GPS lock not as good - Xperia Z5 Compact Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I will often record a GPS track if I am flying in a plane and in a window seat. My old phone (HTC Incredible 4G LTE) would be able to get a GPS lock and record for the entire ride. Every now and then I may lose the signal. On my most recently flight, I tried this phone at the same time and noticed that it loses lock much more often. So overall, the sensitivity seems to be worse.

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[Q] How accurate is your GPS with out wifi on?

I ask because with my iphone 3g It was pretty much spot on all the time. My atrix on the other hand is about 4-5 blocks(WTF) off. This is only my second smart phone but this seemed really odd to me.
Anyone else with inaccurate gps with out wifi on?
Mine is usually accurate to within a few meters, but I don't let it use wireless networks for it basically ever
I played with this a bit more and for what its worth it turns out that if the gps cannot get a satellite connection it does not warn you. For me it was just defaulting to the center of the very small town that I live in. Which is pretty much within 4 block range no matter where I go. The 'Navigation' app does warn you if it cannot get a connection.
So yeah, the gps is good, when it connects
GPS is usually within 20' for me. Wifi is useless w/o a wifi source to connect to. No wifi when I'm out running on trails. And if I'm at home, don't really need the gps.
My GPS is dead on all the time. Only takes 3-5 seconds to get a lock at about 3m and that's indoors. Only time I've ever had a problem with it was while using shopkick in a deadzone inside Wal-mart.

How is the GPS on the evo 3d?

i am ready to ditch my vibrant piece of crap and want a phone that has working gps. how accurate is the gps along with programs like my tracks and runkeeper?
The GPS works great, gets accurate location very quickly
Sent from my HTC EVO 3D using XDA App
Painkiller006 said:
The GPS works great, gets accurate location very quickly
Sent from my HTC EVO 3D using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditto. It has nailed me within 3 feet while zoomed all the way in on the map. As I move around my yard it moves almost instantly.
Used a few times in Chicago today, near O'Hare airport which is known for **** signal. Worked perfectly.
Locks on quicker than my ogEVO.
Sent from my EVO-3D waiting for Myn's ROM
it looks like ive found a phone. cant wait to see what its like to have working gps.
Painkiller006 said:
The GPS works great, gets accurate location very quickly
Sent from my HTC EVO 3D using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If by accurate you mean reading you as 3 streets over...
not sure
I use mine with a running app Runkeeper. It was very good the first 2 times I used it showing 3.08 miles for a actual 3.1 mile distance. But yesterday is showed 5.37 miles for the same 3.1 route.
I hope it was just a glitch which happens depending on clouds but yesterday was clear.
meh
Meh, it gets poor signal indoors. Outdoors, it's often off. To truly test the GPS, you need to disable WIFI, otherwise it will use the BSSID's of nearby wifi hotspots to show your location...
I noticed that on the OG Evo in Maps (Maps, not Navigate), it would usually snap-to-street while i was driving. Now it doesnt seem to, i could be doing 50 down a side street and the map shows me driving through people's back yards on that street...
I use mine for logging runs and workouts. I wasn't too impressed yesterday when Cardio Trainer logged only half of my run.
NS4G didn't do that, lol. You could see where it would pickup and drop some sort of signal, and it repeated it numerous times while walking.
Running, it seemed to hold signal decently.
::EDIT::
Went running and I think its a CardioTrainer issue, not GPS. The GPS is constantly updating it seems like, just with CT I had a setting (auto pause after 5 seconds of no running) and I don't know if because of picking up and dropping satellites or what, but it was in and out of that mode.
Disabled that option (no big deal to me if it doesn't auto pause), and had a CONSTANT lock for the rest of the run after I did so.
I can get a cold lock inside within 10secs. Outside cold lock almost instantaneous. Gps rocks in this device.
Sent from my 3rd Dimension of Evolution
It's really good and accurate. But, I never really use it so I can save some battery life.
I've been blown away on it. Google Maps on my Palm Pre used to take over a minute to load, and in some cases wouldn't load at all. After it did, it wouldn't aquire a GPS signal. On the 3vo on the other hand, maps opens up within seconds and it also aquires a GPS signal right away. The arrow even moves around depending where the phone is pointed. Can't say I have any complaints. My favorite feature is being able to stream pandora music and telenav at the same time, and it actually fades out the music while GPS kicks in.
I've been having all sorts of trouble with GPS locks. It'll lock on fine to start, but within a few minutes of driving I'll get GPS signal lost and it'll take a long time to re-acquire. I wonder why. I may have to consider taking it for a repair/replacement if I'm the only one seeing issues. It reminds me a lot of how my 4G acted when I was using an earlier CM7 build so I attempted the ##GPSCLRX#, but that didn't seem to solve anything.
sroach23 said:
i am ready to ditch my vibrant piece of crap and want a phone that has working gps. how accurate is the gps along with programs like my tracks and runkeeper?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I drove from Buffalo, NY to Summerville, SC and back last week (900+ miles) and my GPS was spot on the entire time. While in SC I used it to get everywhere and it was perfect.
Mine grabbed me within 5 meters. Spot On.
