Develop Bugs

What does GPS actually require to work?

This might be a noob question, but I have a question regarding the GPS.
Does it require data to work? Or does it require data to work for certain GPS features?
I am going to Europe and need to decide if I will need to take my N85 unlocked and try and get a local SIM card there. I want to geotag my photos but don't know if you can since the EVO has no international roaming capabilities.
Does Geotagging (or any other GPS feature) require data to work or can some GPS functions work by connecting directly to the satellites?

pekosROB said:
This might be a noob question, but I have a question regarding the GPS.
Does it require data to work? Or does it require data to work for certain GPS features?
I am going to Europe and need to decide if I will need to take my N85 unlocked and try and get a local SIM card there. I want to geotag my photos but don't know if you can since the EVO has no international roaming capabilities.
Does Geotagging (or any other GPS feature) require data to work or can some GPS functions work by connecting directly to the satellites?
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GPS will require data, especially if you plan on using some form of Geotagging.
Definitely take your N85 unlocked and have a SIM card -- leave your EVO at home, since the EVO is CDMA based and almost all networks in Europe are GSM based, your EVO won't be doing any calling/texting -- that is unless you want to get a huge ass bill for roaming every second?
I'm not 100% positive, but the way it works is that the GPS on the phone will try to connect to your carriers tower first and get all the information it needs from there... then any information it can't retrieve or has to upload (maps, geotag, etc) it'll use a universal satellites. These satellites are the ones that your phone connects to if it has to be tracked if you get lost (via 911) and are also the same ones Google probably uses for Maps, Navigation, etc -- since they provide a large amount of information.
Hope that helps.

pseudoremora said:
GPS will require data, especially if you plan on using some form of Geotagging.
Definitely take your N85 unlocked and have a SIM card -- leave your EVO at home, since the EVO is CDMA based and almost all networks in Europe are GSM based, your EVO won't be doing any calling/texting -- that is unless you want to get a huge ass bill for roaming every second?
I'm not 100% positive, but the way it works is that the GPS on the phone will try to connect to your carriers tower first and get all the information it needs from there... then any information it can't retrieve or has to upload (maps, geotag, etc) it'll use a universal satellites. These satellites are the ones that your phone connects to if it has to be tracked if you get lost (via 911) and are also the same ones Google probably uses for Maps, Navigation, etc -- since they provide a large amount of information.
Hope that helps.
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Above information on GPS is wrong, I am not sure where to start to correct it. Lets not, and simply respond to the original question:
GPS is a global network, and works without any data. In fact a GPS device is receive only device, so it cannot even send. If you have a GPS device, it will work all over the world, though it may take a while in clear sky to get a cold fix for the first time after you crossed the Atlantic.
There is something called AGPS or assisted-GPS, which does use data by first requesting a rough fix from the phone network as well as the current position of all the GPS sats, which will speed up the first fix of the GPS a lot, but that is not needed per se, so if you have no phone signal, or no data roaming, GPS still works, just the first fix may take a bit longer.
Mind you, some phones have a broken AGPS implementation, which behaves strange on some phone networks, so you may want to configure it not to even try to use AGPS when abroad. Have it fall back to regular GPS. Then there will be no roaming or attempted roaming on behave of the GPS. GPS will never provide a (navigation) map, it will only ever give you a position, but for tagging, that is all you need.
As to your specific phones, I do not know the EVO specifically, but assuming Sprint did not put in some program to completely bock the phone when out of its network, since it is Android it will simply let you make pictures and GPS tag them without any network.
You do want to bring your Nokia though if you want to call people, Europe is indeed close to 100% GSM based on the 900 and 1800 Mhz frequencies.

cybermaus said:
Above information on GPS is wrong, I am not sure where to start to correct it. Lets not, and simply respond to the original question:
GPS is a global network, and works without any data. In fact a GPS device is receive only device, so it cannot even send. If you have a GPS device, it will work all over the world, though it may take a while in clear sky to get a cold fix for the first time after you crossed the Atlantic.
There is something called AGPS or assisted-GPS, which does use data by first requesting a rough fix from the phone network as well as the current position of all the GPS sats, which will speed up the first fix of the GPS a lot, but that is not needed per se, so if you have no phone signal, or no data roaming, GPS still works, just the first fix may take a bit longer.
Mind you, some phones have a broken AGPS implementation, which behaves strange on some phone networks, so you may want to configure it not to even try to use AGPS when abroad. Have it fall back to regular GPS. Then there will be no roaming or attempted roaming on behave of the GPS. GPS will never provide a (navigation) map, it will only ever give you a position, but for tagging, that is all you need.
As to your specific phones, I do not know the EVO specifically, but assuming Sprint did not put in some program to completely bock the phone when out of its network, since it is Android it will simply let you make pictures and GPS tag them without any network.
You do want to bring your Nokia though if you want to call people, Europe is indeed close to 100% GSM based on the 900 and 1800 Mhz frequencies.
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I figured I was wrong, I stand corrected.

GPS & A-GPS

Hey,
I have some Q's on the topic GPS & A-GPS, coz im gettin kinda confused over these sayings... What is the exact difference on GPS ( f.ex. Car GPS) and A-GPS (Assisted GPS)? The reason why im asking is coz on my Touch Diamond i have GPS: GPS & A-GPS-Ready nd my Desire has A-GPS.
What exactly am i missing?

