GPS fix for note 3 - Verizon Galaxy Note 3 General

So I had issues with gps. Been trying different things but today at @bajasur recommendation I popped the back off and tightened all the screws. Voila. Problem solved. Error ft down from hundreds of feet to low 30s.
It seemed so insane to even try but it worked wonders for me.
Oh and shameless plug. Go checkout BajaRom.
Blu
Sent from my BajaRom Note 3 using XDA Premium 4 Mobile App

Cool thanks for sharing this...can you try out your compass to see if tightening the screws helped with that as well? Seems like compass sensor is broken for everyone

I wonder if there was a loose connection to the GPS antenna or something of the sort. Make sure you don't tighten the screws too much, as it can damage other components/screen on your device. Glad things worked out well!

The compass has always seemed a bit off to me. I'm not sure how to get a quantifiable answer to this question, but the GPS tool I used to troubleshoot does have a compass calibration tool. I ran it last night and it appeared (again just to look at it) to be more stable on my drive in to work today.
I tightened the screws using a small screwdriver, and I don't think given the scale that I could have overtightened them; the screwdriver I was using was pretty flimsy. The results after a full day of use are astounding. While I didn't look at the GPS tool this morning, yesterdays driving showed error feet which occasionally dipped into single digits, something I've *NEVER* seen before. It appears to have completely solved my issues. I'm stoked that I don't have to troubleshoot this further, because my next step would have been to Odin back to stock to ensure that it wasn't ROM related. At this point, at least in my case, that's been ruled out.
As a side note, I will admit that my phone has been dropped a few times; nothing crazy, no pavement, always in S-View case, but who knows, maybe enough force to cause some loosening.
-Blu

Quick update.. the GPS has been flawless since this fix. Just updated to latest Baja without gps.conf tweaks and still perfect.
Blu
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

Never had a single issue with GPS..... Wifi connectivity on the other hand seems to be spotty especially on 2.4ghz bands, 5ghz bands are much more reliable.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

Weird, when I tried to tighten mine, all of then were already really tight.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

coco3133 said:
Weird, when I tried to tighten mine, all of then were already really tight.
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
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Same here

Damned if I know. Lol. It has been a godsend for me.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note III ... BajaRom Style

Same and NOT the only one
Sent from my SM-P600 using XDA Premium HD app

Holy cow... They were VERY loose. I've tightened them up here at the office and see how much better performance I get at lunchtime. Hopefully a noticeable improvement because my GN3 has been close to useless the last month since moving away from Atlanta.
Sent from a van down by the river using my Verizon Galaxy Note 3 and Tapatalk Pro.

@jmacdonald19 - Be interested to see how this works for you. Mine is still working great. Here's a GPS Status application that I used in my testing.
-Blu

BluPhant said:
@jmacdonald19 - Be interested to see how this works for you. Mine is still working great. Here's a GPS Status application that I used in my testing.
-Blu
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Click to collapse
Yeah, I've been using GPS Status for a long time. This definitely made things better. GPS, WiFi, LTE reception. All improved. This is some pretty shoddy manufacturing and quality control. But all seems to be well now.
Thanks so much for posting this!
Sent from a van down by the river using my Verizon Galaxy Note 3 and Tapatalk Pro.

BluPhant said:
So I had issues with gps. Been trying different things but today at @bajasur recommendation I popped the back off and tightened all the screws. Voila. Problem solved. Error ft down from hundreds of feet to low 30s.
It seemed so insane to even try but it worked wonders for me.
Oh and shameless plug. Go checkout BajaRom.
Blu
Sent from my BajaRom Note 3 using XDA Premium 4 Mobile App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot! You are amazing to share this solution!! It works great on my N9005, since 2 month i had the trouble with gps. Sometimes the gps fix needed 30 minutes and after 2 minutes the signal was lost again... after I tightended all the screws, the fix takes 5 seconds! :good:

[emoji1]

Oh man I had no idea! The screws beside my battery were about to fall out. GPS locked on quick after fixing it. Thanks so much!
Sent from my SM-N900V using XDA Free mobile app

what baseband are you on?
When I was on MJE, I had GPS issues and when I upgraded to nc2 they went away.
Surprised to see that the note 3 has the same GPS issues the s3 had.

I've tried mje, nc2, and nc4

Wow... after banging my head against a brick wall and 3 wipes/resets and every GPS trick I could find.... this is what did it for me. Amazingly easy and much less complicated then the software fixes I was trying to do lol

Thanks for the suggestion, even my wireless radio got better signal after tightening the screws. Brilliant! I may just go and try the Lollipop update knowing this!

