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Breaking News - Update Does Not Contain GPS Fix

getDange said:
Could you repost for those who are not members of XDA? Is it a pic of a nice woman?
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It cost me $146 to break the contract but that's cheaper than 90 a month for 22 mo. with a broken phone and all the headaches and frustration. I'm at peace now. I'll wait for the next HTC Androd and sell the IPhone 4. Loved Android hated Samsung. Peace
 
sully5059 said:
Lock time may be improved, but it's still not accurate enough to use it for anything other than finding out what may be near your location.

I updated today and I was in the car this evening but not driving so I had chance to load My Tracks and watch it as we went down the road. It wasn't near the road at times, and when we stopped at a light it continued going down the road for a while before it realized that we had stopped and did some crazy loop to get back to near where we were.
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It's hard to keep reading posts like this. This is only good enough to find out things that may be near your location? Do you know how GPS and navigation works? Do you think that GPS systems can track you to your exact spot on the earth every second, even while you are moving in a vehicle or even just walking around? Really?

It doesn't work that way. The accuracy varies constantly depending on conditions. When you are using a navigation system, it has some smarts about what you are doing. It knows you are driving down a street, so if the GPS accuracy varies to some degree and puts you in a yard along the road (or even the next street over all the sudden), the GPS Nav system doesn't show that, it shows you on the street you're proceeding down. It makes assumptions about your speed and direction and what freaking road you are driving down already and filters the information accordingly so that your navigation experience seems basically always accurate.

A raw tracking system that is just reporting lat/lon from GPS will vary quite a bit, and there is NOTHING incorrect about any of this behavior. It certainly doesn't indicate a faulty GPS system.

Interestingly, I have had almost zero problems with Google Nav on my Captivate since I started making sure I had WIFI disabled when using Google Nav. It locks in seconds, and I use it reliably every day, all day and almost always the blue circle around me is VERY small.

And I have had several dedicated GPS Nav systems and they all go a little crazy once in a while when the GPS signal varies outside of the parameters the nav program can handle and show me on the next road over, etc. for a bit before it readjusts and gets on track. Honestly, the occasional, short duration, minor issues I see with with Google nav showing me off the road or on the next block over are likely just issues with Google nav not being good enough in interpreting all the factors and assumptions it needs to provide a good navigation experience, rather than issues with the GPS accuracy. It's hard to write a good nav system and make it work under all conditions.

This is not to say there aren't issues with the Galaxy GPS, but using a tracking system that varies your locations by 10 or 20 meters is not the yardstick to be using to determine whether it is accurate and usable for navigation.

Bob
 
"I feel embarrassed every single time and for the first time in my life I have developed an inferiority complex. On top of all of this, I feel that I was blatantly lied to by Samsung and ATT."

Dude. It's a phone. Put it into proper perspective. If this is giving you a complex......you already have issues.

No offense intended, but please.

And for all he flamers just looking for an excuse to stroke their epeen, He expressed his opinion and I expressed mine.
 
rbtconsultants said:
It's hard to keep reading posts like this. This is only good enough to find out things that may be near your location? Do you know how GPS and navigation works? Do you think that GPS systems can track you to your exact spot on the earth every second, even while you are moving in a vehicle or even just walking around? Really?

It doesn't work that way. The accuracy varies constantly depending on conditions. When you are using a navigation system, it has some smarts about what you are doing. It knows you are driving down a street, so if the GPS accuracy varies to some degree and puts you in a yard along the road (or even the next street over all the sudden), the GPS Nav system doesn't show that, it shows you on the street you're proceeding down. It makes assumptions about your speed and direction and what freaking road you are driving down already and filters the information accordingly so that your navigation experience seems basically always accurate.

A raw tracking system that is just reporting lat/lon from GPS will vary quite a bit, and there is NOTHING incorrect about any of this behavior. It certainly doesn't indicate a faulty GPS system.

Interestingly, I have had almost zero problems with Google Nav on my Captivate since I started making sure I had WIFI disabled when using Google Nav. It locks in seconds, and I use it reliably every day, all day and almost always the blue circle around me is VERY small.

And I have had several dedicated GPS Nav systems and they all go a little crazy once in a while when the GPS signal varies outside of the parameters the nav program can handle and show me on the next road over, etc. for a bit before it readjusts and gets on track. Honestly, the occasional, short duration, minor issues I see with with Google nav showing me off the road or on the next block over are likely just issues with Google nav not being good enough in interpreting all the factors and assumptions it needs to provide a good navigation experience, rather than issues with the GPS accuracy. It's hard to write a good nav system and make it work under all conditions.

