Hey guys. Coming from 3 HTC Android phones, I never had any problems regarding fast locking and accuracy on my GPS, may it be indoors or outdoors.
With my SGS2, I wasn't really happy with its GPS performance.
Aside from very slow GPS fixing / locking in satellites outdoors (tested with GPS Status app), I get a very jumpy GPS location indoors. Even with downloaded AGPS prior to that.
I created a screen cast of my Google Maps app below for reference. The star on the map is my actual location. Notice how my location jumps from one place to another every few seconds.
Even turning on the sensor aiding made no difference.
Video
I know some of you might say that of course checking it indoors and relying on wifi alone will make it inaccurate. But even my iPod Touch which doesn't even have a GPS chip have no issues locating me.
I'm running Cognition 1.15 and flashing a stock ROM and kernel also made no difference.
Can you guys test yours with my setup: Only Wifi indoors and do not get gps lock outdoors.
I will do further testing.
Welcome to the club m8. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1173683
I think it's jumpy because it's not using gps, but fixating you postilion from you network and wifi. That's why it jumps.
Does your gps show lock at the top icons bar? Or does it just keeps flashing?
Mines going back for sensation or lg.
Hi. My GPS icon is flashing. Yep, I'm aware that it is till looking for a satellite to lock in. Which is a problem in itself by the way ^_^
My point here is that I've done this similarly on my previous phones and with my iPod Touch, same setup. But they didn't produce this problem.
UPDATE: Tested out the GPS outside. It won't lock to any satellite (after like 10mins) unless I turned on WiFi. GPS should work independently, right?
Once I had it locked to 6 satellites at max, I went indoors and same thing happened to the screnario on the video, my location jumps from one place to another. Shouldn't it take the previously GPS locked satellite as reference?
chobie said:
UPDATE: Tested out the GPS outside. It won't lock to any satellite (after like 10mins) unless I turned on WiFi. GPS should work independently, right?
Once I had it locked to 6 satellites at max, I went indoors and same thing happened to the screnario on the video, my location jumps from one place to another. Shouldn't it take the previously GPS locked satellite as reference?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is using the satellite position from last lock to help getting a new lock, but it still needs to have stable reception from 3 satellites in different parts of the sky for a certain time in order to lock, it probably doesn't get this indoors.
But you seem to have some problem getting a lock with your GPS, some people are helped by doing a factory restore when they're having such issues. (beware, wipes your data!!!)
What do you mean by turning on Wifi by the way? Do you mean turning on "Use wireless networks" in Location and security menu? This is not something wifi specific, in fact since you're outdoors it normally uses your 3g connection to get approximate satellite positions and your approximate position from network operator. So please doesn't call this turning on "Wifi", because that means turning on/off you wifi receiver, that is another setting
EDIT: added "in different parts of the sky" above, 3 satellites close to each other is usually not enough for a GPS lock.
tjtj4444 said:
It is using the satellite position from last lock to help getting a new lock, but it still needs to have stable reception from 3 satellites in different parts of the sky for a certain time in order to lock, it probably doesn't get this indoors.
But you seem to have some problem getting a lock with your GPS, some people are helped by doing a factory restore when they're having such issues. (beware, wipes your data!!!)
What do you mean by turning on Wifi by the way? Do you mean turning on "Use wireless networks" in Location and security menu? This is not something wifi specific, in fact since you're outdoors it normally uses your 3g connection to get approximate satellite positions and your approximate position from network operator. So please doesn't call this turning on "Wifi", because that means turning on/off you wifi receiver, that is another setting
EDIT: added "in different parts of the sky" above, 3 satellites close to each other is usually not enough for a GPS lock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally understand that. I referred to Wifi because it's the only connection I was connected to in asstistance to my GPS. My mobile data is turned off. But I did test it by isolating only mobile data on to check if AGPS by 3g will get me faster lock on it -- No difference.