Related

[Q] need gps fix that really works!!!!

i have been trying to use my gps that i sometimes get to work. the only problem is that wants it plans the route it will just start rerouting over and over and i can't follow the route. crazy!!! it just keeps doing it over and over repeatedly. any help would be great. i tried a gps fix zip but it did nothing....
Search for jilletts gps fix. It worked for me!
Sent from my SGH-T959 using xda premium
Here's the link for the hardware GPS fix Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=878970
One more thing, just bending the tabs back sometimes doesn't keep the tension and it'll revert back to the original problem, I suggest doing the instructions I linked, but use some solid copper wire pounded and shaped till it fits under the tab snugly or do the same thing using non metallic material, its your choice, I prefer the copper as it seems to increase the total transfer of signal.
There is no true GPS fix yet.. Devs have only gotten it to work better. Somethings work for some people and some do not. I have used every GPS fix out there including hardware fix and my gps is still ****.. alot of other people have better experience then I do.
Sent from my T959 using XDA Premium App
It works if done right
FATEOWNZYOU said:
There is no true GPS fix yet.. Devs have only gotten it to work better. Somethings work for some people and some do not. I have used every GPS fix out there including hardware fix and my gps is still ****.. alot of other people have better experience then I do.
Sent from my T959 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well all I can say is that the HW part of modding works 100%,
Never not once did I fail to get better signal detection after modding it! Ironically in my first attempt I broke the metal tab, and had to build solder up and then file it right so it would make good contact, but it also improved the signal detection tremendously!
The main problems Ive encountered outa 2 Vibrants now is which SW recipe to use depending on the ROM I'm using, The kernel used in the ROM directly affects the version of whatever SW you implement.
Sometimes I go thru 3 different GPS fix's until it starts to work correctly, some older settings work better than newer ones, also make sure you set your phone correctly with scripts and toggling to ensure its on set the right region, there's Europe/ NA and so forth! It does make a difference when your trying to get lock on the birds!
Us, I'm not Even gonna worry bout it.. iv.never gotten a lock and doubt I ever will.. b4 HW fix I could locate 1bird aand now I can locate 8, but still I can't get lock
Sent from my T959 using XDA Premium App

Gps

I have had the captivate for over a year now and have been plagued with terrible gps performance.
Anyhow I am considering an upgrade to the sgs2. But before I upgrade I'd like to know how the performance is on the sgs2's gps. I'm sure samsung improved the gps for this model, but I was hoping to confirm it here.
Thanks
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk
I also had a captivate for a year. I never had too big of issues with it. It always got a lock ... eventually. The GPS on the SGS II is definately better, but to me still feels like its slow to get a lock. My wife's iPhone 3GS locks faster than my SGS II.
You have 30 days up decide if you want you keep it. I don't think it will be possible for this phone to disappoint you.
Sent from my SGS II
A simple search would have shown a dozen or so threads on GPS performance. They all say the same thing.
the GPS on this phone is eons better than the captivate. On a 3 hour trip from NY to PA, it dropped the signal once. I had to actually reboot the phone to get the GPS to pick up again but it was fine after that. That was the first time I had to reboot to get the GPS to work. Otherwise, its fine.
I get very fast locks ... Even in my house
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using xda premium
OK. So it gets fast locks which is good but the real acid test is navigation. And not on big straight highways but on surface streets with lots of turns. Does it do this well? Does it need to sit in line of sight to the sky in your car (i.e. on the dashboard) to work or can you drop it in a cup holder and have it track you accurately? GPS was the Achilles heel of the Captivate. I nearly threw mine out the window several times. This was the Captivate experience:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZXM_g3mqew
we all agree, GPS on the captivate was not good, although the model i got was OK but still took some time to get a lock and forget about starting the cappy GPS from a moving vehicle.
BUT - the GPS on the SGS2 is SICK !
Samsung went all out to make it a non issue. Will be interested what they did this time - did they use a better chip from a better maker or what, maybe soon we will know.
I had an unlocked vibrant for awhile and similarly to the captivate, the gospel was spotty.
The GS2 has substantially better gps. I haven't used it consistently to give you a full impression about it;however, it seems to lock and track well from past experience. My Atrix has excellent gps as well.
ianwood said:
OK. So it gets fast locks which is good but the real acid test is navigation. And not on big straight highways but on surface streets with lots of turns. Does it do this well? Does it need to sit in line of sight to the sky in your car (i.e. on the dashboard) to work or can you drop it in a cup holder and have it track you accurately? GPS was the Achilles heel of the Captivate. I nearly threw mine out the window several times. This was the Captivate experience:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZXM_g3mqew
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my 3 hour trip was 75% highway and 25% city (philadelphia and its surrounding areas). The city had a glitch once where it thought i was a block or two off but it self corrected within 10 seconds.
Cool, thanks for ask of the replies. It appears samsung improved gps for the sgs2. If I get one I will definitely test the gps thoroughly within the first 30 days.
I just thought it was sad that my sons cheapo htc aria had excellent gps compared to the captivate. It would lock and track better than most dedicated gps devices.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk
sblees said:
Cool, thanks for ask of the replies. It appears samsung improved gps for the sgs2. If I get one I will definitely test the gps thoroughly within the first 30 days.
I just thought it was sad that my sons cheapo htc aria had excellent gps compared to the captivate. It would lock and track better than most dedicated gps devices.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk
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It was not just the us variants of the sgs that had issues the i9000 phones had crappy gps, and even my launch captivate had decent but nothing like my i777 sgs2. All the time it took me to type this, my phone's gps now states I am in the correct building via google maps lol where as my Captivate would usually say I am a block to 5 blocks away!
HTH,
Charlie
This has the best GPS performance I've ever had on a device. Mine consistently locks on in under 7 seconds .
axis01 said:
A simple search would have shown a dozen or so threads on GPS performance. They all say the same thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And yet you link to none of them.

