For those of you in the know, any idea what this process is? It's constantly running in the background and does consume quite a bit of battery.
A bit weary about disabling it as Broadcom makes networking/wireless ICs...
Just checked the com.broadcom.bms folders, completely empty...
wondering about this myself...
Wow, must be something very much specific to the SGS3, seems like no one knows!
I think its some sort of sensor listener. Possibly the barometer?
Also keen to know what it is, I can't find anything about it at all.
If you go into the app manager you will notice that the service icon shows a satellite and an earth.
Could it be the GPS chip service?
in my opinion its a service for the gps / glonass reception.
What I figured as well, especially since Broadcom does make wireless chipsets.
The name includes MEMs: Microelectromechanical systems
That implies gyro, barometer, accelerometer and perhaps compass. Not GPS/GLONASS, they don't have any (micro)mechanical components.
Does anybody already know what this service does? It consumes a lot of power here. Disabled it now in Apllications, but don't notice any difference in features that are not correctly working now.
Yeah i wanna delete it, but i wanna know what it is ofc.... dont wanna do any mistakes there...
if this is glonass/gps then Xperia S should have this service along. Had S1 S2 and now S3 and only now ive seen this service. Also, never seen Broadcom do gyro barometers. What i know is that the do Mobile Communications Wireless Networks which are the closest hardware that S3 have inside.
Did anybody delete it already ? if yee, do you have any probs ??
Gramrock said:
Did anybody delete it already ? if yee, do you have any probs ??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have disabled it, no problems so far.
Sorry. u cant delete it. its a confirmed software service for a broadcom chip bcm47511. remove this service andd your a-gps and glonass sat navigation may cause problems.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Any idea on what it really does? It is listed as consuming quite a lot of battery. Just in case it is something like a-gps data updater, just letting it run once in 3..5 days would do the job just fine.
InfX: I'm not sure about other functions it may influence but it definitely screws up Navigation when disabled. I've frozen it with Titanium Backup but have to unfreeze for navigating; the car arrow just stays in place and doesn't move.
running os monitor, on connection tab it is listed as UDP 127.0.0.1:30000
ken_tek said:
InfX: I'm not sure about other functions it may influence but it definitely screws up Navigation when disabled. I've frozen it with Titanium Backup but have to unfreeze for navigating; the car arrow just stays in place and doesn't move.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I remember someone mentioning freezing it with no side effects whatsoever, but can't point you to the actual thread right now. I though, maybe it's just an AGPS updater. But your experience kinda shows it isn't.
Related
Hi, today i got my htc hermes. it comes with a samsung cpu.
now i want gps functionality but right now i am a noob on this terrain.
is it possible to geht gps working?
is it possible to get gps working without hardware mods?
is it tricky to get gps to work?
thanks for your help
There is no internal GPS support in the Hermes.
What if we were up for h/w modding?
Possible then?
Marksman said:
What if we were up for h/w modding?
Possible then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This has been long discussed in the past. It looks like the chipset has an integrated GPS but it is not connected. Yes, you might be able to open your device, find the right place, iron on a clean enviroment an antenna, find a room for it in the device box and then close it all together and hope to get anything. However, it is much safer and easier to use a BT GPS receiver.
i have heard...
i have heard that the TyTN has an gps module inside but only the antenna is shortened.
instinctless said:
i have heard that the TyTN has an gps module inside but only the antenna is shortened.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has but it is far more disabled than just the antenna, there is no power supply and the board is multi-layered which prevents regular hardware mods anyway. Even if you could do it, it would not be worth it IMHO.
There is a long existing thread on this if you want more info.
It's not even close to being a practicable possibility. As suggested above a small BT receiver works very well anyway and you just keep the BT in your pocket so no real inconveniance.
Mike
ok thank you
Hello everybody.
I can see on several threads on several forums that some of us encounter problems with the GPS, while other do not ... I'm in the first category : I never saw my HERO getting its fix in 10 seconds, its GPS is very very long to get a fix (when it gets it). Changing the Radio ROM does not change anything, etc.
So my question is the following :
Would it be possible that some series of HERO utilize GPS hardware which does not work properly, while other series utilize another hardware ?
How would it be possible to determine which GPS hardware is actually in my device ?
Waiting for your answers and help.
Best regards.
I have TELUS HTC hero.and GPS never works. I even tried rooting phone. and tried a lot of of other ROMs. but it never works. I think i my phone has hardware problem. Does anybody know where this piece of hardware resides in HTC hero
I had a working A-GPS functionality for a long time... untill I ran out of internal storage capacity and suddenly I didn't have the 10 second GPS fix anymore... I didn't even get any email notification anymore.. so I decided it was time for a hardware reset... after that the GPS worked flawless and even the email notification works again...