I used Cardio Trainer also and it was very inaccurate. I watched the signal jump all over the place, it was terrible. I took it back to Sprint and they reluctantly swapped it out. I haven't tested it yet. Others, please test walking or running. I will be taking it back and going back to my EVO 4G if it is not fixed. My EVO 4G worked flawlessly.
you can only test something like gps when your driving and have time to set it up, wait for lock, yadda yadda yadda...
on the three occasions that i have used it it consistantly dropped signal and was a PITA. as for gps... I prefer the 4g not the 3d
Strange...
slaakker said:
I used Cardio Trainer also and it was very inaccurate. I watched the signal jump all over the place, it was terrible. I took it back to Sprint and they reluctantly swapped it out. I haven't tested it yet. Others, please test walking or running. I will be taking it back and going back to my EVO 4G if it is not fixed. My EVO 4G worked flawlessly.
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Click to collapse
My GPS has been working flawlessly since purchase. I play golf and use the Golf Card app and was very happy with the accurate results. However, today....the GPS was acting wacky. It was jumping all over as described above. I reset the GPS and that didn't fix it. After playing around with the phone for awhile, I finally got it to work as normal. Keeping an eye on this in case I need to get rid of this phone.
My GPS has been about as temperamental as the OG Evo on CM7. It sometimes has trouble locking and often is fairly inaccurate (it seems to work better in Google maps than other apps). The OG Evo on sense was definitely better IMO.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk
The GPS is very inaccurate and jumps around constantly on Runkeeper. For example, see these runs:
http://runkeeper.com/user/rcrockett/activity/41894800
http://runkeeper.com/user/rcrockett/activity/41487967
Zoom in and you can see how it's jumping around all over the place. It makes it seem as though I am running faster and a longer distance. The first link is a 10k, but it reported it as 7.15 miles. I thought was kicking butt!
I have not taken any OTAs. I hope this is fixed sometime soon. I wonder why this hasn't been reported more.

[Q] Jumpy GPS?

Hey guys. Coming from 3 HTC Android phones, I never had any problems regarding fast locking and accuracy on my GPS, may it be indoors or outdoors.
With my SGS2, I wasn't really happy with its GPS performance.
Aside from very slow GPS fixing / locking in satellites outdoors (tested with GPS Status app), I get a very jumpy GPS location indoors. Even with downloaded AGPS prior to that.
I created a screen cast of my Google Maps app below for reference. The star on the map is my actual location. Notice how my location jumps from one place to another every few seconds.
Even turning on the sensor aiding made no difference.
Video
I know some of you might say that of course checking it indoors and relying on wifi alone will make it inaccurate. But even my iPod Touch which doesn't even have a GPS chip have no issues locating me.
I'm running Cognition 1.15 and flashing a stock ROM and kernel also made no difference.
Can you guys test yours with my setup: Only Wifi indoors and do not get gps lock outdoors.
I will do further testing.
Welcome to the club m8. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1173683
I think it's jumpy because it's not using gps, but fixating you postilion from you network and wifi. That's why it jumps.
Does your gps show lock at the top icons bar? Or does it just keeps flashing?
Mines going back for sensation or lg.
Hi. My GPS icon is flashing. Yep, I'm aware that it is till looking for a satellite to lock in. Which is a problem in itself by the way ^_^
My point here is that I've done this similarly on my previous phones and with my iPod Touch, same setup. But they didn't produce this problem.
UPDATE: Tested out the GPS outside. It won't lock to any satellite (after like 10mins) unless I turned on WiFi. GPS should work independently, right?
Once I had it locked to 6 satellites at max, I went indoors and same thing happened to the screnario on the video, my location jumps from one place to another. Shouldn't it take the previously GPS locked satellite as reference?
chobie said:
UPDATE: Tested out the GPS outside. It won't lock to any satellite (after like 10mins) unless I turned on WiFi. GPS should work independently, right?
Once I had it locked to 6 satellites at max, I went indoors and same thing happened to the screnario on the video, my location jumps from one place to another. Shouldn't it take the previously GPS locked satellite as reference?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is using the satellite position from last lock to help getting a new lock, but it still needs to have stable reception from 3 satellites in different parts of the sky for a certain time in order to lock, it probably doesn't get this indoors.
But you seem to have some problem getting a lock with your GPS, some people are helped by doing a factory restore when they're having such issues. (beware, wipes your data!!!)
What do you mean by turning on Wifi by the way? Do you mean turning on "Use wireless networks" in Location and security menu? This is not something wifi specific, in fact since you're outdoors it normally uses your 3g connection to get approximate satellite positions and your approximate position from network operator. So please doesn't call this turning on "Wifi", because that means turning on/off you wifi receiver, that is another setting
EDIT: added "in different parts of the sky" above, 3 satellites close to each other is usually not enough for a GPS lock.
tjtj4444 said:
It is using the satellite position from last lock to help getting a new lock, but it still needs to have stable reception from 3 satellites in different parts of the sky for a certain time in order to lock, it probably doesn't get this indoors.
But you seem to have some problem getting a lock with your GPS, some people are helped by doing a factory restore when they're having such issues. (beware, wipes your data!!!)
What do you mean by turning on Wifi by the way? Do you mean turning on "Use wireless networks" in Location and security menu? This is not something wifi specific, in fact since you're outdoors it normally uses your 3g connection to get approximate satellite positions and your approximate position from network operator. So please doesn't call this turning on "Wifi", because that means turning on/off you wifi receiver, that is another setting
EDIT: added "in different parts of the sky" above, 3 satellites close to each other is usually not enough for a GPS lock.