GPS has stopped working

Anyone have GPS totally die on this phone? This is not another "my GPS is slow" thread. It appears to be broken. GPS has been awesome throughout 8 months of a thousand flashes. Flashed MIUI a couple days ago and it was 5+ minutes to get a lock. Tried Pool Party, never got lock. Tried VGB, same. Flashed back to ED05 stock, Never got a lock after 30+ minutes sitting on my car dash. Put TSM back up, same. I have tried multiple kernals, tried GPS aids (for the first time ever). GPS is gone. I follow all directions for all ROMs and never have major problems. I'm stumped.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using xda premium
I have tried the "secret menu" but it force closes when I enter the GPS config number. Could the hardware itself be fried?
Just out of curiosity, what gps aids have you tried? I just used "fasterfix" for the first time today and that drastically improved my lock time. Also GPS status and calibrate your compas may help. Just some suggestions... I hope either one helps!
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
I have tried GPS status, even paid for a GPS Doctor repair app. None of them can do anything. Gps status had zero satellites after 2 hours in my car dock. I flashed back to ED05 and tried the Verizon "techs" at my local store. It's sad when I knew more about my phone than they did. In other words, zero help there. Was hoping to wait until spring, but it looks like a Nexus is in my future.
Did you try faster fix? Maybe it will help you get by for the next 6 days? With the way your talking though, it sounds like a hardware issue.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
sfd0124 said:
I have tried GPS status, even paid for a GPS Doctor repair app. None of them can do anything. Gps status had zero satellites after 2 hours in my car dock. I flashed back to ED05 and tried the Verizon "techs" at my local store. It's sad when I knew more about my phone than they did. In other words, zero help there. Was hoping to wait until spring, but it looks like a Nexus is in my future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is your data acting? Is it kinda flaky as well? Maybe you could try logging on vzw website and swapping esn numbers to refresh your data. After several flashes, sometimes I notice data/gps/anything network related will get flaky or slew down dramatically and an esn swap fixes me up. Hope you get back up.
~~~~There is no spoon~~~~
ESN swap, hadn't thought of that. I'll report back, thanks
ESN swap didn't work. Today I went back to eclair and ota'd back to ED05, still no go. It's dead Thanks for the idea though.
Update : GPS is back. Used the RFS formatting utility from the Heinz Dev section on rootz. Installed a froyo based rom, gps is back working.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using xda premium
sfd0124 said:
... the Verizon "techs" at my local store. It's sad when I knew more about my phone than they did. In other words, zero help .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, yeah. Those "techs" at the stores are just salespeople. Call Verizon for actual tech support.
Fascinate. Tapatalk. 'nuff said?

Possible jb patch in the works

Just returned from taking care of my bill at a corporate sprint store in Detroit Michigan area, and brought up concerns about issues since jb was released. Before I was able to tell my personal issues since the update the couple techs that were at the front door greeting/mingling with customers, told me they have been notified that a patch is being worked on for the Bluetooth, navigation, proximity sensor, wifi and various glitches others have been reporting. This was all said before I even mentioned those issues that myself and others on this forum have brought up. They've even been instructed to stop doing replacement handsets for people with the issues. So to me it sounds like the issues have been noticed/verified finally and HTC/sprint may be releasing something soon. Sounds legit considering the tech's themselves named off the issues and seemed to know a bit about the problems without me saying anything. Figured I'd pass on this tidbit of info and hopefully it becomes a reality.
Update 01/11 called HTC and they have a bulletin that's been sent out that proximity sensor was specifically being worked on (news for stock users at least)..the nav issue the guy said wasn't a for sure thing because it might be a google dropping the ball thing/capatability issue
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
onefasttreopro said:
Just returned from taking care of my bill at a corporate sprint store in Detroit Michigan area, and brought up concerns about issues since jb was released. Before I was able to tell my personal issues since the update the couple techs that were at the front door greeting/mingling with customers, told me they have been notified that a patch is being worked on for the Bluetooth, navigation, proximity sensor, wifi and various glitches others have been reporting. This was all said before I even mentioned those issues that myself and others on this forum have brought up. They've even been instructed to stop doing replacement handsets for people with the issues. So to me it sounds like the issues have been noticed/verified finally and HTC/sprint may be releasing something soon. Sounds legit considering the tech's themselves named off the issues and seemed to know a bit about the problems without me saying anything. Figured I'd pass on this tidbit of info and hopefully it becomes a reality.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would guess for the new year. Htc always does a delta patch a few weeks later
