A Tale of Two Tablets; gps trouble, Please Help

[DSkorup]

I got a Zeki TB-782b off Amazon as a replacement for another Zeki TB-782b that had a cracked screen and was bought from K-Mart.
The first one had a perfectly functional GPS and a good one at that.
The current one does not seem to even have a gps

I installed Google Play to both of them successfully using the same method for both.
Google Play says the new one is listed as incompatible with a whole bunch of GPS apps, often the same apps the first one was compatible with.

Opening the lid both appear to be structurally identical.
Outside Both serial numbers start with 020 and end with AA
Above the serial # both have FID:BN written on them.

There are subtle differences.
outside the old one has the FCc logo standing alone.
The new one has a box to the right of it reading "C8OTB782B"
This could be explained by parts sourced from more than one factory.

Under "About Tablet" I think I may have found the problem.
The old one: Kernel Version 3.0.8+ szg@server124 , Build number crane_dlyx-eng 4.0.3IML74k20120327 test-keys.
I have read that this is the standard and confirmed other owners who have this version.

The new one: Baseband Version 1.2 (not even listed in about tablet in old one), Kernel Version 3.0.8 szg@server #1 , Build number crane 4.0.3 IML74K 20120510

Both do have the file dev/gps_gpio but the built in document viewer can't do anything with that kind of file so I have no way of knowing if it is blank/corrupted.

How do I fix the gps problem in the new tablet and is it even doable?
I don't want to spend $70+ on fixing the screen on a $120 tablet if I don't have to. Ideally I can fix the gps on the new one and get Sears/Kmart to fix the screen on the old one for a good price.

 

[nesakitty]

I haven't really been able to find many questions on zeki tablets, and you seem to know what you are doing. im trying to sync media music files to my own zeki tablet. I don't know how. and media player wont recognize my tablet. when it is plugged in, the computer doestn acnolidge the fact and allow me to sync. what is wrong?! please help!!!!
-nesa

 

[nesakitty]

additionally, to possibly help answer your question. my tablet is the exact same as yours is. did you try to go to the locations and services tab in your settings file? if you have, then I don't know what to say. if not, those two areas must be checked in order for the GPS service to be allowed and activated. hope this helped!

 

[Digital Controller]

This tablet seems to be pretty unpopular and not have a lot of Dev support.

If anything I am going to move this thread into the General Tablet Talk forums

 

[nickdalzell]

FYI when Google Play says 'this application is not compatible with your device' it has nothing to do with whether it has a GPS or not. it looks at your device's Build.prop file to identify the make/model and sort apps accordingly (and does a horrid job too, as many apps listed as not compatible on my Kindle Fire work perfectly fine when i side-load the APK for it) and if it's one of those generics, Google Play may not even know what *it* is, and a lot of apps will be eliminated from being able to install.

if this is a free app, try downloading 1Mobile Market from the web browser on it (make sure 'unknown sources' is checked too) and install it. it has all of Play's free apps and none of that nonsense compatibility check in place.