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Hi everyone. Per the advice of others, I decided to make the leap and go with the Galaxy. The results have been......mixed. The main gripe is with what follows, which should seriously make those of you who haven't bought one yet, rethink about your decision. Also, this seems to be a common problem. I posted my gripe on Android forum, so I'm just copy the post:
"Hey guys. So, I just picked up the G2 and its cool for the most part but i have a pretty big problem. I live in japan, so I'm forced to ride the trains a lot. This means going under lots of underground tunnels. This is where the problem lies. Whenever I go under a tunnel and ,ofcourse lose 3g reception, when I come out and 3G reception comes back, my download connection doesn't. In other words, even though I have a 3g signal again, NOTHING WORKS. Email, browsing, anything requiring a connection stops working, just times out. In fact, under the 3G bar at the top of the screen, I can notice that the down arrow (which I assume means downstream) doesnt light up at all. The only way to get data working again is to reset the 3g connection. So, basically, everytime I lose reception and then get it back (which is about every minute or so on the train!) , I'm forced to reset the connection. This is such a pain in the *** I can't even begin to tell you..."
That posts sums it up. If you go here: h-t-t-p://androidforums.c-o-m/samsung-galaxy-s2/361794-3g-doesnt-work-after-regaining-signal.h-t-m-l
you will see other people with the same problem. Considering some of us go through tunnels every minute or so in Tokyo, having to reset the phone everytime after losing reception is a definite dealbreaker. Samsung confirmed that it was just "just part of the phone and maybe they'll have a fix in the future.
Do you guys know of ANY fix for this?
Surely I'm not alone in this issue? I've read others are experiencing the same...
Do you guys understand the problem? Should I film it or something to make it easier to understand?
How did u manage to set ur SGS2 to only using 3G??
mix1987 said:
How did u manage to set ur SGS2 to only using 3G??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure what you mean...
If you're asking how to set the Galaxy for "3G Only" mode, just go to "Settings", "Wireless and Network", "Mobile Networks", and "Network Mode" and then set it for how you like.
Doesn't help my problem though...
Hi, you are not alone. I have this problem all the time as I commute too. I ride the Bart train system in the San Francisco bay area, which also goes in and out of underground tunnels, and I often have trouble regaining signal coming out of the tunnel. The tell-tale sign is the blinking or lit "up arrow" in the 3G icon in the status bar, but the "down arrow" doesn't light up. The data connection seems to just hang.
However, I do not believe this is a Samsung specific issue; I have had this problem with every single Android handset I've used.
On the Galaxy S2 however, I found out disabling fast dormancy seems to lessen this issue. That isn't to say it doesn't happen ever again...just doesn't seem to occur as often. I am able to make this assessment because I use the di.fm application on my phone during my entire commute, and after awhile I become keen to when/where my stream drops and when it resumes regularly. With fast dormancy off, I notice that my stream has a significantly higher uptime.
I don't know the science behind it, but I suggest giving it a shot. Dial *#*#9900#*#* on your phone and hit the button to disable fast dormancy. This is suppose to negatively impact battery life, but I haven't really noticed a difference to be honest.
Not even god could solve this problem. I'm sure if he did come up with a fix, samsung would give him another equally anoying problem
Yes this is the notorious "packet data hanging" issue with 3g/4g.
My SGS2 suffers from it but not all the time I go underground or in tunnels.
I think some people reported disabling fast dormancy helps, and some reported flashing back the original KE2 modem file helps.
Have a look here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1097612
your best bet is to download anycut and place a shortcut on your homescreen to the "Phone Info" activity. You can easily turn off your cell radio and turn it back on from there, without having to root your phone.
I believe this problem affects every phone, but some users are more prone to notice it than others due to their usage habits. It happens on E/3G/H/+. And in all cases, if you give it enough time, it will fix itself every time. You can visibly see this by keeping an eye on your phone's data symbol whenever you experience this problem. You will see it disappear for a second, then reappear and your data connection will resume.
I believe this is a problem with the phone not realizing that it is out of range of a connection point, and continues to try to negotiate with it. The reason some people do not seem to be affected by this problem is because even though someone is standing in the same spot, they may be connected to different nodes. You can check these out in the Phone Info screen shortcut created with anycut--note the CIDs whenever your data hangs. I have noted several problematic CIDs I encounter regularly on my commute route. CIDs seem to be location based, and while my data doesn't necessarily hang each time I connect with a "problematic" CID, whenever it does hang in a certain geographical area, it is connected to a problematic CID in that area. The point is that even a problematic node will not always cause your data to hang, but when your data hangs, it will always be the same CIDs.
That is what makes this so aggravating. It is almost impossible to reproduce this problem at will. Which means there just isn't a way for us to gauge the effectiveness of any "fix". There is no way to establish a control group because we cannot force our phone to connect to certain nodes; it switches on its own.
I know others are reporting success with the update but mine seems to not work.
Is there any hope or is mine just bad?
It does not lock onto anything and barely sees 1 satellite some of the time.
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
mmoran27 said:
I know others are reporting success with the update but mine seems to not work.
Is there any hope or is mine just bad?
It does not lock onto anything and barely sees 1 satellite some of the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here.
Asus didn't say, "Here's an update to fix all GPS issues."
No need to freak out - everything is a work in progress.
Variables in play
Definitely NOT an even playing field. Even with margin of error, and huge differences in test conditions, I am of the belief that some GPS setups are better (or worse) than others. People reporting poor indoor performance made me envious, as I had NO indoor performance and could barely see satellites outdoors. This update stepped my GPS up substantially, I even got loc indoors (for about 6 seconds, LOL!)
My gut tells me they are NOT going to get it to a workable level, there is just too much to overcome, with the back design, but I do commend Asus for getting in there and giving it the old school try.
