Eris and Google Maps My Location

[lyricalpursuit]

I'm in Naples, FL and google maps shows me in India also, even with GPS on and outside.

 

[pavirotten]

I don't have a problem with the GPS locating me precisely with one exception: I work at a fairly large hospital and I have to move throughout the hospital at various times of the day. (I'm an Information Systems intern. I go help computer users with any and all of their IS issues.) The GPS cannot pin me 99% of the time when I'm in the hospital and puts me approximately one mile northeast of my true position. (It must locate the nearest cell phone tower.)

Once I step back near a window, exterior door, or even outside, the GPS locates me immediately.

 

[Slugdoc]

Didn't you know? They've outsourced Florida to India.

Seriously, there is something wrong, but if it is everyone in your geographical area, maybe its not your phone. Maybe there is a database error that has the location of one of the cellular towers listed incorrectly.

For me, in the Bronx, I leave GPS off unless I need to have specific directions on the map. Otherwise for things like weather, google search, etc, the network-based location is fine. New York City has a lot of cell towers, so it can identify me within a few blocks, which is plenty. When I travel upstate, the location (as shown on the weather/clock widget) changes accordingly.

So, the bottom line is, if if it working correctly it should just be working. If there are questions if it is working, chances are it isn't.

 

[jane27]

ok, I just got this phone. How do I turn GPS on or is it an app? - I was promised when I chose the Eris over the Motorola Droid that the turn by turn would be coming soon with 2.0. I had VZ Navigator before and loved it, but I am frustrated with Google Maps alone on the Eris! Can I still get directions without the voice? google maps puts me a few miles away from where I am way too often! I am about ready to turn this thing in for the Motorola!

 

[ttran97]

I'm gonna quote myself from another thread. Hopefully this will help some of you out...

After much research, I found out a few things about the cell towers and GPS in regards to Google Latitude.

When you have the Maps program on, your GPS will turn on and you'll get a precise location. When you have it off, Google Latitude will use the cell towers to pick up your location automatically in the background. So it might show you at wherever the closest tower is. This will be when you look at your location on a computer browser. Your location will be updated depending on your movement, speed, and other unknown factors. Sometimes it can take over an hour to update. If you make a phone call, that will also trigger an update to the Google Latitude server. Remember, this is for when your Maps program is off and it is doing it quietly in the background.

So if you go into Menu -> Setup -> Location...you need all 3 boxes checked for the location service to work properly (Wireless, Location Setting, GPS). If you only have GPS and Location Setting checked, then Latitude will only update either manually by turning on Maps, or when you make a phone call. If you only have GPS set, then making a phone call won't update your location.

Also, I found that if you uncheck "Enable always-on Mobile", the GPS might have trouble broadcasting once your 3G goes to sleep. So don't do it. That's found in the Wireless Controls setting.

 

[swe3t23]

how do you keep the screen on so i can a least see it follow me

 

[ttran97]

how do you keep the screen on so i can a least see it follow me

Download the free app Toggle Screen. That will disable your screen timeout.

 

[DigitalPasture]

I do have Eris accurately defining my location through GPS now after another factory reset and a lot of frustration. I have to leave the GPS turned on however or the phone resets to India. I've noticed it takes roughly 15 minutes (I'm guessing I wasn't waiting long enough) for the GPS to catch my actual location. It works and very well at that, but it does drain the battery much quicker. I hope the update in Q1 addresses this issue.

 

[thetomlin2]

how do you keep the screen on so i can a least see it follow me

Download the free app Toggle Screen. That will disable your screen timeout.

If you dont want to Toggle, try KeepScreen. It blocks screen timeout when predefined applications are active.

KeepScreen (now free) v1.7 Application for Android | Tools

 

[alainfplante]

Interestingly, I seem to be having the opposite problem. If I have the GPS on, Google Maps puts me in the ocean between India and Oman. If I turn off the GPS and use WiFi, then it correctly places me in Puerto Rico (where I am currently roaming). If I use only cellular triangulation, then I'm back to the Indian Ocean. What gives?

