[SOLVED] Question about phone detecting it's location - AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-I777

Need a little help.
I'm Running AJ's Semi UCLE5 rom. It run's great. no problems with force closing or anything. I noticed something happening that I've never seen before.
On my home screen I run a widget (Beautiful Widget) for weather, location and it has a clock on it. It also allows for the location to be determined by geolocation, which is what I have it set on.
If I have wifi off, using "4g" data, my location is accurate. If I turn wifi on the widget says I am in Mesa, AZ which is about 1200 miles from where I actually am.
Two things that changed recently were that about 2 weeks ago I got a new sim card for my phone because the other one was old and curved and not making constant contact with the pins. Also, I recently got a new wireless router at home. My first guess was it could be the router since this only happens on wifi, but other apps on my phone (i.e. google maps) will be accurate with location when on wifi. Since the widget app I'm having the issue with was working with regular data, i thought i wasn't the app.
Any one with any idea here? would a wireless router cause this problem? The router works fine as far as I can tell otherwise.
edit: now it's looks like it's happening randomly. but still bothersome.
also regarding the app, i didn't think it would be the app because i've had it for a long time and it has never done this. it hasn't been updated in a while (and i don't do auto updating on Market apps.)

Please someone with more knowledge correct me if im wrong... But im pretty sure it uses your GPS for location and only data for the weather in that area... Maybe try clearing all app data and giving it a fresh start?
Clay
Sent from my SGH-I777 using XDA

clay101eve said:
Please someone with more knowledge correct me if im wrong... But im pretty sure it uses your GPS for location and only data for the weather in that area... Maybe try clearing all app data and giving it a fresh start?
Clay
Sent from my SGH-I777 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well through all of this the gps has been turned off. It usually finds my location using the network and by that method i can understand a wider radius and less accuracy - but 1200 miles? I have used this widget for about 4-5 months, most of the time without gps turned on, and it is just now showing this problem. I will clear all the data and report back.
edit: well, just removed the widget and wiped data on the app. When I replaced the app to the homescreen (with wifi turned on) it "geolocated" me immediately to Mesa, AZ, the incorrect city. When I plcae the widget using cell data, the geolocation is correct.

jack man said:
Well through all of this the gps has been turned off. It usually finds my location using the network and by that method i can understand a wider radius and less accuracy - but 1200 miles? I have used this widget for about 4-5 months, most of the time without gps turned on, and it is just now showing this problem. I will clear all the data and report back.
edit: well, just removed the widget and wiped data on the app. When I replaced the app to the homescreen (with wifi turned on) it "geolocated" me immediately to Mesa, AZ, the incorrect city. When I plcae the widget using cell data, the geolocation is correct.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try cryted's gps patch.... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1447599

BROKKANIC said:
Try cryted's gps patch.... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1447599
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think gps is the issue. over the last few hours I've been trying to narrow down the problem. When I am away from my home wifi everything works perfectly. I decided to go into my router settings to see what would happen. When i took off all of the security and made it an open wireless network the problem seemed to go away. I gave it about 30 minutes on an open network and it located me fine without gps turned on.
I don't know much about tweaking security settings on routers but i guess it's time to branch out to learn.
edit:
now, with wifi on, every time i refresh the weather widget it flips between my city and Mesa, AZ (remember they are about 1200 miles apart). I don't know. I guess my problems could be worse. at least i'm not boot looping or bricked.

I may have fixed this. When I got a new wireless router and programmed it, I gave it the same network name and password but it had newer and higher levels of security settings. The phone was still programmed with the old username and password so it picked it up automatically and logged on.
I went into the wifi settings on the phone and "forgot" the network and then re-logged in. So far it has shown it is fixed. Crossing fingers but I don't know enough about wireless routers and signals to know if this would do it.
edit again:
It is my network somehow. I have since been on two other wireless networks (neighbors) and it did not do this strange location behavior. (what I though fixed it in this post above did not)
Anyone want to give me insight as to why my router would tell me I am halfway across the country?

