Buyer beware... EPIC GPS DOESN'T work

[njnygiants]

^ Perhaps you should call again and see if they say the same thing. Or better yet, get a replacement.

Hello ConceptVBS..... I am going to get a replacement... AGAIN

This posting is to inform consumers... Buyer Beware!!! Some EPIC don't have working GPS!!! so if your about to drop almost 400 on a phone at the sprint store, don't leave the store without testing the GPS...

Are we on the same page or do you still think should do the obivious, ie reture my phone...lol !

 

[njnygiants]

Again, for what it is worth. I just went outside and tested the following with my Epic:

In this order:
Sprint Navigation
Google Navigation
Google Maps
Google Places
Google Home Page with location turned on.

All found my location using GPS.


Did they give you any other information beside it was a known issue? Even though mine is working, I am interested to know what the details are.

This posting is to inform consumers... Buyer Beware!!! Some EPIC don't have working GPS!!! So if your about to drop almost 400 on a phone at the sprint store, don't leave the store without testing the GPS

 

[Squiggoth]

Actually yeah I do cause most users are ******...lol Buy the way do you have an epic?.............

Yes I do. And my GPS doesn't work, actually. =) But I'm not going to be a douche and make a new post when 1)there are already a ton of posts re: GPS problems, and 2)this is my problem to resolve with Sprint, not this forums. This forum already knows about GPS issues.

You're acting like a union rep -- everyone's gotta know and you've gotta somehow represent the every man with their non working GPS. We don't need that. I'll deal with Sprint for this, thanks much.

 

[iwillfearnoevil]

don't leave the store without testing the GPS...!

umm many stores are deep inside a mall, satellites don't really pick up good from there

 

[njnygiants]

umm many stores are deep inside a mall, satellites don't really pick up good from there

then walk outside

 

[ConceptVBS]

then walk outside

But in order to walk outside you need to buy first.

 

[Squiggoth]

So hey, guys, I couldn't get my GPS to work - damn icon kept blinking. Reset phone, reset GPS off and on, turned on and off all sorts of crap. Nothing on Google Maps. So I downloaded this little freebie app called GPS Status (it's actually a really neat app), and as soon as I did, the GPS stopped blinking and was fully ON. I went out of the app, and into Google Maps, and boom, instantly found me and was dead on accurate.

 

[dantheman2]

I am an owner of the cousin Samsung Captivate. Google Maps does not initialize the GPS. Use the Navigation app (Google). Make sure you are outside with a clear view, not inside or under heavy cover from buildings trees. Start Navigation, type in or speak an address and navigate to that address. Wait a while for the satellites to start working. ONce you get a lock, then you can use Google Maps with no problem. Also, read the captivate forums about any fixes or tweaks that might help, but as I guessed, the GPS has the same issue on the Epic 4G.

D

 

[bluenova]

I've removed several posts from this thread for childish bickering/name calling.

Please keep it nice guys.

 

[hotpocketdeath]

I want to state that I too am having issues with my GPS on my Epic 4G.

I've done pretty much everything the OP has done to test things out. And I'm also in the IT field.

I also download and installed "GPS Status" to check things out. What I found is it takes the phone several minutes to get sat lock. Which is way to long.

I've even did a reset on the phone, and still get GPS issues.

 

[gme109]

OK kids does your phone work or not?

Take a look around, there are a few threads about GPS performance, and most are reporting positive results. Why don't you return the unit and try another one?

 

[tbhooptie]

Mine works great...

 

[lpsteve]

My gps doesn't work either. I stood outside and could not get a lock on google maps without having use wireless network checked. Sucks. I really love the phone. I don't even want to go through the hassle of exchanging it.

 

[gme109]

If that is the case, then it is YOUR phone that doesnt work.

Why not get a replacement to see if its a lemon?

Why give up so easily?

Something tells me your a troll.

I agree. This was his first post, and the tile reads: Buyer beware...EPIC GPS DOESN'T work. Why wouldn't you first ask if others are having the same issue, or at least check out the other threads on GPS performance, where most are reporting positive results?

 

[dantheman2]

Like I said earlier, Google Maps does not make the GPS work (get a lock), Google Navigation DOES.

 

[lpsteve]

OK. I just stood outside. For 5 minutes with Google Navigation on and it never got my location.

