[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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sjdean

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2010
335
5
I tried upgrading to XXJG5. While I appear to get a more stable signal, there seems to be some buffering.

If you use programs like MyTracks or Waze, you may lose the GPS connection, and the GPS will still think you're 100 feet away. But this time, instead of zig zags, it seems to think that you have to be there and it has to draw in the map until that point has been reached.

I got some REALLY odd tracks in Waze and MyTracks.

I never had this in my newer SGS running XXJF3, but that eventually too crapped out on me after a couple of weeks.

Im beginning to think that this actually isn't firmware but a really bad design and rather than fixing the driver and the reporting of the data, Samsung are just putting in hacks to try and get around the issue. Mmmmm.

Cya
Simon
 

larryccf

Senior Member
Nov 23, 2009
517
1
SJDEAN - while i don't know the answer as to whether it's hardware or software, i suspect you may be onto something

what's troubling me is finding about 12 folks, like myself, whose GPS was exceptionally accurate, and then after anywhere from 5 - 10 days, it starts demonstrating the issues

don't understand why it would start out fine and then go south - i can understand corrupted software but ....

mine went squirrely on me last nite - going to test it again tonite -



PS- had to run to our attorneys office, so i let our runner drive while i monitored the GPS on the vibrant - afraid mine has gone south totally - GPS Test showing 14 sats in view, 0 in use

at the same time for 75% of the 7.9 mile trip it showed us to be exactly where we were, the rest of the time it might show the car over in a field 75 yds off to the side, or pointed 90 degrees in the wrong direction -

then i had the runner purposely take a short cut that was not routed in the route Google Nav had set up, and it took it 1/4 mile to start rerouting and another 1/4 mile to complete the new route - that wasn't lag, that was it trying to really know where we were (my MyTOuch 3G would have done it inside of 3 - 5 car lenghts and been announcing the new next turn).

I'm afraid i'm thinking this phone's going back - i'm not willing to gamble on samsung sorting this mess out as the asian units have been out now 2 - 3 months and they're still experiencing it

and if it proves to be hardware, i really doubt samsung will step up to the plate. If i return, i can always buy it again if they do straighten the issues out
 
Last edited:

madmackem

Senior Member
Dec 19, 2005
103
8
Huawei P30 Pro
Huawei P40 Pro
went out today using my gps for the first time, drove from tyneside to teeside about 45 min drive only lost signal twice for any amount of time, once on a sliproad it thought i'd turned off but was ok in about 15 seconds and again for about 30 seconds in heavy industrial area. JG5 firmware
 

ghosty_uk

Senior Member
Jun 3, 2008
185
2
Beware... they come and get you :D This was posted in these forums before.

i think this has been mentioned before but american users of the galaxy s are reporting much improved gps functionality by following the steps below:

1. Disable “Use Wireless Networks”;
Navigate to Settings > Location & Security > uncheck the box next to “Use Wireless Networks”
2. Go to the phone and dial *#*#1472365#*#*
This step throws you into LBSTestMode menu
3. In the LBSTestMode menu change “Operation Mode” to MS Based
In the LBSTestMode menu, find “SUPL/CP Settings” and change the SERVER & PORT to supl.google.com and port 7276 (DO NOT use www. in front of supl)
4. REBOOT
5. Enable “Use Wireless Networks”
(Navigate to Settings > Location & Security > check the box next to “Use Wireless Networks”)

cheers

tried this and i got a better signal but google still jumps form point to point, it dont seem to be able to smooth tracking, skrobbler did the same, but i check the sat usage, info in skrobbler and it said it was tracking 5 satalites but only locked to 3.

which shows the gps hardware is fine, which would lead to either a software issue, or some kind of software to hardware interface issue, which i imagine can be fixed.

i mite try emailing samsung support as my phone is like 4 days old, or i could try and get a new one from where i got mine phones for you. i have there insurance policy and in 4 days you dont expect this sort of issue.

michael0702, i wasnt actually aware i could do that, as i said i have only had the phone a few days so im still learning the functionality, one thing i have noticed is the battery life is pants, it only lasted a day.
 

sjdean

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2010
335
5
So the replacement Galaxy S Clove gave you is also playing up Simon?

Yes indeed.

But don't get me wrong.

The old one was unusable. Flat plain, unusable. It would jump around left right and centre, typical zig zag tracks in my tracks at any opportunity.

The replacement was much better, and for a couple of weeks held its own. But it has started to deteriorate. Not so much in the view that I get zig zags, but that it loses lock.

