Bad compass on the Epic?

[buzzardjrt]

when i open my compass i just click on menu, the bottom left option is calibrate.

that is where i calibrated mine from, not from any other app or program.

and doing it like the video did not fix mine, i had to lay it flat and drive it like a car going around a track to make mine work.

 

[HeyBeerManTX]

Ok, I'm confused. I'm not able to find a standalone compass. I have: Gas Buddy, (Google) Maps, Navigation, Sprint Navigation, Where.....those are the only applications I know of that at any point have a compass displayed. Even going through the "Location & Security" menu I can't seem to find anything about a compass.

Where can I find the compass!?!?!

...I'm feeling pretty stupid right now....

 

[xtn]

Okay the compass we want to calibrate is not an app. We are talking about the hardware magnometer built into the phone.

So you don't do the hand motion while in a specific app, or in a specific settings menu. You just do it anytime, anywhere. I do it occasionally when I'm in an app that uses the compass and I notice that it isn't accurate.

For example the last time I did it I had fired up Google Sky and found that nothing showed in the correct spot. So I swung the phone around a few times, waited a second, and it started showing everything correctly.

 

[HeyBeerManTX]

Ah! So there is not a native compass interface that I'm missing, but rather just do the hand motion when your in an application that has the compass "activated"?

Got it!

Thanks.

 

[HeyBeerManTX]

By Golly! I think it worked!

I opened up Gas Buddy, went to map view, checked where the compass was pointing (said I was pointing west when I was actually pointing north), did 4 large figure 8's (as in the video linked to above, but larger), and VOILA! The compass is now pointing accurately!

Thanks!

 

[xtn]

Exactly. There are actual compass apps that you can download but they, just like any other app that displays any non-gps heading info, pulls data from the hardware magnometer.

 

[ragnarokx]

Exactly. There are actual compass apps that you can download but they, just like any other app that displays any non-gps heading info, pulls data from the hardware magnometer.

There sure are - I remember I saw a metal detector which I thought was pretty cool.

 

[imekul]

I've been doing the calibration almost exactly as shown in this video: YouTube - Best Compass Calibration Method (iPhone/G1/etc.)

Yet, my Epic still isn't calibrating correctly! I have even stepped outside to make sure I wasn't near anything that would interfere with the magnet. I also have tried waving it several times in a row, but it still doesn't seem to improve.

What's odd is that my compass range goes from about 320 degrees to 250 degrees, even if I move in a complete 360 rotation. So basically, it's not only that the compass is not accurate, but for some reason there is a range of only about 75 degrees when I rotate around in a circle!

The weird thing is I had the compass working fine about a week ago, but for some reason it wasn't as accurate, so I tried to recalibrate it, and here I am.

 

[jlgreenlee]

I found this forum while looking up this issue, so that's cool. It looks like a place I'll come back to.

But with the compass, even after learning the secret to the figure 8 in that video (boy, was I doing it wrong), my Epic still can't work a compass for diddly. It's very twitchy, and shows where north is at first, but only at first. If I turn around 180 degrees, north is now south. It's effectively useless as a compass. I wonder if mine's broken?

 

[rando991]

You guys sound like you maybe experiencing the upside down sensor problem. Try this...download app called Sensor Debug and se if your phone's pitch axis shows something close to -180 instead of 0 when. Lying flat on a table...if it is you need to to do an upsidedown Recalibrate from your settings\display menu. Hold the phone over your head withscreen facing you and hit te calibrate button. Later with the pitchaxis corrected, lay on the table and do another calibrate for accuracy. Afterdoing all this, do the wavy compass calibrate.

 

[Skunkape60]

when i open my compass i just click on menu, the bottom left option is calibrate.

that is where i calibrated mine from, not from any other app or program.

and doing it like the video did not fix mine, i had to lay it flat and drive it like a car going around a track to make mine work.

I can't see the method in the video doing anything. I also get much better results sitting it on a table and driving it around.

I know when I calibrate my cars compass, I lock my steering wheel to the right and drive in about a dozen circles. Then do the same thing to the left.

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

 

[theblizzard2009]

couldn't get my compass on google maps to work right either, optimus.

 

[Galane]

Do the upside down calibration first. Menu > Settings > Display then scroll down to Horizontal calibration. Place the phone upside down underneath a level shelf, the underside of a desk or table etc. Poke the Calibrate button and wait for it to say Calibrated.

