Develop Bugs

[GUIDE/FIX] Potential fix for GPS issues with some ROMs

If your GPS isn't working with your new ROM, then try this method. It has worked for me for every ROM I've used with a problem connecting to GPS. I've seen the problem posted in several ROM threads, and instead of posting it in each one and having it get lost in the hundreds of pages of posts, I figured I'd start a new one which might be searched for a little more easily.
- Open 'Settings' and go to 'Applications'. Choose 'Manage Applications'.
- Choose 'Running Apps'
- Find the 'Maps' app and open it. Click 'Force Stop' and choose 'Clear Data'.
- Go back to your app drawer and open 'Maps'. It will have you check off the disclaimers. Close it after you have done this.
- Open your 'Navigation' app and check off the disclaimers there. It should connect after that.​
Like I said, this has worked for every ROM I've tried with a problem connecting to GPS. I don't know why it works, but it does.
tags: gps not working, gps won't connect, gps issue, broken GPS

Didn't solve my GPS issue...which is that it doesn't toggle on what so ever.
Each new nightly I flash, I have to push an old gps.vision.so in order to get my gps to toggle on and off again.
Thanks anyway.
edit: No app on the market will make my GPS work...That is the type of GPS problem that I and some others are having.

try install the gpxfix or gps status from the market.. work well for me..

Same here...this didnt help.
Also installing GPS status did not help either.

As discussed in the nightlies thread, Cyanogen presumeably updated a crucial library responsible, among other, for GPS functionality which requires the/a new radio.
This also could explain why some users while having identical devices to other users do have GPS while others dont. They simply did upgrade the radio already earlier while the ones which are stuck with a bon-working GPS didnt and are still on the original radio, an "old" one in regards to the prerequisites of the "new" library added to the build.
Makes sense?

schaggo said:
As discussed in the nightlies thread, Cyanogen presumeably updated a crucial library responsible, among other, for GPS functionality which requires the/a new radio.
This also could explain why some users while having identical devices to other users do have GPS while others dont. They simply did upgrade the radio already earlier while the ones which are stuck with a bon-working GPS didnt and are still on the original radio, an "old" one in regards to the prerequisites of the "new" library added to the build.
Makes sense?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep...this is 100% correct.
And for what its worth, I went a head and flashed the new radio again just too see if in fact it does fix the GPS and yes it does.
Back to the T-Mobile US OTA radio and the gps.vision.so from Nightly #4 or earlier.

not 100% correct, i have the new radio and still have the gps problem... i've seen at least one other person with the same.
But i'm using a Bell Desire Z, maybe thats why

evilive27 said:
not 100% correct, i have the new radio and still have the gps problem... i've seen at least one other person with the same.
But i'm using a Bell Desire Z, maybe thats why
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you happen to use the app 'GPS Status' to check your gps after you upgraded? If not, what was the first gps application that you opened after you upgraded to CM7, if you can remember?

Scratch that....just reflashed the radio and nightly 13. Gps works a charm now! Thanks
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

Im on the stock ROM and have a problem. I think the GPS on these phones are messed up big time. Here is my problem.
stock rom with ota update and ota update radio= no GPS AT ALL it will just stick there blinking tryin to get a fixed signal but it wont! Happens in alll my GPS app not just maps.
So I downgraded my radio to the pre-ota one and GPS gets a fix but takes a minute or so.. after that I can leave the app and come back and itll refix itself within 5 seconds (what it should be normally).. So even downgraded I still have slight issues with gps.. plus for some reason if I loose signal for more than 5 mins on this radio it wont ever get a signal unless I reboot.
Im going to try your method but dont think itll work since my problem is not Maps specific.
EDIT: this seems to have worked, even on my the ota radio. I just dont understand why Maps would break GPS for all apps. Funny things is when something like this usually happens I clear app data but didnt do it here because it was all my GPS apps.