Got an external, bluetooth receiver, about 5" x 2" x.5" and it works well. I will probably rely on that, unless Asus pulls off a miracle of engineering.
After all they are "Inspiring Innovation" and "Persistent Perfection" whatEVER that is supposed to mean, LOL!
I have an Asus Motherboard that says the following on the box:
Rock Solid - Heart Touching
uh.. Okeeey then. Thanks for those words of wisdom and inspiration, Asus!
I have never recieved one Satellite hit on my Prime. Everything else appears fine, the WiFi appears fine.
However, I have tried GPSFix, GPSTest and I have never seen one satellite. My last prime I took back for Serial Number Unknown showed me 2 satellites for like 5 seconds and I never saw any on it either.
So I am doing something wrong, or my GPS was Dead on Arrival.
When I first got my Prime, GPS did not work.
The GPS firmware update that came for my Prime when it was still running Honeycomb made a huge difference. I was getting a fix on 10-12 satellites (though it took a couple of minutes).
After the ICS update, my GPS did not work again. The GPS firmware update today was no help ... I'm still getting nothing. I can only guess that there may be different GPS hardware models for the Primes. Hopefully, Asus can find a way to get us the correct firmware update for our particular model. I know that mine is fixable because it was fixed once before.
Frankly, I haven't noticed any improvements after last night's update.
I don't understand why they wont let us Just send it on and they change the backing for us
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
This is still the only issue with my Prime... even after the 1/18 firmware updates, still no GPS lock... It has never found or locked onto a single satellite.
I wonder if I should have done a hard reset after the latest firmware update. I did reboot all services/ tasks, but it didn't help.
Yeah, same here. Not a single lock before and after.
It's clearly a good sport in prime sections to open constantly new threads about the same subjects...
When you look really, you can close at least half of all threads!
Guys please! Stop opening threads for things already written many times! And especially when xda can't help you. I'd your GPS doesn't work... it doesn't work, see with Asus.
I got my dock last night and BOOM! GPS works like a champ. Take it off the dock and GPS dumps out. This gives me hope. Is it software or hardware?
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using xda premium
Yeah same here. I do seem to remember GPS working shortly after I got it, but not since I went to ICS. Update didn't do anything. Using GPS status app, i don't even get a fix on a single sat. Wifi is another issue all together >_<
I went outside today after trying the fix. I could see 15 satellites and locked on to 10. I have one of the Australian primes but i don'tknow if that makes a difference.
My GPS works - not!
I guess I'm one of the luckiest Prime owner. After the firmware update I managed to get my GPS show something. It is far from perfect - it lag fetching the satellites reception and when it does it might just disappear at once all of a sudden.
I found that the best is out of town. in-town the disruptions is probably too much for it and the GPS going crazy and not-accurately. Out of town it had smooth reception and the GPS stayed connected for quite a while, like GPS should work.
all in all this tablet doesn't have a decent working GPS. i can't believe it can be fixed. it is the case and there is nothing to do.
first time I buy something of a first generation and it looks like I'm screwed!
Ok, Just unboxed my TP from Office Depot today. Google Maps seems to find me in my house within 20 meters. However, GPS Test is no dice with finding a single GPS. Is Google Maps doing something different. Im still on Honeycomb, want to see what HC does prior to updating to ICS. Anybody else experienced this.
GPS fix did fix my GPS but it screwed up my wifi. Range got reduced a lot.
gps & wifi fix that works
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgx2Kpfi-Ps
i noticed on my dinc4 that sometimes it fails to properly recognize that I'm out of wifi range or that i'm near another AP. For instance, I am home and everything works fine, i'm on let's say "HOME" at full signal.
I go to work, when I'm at work, it shows that i'm still connected to "HOME" at like 1-2 bars instead of 5 and that "WORK" is out of range.
I turn off wifi and turn it back on.
I now see "WORK" is in range but I can't connect to it... it just goes in "connecting" and stays there. If I reboot the phone, all is well and I am on the "WORK" network.
This does not happen every single time but more times than not. Anyone else experience this? Any general fixes to this kind of issue? Currently my wifi is set to never sleep. Performance mode is off.
I used to have this sort of problem with my OG motorola Droid but I always thought that phone had buggy wifi...
Thanks.
It's funny you mention this. I just noticed this behavior this morning on my way to work. The status bar stayed on wifi when it should have switched to 4g. Although my data worked, so it knew it was on 4g but that status bar never reflected the change. This isn't identical to your issue as you are talking about wifi to wifi switching...but I think the notification on the status bar is in the same ballpark.
so am I the only one with this issue?? no one else is having wifi weirdness?
FiddlerMD said:
so am I the only one with this issue?? no one else is having wifi weirdness?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. WiFi is fine for me.
So, I was going to post a separate thread about my experience, which is my new Dinc4 has been rebooting constantly since i first got it.
but i've been suspecting that it has something to do with either the Play Store, or the radio.
I haven't been experiencing the same issues with the WiFi that you're describing. But the one thing that has most consistently caused a reboot is when I either launch the Play Store or an app update notification hits, when WiFi is on, but no known networks are available. The WiFi reminder function will come up and everything freezes and then...reboot.
It's hard to say for sure whether it's tied to the radio. But that's just my hunch. Either way, I haven't tinkered with this thing at all. The most I've done is side-installed Swype. But then I did a factory reset and still the same issue. So this shouldn't be happening.
Heading to the Verizon store now to (hopefully) swap it out. I'll add updates if I have them.
fenster77 said:
So, I was going to post a separate thread about my experience, which is my new Dinc4 has been rebooting constantly since i first got it.
but i've been suspecting that it has something to do with either the Play Store, or the radio.
I haven't been experiencing the same issues with the WiFi that you're describing. But the one thing that has most consistently caused a reboot is when I either launch the Play Store or an app update notification hits, when WiFi is on, but no known networks are available. The WiFi reminder function will come up and everything freezes and then...reboot.
