[Discussion] GPS Problems, Lock speed, Accuracy, Fixes - The Poll

Your GPS oppinion

  • I use GPS a lot and it works great.

    Votes: 238 13.5%
  • I use GPS a lot and sometimes it's Ok, other times unusable.

    Votes: 405 22.9%
  • I use GPS a lot and it's really bad.

    Votes: 427 24.2%
  • I don't use GPS a lot, when I try - it's OK.

    Votes: 230 13.0%
  • I don't use GPS a lot, when I try - it's really bad.

    Votes: 303 17.2%
  • Other/See Results.

    Votes: 163 9.2%

  • Total voters
    1,766
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appelflap

Inactive Recognized Developer
Feb 9, 2008
4,202
830
Utrecht
thanks for the info i have tried this and keep getting the error "there was an error while sending your track to google my map. please try again later." no matter when i try i get this error

Can you export your tracks? If you can save your track as a .kml file, go to maps.google.com, select "my maps" in the left column, then select "create new map" and click "import" and upload the kml file. Make sure you are logged in to Google.
 

sjdean

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2010
335
5
Take my word for it...... A lot of people have been involved in getting this right.
It's a re-write. ;)

Harumph.

Getting jealous now that you know something we don't.

thanks for the info i have tried this and keep getting the error "there was an error while sending your track to google my map. please try again later." no matter when i try i get this error

I usually get that first time I try, but another upload and it works straight away.

I guess make sure you actually are signed up to Google Maps first then try again. If not. I don't know.

Also, in response to appel, yes, I believe you can export maps.
 
D

Deleted member 2359614

Guest
The UK Samsung tweets about a GPS update appears to be an update to Google Navigation and not the core GPS functionality if I'm reading it right.
 

larryccf

Senior Member
Nov 23, 2009
517
1
is anyone going to try the optional antenna to see if that elilminates RF interference from the equation?

or has that already been eliminated?
 

appelflap

Inactive Recognized Developer
Feb 9, 2008
4,202
830
Utrecht
I've contacted the developer of OruxMaps about the Galaxy S and the fact that I immediately got a fix with the measurements change I mentioned before, and this was his reply:

I think the problem with samsung and others is the poor 'hot gps start' performance. Using +2 seconds for next gps fix, android turns off the gps chip. With HTC devices, there is no problem with this hot start, even with 8-30 seconds; it has good accuracy with the first fix after the restart. But people with samsung have reported problems with accuracy using default OruxMaps values (2 seconds between measurements).

All the applications that use values >1 second in "public void requestLocationUpdates (String provider, long minTime, float minDistance, LocationListener listener)" should have problems unless they take into account the value of the Location getAccuracy(). OruxMaps keeps the gps enabled if the accuracy is above certain value that you can set in the preferences. This also can help to have better gps fixes.

Interesting to know that Android tries to turn of the GPS after +2 secs if it doesn't get a next fix...
 

boomerbubba

Senior Member
Jul 20, 2010
807
126
Interesting to know that Android tries to turn of the GPS after +2 secs if it doesn't get a next fix...

I seriously doubt this. I have tried several apps, and I have never noticed the GPS icon in the notification bar disappearing on its own. which is what would happen if the GPS is actually turned off. It does revert from showing a lock (solid) to searching for a lock (pulsating) when the lock is lost.
 

Kilack

Senior Member
Jul 2, 2010
162
0
I seriously doubt this. I have tried several apps, and I have never noticed the GPS icon in the notification bar disappearing on its own. which is what would happen if the GPS is actually turned off. It does revert from showing a lock (solid) to searching for a lock (pulsating) when the lock is lost.

I have noticed quite a few times that when I go into a gps program the little satellite icon never appears in the notification bar at the top and the gps program never finds anything. If I go into settings I can see the gps is enabled but its like its not actually, if i untick and tick then the satellite icon appears and the program immediately starts working again..
No idea if this is related or yet another issue with the GPS :)
 

Kilack

Senior Member
Jul 2, 2010
162
0
I'd love for Samsung to give us some honesty, and be straight-forward with us, their customers. Like when 3 said that they are working on the Hero 2.1 update, and it'll be a bit late cos they're a small network, and are priorotising iPhone 4/Galaxy S.

http://phandroid.com/2010/08/03/three-uk-htc-heros-eclair-upgrade-awaiting-final-push-from-google/

Indeed that is how it should be. The bigger the company though usually the worse support, they just have to many layers between the customer and themselves, as we have seen with samsung, the frontline customer support have no idea about gps issues and seem to think you are talking about google maps if you have an issue.

Even though I really like the galaxy despite its issues I would be hesitant on making my next phone a samsung after now having seen their customer service (or lack of) in action. It would have to be a stunning phone to make me come back and next time I'd be reading these forums for a couple of months before buying it hehe.
 

boomerbubba

Senior Member
Jul 20, 2010
807
126
I have noticed quite a few times that when I go into a gps program the little satellite icon never appears in the notification bar at the top and the gps program never finds anything. If I go into settings I can see the gps is enabled but its like its not actually, if i untick and tick then the satellite icon appears and the program immediately starts working again..
No idea if this is related or yet another issue with the GPS :)

Hmm. I have never had that experience. But then, I run a U.S. Vibrant variant. As an aside, the symptoms it shows for satellite locking within low-level utilities such as GPS Test are also different from the symptoms reported on this forum for the I9000.
 

appelflap

Inactive Recognized Developer
Feb 9, 2008
4,202
830
Utrecht
I have noticed quite a few times that when I go into a gps program the little satellite icon never appears in the notification bar at the top and the gps program never finds anything. If I go into settings I can see the gps is enabled but its like its not actually, if i untick and tick then the satellite icon appears and the program immediately starts working again..
No idea if this is related or yet another issue with the GPS :)

I don't think it's a issue. It's up to the programmer to keep the GPS enabled in a certain way, otherwise it turns itself off. It's a safety measure against bad programming habits.
 