Sent from my EVO LTE using xda-developers app
Hopefully this is true. Only issue I'm having is the proximity sensor, so I've been pretty lucky but another update would be nice.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
Kanes_Inferno said:
Hopefully this is true. Only issue I'm having is the proximity sensor, so I've been pretty lucky but another update would be nice.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
Out of curiousity, I know I started another thread on the following topic, but did you just recently get your phone? Like maybe in the last 3 months or so? Trying to find a pattern to the issues and handset batch.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
i got mine on launch day june 2.. i have proximity sensor problems thats it so far.. i dont use bluetooth or have LTE so dont kno bout that?
onefasttreopro said:
Out of curiousity, I know I started another thread on the following topic, but did you just recently get your phone? Like maybe in the last 3 months or so? Trying to find a pattern to the issues and handset batch.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got in August, I believe.
I'm on my second phone so if that helps any phone seems to work much better
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
I have to flash back to an ics rom then back to jelly bean while wiping as little as possible just to get mhl-hdmi adapter to work. And sometimes at that. Most of the time I have to reset the phone 3 times, unplug, plug in cable to phone. It just blows balls! I am about to just go back to ics and stay there. Jelly bean or at least this iteration of it sucks. Not to mention the worse battery life? Why are we excited about jb anyway? It looks good and sounds nice, but it is just like its abbreviation (jb) jailbait!
Does anyone else agree with me or are you all on the google strain of bud? Here's my list of issues over ics: Battery hog! Mhl-hdmi previously mentioned, New usb connection manager screwed my car audio. Have to update busybox everytime I reset just so root explorer displays remaining space in sd card.
I will quit my rant now though I guess. No one at sprint or htc or most the people here even give a rats **** about these issues because i obviously must be a noob who cant wipe and flash a rom properly or my phone has issues so I must be retarded or something. Tired of those attitudes on xda. But thats another topic. Good day to u all!
I updated to JB and I don't have any of the issues you are talking about. After hearing some of your experiences I think I will wait until a patch comes out to update my wife's phone.
I like JB on this phone. Google now is a welcome feature. Initially I experienced shorter battery life, but after adjusting the settings in Google Now I would say my battery life went back to normal or possibly even better than before.
The one thing I don't like about JB is the in scrolling background, but all the pluses more than make up for it.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
@ antonicia
I just tried mhl/hdmi output for the first time since upgrading and it worked after 1 reboot for the phone and tv.
I'm running choclate beans from the mikmik and am using the most popular cable on Amazon for $9
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
@ttown
What settings in Google Now did you adjust to get better battery performance?
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mito8485 said:
@ttown
What settings in Google Now did you adjust to get better battery performance?
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
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Click to collapse
Dude. Nice avatar! KZ FTW!
Google Now doesn't seem to drain my battery at all. I'm wondering if the people that it's draining are in weak signal areas?
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
mito8485 said:
@ttown
What settings in Google Now did you adjust to get better battery performance?
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I turned off any cards that would frequently update.
Ex. Traffic, weather and nearby places
I can't say for sure that these consume extra battery, but ever since adjusting the settings my battery has been performing well.
It's currently at 50% after 12h 36m off the charger with medium use.
I wish they would just fix this dam Proximity Sensor. I hate my calls hanging up when it touches my face and how it wont show the screen when I wish to hang up.
The CM10 proximity fix woked for me.
[MOD] [CM10] Proximity Sensor Fix
I tested using Proximity Sensor Finder before and after. Before nothing happened, after it went from 9 to 0 when covered.
