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All things GPS

Is this a poll?

  • Yes, it looks like a poll.

    Votes: 42 26.3%

  • No, there is no way this is a poll.

    Votes: 31 19.4%

  • Why in the world is there a poll here?

    Votes: 87 54.4%
  • Total voters
    160
I FINALLY got my Captivate GPS working well! Earlier today after the update I went outside at lunch and still couldn't lock onto anything. In fact GPS Test said the device was only seeing one satellite :(.

Well I finally got into LBSTestMode (by downloading BetterCut) to see what the settings were. They were still set to the XDA recommended settings (supl.google.com, port 7276 and MS Based operation mode).

So I changed it to AUTO Config for Server FQDN Type and set Operation Mode back to Standalone and rebooted the phone. Fire up GPS Test and bam it finds and locks onto 9 satellites in about 15 seconds. Pretty sweet.

I'm not saying these settings are a solution. They just seemed to work for me. Time will tell though...
 
Glad to hear you got it working!! For this OTA to supposeldy not have a GPS fix a lot of people are experiencing faster and more accurate locks. Mine is working great as well!!!
 
Ok guys, I think i figured it out!

My GPS was not working before (inaccurate to about 250 meters) so i was very excited for the update. I applied it and there was still no difference. BUT I remember using a simple 5 step guide to make the gps more accurate and lock faster BEFORE I applied the update. Those steps are here:Quick fix for GPS issues on your new Samsung Galaxy S series phone | Android Central

So I decided to change the setting back to the original stock settings when I first got the phone. I did that, and it WORKED!!!!!!
Note, that on the guide it says you must type in a number to access the settings. You can no long do that after the update. You CAN however access them through a shortcut app. I used ANY CUT (available in marketplace). Just open Any Cut, click "new shortcut", go to "Activity", then scroll to "LbsTestMode" and click it. the shortcut will be added to your home screen. The guide I linked to gives you the steps on how to change to stock settings.

Good luck!

P.S. Let us know if it works!
 
I decided to start a new thread to just tell my story of what happened with Samsung tech support.

I've been trying to update my phone with the OTA update and it doesn't work, it keeps saying can't connect. I called AT&T and they transferred me to Samsung. I went up to level 3 support and they told me it's AT&T's problem not theirs.
So I asked if this firmware fixes GPS or if there is another update coming.
He said JH7 DOES fix GPS and there are no more updates coming. The next update will be Froyo and he didn't know when.

So ladies and gents, take it for what it's worth, but I think I am done with this phone. JH7 DOES NOT fix GPS and looks like Samsung doesn't care anymore.
 
askpcguy said:
I want to say it again, after following the steps on xda developers forum for updating the Captivate firmware to the Europe i9000 ROM, my gps gets a lock in google maps in under a minute. Even if use lbstestmode to delete the gps data. Even while driving.

If I offer to help would someone who is experiencing problems with gps give the i9000 rom a try??
Click to expand...

Could you post the URL here for xda developers forum updating the Captivate firmware to the Europe i9000 ROM?

Thanks.
 
topshelf95 said:
I put a few pics up in the original post for you, showing screenshots of a couple well know GPS apps. I don't know if this is the conclusive evidence you wanted or not, but there it is! ;)
Click to expand...


Thanks for doing that. Certainly looks like you have some good locks, but I'll need either lots of anecdotal data points like this or direct comparison with other GPS devices at the same time/location before I'm fully swayed. Do you ever lose the lock while driving and put the phone on your lap close to your torso like I often did?

It seems AT&T is rolling out Samsung's GPS fix (before Froyo) but it also seems it is bricking some Captivates' hopefully they'll fix the fix and then we'll have lots of happy GPS reports. :)

Since I've returned my phone, if I wait another 2 weeks I can pick up a Captivate for $100 instead of $200 it cost me before, so the return worked out okay after all. :) If it doesn't seem fixed, I'm still considering the iPhone 4 (but I'm pretty sure I'd return that as I have never met an Apple product that didn't make my skin crawl with all it's limitations, the work MacBook Pro I'm typing this on included :) ).

Cheers,

Bruce
 
Posting this link here comes with a disclaimer, I am not responsible if you attempt this and something goes wrong.

Please review all the steps, read a few pages of the thread to get an idea of what other's experience after flashing the i9000 rom onto their Captivate.

Above all else, use Clockwork Recovery Mod to perform a Nandroid backup before trying this. Copy that backup to your COMPUTER prior to attempting the i9000 ROM update. Within Clockwork, use Manage and Restore Backups to give the backup a Friendly name. Keeping a copy on your computer will ensure a software recovery of all your phone data in the event of a problem requiring a hardware replacement.

In addition to Clockwork Recovery, use Titanium backup (Requires ROOT) to backup All User Apps. Again keep a copy on your computer.

Helpful: Having ADB installed will greatly help get the device into download mode.

Otherwise, remove battery, SIM and Micro SD card. Open ODIN on your computer. Put the battery in your phone. Plug in the usb cable to your PHONE ONLY. Hold in VOL UP AND DOWN, plug in the usb cable to your computer. Phone enters download mode. This is a failsafe procedure, if your phone won't power on or has the Phone + ! + Computer screen, try this procedure.