It's hard to say for sure whether it's tied to the radio. But that's just my hunch. Either way, I haven't tinkered with this thing at all. The most I've done is side-installed Swype. But then I did a factory reset and still the same issue. So this shouldn't be happening.
Heading to the Verizon store now to (hopefully) swap it out. I'll add updates if I have them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are unsuccessful in getting a replacement or have the same problem with your replacement, the menu that pops up showing you available WiFi networks before you open an internet-based app (Play Store, browser, etc.) can be disabled in Settings > WiFi > Advanced in menu > "Notify me". You could see if that resolves your reboot. (Note that this won't remove your "WiFI Off" notification in the notification bar, it will just stop that screen from popping up when you launch an app.)
fenster77 said:
So, I was going to post a separate thread about my experience, which is my new Dinc4 has been rebooting constantly since i first got it.
but i've been suspecting that it has something to do with either the Play Store, or the radio.
I haven't been experiencing the same issues with the WiFi that you're describing. But the one thing that has most consistently caused a reboot is when I either launch the Play Store or an app update notification hits, when WiFi is on, but no known networks are available. The WiFi reminder function will come up and everything freezes and then...reboot.
It's hard to say for sure whether it's tied to the radio. But that's just my hunch. Either way, I haven't tinkered with this thing at all. The most I've done is side-installed Swype. But then I did a factory reset and still the same issue. So this shouldn't be happening.
Heading to the Verizon store now to (hopefully) swap it out. I'll add updates if I have them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah your issues sounds significantly different.. i'd like to see if others have the same wifi issues as I do - yours is more serious it seems
polarimetric said:
If you are unsuccessful in getting a replacement or have the same problem with your replacement, the menu that pops up showing you available WiFi networks before you open an internet-based app (Play Store, browser, etc.) can be disabled in Settings > WiFi > Advanced in menu > "Notify me". You could see if that resolves your reboot. (Note that this won't remove your "WiFI Off" notification in the notification bar, it will just stop that screen from popping up when you launch an app.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, sorry...forgot to mention that I had turned that off and was still experiencing the issue in different places, but it still felt radio-related.
At any rate, I just got back from the Verizon store with a new Dinc4. It was actually the most pleasant experience with them ever. I was trying to explain all of the above, but halfway thru, the guy was politely giving me the nod and saying, "Yeah...let's just swap it out."
So far so good. I'll report back if that changes.
FiddlerMD said:
yeah your issues sounds significantly different.. i'd like to see if others have the same wifi issues as I do - yours is more serious it seems
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Click to collapse
I have the same wifi issue. I try to shut it off now when I leave the house to avoid data drops. I'm on stock, unlocked.
Just FYI...
Haven't experienced the problem on this replacement Dinc4 yet. I've had the odd crash while doing 10 things at one. And the other day, some unknown process was running like crazy in the background, making the phone run super hot and unable to hold its charge even while plugged in. Had to manually restart.
But otherwise, it's fine. My original one must have really just been a lemon.
I just got my DINC 4G today and have been having nothing but problems with wifi. It disconnects every few minutes from 3 different locations which are rock solid on my DINC 2, Kindle Fire and friend's DROID RAZR. Everything else with this phone is outstanding!
Sent from my ADR6410LVW using xda app-developers app
sleepit said:
I just got my DINC 4G today and have been having nothing but problems with wifi. It disconnects every few minutes from 3 different locations which are rock solid on my DINC 2, Kindle Fire and friend's DROID RAZR. Everything else with this phone is outstanding!
Sent from my ADR6410LVW using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same problem, but only on my home wifi so far. At work it stays connected. At home it'll drop off wifi, pickup 4G for a few seconds, then go back to wifi. It'll do that swap every 10 minutes or so.
My Inc2 and Xoom both never disconnect at home. Weird and annoying.
Sent from my HTC Incredible 4G
The only problem I've experienced with this phone's Wi-Fi is that despite setting "Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep" to "Always," the phone does not seem to follow that advice. I often turn the phone's screen on after I haven't used the device for a while to see the Wi-Fi Off indicator in the menubar. It briefly connects to 3G/4G and then soon after reconnects to my home Wi-Fi (all in all taking about 2 seconds to make the adjustment). It's strange behavior, but it's not really a problem for me--only difference I've seen it make is that some push notifications that rely on a data connection are not pushed to my phone until the screen is turned on.
That being said, I have experienced no lapses in Wi-Fi while actively using the device, and Wi-Fi toggling itself off when the network is out of range has happened without a hitch.
I think it's primarily a radio problem but I think it may be intentional. The radio on this phone seems to be programmed to favor 3G where 3G signals are significantly stronger than 4G (even if the 4G signal is flawless and 3 bars at minimum), sleep aggressively when the screen is off, and latch on to Wi-Fi networks as quickly as possible and stay with them even when signal is spotty. Probably helps battery life but the cost is a less smooth data experience.
polarimetric said:
The only problem I've experienced with this phone's Wi-Fi is that despite setting "Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep" to "Always," the phone does not seem to follow that advice. I often turn the phone's screen on after I haven't used the device for a while to see the Wi-Fi Off indicator in the menubar. It briefly connects to 3G/4G and then soon after reconnects to my home Wi-Fi (all in all taking about 2 seconds to make the adjustment). It's strange behavior, but it's not really a problem for me--only difference I've seen it make is that some push notifications that rely on a data connection are not pushed to my phone until the screen is turned on.
That being said, I have experienced no lapses in Wi-Fi while actively using the device, and Wi-Fi toggling itself off when the network is out of range has happened without a hitch.
