samsung. As Broadcomm and Qualcom are archrivals/ probably incompatible, Huawei would seem to be the best hope for dual frequency cm accuracy in a phone this year.
Anyone know any more?

It' a shame for a new SOC but no galileo on Kirin 970
http://translate.google.com/transla...é-galileotap-to-wakedolphin-résolu/&sandbox=1
https://www.usegalileo.eu//FR/inner.html#data=smartphone

Even if the p20 pro is not Galileo enable, the most important is it dual frequency capable? Coz gps, glonass and beidou are not few also

mkstowegnv said:
Anyone know any more?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The binaries on the P20 vendor partition are for BCM4774 as on older phones.
It supports Galileo (you must download LTO from the internet), but is L1-only.

cr2 said:
The binaries on the P20 vendor partition are for BCM4774 as on older phones.
It supports Galileo (you must download LTO from the internet), but is L1-only.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! When I tried to download the leaked firmware for the p 20, it was 8 Gb unpacked and I had to give up looking inside. Just for the record, if you did the work of finding BCM4774 evidence in the partition (thank you) would you be so kind as to give us a little more detail - even some code snippets if possible (like the xda ers who found and posted firmware evidence for the BCM4775x in the Samsung s9+ - Exynos version).
As you imply and as I understand it, the BCM4774 supports Galileo. But when various people have run GPStest and similar software on various phones, my (limited) understanding is that the phones were getting fixes without an internet connection. I am confused and less informed that I need to be, but do you think that P20 users would need an internet connection to get a Galileo fix? (or are you just saying that it would be a better fix?).
When you say "you must download LTO from the internet" I assume you are referring to the LTO in the following quote from https://www.broadcom.com/products/wireless/gnss-gps-socs :
"In addition to the GNSS receiver chips, Broadcom provides Assisted-GNSS (A-GNSS) and Long Term Orbits (LTO) services. These services are provided from highly reliable cloud-based servers that are fed from a proprietary World-Wide Reference Network (WWRN) stations that collect world-wide GNSS satellite data."

cr2 said:
The binaries on the P20 vendor partition are for BCM4774 as on older phones.
It supports Galileo (you must download LTO from the internet), but is L1-only.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ifixit now has a teardown which confirms the presence of the BCM4774. I put the comment below in Step 10:
Not highlighted is the GNSS Location Hub BCM4774IUB2G above and to the left of the BCM43596 (green). This means that provided the software/ firmware is amenable, this phone should make use of signals from the Galileo satellites (https://www.broadcom.com/products/wirele... ). This is something that different websites and Huawei itself have been inconsistent in reporting.

I tried GPS Satellites Viewer yesterday evening, and it showed me 3 Galileo Satellites without the download of anything. I tried it in the morning again and now I do not find any Galileo satellites... its strange.

Zingel1986 said:
I tried GPS Satellites Viewer yesterday evening, and it showed me 3 Galileo Satellites without the download of anything. I tried it in the morning again and now I do not find any Galileo satellites... its strange.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many apps do not show Gallileo. GPSTest by barbeauDev works.
But it takes a little bit longer until the Gallileo satellites appear in the list.

Oreo bad GPS Accurancy 10 meters.? no galileo support?

Hi,
I was in the beta project from nougat to Oreo. GPS was supporting galileo satalites but when the latest Firmware came the precision only came to 10 meters and not lower.
So i think galileo is not supported or used........ does anyone have that problem to..?
Galileo is a europe sat system.. the P10 have a broadcom chipset we support this system.
but it seems that in the new oreo its not used because 10 meters is normal with the OLD GPS. but with galileo i must see 1 meter / 50 cm.
Like to here what you guys have...
Regards,
Tim

Dual frequency GNSS accuracy screenshots

With the December 2019 update for the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL, users now have access to the L5 (US) and E5a (EU) satellite signals. Let's see what you're getting for accuracy.
It seems, to me, that Android has imposed a hard-coded minimum limit on the horizontal accuracy. I initially blamed an app, but it seems like it's Android which has gone from 6ft accuracy to 9.9ft (2012-2013, if I recall correctly) to now 12.4ft (2017-2018) horizontal accuracy. That doesn't make sense to me, unless it's really just v2 of Selective Availability, now client-side. I remember reading, somewhere, about another dual frequency gnss phone receiving l5/e5a signals, but the article stated that those weren't actually being used in measurements. GPSTest shows "U" for them, so I'm not sure why accuracy is no better than before, unless the software is limiting it.
Here's the gold-standard everyone has used for a few years (it's "GPSTest", not to be confused with the countless "GPS Test" apps):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.android.gpstest
It's not consistent in receiving L5/E5a, and that may be because it's heavily overcast in my area of Texas today. My screenshots are from indoors, on this overcast day. "Force full GNSS measurements" is enabled in developer options, although I've not noticed any subjective difference it makes, through all of the months I've used it.
Two screenshots:
https://imgur.com/a/6W6PeKC