I've seen all those issues the MeanBean Thread.
All 4.1 JB Devices Broke Bluetooth Voice Dial. As far I know only 4.2 fixes it.
I'd be really impressed if Sprint released 4.2 let alone any update.
I posted a [MOD] in the development section to get Cyberon to be the Default when you click the bluetooth button and it works great, better than it ever has and no longer relies on the Network. And I'm nolonger forced to keep my contacts in gmail. I prefer keep them only in my work's ExchangeMail account.
Nav has worked for me so far but I have not used it too heavily.
As far as Bluetooth Reliability during a Call JB is MUCH better. ICS would drop bluetooth headset as I passed WIFI HotSpots.
WIFI has been an issue on this device since day 1. JB release doesn't seem much better or worse, but it does seem different, but usable for me. I've had it get stuck once and would not let go of WIFI as I drove away, which jams the whole phone up until you shut WIFI off.
The Proximity Sensor seems to be a calibration issue. My guess is the OTA update might have accindentally wiped each devices calibration or something. You can recalibrate it. The default cal works for people. I have not had the issue or it's not a big enough issue for me to care.
Well I can verify after getting a couple refurbs because of the jb updates/roms having nav crashes (first refurb to replace my new launch date phone being a launch date activated one with nav crashes and faulty strip in touchscreen), I finally have one that the navigation works flawlessly on so far with several jb Roms I tried....the refurb date on this phone was in December with no usage/data etc....and I was the first to activate the phone (maybe damaged casing on phone etc and never was sold)...so the pattern of newer built elte's seems to be a pattern...at least for me...it was a battle to get a working phone but paid off in the end...
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app

[Q] So how bad is the GPS / 911 situation?

I want a device that "just works". But I also want a relatively current version of Android (4.1+).
I don't like spending more time trying to get my device to work than actually using the device.
I've been getting rid of my older devices, and I'm probably getting rid of my Galaxy S 4G next. There has never been an official CyanogenMod release for it, and the current software doesn't work with the GPS.
I noticed the Galaxy S Vibrant had official CM and AOKP releases. Great! I can install a stable release and be done with it... But then I started reading about the GPS issues. From what I've read:
GPS doesn't work right. There are patches you can try, but then they break 911.
Is that the current situation? I have to pick between GPS or 911 if I want to use a Jelly Bean ROM on the Vibrant?
From what Iv heard the 911 issue is compleatly fixed. And GPS on this phone is complete and total s*it
Sent from my SGH-T959 using xda app-developers app
OK, I've been playing with the Vibrant/SGH-T959 on CM 10.1.2 for a few days.
GPS will usually see 10-13 satellites and get a lock within a few seconds. Accuracy has been as good as 20 feet. (I've only been testing this indoors.)
...If it works.
Twice now it seemed like GPS just "died". I had to reboot to get it working again. I see on the CM bug tracker (http://code.google.com/p/vibrant-cm/issues/list) that GPS can randomly crash.
^Try the gps hardware fix, my gps was absolutely awful before but now it works great. There is a tutorial in the Bible thread showing how to do it. You basically bend the copper conductor up slightly to help it make contact. Samsung really messed up the design or rushed it , simply bending the copper up fixes the issue.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk 2
iTz KeeFy said:
^Try the gps hardware fix, my gps was absolutely awful before but now it works great. There is a tutorial in the Bible thread showing how to do it. You basically bend the copper conductor up slightly to help it make contact. Samsung really messed up the design or rushed it , simply bending the copper up fixes the issue.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My T959 has a "10.10" date on it, which should be new enough to have whatever improvement Samsung implemented (mentioned in the hardware fix thread).
I'm not too concerned with the the reception. When it works, it can get a lock from a fresh reboot in under 2 minutes. The signal ain't so bad. I don't expect to use this for navigation.
The problem is when GPS "dies". I don't know if it happens after deep sleep, or what. I'd rather it work all the time, even with a bad signal, than sometimes work well, and sometimes not work at all.
Edit, here's a description of what it does:
http://code.google.com/p/vibrant-cm/issues/detail?id=5
That's from August 2012. It still does this, even with the latest CM10 August 2013 builds.
Yea I personally use a Froyo ROM and jilette's gps fix, which has everything working. I also have issues with gps on Jelly bean ROMs. It's give and take really, that's why I prefer Froyo, it has everything I need.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk 2

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