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Help A500 - GPS issue

H

h2oplo9

Lurker
Is anyone experiencing a problem with GPS locating your A500? I have all my location, wifi, and GPS settings on but Google Maps/Navigation cannot locate me, even with direct line of sight outside for hours. Has anyone else experienced this?

I have also downloaded GPS Test, with no luck of locating my GPS. Help!
 
Just tried that and still had no GPS access. I am connected to wifi as well. Are you able to receive a connection indoors or only outside? I am unable to connect regardless, but thought I would ask.

I have tried a restart, airplane mode now, turning off and on all wireless/location/gps settings, etc. to no avail. I am starting to think I may just have a dud system and need to exchange it at Best Buy. I have not tried factory restore or the reset button yet, as that would be a last resort of course.
 
h2oplo9 said:
Just tried that and still had no GPS access. I am connected to wifi as well. Are you able to receive a connection indoors or only outside? I am unable to connect regardless, but thought I would ask.

I have tried a restart, airplane mode now, turning off and on all wireless/location/gps settings, etc. to no avail. I am starting to think I may just have a dud system and need to exchange it at Best Buy. I have not tried factory restore or the reset button yet, as that would be a last resort of course.
Click to expand...


Works inside perfectly fine. Take it back for an exchange before they run out of stock.
 
There is definitely an issue with the GPS on many of the a500 tablets. I purchased one 2 days ago and it would never obtain a gps lock. I returned it today and got a new one. It locked the first time I tried it. It seems to be hit or miss with getting one without a gps problem.
 
Mine found me but had a msg at the bottom saying that it was trying to get GPS location. Another problem I have with the tablet.
 
Do you guys think that Acer recognizes the fact that some of their gps's don't work and that is the reason they are saying the GPS only works with wifi? I'm beginning to think that just so they can cover themselves and hope people don't return them for an exchange.

But my GPS seems to work fine.
 
Hi ALL,

It looks like I may be getting one this week, and it seems that some people are having no problems with the GPS while others are having a good deal of problems. In some cases those with problems have exchanged their units and the new one works.

Could someone please suggest an app that I could use to check out the GPS. I am TOTALLY new to any kind of Andriod or for that matter any kind of smart phone environment. While I know what GPS is (I actually worked on a proposal for the VERY original start of this program when it was called NAVSTAR - but that was a LONG time ago!!!) but I have no experience in seeing how it works in these types of environments.

Thanks,
Gerry
 
I had problems with my GPS at first, but after giving it some time, and loading GPS Status to see that it was pulling in satelites, I eventually got a fix (outside, sky in clear view). It took about 10 minutes, be patient. It's faster after the first time, this is true for all GPS devices.

After getting it to work, I drove around with the tab on the console of the car and it worked great. Not sure about indoors, but I wouldn't expect any GPS to work indoors, if it does, it's probably because of the WIFI connection.
 
A some what dumb question. Are you depending on Google maps?I think that you need to have a data connection for Google. Try using one of the stand alone maps and see if it solves the problem. If you consider too dumb a reply and have already considered this, sorry.
 
Charlesleonard said:
A some what dumb question. Are you depending on Google maps?I think that you need to have a data connection for Google. Try using one of the stand alone maps and see if it solves the problem. If you consider too dumb a reply and have already considered this, sorry.
Click to expand...

I was wondering the same. Was going to test later and try gps.test and fast fix to see iif they help any
 
I may not take it much further in my trials... the fact that you can't access the sd card while connected to the pc and that I have yet to get a single sd card to work has convinced me that this thing is prolly going back. The visible grid mentioned in another thread bothers me more and more in brightly lit/outdoor settings.

I may give it another 24 hours or so but it doesn't look promising at all
 
Just an update for all - once I returned my unit and got a second one, GPS worked immediately. Sounds like a large number of units just don't have GPS working. When in the car, I used my Android phone as a hotspot to stay connected to wireless and was able to use GPS - kind of silly since my phone has GPS alone. Once I locked on a destination, I turned my wifi off and the Acer was unable to reroute me to a new route if I missed a designated turn. It did, however, continue to give voice by voice directions (if I stayed on the original path).

I would expect GPS to work without wifi - as all GPS units do. However, those units have maps stored internally and the Acer uses Google Maps, so maybe the data is needed for that reason.....Hope this all helps someone, somewhere.
 
I'm new here, and I'm checking posts about the A500 and specially for the GPS function. I've read many confusing things about the GPS of the Iconia : some saying that there is no GPS inside, some with and some other saying that its works only A-GPS mode, then when the Wi-Fi connection is lost, the GPS too.
==> what are your experience in that matter (I have not yet purchased mine !), is there a real GPS chip installed into the Acer A500 ?
Thanks
Marc.
 
h2oplo9 said:
Just an update for all - once I returned my unit and got a second one, GPS worked immediately. Sounds like a large number of units just don't have GPS working. When in the car, I used my Android phone as a hotspot to stay connected to wireless and was able to use GPS - kind of silly since my phone has GPS alone. Once I locked on a destination, I turned my wifi off and the Acer was unable to reroute me to a new route if I missed a designated turn. It did, however, continue to give voice by voice directions (if I stayed on the original path).

I would expect GPS to work without wifi - as all GPS units do. However, those units have maps stored internally and the Acer uses Google Maps, so maybe the data is needed for that reason.....Hope this all helps someone, somewhere.
Click to expand...

One way to determine if your unit is dealing directly with the satellites is to download one of the many mapping apps on the market. I have tried "Navit"(free) and I like CoPilot which is not free but does a good job. Once you have installed the app and a map turn off all data connections and go outside and see how long it takes to find your location. A reminder, Google maps are not stored on the device they are cloud based and need a data connection to work.
Hopefully this will help to determine if there is an actual GPS satellite sensor in your unit or is there only agps that would require constant data connection.
 
Charlesleonard said:
One way to determine if your unit is dealing directly with the satellites is to download one of the many mapping apps on the market. I have tried "Navit"(free) and I like CoPilot which is not free but does a good job. Once you have installed the app and a map turn off all data connections and go outside and see how long it takes to find your location. A reminder, Google maps are not stored on the device they are cloud based and need a data connection to work.
Hopefully this will help to determine if there is an actual GPS satellite sensor in your unit or is there only agps that would require constant data connection.
Click to expand...

This is not completely true. Google Maps does cache a lot of map data on the device, just like on the iPhone. you can view the maps in your area on WIFI and when out in the car they will display fine.
 
splatoid said:
Mine worked perfectly on the freeway tethered to my droid incredible. It was spot on.
Click to expand...

Just a quick question. Was your Droid acting as a wifi hotspot or was it tethered by USB? Just wondering if the USB would allow this.
Also I assume you are talking about Google maps as the app you were using.
Thanks in advance
 
For those that have been asking, yes the A500 does have a standalone GPS. To test just download one of the GPS Status tools and run, it will display what GPS satellites it can see, no wireless required.

Cheers. :D

Pete
 
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