A quick google would have sufficed.
http://www.wmexperts.com/articles/gps_vs_agps_a_quick_tutorial.html

nabiladeeb said:
A quick google would have sufficed.
http://www.wmexperts.com/articles/gps_vs_agps_a_quick_tutorial.html
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Well that article actually gave me some nice info on the topic, but even though im still a bit confused with the A-GPS, coz as it says in the article :
But when you use assisted GPS this whole process is much faster. Very often cellular network towers have GPS receivers (or a base station nearby) and those receivers are constantly pulling down satellite information and computing the data. This data is then passed on to the cellular phone (when requested) and acts like a “cheat” since the relevant satellites to your location are already identified and all that GPS computations is handled by 3rd party computers.
So the A-GPS is pulling data from the network, and this must mean you need some sort of data subscribtion, if you dont wanna get screwed by your carrier, or am i mistaking?

[Q] Stand Alone GPS or A-GPS only.

Recent, convert from Android. I got the LG Quantum from ATT. On specs it says GPS and A-GPS but it doesn't have option to turn on GPS in settings only location on and off. Anyone knows how I can figure out whether the phone actually comes with a standalone GPS chip or A-GPS only? It's important cause I am waiting for 3rd party navigation apps to come out.

it's all managed under "location". it's both GPS and A-GPS. It uses A-GPS for quick general positioning, and the GPS to fix the lock on. so when you turn on/off location, both get turned on/off with it.

Thx for the reply. I guess the real question is if all Windows Phone 7 phones have a dedicated GPS chip not just using cell phone tower triangulation for location calculation (AKA A-GPS).

I think so. GPS chip was a requirement for WP7 handsets. And the accuracy of my Focus makes me think it does have a real chip.

Yes, all Windows Phone 7 devices has a real dedicated GPS chip inside. Although, A-GPS is used as an assist. Actually, on LG devices you can set the A-GPS to use 2G, 3G, or both, and what purpose each would play. I think this is why the tracking and positioning on WP7 devices are faster and more accurate than most other phones.

GPS Problem

Hello guys,
I bought my Nexus 5X 3 weeks ago, International Version H791 (EU).
My problem is: My gps never fix or see any satellite while my data network (LTE, 3g) is on, when I turn off my data the gps fix in 1 sec.
I use the configuration Location/Only devices but nothing happen.
Thx for your help.
Sorry for my english

Gps works only with Wi-fi and LTE connection if my data network is 3G the gps never fix.

Impossible gps problem
Hi everyone, after installing pixel-roms on my nexus 5x international version, the GPS is no longer working. Tried to use gps status and toolbox but nothing. Reported to factory conditions but nothing yet. Relayed to LG assistance where they were able to fix it by upgrading the firmware. After I unlocked the nexus 5x again and installed a new ROM (Pure nexus):
again the same problem. No satellite detected. Currently I have flashed, without results, the latest version of radio. Do you have any ideas or should I send it back again to assistance?

GPS Issues while non LTE band

Hello I have several issues with GPS when my A2 Lite is on 3G or 2G signals, so the GPS keeps dropping every few seconds but when the 4G signal kicks in, then I have continuous GPS signal with no interruptions until 3G or 2G kicks in again... If I set the phone on Airplane mode, the GPS also works just fine. The curious thing is that I previously had a REDMI 4 (Prada) with Android 6 which had the exact same issue and I thought it was a hardware issue but now with the A2 Lite the issue is the same... I replaced the SIM card just in case with no success at all. I find quite interesting that I have not found this issue in forums all over the internet and I can´t find people talking about GPS on the A2 lite at all, is like nobody uses google maps or Waze on their phones......
So my question is: Is this GPS issue a hardware problem or an OS issue.

Hi, sorry mate for not posting any solution, but assuring you''re not alone in this.
I have similar issue on my A2 lite. When I'm on Gps navigating to somewhere and a call comes in. That disconnects my GPS immediately. My phone signal would jump from 4G to 3G. My waze would state, "searching for Network". Which leaves waze stuck without moving.
I'm no technie, but I believe this phone has issues with the band support. When a call comes in, it jumps from 4G to 3G and we Can't surf internet. Not slow, but the internet just doesn't load at all. This jump somehow disconnects GPS. Intermittently the GPS would start working while on the call, but it's hard to say.

Gps and network are 2 separate things, what you guys describe is not gps dropping but the inability of the device to download maps data. That's the problem with maps apps which don't rely on local maps (downloaded in advance) but on updating the map as you go. The gps itself works really well on this device, it finds a fix in a few seconds within 3 meters. There's Here We Go map which can also use local maps and if you don't need up-to-date traffic info you don't really need internet. There's also an open-source map called PocketMaps which does the same thing and it's a solid app. If you need to test gps there's an app called SatStat which shows the exact number of satellites in use.

celrau said:
Gps and network are 2 separate things, what you guys describe is not gps dropping but the inability of the device to download maps data. That's the problem with maps apps which don't rely on local maps (downloaded in advance) but on updating the map as you go. The gps itself works really well on this device, it finds a fix in a few seconds within 3 meters. There's Here We Go map which can also use local maps and if you don't need up-to-date traffic info you don't really need internet. There's also an open-source map called PocketMaps which does the same thing and it's a solid app. If you need to test gps there's an app called SatStat which shows the exact number of satellites in use.
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Hi,
Me and my wife have the same problem. Me with a Mi Mix 3 and she with a Mi 8 Lite. It's not an online map problem because the map is downloaded and displayed.
Moreover, this problem does not exist on our previous phone (OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 6).

Blm79 said:
Hi,
Me and my wife have the same problem. Me with a Mi Mix 3 and she with a Mi 8 Lite. It's not an online map problem because the map is downloaded and displayed.
Moreover, this problem does not exist on our previous phone (OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 6).
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I'm not an expert on this but the app SatStat is really helpful in troubleshooting location issues. In the main interface you can see how fast your phone finds satellites, how fast it can use them and how many. There is also a map interface which shows location based on network (cell towers and WiFi access points) which is generally less precise but faster. I'd suggest also testing the issue with Here maps in offline setting where it only relies on gps and local map.