Strange goings on.

XWJG5 seems to smooth things out, but whatever algorithm its using, XXJF3 is much better.
 

badmrfrosty

Member
Jul 13, 2010
18
0
Prague
Update to my test done with the newly released JM2 firmware. I am currently sat on a bus travelling from Prague to Bratislava. I have had gps on the whole time. While stationary at the bus station the gps lock had my position to 5 metres and all looked great. When we started moving it was a totally different story, i havent been able to maintain a lock since we left an hour ago. Conclusion, new firmware makes gps great when not moving but its still beyond useless as a navigation device.


Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
 

Seifer1975

Senior Member
Dec 4, 2006
954
82
Singapore
There is a very simple solution, though not perfect if you want the gps to lock on faster and hold on to the satellites. In the lbstestmode menu, change accuracy to a bigger no. I am using 140 now. I also tried setting it to a very small no and the gps will not lock to any satellites, even those with snr >30.

Be warned though that your gps will not work if the no is too big.

Edit: I tried with 150 and got once it locked on to 3 satellites with snr 19, 19, 18. The columns are orange.
 
Last edited:

blessonje

Member
Jul 24, 2010
39
3
mine is the worse case.. I tried to find my location many times..but aftr a lot search it says 'Your location is temporarily unavailable'...So for me i bought a $600 mobile which doesnt have a GPS...Simply sucks..:(
 

sjdean

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2010
335
5
Edit: I tried with 150 and got once it locked on to 3 satellites with snr 19, 19, 18. The columns are orange.

Do you get a consistent lock, or do they just flash orange once and lose signal?

I get that all the time, which suggests that part, the SnR <20, is at least a firmware bug. It's still disturbing that it's been 4 months (3 months in pre-production from announcement to release, and 1 month til now) and still no fix.
 

Tyxerakias

Senior Member
Jun 19, 2010
522
300
London, UK
I'm on holidays now in Greece and I'm happy with my GPS.

Before I left, I tried everything that was suggested here and I mean everything. The last thing I tried, with which I noticed a much stabler lock but still not great accuracy when I tried on the bus (I don't own a car in London), was deleting the secgps.conf file (in /data/gps), which is autogenerated when you run that secret test menu. When you reboot the phone, it generates it with its default settings, which include NUM_OF_FIX=999999999 instead of 0, and do not have TIME_BTW_FIX=0. Also SESSION_TYPE is changed to 2, instead of 1 and SERVER_MODE is 0 instead of 1.

If you run the *#147.. test, it immediately gets overwritten with the other values, even if you don't change anything in the test (This means that if that file plays a role in the GPS settings, you have changed it just by entering the test code, and you should change it back anyway! - by deleting it and rebooting).

I have no idea if this is what made a difference. But these last few days in my car, with the phone in a car holder, I have been navigating with Sygic and not a single drop, and even the displayed speed is correct most of the time. I can't ask for more from an in-car GPS. It's still not as extremely accurate as my old external bluetooth GPS that I used with my Nokia, but so far it hasn't failed to tell me 'turn' when I should. I'm very happy with it.

Simon, since you have rooted your phone now, you can try this and see if it makes a difference.

My wifi and wifi location is off, but I don't think that matters.

I have limited data here, so I set it to 'always 2G'. I also have the gps.conf (in /system/etc) set to the european ntp server, but I also don't think that matters, since I don't use A-GPS.

Unfortunately I still don't think it's usable for walking. GPS Test shows that it loses fix when the screen autorotates, and I also think the reception is affected by holding it with your hands (someone else has mentioned this too). I will test this further in the coming days.
 
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Evans_Prophet

Senior Member
Feb 6, 2006
129
1
Tyxerakias, the reason why the gps is so much better is probably the Greek clear blue sky.

Furthermore, the number of viewable sats changes over time from 6 to 12. So if you tested when 12 sats were passing by over the area, your results would be much better than if only 8 were passing by...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ConstellationGPS.gif

Sygic works for me as well fine, but this is probably due to other reasons (e.g. sygic knows / expects your path).
 