I have also flashed a stock ROM and Kernel and fully wiped my phone data but it is just producing the same problem.
To be honest m8 this phone is good on the spec, and looks good too. But poor internal hardware lets it down. I went down to my local shop to see if it was me or something and asked for a demo test for phone they had and they also couldn't get it to lock the gps on it's own.
I feel for andriod, it can give it a bad name. But it's not androids fault it's Samsung, if your phone is new replace it with sensation or lg 3d.
I've even had the opportunity, to try it with CM7 now, so it seems it hardware afterall.
Guys chill down ur balls, gps readings r very subjective and u cant judge on them
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1126122
Still really disappointed that my iPod touch can get a very accurate gps fix in less than five seconds considering it has no GPS chip and only using wifi. This has aGPS and sensor aiding and yet it's not very accurate and is jumpy still.
Related
Isn't GPS by definition line of sight. i.e. your phone needs view of the sky to get a a gps signal or satellite lock.
I have seen multiple posters saying that they are in their house or office building and not getting a lock or signal. Unless you are by the window or skylight, you shouldn't be able to get a signal by GPS alone. The only location information would be gotten from the network.
If people are having trouble getting location lock 'inside', doesn't that mean that there is a location problem in general, not just a gps issue?
I am definitely a noob, but I have been using GPS since the technology came out and my general understanding is that without a view of the sky, you will not get a signal. Or am I missing something?
Its radio based not light based so it will go through some materials. For example, I get sat lock in my second floor but I cannot see any sats downstairs.
Sorry, nope!
See this link:
electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/travel/gps.htm[/url]
In the second paragraph it states that you need a CLEAR view of the sky.
On this link it explains it even further stating that NO GPS reciever is designed to work indoors.
gpsinformation.net/multipath.htm[/url]
Further, satellite TV isn't light based. But it still needs to be outside so that it can get reception from it's satellite. So your statement about it being radio based rather than light based does not answer the question.
Anyone else?
I'm not a GPS expert but I used to get a lock anywhere with my G1. W/O using network so yeah, this GPS officially sucks.
XDA Mobile
MonteCristo22 said:
Isn't GPS by definition line of sight. i.e. your phone needs view of the sky to get a a gps signal or satellite lock.
I have seen multiple posters saying that they are in their house or office building and not getting a lock or signal. Unless you are by the window or skylight, you shouldn't be able to get a signal by GPS alone. The only location information would be gotten from the network.
If people are having trouble getting location lock 'inside', doesn't that mean that there is a location problem in general, not just a gps issue?
I am definitely a noob, but I have been using GPS since the technology came out and my general understanding is that without a view of the sky, you will not get a signal. Or am I missing something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Certain radio frequencies, including those used by the GPS satellites, are considered line of sight. That is to say, to get a good signal you need to have a clear path to the transmitter. Some radio frequencies actually bounce of a layer of the earth's atmosphere and can travel around the world, and are therefore not line of sight.
If a receiver is sensitive enough and a signal is powerful enough (and depending on the frequency), a signal can still penetrate some degree of cover, so it's possible to get a GPS signal indoors, but as you mentioned, it's usually when one is close to a window. Some GPS receivers are terrible unless you're well out into the open, some can pick up a signal under tree cover.
GPS satellites are something like 12,000 miles above the earth, so by the time a signal gets down to earth it's not all that powerful. Radio power dissipates over distance just like any other form of energy.
You will get the best signal with a clear sky view, but basically modern GPS receivers are now also able to work off reflected signals, as well as the very faint signals which may leak through building walls and so on. A relatively high number of signal errors just translates into reduced accuracy.
Furthermore, satellite-based GPS can be "enhanced" through short-term inertial tracking. Most in-dash nav systems do this (my Suburban will sometimes show a "GPS" icon with a slash through it, and then it relies on inertial nav until it gets a signal again). Your phone can do similar things with the tower signals and perhaps even WiFi SSIDs to help your sat-GPS cope with suboptimal conditions (and it ought to be able to use inertial nav via the accelerometers, but I don't know whether it actually does this).