Unfortunatly I can't test my theories unless I install LOTS and LOTS of apps from the market... :-(
AFAIK the Hero does not have AGPS. Mine certainly does not need it - I get a fix within 10 seconds or so compared with often waiting for 5 or 10 minutes on my previous Win Mobile phone that had AGPS.
I understand that the GPS can be made to be always on in the background with the Hero - but you need to turn that function on. Have you tried home>menu>settings>location and make sure the Enable GPS satellites box is ticked?
I just recieved my Telus Hero, and I saw that it defaulted to AGPS initially when I went to Google Maps, and in the device's settings, you can activate its on-board gps as well. I'd suggest toggling back and forth, and hopefully you can get a faster fix, I know AGPS will help with getting ephemeris data and thus allow faster lock-ons when you use a gps application.
I hope this helps!
I am not sure it defaults to A-GPS. If you have the "enable GPS satellite" box ticked (see my previous post) then it defaults to using GPS as the method to plot your position rather than using the mobile phone signal, but that is not the same as A-GPS.
A-GPS is (AFAIK) a Win Mobile programme that automatically looked up the ephemiris data (using the phone's data connection) and updated it in your GPS at regular intervals (mine used to do it once a week). This was useful if you only used a programme that required the use of the GPS occasionally, and so were not picking up the updated info from the satellites themselves.
However AFIAK A-GPS is not included in the Hero, at least not the GSM version. It is certainly not mentioned in the specs or the manual, and, unlike my previous WM6 phone, I have never had a pop-up reminder that it is about to collect the data.
peterc10 said:
I am not sure it defaults to A-GPS. If you have the "enable GPS satellite" box ticked (see my previous post) then it defaults to using GPS as the method to plot your position rather than using the mobile phone signal, but that is not the same as A-GPS.
A-GPS is (AFAIK) a Win Mobile programme that automatically looked up the ephemiris data (using the phone's data connection) and updated it in your GPS at regular intervals (mine used to do it once a week). This was useful if you only used a programme that required the use of the GPS occasionally, and so were not picking up the updated info from the satellites themselves.
However AFIAK A-GPS is not included in the Hero, at least not the GSM version. It is certainly not mentioned in the specs or the manual, and, unlike my previous WM6 phone, I have never had a pop-up reminder that it is about to collect the data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry to tell you this, but you are totally wrong: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGPS
and the hero has a-gps, when i fire up my google maps it knows my position with an error of about 400 to 2000 metres (usually the position is pretty good, for only network-based location), when i fire up the gps it knows its exact position within a few seconds (when i am outside of buildings of course)
I admit that I am partly, but not totally, wrong.
Again AFAIK the GSM Hero available in the UK (where I am) does not use the phone data connection to collect orbital or almanac data from an assistance server so as to allow quicker satellite lock on, which is what I had always understood A-GPS to be, and which is part of the definition of A-GPS in Wikipedia. Again, if I am wrong on that I apologise in advance.
It does (as I had previously said) use the phone signal and the position of the masts to plot an approximate position for you when you do not have GPS (indoors for example) or when you have switched GPS off. That info can only be used by some programmes, such as Google Maps, but cannot be used by all sat nav programmes. That was not what I understood A-GPS to mean but I now stand humbly corrected.
In my defence I would suggest (as you should always do when looking at Wikipedia) that you check the history and discussion tabs. You will see that my idea as to what A-GPS is used to be close to correct, but the term has changed over time. Ah well ............ such is the problem of getting old(er)!
peterc10 said:
I am not sure it defaults to A-GPS. If you have the "enable GPS satellite" box ticked (see my previous post) then it defaults to using GPS as the method to plot your position rather than using the mobile phone signal, but that is not the same as A-GPS.
A-GPS is (AFAIK) a Win Mobile programme that automatically looked up the ephemiris data (using the phone's data connection) and updated it in your GPS at regular intervals (mine used to do it once a week). This was useful if you only used a programme that required the use of the GPS occasionally, and so were not picking up the updated info from the satellites themselves.
However AFIAK A-GPS is not included in the Hero, at least not the GSM version. It is certainly not mentioned in the specs or the manual, and, unlike my previous WM6 phone, I have never had a pop-up reminder that it is about to collect the data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGPS please revise your knowledge...
The HTC Hero (and every other modern smartphone) is using A-GPS... go read the Wikipedia article...
peterc10 said:
I admit that I am partly, but not totally, wrong.
