Develop Bugs

T-MOBILE DASH help with GPS!

So I have the T-Mobile Dash and use Google Maps a lot for phone numbers, maps, directions and what not...but the GPS "My Location" setting never worked. So I figured the Dash didn't support GPS.
However, i upgraded to WM6.1 on this site, Kavanas i found on here, and as it wiped out the phone and I started using it again.....google maps DID let me use the my location GPS setting and now I can see the dot on the map where i am, and it moves and works, so I figured my phone indeed had GPS now...
I am trying to use a golf GPS application, and I never get a signal....do i have GPS? shouldnt it work if google maps uses GPS? should I manually set it up using the COM ports and rates it allows me to manually enter instead of checkin automatically use windows default gps settings?

I am pretty sure that (1) an upgrade would not simply give you GPS and (2) the dash (1st generation not 3G) does not have GPS built it (as it is a major 'improvement' to the Dash 3G).
If that program started to work for you, it may have been using triangulation calculations by locating the 3[+] towers your phone is connected to at one time (at least for T-Mobile this is so)and finding your coordinate.
The problem could be lack of signal in the Golf Course, or maybe you are switching between towers too fast, or possibly the trees are interfering, or a final problem could be that the towers you are connecting to do have any position data being emitted, so the program can't gather coordinates.
Those are my 2¢ (i may be wrong)

i agree with cyclone. i believe in my limited knowledge that our dash's do not have gps, rather an estimate with trianglation which is why in googlemaps im usually 2-3 streets from my actual location. and it does not work for bing's gps

The dash does not come with GPS.
Google maps and similar apps do indeed triangulate and/or guestimate from cell towers. I'm no golfer, but I suspect that this is never going to be accurate enough to be of any help on the course - your position is going to be, maybe, 500 yards/metres out.
You can, however, pick up little bluetooth GPS units on eBay for about £15, $20 or so. These work very well with the Dash. I have one myself - the only problem I've had with them is they get lost easily and some have lots of flashing LEDs on, you get funny looks from security people if you have it in a shirt pocket!!

ratstrangler said:
The dash does not come with GPS.
Google maps and similar apps do indeed triangulate and/or guestimate from cell towers. I'm no golfer, but I suspect that this is never going to be accurate enough to be of any help on the course - your position is going to be, maybe, 500 yards/metres out.
You can, however, pick up little bluetooth GPS units on eBay for about £15, $20 or so. These work very well with the Dash. I have one myself - the only problem I've had with them is they get lost easily and some have lots of flashing LEDs on, you get funny looks from security people if you have it in a shirt pocket!!
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I live in the middle of town GMaps puts me out in the sticks about 5-6 miles away lol
Didn't notice you was Welsh shwmae

Diolch butt.
Keep a secret?
I'm a Scouser, only been down here for 20 years.
Shh!

ratstrangler said:
Diolch butt.
Keep a secret?
I'm a Scouser, only been down here for 20 years.
Shh!
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Click to collapse
Hay we all have to be born somewhere
I get Diolch not the butt, i lived down poppit sands for a while so only knowz what the local's would say, labouring

Butt/butty = buddy.
It's probably a Valleys thing.

Why is GPS so important

Ok so I see/read about all these leaks and blah blah and on every forum I go to people complain about gps I don't see the big deal I hardly use gps it doesn't seem to bother me what do u guys use gps so much for that when looking at a rom or phone gps has to be a priority just curious I guess yes I kno about traveling is that it or am I missing something
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Because I sold my gps to get my epic
And I have to drive places I don't know very well
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App

But I mean how off can ur gps be? Some people complain about meer feet I understand the traveling idea cause yea I use it to go to the other sides of town where I live but to choose whether or not ur gonna get a certain rom, phone, manufacture cause of gps problems I think its crazy..if that's the only reason some people are just picky I thought maybe gps dealt with somethin else that's why people cared about it so much?
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Before I got my tab I used GPS quite often. It was a feature I bought the phone for and I wanted it to work. Surprisingly my Gtab has a great GPS.
My wife the real estate agent seems to think it's pretty important too.

I stopped bringing my gps places. I pay for the service, it should work.

guess that makes since I'm still not gonna not get a phone I've been excited about cause I hear it has gps issues that's just me maybe
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Mine has made stupid mistakes that made me retrace an exit or 2, but i really can't say my regular gps has performed so perfectly.

thall302559 said:
Ok so I see/read about all these leaks and blah blah and on every forum I go to people complain about gps I don't see the big deal I hardly use gps it doesn't seem to bother me what do u guys use gps so much for that when looking at a rom or phone gps has to be a priority just curious I guess yes I kno about traveling is that it or am I missing something
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
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The average person needs GPS for a lot of reasons. Some people actually use it rather than pretend they know where they are going, only to get lost, drive like an over cautious idiot causing accidents because they really dont know where they are going. I got my dad an Epic for the GPS because he's one of those people.