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Click to collapse
I totally understand that. I referred to Wifi because it's the only connection I was connected to in asstistance to my GPS. My mobile data is turned off. But I did test it by isolating only mobile data on to check if AGPS by 3g will get me faster lock on it -- No difference.
I have also flashed a stock ROM and Kernel and fully wiped my phone data but it is just producing the same problem.
To be honest m8 this phone is good on the spec, and looks good too. But poor internal hardware lets it down. I went down to my local shop to see if it was me or something and asked for a demo test for phone they had and they also couldn't get it to lock the gps on it's own.
I feel for andriod, it can give it a bad name. But it's not androids fault it's Samsung, if your phone is new replace it with sensation or lg 3d.
I've even had the opportunity, to try it with CM7 now, so it seems it hardware afterall.
Guys chill down ur balls, gps readings r very subjective and u cant judge on them
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1126122
Still really disappointed that my iPod touch can get a very accurate gps fix in less than five seconds considering it has no GPS chip and only using wifi. This has aGPS and sensor aiding and yet it's not very accurate and is jumpy still.

What is your GPS [GLONASS] lock time?? +info on GLONASS

In case you didn't know, the Note can use GLONASS instead of GPS (Click on the words to read more).
People use GPS like "Xerox", "Coke", or "Kleenex"... but nevermind that.
What is your GPS/GLONASS lock time with A.GPS (Assisted GPS (network location)) and sensor aid on??
Please describe whether you are outside or inside. I am also particularly interested the lock time from a fresh boot or if you're using GPS from a new location.
IMPORTANT: Please note (excuse the pun) down, when you launch Maps or Nav and the arrow shows up almost instantaneously, I would like to know IF *sometimes* the GPS reticle on the status bar continues to flash/blink for a while.
Why do I ask? My Note takes anywhere from 3-12 seconds to lock when GPS is "hot" and takes 10-25 seconds to lock from a reboot in doors while stationary.
Compared to my Sprint Evo 3D, GSM Galaxy Nexus, or the iPhone4s that I never use, that is slow. When I powered up the Galaxy Nexus for the first time, it locked under 5 seconds! My Evo 3D would lock from a boot in under 5 seconds. The 4s is super fast also. The Note, with GLONASS, is supposed to be faster and more accurate...
Thanks.
Edit: Interesting discovery today--the slow lock and low precision in my car may be because of my car--but it may also be revealing limitations in GLONASS:
Every piece of glass on my car is double-paned (twice as thick as the typical car glass), sandwiched with a polymer layer, along with an IR rejecting coating. This is designed to keep the interior very quiet, makes the glass theft resistant, and the IR coating reduces the heat that enters the cabin (heat travels in the form of infrared). The IR coating, unfortunately, also rejects other radio frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum. That, along with metallic particularized tint, causes a reduced radio performance for any device that is in the interior of the vehicle.
I usually don't have any problems with the GSM/UMTS or CDMA phones, and GPS has no problems either (although I notice a reduced s/n ratio). As I indicated before, other GPS-based phones lock fine, and the GPS+GLONASS iPhone works fine also.
As I was driving home today, I tried opening the window. I noticed that every time I opened, the phone would get a quick and solid lock. Every time I closed, the uncertainty circle appears.
Is it possible that GLONASS, operating at 1.6Ghz, using FDMA is less able to penetrate certain objects than GPS operating at 1.57Ghz using CDMA? I presume civilians are still only using the coarse channels so that doesn't help. It is interesting to see that GPS have no problems in my car while GLONASS does. I will drive another car tomorrow and see if there is a difference.
My Note locked within 2 seconds this morning, on my way to work. I was outside in my car.
When opening google maps, I get a lock before the app is fully open, ie. I'm already locked by the time I can do anything in the app even. Compared to my Captivate and Infuse, the lock times on my Note are godly.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk
I lock before apps load that can use it such as maps/nav. I came from a Vibrant that even after numerous "fixes" it still could take a couple minutes to lock.
Wow... That is what I expected from my phone. Are you guys all using the stock ROM? If not, what ROM are you using and who is your carrier?
Thanks.
welchertc said:
When opening google maps, I get a lock before the app is fully open, ie. I'm already locked by the time I can do anything in the app even. Compared to my Captivate and Infuse, the lock times on my Note are godly.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same experience here,running stock
No, not stock. I'm highly modified. I installed a screen protector that I suspect is giving me increased GPS/glonass capabilities.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk
Chief Geek said:
No, not stock. I'm highly modified. I installed a screen protector that I suspect is giving me increased GPS/glonass capabilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm... maybe it's *my* screen protector that is killing the GPS...
A follow up to those who responded:
Please note (excuse the pun) down, when you launch Maps or Nav and the arrow shows up almost instantaneously, I would like to know IF *sometimes* the GPS reticle on the status bar continues to flash/blink for a while.
Thanks for the information.
I was excited for the GPS capabilities in this phone before I bought it, but my experiences have been far worse than everyone elses. Google Maps is loaded for about 5 seconds before it even STARTS trying to acquire a position. And even then, while indoors it takes a good 20 seconds to lock on. My iPhone 4 locks on indoors in about 3-5 seconds.
