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

Google Navigation Locking Up

I am running Legendary Rom RC2 and Samurai kernel.
The problem i am having is with google maps/navigation. It has been randomly locking up lately. Seems to do it randomly. Sometimes it will navigate fine for 20 or 30 minutes and then i look at it and its locked up (screen still shows map but none of the buttons works- i have to pull battery to restart). Sometimes it does this a minute or two into navigation.
I've waited to post this hoping i could figure out what was happening. I've tred waiting to see if its just a temporary lockup but its not. I am also running juicedefender so i turned that off but it still locks up. I have uninstalled and reinstalled maps and it still happens. I havent been able to notice a pattern of it occurring when there is a signal loss or certain areas or anything like that.
Anyone else having a similar issue or have any suggestions of things to try to fix it? Thanks!

What version of Samurai? There were issues with 2.08. Try uninstalling Maps and redownload from the Market.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Still no luck getting this to work. Tried uninstalling/reinstalling multiple times. Also tried a new kernel (Nubernal now instead of Samurai). Any other suggestions?

How about clearing AGPS data with GPS Test or GPS status and download new AGPS data?
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

You can always ODIN back to stock if all else fails. I hate google navigation. Google has been sucking it up lately with their new maps release. I get lag GALORE, and have also had some FC's with navigation.

RealTic said:
You can always ODIN back to stock if all else fails. I hate google navigation. Google has been sucking it up lately with their new maps release. I get lag GALORE, and have also had some FC's with navigation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. That is why I use Telenav 7.1. Clear voice and hasn't locked up at all on EI22.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

I've noticed this same thing now and again, and I'm chalking it up to the Google Maps updates. I don't think it's anything to do with GB or any of the ROMs, because I'm pretty sure it didn't happen before Google Maps updated their version with the inside maps, which I think was 6.0, but I might be off on the version.
I have a hard time going with TeleNav becaues Google has so many nice features like sharing via email/text the exact location, but I seem to be having a harder time with it locking up (like the OP said, maps still shows) and missing a turn!
How can I get the latest version of TeleNav?

Google just needs to re-release their first version of MAPS. I have virtually zero lag when I first bought my phone, the maps that came installed worked perfect. now its barely useable.
I have tried using Telenav but its just not my thing. I never use GPS navigation anyways. I only use google places. Maybe two times out of the year I will actually use GPS nav.

hayzooos said:
I've noticed this same thing now and again, and I'm chalking it up to the Google Maps updates. I don't think it's anything to do with GB or any of the ROMs, because I'm pretty sure it didn't happen before Google Maps updated their version with the inside maps, which I think was 6.0, but I might be off on the version.
I have a hard time going with TeleNav becaues Google has so many nice features like sharing via email/text the exact location, but I seem to be having a harder time with it locking up (like the OP said, maps still shows) and missing a turn!
How can I get the latest version of TeleNav?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the Market, scroll down to Sprint Apps and it is in those. I was shocked today and Telenav actually changed routes due to traffic...first time ever!

kennyglass123 said:
In the Market, scroll down to Sprint Apps and it is in those. I was shocked today and Telenav actually changed routes due to traffic...first time ever!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found it in the market (for some reason, I thought if I went that way I would have to pay for it) which was redirected from the telenav website. For what it's worth, I did end up with 7.1.0.7101357 according to titanium backup.

not a fan of telenav but since it sounds like its not a problem with just my phone i might have to get use to it. hopefully google fixes this soon.

so its not a problem with google maps/navigation, at least in my case. telenav does the exact same thing. i tried it out a few times today and it was also very laggy and then eventually it completely locked up. i used gps status to reset the gps but that didnt help. any other suggestions?

DaveWW00 said:
so its not a problem with google maps/navigation, at least in my case. telenav does the exact same thing. i tried it out a few times today and it was also very laggy and then eventually it completely locked up. i used gps status to reset the gps but that didnt help. any other suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you flashed the GPS fix or a ROM with it included so you start out with like 8 out of 9 satellites?

[Q] GPS on Calkulins ICS rom

Hello,
I recently upgraded from an EL29 rom to calk's fd26 rom and i'm using the fe07modem. This is one of the first ics roms that i've used where i can get the gps working. The problem is that the only way i figured out how to make it work when i want to use google navigation is by restarting the phone, and the gps works upon reboot, but after a couple of hours my phone can no longer get gps signal. However when I use telenav i can get guidance all the time. I don't mind using telenav if it's the only system that will consistently work but I prefer google navigation. I've tried the numerous fixes that I found on this forum but none of them seem to make a difference when it comes to google navigation. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Try this video tutorial by Qbking77...
---------- Post added at 02:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:59 PM ----------
AnAm85 said:
Try this video tutorial by Qbking77...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or download GPS Status and Toolbox from the Play Store.
Turn off the gps.. Turn it back on and reset the gps from GPS Status under the Tools menu, then download the a-gps data. Should get a lock after that...
I have no problem getting a lock outside anymore...

