GPS Issues?

Samsung phones no longer has issues with GPS ever since S3 and Note 2 came out. My note 2 locks the satellites within split seconds (I mean short time) as soon as I turn on GPS

you must be lucky cause gps has sucked on every samsung phone i have ever had. my note 2 never will get a lock. same thing with my gnex
 
My N4 locks on almost instantly and doesn't seem to forget it's running like my GS2 would often do, requiring AGPS refreshes or reboots. I can't count how many times I was out for a long walk using My Tracks to monitor distance and I'd go to see where I was and it had lost the GPS signal in the outdoors, no trees, etc. Add on AT&T's network instead of Trudge's and Foursquare check-ins take less than 5 seconds instead of 20-30 seconds.
Not sure about GPS Test, but MobiWIA's free GPS Status app has a "Reset" function which clears the GPS cache and a "Download" function which downloads "GPS assistance data from the internet
You can clear and update the AGPS cache in GPS Test by going into the Settings menu; it's a pair of buttons right up top.
 
Thanks, N4Newbie, I had already tried the Reset and Download functions of GPS Status with no luck. I just called Google (they're there 24/7!). The guy talked to developers, and they said there will be a fix coming. I wasn't happy with that answer since there was no timeframe given, so I decided to send it back. But before that could happen, he had me do a factory reset. I had only installed about 5 or 6 apps, and I had just been playing around a little, so I had little faith that would help. But it did! I haven't had time yet to test it well, but both gps apps seemed to show the satellites fairly quickly.

I wondered if the 4.2.1 update that I let install right after I got it had something to do with the problem. But even with factory reset, I'm still at 4.2.1, so that isn't it. So I'm kind of baffled about what state my phone could have been in when I got it. I'd swear that none of the apps I installed could have caused any problems (calendar, weather, launcher, etc).

Now I'm very curious about the fix that he said would be coming for this issue, but I won't worry about it now.

Taj7575, I hope you talked to someone and got a good result also!

ALWAYS do a factory reset before calling Tech Support, that's Smartphone 101 ;)
 
I just got my Nexus 4 tonight. I'm having similar GPS problems. GPS Status always says "Looking for GPS location". GPS test does nothing...yours at least shows 20 satellites, mine shows none. I've tried it with wi-fi, without wi-fi, airplane mode, etc., no change at all. Like you, I can't believe I could get a "bad" one after waiting 2 weeks for it (some people are waiting much longer than that). I guess I'll try again tomorrow morning (actually it's 2:53 am already!), and if no luck, I'll have to talk to Google.

Taj7575, has yours improved at all? Or have you gone ahead and sent it back?

EDIT: A few minutes later, I did see 21 satellites. (Strange, because I had been trying these two apps for about an hour, and no satellites showed). But there weren't fixes on any of them. And a minute after that, they are completely gone again. So either we are the unlucky ones, or we just haven't set something correctly? I doubt it. I have 2 Samsung devices, and I've gotten those to work just fine.

Mine's improved just a bit with a few apps, but still not that great. Honestly though, I don't want to send it back just so I don't have to deal with the hassle. You mentioned that a rep told you they're coming in with a fix soon, so I'm going to believe that for now. I hope it truly does happen though!
 
Mine's improved just a bit with a few apps, but still not that great. Honestly though, I don't want to send it back just so I don't have to deal with the hassle. You mentioned that a rep told you they're coming in with a fix soon, so I'm going to believe that for now. I hope it truly does happen though!

Mine has just gone back to the same poor state it was in before....no satellites seen, so obviously no fixes. I'm not willing to do a factory reset every time this occurs. Like you, I do want to keep it, but will certainly send it back if this isn't resolved "soon". I wish the rep could have told me when the fix would come, but no such luck. I'll let you know if I learn anything else.
 
Mine continued to do poorly, so I called Wed. night (12/12/12) and asked to get another. I didn't want to wait on any "fix"....and the rep that I got this time did not have any knowledge about a "fix". I got email this morning (1 1/2 days later) telling me to re-order (some kind of "advanced replacement"), and they also sent an electronic label for returning the original one. I don't have to do that until I've received the new one. I haven't received any email about the replacement being shipped yet.

Taj7575, did yours continue to improve?
 
Mine continued to do poorly, so I called Wed. night (12/12/12) and asked to get another. I didn't want to wait on any "fix"....and the rep that I got this time did not have any knowledge about a "fix". I got email this morning (1 1/2 days later) telling me to re-order (some kind of "advanced replacement"), and they also sent an electronic label for returning the original one. I don't have to do that until I've received the new one. I haven't received any email about the replacement being shipped yet.