Do you mind uploading your gps.conf file? And what carrier do you have?
Jon8RFC said:
With the December 2019 update for the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL, users now have access to the L5 (US) and E5a (EU) satellite signals. Let's see what you're getting for accuracy.
It seems, to me, that Android has imposed a hard-coded minimum limit on the horizontal accuracy. I initially blamed an app, but it seems like it's Android which has gone from 6ft accuracy to 9.9ft (2012-2013, if I recall correctly) to now 12.4ft (2017-2018) horizontal accuracy. That doesn't make sense to me, unless it's really just v2 of Selective Availability, now client-side. I remember reading, somewhere, about another dual frequency gnss phone receiving l5/e5a signals, but the article stated that those weren't actually being used in measurements. GPSTest shows "U" for them, so I'm not sure why accuracy is no better than before, unless the software is limiting it.
Here's the gold-standard everyone has used for a few years (it's "GPSTest", not to be confused with the countless "GPS Test" apps):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.android.gpstest
It's not consistent in receiving L5/E5a, and that may be because it's heavily overcast in my area of Texas today. My screenshots are from indoors, on this overcast day. "Force full GNSS measurements" is enabled in developer options, although I've not noticed any subjective difference it makes, through all of the months I've used it.
Two screenshots:
https://imgur.com/a/6W6PeKC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

slyyke said:
Do you mind uploading your gps.conf file? And what carrier do you have?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Attached with appended .txt extension so that it would upload without having to be zipped.
Google store edition Pixel 4 on Visible (Verizon Wireless's in-house MVNO).

The GPS accuracy here post December update seems to have degraded as well. I had hoped that dual frequency performance would improve both the reliability of reception and overall accuracy but that has not been the case, while it is currently acceptable the position "walks" quite a bit so lane-level positioning seems as distant as ever.
Kalman filters seem to reduce this error but I haven't had the time to thoroughly test. I have always suspected that the inclusion of additional sensor input(barometer, gyroscope and accelerometer) for a IMU approach would assist.
Let's hope additional updates will address this including use of the Galileo GNSS constellation.

Dual GPS Functionality Disable After Updated to Android 10/MIUI 11

I have a Mi 9 and recently updated via OTA to Android 10 with the bundled MIUI 11. I'm now running MIUI 11.0.6.0 (QFAEUXM) Global Stable.
I just noticed that the Dual GPS option have disappeared from the drop down quick settings, and was replaced by just a "Location" toggle. I used a GPS checker app, and indeed, the dual GPS was somehow disabled or disappeared after the update as it was only showing L1 and E5 bands. For dual bands, the L5 and E5a should also be displayed on the GPS tracker app as well.
Is there a way I can enable the dual GPS back? It's not a major issue, but it will be disappointing as the dual-band GPS was really useful during the short time I used it prior to the update and also one of the reasons why I got this device.

Cherby21 said:
I have a Mi 9 and recently updated via OTA to Android 10 with the bundled MIUI 11. I'm now running MIUI 11.0.6.0 (QFAEUXM) Global Stable.
I just noticed that the Dual GPS option have disappeared from the drop down quick settings, and was replaced by just a "Location" toggle. I used a GPS checker app, and indeed, the dual GPS was somehow disabled or disappeared after the update as it was only showing L1 and E5 bands. For dual bands, the L5 and E5a should also be displayed on the GPS tracker app as well.
Is there a way I can enable the dual GPS back? It's not a major issue, but it will be disappointing as the dual-band GPS was really useful during the short time I used it prior to the update and also one of the reasons why I got this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on xiaomi eu 9.11.28 and what i see is: L1 and L5 for GPS, L1 for GLONASS , E1 and E5a for Galileo, B1 for BeiDou and L1 and L5 for as i understand QZSS (Japan)
As i understand it's not the option was disappeared, it's just the icon has been changed

Hey, I am also on 11.0.6.0 and have noticed the same missing information and icons for dual GPS functionality. However, I ran the GPSTest app and you can check the attachment.. Just note that I am in the southern hemisphere and did the test indoors.