With the note, many apps think I'm 10-15 miles away while indoors. Especially with weather apps that just want a quick location fix but don't leave the GPS on during use. At first glance everything thinks I'm far away. Chat apps that only use GPS when sending a message have the same problem. Navigation apps that leave the GPS on during use are accurate. It's annoying. Never had an issue like that on my old phone.
Outside though, the Note seems to lock on nice and quick, within about 2-3 seconds upon starting acquisition, and my accuracy is generally at 3 meters or less. Even my $650 handheld GPSr doesn't have that level of accuracy.
EDIT: The notification bar icon DOES continue to blink for several seconds after achieving a lock.
johnus said:
I was excited for the GPS capabilities in this phone before I bought it, but my experiences have been far worse than everyone elses. Google Maps is loaded for about 5 seconds before it even STARTS trying to acquire a position. And even then, while indoors it takes a good 20 seconds to lock on. My iPhone 4 locks on indoors in about 3-5 seconds.
With the note, many apps think I'm 10-15 miles away while indoors. Especially with weather apps that just want a quick location fix but don't leave the GPS on during use. At first glance everything thinks I'm far away. Chat apps that only use GPS when sending a message have the same problem. Navigation apps that leave the GPS on during use are accurate. It's annoying. Never had an issue like that on my old phone.
Outside though, the Note seems to lock on nice and quick, within about 2-3 seconds upon starting acquisition, and my accuracy is generally at 3 meters or less. Even my $650 handheld GPSr doesn't have that level of accuracy.
EDIT: The notification bar icon DOES continue to blink for several seconds after achieving a lock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As for accuracy, this is a function of the number of satilites that you have locked onto. I believe all you need are 2, possibly 3 for accurate elevation, however the more you lock onto the more acurate you are. This is why "quick" on and off checks are rarely very accurate. however, with weather, the phone grabs your location and then queries the closest whether center, which is very rarely in your neighborhood. Typically it's your closest airport or military base, so this will atleast be 20-30 miles away, but often in same or neighboring zip codes.
For the indoor, thing, I never expect (nor really use) reliable GPS signal indoords. Just because you get a lock doesn't mean it'll be enough locks to do much. I rarely get lost going from my kitchen to the latrine anyways, but I suppose with enough beer it could happen. I would suggest (and you probably already have) check to make sure you make use of "use sensor aiding" option.
If all else fails, I will loan you my vibrant and you can experience a man-tantrum in your car when the fking thing wont lock after 5 minutes and your lost as **** and late as hell and google maps keeps freezing and FCing. That'll make you want to wine and dine your other devices for treating you so well.
Chief Geek said:
As for accuracy, this is a function of the number of satilites that you have locked onto. I believe all you need are 2, possibly 3 for accurate elevation,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe you need at least 3 for triangulation (location) and 4th to give elevation.
Another interesting thing I noticed about my Note--even if it locks quickly while I am stationary, it looses lock when I am moving (driving). I had my Sprint Evo 3D, Verizon Galaxy Nexus, Sprint Galaxy S Epic 4G, GSM Galaxy Nexus, and the Note side-by-side on the dash. The only phone that keeps losing and reacquiring the lock the the Note (especially while traveling at freeway speeds).
my note locks on really fast
under 10 seconds for sure.
If im out side its within 5 seconds.
My Skyrocket usually locked in around 10-15 seconds
my inspire....30 seconds.
my nav in the car....30 sec
this may be useful to you to get a little more info on what your gadget is doing with its unearthly beacons
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...wsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5lY2xpcHNpbS5ncHNzdGF0dXMyIl0.
Chief Geek said:
this may be useful to you to get a little more info on what your gadget is doing with its unearthly beacons
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...wsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5lY2xpcHNpbS5ncHNzdGF0dXMyIl0.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very useful tool. In addition to that one, I also use GPS Test, GPS Essentials, and GPS Status. Each brings something different to the party.
snovvman said:
Very useful tool. In addition to that one, I also use GPS Test, GPS Essentials, and GPS Status. Each brings something different to the party.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like you need "Kick GPS - The 12 Step Program"
Really? Your complaining about 12 seconds to a gps lock? (regarding the OP)
Give me a break...
My DEDICATED GPS Tomtom unit takes over 2 minutes to get a lock, I consider it a blessing that my phone locks faster than a dedicated gps.
Good Lord...
My guess is you are one of those that complain about your browser taking more than 2 seconds to load as well.
Regarding gps stability, there are a couple of different things to try, namely one of the more rare things is calibrating the compass. There are many videos on Youtube, just search 'smart phone calibrate compass'. You'll find 3-4 different methods, any will likely work. And yes, the compass does affect the gps keeping a lock in speeds higher than 20 mph.
Another thing to try is downloading the latest gps satellite data. There are several apps available on the market that can do this (GPS Test, GPS Essentials, and GPS Status all do this).
littlewierdo said:
Really? Your complaining about 12 seconds to a gps lock? (regarding the OP)
Give me a break...
My DEDICATED GPS Tomtom unit takes over 2 minutes to get a lock, I consider it a blessing that my phone locks faster than a dedicated gps.
Good Lord...
