GPS issues

[benjiedude]

After trying 4 Droid X's I had a a lot of hope for this phone. Have an appt at 9:00am at my VZW store with accessories on hold. Was looking past Bing but can't look past GPS issues. Will ask them to test out the GPS before we ring it up. This sucks. Waiting for HTC bad ass phone if this doesn't pan out.

 

[Darkhan]

^this^
I just got back from a vacation in Hawaii and I used Google maps (with turn by turn navigation) on my old HTC Eris. I was really excited about getting a new phone for me and my wife but with this Bing VZW navigator thing on the Fascinate it seems that this is crippling this phone and sending it back towards the "dumb phone"....I am having serious questions about the Fascinate everything sounds great except for this Bing thing that could really effect the usefulness of this phone.

I agree, I was going to buy it Thursday but now I will just keep the X as it works fine for me, I just really like the style of the samsung but this is just to much to sacrifice. Maybe after a few weeks they will get this fixed? I dont think this phone will be in high demand like the dinc or x was.

 

[substring]

Let's wait and see. I don't completely trust this guy from donthatethegeek. Don't jump the gun based on just one video that was made inside the guy's car.

sundOwn has been using the phone for 5 weeks and reported no problem with the GPS. We will find out in a few days.

 

[TheXFactor]

I am going off of what sund0wn said that the GPS worked fine. I don't trust this guy, because he doesn't really seem to know what he is talking about. Why didn't he actually run a navigation test? Why didn't he actually try to see how fast it took to pinpoint his location? Why didn't he actually try to make google maps navigate him to somewhere?

This was a pretty stupid video.

You seem to be in denial regarding the fact that has been reported in this thread multiple times as well as the video showing the GPS is wacked. It's wacked on other Galaxy phones and this one is no different.

My past experience with samsung phones is rearing it's ugly head, unfortunately. If this is all true, I can't understand why a company (samsung) would try and sell a device which is clearly defective or why VZW would allow this to be sold on their network.

I was starting to rethink my options about getting this phone, but not now. Not until it's a proven fact that the GPS does function correctly.

 

[Deleted User]

You seem to be in denial regarding the fact that has been reported in this thread multiple times as well as the video showing the GPS is wacked. It's wacked on other Galaxy phones and this one is no different.

My past experience with samsung phones is rearing it's ugly head, unfortunately. If this is all true, I can't understand why a company (samsung) would try and sell a device which is clearly defective or why VZW would allow this to be sold on their network.

I was starting to rethink my options about getting this phone, but not now. Not until it's a proven fact that the GPS does function correctly.

I have a feeling you won't be seeing this GPS function correctly until the update. That being said, that's if it ends up actually being only a software glitch and not a problem with the actual hardware. If the fix is supposedly coming in September, i wonder when??? If it's something like September 29th or 30th, they should say that the update will be out around October.

I wish Samsung would maybe actually put out a video comparison of the fix they are working on showing the difference between a phone without the fix and one with it, even if it's still not completely finalized.

I've been needing a phone for a while, and I've finally been up for an upgrade and awaiting this bad boy, and it doesn't even have a working GPS. Come on Sammy, give us some hope.

 

[ckochinsky125]

I have a feeling you won't be seeing this GPS function correctly until the update. That being said, that's if it ends up actually being only a software glitch and not a problem with the actual hardware. If the fix is supposedly coming in September, i wonder when??? If it's something like September 29th or 30th, they should say that the update will be out around October.

I wish Samsung would maybe actually put out a video comparison of the fix they are working on showing the difference between a phone without the fix and one with it, even if it's still not completely finalized.

I've been needing a phone for a while, and I've finally been up for an upgrade and awaiting this bad boy, and it doesn't even have a working GPS. Come on Sammy, give us some hope.

yeah idk how you would even consider releasing a phone that has a major issue like this. Maybe they are just not that worried because maybe people in japan and that dont use gps that much. Who knows.

 

[Darkhan]

I have not read the threads on the captivate forums but I had a friend buy the captivate last week and I just text him and ask how does your gps work? his exact response was. It sucks it can never find my location!

So I am not having high hopes this will be working on the fascinate by Thursday

 

[ckochinsky125]

I have not read the threads on the captivate forums but I had a friend buy the captivate last week and I just text him and ask how does your gps work? his exact response was. It sucks it can never find my location!

So I am not having high hopes this will be working on the fascinate by Thursday

Yeah lets hope they will announce something regarding if and when a gps fix will be released. Although I know one verizon tester said he had the fascinate with no gps issues so who knows. Guess ill just have to test one out in the store thursday.

 

[Droidus]

True, but imprecise. The Captivate and Vibrant seem to have real GPS tracking issues. The Epic 4G, meanwhile, seems to be spot-on for GPS location, navigation, etc per the forums here. However, it seems to report the location "within 30 meters" or so, even when it is in fact tracking precisely. At least that is what the users are saying...

I suggest you go and read the thread, like I said before every single galaxy S phone has GPS problems. This is just a common issue that Samsung has failed to address in their testing of the phone. I'm beginning to think it is a hardware and software issue at this point.

