[Q] Help with Intermittent GPS - T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note II

Is anyone else having this problem?
My GPS sometimes turns itself off while in use. Like when I'm using Ingress, GPS Test, Google Maps Nav, etc.
It never turns itself off while it's looking for sats, only after it's locked on and tracking. Then it will sometimes turn itself off for 10-30 seconds (varies). Then it comes back on, and .... lather, rinse, repeat.
Super frustrating when you are trying to use the GPS!
Other times, it works normally...
Last week I flashed Jedi X in hopes that it might get better, but it actually seemed to make it worse.
Any thoughts before I petition TMO for a new phone?
GR

Related

[Q] Help - NYC Subway issues

I know there are a bunch of NYer here so I'll throw this up (and i guess this may be a problem with anyone who uses underground transport). Does anyone else experience random reboots coming up from underground?
Is there a solution?
I have had these issues with stock and Virtuous ROMs. It normally doesn't affect my day, and in fact the only way I know it has happened is that I have to reset Swype. It doesn't occur every time either.
Anyhow, just seeing if anyone else gets to deal with this.
...
I kinda wish that every "hey, my phone reboots" thread would just get merged into one big superthread.
This is happening due to low signal. Your signal is so low (at that point) that the radio starts working harder and harder to scan/pick it up. That extra work generates heat. When the phone heats up, it reboots.
It's simple, every time I go into the subway, I put my phone in Airplane mode. When I get out, I turn off airplane mode.
That way it doesn't try to pull for a signal, when there is no way in hell it's going to get one.

GPS problems

Hey, my gps signal on the phone is really unpredictable. Sometimes it will sit trying to get a signal indefinitely and sometimes it will get a lock in a few seconds but more often than not it won't.
I'm comparing it to my old phone(ZTE Blade) and it always gets a lock in less than 10 seconds under the exact same conditions. However if the xperia play somehow manages to get a lock generally it's stronger signal than the blade.
I'm using doomkernel v8 with FW:4.0.2.A.0.42. Could this have something to do with it? Or is there anything I can try to help figure out what's going on?
Just tried stock kernel, no good
Well what a waste of time this was for me.
I have 3 sim cards on different networks.
GPS will not work on any phone with my main sim.
GPS works perfect on my play when I use my other sim cards
Weird.