I think it's primarily a radio problem but I think it may be intentional. The radio on this phone seems to be programmed to favor 3G where 3G signals are significantly stronger than 4G (even if the 4G signal is flawless and 3 bars at minimum), sleep aggressively when the screen is off, and latch on to Wi-Fi networks as quickly as possible and stay with them even when signal is spotty. Probably helps battery life but the cost is a less smooth data experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would say what you just wrote sums my experience with the WiFi up perfectly thus far. Seems to be not following the advice of keeping wifi on during sleep. I, too, am wondering if I always have connection while it's asleep, and am not getting push notifications sometimes (maybe that's why my battery life is so good!!)
dodgerinNH said:
I would say what you just wrote sums my experience with the WiFi up perfectly thus far. Seems to be not following the advice of keeping wifi on during sleep. I, too, am wondering if I always have connection while it's asleep, and am not getting push notifications sometimes (maybe that's why my battery life is so good!!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same delayed push notification while on wifi issue as well, and it is driving me crazy. I *think* that this is some half baked battery saving "feature" in Sense 4. It needs to be able to be turned off. If HTC doesn't fix this, the Inc4G will not be my phone for long, and I will not be buying another HTC phone. Push notification means push, not whenever the screen is on. Am I supposed to keep turning the screen on to check for emails? Defeats the purposes of saving battery life, if you ask me......
hilmar2k said:
I have the same delayed push notification while on wifi issue as well, and it is driving me crazy. I *think* that this is some half baked battery saving "feature" in Sense 4. It needs to be able to be turned off. If HTC doesn't fix this, the Inc4G will not be my phone for long, and I will not be buying another HTC phone. Push notification means push, not whenever the screen is on. Am I supposed to keep turning the screen on to check for emails? Defeats the purposes of saving battery life, if you ask me......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. That's the only wifi problems I've had and I'd *love* to get a fix for it. I mean, what is the "don't turn wifi off when asleep" option doing if this is still the behavior we're seeing?
Platypus222 said:
Same here. That's the only wifi problems I've had and I'd *love* to get a fix for it. I mean, what is the "don't turn wifi off when asleep" option doing if this is still the behavior we're seeing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Contact HTC and complain. If enough of us do that, maybe they'll fix it. I emailed them and got this response:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me at HTC.
We appreciate the feedback on the Droid Incredible 4G and I will forward this information off to our Research & Development team to have this looked into. All feedback and information from our customers is always reviewed and are used to improve our devices. If you have any further feedback on the device, please feel free to provide us with it so we can continue to improve user experience.
hilmar2k said:
Contact HTC and complain. If enough of us do that, maybe they'll fix it. I emailed them and got this response:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me at HTC.
We appreciate the feedback on the Droid Incredible 4G and I will forward this information off to our Research & Development team to have this looked into. All feedback and information from our customers is always reviewed and are used to improve our devices. If you have any further feedback on the device, please feel free to provide us with it so we can continue to improve user experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did the same. We'll see if anything comes of it. Until then...
Keep fighting the good fight!!
I have noticed something similar. If I turn off my screen while connecting to Wi-fi, it won't actually connect until I turn the screen on again. It goes through the whole process of looking to see if my access point is in range, then attempts to connect, then obtains an IP address, and then is finally connected, regardless of what step it was on when I turned off my screen while it was connecting.
htc smarty sync, htc implemented a "feature" that turns ur wifi off no matter what in between like 3am and 7am or some bs.
look it up, in the ROM Nitsuj17 and I are building we should have a tweak to turn this off..
also ive never had any issues with WiFi disconnecting, but, i also don't have mobile data on while i have WiFi on either, perhaps this could be why? if signal gets too low it switches to 4G? idk just brain storming.
Many jiayu users complain about bad or even unusable GPS, even worse than on other Mediatek devices. We all hope, it's a software issue and can be improved.
Let's collect information here. Please help by summarizing statements from other threads here and include links to the sources. Please stay on topic
General discussion about this device is here
Read a trojan warning here
Maybe I will update this first posting with the most useful information from time to time...
Software issue
I have the very strong and positive feeling, it is a software issue:
When I got my device with the 20140410 ROM, the GPS was really bad. Time to first fix was sometimes fast, sometimes it took more than 5 minutes, and accuracy was really bad most of the time. And as I could see on the map, it was much worse than reported - accuracy as can be seen i.e. in the GPS Test app was many times quite ok, like 4-7 meters, but the position on the map was 50m off, or more. Many times, the GPS continued to advance in the original direction after I stopped or changed direction. Sometimes there was some fixed offset, which stayed the same for 15 minutes.
Or I had a usable fix for a while, then I paused GPS just for a minute, and next try again took very, very long, even with a fresh AGPS download.
And all those problems under clear sky!
I tried many suggestions I found, but nothing really helped.
Then I upgraded to the 20140609-211642 ROM and first didn't notice a difference for some days (but didn't make methodic tests, and didn't use GPS much) and tried some of the suggested fixes again.
I also read about a hardware fix with some photos. I opened my back cover, just to see if my GPS antenna looked the same. I pressed the antenna down with my finger.
Then I noticed my GPS became really good! For a week I really enjoyed usable GPS and was very happy.
I thought it could be bad electric connection of the antenna to the mainboard, which was improved by pressing it down. But now I think it is not related:
After that week I got aware of the trojans in that ROM and restored a backup from before. Back to the April ROM, my GPS was immediately as bad as before! - pressing down the antenna didn't help again.
This unusable GPS annoyed me a lot last weeks and yesterday I decided to try the BORX ROM, but before I started a short test by restoring the 0609 backup where it all worked so well. I didn't have the time to really test (and I'm afraid of enabling internet - of course the 2 trojans are removed, but who knows what else is in there?). But it really looks like it is much better again! (First fix took really long without AGPS, of course, but then it was accurate, and also next tries, hours later, were fast.)
