Develop Bugs

[Q] Weird GPS problem. What happened?

Yesterday my gps wasnt working at all. It would not lock on no matter what I did. I was on a custom rom and I tried wiping my data/cache, reinstalling maps (just for giggles), and a multitude apps from the market that help deal with gps problems (gps fix, gps status, toolbox, etc).
When all this didn't work I decided to odin back to the last official JB update and still no gps. On a whim I decided to odin back to an ICS firmware and that made my gps work. I have no idea but it did. I then odin to UVDLJC, installed TWRP's most recent and restored my backup of the custom rom I was using in the first place and gps now worked.
While I'm happy as heck that my gps is now working and that it was not a hardware issue I'm extremely curious what happened.
I have flashed many roms lately and I cannot think what a custom rom can do to gps to hose it or if it was just one of those things. I would of thought that when I originally did an odin to UVDLJC that would fix the issue but that didn't. Whatever the flash to ICS did fixed it but what in the heck could that of been?
I figure if I can find out or get an idea what happened then I can steer away from flashing certain roms, or just be prepared that flashing any roms at all can make this happen again.

Same here.
Hello, ddcoh.
I am currently having the same issue you had with GPS not working. I've tried everything from trying tedious Play store apps to trying many different roms and kernels (clean installing every time) to completely reverting back to stock including using TriangleAway in case that did any help. Nothing worked. I have been thinking about going back to ICS to see if that worked but the last time I tried to downgrade from 4.1.1 to 4.0.4 I ended up soft bricking my phone even though I followed the steps word for word.
Can you tell how you went about downgrading to ICS and then back to JB, please? I use my GPS a lot and I would hate to find out it's a hardware issue.

Typically, it's been when people are going from 4.2 to 4.1.

Zza1989 said:
Hello, ddcoh.
I am currently having the same issue you had with GPS not working. I've tried everything from trying tedious Play store apps to trying many different roms and kernels (clean installing every time) to completely reverting back to stock including using TriangleAway in case that did any help. Nothing worked. I have been thinking about going back to ICS to see if that worked but the last time I tried to downgrade from 4.1.1 to 4.0.4 I ended up soft bricking my phone even though I followed the steps word for word.
Can you tell how you went about downgrading to ICS and then back to JB, please? I use my GPS a lot and I would hate to find out it's a hardware issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I used odin to flash an T999_UVALEM which was a prerooted ICS rom. After booting it up I checked to see if GPS was working and it was.
I then used odin again to flash T999_UVDLJA which is a JB rom and booted it up also and saw that gps was working. Then I just restored a backup of a room I had been using and GPS still worked.
I've been out of town and noticed that after flashing a few roms that gps wasn't working so instead of doing all the above stuff I just flashed a cm10 rom. I believe I either used a cm10 nightly (or maybe 10.1, memory is hazy) or LiquidRom and that got the GPS working by just doing that. Not sure if that will work for you but you could always backup your setup using TWRP's latest and then flashing a cm10 rom and seeing if gps is working and if that fixes it then you could then just reboot and restore the rom you are currently on and that might fix your gps for you.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1949687

[Q] Searching for GPS

Hi everybody,
I got a problem which i've spent days searched all over the internet and tried so many different methods but still no hope. So posting this thread here is the only last hope, please anyone help me?
I recently got a problem with GPS service. Whenever i open the map search for a direction, it works, but it only give me the direction list but not navigation because the phone can't not be located.
And here is the point: I'm using different roms nothing works except LiquidSmooths Roms, But my favorite one is Frosty JB v6.
Please anyone?!

Had a similar problem after flashing 10.1 GPS wouldn't show in the left hand corner I had to get a new phone through warranty although I managed to fix it before returning it by Odin back to 4.0.4
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

I had a similar problem. There have been a couple of fixes posted. It generally happens when you downgrade from a 4.2 ROM back to 4.1. This is what I did to fix it:
1. Flashed a CM10 ROM (ex. LiquidSmooth)
2. Verified that GPS was working in that ROM (it should be working!)
3. ODIN to stock JB Touchwiz firmware (UVDLJA for TMobile users)
4. Once flashed and on stock firmware, verify the GPS is working (it should be working!)
5. Rooted the firmware and flashed to desired 4.1.1 ROM (ex. FrostyJB)
6. GPS should still be working!
Hope this helps!