Gps is very useful for many reasons. Of course the obvious is getting around town.
But it also integrates with many apps that use your location. Such as yelp, or movie app, or facebook etc...
True, you could always manually enter your location, but one of the main selling points for me on a smartphone is to reduce the amount of things I need to do in my daily life.
Getting back to "getting around town". Instead of looking up directions and printing them out, and still possibly not know exactly where to go... I can hop in my car, pull up my calendar and literally touch phone twice to start navigating me to my destination.
Of course this won't apply to everyone, but I know it certainly helps me in my daily life.
Also just fyi, people aren't just containing about a few feet. A lot of roms have completely broken gps or gps that displays wrong location.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Well for the reasons ^^^
And I'll put it this way. Lets say you have a car with 4 doors and u dont have many people ride in the back. Don't you still want your 2 rear windows to work?
Sent from the Drivers Seat of my Suby txting and Driving doing 100MPH+ in a school zone! Ha.

In many cases the GPS just locks up while driving somewhere. So it requires a reboot to get it going again...not cool at 70 MPH on the highway. The GPS on our phone takes the place of a Garmin or TOM TOM and is a very important feature for most of us when choosing a phone. For people that don't go anywhere unknown to them it is no big deal. I do AC work and go to 5-8 new places a day. Don't want to sit with a map trying to figure out where I am going.

Because when one lives in a major city, gps with real-time traffic reports is invaluable to have while trying to commute to and from work for example. Not a priority when you live in a small town and know all the roads and such.
Don't want to be like that one kid on the Verizon commercial who has a utility belt with 5-7 devices attached to it.
All-in-one is ideal.

The Root said:
Mine has made stupid mistakes that made me retrace an exit or 2, but i really can't say my regular gps has performed so perfectly.Not all map programs are create equal. Google maps have some of the worst routing IQs around and that is why it is free. You get what you pay for. TOMTOM has the best routing IQs and so is Garmen both of these program are not available for Android yet. But I heard TOMTOM is coming soon.
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The main reason I care is the location aware stuff. Knowing where you are is incredibly useful. Plus it *is* my only GPS device.

ghostrid3r said:
Because when one lives in a major city, gps with real-time traffic reports is invaluable to have while trying to commute to and from work for example.
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Thsi is the main reason I use my GPS.
Traffic around here can be a massive issue, and knowing where to avoid, can change what could have been an all day parking experience, into a 20min trip, simply by not getting stuck behind an accident that has the highway closed, with no way to exit

zman519 said:
Well for the reasons ^^^
And I'll put it this way. Lets say you have a car with 4 doors and u dont have many people ride in the back. Don't you still want your 2 rear windows to work?
Sent from the Drivers Seat of my Suby txting and Driving doing 100MPH+ in a school zone! Ha.
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You hit the nail on the head!

Well, most location services work just fine without knowing EXACTLY where you are.
Other than the obvious that we don't need a reason, it should work, it can work, so when a rom comes out where it doesn't, we should fix that. The thing I use my phone for least is phone calls. That doesn't mean I should shrug my shoulders and go "oh well, I don't use it much" when I find out my phone doesn't actually ring for half my phone calls. (Ah HTC Hero, how I miss thee)
"mere feet" is a big deal while driving, even if that were the major complaint, which it isn't. (Sometimes it makes no attempts to talk to sats, other time it sees 3 but never locks. Other times it locks fine, but loses GPS at some point, never to return)
Mere feet in a big city can mean it not even knowing what road you're on, telling you to turn right 2 seconds after you passed your turn, and then not being narrowed in enough to realize it needs to reroute, until often times that route is now also moot.

kennyglass123 said:
In many cases the GPS just locks up while driving somewhere. So it requires a reboot to get it going again...not cool at 70 MPH on the highway. The GPS on our phone takes the place of a Garmin or TOM TOM and is a very important feature for most of us when choosing a phone. For people that don't go anywhere unknown to them it is no big deal. I do AC work and go to 5-8 new places a day. Don't want to sit with a map trying to figure out where I am going.
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Air Conditioning? If so me too lol
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App

kennyglass123 said:
In many cases the GPS just locks up while driving somewhere. So it requires a reboot to get it going again...not cool at 70 MPH on the highway. The GPS on our phone takes the place of a Garmin or TOM TOM and is a very important feature for most of us when choosing a phone. For people that don't go anywhere unknown to them it is no big deal. I do AC work and go to 5-8 new places a day. Don't want to sit with a map trying to figure out where I am going.
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Click to collapse
I have had the same problem and did the reboot thing to get my gps back also - but what I have found that works for me and is better and faster than a reboot, YMMV, is that I turn on airplane mode and than I turn it off and doing so it relocks/finds my gps again - faster than a reboot - and yes, I have done it while I was driving, but hey no worse than dialing a phone number.

