Help my GPS is spinning and other G-Map questions

[dan330]

just got my note3..
i had a S3..

just tried out the Maps app. driving around...
the little blue dot with the arrow pointing the direction i am heading.. was spinning in all directions.

i think i might have a bad GPS or gyroscope.

is there a calibration???

--------------
other questions about Map app.

the Goggle Map app on my S3...
i was able to add other function buttons: in settings and "Labs":
1. buttons to zoom in and out. this helps when you are trying to use the mapp with 1 hand. or while driving.. pinching is not easy sometimes.. and I dont want to take my concentration off the road.
2. a ruler... to measure distances from differnt points on the map.
where are these?

 

[ocnbrze]

just got my note3..
i had a S3..

just tried out the Maps app. driving around...
the little blue dot with the arrow pointing the direction i am heading.. was spinning in all directions.

i think i might have a bad GPS or gyroscope.

is there a calibration???

By any chance was your car spinning too?
If so, I hope no-one was hurt

I never had to calibrate mine. Have you tried one of those gps fix apps?

 

[dan330]

i guess i will try one of the fix apps.

 

[Digital Controller]

Otherwise try doing a battery pull on the device. Report back to us after ocn's idea as well.

 

[dan330]

i tried to use an app called "GPS Status" to fix or calibrate it. did not work.

tired to do a battery pull.. while driving..and the map app running.. i did a battery pull.
did not help.

driving down the highway headed East.. my car (according to the Map app), i was facing West and sometimes North.

so.. i am thinking the compass on the phone .. must be bad.
so.. i think the

 

[ocnbrze]

yeah it sounds boinked to me......curious have you tried any other navigational apps?

 

[drexappeal]

Are you using a case or 3rd party back cover? Only reason I mention that is, I recently had purchased one of those chrome plated back covers and it completely threw off the GPS. Navigation wouldn't even follow my position and the directions were completely off, due to that battery cover. Once I went back to one of the soft leather covers, it was fine.

 

[dan330]

nope.. everthing is still stock.. no case... outside, not in a building

 

[dontpanicbobby]

Google Maps had a new update on December 12. I'm downloading it know and will check and see if it resloves this issue. I had been talking about it on an earlier thread and the update out at that time didn't help but for the life of me I can't find it to merge these similar threads. Let's hope this one gets that pesky arrow to point in the right direction. Other than that your actual location cursor does show the correct area right?

 

[dontpanicbobby]

The update seems to make it behave a little better. I wasn't getting the totally wild swinging around I was experiencing before but keep in mind I was just doing a walk around a housing development with a 50 foot margin of error showing around the location cursor. I won't be in a vehicle again until after 7:00 AM EST. I'll post my results from a moving vehicle sometime after then.

 

[dan330]

yes.. the actual location seems to be fine.

i will update my map app too. and post if that helps.
thanks

 

[dontpanicbobby]

Well it looked like it was going to work well. At first GPS lock everything was fine with the arrow then after a couple of minutes I lost lock snd when it reconnected it went backvto the crazy behavior. I think we should send Google some feedback emsils about this issue.

 

[dan330]

ok.. i found an app.. "z-device test"
very very good app.. has lots of things it can do.

tested the compass... the needle is biased toward the general direction of SW.

a few minutes later.. tried the test again.. it is fine.

HHHHHMMMMMM....... i hate issues that are not reproducable on a constant bassis

 

[Digital Controller]

Well it looked like it was going to work well. At first GPS lock everything was fine with the arrow then after a couple of minutes I lost lock snd when it reconnected it went backvto the crazy behavior. I think we should send Google some feedback emsils about this issue.

I already reported the issue right when I updated it, because my gps lock started acting funny and taking a long time, so I sent feedback to google regarding it.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

Got a link?