jack man said:
I may have fixed this. When I got a new wireless router and programmed it, I gave it the same network name and password but it had newer and higher levels of security settings. The phone was still programmed with the old username and password so it picked it up automatically and logged on.
I went into the wifi settings on the phone and "forgot" the network and then re-logged in. So far it has shown it is fixed. Crossing fingers but I don't know enough about wireless routers and signals to know if this would do it.
edit again:
It is my network somehow. I have since been on two other wireless networks (neighbors) and it did not do this strange location behavior. (what I though fixed it in this post above did not)
Anyone want to give me insight as to why my router would tell me I am halfway across the country?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, its your wireless network, go into settings and uncheck location set by wireless network. will force GPS, and be more accurate, but also cost more battery.
EDIT:
Thats location settings or some crap depending on your build.

jack man said:
It is my network somehow. I have since been on two other wireless networks (neighbors) and it did not do this strange location behavior. (what I though fixed it in this post above did not)
Anyone want to give me insight as to why my router would tell me I am halfway across the country?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you buy that router second hand or new? If you bought it new, it was probably either a return or a refurbish. What's happening is the MAC of the router was registered in Mesa by Google when their street map cars came by scanning for BSSIDs. Same thing happened to me with a used router I bought and my old router when I moved across the country. AFAIK, there's no way to reregister the MACs location other than use the _nomap optout and waiting for google to get around to updating it's database. Can't post links yet but here's some more info.
supportDOTgoogleDOTcom/maps/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1725632
tomshardwareDOTcom/news/Google-Maps-Wi-Fi-Location-SSID,14000.html
zdnetDOTcom/blog/btl/google-offers-street-view-opt-out-for-wi-fi-mapping-unethical-snooping-yet-we-must-opt-out/63456
Edit: here's a tool for geolocation of MAC addresses. blogDOTwlancontrollerDOTcom/?p=67 Search, then get the lat/long and choose show in gmaps. Mine shows my old street when I lived in a another state.

spiralout1 said:
Edit: here's a tool for geolocation of MAC addresses. blogDOTwlancontrollerDOTcom/?p=67 Search, then get the lat/long and choose show in gmaps. Mine shows my old street when I lived in a another state.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's something weird after I did what you mentioned here. After looking at the map when searching the MAC address it put it in Manhattan, NY, at the other end of the country. Any idea?
Thanks, by the way, for the links.

wow. I finally fixed it. Yes, my router was purchased used so I guess Google had mapped it and the MAC address was still showing as it's old "home." This link showed me how to opt out of Google's MAC address mapping and within about 20-30 minutes, my location was finally showing correctly on all of our mobile devices.
http://support.google.com/maps/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1725632
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Google-Maps-Wi-Fi-Location-SSID,14000.html
Thanks again for the help.

Glad that helped ya and especially so quickly. That **** had me stumped for around half a year before I figured out what the deal was and even then, it took well over a month for them to update my MAC in their database.

