GPS Issues on Desire HD - Considerations, tools and tips

[giegi_dc]

I'd like to make a unique single thread with all the issues related to gps on DHD and the procedures/tips to make it work better.



MY EXPERIENCE

I was ready to go to dinner to my girlfriend's uncle (50km far away). I bought my DHD two days before. Ok, let's try gps. Google navigator. Started driving and my phone didn't get a lock. After five minutes of driving, i needed some help from navigator. Nope, still no gps lock. I stopped the car, got out with DHD in hand and lock again in two minutes with the sky in sight. No problem until destination. At the end of the dinner, on the road again. For the first 3 minutes, gps lock. Then lock lost, gps icon blinking and nothing. Tried to reload the phone. Fast boot first time and complete reboot the second time. I didn't stop the car this time, tried while driving (my girlfriend handled telephone while i was driving ).
It took 45 minutes to get lock again. Thanks god, i learned the route on the journey there.
The same thing happened again three times in the next days.
I thought that some software installed corrupted my phone.....(sorry, i was used to the windows mobile whims!!!!).
Hard resetted, but the problem was always there. Without logic, sometimes i had gps lock, sometimes not. Sometimes my DHD was keeping the lock until destination, other times gps lock was lost while moving.



GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

Not all the people complaints about gps on DHD. I don't know why but there are many people who have problems using it. I think that, except for the faulty devices with defective gps chip, the behaviour is the same for all devices. Only the people perception about the performances of gps are different, and their behaviours of use. I had different expectations about gps. I was used to start driving without gps lock, my HtcHD would have always found lock in one minute anyway. Even if moving, even if many clouds or raining.
People who arrived to Android coming from Windows Mobile do experience a general lack of speed in locking gps position and a very different way about gps is handled by the OS.
My DesireHD hardly locks gps where my previous HtcHD locked gps in few seconds.
The same difficulties I have now with DesireHD, I had them too when I installed Android on my HtcHD. But I thought it was the unstable Android SD ROM's fault.
Another issue is the speed of hot start: DHD seem to have a very very short term memory in fact of gps. Hot start is really hot only if you reconnect within short time.
My HtcHD was able to reconnect in few seconds even if hours passed from the previous lock, if not moved.
My new DHD needs more time to lock, even if the previous lock was 30 minutes before. It happens to take 45 seconds or more to lock again if the sky is not completely in sight.
Even if I get lock with GPS Status, shutdown the program and I reopen it few seconds after, gps lock is not immediate. It takes almost ten seconds to lock.
I think I have to forget the Winmo performances in fact of gps, on Android.
(I think it's the only thing i'm gonna be missing, anyway......)
I think i'll have to wait for the lock before start driving from now.



ISSUES EXPERIENCED BY USERS

- DHD locks gps but when moving it loses the lock and it stays for minutes (from 10 to 60) looking for it again. -

Let DHD get an outdoor strong gps lock for some minutes before starting to move.



- DHD is unable to find a lock. Phone never ever locked gps, whether indoor or outdoor, with the whole sky in sight.

Try resetting AGPS data and let your phone get a lock without data connection, outdoor with the sky in sight on a plain stable surface

If you never ever succeed to get a lock, you should consider to have a faulty chip on your device. I think it's better to contact HTC Repair service.



- DHD behaves with no logic. Sometimes it finds a lock in seconds, sometimes it takes ages to find a lock.

Let DHD get an outdoor strong gps lock for some minutes before starting to move.



- DHD is unable to find a lock if any data connection is available.

Try resetting AGPS data e let your phone get a lock without data connection, outdoor with the sky in sight on a plain stable surface


TIPS

Do all of these steps. And, except for the first, try to do them all the times you use gps. And evaluate the improvements, if there are.

One time procedure:
- Force the phone to lock gps without any data connection and check APN type (see below for the link to step-by-step procedure).
It is important to put the phone outdoor on a stable and straight surface in order to get a strong lock, with a complete view of the sky.
My advice is to empty a-gps data BEFORE doing this operation (this can be done with GPS Status - Menu => Tools => MAnage Agps state => Empty data - The program is free and doesn't need root permissions)


Before every use of gps:

- Use FasterFix (needs root permissions) to change NTP server zone. The system/etc/gps.conf file contains parameters for NTP server and AGPS data. In mine i find that the ntp server used is located in northamerica. I live in Rome so I use Fasterfix to change it, forcing to use european ntp server. I don't know why but Android changes by itself this file, putting again north america server, so i have to change it more than once in a day to keep it using european server.
NOTE: Fasterfix gives back an error the first time you open it, choose the seerver and try to apply it. Only the second or the third attempt, it returns an ok result. Don't mind error. Don't worry about it. Even if returned error, it did its job anyway.

- Synch Device clock with atomic time. I use ClockSynch (needs root permissions), but every program capable of doing the same thing can be used. This is intended to help device in calculating your position. More accurate time means less corrections by the software, faster position calculating and a more accurate position.

