Related
I compared quite a few ROMs with the only purpose in mind: see how the GPS works with them. What I found out is that there is a huge difference between them.
I started this, because I had issues with GPS fixing in Oxygen. So I measured the time and looked at the behaviour of Satellites in GPS Status & Toolbox. I always did a full WIPE as well as fastbooted the radio 32.56.00.32U_5.17.05.08, as I found out that it is the only way to remove the position and time data from the previous GPS fixes. I didn't know that the radio can learn things, but it is indeed the case, even a full wipe doesn't trigger the same coldboot process as the radio flashing does.
OK, I start with this, in Oxygen 2.1.3 after the coldboot it needed 17 minutes to have a fix! The biggest problem was the disappearing of the GPS signal (I mean all satellite bars) for a few seconds every 30 second or so. It meant that the all the satellites were staying "yellow" instead of switching to "green" in GPS Status. And even after the fix (17 mins), the accuracy was moving between 24 meters to 48 meters.
It was the same slow and "disappearing every 20-30 seconds for a moment" thing in Leedroid 3.0.6-R2. Not good accuracy either.
I tested Leedroid 2.4.1 Froyo for fun and to my surprise it was much faster. It had a stable signal and better accuracy (something like 16 m).
So far these were the bad ones (oh, one more, I tried RCMix but it froze down my system after waiting for a 15 minutes boot up...) The good experiences I had was with:
CM7 7.0.3 - This was quite quick and surprisingly stable. This was one of the two roms which could get under 10 meter accuracy. The accuracy is constantly under 10 meter, with the best beging 6 meter. Coldstart fix was about 2 minutes, Hotstart (just a reboot) was about 18 secs.
Redux 1.2 - I really don't know whats in this ROM, but it is by far far the most stable ROM for GPS use. It gets a Coldstart fix in 2 minutes, with all the Satellites being "green" instantly. I don't know how it does that, in most of the ROMs they need quite some time to go from yellow to green. Redux, on the other hand goes to green the moment it sees a satellite. The result is that coldstart fix is in 1.5-2 minutes, and hotstart fix (after a reboot) happens in 12 seconds! Whats more, it has the best GPS accuracy I have seen from desire, with the average accuracy being 6 meters, which sometime goes down to 3-4 meter! I didn't even know its possible with an Android phone to have accuracy like this!
But both CM7 and Redux are fast and reliable for GPS tracking. The biggest problem in the other ROMs is that there is something which triggers the loosing of all GPS satellites every 20-30 seconds or so. If you use GPS Status you see that all the satellites disappear for a moment at the same time!
What about Miui or the new Sense roms, like Insertcoin?
And if you try radio 5.11.05.27?
That one solved it for me, I was using a newer radio version and had the same problems in Oxygen...
Did you use the same radio for all tested roms or not? And what version?
I used 5.17.05.08 with all the ROM. I only tried different radios with Oxygen, and 5.11.05.27 was indeed better, but not that much. It got a fix in 8 minutes instead of 17, but the accuracy was still in the 48 meter range.
roderick407 said:
Did you use the same radio for all tested roms or not? And what version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why a FULL QUOTE?!?
And why do you ask for the radio version, when it is written in the first post already?
I have also noticed the same...
Since switching from the Froyo ROM that was on the phone when i got it, the GPS signal/inaccuracy has been an issue... but then again i am with telstra...
Maybe the problem is in used radio. Each rom contains RIL files which must correspond to used radio. There is a description here
I use Leedroid 2.4 and radio 32.48.00.32U_5.11.05.14. My coldstart fix is up to 15 secs with and max 2 mins without aGPS. The GPS has stable signal and accuracy 2-3 meters (sometimes 1 meter).
roderick407 said:
Maybe the problem is in used radio. Each rom contains RIL files which must correspond to used radio. There is a description here
I use Leedroid 2.4 and radio 32.48.00.32U_5.11.05.14. My coldstart fix is up to 15 secs with and max 2 mins without aGPS. The GPS has stable signal and accuracy 2-3 meters (sometimes 1 meter).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might be right, but I did not try ROM-radio combinations of just ROM changes. But with Oxygen, where I started, I tried the radios 32.44.00.32U_5.09.05.30_2, 32.49.00.32U_5.11.05.27, 32.54.00.32U_5.14.05.17, 32.56.00.32U_5.17.05.08, 32.56.00.32U_5.17.05.23. And while some worked better, they were still not as good as the better ROMs. I mean they still were "yellow" for at least 8 minutes, instead of CM7's or Redux's behaviour of being "green" instantly.
i just tested oxygen with the same radio you mentioned and it fixes fine for me in more or less 2 mins from coldstart. the accuracy is good too (5 meters) i just used gps test plus to check the satellites. also the gps has a stable signal too so i cannot conclude about your findings.
