Have been very pleased with my Galaxy S in the few days I've had it so far (apart from being unable to mount it on my Mac without turning on USB debugging mode, but I digress).
My real problem, the only real problem I have, is that the GPS appears to be, well, rubbish. I do a lot of hiking in the country side around London. On my old G1 I had been using the excellent MyTracks application to keep track of my journeys. It always did a terrific job, but battery life was a problem - part of the reason I chose the Galaxy S as it's replacement. So the very first app I installed on Thursday was MyTracks.
Yesterday I walked along the North Downs Way from Guildford to Dorking/Box Hill. A 13mile/20km walk. But according to MyTracks I'd just walked 30km!!!
You can see why it get the distance wrong if you zoom in the google map it generated. The GPS readings are jumping all over the place.
And here's the walk from Farnham to Guildford the weekend before, as recorded by my old G1. As you can see it's *much* more accurate. No jumping about. It follows the path precisely. And the distance travelled is much more realistic. North Downs Way - Farnham To Guildford - Google Maps
Is it just my phone with the issue or is it a general problem? Has anyone else taken their Galaxy S for a GPS test?
Was GPS actually on? Sounds like like you haven't enabled it in Settings, Android phones default to using cell tower based locations, which are always out by miles...
No, it was on. In fact the phone was in Flight Mode to preserve the batteries (GPS is battery heavy), so it wouldn't have been able to talk to any phone towers.
Interesting (and slightly worrying), I don't at the moment use GPS for tracking my running but I would like to and will definitely be using it for Car navigation. Considering these are all A-GPS chips I'd love it if you could perform a (slightly shorter) re-test with the radio on. It could be some peculiarity of the GPS chip in the SGS when it's operating in it's non-assisted mode.
Has anyone else experience of using GPS on the SGS for any reason?
I have the same problem the gps signal is weak. Trying to use cardio trainer the route was jumping up and down. Plus the signal bar was showing only one bar. I have disabled use wireless networks so its only the gps working.
I will turn it on and use it to see if it increases accuracy or not later.
Hopefully its just a software driver glitch and can be fixed.
I did a test over the weekend comparing my Galaxy S with a friend's HTC Desire. Using one of the many GPS utilities the Desire was consistently seeing and locking more satellites when stood in an open area outside. When running Google maps and showing the current location I found that the "accuracy circle" (for want of a better description) was growing and shrinking several times a minute causing the map to zoom in and out.
I've also noticed that the compass is almost unusable and showing a much lower signal compared to the Desire. I did perform the figure of 8 calibration several times.
Any update on this guys? I was all ready to go out and order one of these phones until it looks above like the GPS just doesn't work! Is this an early firmware bug type thing that will be fixed? Or is there any workaround at all? It seems like a huge fault with a phone supporting the GPS feature...almost makes me think back to my law subjects at uni that the phone does not meet the advertised claims!
Sadly I can't be of help till later in the week, waiting on second unit as my first one appeared to have a corrupt market in the ROM that factory resets/new google accounts/clearing all caches etc etc couldn't fix - wouldn't let me install apps sadly so a bit tough to really test the GPS...
Sadly I can't be of help till later in the week, waiting on second unit as my first one appeared to have a corrupt market in the ROM that factory resets/new google accounts/clearing all caches etc etc couldn't fix - wouldn't let me install apps sadly so a bit tough to really test the GPS...
Thanks mate. Please do update us all on how you go. The hardware in this phone looks great, but I am very worried about the quality of the software and these bugs and issues that keep getting reported. It's what makes me nervous about buying a Samsung.
have you guys tried Igo8 with the S yet?
that was a very good GPS software for my Omnia II, i know it has a diff hardware and OS, but that app worked well... please post anything if you guys have tried it..
thanks
I tried out the GPS a little today and asked it to find my location (using both satellites and 3G network), which is at my summer house which is located a bit from the cities and not with the best 3G connection possible. It located me with an error of 5m and as far as I could judge I definitely agreed with that positioning so that part worked very well in my view.
I tried out the GPS a little today and asked it to find my location (using both satellites and 3G network), which is at my summer house which is located a bit from the cities and not with the best 3G connection possible. It located me with an error of 5m and as far as I could judge I definitely agreed with that positioning so that part worked very well in my view.
I'll try it out for movement later.
Please try with gps test and tell me what kind of reception you are getting
My phone can detect only 4-5 satellites and none of them show a signal of more than quater bar.
Please try with gps test and tell me what kind of reception you are getting
My phone can detect only 4-5 satellites and none of them show a signal of more than quater bar.
