Do I have a faulty/dodgy magnetometer/accelereometer?

Not sure where to put this because the issue is probably not related to the xperia M, I don't know..

I am having some issues with the magneto/accelerometer. Compass app seems slow to respond and both Google Sky Map and SKeYe are both jerky and drifty, ie. it seems to drift to the right if you hold it still sometimes. I have tried it both inside and outside.

I can't work out how to get compass mode in Google maps to work, not sure if I should use Maps or Earth, I would have thought both...?

I have also played with the sensitivity settings, not sure what the best settings are though for optimum use. I'd like to get to the bottom of this and find out if my phone possibly needs replacing. I have seen far better response from the compass apps than I'm currently getting so something isn't right. Maybe it's just those apps though, I don't know.

Android 4.1.2

 

Seems a bit more responsive/stable with GPS Status...?

 

I saw that on the SkeYe app, and tried it, but nothing happened and I wasn't sure what exactly to do. Just waving it in a figure 8 in front of me? On it's side? Do i have to keep the phone parallel or does it not matter?

 

I'll have a look for that, and if I can't work this out I'll pop into one of the O2 stores and ask an advisor. Just need to make sure everything is working. I've bought stuff in the past and it's had faults that didn't come to light until after the guarantee ran out...

 

I went into one of the stores and the advisor checked it out for me. At first he reckoned there was nothing wrong with it and it was just the processor speed... hmmm 1GHz? Then he checked another app and the information on it was all over the place, so he reckoned it is a dodgy accelerometer. Going into to get it replaced tomorrow at the place I got it within the 14 days. Hope I don't end up with a device that has another fault somewhere else, like when I kept having to get my PSP replaced and in the end never got a fully working model.

 

It asked me to rotate the phone around each axis, not quite sure what that means, or if it matters what direction I should be facing, how slow/accurate I need to be...?

Anyway, I think the magenetometer is fine, just the accelerometer. Not sure.. I don't understand how it works exactly. Got any links that explain it?