My guess is you are one of those that complain about your browser taking more than 2 seconds to load as well.
Regarding gps stability, there are a couple of different things to try, namely one of the more rare things is calibrating the compass. There are many videos on Youtube, just search 'smart phone calibrate compass'. You'll find 3-4 different methods, any will likely work. And yes, the compass does affect the gps keeping a lock in speeds higher than 20 mph.
Another thing to try is downloading the latest gps satellite data. There are several apps available on the market that can do this (GPS Test, GPS Essentials, and GPS Status all do this).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why so excitable and quick to judge? "Give me a break..."? "Good Lord..."? Really?
Your TomTom uses GPS, not GLONASS and does not have Assisted GPS. GLONASS and A.GPS should allow a faster fix. With these new and additional technologies, the phone SHOULD get a much faster fix than your TomTom. You're comparing apples and oranges.
My Evo 3D, Galaxy Nexus, and other phones I metioned, with GPS (no GLONASS) and A.GPS will almost ALWAYS get a fix in 2-5 seconds. If enough research is done here at XDA, you will find that many newer devices, if working properly, *should* get a lock in under ten seconds. Your "DEDICATED GPS Tomtom" [sic] is a different and arguably less advanced animal.
Another example--the built-in GPS in my two vehicles lock IMMEDIATELY when the car is on. Why? Because they remember the last location, use brake sensors, steering angle sensors, and accelerometers to determine location. If they do not lock immediately, something is wrong.
If you re-read my original post--I am trying to figure out if others have the same problem, and attempting to understand what others are experiencing. At the same time, I provided information on GLONASS, in case other owners didn't know they had it.
For a just-released, $650 device, I expected mine to perform on-par with other phones. Perhaps mine is defective? I wanted to find out if I need a replacement. Last checked, this forum is about people asking questions, sharing information, and learning something. To that end, I am puzzled at your comments--it seems like *you're* the one who is complaining...
So yes, really!
littlewierdo said:
My guess is you are one of those that complain about your browser taking more than 2 seconds to load as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? Really?!
Chief Geek said:
Sounds like you need "Kick GPS - The 12 Step Program"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I suppose...
While I'm her--there is also F GPS (fake GPS, provides coordinate of your choice to the location manager), GPS to MMS (allows you to send a text/MMS with your current coordinates), and GPS Speedo (a nice GPS-based speedometer).
See the edited OP. I made an interesting observation today. It seems like GLONASS signals are less able to penetrate objects...
My Note's GPS performance is flawless and is my most loved feature of the device. Superquick and very accurate.
I use the GPS all the time for backpacking, motorcycling, running and of course general finding all the stores my wife makes me take her shopping on the weekend.
Even better than my previous iPhone 4 and 3g.
My Samsung Infuse's GPS was a disaster taking forever getting a lock, loosing it, placing on the next road over, and not performing if sitting in the middle of my car...constant frustration so I REALLY am happy with my stock Notes GPS.
Sent from my Samsung Note via Tapatalk.

So many issues with this "Flagship" phone...

Picked up my AT&T G5 on April 23rd. Thought it was pretty darn good at the time, but after using it for a week there are just to many issues with it. Most of them seem to be common here on the forum, so I thought I would run down my list.
1. Dropping Network. I have found that about 2-3 times a day while the signal bars are showing full signal that there is n 4g or 1x icon. during this time I have no connectivity. cannot call, Email, text, surf the web, nothing. this tends to last for anywhere from a few seconds to last night it was over 40 mins. If I reboot the phone that seems to reestablish the network connection, but this is a huge issue to me. I need a reliable phone for work.
2. Dropping GPS. I am a guy that is used for issues at multiple work sites and facilities. As such I tend to use my GPS quite often. last week luckily I was at one static facility so I didnt need to rely on my GPS, but I ran it anyway as I had seen a number of people reporting issues with the G5 retaining GPS lock. about every 15-30 mins my phone would drop the GPS signal. it would take anywhere from a few seconds to 10 mins to reestablish. This is on a known route that i have never had any sort of GPS issues with any phones before.
3. Camera. I had the S4, S5, and then the S6 Edge. they all had pretty good cameras. Low light worked really well. the camera on the G5 does not compare. I thought I could live with it, but coupled with the other issues... Yea, its a problem for me. i like the wide angle camera, but the normal camera leaves a lot to be desired especially in low light situations.
4. Bluetooth. In my car i stream Pandora quite a bit. at least once a day i have to turn bluetooth back on as it will shut itself off in the middle of my commute. Again,not a deal breaker in and of itself, but with everything else...
5. Alarm Clock reliability. This is a strange one... the stock alarm clock tends to not go off for me. the app I normally download and use just plain didnt work with the G5. in one week the alarm has completely failed to go off 4 different days. I have checked all the settings, everything is right, nothing is killing the alarm clock app during the night, but in the morning it just wont go off. I have set the alarm and watched it waiting for it to go off for testing, and half the time when it does go off it is not audible. just the screen lights up. then if I leave everything set as it was and bump the time a couple mins so that it will go off again, the next time I will get audio. sometimes. its inconsistent, but the majority of the time it does not work properly.