I'm glad it has worked for a couple people anyway. I don't know what the problem is that causes this, but it has worked on the ROMs I've flashed, so I figured it might be a good step to take before updating radios and things like that. Just in case the solution is as simple as just stopping Maps and clearing the data... If you have done more modification to your phone beyond just flashing ROMs, then this may not work for you since the problem may be bad radios or other issues. If you are just a ROM flasher without tweaking too much else, then this may solve your problemo.

evilive27 said:
not 100% correct, i have the new radio and still have the gps problem... i've seen at least one other person with the same.
But i'm using a Bell Desire Z, maybe thats why
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And I have the old radio, and never had a gps issue. Maybe not all the batches in the factory has the same chip, ic whatever?
Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk

I used to not have GPS issues either - european Desire Z btw - having said that, CM7 #14 breaks with that uuhm... tradtion. It's the first build giving me no GPS unless a new-ish (the 26.04 and 26.06 works) radio is flashed.

So wat is the new radio, I recently flashed a different radio but I'm not sure if its the latest radio out. Thx
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

New to this, can some on explain how to find an old radio and flash it? I am using CM9 build 78.. my GPS hasnt worked for any rom ive used since rooting..

dannynyc said:
New to this, can some on explain how to find an old radio and flash it? I am using CM9 build 78.. my GPS hasnt worked for any rom ive used since rooting..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Follow the instructions in this thread. Flash the updater and then the efs wipe tool through recovery.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1632482

GPS waiting for location

When using GPS it always says waiting for location no matter where I am..but on my zte blade its almost instant.
This happened on reduce rom, and now on cm7.
Please help as I need GPS alot
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

GPS is buggy in those 2.3 GB ROMs.
However one of them has it working fully (Gingervillain or latest Redux, I think).
But if you use it a lot stick with 2.2 ROMs.

Try another Radio or Kernel

tried all suggested but no luck.

Which CM7 build are you using? I had this problem with CM7 RC1 and RC2 but after I switched to RC3, GPS started to work.

GPS could be faulty. Flash the stock RUU, test again, and take it back if it still doesn't work.

Had this a couple of times before. I used fast reboot from the market to stop and start apps and processes worked a treat for me.
Make sure you disable GPS before you run the app. Hope it helps.

The thing is, that the GPS works fine when i get a GPS lock/fix.
But it takes so long to connect e.g 1-5mins.
My ZTE Blade has an instant 3-10sec lock every time.

Dhd gps issue

OK I tried every fix to try and get gps working, best I can get is picking up 1 sat but no fix
I'm using miui rom and have also had this problem with cm7 and android revolution rom
I'm using the cm7 recommended radio (not sure what its called, something m2 I think)
I could really do with this working, any ideas why? I'm using 3uk network
Sent from my HTC Desire HD

rosswaa said:
OK I tried every fix to try and get gps working, best I can get is picking up 1 sat but no fix
I'm using miui rom and have also had this problem with cm7 and android revolution rom
I'm using the cm7 recommended radio (not sure what its called, something m2 I think)
I could really do with this working, any ideas why? I'm using 3uk network
Sent from my HTC Desire HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
u tested it using fastex fix before?
u checked the back cover and metallic contacts?(this was solved my problem with gps)

Which back.cover? IV literally tried every kind of test /fix

rosswaa said:
Which back.cover? IV literally tried every kind of test /fix
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah i had exactly this problem and tried a lot of things.. no one worked for me...
but i retired the back cover (the battery cover) and here there are 2 metallic contacts that maked the gps work etc.. up contacts (with a little screw driver)to make better contact with the top...
and then test gps status apk pressing the cover...
do the same thing with the sim cover...
it sound stupid but really it worked for me!
post here the results... if don´t works we go to test another solution...
cheeeeers

Gps won't stay.on now, after a few seconds the symbol goes off
Sent from my HTC Desire HD

The GPS antenna is actually under the cover where the flashlight is. Picture
The one under the battery cover is for wifi and the one under the sim cover is for phone functions. Here's the thread about the fix: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1101066

rosswaa said:
Gps won't stay.on now, after a few seconds the symbol goes off
Sent from my HTC Desire HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your device does it always?
the symbol dissapears..?