Double gps icon removed. All gps managers work.

Here's a screenshot from the GPSTest app. Not a single L5 or E5a frequency is shown.

Cherby21 said:
Here's a screenshot from the GPSTest app. Not a single L5 or E5a frequency is shown.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May be it's because of your region. Xiaomi love to make things available or not available depending on were you live.

Cherby21 said:
Here's a screenshot from the GPSTest app. Not a single L5 or E5a frequency is shown.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This just depends on your current location. As you can see from the flags you're receiving GPS, Glonass and Galileo satellites. Furthermore if you click 'Sky' in the menu you'll see the current satellites and their respective system in a celestial view.
Cheers
Toscha

Just wanted to chime in as a Pixel 4 user.
I get L5/E5a in the USA, but it isn't instant. I have to sit there with the GPSTest application open, and eventually it picks them up. It's not an instant lock even though L1 is instant, and usually not within 15 seconds, despite already having locked on to the satellites which output L5/E5a signals.
On top of that, the L5/E5a bands don't stay locked. After being locked for a short period (maybe 2 minutes?), then they all disappear, and then take some time to come back, then all eventually disappear again. I have GNSS duty cycling disabled in developer options. I think it's a bug, in addition to the minimum accuracy in Android being hard-coded to not calculate better than 12.4ft/3.8m for horizontal and 8.2ft/2.5m for vertical:
https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/146010208

Deleted

Jon8RFC said:
Just wanted to chime in as a Pixel 4 user.
I get L5/E5a in the USA, but it isn't instant. I have to sit there with the GPSTest application open, and eventually it picks them up. It's not an instant lock even though L1 is instant, and usually not within 15 seconds, despite already having locked on to the satellites which output L5/E5a signals.
On top of that, the L5/E5a bands don't stay locked. After being locked for a short period (maybe 2 minutes?), then they all disappear, and then take some time to come back, then all eventually disappear again. I have GNSS duty cycling disabled in developer options. I think it's a bug, in addition to the minimum accuracy in Android being hard-coded to not calculate better than 12.4ft/3.8m for horizontal and 8.2ft/2.5m for vertical:
https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/146010208
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same. I just noticed the L5 and E5a bands take a while to lock on, or at least only appear at certain times (mostly at night) on my region (Southeast Asia).

Jon8RFC said:
Just wanted to chime in as a Pixel 4 user.
I get L5/E5a in the USA, but it isn't instant. I have to sit there with the GPSTest application open, and eventually it picks them up. It's not an instant lock even though L1 is instant, and usually not within 15 seconds, despite already having locked on to the satellites which output L5/E5a signals.
On top of that, the L5/E5a bands don't stay locked. After being locked for a short period (maybe 2 minutes?), then they all disappear, and then take some time to come back, then all eventually disappear again. I have GNSS duty cycling disabled in developer options. I think it's a bug, in addition to the minimum accuracy in Android being hard-coded to not calculate better than 12.4ft/3.8m for horizontal and 8.2ft/2.5m for vertical:
https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/146010208
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's looks like app scanning for satellite signals. It's not like it's need just to find 3-4 satellites and calculate your location, it's looking for all available satellites and from all available systems (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and etc.). So i don't think it's a bug it's just a scanning process and it takes some time.
In sky view you can see how statuses of satellites changes in live, so it's not only scan it's a live endless scan process

Here're two screenshots, linear distance of the measurement approx. 50 km. It's also different days (December 17, December 19) as well as different times (12:15 pm, 4 pm). However there're significantly less satellites on the latter screenshot. But in both cases L1 and L5, meaning dual frequency GNSS.
Cheers
Toscha

I have a Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro, Global version (I'm in Europe), running MIUI 11.0.3.0 Stable on Android 10. What I've noticed is that while I do have the Dual Frequency icon and the signals are tracked, they are not used. I'm sure that they were used before, but don't remember if it was before or after updating to Android 10. It does take a few seconds for L5/E5a frequencies to appear using GPSTest, but hen they appear without a problem. But they never show the flag "U", which means "Used". So it's pretty much the same as not having them. I'll test other days and outdoors to see if it's always the same.

I have my MI 8 recently updated to Android 10 MIUI 11.0.3.0 (QEAMIXM) Global Stable. After this, no Galileo Signal is available any more. Under Android 9 it was already working. Hope they will fix this issue.