6. Screen Quality. Ok, this one is really an issue with me. im jaded. I admit this. Coming from the AmoLED's on the Galaxy series looking at the G5's screen colors seem washed out. Not as sharp and bright. I know the Sammy phones over-saturate the colors, but I guess Im just used to them and because of that this screen Im just not happy with.
7. Always on display. Or what ever it is... the clock that is displayed on the screen when you turn off the screen and lock the phone. On the S6 edge I had only the clock numerals and such was lit. the rest of the screen remained off and black. With the G5 screen even though the screen looks like its off and black in a dark room you can tell the entire screen is on. it lights up my room at night. not a lot, but just enough to bug me. Again, not a deal breaker in and of itself, but with everything else....
8. Sound. streaming music via BT is fine, well as long as the BT remains on... using a pair of wired headphones the audio quality just isnt there. Playing the same track on my G5, my old GS6 Edge and my wifes S7 there is a definite sound quality loss with the G5. I have a set of Sennheiser studio headphones and I could tell ever time my wife plugged them into the G5. I was looking forward to the HIFI module, but well with all the rest here...
So this morning I went back to my AT&T store to return this phone since I was still within my 15 day period. Got there 20 mins before it opened and waited with 4 other people. when i got inside and all checked in to the que for help, the lady kinda chuckled. apparently the other 4 people were there to do the same thing, exchange the G5 for a different device.
I really wanted to like this phone. I really tried. One or two of the issues i could have lived with, but when they are all present... this does NOT seem like a flagship phone to me. seems more like a swing and a miss.
I don't have a G5, so my answer is only based on reviews and other users tests:
1) Here in italy all the reviewers claimed the G5 to have the beste signal in both mobile and wifi network compared to S7 Edge, P9 and HTC 10, so maybe your model was defective?
2) Nothing to say as it seems that other users suffered of this problem, i found nothing about GPS problems in reviews though.
3) G5 has the best camera in normal condition, in low light there is no competition because S7 obviously do a lot better.
4) Same as point 2, no problem in reviews, but some users here in xda have the same problem.
5) It's a third party app? Really, does it work on other devices with Marshmallow or with the Snapdragon 820? The stock app work? Other third party apps work?
6) Yep, that's it. But keep in mind that Amoled is anyway the best display.
7) AOD is totally wrong on both G5 and S7, in the first because in order to drain less battery the display backlight is very low, and in the second, and in my opinion is the more stupid, because it's useless, you can (for the moment) see only stock app notification, clock and date (maybe a very few other things)
8) The bluetooth issue is the same that you reported in point 4, and the story is again the same, some users reported it, but reviewers and other users are surprised for the good sound.
Just try to answer to some problems, i've no intention to argument
I have the poor signal and drops. I was blaming it on my carrier. I may take this back and get a different brand all together.
Hey Kill, In regards to #5, the stock app wasnt working reliably so I tried a app store app. that one wasnt reliable either. I always try to use the stock built in first.
In regards to #8 I was talking about the wired headphones via the headphone jack. BT audio sounded good, but the quality loss was with the wired headphones.
schollianmj said:
Hey Kill, In regards to #5, the stock app wasnt working reliably so I tried a app store app. that one wasnt reliable either. I always try to use the stock built in first.
In regards to #8 I was talking about the wired headphones via the headphone jack. BT audio sounded good, but the quality loss was with the wired headphones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the #5 strange, never heard something like this.
For the #8 i saw that, it's the same as other problems, some users have them, other not, and the reviewers never said nothing. Maybe there was a problem with the the jack itself, in my opinion the real issue with this phone is that you have high chances to get a faulty one, moreover in us where it was released first. In my country I'm still waiting for users feedback
I love my lg g5. I get bored of phones and switch up so regularly but still absolutely loving it. I mainly got it for the camera, and I'm more impressed than I was with my beloved lg g4. In manual mode I still believe it's better than the s7 (I tested then both over the course of a week).
That data drop is interesting though. Happens to me too, but can't figure out if it might be something to do with whether you turn wi-fi on or off. Seems linked, as happens to me at work.
I have the ATT one too. Got it the day before launch... Screen i think comes second to the S7 TBh, but is still pretty damn good... Camera I find is sick, better than the competition in my opinion. I haven't had any issues with data or signal loss whatsoever, however I can confirm when using GPS the signal will either drop, or it won't lock on at all until I just about hold it to the top of my front windshield!!! The sound I find is fine, but im no audio engineer either. I use jaybird X2 BT ear buds and I think they sound fantastic with no Bluetooth signal loss ever... Alarm issue is a new one to me.. No problems here and I constantly have to change the time due to our ridiculous work schedule.
One can definitely understand why you are bringing yours back. Hope you enjoy your next device.
Sent from my LG-H820 using XDA-Developers mobile app
schollianmj said:
Picked up my AT&T G5 on April 23rd. Thought it was pretty darn good at the time, but after using it for a week there are just to many issues with it. Most of them seem to be common here on the forum, so I thought I would run down my list.
1. Dropping Network. I have found that about 2-3 times a day while the signal bars are showing full signal that there is n 4g or 1x icon. during this time I have no connectivity. cannot call, Email, text, surf the web, nothing. this tends to last for anywhere from a few seconds to last night it was over 40 mins. If I reboot the phone that seems to reestablish the network connection, but this is a huge issue to me. I need a reliable phone for work.
