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Help Is my GPS fried ?

olivierm

Member
Jun 19, 2009
66
5
I've recently noticed some application like weather and local guides failing to get my location, despite the location services being enabled.

Google maps seems to get a fix as long as wifi based location is on but not with just GPS... Is that a return on warranty case or is there something I should try before finding out whether LG customer services is any good ?
 
I've done more testing. As it turns out, my GPS is not fried ! I did a little experiment using google's my track.

On day1 I used GPS+wifi on my cycle to work (19km). I checked that the map had my exact location. The tracking is full of holes, a bit like it completely lost location information at times. It found total distance of 13km.

Today I used with GPS only after making sure I had a GPS fix. It found 19km with no gap in the tracking.

Maybe on day1 it only got wifi based position and didn't get a GPS fix because the phone was in my jacket pocket ?
 
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I don't know to be honest.

In my case, I did notice my 2nd unit didn't get a GPS lock until I first had re-calibrated the compass using GPS Status. I downloaded the program, selected Menu | Tools, and performed Compass Calibration. Also I calibrated Pitch and Roll.

If the program located where you were just based on the cell towers, you could have had holes / dropouts. I think with AGPS, the information obtained from Wifi or the cell network updates the GPS subsystem so it can properly locate the sats and decode position.

When you are outside, in the free / open-sky, does the device find your Lat/Lon quickly? How many SATs is the device "seeing"? The GPS Status application is helpful and I recommend you download and use it.

Normally I can just jump in the car and go right to Google NAV and I have a fix in seconds. However, if there's any appreciable delay, I check if I can get a Lat/Lon fix with GPS Status.
 
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Thanks Stef7,

the 'GPS status' app I've found doesn't seem to allow to calibrate the compass. who's the developper of the one you're mentioning ?

Out in the open it did get a fix quickly this morning and didn't loose it afterwards despite being in my jacket pocket.

When I get in the car, it gets my position very quickly but I normally have wifi on and it's only recently I've noticed this strange behaviour
 
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I hope you don't mind me jumping in on this GPS thread. Up to this point (2 months) I have had no GPS issues. 2 days ago I factory reset my phone because I just got lost in all the customization and apps I wanted a fresh start and to see if it would fix my blutooth issues. NOW, my GPS is VERY far off from my location. It shows me in the right city...but that is about it. I was driving to work this morning and never got a reading even close to the road I was on. Out in the open on a major interstate...?
 
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