I got it to stay in, I disabled assisted wifi thing and reenabled it and its searching but that's all it does
Sent from my HTC Desire HD

Change the agps mode in the build.prop from '2' to '1' mid way down. Delete the other entries near the begining and at the end. There are many duplicate and conflicting settings in the oem build props. Its actually quite rediculous that these build.props are released in final builds.
With a proper assisted signal, the phone will have to do less positioning calculations and will be able to aquire sat positioning faster.

which entry near the begining? where do i find the build.prop?
iv just done the fix above regarding the contact clean/spring pull just testing

if you've rooted the phone, you'll find it in the system directory on the device memory (using a file manager and superuser permissions you can access it and copy it to your sd card so you can move it to your pc, you can then edit it there and then use the sdk tools to push it back to your phone.
Here is a fixed up Gingerbread build.prop from the released wwe rom at the end of April
http://dcom.me/tP2ym (total file size is 5,508 bytes)
(right click, save target as or it will simply open in the browser)

just changed it in root explorer, and testing
edit. still no joy going to full wipe and try

did you reboot your device atleast twice (hard boot from a batt pull) ?

yep nothing, my mate sat next to me gets a fix really quick to 4 sats min and i get nothing

Great. its work for my DHD.

[Q] Gingervillain 3.3, GPS and Runkeeper app

Hey,
does anybody have experience with this? My desire is running Gingervillain 3.3, I've read that some people have been having GPS problems (can't post in Development threads yet).
Anyway, my GPS is working fine, but when I'm using the runkeeper app, sometimes GPS stops to work, seemingly at random. Sometime a reset of the app is enough, sometimes I have to reboot the phone in order to getg it to work again.
Anyone know whether this is a Gingervillain or a Runkeeper app issue? Will I have the same problems if I download an alternative app like RunStar to upload my data to runkeeper?
Thanks in advance,
Saxelfur

I have had a few bugs with GPS on GV 3.3, nothing to major tho. like the GPS icon doesn't disappear, or it randomly reboots if I use My Tracks with screen off and smartass governor... and sometimes despite setting my gps to Europe using fix faster instead of a <10 sec fix it can take nearly 5 mins to get down to <100mtrs (in the same location I might add)
In relation to your problem I have had that... but I found simply task killing any app accessing your location, usually the Browser or Maps, it'll work; or in my case the Facebook app seems to keep trying to get a location (and launching on its own) when I actually have all sync n notifications disabled..
anyways maybe you want to try the app fix faster, it did seem to make my gps more stable and faster, it does have a problem from time to time, but it works, and for the most part works fast and stable (normal GPS fix for google navigation - 3 secs).
So yea probably a ROM problem...
and o yea - you wouldn't want to post this question in the development section - unless you put it on the GV thread... This is the right place for questions.

Hey,
I just wanted to give you some feedback: ever since I've been using FasterFix, I've not had any GPS troubles at all. Just have to remember to activate it before using gps.
Thanks again!
Sent from my HTC Desire running Ginger Villain 3.3 using Tapatalk

[Q] No gps with Android revolution hd rom

Hello there,
As the registration video pointed out to me that i'm a noob i have noob question.
Im running Android Revolution HD 6.3.3 By mike1986
with these radio thingies.
12.65.60.29U_26.14.04.28_M
But my gps isn't getting a fix. What is wrong with my phone settings?
Hope to hear from you.
Greetings
Youri

Hello.. Maybe try flashing the AGPS patch from this thread.
Here's the direct link... flash that through recovery and see if it works

And if you are having crappy GPS accuracy once you lock, your best bet is just to find some way to get a solid connection from the GPS antenna to the motherboard.