If you want very high-res GPS, you still have to be outside with one of those backpack-mounted rigs. (A friend of mine does GIS and surveying, and under the right conditions they can get centimeter resolution with those.)
Satellite TV isn't a good comparison for many reasons. First of all, an audio/video stream is a gigantic amount of data compared to the relatively simple timestamped pings that GPS satellites emit. Second, there isn't any demand for electronics manufacturers to provide hyper-sensitive reception: mounting antennas on a roof or exterior wall (or in the case of something like XM, on top of your car) is fine with most people.
I ask because with my iphone 3g It was pretty much spot on all the time. My atrix on the other hand is about 4-5 blocks(WTF) off. This is only my second smart phone but this seemed really odd to me.
Anyone else with inaccurate gps with out wifi on?
Mine is usually accurate to within a few meters, but I don't let it use wireless networks for it basically ever
I played with this a bit more and for what its worth it turns out that if the gps cannot get a satellite connection it does not warn you. For me it was just defaulting to the center of the very small town that I live in. Which is pretty much within 4 block range no matter where I go. The 'Navigation' app does warn you if it cannot get a connection.
So yeah, the gps is good, when it connects
GPS is usually within 20' for me. Wifi is useless w/o a wifi source to connect to. No wifi when I'm out running on trails. And if I'm at home, don't really need the gps.
My GPS is dead on all the time. Only takes 3-5 seconds to get a lock at about 3m and that's indoors. Only time I've ever had a problem with it was while using shopkick in a deadzone inside Wal-mart.
it takes a while sometimes to get a lock (other times very quick) but once it gets a lock, it takes a lot to get rid of it.
my question is, why can't it get a lock at say 4 sats after turning on gps ? there's enough data there, it would just be inacurate
i'd also like to know if there's a way to force a lock asap as opposed to waiting for a decent level of accuracy
lock does not happen merely because your device can "see" 4 sats. for example, while in a plane at 10k meters, i can see sometimes even 11 sats but there is no chance to get a lock. so i guess there are a lot of factors that influence getting a lock.
andrej.marinic said:
lock does not happen merely because your device can "see" 4 sats. for example, while in a plane at 10k meters, i can see sometimes even 11 sats but there is no chance to get a lock. so i guess there are a lot of factors that influence getting a lock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, attached are two screenshots made with my ex-HTC Desire I made on my flight to Hannover...
How/where can you see the number of sats your GPS has locked on? I never found the option on my phone...
yea, and my desire got a lock on flights to cuba and canada.
afaik, it should be able to get a lock based on seeing a few sats. gps is based around the time it takes for a signal from a sat to reach your phone and comparing the difference between the connection time of each sat the phone can see right?
even with 4 sats, there should be "some" data. it would be ranging to a few hundred meters but should still have something.
jerome.d said:
How/where can you see the number of sats your GPS has locked on? I never found the option on my phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what app do you use? pretty much everything i've seen/used tells you.
Your question is not about SGS2 but about the GPS-system.
In order to calculate position the receiver needs certain information, and it takes some time to send out this data. The data rate from a satellite is only 50 bit/s!! (yes, I mean only fifty single bits per second...).
And when you only see 3 or 4 satellites, then it is often satellites that are visible in the same area of the sky, and that makes it difficult to calculate the position.
Here are some information how this works:
http://gpsinformation.net/main/slowlock.htm
http://gpsinformation.net/main/whynoloc.htm
http://gpsinformation.net/main/gpslock.htm
http://www.gpsinformation.org/dale/theory.htm
http://www.trimble.com/gps/index.shtml
And you have tons of more information from the main page:
http://gpsinformation.net/
thanks for the info
tommo123 said:
what app do you use? pretty much everything i've seen/used tells you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only apps I use which require positionning are Google Maps, and Dolphin HS browser (some websites, such as google, give you informations adapted to your position). I did not find, in Google Maps, any info on the number of sattelites.