- Let the phone get a strong lock BEFORE starting to move with your car. A couple of minutes before, you should let your phone on a stable surface, with sky in sight. Outdoor, obviously. Better if outside the car.
This thing could seem stupid, i know. But let your DHD get the lock in a place where it has a good view to the satellites. Let it acquire precision (you can see it in the left middle part of the screen, using GPS Status). Start moving only when precision has reached a minimum value (expressed in meters/feets - lower value, more accurate). You will see that gps lock will be more and more stable than before.

- Use a task killer program to kill all the processes which may use gps. I noticed that if one or more program able to use gps have been left opened in background, sometimes, without logic, something goes wrong and Gps receiver is no longer reachable by software.
In this situation if I open GPS Status, I see gps icon blinking, but in fact no satellites are seen by the program. I mean that on the screen is not shown 0/3 or 0/5 satellites. On the screen i see nothing about the number of sats, neither 0/0, empty. And in some situations this thing cannot be true (i.e. if i am completely outdoor with a perfect sky view).



RESOURCES

Gps lock without data connection: http://wccftech.com/2010/09/09/solving-gps-nofix-problem-cyanogenmod-6-nexus/

Gps Status: http://www.appbrain.com/app/gps-status-toolbox/com.eclipsim.gpsstatus2

FasterFix: http://www.appbrain.com/app/fasterfix/com.Double.FasterFix

ClockSync: http://www.appbrain.com/app/clocksync/ru.org.amip.ClockSync

Advanced Task Killer: http://www.appbrain.com/app/advanced-task-killer/com.rechild.advancedtaskkiller



EDIT: I have a stock ROM. Nothing upgraded. The only modification is the root access permissions granted with visionary.

 

[a33a]

Good thread, helpful and insightful.
I am going to download all those applications as I too have been experiencing Slow GPS lock.
Just 1 possible solution for you, have you tried to upgrade your radio? This may sometimes help solve GPS problems.

Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

 

[giegi_dc]

No, I didn't upgrade my radio.
I'd like to do it but i'm very hesitant to mess around with my phone like this.

P.S. Let me know if you had some improvements.

 

[CitizenLee]

No, I didn't upgrade my radio.
I'd like to do it but i'm very hesitant to mess around with my phone like this.

P.S. Let me know if you had some improvements.

Updated radio can make a MASSIVE difference. One of the best things you can do to your phone if you're having any kind of GPS / 3G / Wifi issues.

Go to:

Menu > Settings > About Phone > Software Info

Where it says Baseband Version, this is your radio version.

 

[onesolo]

For me the most annoything that happens with GPS is that when playing a music and using at the same time an offline map gps program, when a voice or some ding dong sound happens, the music played stops and resumes after those gps sounds ends...

I think this is due to Android sys... even WinMobile it's better on this...

 

[ulgaming]

Thanks for the tips. My GPS is locking on very quickly now and even inside buildings. I used clocksync + GPS status + Fasterfix. Fixing to around 8 - 9 satellites indoors and 12/12 outdoors.

 

[atifhasan86]

Done.

Great.
It Works!!!!

initially it would take me a good minute or two to acquire a precise location INDOORS, now it does it in 10-15 secs!!!!!!

i was already using GPS Status, this is with FasterFix.

Thanks.

 

[MrKaon]

so strange I never had problem with GPS, always fixes in less than 10 second and never loses as well.
I use iGO and it never let me down.

 

[magnus66]

I had problem with gps-lock from the beginning.

Tried the link above "gps-lock without dataconnection"
Now it locks within seconds

Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

 

[Basil3]

Personally, I've had no problem with gps for apps such as Google navigation where the screen stays on.

It's a different story, however, for apps like cardio trainer where the phone loses gps lock when the screen is off. I understand this is a known issue with Android 2.2 and has been fixed for 2.3+. I don't know if anyone else has problems with this.

Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

 

[kotty]

I had problem with gps-lock from the beginning.

Tried the link above "gps-lock without dataconnection"
Now it locks within seconds

Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

but mine desire didnt work? first when take out the sim card ,reset and download data ..it work like charm..lock around 10 sec..then put sim card back it took age cant find satelite to lock..

anyone know what wrong?

 

[danrobz]

On my DHD, indoors, GPS sucks badly.. apps such as "aroundme" its pretty useless, just hangs finding a signal. but outdoors when I use navigation, etc it works okay. I dont use GPS that much anyway, so cant complain. It is a tad annoying when your indoors and cant find stuff though.

 

[mats-norway]

I've had really big problems with my GPS.
Could not get a lock so I rooted my phone and upgraded the radio. Changed the gps.conf file and reset A-GPS settings and tried GPS without a dataconnection. None of the suggested things above did work, so I downgraded the radio to stock and unrooted my phone and sent it to a repair center.
Hopefully they will fix it.
I have a Hero (root) and a Desire (stock) and they get a lock on within seconds and works flawless even indoors.
I guess HTC has a lot of faulty GPS modules in their Desire HD mobiles, but not all are using GPS so therefore we only hear about some of the problems.

