[Q] Nexus won't see GPS satellites

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thespot84

Member
Mar 9, 2008
15
0
Denver
I've had the nexus toro (LTE) for 5 days now and have had issues with the GPS since the start. It simply says 'searching' all the time and will not lock. I've installed GPS status, and it shows that it rarely if every sees a satellite (one might pop up, be gray for a second, then disappear).

Here's a pic comparing my OG droid to the nexus right next to each other:
imgur.com/VFc3s
(sorry i'm not allowed to post links yet)

Anyone have any ideas? I've turned GPS on/off, reset the gps cache using GPS Status, and can't think of anything else.
 

Remedyz

Member
Oct 19, 2010
18
1
NY
I feel like a dolt because I chatted with Samsung support and they had me soft-restart which fixed the issue.

Don't; that is not a solution. On my Samsung Fascinate soft restarts would help get a lock on, but shortly after the GPS would lose connection to satellites.

Having to restart your phone every time you need to use GPS is a ridiculous inconvenience. This seems to be a major flaw in the chips / radios that Samsung chooses for GPS.
 

P-bot

Member
Oct 22, 2010
43
1
One of the main reasons I upgraded from the Galaxy S (fassy) was that it's GPS chip went from working not very well to not working at all. If I'm paying for a smart phone, I would like a to have GPS and maps.

So far I have not been disappointed with the GNex's GPS at all. Maybe I lucked out. Try downloading GPSfix from the market and see if that helps.
 

fireon123

Senior Member
Oct 14, 2010
147
17
Göteborg
I have the exact same problem here in Sweden, went for a run and it would not lock on to any satellites at all during half an hour. Really disappointing, thinking of returning it due to this...

Has anybody found a solution to the problem maybe???
 

subsonicbug

Member
Dec 17, 2011
44
18
Baltimore, MD
was having same problem

Hello fellow GNex users having the GPS issue.
I was having a GPS problem as well where when using Google Maps or Navigation, the GPS status would say 'searching for GPS' forever.. maybe after 10 minutes it would get a lock and operate normally after that.
I downloaded an app from the android market called GPS Test to try to get some better idea of what could be going on.
When I ran the app, I noticed my phone would pick up a few satellites (satellites in view) usually 4 or 5 satellites, but it would never use them, they would just appear as in view without being used for a location, and the GPS test app was never able to report my location. From within the GPS app settings I was able to clear aGPS and update aGPS, but the same behavior would reoccur where the satellites would be in view but would not be used for location.
I tried toggling Wi-Fi, clearing out other location methods, and even going into airplane mode to use GPS only, but same behavior.
What I finally did was clear aGPS once more and then immediately power off the phone, pull the battery, wait a couple minutes and then replace battery and power back on.
Upon going back into GPS test, I did an update aGPS, and then I started to immediately pick up satellites and use them for location. Toggling all the same data connectivity settings (Wi-Fi, location using towers, airplane mode etc) I was continuing to get the same positive response.
I have tried to use google maps and google navigation again and am getting near immediate GPS locks. Comparing this to my Nexus One, the lock is much faster and with about the same accuracy.
This seemed to solve my problem for now, I hope it might help anyone else.

Phone information:
Verizon Galaxy Nexus
Stock Android ICS 4.0.2 Build ICL53F
 

SirJohn2024

New member
Jan 11, 2012
1
0
subsonicbug got it right...
I had the same problem of never syncing GPS, I follow the suggested method and voilà 2 secs GPS sync... :)
You save my day
Thank you
 

AnalogXDA

Senior Member
Jan 17, 2011
165
23
subsonicbug's method was the only thing that got my GPS back to usability after several very frustrating days during which my GNex could barely see two or three satellites (and not get a fix on any of them) even under an open cloudless sky.

He or she is clearly on to something...now let's hope that we (and by "we" I mean people way more knowledgeable than me) can figure out why a significant number of Galaxy Nexus devices get so far out of whack that only a soft GPS state reset followed by a battery pull can get GPS working again.
 

acc131

Member
May 26, 2010
17
1
there's actually an easier way that doesn't involve a battery pull. download the app "gps status & toolbox", press menu, tools, "manage a-gps state", reset, after a soft reboot go back into the app, follow the same process but instead of pressing "reset" press "download" after the download you should be good to go. hope this helps!
 
W

WiredPirate

Guest
FasterFix works for me, make sure you have busybox installed.:)
 
D

Deleted member 2842059

Guest
The unit I'm currently using says location unavailable after resets, pulls, wipes. Hardware problem? I do get intermittent flashes of use.
 

kamileon

Senior Member
May 10, 2010
156
11
Phoenix
Here is a fix that may work. I had the same problem and this worked for me, got a gps lock with gmaps in less than a minute. I have the VZW GNex, rooted bootloader unlocked, works with any rom.

Conditions needed:
1. Phone needs to be rooted, I believe, if you have success with out root please share.
2.file explorer, I use root explorer

Now follow these steps:
1. Open root explorer, or any other file explorer
2. Navigate to /etc
3. Ensure the system is mounted r/w, if using root explorer press mount r/w
4. Open gps.conf with text editor
5. The first line will say NTP_SERVER=north-america.pool.ntp.org. Where it says north-america it could list a different continent depending on your location.
6. Edit this line by removing the north-america
7. It should now read NTP_SERVER=pool.ntp.org
8. Save the file and exit

Now open open any app requiring GPS and you should get an instant lock, or pretty close to instant.
 

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  • 5
    was having same problem

    Hello fellow GNex users having the GPS issue.
    I was having a GPS problem as well where when using Google Maps or Navigation, the GPS status would say 'searching for GPS' forever.. maybe after 10 minutes it would get a lock and operate normally after that.
    I downloaded an app from the android market called GPS Test to try to get some better idea of what could be going on.
    When I ran the app, I noticed my phone would pick up a few satellites (satellites in view) usually 4 or 5 satellites, but it would never use them, they would just appear as in view without being used for a location, and the GPS test app was never able to report my location. From within the GPS app settings I was able to clear aGPS and update aGPS, but the same behavior would reoccur where the satellites would be in view but would not be used for location.
    I tried toggling Wi-Fi, clearing out other location methods, and even going into airplane mode to use GPS only, but same behavior.
    What I finally did was clear aGPS once more and then immediately power off the phone, pull the battery, wait a couple minutes and then replace battery and power back on.
    Upon going back into GPS test, I did an update aGPS, and then I started to immediately pick up satellites and use them for location. Toggling all the same data connectivity settings (Wi-Fi, location using towers, airplane mode etc) I was continuing to get the same positive response.
    I have tried to use google maps and google navigation again and am getting near immediate GPS locks. Comparing this to my Nexus One, the lock is much faster and with about the same accuracy.
    This seemed to solve my problem for now, I hope it might help anyone else.

    Phone information:
    Verizon Galaxy Nexus
    Stock Android ICS 4.0.2 Build ICL53F