rgregg504 said:
Air Conditioning? If so me too lol
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App
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Yup. AC/Heating plus plumbing and electrical when things are slow. I dunno AC tech in Florida...what was I thinking...LOL.

Signal & GPS Reliability

All -
I'm hoping for a clear honest assessment of the reliability of the signal and GPS on the E4GT. I use CoPilot a TON for navigation and absolutely need the GPS to get a reasonably fast lock and be both fast (in terms of true-to-location while moving) and accurate. I also need the phone to not be dropping calls (I left AT&T for this very reason).
The reason for my post is simple - I've done a ton of reading threads both here and other sites and at this point am a bit worried that my planned purchase of the dreamy SII may have a few flaws. I've read post-after-post about signal loss issues as well as posts about very unreliable GPS qualities. But many of these posts appear to have been from the September-to-December timeframe and potentially were fixed or were older hardware versions.
SOoooo... I'm hoping a few of you real-life current owners can quell the fear - I so covet that gorgeous screen and dual-core processor. But the fact of the matter is that my Evo 4G gets near instantaneous GPS lock and pretty much never drops a call. I don't want to buy the E4GT and end up hating it for the 2 features I need most.
Thank you all in advance for your time -

I came from an evo as well and the call quality isn't an issue but the GPS is non existent on the phone. To be fair some time it locks with a few minutes some times it won't get a lock for 30 minutes even when I use GPS tool box to clear data and download the agps assistance. I'm in So Cal, in the high desert where we only have 2 story buildings and a pretty clear view of the sky.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App

Rats... bad GPS is a deal-breaker for me Maybe you're alone and I'll get nothing but rave reviews, right? Right?

I use GPS 4 to 5 times a day. You just need to turn GPS on. Then reboot. It sometimes takes a few minutes but always locks and always gets me where I want to go. Miner glitch in otherwise perfect phone

best gps for getting to a known address
Never had a dropped call yet. Use the gps multiple times a day and takes 1-20s to lock on, usually if it takes longer than that then something is wrong with the address. One notable problem is when using Google Navigate to search for say a McDonalds,it might give an address only relatively close and you'll need to look up the real address manually and have it go to that one instead. Also remember all phones are build a little different too so result can be way different.

The turn on-reboot-wait method on the GPS is straight up a deal breaker for me. With my "OG" Evo, I turn on GPS, and by the time CoPilot is loaded (typically about 10 seconds) the GPS is locked and ready to rock. With a newer and significantly more expensive phone, I refuse to be taking steps backward. I so badly wanted this phone but I think I'll have to wait... Or try the 3D.
Again - thanks all for your input -

mybikegoes200 said:
I so badly wanted this phone but I think I'll have to wait... Or try the 3D.
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This is one of those areas that really has no definitive answer. Luckily my GPS seems to work fine with pretty instant lock (knock on wood). I've seen reports of others that can't get locks unless they stand on their heads and rub their bellys, lol.
The best advice I can give is to actually get the phone and try it... if it doesn't work you have 14 days to return it and go with another one.

I have only seen problems with my GPS using google maps but if i use telenav or just Nav which also came on my phone its comes up w/i 5-10 seconds. Signal is good but not bad, i had the EVO 3d which was horrible, moto photon was excellent but i would put this signal right in the middle of them at "OK". I havent dropped very many calls but i do travel in rural areas so i cant down grade the signal for dead spots from Sprint

I have never really experienced GPS issues... I have only had one time where it took it about a minute to lock and route address.

I'd say bite the bullet and go for it. Seems like many who don't get good GPS trade their phones in for another and then they get good GPS. Seems like a quality control issue with samsung and GPS. You could always trade yours in if it's no good.
For me, my GPS locks take a while, unless I use GPS Status first, which locks consistently in < 10 sec.

