Galaxy S4 Active: GPS signal lost after 4.3

[Uselessbass]

Anybody else's galaxy s4 active losing gps only when going from 4g to 4g LTE or vice versa ? Exact same issue the note 3 is having I contacted att and they said they know nothing of this issue on the active lol I hope I'm not the only one otherwise time for a warranty exchange

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[Richard Preuss]

I just finished reading the 27 pages of the Note 3 GPS Issue on the ATT Community Forums. I have an S4 Active with the EXACT SAME PROBLEMS. And, if I disabled the phone (Airplane mode) the GPS works just fine.

A bit of history - Last October I drove from New Jersey to Arkansas and back, using the "Maps" app. Worked perfectly. Also used Runtastic Pro, Endomondo Pro, and MapMyRide... NO PROBLEMS. Then, in January, 2014 I updated to Android version 4.3. Now that spring is here, I started trying to use my S4 Active on my bike rides and found the GPS was constantly dropping. I cant say I noticed it was changing from 4g to 4gLTE, but it was occurring when I was handed from one tower to the next. Repeatable at the same location.

So, it looks like we are going to have to wait until 4.4.2 comes out before we can use our expensive phone as a navigation tool. Thanks, ATT.

To summarize the 27 pages of ranting at ATT, it is not hardware, it is apparently an ATT issue, not a Samsung issue, and it seems to clear up once the Note 3 users upgraded.

 

[Knightro829]

Issue has manifested itself for me over the past week. Makes my GPS useless with all running/workout apps I've tried: HumanaFit, MapMyRun, Nike+, and I've had it lose signal with Google Maps navigation. Has any work-around been developed?

 

[Uselessbass]

I never updated this thread but kit Kat update solved my gps issue

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[amickiewicz70]

This GPS Signal Lost problem is not so narrowly defined as vendors would have you believe. I am running an S3 on Verizon and it's happening a few times per day in any random combination of circumstances I can think of.

 

[mran613]

I sent my S3 back after it experienced all of the GPS signal problems I've read about here; it had a month to go with its warranty. First let me back track and tell you I had to fight to return it; the insisted it was my wireless carrier. Only because my wife has the same phone on the same plan without the same issues did I win!

A day after they received it they said the GPS signal loss was due to water damage; my phone NEVER got wet and is in perfect condition, everything worked perfectly other than GPS signal:

"Please contact us at your earliest convenience at 888-987-4357 as your Samsung product is currently on hold awaiting a payment. Payment should be made by due date or the device will be returned to you unrepaired.

RMA# : 4126172818
Reason for Payment: Device is OOW by condition, PBA has liquid damaged payment is needed.
Required Amount: $ 269.54
Device Model: SCH-I535MBBVZW
ESN/IMEI: 99000349238128
Payment Due Date: by close of business 09/04/14

Thank you for your continued support of Samsung products."

So to all the other S3 owners out there - not only are they denying a problem with the GPS signal loss; they are lying so they don't have to fix the problem.

 

[AlexSpamTrap]

It's not AT&T, unless it's just their invasion of the android software.

I've got 4.4.2. I live in Costa Rica (same frequency bands, unlocked and rooted). I use the Costa Rica phone service (4G LTE), so AT&T doesn't enter into it. My phone will grab signal (Eventually) but it also often loses it along the way (every few minutes to every few seconds). I tried a few work-around programs to force it to communicate with the satellites more often, but that doesn't cut it. It does tend to reconnect a bit faster with those programs, I think. But for the life of me, I still can't figure out why it loses all signal so often. Phone is mounted above the dash, where any dedicated GPS device would go.

By all signal, I mean that... using the GPS Test app, one moment I'll show that I've got a solid 3D fix with 18 satellites In View, and 9 In Use. Then suddenly 0. Nothing. Sometimes if I force an update to AGPS, it will catch faster, but that's manual work-around fix that I can't be doing every 2 minutes as I'm trying to drive.

Really annoying problem!