Finally ask someone before trying something if you are unsure how to make it work. Better to wait and get the right answer then messing something up!

Link:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=734871
 
...It seems a lot of people are looking for a simple, step by step break down of how to do alot of the things here. "Flashing", using "Odin", etc. I know the frustration with learning all of this stuff because its pretty scattered out and mostly posted by people familiar with the fancy computer lingo. I'm gonna try to make it really easy here and answer a lot of peoples questions all in one post. After all this, your phone will be super quick, your gps should be at least functional, (hopefully they release 2.2 or at least another firmware which is a final fix once and for all) and your phone will run quadrant scores over 2000!! A lot of people are hesitant to do most of this stuff for fear of breaking (also called bricking) their phones....

Thank you, TopShelf! Would love to buy you your favorite adult beverage. That is the best explanation I have seen to date. It definitely cleared up many of my questions. So....I've installed the 'Beast', have no lag-fix/GPS update, and now have to go back to stock, and re-update. Cool. You've saved me probably hours of reading comments and picking through forums so that I can have the best phone available (IMHO).

Kudos, Man. Good on ya!

RH
 
I certainly do not know a fraction as much about the ROM's these phones run but I am wondering if there are any files where the GPS sat information is stored? Something that would keep information, etc something to do with locks and what it has seen.

The reason I am asking is I just got a second captivate and it was way better than the first was straight out of the box. However, both degraded over time. I cannot comprehend what would cause something to degrade in such a short period of time when abuse is not involved. The software itself doesnt change, the hardware doesnt change so I am thinking of any files on the device related to GPS that would change or be accessed each time it attempts to use GPS. From there I am wondering if there is any way those could be being corrupted or in some way left in a way that would negatively impact GPS. Just like a PC when temp files build up, it slows and becomes more erratic. Just a thought.
 
I have done the JH7 update and my gps is still not working properly. I'd say that originally it worked about 20% of the time, and now it works maybe 40% of the time.

It is still not anywhere near reliable or accurate. My old phone, a Blackberry Bold 9000, worked flawlessly in this regard. Samsung still has work to do. I do not quite comprehend how they cannot get a handle on this. Phones have been on the market with excellently performing gps systems for years.

I'm running out of patience.
 
With the update I saw a marked improvement using Navigator. Didn't lose me once on a 100 mile trip. The only problem I have seen is with third party apps that use GPS, sometimes it looses lock but only for a few seconds. Can't be sure that's a GPS issue or crappy app coding.

I also find it hard to believe, like others have posted here and at XDA, that they talked to Samsung and this didn't include a GPS fix. Why the hell would you offer a download and then do it again a few days later? :confused:
 
lordfly911 said:
I disagree about the comment about GPS devices working inside. If my wife's iphone can lock inside, the captivate should as well. Also, I can use my external bluetooth BT359 with my captivate and I can get locks all the time inside any building. I have tested that there is definitely a reception issue. I can put my hand on the top of the captivate and see the reception drop, and as soon as I remove my hand it works fine. For driving, if I place the phone behind the steering wheel, it seems to work just fine. But if I take a hold of it, I lose the GPS lock.

How did you get a firmware update? I never see anything and how do you know what version firmware you have?
Click to expand...


are you by a window? Thin roof? Not just my captivate, but my 4 other GPSr's (hand helds) cannot lock indoors. Its not suppose to. our iPhone would show pretty close, but its not actually locked via gpsr, its using network and wifi as well.

I would never expect a lock indoors, maybe a chance if right next to a window, but still would not expect it.
 
Well, in my case, it DIDN'T use to work indoors or lock, and after a fix I used a while back, it DOES, therefore, I think it's safe to say the GPS got better. The location seems good too. Walking does work since I used it to get around UCI, but the main improvement is how fast it locks on and how many satellites it needs before getting a lock. Only problem is the compass still isn't that fluid...
 
We got EXACTLY what we were promised. Samsung never said they would fix GPS. They said they would, and I quote, "optimize" it. And they did. Ever so slightly, but then I personally don't think a fix is possible. The GPS hardware in the Samsung Captivate is defective. It can only be "optimized" through software, but never really fixed. Accept that.
 
lordfly911 said:
I disagree about the comment about GPS devices working inside. If my wife's iphone can lock inside, the captivate should as well. Also, I can use my external bluetooth BT359 with my captivate and I can get locks all the time inside any building. I have tested that there is definitely a reception issue. I can put my hand on the top of the captivate and see the reception drop, and as soon as I remove my hand it works fine. For driving, if I place the phone behind the steering wheel, it seems to work just fine. But if I take a hold of it, I lose the GPS lock.

How did you get a firmware update? I never see anything and how do you know what version firmware you have?
Click to expand...

I believe the iphone doesn't use actual GPS locators. Unless I'm mistaken, iphone is using "network location" to triangulate your position from cell towers. No tru GPS in the unit.
 