Thanks for the response AnAM85,
I've already tried the fixes mentioned, but I still have to reset the phone to get a fix (the app doesn't do anything for my phone), This was happening to me when I had an EL29 based rom as well, I always had to reset the phone to get gps to work, I don't think its an issue with my hardware because I can get a fix I just need to reset the phone, and I can't figure out what software glitch is making this happen. The thing that baffles me the most is how the telenav app works but google navigation doesn't.
any other ideas?

Download faster fix from the market. Run the app
Now clear agps and update agps using gps status also from the market. Then reboot phone, turn on gps status and watch the locks
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

try ##gpsclrx#
You will need MSL

Thanks for the responses I just upgraded to the FE14 modem and my GPS issues seem to be fixed.

Is my GPS broken? (running stock jellybean) - UPDATE see post 6

Ive had my phone for about 2 weeks now, and the GPS is basically unusable. It takes up to 5 mins to get a lock, and sometimes it just never gets one. Even when it does, its not very accurate.
Ive read somewhere that the upgrade to jellybean caused this, and ive been running JN since i owned it, so maybe thats my problem? Anyone else experience this issue? Anyway to test if its just the software?
Id like to figure it out, so if i have to send my phone back i can. Thanks.

I think the Jellybean connection was more coincidental than anything else, since a lot of people were having GPS issues (on both ICS and JB ROMs) around the time that the JB OTA began rolling out.
Try disabling "Google's location service" in the location services setting and see if that helps. If it works, then try reenabling it and try again. That seemed to resolve the issues of most people who were having GPS issues a few weeks ago.

athakur999 said:
I think the Jellybean connection was more coincidental than anything else, since a lot of people were having GPS issues (on both ICS and JB ROMs) around the time that the JB OTA began rolling out.
Try disabling "Google's location service" in the location services setting and see if that helps. If it works, then try reenabling it and try again. That seemed to resolve the issues of most people who were having GPS issues a few weeks ago.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With it enabled, i just get the huge circle, and it says my location is somewhere in there. With it disabled, i get "waiting for location", and then "your current location is temporarily unavailable."
Anything else i can try. Like i said before it works, but maybe 1 out of 10 times. Even if it worked half the time it would be useless. If i cant depend on it then its really not worth anything to me.

Try this GPS fix. It worked like a champ for me and many other people.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1789543

azanboy said:
Try this GPS fix. It worked like a champ for me and many other people.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1789543
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im not rooted.

Ok i just called google play, and asked what i should do. He suggested i do what ive already done (check and uncheck google services, factory reset), both of which had no effect on my GPS. He then told me that a fix should be coming out within the next few weeks, and it should fix it on all devices.
So right now im debating flashing a custom ROM like AOKP or something to see if that fixes it. Im a little worried about doing this to a phone that may be faulty in the first place though. Should i even bother, or should i just wait the few weeks for a fix. If googles OTA fix doesnt fix it back to google it goes.

another update: GPS now works (not sure what made it start), but it still takes forever to lock, and is extremely inaccurate. Usually when you use nav, itll tell you when a turn is coming etc, but the gps thought i was over 100yds behind were i actually was. Even when im in my house, it has no idea where i am, closest it can get in down to 3 houses wide.
Im having flashbacks to my captivate - which didnt work at all - but if a gps only works sometimes and when it does doesnt work very good - then its basically worthless. Am i really going to trust it when i need it?

GPS status from Google play store. Install it and let it download agps data. That should greatly increase accuracy and decrease lock time. You don't need root to use it.
Hope it helps
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

fix
try this download gps test from google play run then it should fix the problem 100% worked for me

GPS Issues on N based roms, please help

Since I installed the first N OOS build i have issues withmy GPS,
every few seconds it lost the lock and needed a few seconds to reacquire it.
Also sometimes it does not acquire ay lock at all and need a reboot to work again.
As far as I can tell the issue happens with every android N based OxygenOS.
And also with Lineage OS 14.1
I tryed clean flashing booth and it did not change anything.
Now I flashed back to the last MM based community build and it works no lost of GPS signal, reasomably quick fix.
Does any other users also have GPS issues with N based roms on the OP3?
How can I solve the issue or at least find out whaty causing the issues?