GPS Status from the market for satellites view .
jje
^
gps test and a ton of others too
jerome.d said:
How/where can you see the number of sats your GPS has locked on? I never found the option on my phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EDIT: I'm soo slow today
Look for GPS test or GPS status in market, they are both good.
tommo123 said:
it takes a while sometimes to get a lock (other times very quick) but once it gets a lock, it takes a lot to get rid of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That´s the way GPS-positioning works.
Your device measures the time the signal takes from the satellite to the GPS-reciever.
The time it takes for the signal is dependent on the distance between you and the satellite.
But calculate the distance and make something useful from it the device needs some information. First it needs to know the actual GPS-time. This must be very accurate, as the signal travels with the speed of light a very small error makes a big difference. Therefore it can´t simply use the internal clock.
It also must know the exact position from the satellite, so the distance can actually be used to calculate your position.
So the satellites constantly send a signal consisting of their ID, the time the signal was sent (all GPS-satellites are synchronized) and the current position of all GPS-satellites in the air. GPS-satellites aren´t geostationary, they are constantly moving around the world. Therefore on the same position on the earth you can experience very different GPS signal-strengths and different numbers of satellites you can receive, depending how the positions of the satellites are when you are using your GPS-receiver.
But GPS is very old and the signal is very weak, the data-rate is very very low. It is so low, if you had a GPS-antenna in your body, you could nearly count the bits yourself.
So it takes a lot of time to get the whole position-data transmitted and until the necessary position-data from the satellites is not on your device it is impossibly to calculate your position.
There is no backward-channel, so you can´t tell the satellite "please send me this", you simply have to wait until the satellite sends what you need. And if the signal was interrupted for a short period you can´t tell the satellite to resend the necessary information, you have to wait for the next round.
This is also what assisted-GPS can speed up. With A-GPS the satellite-positions are sent over the data-connection to your device, so it can speed-up the lock quite a bit, because your phone can almost immediately begin to calculate the position and does not have to wait for the satellites to send their position-data.
In the end you have a system of equations with 4 variables. The variables are the 3 space-coordinates, and what many people forget in first sight, the time.
To solve a system with 4 variables you need 3 equations -> 4 satellites.
More satellites can be used to increase accuracy, but they usually won´t speed up the initial lock a lot.
After the initial lock your device can interpolate the travel of the satellites, as well as the time, so 3 satellites are enough to recalculate the current position.
This is also the reason why the initial time for the initial lock depends highly when you last used the GPS. The satellite-positions can be interpolated with reasonable accuracy for a few hours. So if you use the GPS once every hour, lock usually will be quite fast. If you didn´t use the GPS for several days, the lock will take longer.
my question is, why can't it get a lock at say 4 sats after turning on gps ? there's enough data there, it would just be inacurate
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read above, there isn´t enough data there, as long as the device doesn´t know the position of this 4 satellites.
Also it doesn´t really matter how many satellites you have to get the lock, actually 4 strong signals would be better then 10 very weak signals.
You also shouldn´t move around until you get the lock. Getting a lock in a driving car can take a very long time. First of all, the car blocks much of the satellites signals, the windows are the only chance to get some of the signals into the car, and if you drive around you will constantly lose one satellite and get to the next one. So much of the position-data will have to be sent several times, until your device gets all the necessary information.
i'd also like to know if there's a way to force a lock asap as opposed to waiting for a decent level of accuracy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, not with GPS, you can use Cell-tower information, which allows positioning with very low to medium accuracy. WLANs could also be used, but aren´t always available.
thanks
so, do you think galileo will be a better alternative once finished?
more probs with this today.
stood still for about 5 mins and no lock. tried different roms, data on, no diff
gps just sucks
Get GPSTest app .. have data active (wifi works too) .. go to gps test app settings, select clear agps, then update agps .. then you should get fix in few seconds.
got em. a few of them actually. did that. doesn't work at times. it's annoying.
thankfully i don't use gps properly all that often but if i ever really needed it (for work or soemthing) i'd get something standalone. can't rely on a mobile phones gps at all
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions Thanks
Moving to Q&A
In case you didn't know, the Note can use GLONASS instead of GPS (Click on the words to read more).