 

[HasC]

Trying the Nexus one fix as in the first post, after taking SIM out, I do not get any GPS signals on GPS Status, if I put SIM back in I get fixes but GPS unusable as it keeps losing connection whilst in journey. The steps I have taken so far are as follows:

* Take your SIM out of the Nexus One
* Power on the device
* Turn WiFi on
* Turn GPS on
* Open application: GPS Status (ver 3.4)
* Go into its Settings menu
* Click on GPS and Sensors
* Click Manage A-GPS state
* Click Reset
* Click Manage A-GPS state again
* Click Download [You'll see a message telling you that a data connection is needed, ignore it]
* Now put your phone on a stable, straight surface in order to enable the phone to get a lock, within GPS Status. This time, you’ll see your phone get the lock way faster than before.


Any help will be appreciated.

 

[onesolo]

For me the most annoything that happens with GPS is that when playing a music and using at the same time an offline map gps program, when a voice or some ding dong sound happens, the music played stops and resumes after those gps sounds ends...

I think this is due to Android sys... even WinMobile it's better on this...

quoting my self...
There's some developments about this issue...

Or one use the nice HTC Gps Software (at least the version that cames with gingerbread) or use the iGO Amigo.
I tried the iGO Amigo and I finally can listen to music at same time when the voice from iGo speaks!!! There's no interruptions at all like on the majority of GPS softwares that I tried on my DHD (don't know how it works on another devices)

I think that this issue is something that is only developers fault cause initially I thought it was due android design, maybe it was only possible to play something only from one app at a time. (ie. not play two things from two different apps simultaneous) but I figure that after all that is possible.

Bad developers!!!!

 

[aferende]

GPS Problems: finally the solution

Hi all,
Here I want to tell my experience with HD Desire GPS to help all those who were (like me) desperate.
The way to solve exists ! Read to the end to know how.

I bought my HD Desire in January 2011 (from Euronics in Rome - Italy) and after one week of use the problems began with the GPS.
It did not fix more ... but above all there were more than 1 or 2 visible satellites ... even in open sky, in good conditions, even outside for 30 minutes.

The phone was obviously still immaculate (without root and with the original ROM and RADIO) then I went back to the shop where I bought ... and using GPS-Status the seller has found that actually did not work.
Very kindly he changed my on the flight the phone ... I installed GPS-Status on the new phone just replaced and now everything works fine (fix in less than 10sec and 7 / 8 satellites visible).
I came at home and for 2/3 days it worked wonders but soon it began again with the same GPS problems.
No more fix and at maximum 2/3 satellites visible.

Building on the fact that the phone had been replaced and ... GPS Status actually had made a fix in less than 10 seconds ... (When I had replaced) ... I said, Sure ... is certainly a software problem and not an hardware one ... because the phone is a new one.

So I did a factory reset ... reset all settings as the original ... and retried. Nothing.
The GPS was dead for the second time in two weeks.

Then, I began a careful search on various forums (both Italian and international).

I've tried everything ... really everything ... but nothing. It does not work !

Tried GPS-Status (A-GPS Reset, Download), then fasterfix (it.pool.ntp.org) then I started to change ROM (root, S-Off and ENF S-Off), then I tried all possible Radio and RIL in all combinations. Sometimes happen that the fix was very fast and this gave me the illusion (temporary) of having finally found the solution. However, on time (sometimes even after a few minutes) the problem returns back!

I also tried to clean the contacts of the GPS as shown in this video on youTube(h**p:/*w*wdotyoutubedotcom/watch?v=7qm_z65LA8k).
At the end ... after 4 months of trying all... I sent back in warranty the phone to the HTC service (S-ON and leave to unroot because it was under warranty).

After 10 days of impatient waiting, HTC gave me back the phone and say that the GPS was faulty and had been replaced.
I redid a restore using Titanium Backup Pro ... restoring back all in the exact same conditions I had when the GPS was not working.

Now everything works wonderfully !!!
Im using the original ROM (RUU 2.36.405.8), original Radio (12.54.60.25U_26.09.04.11_M2) and the original Kernel (2.6.35.10-g0956377).
Fix in 10/20 sec (everytime), with at least 7 / 8 satellites (tested for several days now).

Moral of the story ... There are lots of HTC Desire HD phones (probably the first stock) that today are still in the form of stocks and inventories in some shopping malls / shops with the GPS module that is broken !!! (it works for a few days and then no longer works).

The only way is to send back your phone in warranty and ensure that GPS module is replaced (having first restored with all unroot and S-OFF as otherwise the warranty does not apply).

Believe me ... if you have tried everything ... this is the only way!

Now I'm an happy HTC Desire HD owner (with Gingerbread) with a GPS which is a splinter.
Im currently using Navigator, Google Maps, CoPilot and everything works great !

I hope this post may help and comfort those who are desperate and can not run the GPS on the Desire HD.

Greetings to all.
Andrea.