Help Poor GPS signal on Galaxy S2

Pete71 · Jun 6, 2011

The GPS signal on my Galaxy S2 seems to be very poor, and won't lock on to my location for navigation. Last week I used Google Navigation (or tried to) for a 6 mile trip, and I actually reached my location by the time the phone found it's position !

Is anyone else having a similar problem with their Galaxy S2, and is there a fix for it ? My HTC Desire used to lock on to the satellites for navigation in seconds.

My Firmware is : PDA:KE1 / PHONE:KE1 / CSC:KE2 (VOD)

Pete71 · Jun 7, 2011

mrvirginia · Jun 7, 2011

i would use Odin to flash a newer update.
no GPS problems here and i'm running all KE4

Pete71 · Jun 7, 2011

I have been thinking of doing that, but I don't want to void my Vodafone Warranty.

mrvirginia · Jun 7, 2011

Pete71 said:
I have been thinking of doing that, but I don't want to void my Vodafone Warranty.

why would you void it? you don't have to root your device to use Odin.
i would just be sure to write down all of the versions you currently have in case something doesn't work out.

also be sure you grab up the right stuff. there are different versions for different territories i believe.

Pete71 · Jun 7, 2011

Has anyone with the same Vodafone firmware as me, used Odin to get KE7 firmware ?

marc.knuckle · Jun 7, 2011

my vodafone firmware was the vodafone ke1. on the xda forums where i followed the manual firmware method with odin, they also have the stock vodafone firmware on there so i have downloaded and kept a copy of that just in case.

my gps was poor on first startup but usually better after but not always, it still sometimes takes a fair while, that is even with ke7. indoors i have no chance but that is to be expected on most gps devices

Miggy87 · Jun 14, 2011

Hi there!

i'm also owning a SGS2 by Vodafone (in the Netherlands).

and also I have problems with the GPS fix.

It takes ages before it founds a signal, and sometimes it just won't find one.

now and than it helps to restart the GPS settings on/off. But it's annoying.

i do wonder if there will be a update to fix this, or some other settings to change to make it work properly :thinking:

aandy71 · Jun 17, 2011

I have the same problem, if I use waze it's pretty fast like with my old desire???
Where is the problem? Hardware or software?
thanks
aandy

heshanj · Jun 17, 2011

update ur firmware. mine was pretty slow too. updated to KE7, now im getting a lock in 3-5 seconds all the time. and of course, if that was ur first time using GPS on the phone, it always takes a while, to get the first lock. after that, it should be much faster.. but use odin to flash KE7.. its super easy..

hidehide · Jun 17, 2011

I'm using KF1. I can say that the GPS is far far worse than the iPhone..
I can't get locked at my position when I was in indoor.. which render the "Check-In" function in facebook useless.. Sadly, I have no problem locating myself in indoor with an iPhone..

heshanj · Jun 17, 2011

well GPS doesnt really work when ur indoors, u get the combination of wifi location plus ur mobile network location when ur indoors.. still, my SGS2 works pretty well indoors too, gets a fairly accurate position in 5 seconds, n a pretty damn accurate position in 20 seconds.. indoors.. maybe this depends on ur wifi/network provider? not sure about this

hidehide · Jun 18, 2011

heshanj said:
well GPS doesnt really work when ur indoors, u get the combination of wifi location plus ur mobile network location when ur indoors.. still, my SGS2 works pretty well indoors too, gets a fairly accurate position in 5 seconds, n a pretty damn accurate position in 20 seconds.. indoors.. maybe this depends on ur wifi/network provider? not sure about this

Yea, the iPhone isn't accurate when I'm at indoor.. but at least it can lock a position, whether accurate or slightly off..
But on the SG2, it doesn't even lock any position and keep on searching or say location unavailable.. I'm on KF1...

heshanj · Jun 18, 2011

well mine does. im guessing it could be a firmware problem. my KE2 firmware took a while to get a lock even out on the street.. after KE7, maps was great to use. im not sure about KF1, ive only been reading about KE1/2/4/7/8 lol, dont know about the newer firmware

aandy71 · Jun 18, 2011

I've tried all the firmware and it's always the same... SLOW!

Slug · Jun 18, 2011

Time to first GPS fix: 10s

Indoors (top-floor flat) running KE7.

heshanj · Jun 18, 2011

yeah i get a indoor fix in around 10 seconds max too.. but when there's no gps fix, my location can often be pretty inaccurate.. i guess this is due to the mobile network here n wat it tells the phone, n not a problem with the phone.. sometimes my location is more than a mile off. lol.

androidexpat · Jun 19, 2011

Would be nice to get some videos up on Youtube from those here experiencing GPS issues.

Scainer · Jun 19, 2011

Maybe there are different issues being mixed....

On first attempt with data off, the GPS can most of the time not even lock when seeing satellites.
Toggling the GPS on / off seems to help find the lock of them metal floaters. 30- 60 seconds on avarage

With a good data connection the A-GPS seems to find a lock within seconds.

androidexpat · Jun 19, 2011

Scainer said:
Maybe there are different issues being mixed....

On first attempt with data off, the GPS can most of the time not even lock when seeing satellites.
Toggling the GPS on / off seems to help find the lock of them metal floaters. 30- 60 seconds on avarage

With a good data connection the A-GPS seems to find a lock within seconds.

How accurate do you find Google maps to be?? Mine on my Nexus S is usually a block away or on the other side of the street at minimum.

heshanj · Jun 20, 2011

if u get a GPS lock, on the street, google maps is accurate within 10 feet of my actual position

dg111 · Sep 29, 2011

Slug said:
Time to first GPS fix: 10s

Indoors (top-floor flat) running KE7.

After upgrading to KE7 baseband I've got a 5 days battery life (nice) and a TURTLE style fix GPS, if at all. Any recommendation before rooting ? Anything ? Help !

Slug · Sep 29, 2011

GPS Accuracy Fix (courtesy of ironass)

dg111 · Sep 29, 2011

Slug said:
GPS Accuracy Fix (courtesy of ironass)

Thank you. I've tried it already and it does not improve the performance. Ready to try anything since it is an (almost) perfect phone. :rolleyes:

ironass · Sep 29, 2011

dg111 said:
Thank you. I've tried it already and it does not improve the performance. Ready to try anything since it is an (almost) perfect phone.

How many satellites is GPS Status detecting?

Help Poor GPS signal on Galaxy S2

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