Help Phone GPS (Desire HD) questions/help?

[phatbass]

(Moderators, please remove if this is the wrong forum.)

I just got an HTC Desire HD, and I have a question regarding the GPS functions. I don't know if it's specific to this phone, or maybe of interest to other android users so I put it here.

How long should the Desire HD, or any GPS phone, take to get my location? I use Locations, and occasionally Google Maps, and it seems to take several minutes (and I'm talking more than just the 1-2 minutes which I'd sorta expect) sometimes to "find" me. I'll normally stay in one place until it does.

Is the functioning of the GPS more affected by software or hardware? By this I mean, is the time it takes to find your location (with GPS, wireless, and 3G/Edge/GPRS turned on) affected mainly by the hardware or the software?

I do assume the number of satellites in line-of-site at a particular point is reasonably constant.

Is there anything I can do to speed this up, or am I expecting too much from a phone GPS?

 

[Member243850]

(Moderators, please remove if this is the wrong forum.)

I just got an HTC Desire HD, and I have a question regarding the GPS functions. I don't know if it's specific to this phone, or maybe of interest to other android users so I put it here.

How long should the Desire HD, or any GPS phone, take to get my location? I use Locations, and occasionally Google Maps, and it seems to take several minutes (and I'm talking more than just the 1-2 minutes which I'd sorta expect) sometimes to "find" me. I'll normally stay in one place until it does.

Is the functioning of the GPS more affected by software or hardware? By this I mean, is the time it takes to find your location (with GPS, wireless, and 3G/Edge/GPRS turned on) affected mainly by the hardware or the software?

I do assume the number of satellites in line-of-site at a particular point is reasonably constant.

Is there anything I can do to speed this up, or am I expecting too much from a phone GPS?

Hey there Mal!

Hmm, you might want to try A-GPS. However this will cost you some data dudette.

Go to:

MENU------->SETTINGS-------------->LOCATION AND SECURITY SETTINGS------->USE ASSISTED GPS.

Hope this helps buddy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GPS

Regards

Stinky

 

[takeshi]

How long should the Desire HD, or any GPS phone, take to get my location?

Generally a few seconds. Sometimes it takes longer. Not all situations are identical so there's no set amount of time to obtain a GPS fix.

Is the functioning of the GPS more affected by software or hardware? By this I mean, is the time it takes to find your location (with GPS, wireless, and 3G/Edge/GPRS turned on) affected mainly by the hardware or the software?

Your GPS receiver (hardware) determines your location. Anything else (maps, prompts, POI's, etc) is provided by your GPS app.

I do assume the number of satellites in line-of-site at a particular point is reasonably constant.

No. GPS satellites are not geosynchronous (they move relative to any given point on the planet). You can see what your GPS receiver can pick up with an app like GPS Status. The app is also handy for troubleshooting issues with your receiver.

Is there anything I can do to speed this up, or am I expecting too much from a phone GPS?

aGPS seems to get "stuck" from time to time on my Droid. I find that using GPS Status to clear the aGPS data sometimes helps but that's generally only when my GPS receiver seems to be unable to obtain a fix. When it does obtain a fix it's generally very fast.

I'd suggest using just GPS Status to see how quickly your receiver can get a fix. That should help to rule out any potential issues with whatever GPS app(s) you're using. You'll also see how many satellites the receiver is able to pick up.

 

[lordofthereef]

I will say that when a GPS is having trouble finding you, it usually helps (at least for me) to get moving. There may simply be something interfering with the satalite reception right where you are. It probably isn't your phone. I have had the same thing happen with a dedicated gps unit.

 

[phatbass]

Thanks guys; it seems to be behaving a bit better.

One trick I found with the Locations app (seems to work for me) is to zoom right out so the whole country is visible, then zoom back in. Otherwise it spends ages telling me I'm in the middle of the ocean...

 

[sonesh]

I've generally been able to get a signal within 0.25 miles of moving, but it did take a bit longer the other day (2 miles). What I found though was using Google Maps, even while its looking for a GPS signal, it still plotted my location on the route using the less accurate Wifi location, so wasn't too concerned about it taking a while.

Time for lock can vary though. Whether you're using an Android, Nokia or Tomtom, sometimes the lock will be instant, and other times it'll take a few minutes.