People use GPS like "Xerox", "Coke", or "Kleenex"... but nevermind that.
What is your GPS/GLONASS lock time with A.GPS (Assisted GPS (network location)) and sensor aid on??
Please describe whether you are outside or inside. I am also particularly interested the lock time from a fresh boot or if you're using GPS from a new location.
IMPORTANT: Please note (excuse the pun) down, when you launch Maps or Nav and the arrow shows up almost instantaneously, I would like to know IF *sometimes* the GPS reticle on the status bar continues to flash/blink for a while.
Why do I ask? My Note takes anywhere from 3-12 seconds to lock when GPS is "hot" and takes 10-25 seconds to lock from a reboot in doors while stationary.
Compared to my Sprint Evo 3D, GSM Galaxy Nexus, or the iPhone4s that I never use, that is slow. When I powered up the Galaxy Nexus for the first time, it locked under 5 seconds! My Evo 3D would lock from a boot in under 5 seconds. The 4s is super fast also. The Note, with GLONASS, is supposed to be faster and more accurate...
Thanks.
Edit: Interesting discovery today--the slow lock and low precision in my car may be because of my car--but it may also be revealing limitations in GLONASS:
Every piece of glass on my car is double-paned (twice as thick as the typical car glass), sandwiched with a polymer layer, along with an IR rejecting coating. This is designed to keep the interior very quiet, makes the glass theft resistant, and the IR coating reduces the heat that enters the cabin (heat travels in the form of infrared). The IR coating, unfortunately, also rejects other radio frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum. That, along with metallic particularized tint, causes a reduced radio performance for any device that is in the interior of the vehicle.
I usually don't have any problems with the GSM/UMTS or CDMA phones, and GPS has no problems either (although I notice a reduced s/n ratio). As I indicated before, other GPS-based phones lock fine, and the GPS+GLONASS iPhone works fine also.
As I was driving home today, I tried opening the window. I noticed that every time I opened, the phone would get a quick and solid lock. Every time I closed, the uncertainty circle appears.
Is it possible that GLONASS, operating at 1.6Ghz, using FDMA is less able to penetrate certain objects than GPS operating at 1.57Ghz using CDMA? I presume civilians are still only using the coarse channels so that doesn't help. It is interesting to see that GPS have no problems in my car while GLONASS does. I will drive another car tomorrow and see if there is a difference.
My Note locked within 2 seconds this morning, on my way to work. I was outside in my car.
When opening google maps, I get a lock before the app is fully open, ie. I'm already locked by the time I can do anything in the app even. Compared to my Captivate and Infuse, the lock times on my Note are godly.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk
I lock before apps load that can use it such as maps/nav. I came from a Vibrant that even after numerous "fixes" it still could take a couple minutes to lock.
Wow... That is what I expected from my phone. Are you guys all using the stock ROM? If not, what ROM are you using and who is your carrier?
Thanks.
welchertc said:
When opening google maps, I get a lock before the app is fully open, ie. I'm already locked by the time I can do anything in the app even. Compared to my Captivate and Infuse, the lock times on my Note are godly.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same experience here,running stock
No, not stock. I'm highly modified. I installed a screen protector that I suspect is giving me increased GPS/glonass capabilities.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk
Chief Geek said:
No, not stock. I'm highly modified. I installed a screen protector that I suspect is giving me increased GPS/glonass capabilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm... maybe it's *my* screen protector that is killing the GPS...
