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Samsung M51GPS issues

RVDowning

Newbie
I have odd GPS issues cropping up. While walking the dog I used to use Fit, Google tracking, just to get distance and time. I would put the phone in my back pocket upside down (yeah, I know the gps sensor is at the top) and it has tracked well for a couple of years. As of about a month ago it stopped registering any GPS data unless I held it in my hand. I tried the same thing with Strava and had the same result.

I do notice however, that I can get a Strava map if I put the phone in my back pocket right side up. But the maps all seem to be very badly drawn, not reflecting my walking path very well at all. Even when running, using my Garmin gps watch around a track, the loops around the track are not nearly as well formed as they were several weeks ago.

It is almost like the GPS signal has somehow gotten weaker. I did clear the Google Maps cache from my phone, but that didn't seem to make any difference.

Any suggestions of what else i could try?

Thanks.
 
As of about a month ago it stopped registering any GPS data unless I held it in my hand.

You could get one of those arm bands that holds phones, that would probably mimic holding it in your hand.

To test the GPS signal you can bring other phones with you, or have other people walk with you and see if they have a good signal.
 
maybe try this:

it might help get a better gps lock. i would use this app first before starting your walk.

do you have samsung health? i use that when i go for a walk. it is great as it will actually track my path and give me stats about my walk.
 
maybe try this:

it might help get a better gps lock. i would use this app first before starting your walk.

do you have samsung health? i use that when i go for a walk. it is great as it will actually track my path and give me stats about my walk.
Actually I'm a distance runner and use a Stryd chip for distance when running, but it isn't suitable for walking. I just use my phone GPS to see how far I am walking the dog. I do get a GPS map when running also, but that is just cosmetic since I get distance from Stryd. It is just that I notice that the quality of the map (from Garmin GPS) has deteriorated badly over the last month, as well as any GPS maps produced by my phone. I don't see how both devices, phone and Garmin, could have developed an issue at the same time.
 
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