 

[dan330]

update:

i got took it back to Costco.. did a swap with a new NOTE 3.
a real pain in the ass.. had to return the first.. and purchase a new one.

new one has the same problem. Compass does NOT point the right direction.

found another app: GPS Status.
it has a calibration tool.
I did it 3 times... NO JOY!!! still not correct!


am I unlucky.. and have 2 bad NOTE3 with the same issues?
are all you guys compasses working fine? or is this another Samsung build/design issue... with a lot of NOTE3

 

[drexappeal]

update:

i got took it back to Costco.. did a swap with a new NOTE 3.
a real pain in the ass.. had to return the first.. and purchase a new one.

new one has the same problem. Compass does NOT point the right direction.

found another app: GPS Status.
it has a calibration tool.
I did it 3 times... NO JOY!!! still not correct!


am I unlucky.. and have 2 bad NOTE3 with the same issues?
are all you guys compasses working fine? or is this another Samsung build/design issue... with a lot of NOTE3

I actually noticed it more recently, when using Google Maps (where it shows that I'm facing North, when I'm facing south), but it doesn't affect me.

When I use NAV (either Google's old nav or Waze, even though Waze is Google owned now als), it seems to point in the right direction, without issue, so I didn't have a problem with that. Only exception was when I tried using the chrome plated back cover I purchased from ebay. That thing seemed to block the GPS signal and rendered nav useless.

 

[GuccizBud]

Six months since post above, but for anyone else happening on this thread as a result of doing a Google search, the solution to the OP's original problem is an app called TopNTP. It taps into a special NTP server pool which is constantly maintained and installs a custom GPS configuration file on your device—all in all it means you get near-instant position fixes and near-perfect precision. It fixed all GPS-related issues on my Note II™, helped lots (lots!) of others as well, and is recommended by the knowledgeable folks at XDA. Requires root, of course.

 

[drexappeal]

Six months since post above, but for anyone else happening on this thread as a result of doing a Google search, the solution to the OP's original problem is an app called TopNTP. It taps into a special NTP server pool which is constantly maintained and installs a custom GPS configuration file on your device

 

[GuccizBud]

That's the one.
Don't know what it is about Samsung devices, but I wasn't happy with the GPS behavior on both the ones I've had—my current Note II and my previous GT-I9000—but the GPS was the only feature on both devices that, out of the box, was only "sort of" working and for which I had to implement custom solutions. In both cases the fix made a dramatic difference. Don't remember what I did for the i9000 but TopNTP was the perfect fix for my Note II. In Maps, if I focus on my house and zoom in all the way, to the point where the image is blurry and the house itself measures about an inch across, the blue dot will actually be over the right part of the house I'm in, i.e. the right room. And no it's not a mansion, just a regular 3-bedroom house, haha

 

[drexappeal]

That's the one.
Don't know what it is about Samsung devices, but I wasn't happy with the GPS behavior on both the ones I've had

 

[dan330]

well .. my issue with the GPS not facing me the right direction. and not even consistently wrong. so it is a pain.. as it spins the map.

i want to try the TopNTP app. but it requires root.
i don't want to root and find out that is NOT a solution.

i have to wait till the warranty wears out .. then try it.

can anyone confirm that TopNTP fixes the wrong spinning compass issue?

 

[Haggi]

Go into your dialer and put in *#0*#..
Sensor...now perform figure 8 in all 3 axes to get the blue line in the small compass sensor with a 3 besides..
Has to be performed all over again after a reboot.. unfortunately ��

 

[GuccizBud]

dan330—
Notwithstanding Haggi's suggestion, which sounds interesting, and simply fyi, it is very possible to root and then, if a need like having to take it in arises, unroot… in fact you can get it back to stock completely, without a trace it was rooted or anything was flashed, including resetting the internal counters whose purpose it is to track these things.

drexappeal—
I don't want to hijack this thread, but seeing as you've had both a Note II and a Note III, wonder if you might be able to tell me in just a couple of sentences if the differences between the two are substantial enough to be noticeable if someone were to upgrade… how close are they?