Warning: GPS issues in all Galaxy S phones

[hotani]

Before anyone gets too excited about the Epic, know that GPS issues are being reported with the Galaxy S phones (in UK), the Captivate (1, 2, 3), and Vibrant as well.

See also the section on GPS issues in the Galaxy S wikipedia article.

Thread in this forum comparing GPS of Epic to Moment. I have a Moment and can confirm that the GPS is useless most of the time. I am not looking forward to upgrading my phone to an Epic only to find the same issues Samsung should have fixed months ago.

Allegedly Samsung is working on a fix for this issue, but it has yet to be released. As great as the Epic looks on paper, I will not be purchasing this device until the GPS issues have been resolved and the fix is confirmed.

Update 2010-8-11:
Samsung working on a fix according to cnet article.

Update 2010-8-17:
2 GPS problems on GalaxyS phones (via engadget)

 

[laredo7mm]

...I will not be purchasing this device until the GPS issues have been resolved and the fix is confirmed.

I will. GPS in a phone means nothing to me.

 

[hotani]

Here are a couple of apps I use somewhat frequently that either rely on or are greatly enhanced by GPS:

google maps
google navigation
google places (new maps add-on)
google sky
google latitude
layar
yelp
urban spoon
foursquare
AnyStop Denver RTD (public transit app for finding stops closest to your location)

I think a smartphone without GPS is missing quite a bit of functionality for most users.

 

[ragnarokx]

no phone is going to be bug-free at launch - look at the evo, and most of its major problems were fixed with htc's last update. i have no problem getting the phone at launch and sitting tight for a gps fix.

 

[cary328is]

More details here if anyone's interested:

Samsung Mobile : Community

 

[hotani]

no phone is going to be bug-free at launch - look at the evo, and most of its major problems were fixed with htc's last update. i have no problem getting the phone at launch and sitting tight for a gps fix.

We Moment users have been waiting for our GPS fix (and airplane mode fix) since release. We're still waiting, and the phone has been EOL'd. History is not on Samsung's side here.

 

[ragnarokx]

We Moment users have been waiting for our GPS fix (and airplane mode fix) since release. We're still waiting, and the phone has been EOL'd. History is not on Samsung's side here.

did samsung announce a gps-fix for the moment and never deliver? because as mentioned by op samsung said they are already working on a fix.

when you release a phone series that covers every major carrier, i don't think you have much choice but to support the hell out of it.

 

[cary328is]

We Moment users have been waiting for our GPS fix (and airplane mode fix) since release. We're still waiting, and the phone has been EOL'd. History is not on Samsung's side here.

Thank you for starting this thread. I'm a little concerned now before purchasing and will hold back until I hear more. I'm seeing some reported possible fixes for the Galaxy S coming from XDA but they shouldnt be the ones responsible for it. A lot of the apps I use do utilize GPS and I definitely can't have that feature be buggy if I'm about to spend hundreds of dollars on this phone

 

[Adrift]

Here are a couple of apps I use somewhat frequently that either rely on or are greatly enhanced by GPS:

google maps
google navigation
google places (new maps add-on)
google sky
google latitude
layar
yelp
urban spoon
foursquare
AnyStop Denver RTD (public transit app for finding stops closest to your location)

I think a smartphone without GPS is missing quite a bit of functionality for most users.

I have a Moment, and I agree that the GPS has alot lacking, however I use most of these programs daily. It may take a while ( ~30 seconds) for GPS to find me however it still works. I have gone on many trips with Google NAV, some over 8 hours, and the GPS navigation works well enough. It does lose me several times during the trip, but it eventually gets back on track.

So it's not that the phone comes "without GPS" it's that the GPS is not on the same level (at this time) as other phones on the market.

*edit* I just fired up Google Nav to see how long it would take to lock on to me, it was surprisingly fast, around 10 seconds. Of course this is with a Moment, but still Moment is notoriously slow or non-functional on GPS. So I am not too worried (just a little) about the GPS on the Epic.

 

[Stoney62]

I have a Moment, and I agree that the GPS has alot lacking, however I use most of these programs daily. It may take a while ( ~30 seconds) for GPS to find me however it still works. I have gone on many trips with Google NAV, some over 8 hours, and the GPS navigation works well enough. It does lose me several times during the trip, but it eventually gets back on track.

So it's not that the phone comes "without GPS" it's that the GPS is not on the same level (at this time) as other phones on the market.

*edit* I just fired up Google Nav to see how long it would take to lock on to me, it was surprisingly fast, around 10 seconds. Of course this is with a Moment, but still Moment is notoriously slow or non-functional on GPS. So I am not too worried (just a little) about the GPS on the Epic.

You know, I remember my Moment getting quicke fixes too. But that was pre 2.1 though I did take a long trip right after I first did DD10 and it worked perfectly for the whole trip. But again, that was all pre "official" 2.1 came out.

 

[Bigprimo]

Weird cause the GPS on my moment works flawlessly with Sprint GPS or Google GPS! Heck even my Google maps finds me every time fast when I launch it!

 

[mojomojo]

These folks on Galaxy S forum dont seem to have any problem.
http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-s/136160-using-galaxy-s-sat-nav.html

 

[cardriverx]

A family member of mine just got the captivate, and all it took was doing this to fix it, it now works great. I cannot wait for the epic.

Fix for Samsung Galaxy (Vibrant, Captivate) GPS Problems

 

[Stoney62]

A family member of mine just got the captivate, and all it took was doing this to fix it, it now works great. I cannot wait for the epic.