Guys gps problems are radio and region related
your answer to quick gps fix is:
~flash latest radio
~check your gps.conf file
~refresh your agps data frequently
more info here
{on summertime i will write a full guide, now i dont have time}
dexter93 said:
Guys gps problems are radio and region related
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might be right, but I tested these ROMs after a FULL wipe and without connecting to any wireless network. But maybe they had AGPS data already set inside (but isn't that useless after a couple of days?).
I found this application for editing gps.conf:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=825717
Same with me.
GPS takes about 5-7 minutes to acquire.
Funnily, downloading GPS assist data from the web didn't seem to always help.
Results with both recommended radio and with 32.56.00.32U_5.17.05.23.
FasterFix did not help - same 7 minutes to obtain a fix, considering a fresh agps download and the fact that I used GPS the day before.
Now with my old WM samsung i900, I obtain a fix after a cold start and without agps in just under four minutes.
In any case, depending on internet connection to get a gps fix sucks. When I'm on the road, particularly on a vacation, internet is more often not available.
s300pmu1 said:
Same with me.
GPS takes about 5-7 minutes to acquire.
Funnily, downloading GPS assist data from the web didn't seem to always help.
Results with both recommended radio and with 32.56.00.32U_5.17.05.23
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which ROM?
I get a fix reasonably quickly on Oxygen, but it drops the signal and finds it again every 2 seconds.
Is there anyone who use defy GPS daily? Can you share which rom or any GPS tweak to make defy more accurate and responsive for navigation?
I have been testing defy GPS, it seems like its rather not accurate to pinpoint location. Accuracy show 4-9m, but often real position is off by 30-200m. For navigation, it's response time rather slow plus the inaccuracy makes it not reliable. My old windows mobile P3600 gives precise position when put beside defy while navigating.
For info, I have disable wifi in location setting. I know I have successfully download supl data. With data enabled, I can lock under 10 sec.
This inaccuracy had been a problem for CM7. I have tested stock froyo and gingerbread, and problem still there.
So, can anyone help here? Do you have the same problem, if not please share your rom version or tweak..
I've used mine a lot for gps, i just make sure to download agps data with an app called GPS test as soon as i can, then if i'm not moving too much from where i stopped gps for the last time it takes very little to lock.
I'm on CM7 and it never disappointed me in Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and France.
Any GPS fix i've tried did nothing good for me.
My defy lock fast. What bothers me is the accuracy.
Google maps shows accuracy 4-9m, but real position is off sometimes by 200m.
Sometimes it correct itself, other time, even if I waited for a few minutes, it didn't show my real position.
And I'm sure I disable Use Wireless Networks in location setting.
So how is your accuracy?
Relly good, thanks
Seriously, i've seen this mentioned quite often in the CM7 thread, but it never happened to me.
As said before, keeping agps data pretty updated to my position or close enough has always been enough for me.
Good luck in finding a solution that works for you!
GPS has been working perfectly for me under any Rom. Stock GB, CM7 and Stock Froyo.
In CM7 it locks pretty fast, always under 10 secs, after a few secs accuracy down to 3m. Works really good.
I only have GPS Status to download from time to time accurate AGPS data and that's all.
Thanks for the reply..
I have tried almost everything.
Tuning gpsconfig.xml and location.cfg, clear agps cache, restart before testing many value one by one. Tried many stock rom, take GPS files from milestone and milestone2 and the GPS still inconsistent.
Sometimes its accurate, but after turn off GPS for a few second, turn on again, its showing wrong position with accuracy shown as 4-9m, waited for some minutes, and still wrong. Sometimes its accurate for a few test, but after a few minutes, turn on GPS again, its showing wrong position again.
Tried also calibrate compass, even remove the compass driver, but still error.