The problem is, I don't know exactly what I did, and don't have much time for experiments. So I don't know if it's just the newer ROM, or other changes. Can someone tell me what config or other files to compare between the 2 backups? I can also post them here.
Alex
My points and observations (I've tried 3-4 different 4.2.2 ROMs and 2-3 different 4.4.2 ROMs).
- GPS for me was about the same regarding its accuracy
- fix time also about the same, a few seconds up to a minute on the clear sky, a few minutes up to "give up" in the woods/buildings
- every ROM had a 1 hour difference bug between GPS reported time and the actual local time
- almost every time accuracy reported by GPS Test is very good (~4-10m)... the real one is much worse, I can confirm what Alex1a noticed. Also, what is really strange, my wife's Galaxy S4 Mini GPS Test accuracy (Snapdragon with Glonass) is significantly worse, yet there is no navigation and positioning issues
- some apps (Google Maps as example) have an arrow pointing your movement direction... this is usualy different than the real direction. Even the map is not rotated well.
I've sent a few emails to the Jiayu people I've found on some official website... but there was no response at all. I know that there is quite a strong community in Spain (Jiayu.es) and in Russia (4pda.ru). I'd also appreciate if anyone native tries to speak to these people regarding our GPS issues.
The good word is, that the GPS works I've done ~1000km over the last weekend and G4S led me to the places I needed. I've used Sygic, that in my opinion has better algorithms handling bad GPS signal. It also shows a nice line to the planned road, when the GPS signal puts you in the adjacent forrest The problem for me is, that the navigation can become frustrating, nervous and annoying. Especially when you have a lot of small and close roads/turns or you need to use it very quickly from the time you start the app.
I am trying to play ingress (a gps game) and half of the time it is unplayable. Ingress also often just quits/crashes without notice, and I think it is because it detects my gps as a fake gps for cheating
When that happened, I restart ingress immediately and sometimes it took more than 5 minutes to get a fix again, even though it worked seconds before.
With 0609 this was much better during that week.
I'm still on 20140609-211642 and GPS is really usable - much better compared to 0410, even inside a building, where 0410 could run hours without getting a fix! Please tell me what to compare between the two backups, to find out what setting makes this difference!
I am not sure, but I think I used MT GPS and faster GPS on both ROMs. Let's find out.
In the EngineeMode I saw some automated tests, and I am willing to do them with both ROMs - if someone exactly tells me how. I am too busy to find out myself...
Alex1a, could you quantify "really usable" when on 20140609-211642 ROM? How long does first fix last (in the streets), and do you have accuracy problems where GPS puts you on a nearby road by mistake?
I'm sorry I can't help more at the moment, I'm still holding off from buying this phone, but GPS is the only real issue I have with it, if I knew it would work correctly I'd get it right away, but everywhere I read problem is the same and since this is one of 2 reasons why I'm changing my current phone it's really important to me that it works fine
[EDIT 2014-Aug-06]
Here is one feedback, anyone else?
srkonus said:
Yesterday i tested GPS with the TeamForce v2 ROM and had no problems. Accurancy of 11 feet - 10 minutes later i wanted to navigate and the phone got no fix.
Navigon and GPS-Test shows nothing and it was not possible to get a fix. So i installed the TeamForce Android L ROM and for now everything seems to be okay again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LuxZg said:
Alex1a, could you quantify "really usable" when on 20140609-211642 ROM? How long does first fix last (in the streets), and do you have accuracy problems where GPS puts you on a nearby road by mistake?
I'm sorry I can't help more at the moment, I'm still holding off from buying this phone, but GPS is the only real issue I have with it, if I knew it would work correctly I'd get it right away, but everywhere I read problem is the same and since this is one of 2 reasons why I'm changing my current phone it's really important to me that it works fine
[EDIT 2014-Aug-06]
Here is one feedback, anyone else?
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Click to collapse
I tried the GPS today again under heavy enviroment (inside a building, many metal around) and i got a fix on the window. In use was the TeamForce Kitkat Android L style without any changed (GPS location/time server is spain, i am sitting in germany). I have the feeling that i had only problems if i change it to germany.
The GPS on my old Samsung Galaxy S is more better but the G4S is enough for my use (tracking of running, car navigiation).
srkonus said:
I tried the GPS today again under heavy enviroment (inside a building, many metal around) and i got a fix on the window. In use was the TeamForce Kitkat Android L style without any changed (GPS location/time server is spain, i am sitting in germany). I have the feeling that i had only problems if i change it to germany.
The GPS on my old Samsung Galaxy S is more better but the G4S is enough for my use (tracking of running, car navigiation).
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Thanks for your feedback, looks like this is it.. If you get a chance to test it on road (car navigation or tracking), just to see if you get any issues with "signal lost" or being put on the wrong road / in the fields beside roads and similar that would be great as well, but I'm thankfull for this much as well as it sounds as good news for all owners (and future owners )
LuxZg said:
Alex1a, could you quantify "really usable" when on 20140609-211642 ROM? How long does first fix last (in the streets), and do you have accuracy problems where GPS puts you on a nearby road by mistake?
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Hard to quantify - I was really happy most of the time in the last weeks. First fix after long time of no use felt a bit long, something like 1-2 minutes, but then "real" accuracy was good and especially getting a new fix after some minutes of standby, was 5-10 seconds, I would say. With the older ROM, it sometimes took 5-10 minutes, even after only seconds of stopped gps.
BUT! yesterday, still on the same rom, I did a bicycle trip. first fix took more than 5 minutes, that was annoying. Then I recorded a track for about an hour. The track was quite accurate and looked good. Then I stopped the tracking and GPS. Only 20 minutes later, under free sky, I didn't get a new fix, no matter what I tried. Some time later, after some reboots it worked again, but was very inaccurate...
srkonus said:
I tried the GPS today again under heavy enviroment (inside a building, many metal around) and i got a fix on the window. In use was the TeamForce Kitkat Android L style without any changed (GPS location/time server is spain, i am sitting in germany). I have the feeling that i had only problems if i change it to germany.