Fix for Samsung Galaxy (Vibrant, Captivate) GPS Problems

I wonder if that would work on any android phone (specifically, the Moment)?

 

[5Strong]

I certainly hope that the Epic does not have GPS issues. I am in sales and use my GPS almost every single day. Last thing I want is to have GPS issues. This might sway me to get the EVO instead...???

 

[jfogs1]

Especially if you are outside of the cellular phone coverage area - then it is flat out broken. Trust me - a five hour trip to West Virginia ended up taking ten b/c of the Captivate. I thought at one point I heard dueling banjos....

 

[SamsungVibrant]

I certainly hope that the Epic does not have GPS issues. I am in sales and use my GPS almost every single day. Last thing I want is to have GPS issues. This might sway me to get the EVO instead...???

The chances are that the Epic will have the same flawed GPS. The phones are practically identical.
I've now confirmed on several vibrants, including mine, the GPS flat out doesn't work. Sometimes it will, but thats a lucky day, and it only holds onto GPS for about 10 mins, then drops and searches for satelites for ever.

hopefully its just a sofware issue and not hardare.

 

[laredo7mm]

bumping this for dietcoke

 

[SebastianX]

If you have GPS trouble don't feed into the hype, these dudes probably don't even have a Galaxy S, they're probably bitter Evo users over their 30 day trial period.

If you're having issues there IS a quick and easy fix, see the link below? It's 6 easy steps, no root required no flashing required no hacking required.

Quick fix for GPS issues on your new Samsung Galaxy S series phone | Android Central

 

[dietcoke]

If you have GPS trouble don't feed into the hype, these dudes probably don't even have a Galaxy S, they're probably bitter Evo users over their 30 day trial period.

If you're having issues there IS a quick and easy fix, see the link below? It's 6 easy steps, no root required no flashing required no hacking required.

Quick fix for GPS issues on your new Samsung Galaxy S series phone | Android Central

Do you have a Galaxy S phone? Because I have a Vibrant.
Love how you read something on the internet and exclaim "VERY EASILY!! Look there's a QUICK AND EASY fix, haha".

The "fix" you posted isn't a fix, if you do your homework instead of believing everything you read on the internet:
Vibrant user forum:
http://androidforums.com/samsung-vibrant/132109-gps-doesnt-work.html
Captivate user forum:
http://androidforums.com/samsung-captivate/128026-everyone-who-having-gps-problems.html

 

[SebastianX]

Do you have a Galaxy S phone? Because I have a Vibrant.
Love how you read something on the internet and exclaim "VERY EASILY!! Look there's a QUICK AND EASY fix, haha".

The "fix" you posted isn't a fix, if you do your homework instead of believing everything you read on the internet:
Vibrant user forum:
http://androidforums.com/samsung-vibrant/132109-gps-doesnt-work.html
Captivate user forum:
http://androidforums.com/samsung-captivate/128026-everyone-who-having-gps-problems.html

Two things:

A) Don't ASSume anything, my sister has a Captivate, day one user, so yes I know what I'm talking about and get to see and play with it on a daily basis.

and

B) At least read the link I posted you say my link isn't a fix them go ahead and link to another thread in this forum that links to XDA that re-explains the exact same thing I linked.

 

[dietcoke]

Two things:

A) Don't ASSume anything, my sister has a Captivate, day one user, so yes I know what I'm talking about and get to see and play with it on a daily basis.

and

B) At least read the link I posted you say my link isn't a fix them go ahead and link to another thread in this forum that links to XDA that re-explains the exact same thing I linked.

You can very easily then read the threads of the GPS issues Vibrant and Captivate users have and their responses AFTER they try what you call a very simple, quick, and easy fix!!
You might also very easily also explain to them the fix and how they should try it like you did here (although they already have), and that all their problems are solved.

Thank you for confirming there's a major GPS issue with ALL Galaxy S phones with the link you posted.

 

[jfogs1]

Before anyone gets too excited about the Epic, know that GPS issues are being reported with the Galaxy S phones (in UK), the Captivate (1, 2, 3), and Vibrant as well.

See also the section on GPS issues in the Galaxy S wikipedia article.

Thread in this forum comparing GPS of Epic to Moment. I have a Moment and can confirm that the GPS is useless most of the time. I am not looking forward to upgrading my phone to an Epic only to find the same issues Samsung should have fixed months ago.

Allegedly Samsung is working on a fix for this issue, but it has yet to be released. As great as the Epic looks on paper, I will not be purchasing this device until the GPS issues have been resolved and the fix is confirmed.

THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE!

I just got off the phone with Joel in Level 3 technical support and he actually told me with a straight face that the Samsung Galaxy S was designed and its "specifications" are such that the phone's GPS is meant to get you within WAIT FOR IT ..... 1600 METERS OF YOUR ACTUAL LOCATION!!!!! THAT'S RIGHT 1 MILE! If you haven't already returned this phone DO IT NOW. I am stuck with this POS!

 

[Adrift]

THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE!

I just got off the phone with Joel in Level 3 technical support and he actually told me with a straight face that the Samsung Galaxy S was designed and its "specifications" are such that the phone's GPS is meant to get you within WAIT FOR IT ..... 1600 METERS OF YOUR ACTUAL LOCATION!!!!! THAT'S RIGHT 1 MILE! If you haven't already returned this phone DO IT NOW. I am stuck with this POS!

Trying to figure out if this is a sarcastic post, if not... I still find it funny

 

[jfogs1]

I wish it were sarcasm. It is the dead truth. As a matter of fact he has heard that some owners were getting within 60 meters of their location and he said that was "excellent". WTF?