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Buyer beware... EPIC GPS DOESN'T work

Shane112358 said:
656 feet. :-(
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I'll bet you didn't even have a satellite lock at all when you started that second track, and My Tracks only started capturing when the GPS finally thought it minimally locked, but in a grossly inaccurate spot.

(I didn't think My Tracks would even let a user start recording a track without a satellite lock, but I see now that I was wrong. This has never happened to me, I suppose, because my habit is always to check for a decent lock with GPS Test or GPS Status before I start any GPS-oriented task.)
 
boomerbubba said:
I'll bet you didn't even have a satellite lock at all when you started that second track, and My Tracks only started capturing when the GPS finally thought it minimally locked, but in a grossly inaccurate spot.

(I didn't think My Tracks would even let a user start recording a track without a satellite lock, but I see now that I was wrong. This has never happened to me, I suppose, because my habit is always to check for a decent lock with GPS Test or GPS Status before I start any GPS-oriented task.)
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Well that's what I figured as well. The fact that it didn't lock for that long is a little perturbing but not as bad as the fact that once it did it was off by so much.
 
The Statement..............

"Buyer beware... EPIC GPS DOESN'T work
GPS doesn't work. I'm not sure where other people with epics with working GPS bought their phones. But I bought mines from the sprint store at 8am and GPS doesn't work at all. I keep getting "your current location is unavailable", then it says "data signal lost". I tired with with "Use wireless network" enabled and disabled.

I called sprint and they claim it "IS" a known issue. and will patch it soon. I'm getting ready to return my phone. cause is seems to be bad engineering...I heard samsung worked with apple on designing their phones too...lol

If you read my post... you can trust my post... I worked in IT for 14 years... I have a true IT background..."........................................................


An Alternative Perspective....................

The words "Known issue" are subjective. As a fellow "IT" (also subjective to the venue of tech you work in) I have some information you may be unaware of.

The "known issue" is a multi part issue.
A. Sprint NAV is provided through Tele Nav (Who also provides services to ATT, Verizon, Alltel etc)
B."known issue" by definition means we know it's a problem and we are working on it.
That said if you go to http://www.telenav.com/products/tn/devices/sprint.html#6
you will see that the EPIC is currently not listed. (If you ask Telenav they will tell you that they are still "adjusting" navigation for the "Galaxy" series devices from Samsung.
C. In the list of "known issues" issued from "Samsung" for the Epic (of which there are only 4) "navigation" is not one of them. So according to the manufacturer, there is no software or hardware problem "in general" with the Epic that they consider warrantable.
D. Navigation has often been problematic for various reasons. Again, if you multiply these issues http://www.telenav.com/support/support-tools.html, by the 200 devices that TeleNav supports you can see how the blanket statement “It is a known issue" takes on a larger scope than a single model phone, a single carrier, or a single network.

A couple other things...... Sprint’s (ATT, Verizon, T-Mobile etc) "product" is wireless cellular, text and web. Wireless Carriers do not "produce" or make phones, air cards etc.

So the statement that they don't support their product is inaccurate at best and a jaded opinion at worst. You pay your wireless carrier to make calls and text and "access" the web.
So if you can do that, then you are getting what you pay for.
The other services are carrier branded but are not always "provided" by the carrier. So the carrier provides "support" for their customers with their " bundled services", so that you don't have to do what I did for you looking up the actual provider and getter their feedback and assistance with a "multipart issue."

As a fellow IT, you are aware that this convoluted process was instituted by Microsoft and the like, back in the day before the anti-trust lawsuit was won by the SW developers for full rights to their product. Back then you called Mic for all your issues and they interceded for you with the different products. Now you have to deal directly with whatever company provides your SW or content.

Be careful, or the wireless companies may follow suit.
 
My iPhone 4 shows my location dot in my house. The Epic, sitting right next to it, shows me between my house and my neighbors house. I'm gonna call that, good enough. :)
 
I'm not sure how it can be a known issue when mine works perfectly. Its always spot on, I've used it to get to places I'm unfamiliar with. I trust it because it has worked 100% of the time for me.
 
flonkas said:
I'm not sure how it can be a known issue when mine works perfectly. Its always spot on, I've used it to get to places I'm unfamiliar with. I trust it because it has worked 100% of the time for me.
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lol, it it is known issue and a major one. Might as well say downloads are not an issue and that they work for you. :D

Problem confirmed by many long time users, fix tested by many users and confirmed as well.

The Sprint Epic Device team has the cache bug it as their second major investigation on their known issue list for over weeks.
 
So has anyone figured out how to fix the accuracy of 98 feet? Is this a setting or just a phone that has a bad GPS receiver in it?
 
icket said:
So has anyone figured out how to fix the accuracy of 98 feet? Is this a setting or just a phone that has a bad GPS receiver in it?
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I am testing the fryo on one of my Epics. that problem is is patched in the beta I have, but the main problem with the GPS, having to do with the cache does not appear to be.
 
Funny,
The GPS works GREAT without the wireless thing checked in Sprint Navigation, but in Google Maps it can never find my location..lol

Edit: Actually nevermind~strange, after a googlemaps update it works fine~~kkk thanks :)
 
MetaX said:
Funny,
The GPS works GREAT without the wireless thing checked in Sprint Navigation, but in Google Maps it can never find my location..lol

Edit: Actually nevermind~strange, after a googlemaps update it works fine~~kkk thanks :)
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LMAO, I was going to say something isn't working great if it doesn't find your location in Google Maps
 
yea for some reason the GPS didn't work, but when i got the google maps 5, it started working~ and GM5 has compass which is cool :)
 
I bought mine the first day they were released at 8am from the sprint store and my GPS has never not worked. Also, Mr. IT guy, if they said it was a known issue then that's what it is and that also means they are/were working to fix it. There was plenty of talk about the non working GPS on galaxy s phones before they were even released.
 
i desperately need a full gps fix. mine used to work all the time. now, i can't get a lock on satellites unless i reset the phone.

??

i'm rooted with 2.1
 
I owned a Samsung Moment and used it when I traveled. I used the GPS and put it up against IPhones and won. Loved it. The GPS started to fail. I decided it was time to move on so I went to the Epic 4G. Love it. GPS has kicked ass especially since Sprint move to TeleNav. Love the EPIC so much I bought another a week later for my daughter. The only issue I have is how to force the GPS to stay turned on. My daughter shuts it down and I want it on. Otherwise, hail to the Epic and it's GPS.
 
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