A follow up to those who responded:
Please note (excuse the pun) down, when you launch Maps or Nav and the arrow shows up almost instantaneously, I would like to know IF *sometimes* the GPS reticle on the status bar continues to flash/blink for a while.
Thanks for the information.
I was excited for the GPS capabilities in this phone before I bought it, but my experiences have been far worse than everyone elses. Google Maps is loaded for about 5 seconds before it even STARTS trying to acquire a position. And even then, while indoors it takes a good 20 seconds to lock on. My iPhone 4 locks on indoors in about 3-5 seconds.
With the note, many apps think I'm 10-15 miles away while indoors. Especially with weather apps that just want a quick location fix but don't leave the GPS on during use. At first glance everything thinks I'm far away. Chat apps that only use GPS when sending a message have the same problem. Navigation apps that leave the GPS on during use are accurate. It's annoying. Never had an issue like that on my old phone.
Outside though, the Note seems to lock on nice and quick, within about 2-3 seconds upon starting acquisition, and my accuracy is generally at 3 meters or less. Even my $650 handheld GPSr doesn't have that level of accuracy.
EDIT: The notification bar icon DOES continue to blink for several seconds after achieving a lock.
johnus said:
I was excited for the GPS capabilities in this phone before I bought it, but my experiences have been far worse than everyone elses. Google Maps is loaded for about 5 seconds before it even STARTS trying to acquire a position. And even then, while indoors it takes a good 20 seconds to lock on. My iPhone 4 locks on indoors in about 3-5 seconds.
With the note, many apps think I'm 10-15 miles away while indoors. Especially with weather apps that just want a quick location fix but don't leave the GPS on during use. At first glance everything thinks I'm far away. Chat apps that only use GPS when sending a message have the same problem. Navigation apps that leave the GPS on during use are accurate. It's annoying. Never had an issue like that on my old phone.
Outside though, the Note seems to lock on nice and quick, within about 2-3 seconds upon starting acquisition, and my accuracy is generally at 3 meters or less. Even my $650 handheld GPSr doesn't have that level of accuracy.
EDIT: The notification bar icon DOES continue to blink for several seconds after achieving a lock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As for accuracy, this is a function of the number of satilites that you have locked onto. I believe all you need are 2, possibly 3 for accurate elevation, however the more you lock onto the more acurate you are. This is why "quick" on and off checks are rarely very accurate. however, with weather, the phone grabs your location and then queries the closest whether center, which is very rarely in your neighborhood. Typically it's your closest airport or military base, so this will atleast be 20-30 miles away, but often in same or neighboring zip codes.
For the indoor, thing, I never expect (nor really use) reliable GPS signal indoords. Just because you get a lock doesn't mean it'll be enough locks to do much. I rarely get lost going from my kitchen to the latrine anyways, but I suppose with enough beer it could happen. I would suggest (and you probably already have) check to make sure you make use of "use sensor aiding" option.
If all else fails, I will loan you my vibrant and you can experience a man-tantrum in your car when the fking thing wont lock after 5 minutes and your lost as **** and late as hell and google maps keeps freezing and FCing. That'll make you want to wine and dine your other devices for treating you so well.
Chief Geek said:
As for accuracy, this is a function of the number of satilites that you have locked onto. I believe all you need are 2, possibly 3 for accurate elevation,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe you need at least 3 for triangulation (location) and 4th to give elevation.
Another interesting thing I noticed about my Note--even if it locks quickly while I am stationary, it looses lock when I am moving (driving). I had my Sprint Evo 3D, Verizon Galaxy Nexus, Sprint Galaxy S Epic 4G, GSM Galaxy Nexus, and the Note side-by-side on the dash. The only phone that keeps losing and reacquiring the lock the the Note (especially while traveling at freeway speeds).
my note locks on really fast
under 10 seconds for sure.
If im out side its within 5 seconds.
