I have a stock T-bolt and it has a terrible GPS function. It rarely locks onto anything, and thus my location in Maps is usually off or bouncing around even if I have VZ and Google locations turned on. I've tried all the fixes in the forum, including the GPS Status Toolbox app clearing the GPS cache and it does not help.
I read in one post that there is a patch:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1447596
Can this patch be applied to a stock (factory) ROM?
I was thinking of rooting but I'm wondering if I can just download a newer radio and flash that, or do you have to flash both the ROM and radios? My baseband #s are 1.49.00.0406w_1 and 0.01.79.0331w_1,
You should be able to flash the radios without touching the stock rom... However, you would be amazed at how much better your tbolt can be without running all the bloat of the stock operating system. It's like trying to tow a house with a tricycle. The ICS roms are still a little buggy, but awesome nonetheless, but there are several great gingerbread roms that run perfectly. If you decide to flash a new rom check out Liquid Smooth 3.2 or some of the BAMF roms if you like HTC Sense.
As far as the GPS goes, the tbolt GPS has always sucked. The patch helps somewhat. I don't think you can install it without root.
You can try to install GPS Status & Toolbox from the play store, but again I don't know how much you'll be able to do without root access. If it works it will allow you to reset the GPS data and download helper data of current satellite positions. Worth a try for free.
Edit: just reread and saw you tried GPS status... I'm a dope.
I currently have the best GPS function I've ever had, running Twisted's ICS rom... "Liquid/cm9/aokp/random ics" or something on xda.
tl;dr: root your tbolt and never look back.
Sent from my HTC Thunder Buddy running TwistedMecha
zoso59brst said:
You should be able to flash the radios without touching the stock rom... However, you would be amazed at how much better your tbolt can be without running all the bloat of the stock operating system. It's like trying to tow a house with a tricycle. The ICS roms are still a little buggy, but awesome nonetheless, but there are several great gingerbread roms that run perfectly. If you decide to flash a new rom check out Liquid Smooth 3.2 or some of the BAMF roms if you like HTC Sense.
As far as the GPS goes, the tbolt GPS has always sucked. The patch helps somewhat. I don't think you can install it without root.
You can try to install GPS Status & Toolbox from the play store, but again I don't know how much you'll be able to do without root access. If it works it will allow you to reset the GPS data and download helper data of current satellite positions. Worth a try for free.
Edit: just reread and saw you tried GPS status... I'm a dope.
I currently have the best GPS function I've ever had, running Twisted's ICS rom... "Liquid/cm9/aokp/random ics" or something on xda.
tl;dr: root your tbolt and never look back.
Sent from my HTC Thunder Buddy running TwistedMecha
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Here's something else I've discovered. The GPS actually came alive but it seems to happen way more frequently when I have the extended battery installed regardless of how much charged it is. I have a Seido battery and rear cover. I use the GPS Test app to check my satellite reception. When I put the HTC battery and stock cover back on, I rarely pick up a signal and if I do its only 1 satellite. Then I can swap batteries & covers and frequently, but not constantly, I'll pick up 6,8, or more satellites and get a good enough lock that I can use Navigation. Why would the battery & cover make a difference?
Related
So a little about my phone. I am running a custom ROM Fusion 1.1 with a custom Kernel from Team Whiskey Core V3 2.1 also have OCLF. My phone right after flashing the new ROM seemed to lock on quickly to several Sats 5 plus every time. But for no reason and with no adjustments to the default settings I now have a very hard time locking on to any Sats. Takes 10 plus minutes and only can get a few to lock.
So the only things I have changed on my phone recently is trying a few different Kernels. Would this even effect the GPS sat locks at all? I would think not but??
Anyone have anything new that I have yet to read about that they have tried that seems to make the GPS better?
My phone's GPS might just suck who knows.
Thanks in advance!
Did you try digital toddys fix?
s15274n said:
Did you try digital toddys fix?
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Yea I did.. Just went outside and switched to Cold then delete GPS data ran fix for 10 minutes and got a lock on 4 sats. Switched back to Hot and didn't seem to help much.
You did the reboots and everything?
Odd man, if that didn't work I am at a loss. Hopefully others can chime in for you.
I would think the ROM is what affects GPS signal the most. I was running Bionix 1.9 with KK kernel and the GPS was money. Now running Obsidian V1 (didn't switch to V2 because I read people were having GPS issues on it), and GPS still works great. In fact, when using Car Home, it shows the exact street address I am at.
jonwilly said:
So the only things I have changed on my phone recently is trying a few different Kernels. Would this even effect the GPS sat locks at all? I would think not but??