This is not to say there aren't issues with the Galaxy GPS, but using a tracking system that varies your locations by 10 or 20 meters is not the yardstick to be using to determine whether it is accurate and usable for navigation.

Bob
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Actually, a Nexus 1 and G1 can. Reliably, everytime. Even in "urban canyons" I had never had an issue with this with any other device. (mine seems fixed now- here's to hoping it will last) Compared to every other smartphone on the market, it is faulty and broken. GPS was something that for the last 3+ years I guess I had taken for granted and considered such a basic function for a "smartphone" that it should just work. Samsung has proven that wrong.
I understand what you are saying about how the process/system for GPS logically works, but I can tell you that real world results are (usually- actually until the Galaxy S phones) much better than the theoretical possibility. I work with Trimbles and Garmins for my work (archaeology), and my old G1 had my positions- somehow- down to 5 ft (feet, not meters, which is what we measure in) reliably. The Trimble was bouncing between 1 and 3 ft until we set up two transit stations on known points for it to augment from (then we got to the cm, once it had a reliable reference point). Whatever software magic HTC has pumped into their GPS units on their phones works, Samsung really does need to reexamine their implementation.
 
I agree with knipe.

I owned Nokias before, and also used other people's old iphones. I really knew nothing about gps and took it for granted then because it just WORKED.

Never would I have ever imagined that a "high end" smartphone would have gps problems like this, or that some people would be saying, "Yeah it's just the way gps is."

Not when my cheap plastic Nokia had a gps that JUST WORKS damn it.
 
what happen to the good old days when people return things that don't like and move on?

people in this forum complaing about the same thing everyday please stop if you don't like the phone or don't think it will ever be fix just sell it and go away.

whats the point if you already make your mind to return this phone why you keep coming here crying about the same thing you cry a month ago?
 
I can't get a lock. Turning off use Wifi/network and running GPS test shows satellites but never shows that I am using a satellite, and no lock is possible in Gmaps.

For me this is really no big deal, but I can understand other people's frustration if they depend on this heavily. Maybe I'm old enough to just find it novel that my phone does maps with search results, even if turn by turn directions are not currently gonna work. I rather stop, map it out, look at the directions then ignore the phone the rest of the way.
 
I have hope for a complete fix, and I think that is why the complainers come back. I apparently am fortunate as my GPS is fine now (compass goes crazy some though), as this is only a phone that needs location for many enhancements and features, not to mark an exact spot or anything, and not a Trimble. I will admit, the GPS issue is the only thing I hated about the phone, everything else is great, and now that it seems fixed even better.

I think people come to forums for two reasons, to vent or to help others who might not need to be venting. Either way, it helps one to feel better about an issue if: 1. others are experiencing it, and 2. You can collectively rant/complain/reason the issue until sense can be made. I know it is annoying to re read complaint after complaint of the same issue, but I would never censure that, it is part of healing after discovering something-the-matter with one's new toy, and so relief (however fleeting) from the frustration. Everyone wants to be heard, and everyone feels better after thinking they have been heard...
 
ok this is cow poop....i was getting a better lock after the updatethis morning from what i could tell but the accuracy was off by alot...well tonight i tried to get a lock but was unable to. im trying to get a lock now as i type this and its not locking on. so far its been trying to lock for about 20 mins...this sucks!
 
Sigh...the fact is when/if Samsung fixes the GPS perfectly, there will be people here still claiming theirs is broken. The fact is a lot of you just hate this phone and want it to be broken so you can bitterly whine about it. And yes I truly believe that, as I'm sure some of you will feign outrage at the suggestion you want a product to be broken.

Here's almost proof it's not broken, a video from Android Central showing side by side a Captivate with the fix and without, YouTube - Samsung Captivate GPS fix Of course it's not 100% proof as some will claim you must be driving to test, etc.

In my case, well I havent used phone GPS much in my life, I only first got got with my old Nokia 5800 and dont remember using it much on that phone...Anyways after the update, I took it for a drive tonight and it definitely seemed much better. Sometimes in the past it was useless. This time it lost lock a few times whenever the screen timed out back to the lock screen, but would snap back on shortly after I unlocked the screen again. Overall for the most part it worked, which is more than I recall before the fix. So for me I'd say the GPS issue is pretty much over. It also seemed to instantly lock on in my house, which also IIRC was hit and miss before. One thing I will say is the direction arrow seemed a little off at times, pointing at angles and such to direction of travel, but I kind of dont think that matters much at all if it has your location correct, and it never pointed the opposite direction of travel or anything.
 
shark974 said:
Sigh...the fact is when/if Samsung fixes the GPS perfectly, there will be people here still claiming theirs is broken. The fact is a lot of you just hate this phone and want it to be broken so you can bitterly whine about it. And yes I truly believe that, as I'm sure some of you will feign outrage at the suggestion you want a product to be broken.
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Some people aren't happy unless they aren't happy.
 
