nexus 4 GPS problem? or does google maps not work with gps offline?

[andr0idralphie]

I just used Navigation for the first time today driving home... STUPENDOUS.

 

[donm527#IM]

That I believe has to do with your APN settings... I got the exact issue with speedtest where it always showed Texas and a secondary issue in that the test wouldnt run after ping.
I changed my APN settings to what people have posted for my particular ATT Account and it found a nearby site and my hspa+ is going faster than it ever did with the same sim in my iphone 4s.

i havent had any issues with google maps. The only GPS issue i have is when I try to use the speed test app it always thinks im in Texas or Kansas. (I'm in California)

Anyone else experience this?

 

[badbrad17]

left it on for 30 mins last night and it couldn't find a signal.... i gave up lol

I believe you have a faulty gps/radio. You should contact Google for a replacement. My Gps has been incredibly fast and accurate compared to my SGS2 which would take sometimes 5 minutes to get locked in. My Nexus 4 takes seconds.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[jinjin12]

I believe you have a faulty gps/radio. You should contact Google for a replacement. My Gps has been incredibly fast and accurate compared to my SGS2 which would take sometimes 5 minutes to get locked in. My Nexus 4 takes seconds.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

that's cause you have a data plan right? and the data plan is enabled? try shutting off wifi and mobile data. use only gps. it's slow. i don't have a data plan so i have to use only the gps.

 

[spile1]

I'd always recommend a dedicated off-line GPS application such as Sygic, CoPilot or TomTom. These are listed in order of preference.

 

[Vladimir Gelev]

i have the same GPS offline problem - and it's not supposed to be a problem.
samsung google nexus gps does not work unless some form of data connection is on - either WIFI or 3G. i used to have HTC G2 phone (android 2.3) and the GPS worked solid in offline mode. never a problem - even though the offline google map feature was still in beta. i traveled all over Europe without turning any data on at all and the gps worked like a charm.
But with the nexus - if you turn data off, gps works for a little bit, then jams again. no amount of enable/disable google location services helps (contrary to what several blogs are parroting off each other). i downloaded a gps test app and it shows that gps only locks to actual satellites when data is on. as soon as i turn data (wifi or 3G) off, the gps loses the satellites - according to the GPS test app. This seems like a software issue.

 

[Noman Sher]

Again, GPS does not send data to the satellite. In fact cell phones don't have the power to do that. It only receives data. If you want more specifics, GPS just receives a timestamp from 3 or more satellites. It calculates the coordinates by measuring the distance to the satellites by the difference in the times taken for the signal to get to the receiver. And then it triangulates a position.

 

[arthurdavid]

Arthur David new member. Found the threads interesting and I agreee that you do not need to be online to use GPS navigation.I had a a mobile that did not have a data connection and used tom tom. Software to navigate accurately from Berkshire in England through France to my flat in Casteldefels in Catalan Spain. All offline.My current problem is that when in maps I try to select work offline I get the message 'can't go offline in selected area'. On refection, after reading the threads, I will try using my blue tooth GPS signal finder with my nexus 7. What do you think?

 

[sting7k]

i just downloaded new york city offline map with google maps. and now i turn it on without the wifi and i've enabled gps but it can seem to track my location. i've left it for 30 mins and still nothing. is this a problem with my nexus 4 GPS or does google maps not work with GPS in offline mode?

I don't think anyone actually read what you wrote here. Google Maps does have an offline feature, you can download maps to the device to use offline. The reason your GPS is not working very well is because on it's own it takes awhile to get a fix. In NYC surrounded by huge buildings your view is blocked some what. With data and wifi turned on the phone will use those to get a rough estimate first while GPS is getting a more accurate fix in the background. Without data and wifi GPS will always be slower to get a fix and less accurate if don't have a perfectly clear view of the sky.

So, if you downloaded the map tiles for NYC already. You can turn on data. When you use the maps it will only be using data (a very small amount) to get location information. The maps are already on your phone so it won't be downloading them.

Download GPS toolbox app, you should be able to see how many satellites your phone can "see" while standing on the street. You can also check if you are picking up an GLONASS satellites as well.

 

[Biggnaa20]

N4Newbie,

I was going to write and say pretty much the same thing, but you already said it.

If you want to use google maps when you don't have data connection, go ahead and download the portion of the map when you do have data. The connection to GPS is noticeably slower when you don't have a data connection (look up the difference between aGSP and GPS), but if you are in a place with a clear view to the sky, you should get a connection in a few minutes.

You still need a data connection to search the downloaded map, but I used google maps all through the rural parts of Senegal with no active data. As long as I'd already downloaded the map, I was fine.

nb

I downloaded an offline map that covers the area from my home to my place of work 20 miles away, then put the Nexus 4 into airplane mode.

Went out my front door, got into the car, plugged the phone into the charger. Started Google maps and cancelled out of the request to turn on a data connection, then loaded my offline map. The small blue arrow immediately showed my current location on the map.

As I drove to work, the blue arrow accurately tracked my position on the map. One thing I did notice: with a "live" map, the map automatically moves such that the blue arrow remains in the middle of the screen. However with the offline map, the map remains stationary while the blue arrow moves, eventually moving all the way off screen. At that point, I can either drag the map into position or tap the icon at the top right of the screen to automatically move the arrow back to center screen and center the map. During all this time, the GPS icon was present at the top left of the notification bar.

jinjin12, are you in Manhattan? If so, how does the GPS work for you with "live" maps? I only get to Manhattan a couple of times per year, so haven't experimented much. But, my sense is that GPS would not work very well because the tall buildings would limit the device to only seeing satellites which are more or less directly overhead; not enough to establish a fix in most cases. Can anyone comment on this?

 

[AndreDoria]

someone commented that gps on your mobile phone transmits a signal to a gps satellite to determine your location and thus requires data. this is a wrong understanding of how gps works. HOW GPS works: there are many GPS satellites in the sky at any given moment (usually a minimum of 4 is required to determine your location. more satellites reduces the degrees of freedom in the estimate of your location, thus reducing spatial errors associated with the locating the receiver (e.g. cell phone)). these GPS satellites are constantly broadcasting their "in orbit" location at a time code. your GPS receiver (e.g. cell phone OR hand held garmin, etc) DOES NOT transmit to the GPS satellite at all. your GPS receiver "sees" all the signals from the GPS satellites and using the encoded location and associated small time differences between the various satellites, via their signals, is able to determine your location on a map that is located on your handheld device. NEVER does your device transmit to gps satellites. it does not have the hardware to do this even if it wanted to try.
the reason your cell phone gps needs data is due to continually downloading map information. there is some alternative methods for the phone to also incorporate cell towers in the location estimate, but this is not necessary. the stock google maps program on the nexus phone is programmed not to have functioning gps when no data is available. im sure there is some app that fixes this problem, as only having the maps locally stored is required for the user to reference their GPS derived location to other geographic features (e.g. a map)

 

[Ribs85]

Apologies if this has been answered, I was too lazy to read the whole thread...

Having data on can actually help gps lock:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GPS
I found this out quite accidentally when I couldn't get a lock when I exceeded my data allowance, and data was therefore off. As soon as I turned data back on, I got a lock within a minute.

So, a bit off topic, but I guess using gps can use a small amount of data? Probably so miniscule it's not worth worrying about.

 

[azziz07]

interesting discussion