I just started having that issue myself. I flashed back to original firmware via Odin. Still not working. Is there an issue with the GPS radia and possibly a fix?
limpexowns said:
I had a similar problem. There have been a couple of fixes posted. It generally happens when you downgrade from a 4.2 ROM back to 4.1. This is what I did to fix it:
1. Flashed a CM10 ROM (ex. LiquidSmooth)
2. Verified that GPS was working in that ROM (it should be working!)
3. ODIN to stock JB Touchwiz firmware (UVDLJA for TMobile users)
4. Once flashed and on stock firmware, verify the GPS is working (it should be working!)
5. Rooted the firmware and flashed to desired 4.1.1 ROM (ex. FrostyJB)
6. GPS should still be working!
Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I will confirm that moving from a 4.2 ROM to a 4.1 ROM (with all the necessary steps and wipes in between) will leave you without GPS. As discovered from scouring the various ROM threads, this also appears to be a hardware inconsistency problem (different factories use different distributors to build the same phones) and not everyone has this problem. This might be a problem with all T999 S3's but I do not have multiple phones so I am unable to test or confirm.
Has anyone flashed from a 4.2 back to a 4.1 and still had GPS?
I have done this with multiple 4.2 and 4.1 ROMs. So far, I have done this twice (from different 4.1 and 4.2 ROMs) and I always lose GPS.
Has anyone found a fix or is this a problem that we just have to deal with on our phones?

kpraytor said:
I will confirm that moving from a 4.2 ROM to a 4.1 ROM (with all the necessary steps and wipes in between) will leave you without GPS. As discovered from scouring the various ROM threads, this also appears to be a hardware inconsistency problem (different factories use different distributors to build the same phones) and not everyone has this problem. This might be a problem with all T999 S3's but I do not have multiple phones so I am unable to test or confirm.
Has anyone flashed from a 4.2 back to a 4.1 and still had GPS?
I have done this with multiple 4.2 and 4.1 ROMs. So far, I have done this twice (from different 4.1 and 4.2 ROMs) and I always lose GPS.
Has anyone found a fix or is this a problem that we just have to deal with on our phones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This what I did to get my GPS back.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2111306

[Q] EACCES, Nandroid issues

I have a i747 phone which is unlocked and being used on the MetroPCS (T-mobile GSM) network. I have rooted the phone using saferoot and installed TWRP as a custom recovery. I have not flashed a custom rom as of yet and I am using build jss15j.i747ucuemjb (JB 4.3) that came with the phone when I purchased it used.
I have flashed mrRobinson-Ashaman.v3.02 debloat tool and opted for the less extreme course when prompted.
I have flashed dkp-tw43-20140426 dkp - d2att kernel so that I could overclock the cpu.
Issues:
The first issue I was having after doing the above is many apps were failing to function properly as they could not access the internal memory(e.g. dropbox, esfile explorer, titanium backup pro). I would receive the prompt eaccess permission denied when the apps would attempt to use either of the internal memory options. I know this problem is common to kitkat but not jellybean. I attempted the fixes suggested for kitkat roms to no avail. Flashing the AT&T Official 4.3 MJB seemed to fix the eaccess problem but it broke wifi. As its probably known here and what I have since learned is that the i747 phone does not fully utilize the T-mobile network making wifi a must until I switch to Aio.
The next issue I was having is with a few of my nandroid back ups. Every time before I tinker with the phone I make a nandroid back up so I have about four currently. After my first issue I decided to try the back up I made before flashing the dkp-tw43-20140426 dkp - d2att kernel to see if that would rectify my eaccess problem with out breaking wifi. After doing a full wipe in TWRP and restoring that nandroid I boot up the phone only to be presented with perpetual prompts of apps and service failures. I go back do a full wipe and restore my first nandroid that I made when I received the phone new. Effectively this is a factory, and fortunately this works. I have made back ups in titanium in addition to the nandroid so if the simplest solution is simply a custom rom I am receptive to trying it. I have interest in a custom rom but what is most important to me is stability, speed and the ability to overclock and so any suggestions for roms that fit these parameters would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance for all your help