I went out, started the test and gave it 1 minute. I got 10 satellites with an average bar of 40.
The Following User Says Thank You to Evil Peter For This Useful Post:
I went out, started the test and gave it 1 minute. I got 10 satellites with an average bar of 40.
Thanks I will try with my phone again in while once it gets charged.
Maybe the problem is with my phone and I should ask for a replacement.
By the way what firmware build are you using
Thanks I will try with my phone again in while once it gets charged.
Maybe the problem is with my phone and I should ask for a replacement.
By the way what firmware build are you using
All over the same territory. I think there may be some differences in altitude reading, but I understand that altitude is not that accurate from GPS anyway.
The Galaxy S was with WiFi on, I think, and location using wireless networks. Having said that, its a semi rural suburb with houses some distance from the road so probably not much wifi compared to some areas
I have a Samsung Moment and I basically have no GPS on that phone. It is very discouraging. I had understood, prior to reading this thread, that this is a limitation of Android (I am on Firmware 2.1-update 1 and Kernel Version 2.6.29). Based on this thread I'm beginning to wonder if it is a limitation of my phones GPS receiver. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Subjective opinion for now but I promise to do a proper test as soon as I can using GPSTest:
Only used it for Navigation in the car. Generally OK but when horizon is very limited (say by trees or tall buildings) I'm finding that I more frequently lose lock and the circle goes all big (50M I guess?). It doesn't happen all the time, but it isn't as good as my Nexus one was, definitely not.
I called one guy on the Samsung Smart Phone helpdesk. I told him about my phone problems and he said it was software and to return the phone and get a new one.
Fair enough.
I asked if it was software, when they expect new firmware to be released.
He said that's down to the Network Provider.
I told him I got my phone off contract, and I brought it out right. He insisted it's down to the provider. He said he knows cos he has an android phone, android phones are different, and he got his through T-Mobile.
I said exactly, I bought mine off contract, I can put in any sim card, it's Samsungs firmware.
He said that Android was the OS.
Ahhh, I say, you don't mean provider then do you, you mean Google.
Yes sir. We have to wait for Google to release a new Android.
I said Im not talking about the Android OS, Im talking about Samsungs firmware, the one that says XXJF3 - are you saying that Google makes your firmware?
Yes sir.
And Google makes YOUR touchwiz interface?
Yes sir, Samsung only make the phone.
The guy kept disagreeing with me, telling me know, arguing with me.
and apparently she has been assured by samsung's headquarters in Belgium that new firmware would come out by the end of the month... perhaps that is something to hang on to.
Yes, a guy on a forum in Sweden had also spoken with someone he knew that worked in sales for Samsung and the firmware is due in July and FroYo is planned for August. It seems credible when it's said by two different people.
All I need is for one of these illustrious Samsung Reps to tell me that yes, they are aware of a problem with the GPS, yes they know what it is, and yes there will be a fix for it.
Either that, or just tell me that my phone is faulty and I should get another.
I hate playing the waiting game.
Should I send my phone back and get another one which could have the same issue because it could be hardware/software related?
All I need is for one of these illustrious Samsung Reps to tell me that yes, they are aware of a problem with the GPS, yes they know what it is, and yes there will be a fix for it.
Either that, or just tell me that my phone is faulty and I should get another.
I hate playing the waiting game.
Should I send my phone back and get another one which could have the same issue because it could be hardware/software related?
This is exactly what I am going to do. My new phone will be here on Monday afternoon. I will let you know if the GPS gets any better.
Well you can add me to the list of those who have a problem.
When I first received the GS it performed very well and GPS was quick and accurate.
Now it's totally the opposite... Slow to pick up satellites and jumps more times than my Granddaughter does when listening to pop music.
Changed/upgraded your firmware or rooted your device in the meantime? It would be nice to know what firmware people with issues are running. I'm on stock XXJF3 and have no particular problems.
Device(s): Current: SGS3, SGN 10.1, iPad4 64GB.
Retired: SGN, SGS2, SGS, SGT7",
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Quote:
Originally Posted by n4nick
Changed/upgraded your firmware or rooted your device in the meantime? It would be nice to know what firmware people with issues are running. I'm on stock XXJF3 and have no particular problems.
Nothing changed... nothing altered.. and using stock ROM.
Tested my GPS in a couple of different cities for the first time and got perfect locks on my position. With a little bit better coverage than the place I live in the lock was very quick as well. Hopefully it will remain that way.
But I'll point out too it appears the Sasmung Moment is also similarly afflicted especially in the 2.1 kernels. Rumour suggests bad batch of GPS chips that flake out from time to time?