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Click to collapse
You mean the time server set by "faster GPS" app? I tried that and rebooted, but no positive effect. I'm in germany, too.
Just ordered the phone, when it arrives I'll do as many tests as I can.
In the meantime - I'm assuming you did all this because I've seen this (and similar) solutions all over the forums and YouTube, but let me propose it just the same:
Code:
What you need is Mobileuncle mtk tools,root explorer,gps test download them from play store.
THIS SHOULD BE DONE OUTDOORS.
1. Turn GPS off on your phone.
2. Open Root Explorer and find the mtkgps.dat file in /data or /data/misc
3. Delete mtkgps.dat
4. Reboot phone
5. Open Mobileuncle Tools
6. Tap on 'Engineer Mode'
7. Tap on 'Engineer Mode (MTK)'
8. Scroll across to 'Location'
9. Tap on 'Location Based Service'
10. Tap on 'AGPS' and then make sure 'A-GPS On/Off' is checked
11. Tap on 'EPO' and then make sure 'Enable EPO' is checked
12. Swipe down (notification bar) and turn GPS on
13. Hit back and then tap 'YGPS'
14. Wait until you get position lock (mine took about 6 seconds).
15. This process should create a new mtkgps.dat file.
16. Hit home button and open GPS Test.
17. You should get a position lock reasonably quickly.
Also setting /etc/gps.conf (with any root-supporting text editor) manually to settings such as these:
Code:
NTP_SERVER=europe.pool.ntp.org
XTRA_SERVER_1=http://xtra1.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin
XTRA_SERVER_2=http://xtra2.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin
XTRA_SERVER_3=http://xtra3.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin
INTERMEDIATE_POS=1
ACCURACY_THRES=5000
SUPL_HOST=supl.google.com
SUPL_PORT=7275
SUPL_TLS_HOST=supl.google.com
SUPL_TLS_CERT=/etc/SuplRootCert
PHONE_TYPE=UMTS
(instead of europe in first line you can modify according to lists on this website: http://www.pool.ntp.org/zone/@ )
EDIT: On my old (current) phone, I also have these issues with GPS, and doing above helped a lot, but it seems that I need to repeat some of the steps from time to time. Interesting thing is the delete of mtkgps.dat, sometimes it's enough to turn GPS off, delete it, and turn it back on and go to YGPS to renew the positions, and it works in <10 seconds. We'll see if Jiayu has same or better/worse track record.
Rom: G4SW 20140609-150354
I've installed a new ROM yesterday. Well it's not new, but I haven't met it before.
It is a stock ROM but modified by Jiayu Poland. So it is official one, but nicely cleaned from Chinese apps, keyboard is normal, no troyans... a nice worldwide multi language official ROM that you can use "out of the box".
But what impress' me the most is the GPS. It's the best one I've ever met on Jiayu G4S! This one really works for me! At least at the moment I don't know if it is because it's a fresh installation or the GPS is set for my part of the world. The facts is that the GPS fixes within seconds without 3G and I can get a fix even inside the building. What is more it is the first ROM that the arrow directing my position is aligned properly and it moves exactly as I turn around with the phone.
I've made a simple point to point navigation today morning. A few times it still put me on the adjacent road... but it is still WAY better experience than before. My cursor used to stop when I stopped... that did not happen before, it was always living it's own life
So please give it a try yourself and let me know if I'm dreaming or this one actually works. This is 4.2.2 for Jiayu G4S 2GB/16GB:
http://jiayupolska.pl/download/rom/G4S_20140609-150354_[jiayupolska_PL].zip
Thanks for the info, I just got a new G4S and will try this soon, as GPS is important to me, and I sure don't need trojans and chinese apps
Could you just tell me one thing, does this ROM still have Caller ID bug or is that one fixed as well?
Hmm... hard to tell as I've never experienced that problem. An easy way (step by step) to check that?
Do you get SMS threads for contacts separated because of numebers (not) starting with country code, does your phone show who's calling correctly, etc? But we'll be offtopic here, perhaps just edit your post in the "main" G4S thread
EDIT: Just came back home, downloading it, and erasing original system to factory settings.. will be there soon myself to check GPS, but I won't have SIM in it for a day or so..
EDIT2: installed, got GPS fix in 10 seconds from window, which is good, but I had WiFi running. I'll install iGO soon, and check on the road next day or two
Jiayu's GPS.
In many roms that problem is now fixed. MTK chips normally do not usually behave very well with their gps. But Jiayu suffers a lot from this lack. That is solved by changing a line system / etc / agps_profiles_conf.xml roaming on the file.
roaming = "yes"
And the application of Google Play "FasterGPS" help position quite quickly.
Only then the terminal has no problem to download the epo file and position well satellites.
Greetings.
Sorry, but that's just theory. In practice people claim that GPS is fixed in thier ROM but it did not work for me. GPS I mean not only the fix time but also accuracy.
Apart of the ROMs I've tried a few additional apps and fixes... with not much improvement.
The ROM quoted by me it's the first one that GPS works out of the box, without any additional fixes and apps and on GPS antenna only (no AGPS at all).
If anyone do some GPS navigation tests please try both with mobile network assistance (AGPS) and without it.
I'm not sure if I'm right, but I have a feeling that with a ROM from post #11 the navigation apps work better without that assistance, with the GPS antenna only.
A few days now and I'm still amazed with that ROM regarding the GPS usage. Anyone unsure I recommend to give it a try
Doman said:
I've installed a new ROM yesterday. Well it's not new, but I haven't met it before.