There is a possibility of multipath error in GPS (bouncing signal from surrounding), but with easily lock to 5-6 satellites with 10-12 satellites in view, I suppose this can nullify error, as real for positioning, we only needed 4 satellites.
I hope there is someone out there know fix for this..
use this fix: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=953630
Maybe it helps
pravarth said:
use this fix: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=953630
Maybe it helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Already tried.. even tested various value in gps.conf. No good..
Thanks.
bobo9900 said:
Is there anyone who use defy GPS daily? Can you share which rom or any GPS tweak to make defy more accurate and responsive for navigation?
I have been testing defy GPS, it seems like its rather not accurate to pinpoint location. Accuracy show 4-9m, but often real position is off by 30-200m. For navigation, it's response time rather slow plus the inaccuracy makes it not reliable. My old windows mobile P3600 gives precise position when put beside defy while navigating.
For info, I have disable wifi in location setting. I know I have successfully download supl data. With data enabled, I can lock under 10 sec.
This inaccuracy had been a problem for CM7. I have tested stock froyo and gingerbread, and problem still there.
So, can anyone help here? Do you have the same problem, if not please share your rom version or tweak..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MIUI rom allows you to enter your preferred satellite under ph settings ^^
Then use gps status app to manage a-gps state - I get anywhere from 10 - 30m accuracy
You are not alone
GPS accuracy on my Defy has been a concern since I bought it. Just like yours, it locks to 4-6 satellites and claims that it's accurate to 4 meters, but my real position is usually a block away. Other symthoms are:
- Accuracy improves with speed and becomes very good when traveling by car, very poor when still or just walking. The correlation between accuracy and speed should be the other way around...
- If there are more than 6 satellites in view, it locks to a maximum of six and then starts "jumping" from one set of satellites to another each two seconds or so. It does so even if the telephone is completely still. I think It should stay with the same satellites while not moving.
As you, I also tried all and every GPS fix script under the sun to no good, even filled a bug report for CM7 back in the day with no luck. It seems that a lot of people out there have perfectly working GPS (o so it seems).
This issue is quite strange though. I have a green lens Defy, and my wife has a Red lens one. We bought them several months apart and they both have the same accuracy issue, so it doesn't seem to be related to a bad production batch. I wonder if its related to geographic position (maybe it works worse in some countries, somehow)
Hopefully its a software issue and can be fixed.
I dont have this issue. Ive actually been sort of surprised at the accuracy of the GPS with CM7... it locks on within seconds (vs the minutes with Froyo). Almost instantaneous with WIFI and GPS on. And it is always accurate. Sorry to hear about your GPS troubles. It could be a hardware problem also?
I must say, I love my T989 except for the GPS. It is by far the best phone I have ever owned.
Problem is, I use GPS daily for my job. The GPS just always seems to be problematic in that while driving, using Google Navigation, the GPS signal randomly drops out. I will be driving, and miss a turn because the GPS seemingly lost signal, then after 30-90 seconds, it regains signal and the Navigation catches up. The entire time I am driving, the blue circle around the blue arrow in google navigation seems pretty big. This circle indicates how accurate the GPS is and it seems I never get really good accuracy. It seems like I just get low GPS locking ability and thus it's not always exactly accurate and frequently drops for a 30-90 seconds.
I have tried Jedi Knight ROM based on 4.0.4 and it was the worst, nearly unusable, took forever to lock and dropped a lot.
I am now using Jedi Mind Trick based on 4.0.3 and it seems to lock decently fast, but still never gets entirely accurate like my HTC phones all did, and it still drops for 30-90 seconds often, making it very hard to rely on for Navigation.
Many times I have flashed AGPS.zip and that helps lock faster, but the GPS still drops often and never seems to get reliably accurate.
I know this fixes it for many, and has made Jedi Mind Trick usable for me, but still not very dependable.
Does this phone just have a crappy GPS Receiver?
I haven't tried roms before 4.0.3, did GPS work better on earlier versions, or before ICS?
Is there any roms I should try that might work better with GPS Navigation?
Anyone using GPS daily without any drops at all? If so, what ROM?
Should I try different Radios or something?
- Mike
aGPS patch works wonders. Which version of it are you using?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app
TheLastSidekick said:
aGPS patch works wonders. Which version of it are you using?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google Specific 3.1 No SSL
That was the only thing that got my GPS usable.