Question is if you've had problems with gps fix since flashing Mike's rom or has it happened after a while.
Next question is what navi software do you use.
I tried two navi programs: Google's and beta version of Automapa (although beta is closed for now)
GPS always gets fix after couple of seconds. With Automapa it is also very accurate. Google is worse than Automapa but still quite good.
Both programs were running on ARHD 6.3.1
Anyway I'd try reflashing with full wipe again. Or maybe try newer (or older) version of ARHD?
Regards
Rafal

There are several possibilities:
1) environmental - try again outside, in plenty of open space. Try with & without your case, if you're using one.
2) config: download FasterFix from the market and choose your preferred server (there is a preconfigured list, but you can also type your own in: Spain is es.pool.ntp.org France is fr.ntp.pool.org etc) also check out GPS Test, also from the market, and you will see exactly how many satellites are in view etc.
3) hardware - bad connection. If you can't get a result from 1 or 2, well maybe there is a bad connection (the GPS antenna is around the flash). This is unlikely, I'd say.
A reboot may help to clear the cache - as suggested above, a superwipe is the way to clean before flashing a new ROM. You can also clear caches from Recovery.

First do some testing before install any patches.
Go out under clear sky and after activate gps sattelites from settings, download and run from market the Gps Test apk.
Write us the results here.How many satellites and after how much time did you get.

I`maar also noob without same issue. Same rom and same radio.
Before flashing, gps worked flawless, after flashing no more fix.
Even the quality of the signal for calling is nota wat it was.
Tried 3 navigation apps, open area,... nothing works.
I really Need the gps, so i`m thinking of unrooting if there isn't aan sollution.
Or could this be solved by flashing an stock rom ? Any tips or hints are welcome
Thanks in advance!

Personally i reccommend this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1318892
it seems a bit risky,but it shouldnt be a problem opening the flash case. Im not into soldering, and im afraid of burn motherboard,so i just pulled up the golden springs a bit,cleaned with alchool, an voilà! fix in < 10 seconds with < 20 meters precision.
hope it helps.

It seems to me that if gps worked stock, the hardware is ok

Yeah try the Rom in my signature its awsome :thumbup:
Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using xda premium

I had problem with my GPS too. It's doesent a rom or radio problem. In other thread it's show how to hardware hack the GPS under flash cover of our dhd. I won't hardware hack so gently push down the flash cover. Go out and GPS status and gmaps fix in less then 10 sec.
Inviato dal mio Desire HD con Tapatalk 2

i'm noob with rooting phones, but not with pc's or other electric equipment.
If i say gps worked FLAWLESS on my stock DHD, how can my antenna suddenly be defected after flashing a rom?
I even went to open field with NOTHING in a 500m radius
it has to be something software....
i'll try to flash other rom like someone suggested...
already thanks for the replies!

check if GPS is broken?
Djteaser said:
...
Im running Android Revolution HD 6.3.3 By mike1986
with these radio thingies.
12.65.60.29U_26.14.04.28_M
But my gps isn't getting a fix. What is wrong with my phone settings?
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same problem! My GPS is running but it cannot find any sattelite!
Is ther any method to check the GPS if there is a hardware problem or a software problem?
Maybe there is a logging like "logcat" for GPS which i can check?

I'd recommend trying the app Faster Fix. You select your region, and it sets the correct GPS configuration data. If that's the issue, that app will solve it.
Also worth trying the app AGPS Inject, which downloads GPS assist data when opening gps apps like gmaps.
Also recently removed the letters "supl" from the APN type in the data access point settings. Resulted in a faster fix.
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using xda app-developers app

Thank you Swell6 for your tips, but nothing helped!
I think it's an hardwareproblem.
Does someone know where in the phone the GPS Module is sitting?

With the dhd there's a known hardware issue with the GPS antenna, which is part of the black plastic led cover. Over time it can lose contact with the main board, and sometimes just pressing it in can fix it. If it needs more, there's loads of posts on what can be done. Worth a try!
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using xda app-developers app