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from what i understand, yes a different kernel can affect gps because the kernel contains the drivers. it is my understanding that this is why the 2.2 roms have working gps now: an 'official' kernel was leaked and the gps drivers were pulled from it. however the rom will also affect gps. for example, i was running bionix 1.9.1 and gps was great, flashed bionix final and gps went to ****, flashed fusion 1.2 and gps was working again.
So I've done a lot of searching and haven't really found anything definitive. I've found that with some roms I'll lose GPS signal after a certain amount of time (say 10-30 minutes) and have to turn GPS off and back on or reboot the phone. I saw something about flashing a different radio may make a difference. Kinda just wanted to see other peoples thoughts on the issue or if maybe there is something else I can do before I go flashing a different radio.
Currently running CELB 4.1 and baseband 2.42.01.04.27 and I have the issue.. I've had it with most of Tazz's roms as well. KaosFroyo is the only one Ive used that I've never seen the issue with, but I'm really diggin CELB right now and this is the ONLY issue I've got with it.
Have you tried GPS status in the market? I know it will help you lock in a signal, so it would make sense that it would also help keep your GPS locked in.
Bayhill Jacket said:
Have you tried GPS status in the market? I know it will help you lock in a signal, so it would make sense that it would also help keep your GPS locked in.
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I have now.. I did the reset and download options in the program. Too bad this isn't something I can quickly test. I'll report back with the results. Thanks!
I have noticed this as well. Last time it happened to me it was 4:30 in the morning, and the "GPS lost" message came up about 180 seconds before I had to make two freeway changes in an area I'd never been before. (CELB 3.9 and same radio as your case). Fortunately for me I had reviewed the route, so I more or less knew what to do.
If I recall correctly, it has always happened after the Nav app had been running for a fair bit of time - at least 30 minutes or more.
However, I don't know if it is something about the root ROMs or not - I started using rooted ROMs back in March or so, so I really don't have a tremendous operating baseline on stock 2.1 ROMs to compare it to. Maybe it is a problem there, too!
If I recall correctly, the last time it happened, I just pulled up GPS Status and asked it reload the aGPS state (without exiting the Nav app), and the Nav app seemed to gracefully recover.
Annoying? Yeah. I don't know what can be done about it, though - like the "undead calls" problem, it happens so infrequently that it is hard to know whether or not a ROM change actually fixes the problem.
bftb0
I had the same problem with every 2.2 rom I used GPS with. I decided to go back to 2.1 because I have been needing GPS alot more often lately but I havent tested it out since I made the switch. I'll try it out today and report the results tonight.
This same thing seemed to happen on the 2.1, CyanogenMod 5 based ELB by Conap as well. If it is happening with all of the 2.2 ROMs, I wonder if it's just a CyanogenMod issue?
See http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=6812308#post6812308 (this was not the only person reporting it, if you search that thread.)
I really don't think it's ALL 2.2 CM roms though. I've gone on 7 hour car trips with Kaos Froyo without a single drop.. to and from. I've seen another theory somewhere around here about it being certain hardware revisions that act this way with certain software builds. At lease we've got a thread dedicated to this issue now.. maybe we can get something figured out.
Still don't know if the GPS status program helps.. I left navigation turned on for a bit sitting in my house and it stayed connected for the half an hour I left it, just don't think that's gonna be an accurate test with not moving around and all. If it doesn't work I will try a different radio.. I saw somewhere one guy had good luck with a specific older version radio. If that's what it comes down to I'll try.
I have been having issues with the GPS working on both of my phones while using 2.2 roms. I switched to 2.1 a few days ago and I used the GPS on my way to work this morning and didnt have any issues. I also had to flash Senseable a couple of months ago while on a road trip because I was tired of loosing the GPS signal every half hour. It may be a CM thing.
Im having the same issues as well. Haven't found a fix yet..
I've had this issue, after I flashed KaosFroyo(v36), and XTR(4 i think). I recently unrooted using Flashback21 v1 and flashed with the radio included. I have gone back to xtr 5 now and have had no lost gps in over a week. Don't have a clue as to why. hope it helps someone.
deadbot1 said:
I've had this issue, after I flashed KaosFroyo(v36), and XTR(4 i think). I recently unrooted using Flashback21 v1 and flashed with the radio included. I have gone back to xtr 5 now and have had no lost gps in over a week. Don't have a clue as to why. hope it helps someone.
