Quick GPS Fix, is it Legit?

[bawoo]

Hey Everyone,

I know that there is a thread for the other Galaxy S phones (Vibrant and Captivate) where this GPS fix supposedly works..

http://www.androidcentral.com/quick-fix-gps-issues-your-new-samsung-galaxy-s-series-phone

Just wanted to know if any Fascinators have tried this method and succeeded..


There is also a youtube vid that explains it, but not sure...one comment said it didn't work..

YouTube - How To Fix GPS Problem on Galaxy S Phones

 

[namebrandon]

Why don't you roll your sleeves up and give it a try?

 

[bawoo]

Why don't you roll your sleeves up and give it a try?

I would...IF i had a fascinate..lol..I'm not yet in the Android Fascinate family, BUT I have been faithfully following all of ya'll hard work and I'm leaning towards getting mines next week!

I read alot of the comments for the thread I included in my original post and many said it didn't work..

 

[PJnc284]

no it doesn't work because that code doesn't get you anywhere on the Fascinate.

 

[namebrandon]

I would...IF i had a fascinate..lol..I'm not yet in the Android Fascinate family, BUT I have been faithfully following all of ya'll hard work and I'm leaning towards getting mines next week!

I read alot of the comments for the thread I included in my original post and many said it didn't work..

That makes sense then! And to re-confirm, it (the dialing code) does not work.

 

[bawoo]

I guess than you could close this thread, right? No point in it being up...lol

thanks again guys

 

[j32driver]

Let me chime in about the GPS. I haven't done anything to tweak mine. I leave it on all the time and let the applications turn it on and off as needed. I've never waited more than 5 seconds for a lock, and my typical accuracy is about 6 feet. I don't think anyone could ask for better.

 

[DougFNJ]

Let me chime in about the GPS. I haven't done anything to tweak mine. I leave it on all the time and let the applications turn it on and off as needed. I've never waited more than 5 seconds for a lock, and my typical accuracy is about 6 feet. I don't think anyone could ask for better.

Do you find that this sacrifices battery life significantly? Also the first time you set it up, did it start out locking slowly?

 

[j32driver]

I can't tell you whether this will change your battery life or not. I've operated it this way since day one. What I can tell you is that with light to moderate use, I'll still have about 30% battery left when I go to bed.

The 1st time I fired up the GPS I got a lock in under 60 seconds, but the accuracy was only about 30 yards. Ever since then, it locks on in about 5 seconds and settles down with an accuracy of 2 yards. I use "My Tracks" do log walks and bike rides. The accuracy is good enough to tell what side of the street I'm on, or whether I'm on a sidewalk or not.

Yesterday, I disabled the GPS toggle because I was going flying... and flight mode didn't disable it. When I turned it back on this morning to go for a bike ride, it did take about 5 minutes before "My Tracks" started recording my trail. That caught me by surprise... its the 1st time I've ever had any significant delay.

 

[Destination Moon]

Mine has always taken 1 to 10 minutes to establish a lock. I leave the GPS turned on always. I just wrote to VZ telling them this is unacceptable and needs to be fixed. I encourage everyone reading this to do the same. We need to make them aware this is a major problem. For me its the Achilles heel on the Fascinate.

 

[bawoo]

I recently got my Fascinate (9/18) and I used navigation via Google Maps on the following day (Sunday). It took a good 5 minutes before it actually got a lock on to where I needed to go, but it's accuracy was pretty good...almost spot on..(then again, it could've been because I knew where I was going, once I was almost there)

I haven't tried the fix because of what the other guys wrote about the code not doing anything..

I leave my GPS off all the time, unless I want to use it. I think in Settings I have the Google Maps GPS checked and NOT the Standalone GPS

 

[Cory Streater]

Enabling GPS in settings is just a toggle that allows apps to use the GPS when needed. If there's no satellite icon in your notification panel, you aren't using GPS and no battery drain is occurring.

 

[boomerbubba]

no it doesn't work because that code doesn't get you anywhere on the Fascinate.

But some similar method might.

What that secret dialer code does on the original Vibrant and Captivate models is to open a hidden app called LbsTestMode. On the new Sprint Epic, there is a similar app called GpsSetup invoked by a slightly different dialer code.

