Help GPS only in airplane mode

[Krillsus]

Hi there,

I have a problem with my GPS on my Samsung Galaxy S5. It can only get a lock if I have switched it to airplane mode. Otherwise it just keeps searching. I have tried getting the GPS Status app (which was recommended in some "getting the GPS to work" list here on the forum that I have followed) from the app store and it confirmed that GPS was only available during airplane mode.

Does anyone have any idea what can cause this?
(If it matters, I have the Japanese SCL23 version of the S5)

Best regards.

 

[chanchan05]

Have you set it to high accuracy.

 

[girolez]

Hi

If you set location method to GPS only, does it work with airplane mode disabled? (As it should) I wonder if the Wi-Fi and cell location method are somehow giving conflicting information to the GPS, hence it only works when they are off ie in airplane mode

 

[Parayilhussain]

Disable power saving mode in
Power manager app ( if enabled).

 

[AZgl1500]

I ONLY use GPS in "GPS Only" mode.

using WiFi in addition to GPS is one of the most stupid and arcane suggestions ever contrived to "get better accuracy". It just won't ever happen, unless you live inside a metal tent and the sky is not visible to you.

the "GPS Status" app is a terrific tool, and it is my 1st GPS tool of choice when I want to have the phone use my location. Why? because I always have the Internet turned OFF until there is a reason for me to access the internet. This preserves the battery in my phone so that it will last me longer when away from home and the WiFi there. GPS Status queries the national servers for a fast location to the satellites so the GPS receiver can lock onto them in a hurry... Seconds instead of minutes...

I live in a rural area, and very weak cell sites are the norm here, not the exception.... so if I leave DATA turned on all the time, it runs the battery down because the TX is always having to be cranked up to HIGH power levels to get access to the cell sites. This runs the battery down in a hurry, so much so that I can only get 4 or 5 hours from a charge....

On the other hand, using my Internet OFF method, the battery will last me 24 hours or more "doing it my way"....
This allows me to be in contact listening for phone calls, or able to make phone calls, and still had adequate battery to get through a long day. I don't keep spare batteries, have never had the need. Intelligent control of the phone allows me to get along w/o having to buy a spare.

Car charging cords on the slowest damn thing in the world for recharging a cellphone.... unless you buy one of the special car chargers with Intelligence built into them.... "Ankar" is one of those brands that has a fast charge 12VDC charger.

 

[Radu b]

I ONLY use GPS in "GPS Only" mode.

AZgl1500... thanks for spamming, while exposing your wisdom to us! The question was about a problem some of us have. GPS only works while in airplane mode. Glad you found a good 'Ankar' charger, and master your battery consumption though!

Now... does anyone have any advice for this issue? I pretty much depleted all settings combinations on my phone, and GPS does not initialize unless all emitters are turned off.

 

[chanchan05]

I ONLY use GPS in "GPS Only" mode.

using WiFi in addition to GPS is one of the most stupid and arcane suggestions ever contrived to "get better accuracy". It just won't ever happen, unless you live inside a metal tent and the sky is not visible to you.

the "GPS Status" app is a terrific tool, and it is my 1st GPS tool of choice when I want to have the phone use my location. Why? because I always have the Internet turned OFF until there is a reason for me to access the internet. This preserves the battery in my phone so that it will last me longer when away from home and the WiFi there. GPS Status queries the national servers for a fast location to the satellites so the GPS receiver can lock onto them in a hurry... Seconds instead of minutes...

I live in a rural area, and very weak cell sites are the norm here, not the exception.... so if I leave DATA turned on all the time, it runs the battery down because the TX is always having to be cranked up to HIGH power levels to get access to the cell sites. This runs the battery down in a hurry, so much so that I can only get 4 or 5 hours from a charge....

On the other hand, using my Internet OFF method, the battery will last me 24 hours or more "doing it my way"....
This allows me to be in contact listening for phone calls, or able to make phone calls, and still had adequate battery to get through a long day. I don't keep spare batteries, have never had the need. Intelligent control of the phone allows me to get along w/o having to buy a spare.

Car charging cords on the slowest damn thing in the world for recharging a cellphone.... unless you buy one of the special car chargers with Intelligence built into them.... "Ankar" is one of those brands that has a fast charge 12VDC charger.

Actually it happens, especially in urban areas where there are a lot of wifi hotspots who generate location data.