It is a stock ROM but modified by Jiayu Poland. So it is official one, but nicely cleaned from Chinese apps, keyboard is normal, no troyans... a nice worldwide multi language official ROM that you can use "out of the box".
But what impress' me the most is the GPS. It's the best one I've ever met on Jiayu G4S! This one really works for me! At least at the moment I don't know if it is because it's a fresh installation or the GPS is set for my part of the world. The facts is that the GPS fixes within seconds without 3G and I can get a fix even inside the building. What is more it is the first ROM that the arrow directing my position is aligned properly and it moves exactly as I turn around with the phone.
I've made a simple point to point navigation today morning. A few times it still put me on the adjacent road... but it is still WAY better experience than before. My cursor used to stop when I stopped... that did not happen before, it was always living it's own life
So please give it a try yourself and let me know if I'm dreaming or this one actually works. This is 4.2.2 for Jiayu G4S 2GB/16GB:
http://jiayupolska.pl/download/rom/G4S_20140609-150354_[jiayupolska_PL].zip
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
Good News.
Can you install Xposed and gravitybox in this ROM?
Roms with GPS fixed.
Hello everyone! Apart from the many roms (and very good all) that ye can download, there is a website where there for our G4S and the G3S. androidteamforce.es
I say this because there all roms have fixed the gps well and are very stable. And even more so those in kitchen. If you want to try, you know (are also in needrom). While development is Spanish, the website is translated into English as well.We recommend them! I'm using the AOSP v2 with fixes memory and root, and I'm doing everything works perfectly, even Titanium. The GPS usually takes me ten radars detected, seven or eight. A marvel.
A greeting.
Doman said:
If anyone do some GPS navigation tests please try both with mobile network assistance (AGPS) and without it.
I'm not sure if I'm right, but I have a feeling that with a ROM from post #11 the navigation apps work better without that assistance, with the GPS antenna only.
A few days now and I'm still amazed with that ROM regarding the GPS usage. Anyone unsure I recommend to give it a try
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm... now I'm not sure if I'm seeing things either, but you could be right. It took me few days to transfer 100% to new phone so I was testing it on and off. Always with WIFI/3G turned on. While I got fix quickly, precision was a bit off, well.. up to 40-50 meters sometimes, enough to cause problems.
Today on my way from work I've turned on tracking, was still for a minute or so, and than started ride on a bike. Than minute or so later I remembered your advice, and turned off all data (Wi-Fi/3G) and continued. Now I'm looking at a chart, and first part of the ride looks terrible, like I was a crazy bug flying all over the place (with speeds up to 80km/h), and than suddenly I'm straight on course, with normal data being recorded and all the way to the finish line. From the tracking side, first 3,5 minutes I was off by soooo much, but from then on I had a positional error of margin of about 5 meters, no more (other side of the road etc.), and kept on going like that for 14 more minutes.
Since I'm biking a lot, well, when it's not raining, I'll do some more tracking, and I'll track test routes with car as well. I'll try not to use WIFI/3G at all during tracking, and we'll see if data will be consistent. I know that GPS on this ROM isn't perfect, as can be seen from todays 80km/h data and some extra 2km while I was mostly standing, but let's see if indeed data is being a culprit for GPS errors. Who knows, maybe the same way as Bluetooth interferes with Wi-Fi / Wi-Fi Display, maybe Wi-Fi and/or 3G causes malfunctions in GPS data, or somehow chip uses Wi-Fi positioning in addition to GPS causing it to add wider errors. We'll see, so far this is just a theoretic thing, I'm waiting for at least 4-5 good rides till I'm satisfied
Is anyone else experiencing GPS dropouts while tracking running or walking in the S Health app? I continue to see the tracking/GPS icon in the upper left throughout the run regardless so I have no way of knowing if it has stopped tracking while running. It apppears to happen about 1 out of every 3 times.
I've been using it daily for the last two weeks and have had no dropouts
I guess i'll try a factory reset and see if that helps. Thanks for the input. By the way, im not running under anything that should interfere with it accept a divided interstate overpass, but it has never dropped at that particular spot.
Factory reset failed to fix the problem. Guess I'll have to talk to t-mobile or samsung unless anyone else has a suggestion.
I realized today that the GPS symbol is solid when it is working in the s-health app and flashing when it has lost connection. I'll have to research to see if I can get it to 'reconnect' mid run. Even so, it is still a huge inconvenience as I would have to check it constantly throughout the run.
can the gear s use GPS without sim inside and not connected to bluetooth phone?
I had huge problems and it took forever to get GPS signal even locked in after the last updates to Gear Mgr and GearS. In my case, something happened to my phone's GPS and I can no longer connect the two without rapid battery drain. As long as my Gear S is completely disconnected (BT and remotely) from my Note, I have zero GPS issues on my Gear S.
Now that I am thinking of it, I think Gear Mgr may have killed my Note 2's GPS. I'll try to deinstall and see what happens. May just be coincidence that everything happened around the same time.
I have bt disabled when on runs, but it is connected remotely to my phone via gear manager. I haven't tried it with everything disabled (accept location). Maybe I'll give that a try tomorrow.
I did call t-mobile and ordered a warranty replacement. Samsung would have 'fixed' it but I would have been without it for who knows how long.
Nope. Turning off all connectivity did not resolve the gps issue. Guess im waiting on the tmo replacement to see if that resolves it.
The gps is internal hardware on the Gear S. I haven't actually removed the SIM card but I have disabled mobile networks and it still works. Well, partially in my case.
Today, as a test, i removed the SIM and set airplane mode on, disabled mobile networks and bt. The gps tracked my entire run. I have to do at least three more sessions to determine if it fixed the dropout issue, but it confirms that the gps can run entirely independet of cellular/data networks and paired devices.