Related

[Q] Location and 3G

Has anyone else been having problems with their location and 3G signal?
For instance, every time an app needs my location, it says "Unable to detect current location". and the weather widget just says "Current Location". I've tried all the basics including disabling and re-nabling automatic time zone, restarting the phone, updating PRL and Profile, etc. Checked the settings in the weather widget and some settings were unchecked, but checking them didnt make a difference. It doesnt matter if its on Wi-Fi or 3G. It cannot seem to find my location. After updating the PRL (and contacting Sprint), it was finally able to find my location, but now its stuck on that location, even with a refresh. I'm 30 miles from the location its showing (as I travel across town for work).
Also, my 3G signal randomly drops every hour or so. Sometimes it comes back on its own, and other times, it does not. I have to go into options and manually disable and re-enable it.
I have an appointment at the Sprint store on Saturday, but I was wondering if you guys have found any fixes that would help me to avoid getting a new phone.
kennethbring said:
Has anyone else been having problems with their location and 3G signal?
For instance, every time an app needs my location, it says "Unable to detect current location". and the weather widget just says "Current Location". I've tried all the basics including disabling and re-nabling automatic time zone, restarting the phone, updating PRL and Profile, etc. Checked the settings in the weather widget and some settings were unchecked, but checking them didnt make a difference. It doesnt matter if its on Wi-Fi or 3G. It cannot seem to find my location. After updating the PRL (and contacting Sprint), it was finally able to find my location, but now its stuck on that location, even with a refresh. I'm 30 miles from the location its showing (as I travel across town for work).
Also, my 3G signal randomly drops every hour or so. Sometimes it comes back on its own, and other times, it does not. I have to go into options and manually disable and re-enable it.
I have an appointment at the Sprint store on Saturday, but I was wondering if you guys have found any fixes that would help me to avoid getting a new phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol man, I've got about 10 posts in viperrom thread about this same issue.
I don't have a (real) solution, but here's my take on it: My area was recently upgraded to 3G and this is the first sense rom I've used on those towers. For me, the problem has only been with Sense based widgets and apps. 4square, facebook, maps, everything else has no problem with my location (i always leave gps toggled on).
I go anywhere where the towers haven't been upgraded and BOOM, sense has my location within seconds. I think it has to do with the recent NV upgrades my area got and it not being fully completed.
For me to get correct location at home, I have to use wifi with home router, then use something that needs gps, then update the weather widget. That will normally hold it for a few hours.
Like I said, not a solution, but what I believe to be the cause of it. If I find a way of permanently fixing it, I'll let ya know.
bernechad said:
lol man, I've got about 10 posts in viperrom thread about this same issue.
I don't have a (real) solution, but here's my take on it: My area was recently upgraded to 3G and this is the first sense rom I've used on those towers. For me, the problem has only been with Sense based widgets and apps. 4square, facebook, maps, everything else has no problem with my location (i always leave gps toggled on).
I go anywhere where the towers haven't been upgraded and BOOM, sense has my location within seconds. I think it has to do with the recent NV upgrades my area got and it not being fully completed.
For me to get correct location at home, I have to use wifi with home router, then use something that needs gps, then update the weather widget. That will normally hold it for a few hours.
Like I said, not a solution, but what I believe to be the cause of it. If I find a way of permanently fixing it, I'll let ya know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, thats what Sprint told me when I called. That they recently upgraded the towers near my home. But across town where I work, it hasnt been upgraded, and its the same problem.
I do believe that has something to do with it though. Older versions of Sense didn't take the upgrade and thus arent having any problems.
Appreciate you keeping me in the loop!
kennethbring said:
Yeah, thats what Sprint told me when I called. That they recently upgraded the towers near my home. But across town where I work, it hasnt been upgraded, and its the same problem.
I do believe that has something to do with it though. Older versions of Sense didn't take the upgrade and thus arent having any problems.
Appreciate you keeping me in the loop!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. I'm hoping that a future OTA will take care of it. I've sent a few emails to HTC regarding the issue. I know it's nothing huge nor serious, but it's nice when it works properly.
Well, at least I know I'm not the only one then. I guess swapping the phone wouldn't do much good if its tower related.
I feel like taking it into the Sprint store, the employees would just re-do everything I've already done and tell me to come back if it happens again.
I'm with bernechad in hoping a software update will fix it.
More info on the connection issue
I just got off the phone with HTC. They did not have this issue in their database but do now. I sent them a link to this thread. They did not have a clue about what to do to fix it.
For whoever is keeping the lists of locations where this is a problem I'm in Georgetown, TX.

GPS\Antenna issue a antenna issue?

Off the bat with my phone, i have been having bad GPS connectivity issues. I would launch google navigation and get an instant lock. After a while, it would loose connection and say "searching for gps". It would never connect until i exited navigation, and turned off the gps and turned it back on. Then relaunched google nav and instant lock again. Then I also started noticing that on my htc sense clock widget, where it would show you the weather and the town in which you are in, it would only say "Current Location" no matter what I do. I went as far as resetting the phone back to factory settings which corrected the location issue at first but then it reverted back "Current Location". Any thoughts on this? If i cant figure this out, I will probably end up taking the phone back.
I had the same issue, I did prl updates and all other updates in the update software, and havent had and issue yet.
Sent from my EVO using XDA
djpegg said:
I had the same issue, I did prl updates and all other updates in the update software, and havent had and issue yet.
Sent from my EVO using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did that too. Did not work.
Try switching your roaming mode to automatic. I was having the same problem. So far so good
hotrodssnova said:
Try switching your roaming mode to automatic. I was having the same problem. So far so good
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also tried that....no go
anybody else have an idea?
Does your weather widget default to Illinois, but when you try maps, it shows a true location? I switched my roaming mode, but the weather widget is still glitchy in one area here in Houston.
I didn't have the GPS issue, but I had the weather as well as roaming and update time issues. I took my phone back and got a new one today. So far so good, but it has only been 2 hours since the exchange.
Sent from my EVO
hotrodssnova said:
Does your weather widget default to Illinois, but when you try maps, it shows a true location? I switched my roaming mode, but the weather widget is still glitchy in one area here in Houston.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Widget shows "current location" but maps pinpoints me exactly with the gps turned on.
GPS/Sprint Issue
From the time I received the phone every location based app has given me problems. Multiple attempts, varying results but mostly bad. Now been to 3 separate sprint stores, multiple phone calls and still can not get a clear resolution. I want to replace with another phone but am getting the runaround. Saying I have to get it looked at to verify an issue. This has already been done and if they do not move from the desk, how are they going to verify weak GPS to continual no connections? Will continue to escalate but strangulation is an option. I had the Evo 4g before with no issue. Does anyone have this phone with functional/reliable GPS?
Sprint store changed the phone mode to 3g only from 3g/lte setting. Gps worked and will check more later. Other gps apps are working also
radavi98 said:
From the time I received the phone every location based app has given me problems. Multiple attempts, varying results but mostly bad. Now been to 3 separate sprint stores, multiple phone calls and still can not get a clear resolution. I want to replace with another phone but am getting the runaround. Saying I have to get it looked at to verify an issue. This has already been done and if they do not move from the desk, how are they going to verify weak GPS to continual no connections? Will continue to escalate but strangulation is an option. I had the Evo 4g before with no issue. Does anyone have this phone with functional/reliable GPS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My gps works great.
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