2. Dropping GPS. I am a guy that is used for issues at multiple work sites and facilities. As such I tend to use my GPS quite often. last week luckily I was at one static facility so I didnt need to rely on my GPS, but I ran it anyway as I had seen a number of people reporting issues with the G5 retaining GPS lock. about every 15-30 mins my phone would drop the GPS signal. it would take anywhere from a few seconds to 10 mins to reestablish. This is on a known route that i have never had any sort of GPS issues with any phones before.
3. Camera. I had the S4, S5, and then the S6 Edge. they all had pretty good cameras. Low light worked really well. the camera on the G5 does not compare. I thought I could live with it, but coupled with the other issues... Yea, its a problem for me. i like the wide angle camera, but the normal camera leaves a lot to be desired especially in low light situations.
4. Bluetooth. In my car i stream Pandora quite a bit. at least once a day i have to turn bluetooth back on as it will shut itself off in the middle of my commute. Again,not a deal breaker in and of itself, but with everything else...
5. Alarm Clock reliability. This is a strange one... the stock alarm clock tends to not go off for me. the app I normally download and use just plain didnt work with the G5. in one week the alarm has completely failed to go off 4 different days. I have checked all the settings, everything is right, nothing is killing the alarm clock app during the night, but in the morning it just wont go off. I have set the alarm and watched it waiting for it to go off for testing, and half the time when it does go off it is not audible. just the screen lights up. then if I leave everything set as it was and bump the time a couple mins so that it will go off again, the next time I will get audio. sometimes. its inconsistent, but the majority of the time it does not work properly.
6. Screen Quality. Ok, this one is really an issue with me. im jaded. I admit this. Coming from the AmoLED's on the Galaxy series looking at the G5's screen colors seem washed out. Not as sharp and bright. I know the Sammy phones over-saturate the colors, but I guess Im just used to them and because of that this screen Im just not happy with.
7. Always on display. Or what ever it is... the clock that is displayed on the screen when you turn off the screen and lock the phone. On the S6 edge I had only the clock numerals and such was lit. the rest of the screen remained off and black. With the G5 screen even though the screen looks like its off and black in a dark room you can tell the entire screen is on. it lights up my room at night. not a lot, but just enough to bug me. Again, not a deal breaker in and of itself, but with everything else....
8. Sound. streaming music via BT is fine, well as long as the BT remains on... using a pair of wired headphones the audio quality just isnt there. Playing the same track on my G5, my old GS6 Edge and my wifes S7 there is a definite sound quality loss with the G5. I have a set of Sennheiser studio headphones and I could tell ever time my wife plugged them into the G5. I was looking forward to the HIFI module, but well with all the rest here...
So this morning I went back to my AT&T store to return this phone since I was still within my 15 day period. Got there 20 mins before it opened and waited with 4 other people. when i got inside and all checked in to the que for help, the lady kinda chuckled. apparently the other 4 people were there to do the same thing, exchange the G5 for a different device.
I really wanted to like this phone. I really tried. One or two of the issues i could have lived with, but when they are all present... this does NOT seem like a flagship phone to me. seems more like a swing and a miss.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Humm, I haven't had any such issues....
Hope you enjoy your new device.
As a comparison, my data, gps, Bluetooth and such all work fine. When using an auxiliary cable in my car I had that hissing sound, but using the alternate 3.5mm port on the back of my radio fixed the issue.
The only part of the phone that could use some fine tuning is the strength of the paint or whatever it's calledy. The paint got a little rough or irritated in a couple spots from removing a tpu case less than ten times. I also noticed a little chip in the coating near the charging port. I'm very careful with my phones. My G2 has less blemishes at this point and I've had that thing forever. I'll be curious to see how it will hold up over the next year, at the least.
Who knows, my paint problem could be a minority issue just as others with GPS and data issues. In my case, instead of getting a new device that could possibly have more than superficial defects. I'll keep the one with the funky paint.
As we all know, there's lots to love about this phone. I'm sure as hell keeping mine.
All the problems I hear about seem to be non existant on the unbranded variants or variants for carriers outside the US...
Also AT&T H820 seems to have the most issues.
Had this phone for a week now with no issues.I've only read one bad report of a variant outside the US...
Not saying LG is not at fault but this what happens when carriers mess with the firmware...doesn't explain quality issues but most of it seems to be with AT&T
My main issue is the ambient light sensor causing the image to flicker in low light when using the FFC, and the obvious auto brightness issue. This needs to get fixed ASAP by LG.
Everything else is working just fine for me. Battery life is meh, but as others have mentioned the stand by time is amazing feels similar to the performance of an iPhone in terms of battery life. Bluetooth works fine as well.
I do not have any of these issues. So have to say I disagree with this post completely.
1 Carrier issues, ie network is your mobile provider. Mine drops never. 4G 2 to 3 bars most of the time.
2. GPS on mine is perfect, many journeys well over half an hour, no issues at all.
3. The camera beats out any other phone I've used low light and craps over the Galaxy S's Barring the 7. (You need to use manual or a steady hand but still stands)
4. BT issues is the devices you are connecting to.
5. Alarm clock always goes off for me.. maybe you're turning it off in your sleep, or some settings you've altered or app you've downloaded
6. S6 and 7 screens are better, no doubt, except in sunlight where the S6 is not really useable but G5 is absolutely perfect in sun. As bright as if you're indoors.