Last edited:

Beards

Senior Member
Nov 3, 2008
4,282
886
Broadcom InConcert BCM20751

The Broadcom InConcert BCM20751 Combo Chip

Have a read of that guys...... and Mark (TravUK), if you are hanging around ~ I know you can't say too much but I will ask... comments my friend?
 

hkmatt

Member
Jul 18, 2010
14
0
Best firmware for GPS is ZSJF7

Hey all,

I have recently bought three SGS phones from different countries/regions with different firmwares. The first was a UK model and I was annoyed as GPS was useless. I flashed up to JM2 but there is no difference...did all the tweaks in the hidden GPS menu....but still no way. I bought the Chinese model yesterday with a June version of ZSJF7 and it is spot on I have GPS connection within seconds of up to 10 satelites. I had the others SGS phones right next to them and they got 1 satelite...yes: 1 (!!!), so I tried various firmwares....finally I flashed them all to the CN ZSJF7 and now it is a dream. It's also faster than JM2, but has less features....so if you want a GPS fix...get ZSJF7.

Cheers
 

eaglesteve

Senior Member
Apr 7, 2007
3,747
6
Sydney
I just flashed JM2 and completed it a few minutes ago, because I was so frustrated with my GPS. I tried the tricks in a few thread already but they don't solve the problem. I was hoping that JM2 would solve it, but you say it doesn't?

Where can we get this ZSJF7? Any link to a server with reasonable download speed?

Thanks you for your info. Cheers.
 

hkmatt

Member
Jul 18, 2010
14
0
You can go to samsung-firmware*webs*com/samsungi9000*htm to download it...sorry I cannot post links here so substitute the "*" with "."

Make sure you take ZSJF7 and not XXJF7.....

Let me know if it works for you....
 

eaglesteve

Senior Member
Apr 7, 2007
3,747
6
Sydney
You can go to samsung-firmware*webs*com/samsungi9000*htm to download it...sorry I cannot post links here so substitute the "*" with "."

Make sure you take ZSJF7 and not XXJF7.....

Let me know if it works for you....

Got it. Downloading now.

Thank you very much. Will let you know if it works for me.

BTW, what pitfile do you use when you moved from JM2 to this?
 

mika34

Senior Member
Dec 31, 2008
439
2
Dublin
I just flashed JM2 and completed it a few minutes ago, because I was so frustrated with my GPS. I tried the tricks in a few thread already but they don't solve the problem. I was hoping that JM2 would solve it, but you say it doesn't?

Where can we get this ZSJF7? Any link to a server with reasonable download speed?

Thanks you for your info. Cheers.

Guys did you try this settings? works for me perfectly

In Settings turn off "Use wireless networks" in Location and security.
put on dialer *#*#1472365#*#*
"Application settings" > Operation mode set > "MS Based"
In "SUPL/CP Settings" change server on : supl.google.com and port on 7276 (or 7272 if 6 doesnt work for you)
Restart your phone
Turn back on Use wireless networks ( i did`t )

LET ME KNOW PLEASE. Hopefully will work for you
 

eaglesteve

Senior Member
Apr 7, 2007
3,747
6
Sydney
Guys did you try this settings? works for me perfectly

In Settings turn off "Use wireless networks" in Location and security.
put on dialer *#*#1472365#*#*
"Application settings" > Operation mode set > "MS Based"
In "SUPL/CP Settings" change server on : supl.google.com and port on 7276 (or 7272 if 6 doesnt work for you)
Restart your phone
Turn back on Use wireless networks ( i did`t )

LET ME KNOW PLEASE. Hopefully will work for you

You got this from a thread that says something like 101 in GPS right? I read that thread and noted that your setting is the same as what was mentioned there.

I had tried that just before I flashed to JM2. It didn't work. I used a tracking program to plot my position and drove around. It was all over the place, and stop tracking in the middle of the trip. I did a second test, by remaining completely staionary. The recorded "trip" showed me moved to a lot of places, some half a kilometers away, some about a kilometers away, although I didn't move.
 

mika34

Senior Member
Dec 31, 2008
439
2
Dublin
You got this from a thread that says something like 101 in GPS right? I read that thread and noted that your setting is the same as what was mentioned there.

I had tried that just before I flashed to JM2. It didn't work. I used a tracking program to plot my position and drove around. It was all over the place, and stop tracking in the middle of the trip. I did a second test, by remaining completely staionary. The recorded "trip" showed me moved to a lot of places, some half a kilometers away, some about a kilometers away, although I didn't move.

Oh sorry. I did`t try to drive with it yet. Just bought it yesterday and when applied new settings got 7 setalites (before 0!).

I had HD2 before. And i`m still big noob in this "new world" of adnroid and samsung.
Would you just tell me what JM2 is? I went on that page with all the firmwares and don`t know which one to chose. You saying I9000ZSJF7 and there is newer from I9000BUJF5 2010 July is that not good?
 

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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.