Taj7575, did yours continue to improve?

A bit, but it is still inconsistent. I think I'll wait until next month or so to get my replacement. I don't want to deal with the shipping woes/having a $350 charge on my bank account without even shipping, yet again.
 
I have similar GPS issue as well on my brand new Nexus 4. If I let it, it would stay on 'searching for GPS' for an hour (at least it feel like). The only work-around I have so far is to turn off locating service and turn it back on. My wife is already trying to rub it in by saying 'apple never had this kind of problem...'

What a shame, google!
 
I got a replacement Nexus 4 about an hour ago. It looks like the GPS issues are fixed! So I think I definitely had a defective one. I'll do more testing today and post here if anything peculiar happens. If not, I'll be very pleased that I've gotten a better one, but it's too bad I had to go through the RMA hassle. Worth it though, if it continues to work.

EDIT: I thought I'd put the old and new side by side with GPS Test and GPS Status and Navigation running on both. Now the old seems to be working fine. Maybe the problems will occur "soon", but I think they used to happen quite easily and quickly. I haven't installed any "fixes"...I don't know any way they could install anything to the device without me knowing it. Bur right now, it sure seems like something has changed. I guess my old one saw my new one and just decided to be good!:)

This new one seems a little better about a yellow tint on the screen, so I'm glad I have it, even if the old GPS issues are somehow fixed (I doubt that they are...it's just fooling me right now).
 
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Thanks for the information. Could you share how the RMA process worked with google? I've been spoiled by apple, and the fact that google does not even have any physical store makes me nervous...
 
Thanks for the information. Could you share how the RMA process worked with google? I've been spoiled by apple, and the fact that google does not even have any physical store makes me nervous...

Here's how RMA worked for me. I called Google Support at 855-836-3987. They're there 24/7! I described the problem, they had me jump through a few hoops (minor), but it really wasn't hard to get them to say it could be sent back. Then they'll send you an email, just acknowledging the conversation, but that email isn't very useful. You have to wait for a "specialist" to send you ANOTHER email. That will tell you the terms (like they'll put a temporary charge on your card until you return the first), and it will have a link within it to click so that you can order another one from Google Wallet. You must use that link...don't just go order another one on your own. You'll get another email with a shipping label to attach to the old one when you send it back. I think you can have UPS pick it up, but I'll just take it to a nearby UPS store.

It was about 2 days between the first email and the next "good one" from the specialist. The shipping label email came at about the same time. Once you follow the link and re-order, your status in the play store will now show "pre-order". Mine stayed like that for 6 days. Then I got a shipping notice email yesterday, and I got the replacement today! Now the status in the play store shows "shipped".

The only problem so far with my new one is that the volume rocker is kind of wobbly or wiggly. I haven't sent back the old one yet (you have 21? days maybe), so I'm actually comparing them and seeing the difference. Boy, you sure would think they would check this stuff out before sending them out! Right now, I don't think it's bad enough to do another RMA, but it is annoying.

GPS on the new one has been rock solid. The old one did show some signs of problems today, but it certainly wasn't as bad as I've seen it most days. Strange.

I hope the process is simple for you and that your new one comes soon. Good luck!
 
I am a person who travels quite a bit. Sadly though, with my most recent phone being a Samsung, that travelling aspect was a headache most of the time. It has the worst GPS pickup every.

Before I ramble on, let me get to the point - one of the reasons I went for this phone and not another samsung was because I perceived this to be a phone with not only good hardware, but reliable hardware.

Today though, I ran into some problems. On 3G/HSPA+ (and I was getting good coverage), I was trying to lock onto my location, but my phone just continued saying searching for GPS. This was indoors though, so I thought it wasn't a big deal. But I entered my car, and it still couldn't lock onto my location.

Is this a problem with anyone else? Could it just be that I may have some faulty hardware? Just curious guys, thanks.

same problem....it struggles to find a signal indoors and i live on the top floor. on the streets it struggle. and when in a moving car, it just can't lock on...very bad gps.
 
A bit, but it is still inconsistent. I think I'll wait until next month or so to get my replacement. I don't want to deal with the shipping woes/having a $350 charge on my bank account without even shipping, yet again.
i'm thinking of sending back mine but google's service sucks and i dont' want them to take month to process my refund. i also see on their policies that they would charge you a 15% restocking fee. 15% of 395$ total for the device is not good...damn google

did they say they would charge you the restocking fee yet? did they even receive your item et?
 
i'm thinking of sending back mine but google's service sucks and i dont' want them to take month to process my refund. i also see on their policies that they would charge you a 15% restocking fee. 15% of 395$ total for the device is not good...damn google

did they say they would charge you the restocking fee yet? did they even receive your item et?