If you decide to take the plunge and your ET4G has crap GPS, have them exchange it. I have a YouTube video that shows my first copy (which was aweful) and my second copy that to this day is fantastic.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

I appreciate all the input. Maybe I've been spoiled by the GPS quality on the OG Evo - which pretty much never takes longer than 10 seconds to lock. I don't have to do any silly reboots or gps status or clearing this or that... I turn on GPS, click the link for CoPilot - and by the time CoPilot loads gps has a lock. I've talked to enough people both online and locally to have the heebie jeebies about the E4GT.
Soooo... Right or wrong, what I decided to do is buy an Evo 3D on Craigslist to try that and hopefully either wait for a consistently good report on E4GT or a different phone with a more reliable GPS. That way I can still upgrade via contract if and when that time comes.
Again I thank you all for your input -

I never had a problem with gps on the et4g. It works perfect. When I saw buddy got gps working on cm7 I couldn't believe it bc it never worked for me when I had the evo...
I believe this device had better gps quality..
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

HTC One X Newcomer

Greets all,
Just wanted to say I will be amongst you all by Wed, I got my HTC one X phone in white (after reading the posts about which is better), I always had black, but time for a change.
My Birthday present to myself
One question is does anyone know if the GPS is any better in this phone then prior? I know that in the past my files for the gps have made a vast improvement to the gps, and I was wondering if anyone uses it on this phone or if its even neccessary?

You should have read a little more on here as lots of people have gps not working due to a bug

AngelDeath said:
Greets all,
Just wanted to say I will be amongst you all by Wed, I got my HTC one X phone in white (after reading the posts about which is better), I always had black, but time for a change.
My Birthday present to myself
One question is does anyone know if the GPS is any better in this phone then prior? I know that in the past my files for the gps have made a vast improvement to the gps, and I was wondering if anyone uses it on this phone or if its even neccessary?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You've got to dig a bit to find most of the GPS complaints, but they're out there. Some minor, some severe. Minor ones fix with an update to aGPS files. Others like mine have major issues holding an accurate location. I'm thinking it's a hardware flaw for those of us with that problem.
Good luck with yours.

Compare with my HD2, which can't fix location indoor near window (I'm in HK), HOX can get the location fixed in around 20s indoor near window, I think it is such a great improvement. However, I didn't check if the gps information is accurate or not.

I'm curious how come you guys are having problems with GPS, it locks faster than my old DHD and pin point my location accurately

Well mine will be obviously the international one and will be testing it out Wed when it comes in. To the ones that have issues, have you tried the files I made for different regions? Most if not all Android phones use a generic gps.conf file, and when the HD2 didnt have agps working properly, I crafted the gps.conf to basically work with the HD2 until the agps driver was rebuilt, but along the way, it turned out that native android phones greatly benefited from the files I made for the HD2 because the agps driver was already there. All my phones (Aria, HD2, Inspire, Vivid) all get gps locks in under 15 seconds outdoors, and near 20 indoors, with the exception of hardware related issues.
Also take something into consideration as well, the ril/radio obviously makes a difference, as well as if you have a casing on your phone, rubber or hard will also hamper your signal, but i will be looking at how well mine handles once it gets here, going to see stock and 2 days later with my file in place.

AngelDeath said:
Greets all,
Just wanted to say I will be amongst you all by Wed, I got my HTC one X phone in white (after reading the posts about which is better), I always had black, but time for a change.
My Birthday present to myself
One question is does anyone know if the GPS is any better in this phone then prior? I know that in the past my files for the gps have made a vast improvement to the gps, and I was wondering if anyone uses it on this phone or if its even neccessary?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was shocked how fast GPS lock on is on this phone, I have the International version and I lock on to satellites within 10 seconds. usually when I set up navigation i'll be searching for GPS on average for 5 seconds with no drop outs.
A far cry from the Miserable GPS on my old Desire HD which could take up to a minute or just never connect.

TommUK, most complained about that, but after my file, it was a 180 degree turnaround, mine locks on avg with 5 seconds of turning on any navigation app I have (Sygic, Navigon, Google Maps, or IGO), I use mine quite often, and as soon as I put the phone in the cradle and hit navigon, by the time I hit the map button the lock is already there. I know my daughters HTC Vivid when she got it brand new I tested the gps, couldnt get jack for 5 minutes, so I said F this, she wanted it rooted anyway, rooted it, then put my file in, fired up gps status, downloaded the agps, 15 seconds later lock.
But I'm eager to toy with this baby, cant wait, hate waiting, I want my new toy now! (Damn I sound like that girl from Willy Wonka that wanted a gold laying goose LOL)

I remember using your files on my hd2 and they worked a treat, however gps doesn't work at all on it now sadly. (Nothing to do with your files I might add)
On my one x no such problem, I can get a fix indoors even if I'm not by the window within 30 seconds.
I've navigated to the lake district on a two hour journey without any loss of signal at all.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium

The GPS is very good on the One X for acquiring signal and the no of satellites it locks on to.
However, compared to phones can also use Glonass (Russian satellites), the performance is not that good. You can see the test I did comparing the One X to the Galaxy Note here.