Reasonable GPS lock workaround w/o root

I've been having the same trouble as many have with the Epic 4G Touch's GPS. It takes forever, if ever, to get a GPS lock. I can have a GPS lock, go into McDonald's and come back out and it will be cold starting again. Ridiculous performance.
Rebooting the phone is a pain but seemed to be the only thing that worked every time. After reading a lot of different forums about this problem, I noticed a conservation that speculated that the problem wasn't specifically the GPS itself, but rather was location services. Apparently there are some more recent location services being flashed to phones and the GPS works great. It would make some sense that this is the problem because after a reboot I would think that the phone would reset location services when it turns back on. Further comments in those threads suggests that turning the phone to airplane mode and back also works around this problem.
I've been playing around with this for awhile today and it does appear that going to airplane mode and back helps the situation. I used Tasker to create a task that does this: turns on airplane mode, waits 20 seconds, turns off airplane mode, then launches GPS Test automatically. I created a widget icon for this task. I never attempt to get a GPS fix indoors. What I do is that when I walk outside on the way to the car I hit the widget. I let the phone do it's thing and by the time I get in the car and ready to go, I've had a GPS lock every time today. When I get in the car, I close GPS Test and start whatever app I want to navigate with.
So far, this method has yet to let me down. We will see how the weekend goes.
That's very interesting, I'm gonna try that and see if it helps. I also noticed that getting a lock by starting Navigation right away is almost impossible. It always helps me to Getty a lock with another app first. Telenave seems to work best for me.
This (among the countless others) workaround is fine and I thank you for it.
However I'd really like to know just what the hell is going on with the gps on these phones.
Some folks are fine with the gps working fine in any circumstances. While others have to wave dead chickens and performance some sort of incantation to get gps to be even reasonable. Still others have some issues but can work them out via flashing of modems and what not. Some had to replace their phone with another e4gt and it was fine there after. WTF?
The gps on my old GS2 i9100 was awesome. I never had to give it a second thought or worry about it losing gps lock or taking eons to get even a meager lock. This is entirely not the case with my current E4GT. Damn thing. If the update doesn't fix anything then I'm gonna replace it.
Is there just a batch of bad hardware out there? Is the gps sleeping when it shouldn't? Why does one fix seem to work for one phone but not another? Talk about manufacturer inconsistentancy, geez.
Does the sprint version of the galaxy nexus have these sorts of issues?
Heavy sigh.
Try GPS Status, it's available on the market. I just got a lock on 8/8 satellites within 5 seconds inside my apartment.
Google maps seems to take a little bit longer obtaining a GPS lock but after running GPS Status it seems much faster.
I believe that it does not require root, and the best part is that you do not have to flash back to GB, to get a lock so that you can flash ICS again.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
I would flash back....worked ever sense i did
It's my phone...any mis takes...sry
tubasteve said:
I would flash back....worked ever sense i did
It's my phone...any mis takes...sry
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why flash back when this is easier?
There is no reason to have to flash back to GB, check out this article I found with a quick google search.
http://m.lifehacker.com/5873007/how-can-i-fix-my-androids-crappy-gps
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
I'm blue in the face over this issue. Invariably, you get "I get a lock on 12 satellites from my concrete bunker 12 feet underground" responses (not helpful, BTW), yet I can't get a lock in the wide-open spaces. UNLESS, I reboot, start up GPS Test or GPS Tracker, or bounce back and forth from airplane mode, murder a chicken, or whatever.
It's totally hit or miss with this device. Yes, I can get a GOOD lock indoors, but only after I reboot, run GPS Test, and then go back inside. Not exactly convenient when you're hurtling down the freeway at 70mph.
It's frustrating to hear of the great experiences of other users when my experience has been so inconsistent. I rely on my GPS for directions, and for tracking my morning runs. It's a real pisser when it takes 4 minutes for the GPS to finally lock, which ruins any useful statistics for Runkeeper.
I know this is just a rant, but at least I feel better.
Try what I mentioned with GPS Status from the market. It might not be a permanent fix but it will help with getting a lock on your location.
1. Download GPS Status from the market.
2. Turn on GPS.
3. Open GPS Status.
4. Bring up the menu and select tools.
5. Manage A-GPS State.
6. Turn off GPS from the toggle in the status bar.
7. Select the option to Reset.
8. Select the option to Download GPS assistance.
9. Close the application.
10. Turn GPS back on and watch it lock on.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
I had this exact same problem after 2 visits to Sprint they swapped my phone. The new one has had perfect GPS no matter what i flash. I just think there is batches of phones with faulty hardware
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
can you tell us how you did this in tasker?
thanks
jalanjkcarp said:
I've been having the same trouble as many have with the Epic 4G Touch's GPS. It takes forever, if ever, to get a GPS lock. I can have a GPS lock, go into McDonald's and come back out and it will be cold starting again. Ridiculous performance.
Rebooting the phone is a pain but seemed to be the only thing that worked every time. After reading a lot of different forums about this problem, I noticed a conservation that speculated that the problem wasn't specifically the GPS itself, but rather was location services. Apparently there are some more recent location services being flashed to phones and the GPS works great. It would make some sense that this is the problem because after a reboot I would think that the phone would reset location services when it turns back on. Further comments in those threads suggests that turning the phone to airplane mode and back also works around this problem.
I've been playing around with this for awhile today and it does appear that going to airplane mode and back helps the situation. I used Tasker to create a task that does this: turns on airplane mode, waits 20 seconds, turns off airplane mode, then launches GPS Test automatically. I created a widget icon for this task. I never attempt to get a GPS fix indoors. What I do is that when I walk outside on the way to the car I hit the widget. I let the phone do it's thing and by the time I get in the car and ready to go, I've had a GPS lock every time today. When I get in the car, I close GPS Test and start whatever app I want to navigate with.
So far, this method has yet to let me down. We will see how the weekend goes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to: rgregg504
rgregg504 said:
I had this exact same problem after 2 visits to Sprint they swapped my phone. The new one has had perfect GPS no matter what i flash. I just think there is batches of phones with faulty hardware
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, after all my research and attempts at fixing my phone; the only option left to me is replacement. I'm tired of reading forums about it (yet here I am) and it's whole thing is just silly.
I don't suppose you have any documentation on the serial number for the phone that had a ****ty GPS? It would be awesome if there could be some sort of documentation of which patch of phones is bad.

