Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Gps problem

[Rohan Pujari]

Hi

Its been two week since I bought my Note 4. Faced immense problems with the GPS like everyone else here. Removed the SD cards, cleared cache, used high precison etc but nothing seemed to help.

Took the phone to the authorized service centre where they reset the flash memory, but even that did not help.

As a last ditch effort, replaced my old sim.Finally the GPS has gotten more stable after this and is showing a higher number of fixed connections with satellites (at least five using the GPS status app, compared to one or zero before).

Will be a keeping a close eye if this sustains. Keeping fingers crossed

 

[hopefulfarm]

Yesterday I went in to Google Play and downloaded GPS Status & Toolbox. Seemed to have good reviews. Had some interesting notes from the developer on known bugs. I thought what the heck, give it a try.

I like that it offers the ability to download A-GPS data and you can select how often you want that information downloaded. I do this daily with my Polar GPS watch. Makes connecting to GPS faster. (in theory).

Had a group ride (cycling) last night so that was the perfect opportunity to try it out. My Note 4 has failed the last 3 runs and rides ("GPS signal lost"). It's a running joke with my running and cycling friends.

I had fiddled with it and had it set to download/update the A-GPS data within a 6 hour window. I also checked to keep the GPS running even when the device screen is off. That seemed important (DUH!). Turned off pitch, leveling tool, etc. Basically went through the settings menu.

Was waiting for the others and playing with this and realized I was facing North and the phone said i was facing south. Hmm. Nicely, there is a function in this app to calibrate your phone. Phone isn't going to lock to satellites when it has no idea which was is north or south! Went through that very easily and then the ride started.

My ride was marked as 18.74 miles on my Polar GPS, and the Note 4 said 18.64. I will take it! I never once heard "GPS signal lost." The detailed mapping on the N4 showed the few places where it briefly lost me during the ride but otherwise things were VERY accurate.

This morning I noticed once again my phone didn't know which was was north or south. I quickly and easily calibrated it through this app. I will continue to use the app if it's fixing my GPS issues! Once could be a lucky ride, for sure. I have another ride tonight to test it.

No wonder the Note 4 can't keep a satellite connection if it has no idea which way is north or south!

 

[Alexander Andreev]

No wonder the Note 4 can't keep a satellite connection if it has no idea which way is north or south!

While it seems that compass calibration as well as other measures to make life easier for GPS process help, I don't think it is the solution, it just helps things a bit. A friend got some considerable improvement by selecting "no background processes" in developers settings. GPS seems more stable at cost of not being able to switch between apps.

However I found all these things do not fix the cause of the problem - mysterious loss of GPS fix even in ideal conditions. They help to regain it quickly so you have brief gaps in your track and not whole segments missing but it still loses fix for no apparent reason. And the very same phone used to track my route during bus trip without any single gap!

Basically GPS doesn't need compass at all to work, there are lots of GPS trackers with no compass sensors built-in and they work fine.

Myself I made it usable for navigation by doing the following:
1.) full factory reset
2.) resetting gps via service mode (l#post4635987 here)
3.) using apps like GPS Toolbox to refresh AGPS data and recalibrating my compass every now and then

Every step of the above seemed to help the situation making GPS more usable for navigation but it still loses fix (and little pieces of track) every now and then. It used to be excellent.

By the way if your compass if waaay off, check for anything magnetic nearby. These fancy cases with magnetic latch can really confuse it.

 

[Yemil Velez1]

I'm having the same issue. Must be a trend.

 

[natehoy]

As a follow-up on this, it's been about four weeks since I did the GPS NV reload from the service menu. I would hardly call my Note 4 "perfect", but it's "better".

It slowly started getting worse about 2 weeks ago, so I did the NV reload again, and it improved again.

It's annoying to have to do that every couple of weeks, but I have simply done that and then while it is rebooting I've cleared the cache partition.

I'm hoping an actual software fix is available when AT&T gets 5.1

 

[Tomster88]

My note4 gps is acting weird, I'm on a trip and for some reason tells me "gps connection lost" I didn't have that problem with my LG G3, any way to fix this Gps issue?
Do you have the same problem?

I had the same problem. I was under warrenty so at & t replaced my phone but now it's fine. But my GPS was def defective on my original Note 4. It's yours still under the year warrenty?

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[jamesm79]

Earlier this month, I was in Europe (Paris and Italy) and I was constantly having problems with my GPS. My note 4 couldn't get a location lock for the life of it. As such, I was having issues checking into places on Yelp/Facebook, looking up restaurants on Yelp/TripAdvisor and various apps. I've tried fixing it with apps, such as: FasterGPS and GPS Status, but nothing seems to work. If anyone has a permanent fix, please do share. Thanks in advance!