I have been at this for about an hour and a half. I have been told to "relate advantages and disadvantages to social issues (taking general population into account) of Globular Positioning Systems. It says take "reference to the South African constitution and make a discussion" as well. I will happily pay over paypal for a great answer, and that is genuine.
I must add that even though I have the same problem, ie gps will not log on to any satellites with signal strength below 22, I dun have any problem navigating. I am using ndrive and so far has not lost any signal midway
Device(s): Current: SGS3, SGN 10.1, iPad4 64GB.
Retired: SGN, SGS2, SGS, SGT7",
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Seifer
I must add that even though I have the same problem, ie gps will not log on to any satellites with signal strength below 22, I dun have any problem navigating. I am using ndrive and so far has not lost any signal midway
The thing is with driving I don't get that many errors myself... Possibly due to the fact I'm traveling quite fast so the update is going to be relative to the large distance traveled between each lock.
But what about walking?
This is where you will notice errors.
A good test is using the App 'My Tracks' which records your actual movement.
Using My Tracks this way you can actually see and post on Google Maps the errors.
Hey, Evil Peter, what baseband version do you have?
I have the XXJF3. I haven't bothered to flash as things are working well for me and, while I'm still interested to see if it gets better, I don't want the risk of a few things in the phone being in Russian.
Perhaps theres a possibility our phone haven't been partitioned right? I've heard potential rumours of what can cause GPS issues, from Sim Cards to even something like a bad firmware flash. Maybe a re-flash would resolve it?
Anyhow, I've just spoken to a Samsung rep who, and I'll paraphrase, said that my phone sounds like it is faulty. He kind of indicated with that that there are no known issues.
I mentioned XXJF5 and XXJFB and asked when we might get new firmware, they said they're working on the Android 2.2 release but have no firm dates.
I asked about interim updates from Samsung for XXJF5, but the impression I get is that there will be no new updates until Android 2.2 is released.
He said I could flash the phone with the "updated" (albeit unofficial) firmware, and he said I could do that, it's my phone. I mentioned about warranty, and he said he would be concerned about that too.
One thing I might try is to speak to a Samsung Service Centre and see if they can completely wipe the phone and re-flash and re-partition the device using XXJF3 firmware.
Yes, it's definitely possible that a bad firmware flash could cause problems. It seems that the current firmware came out very late in production, even after many phones were already boxed (some people have double security seals, of which the underlying one was already broken). Perhaps they rushed the process so there were higher margins of error, even though I don't really know how rushing would affect it.
I read about one poster on a Swedish forum that had a lot of problems so got his phone reflashed and apparently that helped him.
I've also heard one person who flashed with XXJFB and didn't get any better results with his GPS. That's the only guy I've heard not reporting any improvements though.
i posted the below in a gps issue thread over on xda forum
in case no one notices, at appro 3:45 in the video at the below thread, the narrator indicated he had the same gps issues and the new flash to the new rom fixed it
I'd be interested in hearing from more people re: GPS in the car. I've seen one post here saying that in the car it was working well.
I'm interested in the Captivate...but not if the GPS is crap...for driving. While I prefer that it could be accurate in all respects, driving is pretty much the only thing I use it for. I used mine for walking when in NYC once.
Perhaps theres a possibility our phone haven't been partitioned right? I've heard potential rumours of what can cause GPS issues, from Sim Cards to even something like a bad firmware flash. Maybe a re-flash would resolve it?
Anyhow, I've just spoken to a Samsung rep who, and I'll paraphrase, said that my phone sounds like it is faulty. He kind of indicated with that that there are no known issues.
I mentioned XXJF5 and XXJFB and asked when we might get new firmware, they said they're working on the Android 2.2 release but have no firm dates.
I asked about interim updates from Samsung for XXJF5, but the impression I get is that there will be no new updates until Android 2.2 is released.
He said I could flash the phone with the "updated" (albeit unofficial) firmware, and he said I could do that, it's my phone. I mentioned about warranty, and he said he would be concerned about that too.
One thing I might try is to speak to a Samsung Service Centre and see if they can completely wipe the phone and re-flash and re-partition the device using XXJF3 firmware.
Yup. I know it comes with xxjf3, that's why I said re flash - using the same firmware.
I gave my local place a call though. They're not aware of any issues with the gps, and they don't have any firmware, not even the current one to re flash
The Samsung Galaxy S was announced in March of 2010 was a high-end feature packed phone during its day. This was the start of Samsung's global takeover and although this particular phone saw many iterations and variants here in the state and ov... Read More
GPS issues?
No issues here
