GPS issue, satellites in view but not in use!!

[taylormah]

My E4GT's GPS used to be amazingly fast at locking onto satellites when I first got it 4 months ago. I did not use GPS for any reason in past one month or so, but last couple of days that I needed to navigate in google maps, I switched GPS on, but it was taking 3-5 minutes to lock onto satellites. So I opened up GPS Test app, and noticed that even though there were 10 satellites in view at that point, there was none in use. And after a longggggg wait, when satellites were finally locked onto, the accuracy never improved more than 20 meters, whereas it used to be as good as 2 meters previously. I even tried to refresh AGPS data using GPS Test app, and it probably helped a very little bit, but the GPS fails to lock immediately every single time I turn it on.

I have no idea what happened to GPS. I guess I never used it since sprint's OTA update, so it could be that update, or it could be something else. I am not rooted, and dont plan to root just for GPS sake. After all it was working fine some weeks ago. Any tips or idea guys??

 

[repinphilly247]

Mine did the same thing after I did the OTA update. It saw 10 satellites but was using none, whereas before the update it would use them all. It seemed like it didn't use the phone network to get a rough approximation of the location sometimes as well as it was putting me in a location I was like an hour earlier and never updated. To fix this, I updated profile and PRL and did a soft reset (shut on and off) and it works now. It used to work slightly better before the OTA as it is a little more hit and miss now.

 

[taylormah]

Exactly same thing here. It shows me a location where I was couple of hours ago. I did PRL update, soft reset but I still have the issue. I was walking down the street today, and it was showing me 7 blocks away with big blue circle of 1100 meter accuracy. This totally sucks. I dont know when EL29 is going to drop, but it better bring my phone back to pre-EK02 state.

 

[IAmSixNine]

I use Google+ with location on and FourSquare often and i have noticed a difference as well. Seems locking on my location AFTER the latest OTA is either taking longer or not happening correctly.
Yesterday i tried to check in at Blockbuster and it was a no go.
I had to power off my device and back on for it to lock on my location and update properly.

 

[elyeh]

Strongest solar storm since 2005 hitting Earth - Yahoo! News

Solar Storms

 

[NoResults]

The GPS in this phone does not seem to ever lock on unless the sky is clear and you are about 100 feet from a satellite. Is it just this phone? My Palm Pre worked much better.

 

[DirkBelig]

I've had this problem consistently occasionally since getting it in October and posted about it here. It either:

* Doesn't lock on. GPS Status shows 0/10 satellites in use and unless I Manage A-GPS State and reset and (occasionally) download GPS assistance update, it won't lock at all.

* Locks on quickly, but when using My Tracks or Google Nav, it will lose lock, claiming it can't see the sky. (Hello? I'm walking!) Of course, my distance tracking is toast because I don't see the moment it craps out.

It's a major PITA. I'm hoping ICS will fix this and the Android OS bug that slurps power while I'm sleeping and the phone is kept awake.

 

[taylormah]

I guess we need to call sprint and complaint about it so they could work on its fix to included it in their next update.

 

[elyeh]

This massive solar storm is having an effect

 

[taylormah]

If solar storm had anything to do with it, why does my friend's razr gets gps lock immediately within few seconds from a cold start? or when I clear and re-download AGPS data, why does it get a lock within 5 seconds?

 

[billman99999]

I just got my phone at the end of Dec. so I can't speak about performance before the update. I had major problems the first time I tried to use GPS for NAV guidance. I also found that I could not get a lock on to check in when I was at places. This made me start thinking. When I played with gps in my apartment I always got a lock on even indoors. When at home I always have WiFi enabled. I also remembered when I am getting a WiFi signal in public and it sucks I try to enable 4g and it tell me I must turn off WiFi first. I realized that when I am at home playing with the GPS and it is working fine the 4g is always off! So the next day while at work I tried GPS with and without 4g. It always got a fast accurate lock with 4g off. Not with 4g enabled but no signal but with 4g turned completely turned off. I did this for 6 plus hours of driving around and with 4g enabled its was always bad. 1000 ft accuracy or complete loss of signal at times for minutes on end not to mention 5 minutes to even get a lock. I drove the same route over and over and for my phone at least, it is 100% faulty with 4g. I think it's a 4g problem and not a gps problem and hopefully the 4g gets fixed in the next update.

 

[repinphilly247]

I just got my phone at the end of Dec. so I can't speak about performance before the update. I had major problems the first time I tried to use GPS for NAV guidance. I also found that I could not get a lock on to check in when I was at places. This made me start thinking. When I played with gps in my apartment I always got a lock on even indoors. When at home I always have WiFi enabled. I also remembered when I am getting a WiFi signal in public and it sucks I try to enable 4g and it tell me I must turn off WiFi first. I realized that when I am at home playing with the GPS and it is working fine the 4g is always off! So the next day while at work I tried GPS with and without 4g. It always got a fast accurate lock with 4g off. Not with 4g enabled but no signal but with 4g turned completely turned off. I did this for 6 plus hours of driving around and with 4g enabled its was always bad. 1000 ft accuracy or complete loss of signal at times for minutes on end not to mention 5 minutes to even get a lock. I drove the same route over and over and for my phone at least, it is 100% faulty with 4g. I think it's a 4g problem and not a gps problem and hopefully the 4g gets fixed in the next update.