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give us another update. is the gps problem still fixed for you? Thanks!
I have flashed the radio directly with the verizon zip file that is around and I still get inconsistent results But it always drops a signal eventually in about a 1/2 hour
Jrocker23 said:
I have flashed the radio directly with the verizon zip file that is around and I still get inconsistent results But it always drops a signal eventually in about a 1/2 hour
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I've seen it on several ROM's as well. From what i've messed with, it doesn't seem to be dependent on the autokiller memory preset, radio firmware, or amount of overclocking i'm doing. It doesn't seem to be dependent on how many programs are running either. I usually have nav and pandora running while i'm in the car, and sooner or later, the gps poops out.
I feel like it seems to happen less, now that i'm back to using the on-demand governor. but that could just be in my head.
I've had to go back to a 2.1 rom because of it. Its very annoying when the goa signal gets lost right before the exit ramp.
Sent from my Eris using XDA App
Im thinking of going back to a 2.1 rom as well...
I have also seen the same results on any 2.2 or higher rom. I have since returned to XTRRom 5.0 and have not had a single problem with GPS on any of my jogging runs. I definitely think it is a CM thing. At least on my phone.
Using kaosfroyo v39 and I flashed that sprint phone radio on my eris and haven't had any gps issues. In fact, just the opposite. Mine would lock up before the v39 and the radio flash
I flashed that radio as well and today not one issue at all. Will test more tomorrow
I'm using the 2.42.02.10.29 sprint radio and still seeing it drop out.
Sent from my GSBv1.1 using XDA App
haganme said:
I'm using the 2.42.02.10.29 sprint radio and still seeing it drop out.
Sent from my GSBv1.1 using XDA App
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Today I even flashed back to the July 2010 version (2.42.01.04.27). the gps dropped out almost every 5 minutes while i was driving around. that's the worst i've seen. So i flashed back to the 2.42.02.10.29 sprint radio again. I haven't seen very good navigation performance on the v1.1 gingershedbread overall, actually. my position on the gps nav doesn't update very often, although it seemed like the voice instructions were still pretty well timed as usual.
has the gps signal been fixed with the latest ota update?
what is the latest touchwiz on this device?
is it smooth and how is the battery life?
I am on AOKP and get instant and accurate locks instantly indoors or out with or without a good signal.
I know this doesn't answer your question but I haven't had a problem with GPS since froyo.
sent from my ice cream sandwiched Samsung fascinate
shop around... 120 seems steep for a used i500
I just recently picked one up, i was a vibrant user untill work switched over to verizion.... i had just got the darn thing working perfectly too :-(
Mine has no luck with the GPS, it is nearly identical to how my vibrant worked, although the reception is just a little stronger... it is way weaker than a normal phone. It takes nearly 15 min for my phone to get a lock, however once it does, it has the lock... although it does loose quite a few satilights every so often and then grab lock right away again... Seeing how this is exactly how it worked by default on my vibrant, and it didnt get any better till i went to MIUI, who worked out thier own driver which got perfect locks with out dropping the sat lock.
Now for my question....
Im not the account holder on this phone,(its my work phone) and when i had a phone that used a sim card, i had no fear of loosing my regestration info, but im not sure what will happen when i flash this phone to a custom rom. Do you have to reregester it with verizion? or will it just reclaim my number? what kind of issues could i have... i need to make sure i wont have any issues since i dont have the password for activation...
and second, what is the most bug free rom avaliable? I'd like to try out MIUI again or even a stock rom as long as it has better support for GPS.
I've never had to re-activate after flashing anything FWIW. We have MIUI ICS that is quite functional, although I don't believe quite as much works on MIUI compared to the other ICS roms yet. I've had good luck with AOKP, gummy, and THS (rootzwiki) ICS builds. Much better than GB.
For me, the update to Gingerbread (2.3.5) has really improved the GPS performance. It's still not perfect, but it seems to lock up much faster than it used to.
Okay, I have done the following things:
1. I have soldered the connection inside the phone. (Yes very nicely I might add as I solder a lot at work.)
2. I have the Sub-Zero build 75 kernel.
3. I am using Slim ICS Rom from the android development forum.
Why in the hell does the GPS lock on instantly sometimes, and other times I have to restart the phone 20 times before it will even thinking about locking on again?
