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Help Barometer inaccurate - possible to calibrate?

Scarbelly79

Scarbelly79

Lurker
I have a Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 4 that I bought less than two days ago - I know it might seem like an obscure function, but the barometer is WAY off.

I am an Armored Cavalry Officer and long range shooting hobbyist, and part of the appeal of the Note 4 was the ability to get barometric pressure readings directly from the phone for use in ballistic apps that calculate density altitude.

The Note 4's barometer currently shows a reading of 29.58 inHg and an altitude of 61 feet ASL. The problem is that I'm currently at 4890 feet ASL and the barometer reading is 25.25 inHg (confirmed by my Suunto, online weather data, and my coworker's Galaxy S4).

Every barometer I own or have used requires calibration - I wasn't shocked that the Note 4's barometer would give an incorrect reading, but I was shocked that it would be off by that significant of a reading. Beyond that, every attempt I've made to calibrate the barometer has been futile.

I've looked online, searched through apps, called Samsung support... no results.

I'm about to exchange the device with Verizon since I'm within 14 days of purchase, but I figured I'd check with the Android user community first.

Thanks for reading.
 
Thanks for the reply ronbien.

I did a little research and legwork on Friday and here are my conclusions:

The barometer issue I'm experiencing with the Note 4 isn't a "lack of precision" issue. The barometer is simply not working. I have a $200 watch and a $150 GPS, both with built in barometer/altimeters that are more than accurate enough for my needs. I don't think it's asking too much of an $800 smart phone advertised as having a barometer (among a suite of other sensors) to have that barometer actually work at altitudes where one might try to get a pressure reading.

Samsung Tech Support isn't tracking this as a problem. When I called in, they suggested first that my screen protector and protective case were causing the issue. I removed them both and rebooted - as expected, this didn't resolve the issue. Then they started down the path of "Let's back up your data and do a factory reset..." I told them there was no way I was going to do that on a phone I have owned for less than 48 hours.

On Friday after work I exchanged my Note 4 for a new Note 4. Not only did the barometer give an inaccurate reading, it was the SAME reading my other phone gave at ~5000 ft ASL, only the store is at 4220. So while the Verizon salesperson is calling their tech support I googled "Note 4 Barometer broken" and found this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4-verizon/help/barometer-broken-t2926977/page3

User PilotMills nails the issue down on page 3,
"I've been looking into this since the day after I got my Note 4. I thought the phone was defective, but it's the sensor. I fly for a living and from what I've observed based on rebooting the phone at various cabin altitudes, it seems that the sensor works just fine at pressure altitudes below about 3,000'. Above that, it fails to read anything - just flat-lines at a pressure very near sea level. If you can reboot your phone at a lower altitude where the sensor functions normally, it will continue to work at higher altitudes, but if you reboot above whatever that threshold is, it goes back to the flat-line. I finally was able to exchange my phone a few days ago and it has the same symptoms. I'm at about 5300', BTW. I'm hoping this is an issue that can be addressed with one of the updates. Maybe the update that is moving through Germany right now addresses this? How do you get a hold of Samsung and tell them that this is a systemic issue and pass on what we know about it?"
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PilotMills, as his user name implies, is a professional pilot. Given that he flies in a pressurized aircraft and travels between various hubs at varied altitudes, he's had plenty of opportunity to test this issue on the Note 4.

Apparently the issue is common to the Note 4 line, and may be common to Note 4 Edge line as well.

Now, my issue is what do I do with this phone? I have a little over a week to exchange my phone for something else. Do I settle for the Note 4 with the broken barometric sensor and who knows what other issues?
 
I've not seen too many phones that include barometric sensors. I know the Xiaomi Mi2 and Mi3 has them. Don't know how well they work though.
 
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