 

[thenestor]

I just want to chime in to report similar problems in Tustin, California, USA. Whenever my wife and I are in the city of Tustin, our Droid Eris phones show that we are in Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China. That is shown as the "current location" in the HTC clock app, HTC weather app, and Google Maps. And the time on the phone (including the clock in the Verizon notification bar) jumps 16 hours ahead of our local time, to coincide with the local time in Xuzhou. This happens with or without GPS enabled.

I noticed a pattern, though. Check out the latitude and longitude pairs for the two cities:

Tustin, CA, USA = 34

 

[lgldrgdlr]

With network only detects me within 2000 to 2500 meters and with gps on, it tells me what room of the house I'm in. The lat/long idea is interesting.

 

[mandable]

I actually JUST started experiencing this issue with GPS (I've had my phone for about 5 months). I used to be able to use the "Location Setting" and it was very accurate (withing a 1/2 mile at most). Now even if I have GPS enabled, it is incredibly inaccurate. Right now it is stuck on a city about 30 miles northwest of me and just stays there no matter what. I've never even been in that area. I've tried resetting the phone, uninstalling apps, and using different combinations of location settings. As someone mentioned earlier, this affects many other apps besides just google maps. I am very frustrated by this issue and confused as to why it is happening now after months of working properly.

Any suggestions on fixes to this issue are greatly appreciated. Thank you all so much for being so helpful!

 

[flspnr]

Mine is consistently 2 miles south of where I live.

I had another thread going about this, never did get it 100% solved, but I'm not on Easter Island any more. Now, though, it's consistantly putting me 1.1 miles north of where I am. I know it's exactly 1.1 because it's putting me as where the bus stop closest to my house is, which I looked up last week.

I didn't have this problem up until a week or so ago. And I agree with a different poster above, this is a big problem for me too. I moved to Tampa a couple of years ago, but don't know the area I live in right now too well yet, as well as needing to find places both outside the area I do know and I travel a lot between Tampa and Orlando and have no idea where anything is in Orlando. My dumb phone (LG something or other flip phone) could do the GPS perfectly, I really don't expect anything less from a smart phone!

I'm wondering, if so many people are having it go at least a mile or so off if Google is working on whatever they use for the GPS and it'll be fixed soon.

As for the OP who's phone says he's in India, try making sure under settings and location that the top check box is checked. Not sure exactly what that does, but it brought me back to the right country! I'd give that a try before going into Verizon, but if that doesn't work I'd give Verizon a try.

 

[flspnr]

ok, I just got this phone. How do I turn GPS on or is it an app? - I was promised when I chose the Eris over the Motorola Droid that the turn by turn would be coming soon with 2.0. I had VZ Navigator before and loved it, but I am frustrated with Google Maps alone on the Eris! Can I still get directions without the voice? google maps puts me a few miles away from where I am way too often! I am about ready to turn this thing in for the Motorola!

You CAN do turn by turn with the Eris, but you will not have it read aloud to you until you get the upgrade to 2.x, whenever that comes. To do this, go to google maps and click "Menu" then "Search". I'll try Wal-mart for an example. Type that in and click "search". It should come up with the closest locations. Find one, and click on the white bubble that says "Wal-mart" or whatever you're searching for.

You should then get a list, mine reads:
Walmart Supercenter (address, stars from user reviews)
Show on Map
Get Directions
Call
Add as Contact

Click on "Get Directions", choose your start location (if GPS is turned on, this will say "My Location" your mode of transportation (car, bus, or walking), and click "Go". This is your Turn by Turn Directions. Rather have it on the map? Click on any of the directions and it will bring you to that spot on the map. You can then use the right and left buttons at the bottom of the screen to go to the next or previous steps until you reach your destination.

I can't wait for voice navigation in 2.x because this is not the best way to do things if you're driving, but if you have a passenger who can read you the steps it will work ok for now.