 

[Radu b]

NAILED IT!!!! I fixed mine by clearing the internal cache of, and disabling "Power Toggles" - it's a really nice widget generator that is probably used by any tinkerer out there. It seems, it gets stuck in the background somehow.

 

[Krillsus]

Thanks for all the replies!

High accuracy was the default, so it has always been on. Power saving is off.
I tried the switch to GPS only, but that did not help. (When in airplane mode it works with both high accuracy and GPS only).
When playing around I noticed that when I turned off WiFi and Mobile Data (with airplane mode off and using GPS only), I could get a GPS lock with the GPS Status app (and google maps). I then turned WiFi and Mobile data back on and the GPS lock remained for the duration I tested (a couple of minutes at least). When I put the phone away for an hour or so it had lost the GPS lock and could not get it back while WiFi and Mobile data was on. I have to test this a bit further though, but maybe I can at least bypass the problem by always starting out with no WiFi and Mobile data to get a lock when I need it and then turn it back on. A tiny tiny bit inconvenient though

NAILED IT!!!! I fixed mine by clearing the internal cache of, and disabling "Power Toggles" - it's a really nice widget generator that is probably used by any tinkerer out there. It seems, it gets stuck in the background somehow.

How do I clear the internal cache?
Also, i do not know what Power Toggles is, but it appears to be an app that I don't have anyways, so it should not affect me.

 

[svim]

Not quite sure what 'internal cache' is referring to exactly. With Android there are individual app caches, temp files that get stored in your user data partition, and then there's a system cache, which are temp files used by the operating system and system processes that are kept in their own separate partition. Individual app caches you can clear through your Settings >> Application manager. The system cache partition requires you to boot your phone into Recovery Mode. You might want to try clearing the system cache partition as it appears as if this odd WiFi/cellular conflict with GPS is at a system level. It won't affect your personal data and it won't mess up any phone settings, the system cache is just a dumping spot for temp files. At most after your phone reboots you might see a barely noticeable lag as some background process rebuilds its cache.
http://cellphoneforums.net/samsung-...ring-cache-partition-rebooting-safe-mode.html
If at some point you suspect a conflict might be tied to some random app you've installed, boot your phone into Safe Mode. When in Safe Mode it's running with Android in a 'clean' state. If your problem goes away you can assume some app might be your culprit. Of course if you've installed a lot of apps then diagnosing the problem is going to be more involved but at least it's a start.

 

[Radu b]

Hello again! Sorry.. i might have been fuzzy in my description yesterday. It was 3 am.
So... i had the same problem until last night (meaning GPS was only working when all other emitters were off).
I am using an app that allows me to put a series of shortcutus on my main screen, as well as in the notification area. The android functions i often turned on/off through this app were -Screen brightness, Screen timeout, Wifi-on/off, Led light, Airplane mode- (At some point in the past i noticed that the gps button of this app is not functioning propperly. also the wifi button sometimes was not in sync with the system icon in the notification area telling me if wifi is on or off.... so sometimes there was a disjoint between android functions at a basic level, and this overlay that was this app)
I opened 'this app' called "Power Toggles". Under it's main settings it has a big button saying "Reset Cache: Toggles may remiancached for some time after you delete the widget. Reset cache to remove such toggles and reset any stuck toggle". It worked afterwards. Trust me.. i've been working on this issue for a week now, and it really was that.
Ooook? So even if You are not using THIS app, maybe some app that ever tried to turn your GPS on or off at some point, fracked up some switch in the android system. Digg deeper in that direction!

 

[Krillsus]

Thank you all for trying to help out!

Apparently the "turn off WiFi and Mobile data" to get GPS lock was not the best solution. As mentioned, I have a GPS lock even when I turn WiFi and Mobile data (MD) back on, but it is very fickle. As soon as it loses the signal even for a second it is lost until I turn WiFi/MD off again. Not really optimal if I would like to use it in my car, for instance, and I go through a tunnel.

Not quite sure what 'internal cache' is referring to exactly. With Android there are individual app caches, temp files that get stored in your user data partition, and then there's a system cache, which are temp files used by the operating system and system processes that are kept in their own separate partition. Individual app caches you can clear through your Settings >> Application manager. The system cache partition requires you to boot your phone into Recovery Mode. You might want to try clearing the system cache partition as it appears as if this odd WiFi/cellular conflict with GPS is at a system level. It won't affect your personal data and it won't mess up any phone settings, the system cache is just a dumping spot for temp files. At most after your phone reboots you might see a barely noticeable lag as some background process rebuilds its cache.
http://cellphoneforums.net/samsung-...ring-cache-partition-rebooting-safe-mode.html
If at some point you suspect a conflict might be tied to some random app you've installed, boot your phone into Safe Mode. When in Safe Mode it's running with Android in a 'clean' state. If your problem goes away you can assume some app might be your culprit. Of course if you've installed a lot of apps then diagnosing the problem is going to be more involved but at least it's a start.

Maybe a dumb question, but I do not know much about these things. I have a (weird) Japanese SIM free phone. I have never fully understod what that actually means since it still appears to be associated with its original carrier somehow. Once, when I was asked by a costumers support when trying to solve this GPS problem, I did a factory reset and upgraded the phone software/Android version (or something... Kit kat -> lollipop, anyway). This also meant that I erased something that allowed it to be SIM free, and thus locking it completely to the original carrier. I had to send it back to the store where I bought it so they could undo the "upgrade". What they did to it I do not know, but they got it back to the SIM free state and the Kit kat version.
I know a factory reset basically removes everything and returns the phone to its original state, and that a cache has something to do with more temporary files. But do you think that by doing a system cache reset I run the risk of messing up the SIM free part? You do say that it won't mess with my personal data and phone settings, but I want to be sure. It was quite the hassle to get back the SIM free thingy.

Hello again! Sorry.. i might have been fuzzy in my description yesterday. It was 3 am.
So... i had the same problem until last night (meaning GPS was only working when all other emitters were off).
I am using an app that allows me to put a series of shortcutus on my main screen, as well as in the notification area. The android functions i often turned on/off through this app were -Screen brightness, Screen timeout, Wifi-on/off, Led light, Airplane mode- (At some point in the past i noticed that the gps button of this app is not functioning propperly. also the wifi button sometimes was not in sync with the system icon in the notification area telling me if wifi is on or off.... so sometimes there was a disjoint between android functions at a basic level, and this overlay that was this app)
I opened 'this app' called "Power Toggles". Under it's main settings it has a big button saying "Reset Cache: Toggles may remiancached for some time after you delete the widget. Reset cache to remove such toggles and reset any stuck toggle". It worked afterwards. Trust me.. i've been working on this issue for a week now, and it really was that.
Ooook? So even if You are not using THIS app, maybe some app that ever tried to turn your GPS on or off at some point, fracked up some switch in the android system. Digg deeper in that direction!

Might be. Though I am not knowledgeable enough to do any real digging, there are some pre-installed apps that I have never used (and probably never will) that appeared to be active when I got my phone. I guess I could uninstall those at least so they can't bother me again.

 

[Krillsus]

Is there anyone who have an answer to the question in my previous post about the system cache reset vs. "SIM free"?
I would be very grateful.

 

[Krillsus]

No one?
(2 posts up)

I dare not reset the system cache if I don't know whether it might cause problems to the weird "SIM free" condition my phone needs to allow me to use a SIM card from a carrier of my choice.

 

[Roman PC]

Hi.

I am having the same problem in a Xiaomi Redmi 4x (Global Version). The GPS only takes signal if I put the airplane mode and applications like Waze and Google Maps never receive/gives an accurate position.

I have already tried multiple solutions, deleting data from AGPS, establishing zone for AGPS, even reset the phone to its factory state and it still does not work.

The only thing I have left is to return it to Android 6, which is the one I came with. It was updated only to 7.

If I find the solution I will put it here.

Hi there,

I have a problem with my GPS on my Samsung Galaxy S5. It can only get a lock if I have switched it to airplane mode. Otherwise it just keeps searching. I have tried getting the GPS Status app (which was recommended in some "getting the GPS to work" list here on the forum that I have followed) from the app store and it confirmed that GPS was only available during airplane mode.

Does anyone have any idea what can cause this?
(If it matters, I have the Japanese SCL23 version of the S5)

Best regards.

 

[steiny180]

You could be seeing a hardware problem here. The wifi and/or data radios may be causing RFI with your GPS. Defective phone?

 

[Roman PC]

You could be seeing a hardware problem here. The wifi and/or data radios may be causing RFI with your GPS. Defective phone?

Thanks. It's an option. I hope it is not the case. =(

I was testing yesterday and the behavior is this:

* Without carrier network, the GPS works. When I get signal from the carrier, the GPS stop get signal.

The first two months the cell phone did not have that behavior.

Thanks.