[Q] GPS performance issues Australia

Hey Guys,
Loving my galaxy s3 however something strange is now happening. I used to live in Brisbane and recently moved to Sydney, whilst I was in Brisbane I often used the GPS and google maps navigation (google navigation whatever you want to call it ) and it performed amazing! it locked onto location instantly and would guide me and track my position superbly.
Now I've been in Sydney for 3 days, and I tried to use the navigation several times and it was terrible! It would take a minute or two to lock onto my position but would still be fairly innacurate and would not engage the navigation, just sat in that screen where it is zoomed out and roughly shows the route to take, sometimes it would engage into the navigation but then would stop tracking me and just say it lost GPS location.
Has anyone experienced this problem? or know what I can do to fix it!! Thanks
Couple of suggestions:
Have you changed your Google location? Whenever I've changed ROM's I get asked to let Google use my location - maybe there is something in the Google set up that still thinks you are in Brisbane and has to keep scanning for your new location?
Have you got the map for Sydney - I know you can get maps on your phone but maybe only your home location is auto-downloaded, so you get a zoomed out version for other places? Maybe go into the Maps app and select Sydney and see if it brings down a more detailed version?
Maybe check for Maps/Navigation updates? I got a Maps one a few days back.
I hope this helps - not sure at all if any of them are applicable but it is what I'd be checking...
For the google location, I sort of reset it, I turned it off (the option to let google use your location) and turned it back on. Not sure what else you can do in that department.
Ive got the map for sydney and my maps and navigation are up to date! Thanks for the suggestions but, its just really frustrating as it used to work so well
Use either GPS test or GPS status to see how well your GPS is working. Both are available free in market. They will also download agps data to help with a faster fix.
Check that you do have satellites switched on in settings.
If you are rooted you could try the wildfire agps patch. I think it is posted in the development thread.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
thanks for the suggestion! just downloaded GPS status and one of the reviewers had the same issue that was resolved by clearing and downloading agps data (just like you mentioned). So will try tonight and hopefully problems will be gone, thanks!
AGPS Patch Galaxy In development may be of use .
jje
dk125 said:
thanks for the suggestion! just downloaded GPS status and one of the reviewers had the same issue that was resolved by clearing and downloading agps data (just like you mentioned). So will try tonight and hopefully problems will be gone, thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That method always worked for me on the S2 when I was in a different location. Takes seconds to reload the new data.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium
I can't really help but my s3 in sydney has almost instant lock, except when in a tunnel.
By a strange quirk of fate I have just experienced the same issue that you faced.
After a lot of frustration I found a simple fix.
Turn off GPS and other location settings in main settings, power of and reboot. Switch everything back on in settings and all should be well again.
Hope this, belatedly, helps.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
If you are on a custom ROM then the first line of the GPS.conf file in system/etc will be set to "north-america.pool.ntp.org". Change the "north-america" part to "au" and restart. Then reset/redownload gaps data.using GPS status. Hope this helps.