As far as it putting you a few miles away from where you are, that seems to be hit or miss. It's been consistently putting me either on Easter Island (finally stopped doing that!), or putting me 1.1 miles away from my house until just now when I searched Wal-Mart to help you learn how to do turn-by-turn directions. For the moment, it's right on.

Hope that helped.

 

[flspnr]

I just want to chime in to report similar problems in Tustin, California, USA. Whenever my wife and I are in the city of Tustin, our Droid Eris phones show that we are in Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China. That is shown as the "current location" in the HTC clock app, HTC weather app, and Google Maps. And the time on the phone (including the clock in the Verizon notification bar) jumps 16 hours ahead of our local time, to coincide with the local time in Xuzhou. This happens with or without GPS enabled.

I noticed a pattern, though. Check out the latitude and longitude pairs for the two cities:

Tustin, CA, USA = 34

 

[mandable]

I just wonder if anyone ever figured out what the issue is... My maps and weather app seem to be working fine now, but I didn't do anything to fix it, so I wonder if it is going to happen again.

 

[zerovertex]

I don't have a solution but maybe some information.

Have any of you tried to have Latitude pin-point your location on a laptop using the same WiFi that you are using when your phone is showing up out of place?

Here's why I ask: I have a Linksys Wireless-N router that I got from a friend who lives on the other side of town. I've had this router for about a year. When Google Latitude came out, I only used it on the web (iGoogle). It worked fine at my office, picking up my office WiFi and identifying it based on the MAC address of the wireless router. I speculate this was gathered when the Google Street View car passed by our office and snapped our picture.

Well, when I use Latitude at home on this Wireless-N router, I got from my friend, who lives on the other side of town, it pin-points me at his house. Again, I speculate that this is information in Google's database of know 802.11x signals captured when Google's Street View vehicles pass by these locations.

It is possible that your problem is related to this database and inaccurate information therein.

 

[saturnotaku]

When I have just the "use wireless networks" setting checked, the default city changes among one of three: the town I live in as well as the two surrounding communities. When I have WiFi on, it detects my town 100% of the time. The normal cellular signal is fairly weak inside my house (an issue with VZW as none of their phones give more than 2 bars), so I have a feeling that the weather update is bouncing off a tower that's far away.

 

[thenestor]

I don't have a solution but maybe some information.

Have any of you tried to have Latitude pin-point your location on a laptop using the same WiFi that you are using when your phone is showing up out of place?

Here's why I ask: I have a Linksys Wireless-N router that I got from a friend who lives on the other side of town. I've had this router for about a year. When Google Latitude came out, I only used it on the web (iGoogle). It worked fine at my office, picking up my office WiFi and identifying it based on the MAC address of the wireless router. I speculate this was gathered when the Google Street View car passed by our office and snapped our picture.

Well, when I use Latitude at home on this Wireless-N router, I got from my friend, who lives on the other side of town, it pin-points me at his house. Again, I speculate that this is information in Google's database of know 802.11x signals captured when Google's Street View vehicles pass by these locations.

It is possible that your problem is related to this database and inaccurate information therein.

I don't use Wifi. And I've noticed that if I turn on GPS and leave it on long enough, my location changes to the correct location in Google Maps and HTC Weather Widget, but my time is still 16 hours ahead.

Affects my phone, my wife's phone, and her sister's phone (all Droid Erises) whenever we're in that particular town. And of course, there's no Verizon store within the affected area.

 

[teleburst]

The first time I tried location, it located me at the battered women's center two doors down. Not good on so many levels <g>. Fortunately, on the map it's called "House of Mercy" so I guess that's a tender mercy. Right now it's locating me one lot back and three lots over. Oops, now that I moved the phone, it's got me in the lot between the House of Mercy and my lot. Now it's moved me one street over. This triangulation thing is a bit dicey (all of this was in the span of me typing this).

Switching to GPS has put me back at the House of Mercy. Yesterday when I tried it, it actually put me in my lot at the precise location of the room in my house. So now, it's only about 80 feet off. Hmmmm, now it's inching closer.It's now crept to my next door neighbor's house. I guess that *they* will have to deal with my stalkers. <chuckle>