The GPS has worked three times in a row since removing the SIM card and enabling airplane mode. This tells me that there is some kind of software glitch that is interfering with the GPS when these other services are enabled. My replacement is supposed to arrive today and I plan to do some side by side tests with it to gather more information on GPS performance.
So the replacement arrived yesterday. It was just the watch, no band or accessories. I don't know why I was hoping there would be more. (maybe to have an extra charger) but i digress.
This mornings run with the new device 'all on' (meaning SIM inserted, 4G connected and remotely connected to phone) still using the internal gps though, tracked the entire run. I did notice the GPS symbol had gone away about half way through so figured it had dropped again. But when I stopped the run, the readings were in line with a full tracking and syncing with S-Health (on the Note Edge) showed that it did indeed track the entire run.
Now there are two more issues that need to be resolved before this can be settled as a defective original software/device. First, I have to do a couple more runs. Second, and probably more telling from what some other people have mentioned, is the software update that is available. I haven't installed it yet for this very reason. So, a couple more days and Ill have this figured out.
BUT, that being said, the issue with the original device was a SOFTWARE issue proven by the fact that if I removed the SIM and disabled all comms except gps, it worked every time.
Im not sure that I will install the update though, if the gps is working properly. That would just break it again. I'll wait to see if a future update claims to fix the problem. Knowing how Samsung responds to issues/functionality requests, I wont be holding my breath. The last update was pretty much worthless anyway.
Confirmed, the most recent software update is what is causing the gps to malfunction.
It's Official, Samsung Support SUCKS!
Here is my fairly detailed support/bug report communication with Samsung and their less than worthless response. They basically ignored my troubleshooting information, brushed off the S Health metrics issue and completely ignored the fact that I had suggestions as well. Not to mention their response was worded like spam from somewhere in Asia. Paraphrasing someones issue is not the same thing as addressing the issue. Pointing out the benefits of an update that makes the operation of the device unreliable does not make the update any better. Pointing out that no one has reported the issue when I just have is ignorant. They are lazy and do not want to do anything to make their product better or more reliable. Just another faceless corporation.
Samsung,
This is a technical bug I am reporting related to your recent update for the Gear S (T-Mobile US version SM-R750T). This bug is related to the GPS hardware.
My first Gear S device appeared to work fine while tracking walks and runs using the internal GPS until I received the recent update. (At first I didn't realize it was the update that caused the problem since it came out very soon after I got the device). However, through trouble shooting and obtaining a replacement device from T-Mobile I have been able to confirm that the issue is with the software update.
Please see the attached images for further clarification. After the update, the GPS would drop its connection approximately one out of every three runs I would track. When this would happen, the distance logged by S-Health as well as the calories burned would nearly double. A factory reset did not seem to resolve the issue (but I may have re-installed the update, or it could have been hardcoded into the device once installed, I am not sure of that). What did get it working however, was removing the SIM card and disabling all communications except GPS. Then it would track continuously without failing.
So I got a replacement from T-Mobile and DID NOT install the available update and that replacement device has been working flawlessly since with all comms functioning normally and the Gear S paired remotely to my Note Edge.
So two issues:
1) Software update 'breaks' GPS when Gear S is also connected to mobile networks or paired remotely to a device.
2) S-Health severely over-estimates distances and calories burned when GPS is not being used to track the activity.
This issue can be found on the following developers site where I have documented my activities:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/gear-s/help/gps-dropping-t3065107
Here you can see that others have experienced the same issue.
Thank you for your time and I sincerely hope you address these issues in the next update as well as some further recommendations for functionality that I have listed below.
Functionality updates:
Operating System (Tizen)
Add communication (BT, WIFI) toggles to the status drop down.
S-Health
Add personalized workouts to S-Health like weightlifting, just like you can add custom food items.
Add data export feature
Add additional ways of viewing and comparing the data (customizable graphs) so that certain vectors can be compared over time such as time of run, average pace etc.
________________________________________
Dear Timothy,
Thank you for taking the time to contact us at Samsung Technical Support. We always appreciate hearing from our customers.
I see that you would like to report the technical bug reported after the recent update to us.
We haven’t received any attachments along with this email. You would like to inform us that after the update the GPS drops its connection approximately one out of every three runs. When this happen the distance logged by the S –Health and the calories burned will be nearly doubled and you attempted a Factory Reset in-order to resolve the issue.
I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. Updating the product will bring positive changes to the device. The new features after the update are as follows. This device operates on Software Version R750TUVU1AOA7.
•Preloaded Stopwatch and Timer
•New icon glossary - Viewed under Settings > Gear Info > Icon Glossary
•DST timer fix for Arizona State
Samsung do not recommend or fully agree to the information shared on non Samsung websites.
As you are experiencing issues with the device, we need to check if the issue is in all the locations or only in a dedicated location. Unfortunately, as the device is replaced and we cannot troubleshoot the device currently.
Honstetly, as of now there are no reported issues after the device is being updated to Tizen.
I appreciate your time.
Should you desire additional assistance, we invite you to access the web-link http://www.samsung.com/us/support/contact to speak to a Chat Specialist. Our technicians are more than happy to assist you further. Chat Support is available 24X7.
For additional support and updates regarding your product, please follow us at @SamsungSupport on Twitter or like our page at https://www.facebook.com/samsungsupport.
Thank you for choosing Samsung products.
If you have a minute, please fill out a brief survey to help us serve you better. To begin the survey, click on the “Start Survey Here” link at the bottom of this email. Please note that you can access the survey page only when the pop-up blocker is disabled in the browser.
Sincerely,
Verlin.
I installed the update on my replacement device and the GPS is working properly on this new device.
illdill said:
I installed the update on my replacement device and the GPS is working properly on this new device.
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Click to collapse
i lock gps on gear s for 30 minute ...... fuuuccckkkk samsung