AngelDeath said:
TommUK, most complained about that, but after my file, it was a 180 degree turnaround, mine locks on avg with 5 seconds of turning on any navigation app I have (Sygic, Navigon, Google Maps, or IGO), I use mine quite often, and as soon as I put the phone in the cradle and hit navigon, by the time I hit the map button the lock is already there. I know my daughters HTC Vivid when she got it brand new I tested the gps, couldnt get jack for 5 minutes, so I said F this, she wanted it rooted anyway, rooted it, then put my file in, fired up gps status, downloaded the agps, 15 seconds later lock.
But I'm eager to toy with this baby, cant wait, hate waiting, I want my new toy now! (Damn I sound like that girl from Willy Wonka that wanted a gold laying goose LOL)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The GPS problem that has many returning their phones isn't that the GPS takes too long, it's that it can't maintain a lock or accurate position. Keep the phone perfectly still, not moving at all, and the GPS will still report you as moving at high rates of speed and wandering all over the neighborhood, sometimes many blocks away from your actual position. There's a few vids on youtube demonstrating this.
I've tried a few "fixes", including crypted's and fasterfix from the market; no joy in fixing my phones. GPS is useless for me. I haven't tried your fix, will seek it out, but not anticipating it to fix the issue.

Mine works fine, better than any phone I have used so far.
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA

[Q] Maps/GPS crashing constantly

I'm having a major issue (to me at least) since I got this phone a couple weeks ago. If I use Google Maps as I do on a regular basis, it crashes and asks me to send report etc. It does this everytime I use it, usually within about 10-20 minutes use, sometimes sooner, and no matter if I uninstall updates, or update it, clear cache/data, restart, run it on battery or plug it in, etc etc... I even went so far to swap the phone for a brand new one two times in the past few days and it still does it! Stock phone, no mods or even extra apps on this recent one yet
Any ideas on how to fix this? The first phone got super hot almost untouchable, and the phone froze a couple of the times too, and the camera was doing some real wacky things too, so we figured it was a defect, but not sure now as the new ones have done the same thing (constant crashing.) I rely on the Maps on a regular basis for work, and it's not exactly safe to stop on the side of the highway to reset the phone and restart the maps! I've not had these issues at all on my last S3, Razr V or my Nokia I have/had. I realize I'm probably better off with a real GPS unit, but the phones seem sot do the trick fine (well, when it works with this M8!) and I don't want to have to carry around multiple units...
Thanks

It seems that you have a faulty one on the second unit too. Get a replacement then set everything up at the store and test the maps there.
I got my M8 on May 9 and was on holiday in Sydney on May 10 to May 19 and I relied a lot on Maps to move around when I was there ... and no, not a single problem I have till now.

I did, but the issue usually doesn't show up for 10-20 minutes, which I told them dozens of times. I'm on my third phone now! They say they are not responsible for how an app affects the phone, and won't switch it again!

Ah.. that's bad. How about HTC Service centre ? Maybe they can check for you

I am thinking that, but it's a brand new phone(s). I can't send it away to be fixed as I need it daily... I did send a support email to HTC so will see what they suggest. I've been a lurker here for a while, so thought I'd post it up and see what y'all say too

The problem with Google maps is the navigation uses online maps which is rubbish and taxes the phone even more.
Give NAVFREE a go. Its pretty good and better than Google maps imo
Http://www.navmii.com/GPSNavigation
However if you want the best satnav app imo is Copilot premium, it works great for me.

ashyx said:
The problem with Google maps is the navigation uses online maps which is rubbish and taxes the phone even more.
Give NAVFREE a go. Its pretty good and better than Google maps imo
Http://www.navmii.com/GPSNavigation
However if you want the best satnav app imo is Copilot premium, it works great for me.
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Yes, I know what you mean about the offline/online. I used the Nokia ones before and liked them. The Navfree looks interesting, though ad banners on top are quite annoying.
I'll look into Copilot too, thxs... I wonder what the maps are like for these programs up here in Canada?

Still no word or even acknowledgement back from HTC
Third brand new phone and still crashes, tried old and new versions of google maps and it does it, cleared data/cache etc still no workie, sigh...
Going to pick up a Samsung Note 3 tomorrow, so will decide which I like and sell the other...
I installed Navfree on the M8 but haven't gone anywhere this week to try it out much...