 

[boomerbubba]

I agree. This was his first post, and the tile reads: Buyer beware...EPIC GPS DOESN'T work. Why wouldn't you first ask if others are having the same issue, or at least check out the other threads on GPS performance, where most are reporting positive results?

Well the OP did report that he had contacted Sprint tech support, which reportedly acknowledged a "known issue." That is the news here.

As bit of background, be aware from the frustrated experience of those who have wrestled with the GPS bug(s) on other Galaxy S platforms for the past couple of months:

1) One property of the symptoms reported is that they do seem to occur on some phone but not others, and even phones that appear to work later are reported to work incorrectly. No one had ever isolated what, if anything, distinguished these cases. That does not mean there is no bug. It does mean the bug is very had to find and fix.

2) Other carriers at first did exchange phones over this issue. I exchanged one Vibrant with T-Mobile, then later returned its replacement. Curiously, a third unit I tried seem to work at least for a few weeks. But after T-Mobile became convinced that there was some generalized problem with Samsung, the carier stopped accepting exchanges over the GPS issue because a replacement unit was just as likely to be bad.

3) Samsung and the other carriers have not actually acknowledged a defect (pure weaselly corporate ass-covering), but they have announced that new firmware in September will "optimize" the GPS. It is well known that both Samsung and the supplier of its GPS chip, Broadcom, have been working on new drivers and firmware. So this report does not come out of the blue.

4) Samsung said the GPS on the Epic had already been "tested and validated," so the presumption was that the fix was already present on the Epic. But no one actually said the fix made it into the release.

5) The other threads on this forum clearly demonstrate that there is at least one new GPS bug unique to the Epic: Multiple users with different test scenarios all report that their test utiilites show the imputed accuracy is always reported as 98 feet, as if that volatile variable's value had been hard-coded into the firmware. So something, at least, is objectively wrong.

 

[megabiteg]

Was the option settings - privacy - Use my locations active too? I hear that its an important part to have the GPS operational is having this option checked. I personally haven't had any issues and I've used it for couple of road trips since yesterday.

Its also worked for me indoors / outdoors

 

[rmingee]

OK kids does your phone work or not?

Yes. Turned off use of wireless networks to ensure I was getting SAT-only positioning, and Google Maps tracked me quite well all 10-15 miles home in varying traffic speeds. So there may be a known issue with some Epics, but clearly not with all.

-- robert

 

[airblade]

ya my epic gps is way off, puts me on streets i'm not even on. blue arrow bounces around. bad

double check to make sure use wireless networks is off, some program had prompted me to turn it on.

 

[rckymtn]

For those who are having GPS issues, why not add in your post on where your located, it maybe area problems.

Just an idea.

 

[boomerbubba]

For those who are having GPS issues, why not add in your post on where your located, it maybe area problems.

Not likely. The positions of the GPS satellites are constantly changing.

That said, the mix of satellites (and their positions in the sky) that anyone might find at any point in time will necessarily change, so the test environment overall is not a constant. GPS is supposed to accommodate this. That is why there are lots of satellites, and it takes multiple satellites to get an accurate fix.

 

[Aero1]

Was the option settings - privacy - Use my locations active too? I hear that its an important part to have the GPS operational is having this option checked

The opposite is true, checking that option enables land-based triangulation data to applications, not actual satellite GPS

I find the OP's initial post too general, but without a doubt there is some problem with the GPS as it is demonstrably less accurate than competing devices under identical conditions

 

[Stoney62]

So hey, guys, I couldn't get my GPS to work - damn icon kept blinking. Reset phone, reset GPS off and on, turned on and off all sorts of crap. Nothing on Google Maps. So I downloaded this little freebie app called GPS Status (it's actually a really neat app), and as soon as I did, the GPS stopped blinking and was fully ON. I went out of the app, and into Google Maps, and boom, instantly found me and was dead on accurate.

Back in my winmo days, that was "the" fix for solving Sat lock problems. I have found that it is also the resolution to android GPS issues too. I haven't had a problem with locking on to a bunch of satellites with my moment when I first run GPS test.

 

[ratchetjaw]

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...

Mine works great. Got lost an hour ago trying to find an AT&T store to return my captivate and had to bust it out. Oh the irony lol