Kilack

Senior Member
Jul 2, 2010
162
0
I don't think it's a issue. It's up to the programmer to keep the GPS enabled in a certain way, otherwise it turns itself off. It's a safety measure against bad programming habits.

What do you mean its not an issue?
The GPS is ticked ON but for some reason android thinks its off.
Seems like an issue to me. I shouldnt have to untick it and tick it etc to make the gps work.
It doesnt happen all the time just randomly, just like other things with the gps, sometimes it works well, sometimes its horrid but definitely an issue for me at least.
 

ghosty_uk

Senior Member
Jun 3, 2008
185
2
What do you mean its not an issue?
The GPS is ticked ON but for some reason android thinks its off.
Seems like an issue to me. I shouldnt have to untick it and tick it etc to make the gps work.
It doesnt happen all the time just randomly, just like other things with the gps, sometimes it works well, sometimes its horrid but definitely an issue for me at least.

i have noticed this also, the gps it ticked but it is not being used, i think there mite be some sort of sleep mode on it to

a, prevent the phone getting to hot
b, to stop it wasting the battery power

i also notice this woth my old touch hd, the gps is always set to on but only actually starts working when a program calls for it.
 

Kilack

Senior Member
Jul 2, 2010
162
0
i have noticed this also, the gps it ticked but it is not being used, i think there mite be some sort of sleep mode on it to

a, prevent the phone getting to hot
b, to stop it wasting the battery power

i also notice this woth my old touch hd, the gps is always set to on but only actually starts working when a program calls for it.

Yeah I can understand that the tickbox is just to enable gps not make it active but something seems to be going wrong because I can try using several GPS apps and none of them can seem to turn it on sometimes until i untick and tick the box.
As I said its not very often luckily but still annoying when it happens, something not quite right somewhere...
Too many weird things around the GPS for me :).
 

sjdean

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2010
335
5
I've contacted the developer of OruxMaps about the Galaxy S and the fact that I immediately got a fix with the measurements change I mentioned before, and this was his reply:

Interesting to know that Android tries to turn of the GPS after +2 secs if it doesn't get a next fix...

I can't help but feeling but this advice from the developer smells a bit funny. No request in two seconds so shut down the GPS chip? WTF!

Even if it were true, even in MyTracks I continually see a GPS lock. I get a stable GPS lock even though the track is miles out.
 

theholyguy

Senior Member
Jul 26, 2005
100
19
As GPS is more important to me than phone calls, I am making this poll to check if the non-usable satellite issue is wide spread.

on my samsung it works good with COPILOTE in switzerland alpes :) now a off the topic... if GPS is more important to you than phone calls why the hell you buy s phone e not a good GPS device? :)
 

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  • 1
    Which modem are you using with Darky's rom ?

    JL2

    10 chars...
    1
    [video] Bluetooth GPS and SGS GPS compared

    Yeah but who cares if signal is low indoors? Maybe it's always high outdoor? And maybe that with a good signal the SGS behave better than the Bluetooth GPS who knows?

    Tests should be made under normal usage scenarios. And I see two main ones:

    -Mounted in the windshield of a car
    -in a pocket while running/cycling/trekking/kayaking/skiing/parachuting/etc.
    ...
    I've had plenty of GPS problems so I trust you. However, I think you should record tracks while in your car if you want to proove someone that your GPS is wrong.
    OK, I've made a video: the SGS is mounted in my car (real condition - normal usage scenario) ;)


    At the beginning I'm parked and then I drive in town.
    As I'm in town, there are some buildings and the car has an athermal windscreen so the satellite signal reception is not very good. However the GPS is still usable (you can see that sometime the accuracy of the bluetooth GPS drops briefly...).
    In this test the red mark is the current position reported by an old bluetooth SIRF III GPS and the green mark corresponds to the signal of my Galaxy S (I9000) internal GPS.
    The blue circles represent the accuracy reported for each GPS. The mark size is approximately 5 to 10 meters and the map is centred on the bluetooth GPS.
    As I was in the car I can say that the bluetooth GPS position was quite accurate...
    1
    Sorry, I didnt pay attention before, but now I see your "video" is very interesting!
    Which softwares are you using in order to:

    Use both ( a internal and a external) gps receivers at the SAME TIME and allowing MOCK location??
    For the bluetooth GPS, I'm using BlueGPS4Droid which works pretty well with my BT-338. I have configured it to redirect the bluetooth GPS on its own GPS provider. So the internal GPS and the bluetooth GPS are both available at the same time :cool:
    Which software you use to capture video on screen?
    I'm using ShootMe (Screen Grabber) developed by Johan Cloetens.
    Did you ever run a offboard gps program like iGo or Navigon, which are much more reliable than Google navigation?
    How can I compare both GPS, if I use a app that tempers the GPS data ?
    No misunderstanding, that's fine... but not for this particular purpose.
    On the other hand, I prefer also to use open data (OpenStreetMap) and open source software when I can...
    Just back from a long car trip to Germany and my sgs ran iGo MyWay (8.4), flawlessly not only on the highway but also inside the busy city of Hamburg, without any assist of an external bluetooth or a-gps ..

    Anyway I am interesting on that software (video screen capture)..
    My video cam is on a strike
    Since Samsung's last official Froyo update, the GPS of my SGS (July version) doesn't last more than 5 minutes after the first fix. So it's barely usable even with a very good navigation app (another of the many problems I have with my SGS GPS...).
    Except that (and the lack of notification led) it's a great phone.