 

[Sammuel1973]

If all other options fail, I suggest getting a free replacement from your carrier before the 1 year warranty runs out. I did with TMobile, no questions ask.

 

[Indy Drummer]

I know this is an old thread, but THANK YOU. Your ordeal was much like mine. Tonight, I found your thread and tried the sim idea. It worked! You are a life saver.

 

[bgbagz]

If it is still under warranty.. T mobile will switch it out.... I had the same problem. When I updated to lollipop.... When. I recieved the new phone it worked fine...

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

 

[Sammuel1973]

If it is still under warranty.. T mobile will switch it out.... I had the same problem. When I updated to lollipop.... When. I recieved the new phone it worked fine...

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

And just to add, ask for the 5.1.1 android version, not the old 5.0 version. It usually comes in a brand new box, insist on not getting a used or refurbished one. The GPS on my brand new replacement 5.1.1 works flawlessly, the Location in my status bar locks immediately.

Here's a trick to make TMobile give what you want. Always tell them you want to cancel your account on the auto menu, they will transfer you to an Account Specialist or Loyalty Department. Any of these issues they will honor: GPS, camera focus, or system lag (these are legit reasons). Demand for free overnight delivery due to inconvenience.

 

[bobodobo]

(Sorry if this was mentioned in a previous post in this thread, but I haven't read every page...)

I haven't had any GPS problems on my Note 4 but it's only a few months old. HOWEVER ... on my Note 3 I had GPS problems and the fix was hardware not software or settings. Take off the back cover and tighten all the tiny screws that hold the phone's circuit board to the frame. The frame acts as a GPS antenna and the connection between the board and frame is made via a spring contact that may become flakey over time, particularly if you get a little dirt or sweat inside your phone. Tightening those screws may re-establish that contact. I've had to do that several times on the Note 3 and each time it made the Note 3's GPS go instantly from zero to hero.

When you removed the back cover and pulled the SIM card (which, let's face it, has nothing to do with GPS), you may have tweaked the contact just enough to make it work again.

Eventually you'll have to remove those tiny screws entirely, pull out the circuit board and clean/bend the spring contact, which is a much trickier operation, but I haven't had to do that yet on my Note 3. You'll find a number of threads about doing this operation on this site and others, just Google "Samsung Note 3 GPS Antenna Fix" or something like that.

 

[YourBuddy2]

I solved this problem on my Note 4 after months of trying nearly everything. The solution is below, but first let me show you what happened and what I tried:

-I had Kit Kat on my ATT Note 4 and no GPS Issues
-I upgraded to Lollipop and then eventually started to notice GPS issues, but not right away
-I tried all of these in various permutations with some success, but eventually the problem came back:
--Rebooting
--Deleting cache partition
--Removing SD card
--Removing SIM

Using GPS Status (free from Chartcross Limited), I would get 0 for satellites 'In Use' and all bars were at 0 signal strength.

I thought either to exchange my phone, but others have tried that to no avail, so I thought it might be Lollipop, but my issues started some time after the upgrade.

Finally, I came across a suggestion to tighten the screws of the phone, but I did it a bit differently because the screws were already tight. Here's what I did to fix it:

-Power off
-Remove back cover
-Remove battery
-Remove SIM
-Remove SD card
-Remove all screws
-Hold top of phone in left-hand and bottom of phone in right-hand and counter-rotate hands in a wringing motion to gently flex the phone. Not too much, but just enough to get things moving slightly. Do this a few times.
-Replace SD card
-Replace SIM
-Place phone face down on a clean soft surface and gently press down with thumbs on every surface except the SIM, SD and battery area. Use firm pressure, but don't overdo it - just enough to reseat whatever is underneath. Also do this on the exposed areas where the metal contacts show through plastic cutouts.
-Gently press down on the SIM and SD areas, but do not crush the metal covers - just enough pressure to flex the metal without bending them, and you will hear the SIM contacts make a few sounds - this is ok.
-Replace all screws
-Replace battery
-Replace cover
-Power on the phone
-If you don't already have GPS Test from Chartcross Limited, install it (you can use any GPS app you like, but this one is free and will show you the signal strengths).
-Run GPS Test and wait for a GPS FIX. You should see the satellites on a bar chart with colors, which should be at least yellow or green. Then the status should change to 3D Fix.

Ever since I did this, Google Maps now works (as opposed to location indicator blinking all or most of the time and chewing through my battery). I can drive again!