Again AFAIK the GSM Hero available in the UK (where I am) does not use the phone data connection to collect orbital or almanac data from an assistance server so as to allow quicker satellite lock on, which is what I had always understood A-GPS to be, and which is part of the definition of A-GPS in Wikipedia. Again, if I am wrong on that I apologise in advance.
It does (as I had previously said) use the phone signal and the position of the masts to plot an approximate position for you when you do not have GPS (indoors for example) or when you have switched GPS off. That info can only be used by some programmes, such as Google Maps, but cannot be used by all sat nav programmes. That was not what I understood A-GPS to mean but I now stand humbly corrected.
In my defence I would suggest (as you should always do when looking at Wikipedia) that you check the history and discussion tabs. You will see that my idea as to what A-GPS is used to be close to correct, but the term has changed over time. Ah well ............ such is the problem of getting old(er)!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok, i am sorry, also i never meant to flame at you. in fact this seems to be a very interesting discussion.
i have no idea what the hero does exactly, especially not the uk hero... but it was my understanding that it uses a-gps, as says this list. also i have no idea how much of the criteria from the wiki article must/should be met to say it uses a-gps. i guess in the end everybody has to decide for him or herself...
what is sure is that the hero (at least here in germany) uses at least the network information to determine the position. if you know how to wipe everything from the gps (almanach etc) then i would like to try how long it takes to get a fix. if that is an argument in this discussion at all, i guess this needs some reading in advance to get proper results...
Thiesen said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGPS please revise your knowledge...
The HTC Hero (and every other modern smartphone) is using A-GPS... go read the Wikipedia article...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmmm ..... if it is then HTC do not know about it!
Since reading and taking part in this thread I have become totally confused. I therefore decided to clear up this confusion with HTC. I asked their support team a simple question, which was this "Does my Hero come with A-GPS please?" I included in the question the serial number of my phone.
This is their reply:
"Its comes with GPS but you need to buy a software. Unfortunately we are unable to help with your query as we don not support third party applications. Please refer to the software vendor for further assistance. As far as we know this application may not be compatible. We hope that you will find further assistance with the software developer. Please also note that you can use Googlemaps, which is an included navigational software application."
So HTC themselves don't think the Hero comes with A-GPS! And I certainly haven't installed A-GPS
Now I am just more confused. Or (shock horror) could it be that Wikipedia is wrong!! Or that HTC don't know what they instal on their own phones
peterc10 said:
Hmmmm ..... if it is then HTC do not know about it!
Since reading and taking part in this thread I have become totally confused. I therefore decided to clear up this confusion with HTC. I asked their support team a simple question, which was this "Does my Hero come with A-GPS please?" I included in the question the serial number of my phone.
This is their reply:
"Its comes with GPS but you need to buy a software. Unfortunately we are unable to help with your query as we don not support third party applications. Please refer to the software vendor for further assistance. As far as we know this application may not be compatible. We hope that you will find further assistance with the software developer. Please also note that you can use Googlemaps, which is an included navigational software application."
So HTC themselves don't think the Hero comes with A-GPS! And I certainly haven't installed A-GPS
Now I am just more confused. Or (shock horror) could it be that Wikipedia is wrong!! Or that HTC don't know what they instal on their own phones
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for me that sounds like you had a dumb supporter answering your question, who doesn't know what a-gps is (or that it exists), and when hearing "gps" he thinks about the navigation in his dads car. so he thinks "oompaloompa, dschee-pee-ass are there, but no funny pictures. need to buy pictures ompfompf!" by pictures he means cards for navigation software, since this is all one big, dirty chunk of sticky green slime in his head...
i understand it that the gps receiver itself has the a-gps feature (or not), but it is not controllable by software, at least not by user applications. i might be wrong, but i still wouldn't give too much on htc's answer
kendong2 said:
for me that sounds like you had a dumb supporter answering your question, who doesn't know what a-gps is
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which is why I went back to them and explained that A-GPS was not third party software and it was included with some of their other phones.
Now I have got this answer back from them
"It’s come with A-GPS its standard. Sorry for the previous answer."
So there you are - straight from the horse's mouth
Having looked again at my old Touch Diamond (now my wife's ) I was getting A-GPS confused with QuickGPS, which was a programme that downloaded updated ephemeris information weekly. Sorry for that
peterc10 said:
"It’s come with A-GPS its standard. Sorry for the previous answer."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol, i guess i was spot-on with my thoughts!