What is wrong with this phone's GPS? What else can I do to get this GPS to work all the time. The programs that "clear the GPS data" or the phone code that does it, does not work. There is no message and no sign that it cleared anything. The "secret code" program just crashes of course, when I try to use the GPS clear data.
Is there anything else I can do, besides throwing this phone against the wall. I actually NEED the GPS sometimes because I travel a lot, and I can't even rely on this phone.
Here is how I understand this:
Since we never got an official release for gingerbread we won't be getting one for ICS either. The problem is that all releases for our phone for GB+ are hacked together from the source released for the other phones in the Galaxy S family. Also, since the actual guts are slightly different between models, we don't have the actual Samsung drivers for these releases on our phone.
Another problem is that the GPS chip they used on this phone sucked and was sub par at best when released. Most vibrant owners had issues.
The only way to guarantee the best GPS performance on this phone is to stick with the stock Froyo firmware. Everything else is hit or miss since we got the step child phone off the Galaxy S family.
I was lucky enough to buy my vibrant several months after release, so my GPS was revised by then and better than the release models, but it still flakes out on custom ROMs sometimes.
For now, I am on Slim 3.5, and sub zero 80 kernel.
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GlobeSpy detailed this in his post here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1550327
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I flashed the yags and experia GPS fixes, made sure to install angryGPS and faster fix.
Angry GPS settings changed to MSBASED, cold start, and Xtra=off.
In supl settings, I selected Google server.
In Fasterfix: selected custom and set to us.pool.ntp.org
After rebooting the phone, open GPS test and let it lock birds.
After that, I can exit out of GPS test and run navigation. GPS will lock later in day too.
The same settings worked on the stock slim kernel to, so sub zero isn't a requirement, but I have made it work on both kernels. In my expewrience the stock Slim kernel worked better for GPS.
Hopefully this helps, but each phone is so different, the results are not guaranteed.
It really is too bad that Samsung dropped the ball on the GPS in this phone. It's the only weak bit of the device.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using xda premium
I was messing around in the Android Apps and Games forum and found this post. So then I wanted to share it with you guys.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1239713
My question is... could this be used in any way to improve our development?
As if this "fix" could be built into our ROMs or radios or SOMETHING to connect to a GPS quicker?
Just a thought...
I think the agps pstch does the same thing. Also GPS status from the market can do the same thing.
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2
I think all these GPS fixes dont do anything personally....a long time ago someone suggested to get a satellite fix, then reinstall the ROM and it will lock almost instantly every time. And it has been working for over a year. I have done it to 3 different thunderbolts besides my own and worked. I never use these "fixes." Im no pro at this software stuff but trial and error is my expertise and when it works perfectly every time on multiple of the same device, id say thats the best way to do it.
ang1dust said:
I think all these GPS fixes dont do anything personally....a long time ago someone suggested to get a satellite fix, then reinstall the ROM and it will lock almost instantly every time. And it has been working for over a year. I have done it to 3 different thunderbolts besides my own and worked. I never use these "fixes." Im no pro at this software stuff but trial and error is my expertise and when it works perfectly every time on multiple of the same device, id say thats the best way to do it.
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I mostly agree. I just went through this process, having gone from a Sense-based ROM (BAMF SOAB 1.4) to an AOSP-based ROM (Thundershed 1.6). Despite the new ROM having the AGPS fix baked in, I still wasn't getting a GPS, so I made a nandroid, flashed back to an old nandroid I had of SOAB, opened up Google Maps, to get a satellite, then opened up GPS Status (from the Play Store, free) to find the strongest lock I could (9 out of 9 satellites), then immediately went to reboot into recovery and restored my Thundershed nandroid. I then opened up Google Maps then GPS Status again, found I was locked onto 10 of 10 satellites, and I was good to go.
ang1dust said:
I think all these GPS fixes dont do anything personally....a long time ago someone suggested to get a satellite fix, then reinstall the ROM and it will lock almost instantly every time. And it has been working for over a year. I have done it to 3 different thunderbolts besides my own and worked. I never use these "fixes." Im no pro at this software stuff but trial and error is my expertise and when it works perfectly every time on multiple of the same device, id say thats the best way to do it.
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I agree with him. GPS don't do much anymore. The 4g signal does more than the GPS. You could not run a GPS app without data connection. basically all they use gps for is to find exact location. And soon i think that they will probably discontinue gps in a phone!