It now locks fast, but just doesn't seem to ever have a strong signal and is very prone to dropping out.
Try downloading the "GPS status" app from the play store. Hit menu>tools>manage A-GPS> and Download.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
I had similar problems with jmt and other ROMs, even after trying several of the GPS fixes.
I've been using cm10 nightly 10/12 build now and GPS is perfect, nearly instant locks and no drops during navigation.
The only downside I've found is battery life, its not horrible but its no jmt either. Expect 12-16 hour battery life.
To me, jellybean offers so much that I'm willing to forgive battery life for the first time.
Hope his helps
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2
I dont know why some of you have issue with GPS. The issue is not from the rom. I think your phone might be in a bad batch or your GPS files are not set up correctly.
For me, GPS on our phone is very great. It locks fast and never loses signal. The accuracy is within 20 feet.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app
Alarmmy said:
I dont know why some of you have issue with GPS. The issue is not from the rom. I think your phone might be in a bad batch or your GPS files are not set up correctly.
For me, GPS on our phone is very great. It locks fast and never loses signal. The accuracy is within 20 feet.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it is the ROM. With every ROM flash GPS files get over written but never cleaned up. I constantly have to flash the aGPS fix to get GPS back. That goes for every other android phone I've owned too.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda premium
wmblalock said:
I must say, I love my T989 except for the GPS. It is by far the best phone I have ever owned.
Problem is, I use GPS daily for my job. The GPS just always seems to be problematic in that while driving, using Google Navigation, the GPS signal randomly drops out. I will be driving, and miss a turn because the GPS seemingly lost signal, then after 30-90 seconds, it regains signal and the Navigation catches up. The entire time I am driving, the blue circle around the blue arrow in google navigation seems pretty big. This circle indicates how accurate the GPS is and it seems I never get really good accuracy. It seems like I just get low GPS locking ability and thus it's not always exactly accurate and frequently drops for a 30-90 seconds.
I have tried Jedi Knight ROM based on 4.0.4 and it was the worst, nearly unusable, took forever to lock and dropped a lot.
I am now using Jedi Mind Trick based on 4.0.3 and it seems to lock decently fast, but still never gets entirely accurate like my HTC phones all did, and it still drops for 30-90 seconds often, making it very hard to rely on for Navigation.
Many times I have flashed AGPS.zip and that helps lock faster, but the GPS still drops often and never seems to get reliably accurate.
I know this fixes it for many, and has made Jedi Mind Trick usable for me, but still not very dependable.
Does this phone just have a crappy GPS Receiver?
I haven't tried roms before 4.0.3, did GPS work better on earlier versions, or before ICS?
Is there any roms I should try that might work better with GPS Navigation?
Anyone using GPS daily without any drops at all? If so, what ROM?
Should I try different Radios or something?
- Mike
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also use the GPS almost daily to track my runs with Endomondo application, and sometimes specially when running slow the GPS gets fixed to a location and will not update until 15-30 seconds after, maybe the same happens to you when driving in the city and you are very slow.
There is a feature called "GPS Static Navigation" that Samsung disabled by default in some of their phones, basically on the ones using a SirfIV GPS Chipset. The problem here is that our phone (SGH-T989) does not us that type of GPS Chip(set).
I've been trying to find a way to know the status of the GPS Static Navigation in our phone, but I haven't found anything about it just the info got from pdadb.net which is the following;
Satellite-Navigation
Built-in;GPS_module: Supported
GPSrotocol: NMEA 0183
GPS_Antenna: Internal antenna
Complementary-GPS;Services: Assisted GPS, QuickGPS, Geotagging, Simultaneous GPS
Navigation:Chip(set): Qualcomm gpsOne
Since this Chip(set) works with Assisted GPS, trying GPS Status application from Google Market and going to Menu / Tools / Manage A-GPS state / Download; it will help you a little bit since it will download the A-GPS XTRA Data (works better and faster if you do it while using Wi-Fi) that will help GPS to lock faster and get accurate positioning while on the road, it will last some days but it is not a definitive solution.
I still researching on knowing more about how "GPS Static Navigation" works in our phone, I even opened a question discussion about it @ http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1940294
Please let me know if some of you know more about this,
Thanks, and hope this give you a bit more insights about it!