Ok while we are on the subject will Android work with a bluetooth GPS unit such as the Holux M1000????? I see that google maps on Android has no options for this (can't understand when google maps was better on my Windows Mobile device)
ysandhu said:
I have TELUS HTC hero.and GPS never works. I even tried rooting phone. and tried a lot of of other ROMs. but it never works. I think i my phone has hardware problem. Does anybody know where this piece of hardware resides in HTC hero
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a Telus Hero on AT&T in the US and GPS fix time is typically under a minute. I have no complaints.
Do you live in an area where it's particularly full of trees or have an older house? That usually delays GPS lock-on, however I've had success with my hero to get gps fixes in places I've never imagined could. Perhaps sending in for warranty might address the issue?
peterc10 said:
Hmmmm ..... if it is then HTC do not know about it!
Since reading and taking part in this thread I have become totally confused. I therefore decided to clear up this confusion with HTC. I asked their support team a simple question, which was this "Does my Hero come with A-GPS please?" I included in the question the serial number of my phone.
This is their reply:
"Its comes with GPS but you need to buy a software. Unfortunately we are unable to help with your query as we don not support third party applications. Please refer to the software vendor for further assistance. As far as we know this application may not be compatible. We hope that you will find further assistance with the software developer. Please also note that you can use Googlemaps, which is an included navigational software application."
So HTC themselves don't think the Hero comes with A-GPS! And I certainly haven't installed A-GPS
Now I am just more confused. Or (shock horror) could it be that Wikipedia is wrong!! Or that HTC don't know what they instal on their own phones
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A-GPS is NOT an application... if you read the A-GPS article on Wikipedia you would have known that it is a service from the different cellsite operators around the globe. If you know what triangulation is then you will better understand how A-GPS works...
Thiesen said:
A-GPS is NOT an application... if you read the A-GPS article on Wikipedia you would have known that it is a service from the different cellsite operators around the globe. If you know what triangulation is then you will better understand how A-GPS works...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IF you had read my post more carefully and IF you had then read my subsequent post you should have realised the following
Firstly I had read the Wikipedia article very carefully, including the notes and history tab
Secondly I decided to ask HTC (the makers of the Hero by the way ) whether or not it supported A-GPS
Thirdly I was reporting THEIR comments about it being third party software NOT MINE.
Fourthly the comment did not sound correct to me which is why I then went back to HTC pointing out that A-GPS was NOT third party software and asking them to reconsider their answer
Fifthly they then came back to me and confirmed that the Hero was indeed compatable with A-GPS
Oh and BTW I suspect I was finding out about triangulation long before you were born ...... it has been used in practice in surveying for a VERY long time. And the theories upon which it is based, geometry and trigonometry, has been around since the ancient greeks, if not longer.
I thought this thing was somehow using network to get a general location somehow. However when I use my phone as a wi-fi hotspot Maps on my touchpad seems to find me to within 20 feet of wherever I actually am at the time.
Can someone explain this to me? Am I hallucinating? Only seems to work when wi-fi is connected though. Is this some sort of google magic?
Only apple and disney make magic.
Sent from my HP Touchpad using Tapatalk
Well, everything I read seems to indicate there is no GPS. in the WiFi version of the TouchPad. However I just opended the maps app and it's right on my house. I have my TP setup to ask me for permission to use location service before an app can use it. Maps ask for this permission prior to giving my location. I assume this is done almost certinly done by Googles location service over my WiFi.
in short, yes it's Google "magic".
To the previous poster... Yes apple also makes magic, but it black magic! LOL
To cut a long story short, it's using the location data of your ip address, through your wifi connection (I believe).
Not necessarily a google thing.
it's just a setting in the router you're getting wifi from. some routers allow you to turn the ip location settings on and off, others are always on.
the only Touchpads with GPS are the 3G/4G ones.
I knew there wasn't a GPS. But I have an unrooted HTC Desire HD phone. Is there an easy way to tether my CM7 Touchpad to my phone to make use of my phone's GPS?
asif9t9 said:
I knew there wasn't a GPS. But I have an unrooted HTC Desire HD phone. Is there an easy way to tether my CM7 Touchpad to my phone to make use of my phone's GPS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use an external GPS receiver tethered with Bluetooth to the touchpad.
asif9t9 said:
I knew there wasn't a GPS. But I have an unrooted HTC Desire HD phone. Is there an easy way to tether my CM7 Touchpad to my phone to make use of my phone's GPS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, download an app called TGPS from the market both on your phone and on the tp, install the client widget on the tp and the server widget on your phone, and as long as you are connected to the same network (either the same wifi or you are using wifi tether from the phone) it will work
Sent from my HP Touchpad using Tapatalk
texasreb said:
I use an external GPS receiver tethered with Bluetooth to the touchpad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you have to do anything special to get it to work? I paired my external BT GPS device but it didn't see to work.