 

[malteze]

Hello I followed the directions until here where I did not see these options can you assist?:

From SERVICE MODE menu
[2] UE SETTING & INFO
[1] SETTING
[2] SYSTEM
[3] NV REBUILD
[1] PROTOCOL, GPS, IMS NV

Did this actually work for anyone else??

Hello so let me tell my GPS love and hate story. I bought the phone brand new from TMobile when it was a KitKat phone. I never actually had a problem until my battery was starting to go sour this year. I have a PNY 64 GB SD Card inserted and had this ever since I bought the phone. I bought this off Newegg so it was brand new. The SD Card has yet to fail me. Once I upgraded to Lollipop it still was working. However a few months ago my battery started to really go sour, I thought at first the GPS was having issues with Wifi while I was out and about but I even turned Wifi off and I also used both Waze and Google Maps. Many times it was saying GPS signal lost and did not work at all. My wife has an iPhone 5 and her GPS worked flawlessly next to me so I do not think its an issue with the phone not by the window or whatsoever. Tmobile told me once I received the new battery to factory reset the phone. I did that and bam GPS worked!!

Fast Forward to about a week ago, GPS started to give me no lock on location or just give me wrong locations and such. I uninstalled google maps and then reinstalled, that did not work. My Waze also has not worked and said No GPS location. I have High Accuracy mode on, Power Saving mode, and have the same SD card and a brand new battery. Could it be an issue with google maps alone? I have no GPS tracking app but I am about to try it. Not sure if my warranty expires at the end of the month or maybe just already. Tmobile also said if they switch out my device they cannot guarantee a new one but maybe a used or refurbished one. Samsung just wants me to send my phone in but this is also my work phone so it really sucks.

 

[russk2]

I cleared the cached data by going to settings, select storage, select cached data. This will clear all app caches. Before I had terrible gps problems, now no problems at all.

Posted via the Android Central App

Months later this helped me. I'm on a recent slimrom with a Note 4. I went into TWRP advanced wipe and cleared cache. GPS problems went away.

 

[PainFX]

i may have a solution for some of you. try downloading gps locker and run google maps or waze.

 

[shaglioni]

Ok, for an update on a t-mobile Note 4. I have a T-Mobile Note 4 running 5.1.1. I've tried many methods to fix this GPS lock issue.

- From deleting cache and data for the maps app
- Taking off the phone cover and even took off all the screws and released the upper left hook shape plastic piece in the area of where the GPS hardware would be located and when removed you'll see two bronze colored prongs that I decided to curve/bend upwards in case the contact it was needing to make on that plastic piece wasn't the best. Then screwed in all screws tightly again.
- Going into the boot menu and wiping cache that way.
- Installing a couple of GPS fix apps from the playstore.
- Pushing, bending, squeezing all sides and internals pieces.
- Removing the micro sd card, I didn't bother with the sim card, and putting it back in.
- Thee ONLY method that worked for me was to install an app from the playstore called "TopNTP 1.1". I've read posts where they say the phone needs to be rooted. Well, my phone is NOT rooted and once installed and you configure the setup like I will mention, you click install, I then just wanted to reboot after the install of the config file, I had GPS lock in a matter of seconds. So the configuration I used once the app was installed: I'll list the setup that will represent the letter "Z", when making these configuration changes to have installed. "North America", "United States", "Generic", "Tmobile". Then clicked on "Install" from the bottom of the screen. And after that is when I rebooted just for my own personal preference.

There are a couple of other methods I have not tried but the last method, worked like a charm and like I stated, my phone is not rooted and my GPS had not worked prior to the install of the configuration change that is made from that "TopNTP 1.1" app from the playstore.

Good luck to all and hope that method will work for others like it has for my phone.

 

[coolguy78240]

I notice that my friends note will do that he is on sprint. I'm on att and never have that issue. Are you sure it's not a carrier problem?

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Alexander Andreev]

shaglioni, please describe how you opened that plastic cover in top left?

Can't figure it out myself and I have strong belief my GPS contacts are flaky. Signal strength just floats, especially when temperatures change. It was totally unusable in winter outdoors.

 

[cliffnoter2]

Using the app "GPS Status", i was able to find a sweet spot in my vehicle where the GPS radio was not getting interference.
Turned out, the GPS in my Dash cam was steeping on the GPS in my phone.

When holding my phone directly under my Dash Cam, "GPS Status" locked onto ZERO satellites
When placed in the center of my dashboard (my preferred location) (14" under the dash cam) it got 2 to 5 locks.
When moved to the left side of the steering wheel, by the side window, it get 11-15 locks

Another possable issue is your battery