My Skyrocket usually locked in around 10-15 seconds
my inspire....30 seconds.
my nav in the car....30 sec
this may be useful to you to get a little more info on what your gadget is doing with its unearthly beacons
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...wsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5lY2xpcHNpbS5ncHNzdGF0dXMyIl0.
Chief Geek said:
this may be useful to you to get a little more info on what your gadget is doing with its unearthly beacons
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...wsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5lY2xpcHNpbS5ncHNzdGF0dXMyIl0.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very useful tool. In addition to that one, I also use GPS Test, GPS Essentials, and GPS Status. Each brings something different to the party.
snovvman said:
Very useful tool. In addition to that one, I also use GPS Test, GPS Essentials, and GPS Status. Each brings something different to the party.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like you need "Kick GPS - The 12 Step Program"
Really? Your complaining about 12 seconds to a gps lock? (regarding the OP)
Give me a break...
My DEDICATED GPS Tomtom unit takes over 2 minutes to get a lock, I consider it a blessing that my phone locks faster than a dedicated gps.
Good Lord...
My guess is you are one of those that complain about your browser taking more than 2 seconds to load as well.
Regarding gps stability, there are a couple of different things to try, namely one of the more rare things is calibrating the compass. There are many videos on Youtube, just search 'smart phone calibrate compass'. You'll find 3-4 different methods, any will likely work. And yes, the compass does affect the gps keeping a lock in speeds higher than 20 mph.
Another thing to try is downloading the latest gps satellite data. There are several apps available on the market that can do this (GPS Test, GPS Essentials, and GPS Status all do this).
littlewierdo said:
Really? Your complaining about 12 seconds to a gps lock? (regarding the OP)
Give me a break...
My DEDICATED GPS Tomtom unit takes over 2 minutes to get a lock, I consider it a blessing that my phone locks faster than a dedicated gps.
Good Lord...
My guess is you are one of those that complain about your browser taking more than 2 seconds to load as well.
Regarding gps stability, there are a couple of different things to try, namely one of the more rare things is calibrating the compass. There are many videos on Youtube, just search 'smart phone calibrate compass'. You'll find 3-4 different methods, any will likely work. And yes, the compass does affect the gps keeping a lock in speeds higher than 20 mph.
Another thing to try is downloading the latest gps satellite data. There are several apps available on the market that can do this (GPS Test, GPS Essentials, and GPS Status all do this).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why so excitable and quick to judge? "Give me a break..."? "Good Lord..."? Really?
Your TomTom uses GPS, not GLONASS and does not have Assisted GPS. GLONASS and A.GPS should allow a faster fix. With these new and additional technologies, the phone SHOULD get a much faster fix than your TomTom. You're comparing apples and oranges.
My Evo 3D, Galaxy Nexus, and other phones I metioned, with GPS (no GLONASS) and A.GPS will almost ALWAYS get a fix in 2-5 seconds. If enough research is done here at XDA, you will find that many newer devices, if working properly, *should* get a lock in under ten seconds. Your "DEDICATED GPS Tomtom" [sic] is a different and arguably less advanced animal.
Another example--the built-in GPS in my two vehicles lock IMMEDIATELY when the car is on. Why? Because they remember the last location, use brake sensors, steering angle sensors, and accelerometers to determine location. If they do not lock immediately, something is wrong.
If you re-read my original post--I am trying to figure out if others have the same problem, and attempting to understand what others are experiencing. At the same time, I provided information on GLONASS, in case other owners didn't know they had it.
For a just-released, $650 device, I expected mine to perform on-par with other phones. Perhaps mine is defective? I wanted to find out if I need a replacement. Last checked, this forum is about people asking questions, sharing information, and learning something. To that end, I am puzzled at your comments--it seems like *you're* the one who is complaining...
So yes, really!
littlewierdo said:
My guess is you are one of those that complain about your browser taking more than 2 seconds to load as well.
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Really? Really?!
Chief Geek said:
Sounds like you need "Kick GPS - The 12 Step Program"
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Yes, I suppose...