I've had issues noted above with and without 4g on. However, after prl and profile updates, using GPS test to clear and and update AGPS, and soft resets, it now works over 3g. Takes forever or doesn't lock indoors but outdoors locks in about 10 seconds over 3g. With 4g, I noticed it does not lock at all. When I get on the train (not underground) I lose gps signal immediately. It's definitely the hardware of the phone (with really weak gps hardware) as it does not work indoors without wifi on. My sprint hero used to lock when I was on the train with no problem.

 

[taylormah]

Found this: Developer Patches AGPS for Better Performance on Galaxy S II, Thunderbolt, and More - BriefMobile

Sprint's GSII is not listed in the available packages, but it sure is a sign of some hope.

 

[error4o4]

I just got my phone at the end of Dec. so I can't speak about performance before the update. I had major problems the first time I tried to use GPS for NAV guidance. I also found that I could not get a lock on to check in when I was at places. This made me start thinking. When I played with gps in my apartment I always got a lock on even indoors. When at home I always have WiFi enabled. I also remembered when I am getting a WiFi signal in public and it sucks I try to enable 4g and it tell me I must turn off WiFi first. I realized that when I am at home playing with the GPS and it is working fine the 4g is always off! So the next day while at work I tried GPS with and without 4g. It always got a fast accurate lock with 4g off. Not with 4g enabled but no signal but with 4g turned completely turned off. I did this for 6 plus hours of driving around and with 4g enabled its was always bad. 1000 ft accuracy or complete loss of signal at times for minutes on end not to mention 5 minutes to even get a lock. I drove the same route over and over and for my phone at least, it is 100% faulty with 4g. I think it's a 4g problem and not a gps problem and hopefully the 4g gets fixed in the next update.

Living in Phoenix, I can assure you its not a 4g issue as we dont have any 4g here.

But persistent GPS issues are the same.

Typically if I dont reboot my phone daily I'll have GPS lock problems.

 

[DirkBelig]

A weird problem has cropped up for me: Foursquare and Gas Buddy are placing me anywhere from a half-mile to three miles from my actual location. However, when I bring up Google Maps, it has me located within the usual margin of error and I've got plenty of satellites locked. It's as if the location data isn't being passed to other apps. Any suggestions? Yes, I've rebooted.

UPDATE: It gets weirder now: I was inside Costco, eating, and checked both Foursquare and Gas Buddy and both appeared to be back in line, giving proper distances. Go outside and it goes back to being .4 miles off. Went to another place and it thought I was over one mile away in Foursquare, but Google Maps was on the money again. This is nuts.

UPDATE #2: I'm at home now (indoors, duh) and Maps puts me maybe 40 ft away; Foursquare has the local businesses up first; Gas Buddy shows the nearest stations close enough for government work. Why is this more accurate indoors than out?!?!?

 

[DirkBelig]

After a few OK days, Foursquare went goofy again on me. I had satellites and Maps had me on the money, but 4S refused to give me local results, only around my workplace almost 20 miles away.

Here's where it gets odd: When I went into the Explore tab and tapped the globe icon, it showed a cloud of spots around my work, but when I zoomed it out, I was surprised to see that it had a blue dot properly located where I was. Even though it DID know where I was actually at, it thought I was elsewhere.

Bonus weird: Now that I'm home and indoors, it's properly offering checkins at nearby businesses. WTF? I've cleared the cache and it works most of the time. Hmmmm.

 

[godsidekurt]

I'm having similar issues...works about 50% of the time I try to checkin via Facebook. I tried turning on and off gps but the only way it works is restarting the phone.

I remember a way with codes and such you could reset/update gps with my Evo3D wonder if it would work for this phone...

 

[DirkBelig]

Here's a shot showing how screwed up this is:

View attachment 21108

This is annoying as he'll. Last night, I tried deleting all data and when I relogged in it worked. I walked 75 yards away and refreshed the list and it was back to the same antics.

I thought that perhaps my having my work set as my Google Maps home base, but I cleared that and it's still FUBAR.

EDIT: Groupon Now is also affected by this glitch. I rebooted the phone and Foursquare started finding things around me, but the distances were a half-mile off. Groupon straightened up, too. This is just dumb.

 

[va_runchauhan]

I am on a unrooted galaxy s3...my phone initially locked to GPS like magic...now even though satellites r in view it refuses to lock on..while my friends s3 locks immediately..wot could be the problem??
The only difference between the two phones is the carrier...
Could that make a difference??

 

[urbrainwashd]

Why would you check yourself in at blockbuster? Lol

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