RushAOZ said:
No, it is the ROM. With every ROM flash GPS files get over written but never cleaned up. I constantly have to flash the aGPS fix to get GPS back. That goes for every other android phone I've owned too.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's weird. I have flashed jedi, AOKP, CM, and i never had problem with GPS. I also own Galaxy S 4G, which has a crappy GPS due to the hardware failure. No Rom or app can fix that. That's why i think it is not Rom issue.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app
Was stock rom GPS any good? Try stock first and go from there to pinpoint issue
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
Alarmmy said:
That's weird. I have flashed jedi, AOKP, CM, and i never had problem with GPS. I also own Galaxy S 4G, which has a crappy GPS due to the hardware failure. No Rom or app can fix that. That's why i think it is not Rom issue.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the Vibrant S and I know what youre saying!
I agree that it's possibly your GPS at fault. I've tried multiple ROMs (using Jedi Mind Trick X now) and have always very fast GPS lock and great accuracy when using ICS ROMs.
Hello
I'd like to get started contributing to OpenStreetMap using my Galaxy Nexus running the stock 4.2.1 (JOP40D.I9250XWMA2).
I keep the GPS feature disabled because it drains the battery, but it can take several minutes to sync up while in the city before I can take a picture and have it tagged with the location
What could I try to speed things up? Connect an external (A)GPS chip through the USB port? Move to CyanogenMod?
Thank you.
FreyrNjord said:
Hello
I'd like to get started contributing to OpenStreetMap using my Galaxy Nexus running the stock 4.2.1 (JOP40D.I9250XWMA2).
I keep the GPS feature disabled because it drains the battery, but it can take several minutes to sync up while in the city before I can take a picture and have it tagged with the location
What could I try to speed things up? Connect an external (A)GPS chip through the USB port? Move to CyanogenMod?
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think move to a custom rom cant speed up your gps.
But an external GPS can help you.
At least part of the problem is that you keep the GPS off normally. So every time you turn it on, it has to obtain a cold start, which takes a lot longer than a hot start. Leave the GPS on and it should obtain a fix much faster.
Leaving the GPS toggled on in Android does not mean it's being utilized. If it's not being utilized, it's not draining battery. If it's being utilized, you should see the GPS icon in your notification bar.
It's been a long standing myth that leaving it toggled off magically saves battery. If leaving it toggled on is draining your battery when you're not using it, you have a rogue app that is using the GPS.
if you have root you can try fasterfix from the play store to get a faster GPS fix
Maestrodude said:
if you have root you can try fasterfix from the play store to get a faster GPS fix
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the tip. I moved from stock Android to Cyanogenmod over the week-end, and will give Fasterfix a shot.
BTW, recently, while still using Android 4.2.1 and travelling to a neighboring European country, even after connecting to a local wifi hotspot and using GPS Status' Reset + Download features, I noticed two issues:
GPS didn't lock for hours even while being outside the whole time
When it did lock, it didn't keep track and was stuck where it was
As a result, GPS was pretty much useless.
What could be the cause for this? Aren't AGPS data supposed to let me lock faster? Will Fasterfix solve the issue?
Thank you.
Hi, I've been running Arco's cm-10-20130605 for about 3 months, but was forced to downgrade to his cm-9-20130730 recently.
The issue is with Google Maps. With CM10 I was getting really bad screen tearing and flashing while moving around the map,
especially with a menu overlay active. With GPS active and lock acquired in google maps it was a question of 10 seconds before
the whole phone crashed hard, rebooting into battery at 6% (unusable). Battery level recovers by itself completely afterwards,
but it took it about an hour, so I buckled and downgraded to CM9.
With CM9 I get no tearing/flashing issues, but the phone still keeps rebooting with GPS lock acquired in google maps.
My other issue with GPS is 'jerky' updates. It looks like updates are only sent every 2 seconds or so, that means no
smooth scrolling with navigation software and terrible lag rendering the whole thing unusable. Sometimes rebooting
the phone and closing all apps running in the background helps with the jerkiness, the lag is still there though, I don't
remember it being there on GB.
I also noticed the compass is by about 90 degrees off with CM10 and about 15 degrees off with CM9.
Any ideas how to fix these?