 

[ckochinsky125]

I guess xda has a fix for the gps issue if there is one the only catch is that you have to root your phone which i plan to do anyways but for those who dont want to root you can always wait for samsung to release a fix which they said would be out sometime in september

 

[Bearly]

I guess xda has a fix for the gps issue if there is one the only catch is that you have to root your phone which i plan to do anyways but for those who dont want to root you can always wait for samsung to release a fix which they said would be out sometime in september

If XDA has a "fix" then obviously the GPS issue is a software issue, which means Samsung itself will be addressing the issue with a software update.

if it was a hardware issue, the XDA folks would not have been able to solve it.

 

[ckochinsky125]

If XDA has a "fix" then obviously the GPS issue is a software issue, which means Samsung itself will be addressing the issue with a software update.

if it was a hardware issue, the XDA folks would not have been able to solve it.

I never said it was a hardware issue?

 

[substring]

The fix is out there for a while. It seems to be a consensus that it fixes the GPS issue on all Galaxy S variants. I have not read anything from anyone that says otherwise.

Regardless, I am not planning to root the phone. I will continue to subscribe VZ Navigator but I will also download Google Map Navigation as well, just for the fun of it.

It will be interesting to see how it turns out.

 

[TheAlmightyDrew]

The fix is out there for a while. It seems to be a consensus that it fixes the GPS issue on all Galaxy S variants. I have not read anything from anyone that says otherwise.

Regardless, I am not planning to root the phone. I will continue to subscribe VZ Navigator but I will also download Google Map Navigation as well, just for the fun of it.

It will be interesting to see how it turns out.

 

[ckochinsky125]

The fix is out there for a while. It seems to be a consensus that it fixes the GPS issue on all Galaxy S variants. I have not read anything from anyone that says otherwise.

Regardless, I am not planning to root the phone. I will continue to subscribe VZ Navigator but I will also download Google Map Navigation as well, just for the fun of it.

It will be interesting to see how it turns out.

Yeah i just dont feel the need to pay another $9.99 a month for v navigator when i can use google maps which is free.

 

[Darkhan]

I am the same way ckochinsky, I refuse to pay 9.99 a month for gps but I am willing to pay 550.00 for a phone that does not have a working gps at release date. How ironic lol.

 

[ckochinsky125]

I am the same way ckochinsky, I refuse to pay 9.99 a month for gps but I am willing to pay 550.00 for a phone that does not have a working gps at release date. How ironic lol.

Ha yes I know what you mean.

 

[honeymic]

I've been waiting for this phone for months now! We know more than one guy on this forum have had access to the fascinate for at least a few days. Is there anyway some of you guys can help confirm any of these reports PLEASE?!?!

 

[substring]

I've been waiting for this phone for months now! We know more than one guy on this forum have had access to the fascinate for at least a few days. Is there anyway some of you guys can help confirm any of these reports PLEASE?!?!

You should read the posts from sundOwn. He has been using the phone for about 5 weeks. He seems to know what he is talking about. Unlike the guy who took this video at the top of this thread. He didn't even know how to focus his camera on his first video, and you trust him on testing a phone? I don't.

You can find sundOwn posts on this thread...
http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid-x/119365-droid-x-vs-samsung-galaxy-s-8.html

 

[ckochinsky125]

You should read the posts from sundOwn. He has been using the phone for about 5 weeks. He seems to know what he is talking about. Unlike the guy who took this video at the top of this thread. He didn't even know how to focus his camera on his first video, and you trust him on testing a phone? I don't.

You can find sundOwn posts on this thread...
http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid-x/119365-droid-x-vs-samsung-galaxy-s-8.html

I agree but i was just posting the video not saying i put any faith in this guy as yes he couldnt focus the camera in the first video lol

 

[honeymic]

About a week ago I came across sund0wn's posts and thought nothing more of the GPS issues. I am just looking for more of a definitive NO or YES from a few more people that have had hands on time with it so far. This "The Geek" guy sounds so for the lack of a better term... in-credible, no pun intended! Only thing I'm worried about is whether I can get the Verizon guys will let me take a live version outside for a few and test how quickly it gets a lock.

 

[Armandroid]

Wow. Even the fascinate has this problem. Given that the Samsung Galaxy S line of phones have been out for almost 5 months and this hasn't had a fix yet, this is starting to look like a hardware issue to me. Hopefully they do "optimize" the GPS and it works fine. Come on Samsung.

 

[EliC]

If XDA has a "fix" then obviously the GPS issue is a software issue, which means Samsung itself will be addressing the issue with a software update.

if it was a hardware issue, the XDA folks would not have been able to solve it.

BTW, many people have stated that the "fix" does NOT work and doesn't fix anything. Given that the fascinate still seems to have the problem I am actually very worried that this is a hardware problem and may not be fixable with software. I won't believe it until I see it.

 

[EliC]

CNET review:

GPS issues have plagued the Samsung Vibrant and Captivate--users have complained of slow acquisition times--but, fortunately, we didn't experience this on the Fascinate. The smartphone was able to lock onto our position in less than a minute, sometimes within a few seconds. That said, we did have problems with accuracy. At times, the phone was spot-on with our location but at other times, it would be off by a block and sometimes by even a few blocks. With such mixed results, we didn't feel confident using the Fascinate as a navigation device.

 

[ckochinsky125]

BTW, many people have stated that the "fix" does NOT work and doesn't fix anything. Given that the fascinate still seems to have the problem I am actually very worried that this is a hardware problem and may not be fixable with software. I won't believe it until I see it.

And who are these many people????