I'll have to try again and see.
When google drove around making streetview they logged the mac address of every single wifi point they could find and its location.
Even though your touchpad was connected to your phone, it was receiving the SSID from random wifi routers. Even though it wasn't connected to any of these routers, it knew their location and so could guess where you were,
Fon22
Well, according to this document: http://www.qualcomm.com/documents/files/snapdragon-msm8x60-apq8060-product-brief.pdf, it does have embedded GPS. Maybe I am missing something. Certainly the feature is not implemented in webOS on the Touchpad, but maybe the hardware is actually there. One of the devs that has worked with the Touchpad may be able to shed more light on the question.
The Qualcomm datasheet may not give the correct picture. Like many other ARM tablets, the GPS may be incorporated with the 3G part of the chipset, which is not implemented on the standard Touchpad.
kmdub said:
Well, according to this document: http://www.qualcomm.com/documents/files/snapdragon-msm8x60-apq8060-product-brief.pdf, it does have embedded GPS. Maybe I am missing something. Certainly the feature is not implemented in webOS on the Touchpad, but maybe the hardware is actually there. One of the devs that has worked with the Touchpad may be able to shed more light on the question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dmarchant said:
The Qualcomm datasheet may not give the correct picture. Like many other ARM tablets, the GPS may be incorporated with the 3G part of the chipset, which is not implemented on the standard Touchpad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THIS.
plus all the different model touchpads have been taken apart and inspected thoroughly. The different touchpads have different hardware not just size differences.
you can read more here:
http://forums.precentral.net/hp-touchpad/302420-4g-touchpad-owners-lounge.html
The Qualcomm datasheet may not give the correct picture. Like many other ARM tablets, the GPS may be incorporated with the 3G part of the chipset, which is not implemented on the standard Touchpad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, maybe. However, the document does clearly list the modem separately, and caveats other features that do not apply universally. It just seems that the document refers to the GPS functionality as part of the "Snapdragon Family Overview," and lists it separately in the table, where the modems are clearly distinguished.
You are probably right, but this document at least, seems a bit misleading. I am going to look for more technical documentation.
I travel a lot, and I'm a minimalist. In other words, I'll travel for a week and take a paper lunch bag as my carry-on with hopes that I can get by with wearing the same outfit the entire week. I don't like carrying a full Navigation system and use my phone. This isn't an 'iPhone lovefest' because honestly, I hate everything about Apple, but I never had problems like this on my iPhone.
My problem though is the GPS. I'm on my third phone because of the GPS. The first phone would never get a lock on GPS. I could be sitting outside with a GPS satellite dedicated to me directly above me, and it would still say "Searching for Satellite". That phone went back and I took on another one.
Second phone had a problem where every now and then it would work, then stop working and never start working again until I rebooted the phone and even then it was questionable if it would start working again.
I just got my third phone a couple days ago. I did a stock root w/ no bootloaders, used Entropy's 11/13 Kernel, then threw on UnNamed ROM. This morning, I started up my car to drive somewhere and decided to test the GPS/Navigation. It took it a couple minutes to find the Satellite, then all seemed to be working ok. Then 20 minutes later it dropped the Satellite and it spent the next 40 minutes of my drive into the office saying "Searching for Satellite" no matter what I did.
This is really important to me as is the ability to tether when I want to (hence the reason I want a phone I can Root). So what can I do. At the moment, I've (In my head, so I could be wrong) narrowed it down to a couple things that could be wrong.
1. It's the ROM that's the problem. Though unlikely, it is a factor and it's me messing with the way the phone was designed and distributed.
2. It's the GPS in general. Seems like 95% of the people on here aren't having problems at all. There does seem to be 5% that seem to be having the same problems I am.
3. My region has crappy Satellite Coverage. Doubtful since my iPhone worked fine, and unless Apple did something amazing like put in an entire dedicated Satellite network to work with Jailbroke iPhones then this kinds of negates this though.
4. My cars are interferring. While this is entirely a possibility (I never do think to test this out in the open not in a car, so i can't say for sure) if it is the problem, then the device goes back as it's much cheaper to get a new device than to replace 2 cars. Again, though, my iPhone never had a problem doing this in these cars.
I love the phone, the speed, the Android OS etc... I don't want to go back to an iPhone because I"ll shoot myself. I just want to be able to have GPS work on this as it's the only hold up on the device. Any help anyone can do?