7. Always on display drains too much battery so I turn it off... I like my 6.5 hours screen on time at 75% brightness.
8. Sound quality trounces my old S6 and Xperia Z5, can't say much else about this. It's louder and clearer and bassier.
Have to say i'm happy with this phone and thanks to the wide angle lens.. I might just end up keeping it.
UK H850 Stock Rom had for 4 weeks now.
1. Dropping Network. -- This has been better than my old Z2. In fact some "dead spots" that my friends phone suffer from I find my phone still has 2 bars
2. Dropping GPS. -- Used the LG fitness tracker the other day and it was really accurate to the paths I walked when check on google maps. CHecking some photos on google and they are accurate to 2 metres.
3. Camera. -- Low light has not been an issue for me, but if it were I'd switch to the manual mode. Done some amazing sunsets thanks to the manual mode
4. Bluetooth. -- Only used with headphones but never had an issue. Streamed for couple of hours to a portable speaker at a bbq this weekend and was faultless.
5. Alarm Clock reliability.-- Not used that feature. Have used the timer function for cooking and that works a treat, very loud as well
6. Screen Quality.-- I thought my Xperia Z2 screen was good, the G5 is blinding when you set brightness up. It's amazing for outdoor use in sun light. I have seen the S6 screen, colours look freakish and don't match when on a TV or monitor
7. Always on display. -- I have stopped turning my phone on thanks to this and the battery usage is insane, it barely uses it. Also I have noticed it changes brightness based on on light sensor. Plus if I want it off I cover the proximity sensor or flip it.
8. using a pair of wired headphones the audio quality just isnt there. -- Yet this has a 24bit DAC, better than the S7 (dependent on processor) and most other flagships. The basic headphones with it are crap but they are cheap. But my sony nc ones sound amazing with it.
I read a lot of bad things about quality whee this launched but then I reminded myself, people only tend to have time to complain about things and no praise. I know I'm guilty of that. In fact I'll layout my one complaint about the G5, the UI. It's not as "clever" or usable as what I'm used to with the Xperia. But I can change that with 3rd party software and root.
Maybe you have a bad one, or may as someone else pointed out the issue is the carriers forcing changes on base model. All those variants could be affecting the quality control.
I have the H860N dual sim version, not having any problems as mentioned above apart from the alarm part.
I set my alarm on at 3pm and 4pm with snooze in case I over slept, but some how the alarm goes off at around 9:20pm and also the set alarm times, not sure if it's related to other features.
I'm still testing it now.
I just wanted to chime in here.
I have the LG G5 on Verizon and my signal is horrid. I lose LTE coverage all the time. This is NOT the network as I also carry a LG G4 with me that is also on Verizon and it always has a LTE connection and a strong signal at the time that the G5 drops. I am getting Verizon to replace the device, hopefully this resolves the issue.
They had me use the Repair tool on my PC along with multiple factory resets. They event went as far as to blame the Google Application updates that were from the Play store, aka looking for a cop out.
The only issue that I've had with my G5 has been with the AT&T LTE signal. Sometimes I find the phone struggling to stay on LTE for a minute or two. This is not a big problem for me but it is sometimes annoying when I try to watch a video or something. I live in the Washington DC area and LTE service is pretty strong over most of the area, so it's not a carrier issue. Again it's not a big deal and most of the time I don't notice it.
Regarding the camera, it's one of the best smartphone cameras I've seen yet, I've taken some pretty amazing shots and all of them have been in full auto mode.
If your device is having that many issues, you should probably return it.
You are right
Pphish20 said:
All the problems I hear about seem to be non existant on the unbranded variants or variants for carriers outside the US...
Also AT&T H820 seems to have the most issues.
Had this phone for a week now with no issues.I've only read one bad report of a variant outside the US...
Not saying LG is not at fault but this what happens when carriers mess with the firmware...doesn't explain quality issues but most of it seems to be with AT&T
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wonder why AT&T and other U.S. carriers like to put their own software on top of LG factory image. Unbranded LG G5 works great!
Maybe you are right, Carriers 's bloatware may cause those issues.
---------- Post added at 10:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:35 PM ----------
Go hidden menu, Run a ALL-AUTO-TEST, you can test the LTE NETWORK issues, If in test mode, the LTE never drops. It is not the hardware issue. According to my experience, Most of issues are caused by Carrier firmware.
I have this same issue with the alarm clock. sometimes it works my early morning alarm rarely goes off.
I have tried adding the alarm clock app to the battery optimization exception list and that hasn't helped.
Third party apps on the optimization list or off still unreliable.
anyone find a solution for this? i may try a factory reset this weekend.
other apps like KIK seem to have the same problem like they just stop functioning when the screen is off. I get a flood of messages when i unlock the screen.
could it have something to do with device encryption? i don't think my phone always had these problems and that;s the only big change i can think of that i made.
I haven't had a single one of the listed issues on my Verizon phone other than the pretty bad low light camera, which does bum me out because it was weirdly a lot better on my G4? Daylight photos are absolutely beautiful.
I also use my alarm every night with no issues.
The update my phone downloaded last Friday seems to have fixed my issues with the alarm clock.
Sent from my LGLS992 using XDA-Developers mobile app

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