Funny you mention this. I use my op3 for my topo maps when I hike and I have found N based roms to cause the gps to require a relocking. Also, the gps is noticeably less accurate.
Anyone got an explanation/solution?

good to herar that I'm not the only one with GPS issues.
Now the question is how to fix those?

I am also facing GPS issues since Oxygen OS 4.x.x, before that I never experienced any.
Sometimes it take 5 to 10 minutes until it finally fetches a GPS Signal but it is still very inaccurate then.
Hopefully the new OOS 4.0.3 update helps, but I doubt it since there is no mention of GPS in the release notes.

I also have this issue, the only resolution I had is to switch on WiFi scanning. After turning it on GPS has been a bit better and locks to the correct location quickly.
Sent from my OnePlus3 using XDA Labs

Ok I found out something new when I set mobile data to 2G GPS works great also on the 4.0.3 OOS ROM.
And since people complained since the start that some have issues with GPS and 4G I guess the issue really is that if some particular frequencies are used GPS suffers. Apparently something changes in N ROMs that makes the issues appear for more users.
Interestingly is that flashing Modem Firmware has no affect so the issue is in a part that is in the android kernel itself.

https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-3/help/gps-issues-t3416544

Every time I turn location on, I get the "improve location accuracy?" prompt. Every single time.
How can I stop this? Never had this before, usually goes away after one enable.

Another strange thing sometimes the GPS cant get a lock and the only way to fix it is to restart the phone.

the bew Open Beta 12 based on Android 7.1.1 seams to have resolved my GPS issue really strange

Hi - I also do have heavy problems with losses of GPS- signal at the OP3 since months. Especially while using LTE the GPS gets often lost. Since 5 weeks I am working/struggeling with the OP-support a lot - but no changes till now. @David: "Open Beta 12" has solved your problems?? what is this concrete?

i do have the problem...... from 4.0.2 updated to 4.1.1 and now Beta13, the problem still there~!!

On my phone gps signal gets lost always at the same location and when lte is active. On any other location gps works perfect. When i disable lte everything works perfect. This has happend on any rom. I think this is a hardware problem and can not be resolved. The only solution is disabling lte or using a different provider. I am using o2 in Germany, the problem does not happen with other Providers. Different Providers have different frequencies, this might be the difference between o2 and the other providers.

I do have O2-LTE too and it is "under suspicion" in Germany. But in February I was for 4 weeks in Florida and travelled a lot using navigation. The provider was AT&T - and I had very often losses of GPS-signal too.
I can confirm, that the problem happens with different ROM, but not at only one location - it happens everywhere.
But what can we do? OnePlus is working at this problem since months without a solution - and the customer with this bug really have to accept it "for zero"??

Hello @OPFan , did you get help from the support? Or could you resolve the problem?

3 months of contact - lots of bubbles - no solution

try downloading the "Gps Test "app then enable GPS and open the app and click on the 3 dots > AGPS > Clear and update

cheptii said:
try downloading the "Gps Test "app then enable GPS and open the app and click on the 3 dots > AGPS > Clear and update
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this was one of the thousands of tryings - but also with zero effect

I'm having a lot of GPS issues since I've been using OPO or OP3.
I sold my OPO because of the bad GPS. Now I have the OP3.
On both phones I used custom ROM Cyanogenmod.
I sometimes had bad GPS reception, but this was fixed under Cyanogenmod doing this: Disable GPS, Disable Data, Enable Airplane mode, Disable Airplane mode, Enable Data, Enable GPS, then wait for GPS reception and start navi app.
Last week I flashed my OP3 with another ROM (AOSP) but this only made it worse!
I use my phone as car navigation daily, and while navigating, it finds GPS and it loses GPS every 5 seconds (using WAZE app). It's incredibly annoying. Using AGPS or any other "fix" found online doesn't fix the problem.
When using another navigation app, like Google nav, it's works better (because Google also uses LTE). Clearing cache or unistalling and reinstalling the WAZE app doesn't fix the problem.
Conclusion:
It is totally not related to your provider because they are working on fixed standard frequencies and I've been using the same provider on both phones.
It's also not related to the hardware only, because it was working on my OP3 under Cyanogenmod. So it should be related to the hardware driver included in the ROM.
Maybe this gives anyone an idea?
---------- Post added at 07:52 ---------- Previous post was at 07:45 ----------
Found something here that might help:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=73681689&postcount=165

I have also GPS issues. It works well in gmaps, but it is unusable in Waze.
I thought AOSPA was causing it so I cleanflashed latest OB, but GPS issues are present there too