I just find it comical that people express such levels of rage (or my favorite... "shame") over GPS on a PHONE.

A PHONE!!!

I don't give a rat's rear-end what phone you have, its accuracy still isn't going to be on the level, of an actual GPS unit.

Me personally... the GPS, is a luxury on a phone. Its not a necessity. If I just have to know, where I am, down to the accuracy of a gnat's butt... I'll whip out my Magellan GPS unit. I use my phone for so many things, that GPS is an afterthought. When (and its not if... its when)... they fix it to comparable accuracy, hey... cool.

And get this... today, while out with my mom, wife and daughter... we were looking for the Sheriff's Station, to pay an impound fee. My wife wasn't sure where the station was... so my mom who was driving asked, "does your phone have GPS?" I thought, what the heck... I'll fire it up and check. Turned on Google Maps and before I could even tell Maps what I was searching for... a little icon popped up, right next to the arrow, noting our position and that icon said, "Sheriff's Station"... I looked up and wow... there it was! But, oh no... you know... i think we might have actually been like 20 feet further away from it, than the little arrow showed.

And this was before I downloaded the update. Tonight, installed it, already rooted, side-loading, etc... update went flawless. Took about 3 minutes. Walked outside. Fired up GPS Status and it immediately, saw 10 satellites.
 
Jack45 said:
Some people aren't happy unless they aren't happy.
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+1 Very Well Said


Me? (and I'm one of the picky ones)

I find my Captivate to be every bit as nice as my Droid X and far better than my iPhone 4...

Personally, it's my favorite.

Perfect? No.

Excellent? Yes!
 
socalrailroader said:
I travel allover NorCal (EVERYTHING north of Santa Rosa and Sacramento to the Oregon and Nevada borders) for work, and a working GPS is not a luxury for me, it's a must. If you know this area of California, you will know what I mean :)
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Hello, socalrailroader. If, in fact, your work requires GPS usage, may I respectfully suggest that a dedicated solution would more appropriate? Surely, you best know your needs, but relying on a smartphone for professional GPS capabilities is like relying on an iPhone for quality phone calls.
 
Jack45 said:
Hello, socalrailroader. If, in fact, your work requires GPS usage, may I respectfully suggest that a dedicated solution would more appropriate? Surely, you best know your needs, but relying on a smartphone for professional GPS capabilities is like relying on an iPhone for quality phone calls.
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I do have one, but it's not always accurate and the maps are not always as up to date as the programs on my phones (I have a Captivate and a Droid X), and getting updates is expensive for my dedicated device (Magellan). I do think that if they put a feature in a phone though, it should work correctly.
 
jdCaptivate said:
I just find it comical that people express such levels of rage (or my favorite... "shame") over GPS on a PHONE.

A PHONE!!!

You don't understand. If I wanted just a phone, I would have bought just a phone for little or nothing with a contract extension. I paid $500.00 (plus tax) for a device with the expectation that it would have the level of features and performance that were advertised by Samsung and AT&T. So far, this phone falls short of those claims.

I don't give a rat's rear-end what phone you have, its accuracy still isn't going to be on the level, of an actual GPS unit.

That is true but, I have had two WM phones from HTC and the GPS outperformed the Captivate by a huge margin.

I am not the type of person to constantly whine about the problems with this phone (unlike others I have seen here). I am they type of person that expects people to make good on their claims in a reasonable amount of time, and they have not
.
They had better come up with a real solution or be prepared to compensate their customers in some way. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if a class action lawsuit were brought against AT&T and Samsung.
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socalrailroader said:
I do think that if they put a feature in a phone though, it should work correctly.
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I agree. That said, my contentions are simple. If an individual is unhappy with the phone and doesn't wish to wait for a potential improvement/fix, return it within the initial 30 day period. If they don't have faith in Samsung adequately addressing the problem beyond the 30 day period, they shouldn't have purchased the product in the first place.
 
My GPS performance went from bad to worse after receiving the update yesterday. It never locks now where it used to in about 1 to 2 minutes. While it's attempting to find my location it sometimes gets close...about a mile away and other times, it's 15 miles off. Are there some settings that I should change from default? I've had my Captivate for over 30 days now. Do you think AT&T will let me exchange the phone for another Captivate or get another phone all together since I'm past 30 days?
 
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