Well, on my new Captivate - I can't even get a single Satellite lock - right now I have 12 satellites in view and non in use. So my GPS does not work.. at all.

Also, I just called Samsung (after seeing the XDA thread that the GPS fix is a separate OTA update before the end of September) and he stated that the GPS update will be at the end of October... His suggestion for me now was to master reset my phone...
 
I don't know if anyone else noticed, but @SamsungCarla posted a link on twitter to the Captivate Source code and api's for app building, and on the linked page there is a disclaimer that the compass does NOT feed raw data, it only feeds averaged and time-sampled data. I wonder if the GPS is doing the same. Since the update I have to say that I get locks faster (like 2 minutes instead of 10), and it definitely holds locks better (perfectly thus far) and accuracy is very much improved (16 feet). Just throwing the fact out there that the compass at least uses sampled data, the GPS might be too.

Let me find the link and I will post it back here...

That was easier than I thought... Here it is:

http://ars.samsung.com/customer/usa...G_ID=0&AT_ID=303991&PROD_SUB_ID=0&PROD_ID=558
 
ZDroid1 said:
We got EXACTLY what we were promised. Samsung never said they would fix GPS. They said they would, and I quote, "optimize" it. And they did. Ever so slightly, but then I personally don't think a fix is possible. The GPS hardware in the Samsung Captivate is defective. It can only be "optimized" through software, but never really fixed. Accept that.
Click to expand...

Link?

Because at this point, your opinion, which you try to pass off as fact... isn't supported by anything of substance.

I've told you several times, in several different threads, that its a firmware issue (which has been linked to and proven)... yet you can't seem to wrap your head around the difference between hardware and firmware.
 
topshelf95 said:
I believe the iphone doesn't use actual GPS locators. Unless I'm mistaken, iphone is using "network location" to triangulate your position from cell towers. No tru GPS in the unit.
Click to expand...
Well, in that case, why can't the Captivate do that? The iPhone 4 is really damn accurate in finding my location, and it's fast too, and if it just uses cell towers, I don't see why the Captivate can't do that too.
 
topshelf95 said:
I believe the iphone doesn't use actual GPS locators. Unless I'm mistaken, iphone is using "network location" to triangulate your position from cell towers. No tru GPS in the unit.
Click to expand...

You are mistaken. Every version of iPhone since 3G has had a real GPS chip inside. Iphone 3G, 3GS, 4, iPad 3G all have GPS chips.

All of these device can utilize the network to get some basic starting point data to help locate satellites quicker, but they don't need it. This is the same type of AGPS setup as in the Captivate... except it works.

Unless I'm mistaken Captivate and iPhone 4 use damn near the same chipset, I think the one in Captivate is supposed to be one model better. But again, for whatever reason the captivate I had didn't work worth a damn for GPS. It was perfect in every other aspect, but unfortunately as a frequent traveler I really need GPS to work.
 
jdCaptivate said:
Link?

Because at this point, your opinion, which you try to pass off as fact... isn't supported by anything of substance.
Click to expand...

I never claimed that my opinion was anything more than my opinion. In my post, I used the words, "I personally don't think..." That implies opinion.

The logic is really simple:

1- The problem is either caused by software, or hardware, or both.
2- We all have the same software.
3- Some of us have functioning GPS, and some don't.
4- Therefore some of us must have defective hardware, and some don't.

I don't know how you can blame the software. We ALL have the same software.
 
ZDroid1 said:
I never claimed that my opinion was anything more than my opinion. In my post, I used the words, "I personally don't think..." That implies opinion.

The logic is really simple:

1- The problem is either caused by software, or hardware, or both.
2- We all have the same software.
3- Some of us have functioning GPS, and some don't.
4- Therefore some of us must have defective hardware, and some don't.

I don't know how you can blame the software. We ALL have the same software.
Click to expand...

Just an FYI, Samsung is now saying that the GPS fix is not in the JH7 update. A few that called from XDA were told by the end of September. I just called and was told end of October.

But I do agree about it being odd some working and some not. My first Captivate worked great GPS wise. My next 2, has absolutely no idea where I am. 10-12 satellites, not a single lock.
 
ZDroid1 said:
I never claimed that my opinion was anything more than my opinion. In my post, I used the words, "I personally don't think..." That implies opinion.

The logic is really simple:

1- The problem is either caused by software, or hardware, or both.
2- We all have the same software.
3- Some of us have functioning GPS, and some don't.
4- Therefore some of us must have defective hardware, and some don't.

I don't know how you can blame the software. We ALL have the same software.
Click to expand...

Actually, the only thing you stated your opinion on, was you didn't believe a fix was possible. The rest of your post, you state as fact. My reading comprehension is quite good.

Also, you still make the same mistake in regards to firmware.

FIRMWARE IS NOT SOFTWARE (though they are closely related). FIRMWARE IS NOT HARDWARE.

You need to learn the difference between the 3, because every time you mix them up, it makes you look completely uninformed. The issue is and has been a firmware issue. It isn't a hardware issue. The chip is fine. It isn't a software issue, it is also fine.

I'm still waiting for a link.
 
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