Besides the dialer codes, there are other methods to run these hidden apps by using shortcuts from third-party launchers such as LauncherPro. But to do that you need to know the name of the app.

If someone with a rooted Fascinate, or access to a Fascinate system dump, would look to see if there is an app file called LbsTestMode.apk or GpsSetup.apk, that would be step forward.

On the other Galaxy S variants, it is such a hidden app that controls the details of the GPS configuration, including whether aGPS is enabled. Fascinate owners don't even know whether it is enabled by default, how to toggle it, and other related technical facts.

What the so-called "fix" in the OP really did on those other phones was basically to enable aGPS in MS Based mode. That was a good idea, but not complete solution. It did not solve all the GPS problems because some of those required remedial programming by Samsung and Broadcom.

 

[egg_head]

There is a GPSsetup.apk in system/app..

Just need to know the dialing code now.

[tapatalk on android]

 

[boomerbubba]

There is a GPSsetup.apk in system/app..

Just need to know the dialing code now.

Thanks! Interesting that GpsSetup is the app used on the Epic and Fascinate. Maybe that's because they came later, or maybe it's because they are CDMA phones and the earlier Galaxy S variants are GSM.

In any case, I don't think it is necessary to have the dialer code. The app can be run by setting up a shortcut in LauncherPro, as this user taught me running LbsTestMode on his Vibrant running a leaked Samsung ROM. I'm advised by another user that the ADW launcher can do something similar. This is a generalized feature of these third-party launchers.

If anyone gets into GpsSetup, it will be interesting to see whether the default GPS setting is for Standalone mode (as it is in Vibrants and Captivates), or for MS Based mode (as it is in the Epic).

EDIT: Or as a shot in the dark, you might just try this subtly altered dialing code, which works on the Epic: *#1472365# (Note the difference at the characters at the start and end.)

 

[thebizz]

I'm pretty sure its a fault with location services if its true that this line of phones was using another service and had to be switched last minute that would explain it. I would say they will have the lagg and gps fixed when froyo rolls around just have to give then time.

Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk

 

[egg_head]

Thanks! Interesting that GpsSetup is the app used on the Epic and Fascinate. Maybe that's because they came later, or maybe it's because they are CDMA phones and the earlier Galaxy S variants are GSM.

In any case, I don't think it is necessary to have the dialer code. The app can be run by setting up a shortcut in LauncherPro, as this user taught me running LbsTestMode on his Vibrant running a leaked Samsung ROM. I'm advised by another user that the ADW launcher can do something similar. This is a generalized feature of these third-party launchers.

If anyone gets into GpsSetup, it will be interesting to see whether the default GPS setting is for Standalone mode (as it is in Vibrants and Captivates), or for MS Based mode (as it is in the Epic).

EDIT: Or as a shot in the dark, you might just try this subtly altered dialing code, which works on the Epic: *#1472365# (Note the difference at the characters at the start and end.)

I tried *#1472365# and a million other combinations just trying to get lucky. Nothing works.

I use ADWLauncher and I'm trying to figure out how to launch this .apk.


[tapatalk on android]

 

[texmex999]

If anyone gets into GpsSetup, it will be interesting to see whether the default GPS setting is for Standalone mode (as it is in Vibrants and Captivates), or for MS Based mode (as it is in the Epic).

Ok, so I used a LP Activities Shortcut to get into GpsSetup. Default mode is "MSBased". SUPL Address is "supl.google.com:7276". So it would appear that the "fix" is already applied by default on the Fascinate...

 

[egg_head]

Ok, so I used a LP Activities Shortcut to get into GpsSetup. Default mode is "MSBased". SUPL Address is "supl.google.com:7276". So it would appear that the "fix" is already applied by default on the Fascinate...

Yeah, I just did this too and posted some screenshots in a new thread.
In hindsight I should've just put them in here.

 

[emptycube]

Ok, so I used a LP Activities Shortcut to get into GpsSetup. Default mode is "MSBased". SUPL Address is "supl.google.com:7276". So it would appear that the "fix" is already applied by default on the Fascinate...

My Fascinate (purchased 9/10/10) already had those settings as well. But I wasn't experiencing the uber long lags some others were (my first phone w/ GPS so nothing to compare to).