Take it back then. Honestly you say you have tried 3 different phones and all 3 are broken. I call bull****.
Never had a problem with it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA App
You didn't mention if you've tried in ANY of the three (3) phones if the GPS worked before rooting?? I'm not saying it's the rooting that's causing the problem, but I'm still running stock on my SGSII and have had no issues with GPS? Not saying it's not possible but three phones is kinda stretching it a bit to all have the same issue.
Yes, I know you took it back to STOCK rom with #3 but who knows if the STOCK ROM is really *STOCK*, you should try a new phone #4 stock without ROOT for at least a day or two to determine if it is a DESIGN/HARDWARE issue rule that out first and then try from there... If this still happens with STOCK phone, you may have to switch to another phone (iphone or otherwise)...
Good Luck!
I just took it back to stock and was going to go outside to see if it had problems finding service. Though as mentioned in many other threads on here, it's not so much it finding you when you're standing still. It's when you're driving the streets of Atlanta that things get crazy.
stalked_r/t said:
I just took it back to stock and was going to go outside to see if it had problems finding service. Though as mentioned in many other threads on here, it's not so much it finding you when you're standing still. It's when you're driving the streets of Atlanta that things get crazy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Stalk,
Keep in STOCK mode and drive around with it and see if this is still an issue then... Also if you have an aluminum case, this has been a known issue where the TARGUS (SP?) korean made BEAUTIFUL/GORGEOUS case affected the GPS antennae. Try it stock no case on the dash away from DIRECT sunslight and begin troubleshooting there...
UNFORTUNATELY it may boil down to Stock and working GPS or ROOT with Tethering... You ***MIGHT*** not be able to do both...
Good Luck...
If you JUST root, it shouldn't affect GPS - but test without rooting first.
And I agree - if you've got a metal case, DITCH IT.
So far, my experience is that the GPS chipset is almost as good as any standalone GPS chipset I've used - Sirf StarIII, MTKv2, STM Cartesio (the latter being the chipset in my Garmin Oregon, the former being chipsets in various Bluetooth dataloggers I've used for hiking). Actually, the GPS in this phone beats the StarIII and is around on par with the Cartesio. So far nothing I've ever used can touch an MTKv2 though.
I'm used to phones having crappy awful GPS chipsets - this is the first device I would ever consider using for geocaching on its own.
Thanks for the replies. I did test just now on the way to and from lunch with stock everything. I do have a case that's part aluminum (Case-Mate). I didn't try it without the case. didn't even think it could affect this.
Running a stock setup, I attempted to get navigation to my lunch location The drive was about 6 miles each way. When I left the office, I started Navigation. It never found a satellite enroute to the restaurant. I never stopped it during lunch from looking, though I was in a building, so i didn't expect it to find anything. On the way home, same status. Searching for satellites. I'm torn. I want this phone bad, love the Dev support, and there's nothing coming from AT&T that makes me want to use an old Blackberry to wait for. I also don't know what I can do to test this further.
On the way home, I'm going to do something very simple. I'm going to wipe the phone. I'm going to skip all steps of the initial setup, just have service and that's it. I'll start navigation and have it direct me home. If it doesn't work, I'll look at my options. If it works, then I know it's an app that's causing the problem.
Unless someone else can think of something for me to try. I wish this just worked like I know it can.
Ok. So an update. Wiped phone, not even associated with Google, Removed my 32 gig SD card for the heck of it, removed the case. Started nav and INSANTLY inside a building it had me pinpointed and was directing me to the next turn point to get home.
Here's the case I have: http://www.case-mate.com/Samsung-Ga...rsion-Barely-There-Brushed-Aluminum-Cases.asp
In one of the reviews, this is said:
As much as I wanted to love this case, I couldn't. I've used many Case Mate products before and I am just disappointed in them for the lack of quality of this case. There is a noticeable issue with the case fitting the bezel on the top right corner of the phone. The lip of the case fails to properly wrap around the front bezel. There is also the connectivity problems that come with this case. GPS has especially weakened with this case on. Other than that, I like the quality material that this case is built out of and feels very sturdy. Unfortunately though as of this writing, this is really the only choice for a decent case for this phone on the market. Time will tell if better choices come about.
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I'm going to keep this setup through tomorrow, then root the phone if there's no difference in performance and all is well. If that works fine for 2 days, I'll throw the Kernel on and throw UnNamed on. If that works, I'll throw the case on and see what happens. I now feel like this could be the problem. Thanks for the thoughts guys. I'll continue my abuse of the "THANKS" button and thank you all.
ride home was flawless. If ride to work tomorrow is flawless, I'll root and flash.