This also cures the lag and having to shake the phone to get the screen to rotate.

Get GPS Status from GPS Status Until I found the info about the upside down calibration, the compass in GPS Status would mix up North and South but not East and West. I informed the author about the calibration issue with the Epic 4G. He replied he wasn't aware of the problem with the Epic.

Any compass app, or other app that uses the accelerometer, which is acting weird but gets cured by the upside down calibration, or if it *doesn't* get cured, tell the app's author. He or she may not be aware of this "feature" of the Epic 4G.

 

[rando991]

Do the upside down calibration first. Menu > Settings > Display then scroll down to Horizontal calibration. Place the phone upside down underneath a level shelf, the underside of a desk or table etc. Poke the Calibrate button and wait for it to say Calibrated.

This also cures the lag and having to shake the phone to get the screen to rotate.

Get GPS Status from GPS Status Until I found the info about the upside down calibration, the compass in GPS Status would mix up North and South but not East and West. I informed the author about the calibration issue with the Epic 4G. He replied he wasn't aware of the problem with the Epic.

Any compass app, or other app that uses the accelerometer, which is acting weird but gets cured by the upside down calibration, or if it *doesn't* get cured, tell the app's author. He or she may not be aware of this "feature" of the Epic 4G.

I think another easy way is too hold the phone facing you over your head as horizontal as you can and push the calibrate button from there, then now that you have fixed the upside down cal, place it flat on a level table (upside up) and recalibrate for more accuracy. You will know this is your problem if you open the Compass app (from the Market) and the needle is off AND very erratic, like it doesn't want to seek the new direction. Also, an App called Sensor Debug will let you know what your pitch axis is. It SHOULD be 0 + or - 1 or 2 degrees (laying flat on a table). But if it is -180 (or close to 180), you have this problem and need to do the upside down calibration to right your pitch axis.

 

[joepan]

I think another easy way is too hold the phone facing you over your head as horizontal as you can and push the calibrate button from there, then now that you have fixed the upside down cal, place it flat on a level table (upside up) and recalibrate for more accuracy. You will know this is your problem if you open the Compass app (from the Market) and the needle is off AND very erratic, like it doesn't want to seek the new direction. Also, an App called Sensor Debug will let you know what your pitch axis is. It SHOULD be 0 + or - 1 or 2 degrees (laying flat on a table). But if it is -180 (or close to 180), you have this problem and need to do the upside down calibration to right your pitch axis.

What should I do if the upside down calibration has no effect on the pitch as shown by the sensor debug application????

 

[rando991]

Are you saying you already tried this? Or are you wondering if this works? If Sensor Debug shows your pitch to be off more than 2 or 3 degrees from Zero in a Minus direction, you need to do upside down calibration because for some reason, your phone is currently thinking it is laying flat (when on a table) but is facing upside down. Don't know how Froyo messed this up, but you can correct that particular problem by calibrating it while it's upside down, that then re orients it to right side up. You should ever have to do this but once.

Before you calibrated what did sensor debug say your pitch was? And after you did the upside down calibrate, what did it go to?

 

[joepan]

Are you saying you already tried this? Or are you wondering if this works? If Sensor Debug shows your pitch to be off more than 2 or 3 degrees from Zero in a Minus direction, you need to do upside down calibration because for some reason, your phone is currently thinking it is laying flat (when on a table) but is facing upside down. Don't know how Froyo messed this up, but you can correct that particular problem by calibrating it while it's upside down, that then re orients it to right side up. You should ever have to do this but once.

Before you calibrated what did sensor debug say your pitch was? And after you did the upside down calibrate, what did it go to?

before horizontal upside down calibration pitch= -2 Roll =4.0
after horizontal upside down calibration pitch = 0 roll = 7.0
Compass seems to run accurately now
If I do this again right side up
pitch = -180 roll =0
Compass is all messed up
I've also done so many figure 8;s the family thinks I've finally gone over the edge.
This time I only calibrate upside down and pass on calibrating right side up and no figure 8's

 

[rando991]

Hmm, well just calibrate upsidedown and ensure the pitch is NOT -180 . You can use the calibrate function of the Gps Status and Toolbox app for further refinement...which is what I do. Just as a note though, I had to do a factory reset a couple of times for an unrelated problem and the upsidedown axis problem never reappeared.