Incorrect location on HTC widget

My main HTC 4x2 clock/weather widget does not seem to update the location properly. I'm not sure exactly the circumstances but sometimes I look down and it says "Current location" instead of the city I'm in, and the temperature is most certainly wrong (shows 84, when right now here in the Houston area it's about 56). I have the "Update my location in real time" setting checked, so not sure if it's a setting or what.
Anyone else seen similar issues or have any idea how to fix it?
Also I noticed turning off wifi helped, in that it updated to the proper weather, but still didn't change the city name and just says "Current location"
Same here. frustrating. Anyone figure this one out?
i just noticed that today as well, i manually set the city location on one of my apps and the rest corrected themselves. It's not just the HTC weather widget, it's all the location detection on the phone without using GPS
Has anyone figured this out yet? I'm in the St Louis, MO area and when the wifi is on it's continually showing Las Vegas, NV Odd If I turn wifi off and use GPS then it's always correct.
kb9klc said:
Has anyone figured this out yet? I'm in the St Louis, MO area and when the wifi is on it's continually showing Las Vegas, NV Odd If I turn wifi off and use GPS then it's always correct.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if this will work for you because I have the tmobile one s, but I think I have the answer, I turned of fast boot under power settings and when I rebooted, it had the correct location. This is the first time since I have had the phone.
I have the same problem with X920e (China version). Location is ok but weather is wrong. It also shows it being sunny at midnight
Only Google can fix it!
There is absolutely nothing that we can do to fix this, I live in Simi Valley, Ca. When I am connected to my work wifi, my phone thinks that I am in Cisco, Tx. The reason for this is somewhere along the line Google has decided that the router that I am connected to is in Cisco, so every time that it pings the router for my location that is where it thinks that I am. Turning off wifi and using GPS or Cellular Triangulation will make it correct every time. The only way for this to be fixed is for Google to update their router based locations.

[Q] Wifi Bars Remaining Gray

Hey All,
I'm experiencing a weird issue, and I'm hoping someone can help me out. Yesterday, I moved from Shanghai to an apartment building in Chicago. Internet is included in my new building--just need to provide your own router. I have a Netgear N600 router from a few years ago that I plugged in, and everything fired up properly and looked great. But I noticed that my wifi bars remained gray with no Google Services sync. I have a Nexus 7 and a Nexus 4, both rooted and running CM 10.1.2. The only mod I have on either is LTE enabled on the N4.
I hadn't used this router in over a year, so I did a factory reset and went through the setup wizard again. I also checked for a firmware update, but there wasn't one available. The reset didn't solve the problem. If I flip my wifi off on the N4, I immediately connect to T-Mobile 4G data, and all of my Google Services sync. When I turn wifi back on, I reconnect to my router, and my Google Services sync stops. I can force a per-app sync by going into Gmail, Google Voice, etc., but there is no background sync.
Any thoughts about what might be the culprit here? And suggestions on what I might to try fix it? I would appreciate any thoughts or ideas.
Thanks.
Okay, I spent several hours trying to troubleshoot this yesterday, and I haven't resolved the issue yet, but I think I've narrowed things down.
I tried a different router, and I had the exact same issue. I ran another factory reset on each router, and neither improved. Google services continue to work fine outside of my apartment. So I figure that has to indicate that the problem is in the service being provided by my building.
I called to see if this was a known and if there is a way to set things up to avoid the problem, and I was told that there is a firewall, and that they need the port number and protocol in order to allow access. Does anything know this information for Google services?
It doesnt matter if the symbol is either blue or gray. If you remain to have a good connection you can ignore the symbol.
mrjraider said:
It doesnt matter if the symbol is either blue or gray. If you remain to have a good connection you can ignore the symbol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem is that my services are clearly not syncing. Gmail and Google Voice notifications don't come through unless I open the apps and refresh, for example.
I found a thread that listed TCP ports 5228 and 14259. I'm going to have those ports opened up to see if this resolves my issue. I'll report back in case anyone else ever experiences this problem.
Hmm it is weird.. Let us know what you can discover
mrjraider said:
Hmm it is weird.. Let us know what you can discover
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TCP ports 5228 and 14259 were just opened up, and my wifi bars immediately turned blue on my N4. At the same time, I heard several notification alerts on my N7 in the bedroom.
Looks as though, if you have a firewall, those ports do need to be opened up for Google services to sync.
Interesting! Thanks for sharing

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