Entropy512 said:
If you JUST root, it shouldn't affect GPS - but test without rooting first.
And I agree - if you've got a metal case, DITCH IT.
So far, my experience is that the GPS chipset is almost as good as any standalone GPS chipset I've used - Sirf StarIII, MTKv2, STM Cartesio (the latter being the chipset in my Garmin Oregon, the former being chipsets in various Bluetooth dataloggers I've used for hiking). Actually, the GPS in this phone beats the StarIII and is around on par with the Cartesio. So far nothing I've ever used can touch an MTKv2 though.
I'm used to phones having crappy awful GPS chipsets - this is the first device I would ever consider using for geocaching on its own.
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I haven't gotten enough free time to log the NMEA output, but I don't think our "SirfSTAR IV" chipset is actually even using DGPS/WAAS. Which makes the accuracy it get's even more impressive. The chip definitely supports WAAS, but who knows exactly how the implementation is done between Android & Samsung...
I've also owned a SirfStar III based Bluetooth GPS, a MTK-based GPS (also the best I've found), and several phones with dedicated and integrated GPS chipsets. Have to agree our GS2 is one of the best. I can't exactly wander around the house and have it track my every movement like my Bluetooth pucks can (also having a large ceramic patch antenna helps a bit no doubt), but my GS2 locks fast, and stays locked. What else can you want from a GPS?
Might be worth it to look into WAAS either way though. On any standalone GPS unit, WAAS is the difference between 15-30 meter accuracy, and 3-5 meter (or better) accuracy. That is unless you have a military GPS unit, and the appropriate keys to receive the high accuracy P(Y)/M signals...
If you want to get a good idea of how the GPS is doing, this app will show you the strength of your GPS lock:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.eclipsim.gpsstatus2
Also, upon further research, the NMEA output is reporting that WAAS/DGPS is not in use.
Example: "$GPGGA,222520.000,4218.460926,N,07111.901869,W,1,06,1.2,77.1,M,-33.8,M,,*53"
Where the bold "1" should be 2, and the null field right before the checksum "*53" should be the age of the DGPS/WAAS info if it were in use.
The chipset in our phones (http://www.csr.com/products/35/sirfstariv-gsd4e) clearly states that it supports WAAS. And since the choice of DGPS or not is solely in the hands of the chip and software (wiring/antenna connection/configuration is irrelevant) perhaps there is a way to enable the DGPS mode? If so, I'm sure we would all see MUCH better position and accuracy information.
WAAS probably requires modifications to the host processing binary (SIRFHost)
BTW, our chip is a GSD4t, not 4e.
I was having problems with my gps losing its lock for the longest time, i got a replacement phone and it started doing it again AFTER root. Im thinking some app might be causing the issue. I read somewhere that ROM Manager can cause issues. I deleted it and so far my gps has been working. I am really baffled on to what can be causing it.
stalked_r/t said:
ride home was flawless. If ride to work tomorrow is flawless, I'll root and flash.
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Its the case man. Great looking case, but kills the cell signal and terrible GPS. Mine went back after 3 days.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA App
Yep. Ride into work today lost signal once. After letting it sit for a couple minutes, I rebooted. After reboot it worked flawlessly. Definitely the case at this point. Putting Root/Kernel/ROM on it today and seeing how the drive home is. If it's good, then the case can be tossed and I'll find a different one.
Entropy512 said:
WAAS probably requires modifications to the host processing binary (SIRFHost)
BTW, our chip is a GSD4t, not 4e.
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Good catch. Interesting. Haven't checked out the sources, but I'm assuming all the GPS binaries are blobs? And source is not available?
Always wondered why mobile phones never have WAAS support... course then again, if the hardware was developed in Korea, that would make a little bit of sense. Seeing as there isn't WAAS coverage there, although I do believe there is an alternate DGPS solution for Asia.
So this may be a stupid question from someone who isn't an advanced tablet user, but why is the GPS so important to so many people? If I need a GPS to get somewhere, I use my phone or GPS. And even if my tablet is tethered to my phone with the GPS off, it still gets it's location just fine. If I'm just an ignorant fool please feel free to let me know, just wondering what the benefit of it is.
Dan
I like maps and have very nice and detailed maps from memory map. It's very nice on a phone, but it would be so mutch better from a tablet.
Besides that, I can't stand it if something doesn't work (even if I never gone use it).
ddelong22 said:
So this may be a stupid question from someone who isn't an advanced tablet user, but why is the GPS so important to so many people? If I need a GPS to get somewhere, I use my phone or GPS. And even if my tablet is tethered to my phone with the GPS off, it still gets it's location just fine. If I'm just an ignorant fool please feel free to let me know, just wondering what the benefit of it is.
Dan
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they make seat mounts where you could technically use it as a turn by turn navigation. someone mentioned he wanted to mount one in his RV. I personally wouldn't mind having mine be functional so when I am riding with my friends to a vacation spot or something I can backseat turn by turn us to a liquor store or something....... all in all shouldn't be a huge deal for most but the fact that Asus was dumb enough to put a aluminum plate to block signal is kind of alarming.
ddelong22 said:
So this may be a stupid question from someone who isn't an advanced tablet user, but why is the GPS so important to so many people? If I need a GPS to get somewhere, I use my phone or GPS. And even if my tablet is tethered to my phone with the GPS off, it still gets it's location just fine. If I'm just an ignorant fool please feel free to let me know, just wondering what the benefit of it is.
Dan
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[A] I believe the point of GPS on this device (or any modern tablet / phone) is the utter ubiquity of GPS functions in apps, search, etc.... that coupled with gps hardware being so small, cheap, and power-conscious - it makes little sense to leave it out (even wih major usability issues)
I rarely use gps on my phone, let alone a tablet. Location based services are overrated
Maybe a gps to track a jog or hike? I'd love to see a jogger carrying a tablet
I'd also say that the people that post on these forums are generally not like the average user
It allows the FBI to find you when you view questionable material on the web.
Also, it allows Google to know where you are while collecting all of your habits, personal info and tastes.
Not everyone has a smart phone...not everyone can afford multiple gadget...
They buy the best gadget that meets their needs, the tp was originally advertised as the only device you need....
before ASUS dropped it from its specs, gps was part of the tp, so they expected the product to work...
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Well whats important with GPS?? Well, whether you use it or not. If the box says it has GPS, it better have a working GPS. If you buy a car and it says it has a rearview camera and you find out that rearview camera was not working. Would you just says its ok thats what turning your head and looking at the mirrors are for. You paid for the feature, you best bet it works correctly if you paid for it. But if you bought it after the fact that they struck the GPS out of the box specs, then you shouldnt complain about the GPS or the use of it on your tablet.
People are upset because the box says GPS, and you paid for GPS but your not getting GPS.
Not getting what you paid for = upsetting.
Its like buying a turbo charged MR2 then finding out that the turbo isn't actually hooked up because toyota says the MR2 isn't meant to be a high performance race car...
And to add to that note..
And you find out the guy in your neighborhood bought the same MR2 at the same dealer and his turbo actually works. Its like WTF??? The guy is ranting I love my MR2 and not all MR2's are the same. And another guy with a faulty MR2 is also saying "its ok I dont use the turbo that much anyways" ... hehehehe.. Sorry just had to add.
Here's another idiot question, is GPS a subscription service?
No. As long as the device you have has a GPS receiver all it needs is a navigation software. The prime has a built in GPS receiver and has a navigation app so in theory it should lock on to satellites without the help of a wifi connection. But due to whatever Asus did to the prime, whether the aluminum case or firmware. The prime is a hit, or somewhere in the middle, to a complete miss in getting a lock on a satellite. Thus making the prime's GPS way below other devices with a GPS receiver and made Asus remove it from their specs.
ddelong22 said:
So this may be a stupid question from someone who isn't an advanced tablet user, but why is the GPS so important to so many people? If I need a GPS to get somewhere, I use my phone or GPS.
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Think a little, then you will know:
1. Not everyone has GPS in their phone. Buying phone with GPS = additional cost.
2. Dedicated GPS devices have often outdated maps because they lack internet connection and buing one = additional cost.
3. Tablet has enormous screen, great for using navigation while being a passenger (you hold the tablet in your hands, look at maps or use navigation) - the screen is much bigger and better than most phones (I for one have very basic phone because I have tablet for more advanced things).
4. Tablet has a great battery life - it's perfect for out-of-car navigation (trips on foot, on a bike) and for tracking GPS for your photo camera on any type of trips.
5. GPS is usefull not only for navigation. Simple thing like having Google Maps locate you is very useful, but also webpages and many fun application use it. Just search the market for GPS, you will find a lot of useful applications of your tablet with GPS.
6. For instanced where your tablet gets stolen GPS can help you locate it.
I think I missed some things, because I'm writing this list second time, from what I remember...