[Q] GPS Problems

If I try to navigate from the Zenwatch, the phone brings up google navigate even if the phone is sleeping. I would think that might be an issue in a pocket, but that's not the biggest issue.
The destination seems to get set correctly but neither the phone or the watch continues to navigate. They both seem to lock up.
Subsequently any other Nav app (I hope Waze gets Wear support soon) is unable to navigate as they are unable to get GPS lock. Looking at other GPS helper apps shows zero sats in range. Stopping/Restarting location services doesn't solve the problem. Only resetting the phone does.
Maybe it's just me. Sprint HTC One Max, stock. Anybody else?
I noticed this the other day when I was testing out navigation for fun. Once I took my phone out of my pocket, it seemed like it was able to get a lock again and things went more smoothly. I know gps can be a bit sensitive sometimes and maybe having it right next to your leg like that blocks the signal?
When the problem (GPS lockup) manifests there is nothing that will get it going other than a phone reset. I normally have my phone in a holder high on my dash where gets good reception, but when it gets in that state, not even one satellite shows a hint of a signal. Today I even made sure to stand outside holding my phone up in clear sky just to be sure.
Even if I don't access nav Google maps or Micro Maps from the watch it still locks up at some unknown point. I normally keep GPS on all of the time and have a number of apps that store locations from time-to-time. When I get in my car, Waze automatically starts but I can't get any sat signals until I reset my phone.
I'm experimenting with a theory that another member brought up in a different thread that there may be a connection with using a watch face that also includes weather and the number of GPS requests it makes. I've changed to the basic face that is in all of the marketing photos and continuing to test. I guess my next step will be to leave the watch at home :crying: to make sure that something wonky hasn't happened with the phone itself.
Are there any other frequent GPS users out there that can confirm or haven't experienced the problem? It doesn't seem to matter if you use the nav functionality on the watch.
The updates this morning seem to have fixed the problem.

Anyone having issues with Waze and GPS?

Having issues with waze app and GPS. I've always had GPS issues with all of the Note series, so this doesn't surprise me. But this time around it seems like waze is the only one acting oddly. Specifically when I'm on a guided route waze intermittently sees me in a different area, most commonly when I'm on the highway it will see me on a side street running parallel to the highway. So then it thinks I'm off course and routes me back onto the highway or another direction, but I'm still on the highway. Sometimes I think it even sees me traveling a different direction, many times I'll be on the highway and it will want me to do 2 u-turns, changing directions twice but ending up going the same way as before. I also see the arrow icon representing my car on the map will constantly turn as if waze can't tell which direction I'm traveling.
My first thought is faulty GPS. I've ran Google Maps and it seems pretty solid, with none of those errors, but I'll have to test some more. Just wanted to see if anyone else got this? I may switch back to an older APK and try that as well.
No problems here. I noticed the 7's gps is way faster than my note 4 too. It finds my location on a second. My note 4 would take 5 to 10 seconds to lock in
I am having the same issue with Waze on my Note 7. It thinks i have turned onto a side road so it trys to redirect me to the the road im acually on. Its seems to think im about 30 to 50 feet to the right on the screen no matter what direction on the compass i am going.
Sent from my SM-N930P using Tapatalk
I've been having an issue when I'm stopped at the light, and the screen will start to spin around. It's like Waze forgot which way I was going so turns me around & recalculates the route...repeat.
Improvement over my Note 3 which regularly couldn't find a GPS signal or lost it in the middle of driving somewhere.
Were issue
I have been having issues also bit but only with the voice guidance. I get hazard alerts but that's it. Any thoughts on this?
waze always seemed to place me about 50 feet to the right of the road. It spent a lot of time recalculating on/off ramps when it didn't think I was driving through corn fields. I figured it was just a calibration issue with my device and didn't do anything about it before swapping it for a non-exploding phone.
I had no problem with my recalled Note 7. The replacement is messing up with waze. All the symptoms listed above are happening. Ugh
Hmm..that's not good..I still need to get mine replaced...
No GPS issues with Waze on my note 7. I use it daily and mine is a replacement. The only issue im having with Waze is the voice commands. The three finger option and waving just don't do anything! Anyone have an issue with that? I want my one eyed purple monster back!
IDK, I haven't checked on my Note 7 yet, I find this a bit funny though, Most GPS's should be accurate to within something like 5 feet, They are really accurate to within fractions of an inch but the Government and Military makes sure that the firmware on the GPS's for use by the general public are locked out of that level of accuracy. It really is a joke these days.
Do a search and in the search box enter in 2##2 to enable debugging and then enter in ##@rawgps and it will show you what your phone is reporting as the actual raw GPS via a yellow arrow. Send in a debug log on the very bottom of the settings every day. Could be possible that Waze can make adjustments to the note 7. I personally haven't noticed any issues with either phone yet, I do also keep my phone in a case and in a windshield car holder with a good view of the sky. When I ran the app for the first time though I did have to toggle location off and on to get Waze to get a GPS lock.
I returned my replacement unit and got another Note 7. No change. Waze is still showing me taking exits and being on the side road before correcting. Very annoying and the constant recalculate and accompanying chime make it onerous to use. Google maps seem to be fine. I submitted a ticket to waze as well as sending log files. I hope a fix comes soon. I need my alerts when commuting.
I fixed my Wave problems. Apparently when you do the smart switch transfer, it transfers some settings or calibrations maybe. I went into phone settings, application, waze, long press storage, clear cache, clear data. Then Uninstaller and re-download and install waze. Mine has been rock solid since doing this. Hope it works for you too.

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