While I'm her--there is also F GPS (fake GPS, provides coordinate of your choice to the location manager), GPS to MMS (allows you to send a text/MMS with your current coordinates), and GPS Speedo (a nice GPS-based speedometer).
See the edited OP. I made an interesting observation today. It seems like GLONASS signals are less able to penetrate objects...
My Note's GPS performance is flawless and is my most loved feature of the device. Superquick and very accurate.
I use the GPS all the time for backpacking, motorcycling, running and of course general finding all the stores my wife makes me take her shopping on the weekend.
Even better than my previous iPhone 4 and 3g.
My Samsung Infuse's GPS was a disaster taking forever getting a lock, loosing it, placing on the next road over, and not performing if sitting in the middle of my car...constant frustration so I REALLY am happy with my stock Notes GPS.
Sent from my Samsung Note via Tapatalk.
Anyone know how to get this to work better? Anytime I'm in doors, sometimes when in a car I can't get a GPS lock.
Regards,
Mike
panamamike said:
Anyone know how to get this to work better? Anytime I'm in doors, sometimes when in a car I can't get a GPS lock.
Regards,
Mike
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You need open sky to receive the GPS transmission through your A-GPS, correct me if I am wrong.
So it is not possible to get the GPS lock when you are completely indoor or sometime in car.
rajdeepce said:
You need open sky to receive the GPS transmission through your A-GPS, correct me if I am wrong.
So it is not possible to get the GPS lock when you are completely indoor or sometime in car.
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It is possible on my Live with Walkman to get GPS lock while indoor(+ 2 floors above).
Usually GPS can take about 5-10 minutes to get a lock, how long did you wait?
Have you done any modifications to your phone?
Someguyfromhell said:
It is possible on my Live with Walkman to get GPS lock while indoor(+ 2 floors above).
Usually GPS can take about 5-10 minutes to get a lock, how long did you wait?
Have you done any modifications to your phone?
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I tried for about a minute. However, a friend with a razor was able to get a lock in a few seconds.
Regards,
Mike
A minute is not enough, especially for the first GPS fix. You can use aGPS to speed up the GPS fix, using your internet connection (WiFi or 3G) to help your phone find the satellites.
I have to agree with the OP. GPS on my mini pro is terrible. My old LG Optimus (the very first one) could get a precise location in seconds, but my mini pro sometimes takes 5-10 minutes, and has trouble keeping up with all the turns. Most of the time it only tells me to make a turn after I've already made it. Moving it up the dashboard (so it's clear of the car roof) helps but it's not very practical.
It's a shame because I love everything else about the phone :-(
I'm having difficulties believing you can get a real gps lock indoors.
The chipsets at the moment are just not made for that?
As mentioned in a previous post, you need a clear view of the sky, or at least be close to a window.
However, via a-gps you can have quit an accurate lock if it gets its location based on wifi. Based on cell signal, it's not as accurate.
My mini pro has an almost immediate lock outside, and sufficiently accurate one inside when I'm at home. But in the 2nd case it's not a lock via gps satellites
My 2 cents...
jvdv360 said:
I'm having difficulties believing you can get a real gps lock indoors.
The chipsets at the moment are just not made for that?
As mentioned in a previous post, you need a clear view of the sky, or at least be close to a window.
However, via a-gps you can have quit an accurate lock if it gets its location based on wifi. Based on cell signal, it's not as accurate.
My mini pro has an almost immediate lock outside, and sufficiently accurate one inside when I'm at home. But in the 2nd case it's not a lock via gps satellites
My 2 cents...
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Click to collapse
First time and when using GPS after long time can take some minutes to get a lock. However, if you use A-GPS, you can get faster.
I use GPS Test Plus app to clear and update A-GPS by hand to get faster lock. Without it, I usually get lock in about 5 minutes, with it in a minute.
As mentioned, using Live with Walkman.