efaustus9 said:
I have a i747 phone which is unlocked and being used on the MetroPCS (T-mobile GSM) network. I have rooted the phone using saferoot and installed TWRP as a custom recovery. I have not flashed a custom rom as of yet and I am using build jss15j.i747ucuemjb (JB 4.3) that came with the phone when I purchased it used.
I have flashed mrRobinson-Ashaman.v3.02 debloat tool and opted for the less extreme course when prompted.
I have flashed dkp-tw43-20140426 dkp - d2att kernel so that I could overclock the cpu.
Issues:
The first issue I was having after doing the above is many apps were failing to function properly as they could not access the internal memory(e.g. dropbox, esfile explorer, titanium backup pro). I would receive the prompt eaccess permission denied when the apps would attempt to use either of the internal memory options. I know this problem is common to kitkat but not jellybean. I attempted the fixes suggested for kitkat roms to no avail. Flashing the AT&T Official 4.3 MJB seemed to fix the eaccess problem but it broke wifi. As its probably known here and what I have since learned is that the i747 phone does not fully utilize the T-mobile network making wifi a must until I switch to Aio.
The next issue I was having is with a few of my nandroid back ups. Every time before I tinker with the phone I make a nandroid back up so I have about four currently. After my first issue I decided to try the back up I made before flashing the dkp-tw43-20140426 dkp - d2att kernel to see if that would rectify my eaccess problem with out breaking wifi. After doing a full wipe in TWRP and restoring that nandroid I boot up the phone only to be presented with perpetual prompts of apps and service failures. I go back do a full wipe and restore my first nandroid that I made when I received the phone new. Effectively this is a factory, and fortunately this works. I have made back ups in titanium in addition to the nandroid so if the simplest solution is simply a custom rom I am receptive to trying it. I have interest in a custom rom but what is most important to me is stability, speed and the ability to overclock and so any suggestions for roms that fit these parameters would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance for all your help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I installed the rom Dandroid 5.4 and every thing works as expected. I may try to flash the decimalman's dkp - d2att kernel again to see if I can get a bit more speed out of the device but all in all it works well. Still not sure what was the cause of my two issues with the rooted stock rom.

[Q] Science behind the AOSP GPS fix of flashing Sense?

From the M8 GPE thread:
digitalhigh said:
GPS Isn't working(GPS ISSUES)
Flash a stock sense ROM.
Get a GPS lock. (gps only) - You can verify this using GPS Toolbox.
Reboot to recovery.
Flash my ROM.
This doesn't always work on the first try, but once you fix it, it should stay fixed. I've personally had to try like three or four times to get it to stick...but then it's flawless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This definitely isn't unique to the M8 or that particular ROM: I can't count how many Sense devices I've read about on the forums that lose GPS when switching to AOSP. And this fix has been around for years.
My question is why this fix works (especially since it doesn't seem to work 100% of the time, per DH's note above). When a stock Sense ROM achieves a GPS lock, what information is left in the phone that AOSP is able to use? What data/information is surviving the wipe?
Similarly, why does it seem that this state is not preserved in Nandroid backups? I recently got GPS to work on a fresh install of the GPE ROM. Once I did so, I immediately backed it up with TWRP. I had to hop back and forth between a few different Nandroids (to grab certain data) and when I finally did a fresh restore of the GPE Nandroid with good GPS, the GPS was broken again.
Lastly, does this fix only work if you flash the AOSP ROM immediately after using Sense? Or is there any way to get a GPS fix in Sense, restore an AOSP Nandroid, and then have GPS work?

[Help] Upgrading AT&T i747m from CWM/4.4.4 KitKat to TWRP/CM12.1

Hello guys,
It's been a while since the last time I visited the SGS3 section, over a year ago I remember updating the bootloader in order to upgrade/flash to 4.4.4 which went very smooth and was a success. I gave the phone to a sibling who has been very happy with it for the last year and a half. Lately, the phone has been very unstable with the 4.4.4 KitKat ROM, WiFi doesn't turn on, Bluetooth is unstable, Unstable apps/Force closes. I tried a wipe/factory restore and re-flashed the ROM but the problems persisted.
I did a little research and liked what CyanogenMod is doing and since they are actively supporting the phone I decided to flash CM12.1 and the provided Open Google-Apps, CM12.1 flashed successfully but Open Google-apps refused to install, CWM displayed (Section 6) error which upon research it is common with CWM and the solution is to flash TWRP. I booted with CM12.1 in order to install TWRP Manager through the APK and flash TWRP but it force-closed when it searched for the device model. WiFi was working but Bluetooth was still unstable.
I would like to know what would be the best way to proceed in this case, I would like to upgrade the recovery to TWRP and flash CM12.1 or any other stable Lollipop ROM.
Thanks,
Oscar

absolute all credit to @audit13.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3313734
perhaps this will help.
"err on the side of kindness"