Please read my post a couple of posts above. No restocking fee when you RMA and send back your old. But if you want to send back the old and not get another, you'll pay the restocking fee.
 
The RMA process seems lots of work;-(
Funny thing is that mine now suddenly started working and fairly fast. The only change I made was that I turned off data service (setting -> more --> mobile network --> uncheck 'data enabled'). I am currently on prepaid and only have voice/text and no data (with tmobile). I'll test more once I start with the $30 4G monthly tmobile plan (and enable data network again). In the mean time, this phone is staying!

The other thing I noticed is that previously when the GPS does not work, I did not even have that cross-hair thing on the notification bar. The only way I could get it to show up is disable location access and re-enable. Not that it works, it jumps out right away on the bar as soon as I open up navigation app (or GPS test app) and another few seconds to lock. The cross-hair thing disappears as soon as I exit GPS apps...
 
The RMA process seems lots of work;-(
Funny thing is that mine now suddenly started working and fairly fast. The only change I made was that I turned off data service (setting -> more --> mobile network --> uncheck 'data enabled'). I am currently on prepaid and only have voice/text and no data (with tmobile). I'll test more once I start with the $30 4G monthly tmobile plan (and enable data network again). In the mean time, this phone is staying!

The other thing I noticed is that previously when the GPS does not work, I did not even have that cross-hair thing on the notification bar. The only way I could get it to show up is disable location access and re-enable. Not that it works, it jumps out right away on the bar as soon as I open up navigation app (or GPS test app) and another few seconds to lock. The cross-hair thing disappears as soon as I exit GPS apps...

yea the RMA process is alot of work when it shouldn't be, but then again it's google so you have to expect this fiasco. as for the gps, it happens to me too. when you exit the program and re-enter, the gps has to lock on again, which makes no sense imo... this was tested on several programs, so it's not a problem with the program, it's just how the OS handles the GPS. idk it's like that,they should have make it stay locked on to gps satellites even if you exit the apps. the only time it shouldn't be locked is if you turn it off. pretty annoying when you turn on an map program, then exit it to check the internet or a sms message then have to wait for it to lock on again when you re-enter the app...
 
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The RMA process seems lots of work;-(
Funny thing is that mine now suddenly started working and fairly fast. The only change I made was that I turned off data service (setting -> more --> mobile network --> uncheck 'data enabled'). I am currently on prepaid and only have voice/text and no data (with tmobile). I'll test more once I start with the $30 4G monthly tmobile plan (and enable data network again). In the mean time, this phone is staying!

The other thing I noticed is that previously when the GPS does not work, I did not even have that cross-hair thing on the notification bar. The only way I could get it to show up is disable location access and re-enable. Not that it works, it jumps out right away on the bar as soon as I open up navigation app (or GPS test app) and another few seconds to lock. The cross-hair thing disappears as soon as I exit GPS apps...

With my long description, I may have made the RMA process harder than it really is. Also, some people only waited a few hours between the time they first called and when they got the email from the specialist, giving the link to reorder. And then it shipped for them the next day. And I'm sure UPS will pick the old one up from you. So.. it's really not hard, but you just never know about the wait times in between those steps.

But if you're happy with how it's working, you certainly wouldn't go through this process. For me, sometimes enabling and disabling location access helped, sometimes it didn't. I think I was almost always seeing the crosshair icon notification when I ran GPS test/GPS status or navigation app. Also, turning off data enabled didn't work for me. But strangely enough, GPS for that "old" phone has been working better for the last two days, and I haven't changed anything. I really don't know what the variable is, but I'd sure like to know, just in case the poor behavior comes back again on my new phone.

This is a crazy thought, but I wonder if satellites weren't working well where I am, and now they've improved. I'm in northern CA, what about you? I know that isn't really possible, but I'm just trying to come up with what could have changed. Another possibility would be that a "fix" came from Google, but that would have shown up as some kind of update that we would have to install. So I'm a little baffled. Maybe my "old" one is still working poorly, but I just haven't been looking at it much in the last 2 days since I got my new one. And when I just happen to look at the "old", it's at a time when it's working. But it sure wasn't like that for the first 10 days...it was pretty solidly bad!
 

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