GPS Problems

[thepktrckt]

It must be the area your in, I have never had any issues with my GPS not finding satellites. the only time I had the issue is when i was driving in a construction zone or like a farm land, but other than that, never had any issues

If it were a location issue and not a device issue my other devices would have issues as well.
It might be that the GS4 does not handle the SF Bay Area well but that still makes it a device issue not a location issue. I have not had this problem using iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4, 5, Nexus 4, Note 2 and HTC One.
I can repeatedly line up another smartphone next to the GS4 while I drive and have the GS4 lose GPS lock or be completely off course while the other device stays locked fine.

I'm going to try the fix of flipping GPS on/off when I see the error happen. If that works then it's a pretty defined bug.

 

[thepktrckt]

Does anyone else using navigation apps have a problem locking onto satellites? I have a Nexus 7 and get an almost immediate lock, but with my Galaxy S4 I can't get a lock.... Neither Google Navigation, or Co-Pilot Wants to get a lock....not sure if the GPS radio in the S4 is funky or not!

Both last night and this morning I tried the hack that others had suggested, go to maps, pull down menu, turn off GPS, turn on GPS, pull up menu to return to maps. Both times I found it to be successful, maps tracked perfectly and I never lost lock. I did initiate my phone call before doing the hack but can validate that it worked while on the phone.
I hate that I have to do this but am happy to see it's a software issue.

 

[effreyj]

I'm wondering if it's the Verizon issue for me. It worked perfectly last Sunday when I was running in the half marathon, but today when I tried to use Runkeeper it failed to lock onto the GPS.

 

[elbisivnimi]

I'm having the same issue on AT&T. The workaround of using the pull-down menu and toggling the GPS off and on works and doesn't lose track once it locks, but it sucks to have to do it every time I want to pull up directions or navigate somewhere. I also read about the screws being loose in the s3, but all the screws in my s4 were on tight, so that fix didn't work. Hopefully there's a fix soon.

 

[tx_tuff]

I just found out the problem is between google and your carrier. Theres nothing samsung can do, matter of fact I am at verizon and all of the androids have thensame problem. All except the iphone which has a chip and is not internet assisted, im switching.

I have a GN on Verizon and have never had a problem with mine so it is not ask androids on Verizon.


Tapatalk mofo

 

[pbelfi]

I just found out the problem is between google and your carrier. Theres nothing samsung can do, matter of fact I am at verizon and all of the androids have thensame problem. All except the iphone which has a chip and is not internet assisted, im switching.

NOT a Google/Verizon problem! I use Co-Pilot Pro for a GPS program which has nothing to do with Google or Verizon.....All the maps are stored directly onto the S4, and uses the stand alone GPS on the S4.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

 

[grumpyjoe]

I use Waze and I'm on Verizon. No problems here and I use it almost every day.

 

[countemagain]

I am on AT&T and I have the same problem. It was working and now it's not. I have tried everything on about every blog and notta. I also had this problem on my HTC Sense which I had rooted.

 

[jarettp]

I am on AT&T and I have the same problem. It was working and now it's not. I have tried everything on about every blog and notta. I also had this problem on my HTC Sense which I had rooted.

did you try the fix i posted? it worked for me...

 

[videian]

did you try the fix i posted? it worked for me...

Tried that, still have to pull down notification menu and stop and restart the gps to get it to turn on when the app is open.

On both waze and Google maps
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Desert Beard]

I had issues with this phone's GPS/Google Maps/Location Services soon after it was out of the box, also. What worked for me was comparing it to my former Droid Bionic, which was flawless in its GPS usage:

Go into settings / more / Location services:
VZW location services: (checked)
Standalone GPS services: (checked)
Wi-Fi & mobile network location (aka Google location services): (UNchecked)
If it doesn't kick right in, then restart the phone.

I didn't need to use the screw tightening idea like so many S3 users, but it was next on my list of things to try. Well, I don't know if this is everybody's solution, but it's worth a shot, right?

 

[videian]

Still no dice, it will not turn on the gps automatically even tho the gps button is already check to come on whenever it's needed. Have to physically turn it off and back on again for any mapping app to recognize it is there, then it works perfectly.

Not a huge problem, but when driving it adds an additional unsafe step to the process, which kinda sucks cause you damn near can't reach a thumb up that far on this sized screen.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Bright Harry]

I had exactly the same issue and, after many trials, I found a solution: uninstalling Yahoo Weather fixed the issue. Now the GPS works as it should.

 

[dmmacs]

I had exactly the same issue and, after many trials, I found a solution: uninstalling Yahoo Weather fixed the issue. Now the GPS works as it should.

This seems to have worked for me.

 

[eclectic taste]

I was having the same problem, switching GPS off and on was an inconvenient workaround. Very frustrating when trying to navigate in unfamiliar areas. Also, when I first got the phone it worked perfectly so I was suspicious of a rogue app interfering with the GPS. Uninstalling Yahoo weather fixed my GPS problem. I made no other changes to my phone's gps settings.

AT&T Galaxy S4 i337

 

[videian]

Went back to this old thread and tried the uninstall of yahoo weather, happy to say that cured it!

Thank you!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Tsmithband]

I am having the exact same problem. I am on my second phone and the same problem still occurs. I hope they resolve this issue soon.

 

[Bright Harry]

Did you uninstall Yahoo Weather? For me, it was the cause of all this misery.

 

[Kaitsu]

Hi! I had the GPS problem too and it really pissed me off.. I tried everything until I finaly found this thread, as weird as it is Yahoo Weather is guilty, straight after deleting it GPS worked like a charm.. I even tried downloadin it again and realised it was the one blocking the GPS signal.. I live in Finland so this problem is very global!

 

[ihbsbA]

All of you have installed Yahoo weather? Or is it pre installed?

Sent from my Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk.