yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] fallenguru:
This is not true.

There are multiple systems and modes of assisted GPS. If your carrier has certain infrastructure in place, their cell towers' locations can be used to improve the lock, among other things, but when most of us talk about A-GPS they mean SUPL, which works over the regular internet and is largely carrier independent. You can use any SUPL server you want - Google run their own - and access it via any kind of data connection.

EDIT: And the link you posted reads like marketing material.

EDIT2: Wikipedia actually has a nice overview: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GPS
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] lgkahn:
My Sgs gps Is fine After fw updates and lag fixes. If this phone cannot get down to 16 feet accuracy like the two Sgs I have it is going back for repair. I rely on my gps all

the time.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dickie2007:
then i am not incorrect, those talking about SUPL and calling it AGPS are... lol :rolleyes:

Dickie
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Phytrax:
I'm in about the same boat as you. I don't need pinpoint accuracy but the big difference is that my Captivate would not pick in the car unless it was close to the windshield. So holding the phone in my hand or putting it on my vent mount made it useless, even with the software fixes applied.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Dextrosan:
Have you seen this post from the GPS performance thread?

It seems that what the OP is experiencing is not happening to everyone.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] samnada:
alsheron - can't thank you enough for making this effort and perservering. This has all the early indications of another SGS type GPS fiasco, which is very hard to comprehend from Samsung. I hope it turns out to be a simple SW fix or perhaps a bad batch of HW, but I'm definitely waiting on my buy decision until it's sorted out.

For those who don't care about GPS performance, fine. I don't care about Tegra games. But for some people that's a killer issue. GPS is a very useful tool for some of us, other phones perform virtually flawlessly, and it's not too much to ask that a top-of-the-line phone deliver consistent, reliable performance on a key feature.

For those who care please keep the updates coming.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] alsheron:
I think too many people are consistently misunderstanding that this is not *really* about the grey area of opinion. I'm simply reporting that GPS accuracy is below a certain threshold specified in the Poll question and is variable to such a degree that Google Navigation is virtually unuseable. That's it. My own findings are NOT up for discussion. I'm asking others to report on THEIR experiences with GPS ACCURACY. Hmmmm.... I feel like I'm repeating myself. Anyway... Together, and with a little less trolling on this thread, we might get a decent idea whether there is a widespead issue OR NOT. I think so.

Thanks for posting this - really appreciate it - at least I know someone understands what I actually posted for. I'm really just trying to help you guys out here on XDA so that you at least take into account my experiences and check the SGSII meets YOUR requirements first. GPS is very important to me, as for samnada and I'm sure MANY others. The very vocal posters for whom GPS isn't a big deal or who don't use Google Navigation simply don't post anything here because: It's not useful and only clouds the issue. This isn't about some issue with people having a different EXPERIENCE than me - far from it - it's about people having some weird problem that *I've* had a bad experience and now jumping on the bandwagon with oftentimes completely illogical statements to "prove" me "wrong". Buffalo Bill!

Peace! and good luck..... :-)
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] SykesAT:
alsheron,

thanks for this thread. Might I also suggest another method to test usability? Navigating with google maps. While apps like GPS Test and My Tracks might show precise inaccuracies, most of us use the GPS for navigation. If navigation either loses signal (has no clue where you are), or keeps a lock but has you jumping from street to street (it thinks it knows where you are but it's wrong) then IMO GPS is broken. My SGS suffers from both of these frequently.

I have a HTC G1 (Dream), G2 (Desire Z) and an SGS Vibrant. The G1 and G2 are near perfect when it comes to navigating. The SGS is so unreliable it's worthless for navigation.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] samnada:
Exactly my experience with the Vibrant. That's why I'm so interested in finding out whether the S2 has completely solved the GPS problems.

Also, it's important to note that sometimes my SGS works flawlessly with Google NAV, but then on the same route the next week it will start jumping to another street and begin streaming bogus "take the next right turn" instructions trying in vain to get me back on the route. So, even if we get a report or a few reports of driving directions working perfectly it's going to take some time to truly verify it's reliable, or not.

The reports that the S2 has fluctuating accuracy are not what I wanted to hear. Let's hope it's easily fixed, but if not I'll find another phone.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jenkinson6a:
Heres my test and it seems pritty rubbish to me. This was in my pocket though

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&vps=2&msa=0&msid=204004367225611588860.0004a27538794f33ef2f3&mpnum=3&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=12.501051,39.506836
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] samnada:
Walking or driving? Either way I agree it's not impressive. I don't see any buildings to worry about in this case either.

Just curious, if you stand outside and use either GPS Test or Google Maps does the accuracy continue to fluctuate significantly (like >10m) after it's settled after a minute or so? In Google Maps the blue circle should disappear and not come back.

Thanks for posting.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Chilledbud:
Right if you give me 10 minutes, I'll film mine.

I'm not saying it's good or saying it's bad, I'll just film it and upload the video.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jenkinson6a:
Was in my pocket while riding a motorbike.

Just went outside and stood still when gps was locked on i wasnt even within the blue circle i was at a guess about 20m off:confused:
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] boondoc:
i think the problem here lies in the fact that you made a blanket statement with your title "SGS2 GPS NOT FIXED!!?" vs "This is problem i'm having with my GPS is anyone else having it?"
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] amtrakcn:
Being in your pocket is a problem.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] AJerman:
I think you're trying to make them sound more different than they are. To the end user, there isn't a lot of difference. Control Plane AGPS just uses the cell signal to send the location data vs User Plane using a data connection to transfer the location data.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] phonex1:
Could anyone use navigon to see how it works please. I know it's a shocker for some but I am not a big fan of google maps/navigation and navigon is amazing on other phones so far. Thanks a huge bunch :)
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Chilledbud:
Right here we go, it might be missing the point as I'm not moving much, but I'll get a bike ride one done in the next day or two to see how well it tracks.

I mainly Geocache with mine, but I'm used to other peoples co-ords being a little off, so it's not so much about being within a metre of the exact location.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1UL2Fa8UO4

I left the phone on and it pretty much locks in at 10m when not moving, without jumping around.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] f1ux:
I wouldn't trust the accuracy reading. For emit says 26m but is is spot on.

Plus my HD2 says 2m accurate but is off by about 12m in reality.

It might be worth tweaking the gps conf? I notice mine says it's using the north American ntp server when it should be an EU one.

I'll try and mod mine now to see with this for UK

NTP_SERVER=ntp3.nonanet.net.uk
NTP_SERVER=ntp.markyate.net
NTP_SERVER=0.europe.pool.ntp.org
NTP_SERVER=1.europe.pool.ntp.org
NTP_SERVER=2.europe.pool.ntp.org
NTP_SERVER=3.europe.pool.ntp.org
NTP_SERVER=0.uk.pool.ntp.org
NTP_SERVER=1.uk.pool.ntp.org
NTP_SERVER=2.uk.pool.ntp.org
NTP_SERVER=3.uk.pool.ntp.org
XTRA_SERVER_1=http://xtra1.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin
XTRA_SERVER_2=http://xtra2.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin
XTRA_SERVER_3=http://xtra3.gpsonextra.net/xtra.bin
INTERMEDIATE_POS=1
C2K_HOST=c2k.pde.com
C2K_PORT=1234
SUPL_HOST=FQDN
SUPL_HOST=supl.google.com
SUPL_PORT=7276
SUPL_SECURE_PORT=7275
SUPL_NO_SECURE_PORT=3425
SUPL_TLS_HOST=FQDN
SUPL_TLS_CERT=/etc/SuplRootCert
ACCURACY_THRES=5000
CURRENT_CARRIER=common
DEFAULT_USER_PLANE=TRUE
REPORT_POSITION_USE_SUPL_REFLOC=1
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] samnada:
Hard to gauge the effect of being in a pocket on a motorbike. Not ideal perhaps, but the results were not good. You'd really need to do the test with a known good GPS phone in the other pocket as a comparison. But the more results we get the better, so appreciate your post.

Regarding the accuracy there are couple of issues. One is how large the blue circle is, and how much it fluctuates over time, since that indicates the margin of error being reported by the phone. In an open area the blue circle should disappear fairly quickly and not come back. How long did you wait?

The other issue is map accuracy. Google Maps is quite good in the US, although certainly not flawless. No idea about the UK, but I would expect it to be pretty good. I've seen very large discrepancies in parts of Brazil for example. So, the GPS could be very accurate and if the map doesn't line up the displayed location could be off. That actually concerns me less than the size and fluctuation of the blue circle, since GPS accuracy is a function of the phone.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] robin73.:
I don't have a SGS2 yet, but on my SGS1 I don't have to turn wifi off for accurate navigation, only a setting in my gps settings - location by wifi or mobile networks - in other words agps. When I turn it on it is just unusable, when it is turned off it instantly improves a lot. So wifi can be on all the time...

Would really be disappointing if Samsung didn't fix this.

edit: this is when using Sygic Aura
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Dannyboyni:
Ok having used GPS test a few more times ive come to the conclusion my GPS in my Galaxy S II is broked :(

When I used the very same app to track the accuracy of my GPS with my original Galaxy S I would always fluctuate between 5 metres to 15 metre accuracy. Most of the time I had 10 metres of accuracy.

Now when I test the Galaxy S 2, walking in the exact same locations I used before, my accuracy has not once dropped below 14 metres, and it mostly hovers above 20 metres.

My only hope is that my original Galaxy S was using Darkys Rom, and that might have fixed the GPS issues. I hope a fix if possible comes soon for the Galaxy S II.

PS. I havent edited the gps conf file yet, as I am non rooted.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] alsheron:
I have to say - that video shows very very good accuracy - much, much better than mine. It even got a bit better when you picked it up. Mine seemed to get worse when I picked it up! No idea what that means in terms of overall picture though.

Very interesting about the accuracy reading not itself being accurate! Bah! I did get the inkling myself that maybe the SGSII wasn't calsulating accuracy properly because it had the same number of locks as my HTC Hero did (about 12 at best) which should be more than enough for very good and stable accuracy. Damn....

Do the settings in GPS conf alter the accuracy calculation? What does? And will it make a difference? Lets see....
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] samnada:
Lock time and stability looks good. 10m is ok. I've noticed SNR level changes depending on whether my SGS is lying flat or vertical as well.

It does seem very possible that different phones are reporting accuracy levels differently without actually achieving better true accuracy. If the S2 would consistently achieve a 10m accuracy it would likely meet all my real world performance needs. So far it's hard to tell if that's the case. This test is encouraging, others have been less so. More data needed.

Thanks for posting.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] fallenguru:
You're right of course, but that wasn't my point at all.

(Dickie2007 was, rather rudely, insisting that A-GPS had not and could not have anything to do with wifi at all because, according to him/her it uses cell towers (i. e. CP) only.)

My post was meant to say that a) SUPL also is kind of A-GPS, b) SUPL doesn't need special infrastructure on the carrier side, just a data connection, any kind will do, even wifi. Additionally, crude triangulation via visible wifi APs can work just as well as when using cell towers. So depending on the GPS stack's config the presence or absence of wifi can make a huge difference.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Blown 89:
The GPS in the stock head unit in my dad's truck is deadly accurate. The accuracy in my original SGS can be off a 1/4 mile in some instances. I found this thread because I'm wondering if this is fixed with the SGS2 and if it is I'm ditching my SGS. Last night I was driving and I had to turn the GPS off because it was so inaccurate. At one point it had me in a lake a 1/4 mile away. It spent more time recalculating my route than it did telling me where to go. As a GPS that's beyond worthless and I'm better off pulling over and reading a paper map. Civilian GPS is a hell of a lot more accurate than what Samsung is giving us.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] dickie2007:
I was not being rude, i just state the facts as they are. you stated that my comment was incorrect when it was not, and justified this by saying that people were referring to one technology by anothers name, which in itself is a contridiction and therefore incorrect.

For example: You wouldn't complain about Ford cars expensive parts when what your actually talking about is BMW... which was my point.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Intratech:
Here is a mytrack from my drive today. Don't know if this will work but here is the link: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=211276108365914266991.0004a27ae9436d9d46fc2

Can you guys see the trace?
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Dannyboyni:
Yes I can see that ok.

It could look better.

Does anyone have another android phone that they could be running mytracks alongside GS2 when they are out driving.

Maybe that would be a good way to compare?
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] samnada:
Yes, can see the track and it looks as good as I would expect. Please let us know if you experience any lock or navigation problems.

Thanks.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Intratech:
The thing is on the stock firmware my I was getting accuracy down to 5 meters (XWKDA) but since I've flashed KDD and now KDF best accuracy I get is 10 meters. However Google navigation is spot on with my location and instructions whilst navigating so I wonder if this is like an issue with Google Maps??
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] ph00ny:
I used the GPS with google maps on my way home tonight in cloudy weather here in nyc and the location on the map seems to be spot on. Now if you're basing this on the accuracy information posted by 20m but i was on the right sidewalk and just about right distance from the corner of the street.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] simonk83:
Looks perfect to me.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] <<CodeMaster>>:
Looks perfect to me as well, and that was driving at an ave. of 33kmh (68.4kmh max.). Sticks to the road almost 100%, including the round-about.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Mikulec:
This one looks really good.

One question about GPS Test:

How does it calculate the accuracy? Are there any other alternative apps?
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jenkinson6a:
I did another one while walking and it was 1000x better than when it was in my pocket n my bike
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] 9mmpistol:
My Galaxy S 2 cried when it saw this thread so I thought id defend its honour! Used gps to navigate from fife in Scotland to Lincolnshire this morning, gps locked quickly and was super stable and accurate the whole way. Even piercing the Scottish mist and fog at 5am. The only time I got a small circle was driving through a heavily wooded area and even then it was barely the diameter of the road. Was accurate enough to smell a rat when in a contraflow on the A1 and confused the hell out of Google maps. Stirling performance for a snartphone and leagues ahead of my old htc hero.

On a side note I only today fully appreciate the power of this device. Had navigation going as well as streaming bluetooth audio and recieving calls and texts and still no hint of lag. Jumped in and out of heavy apps like they were nothing. I know we all like to think Samsung drop the ball on software, but this is tight as a drum!
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mrtivo601f:
Accuracy, stability, power consumption.

I have read through about 8 pages of comments, so not all of them, but I have a couple of points to make.

1) I have an original SGS. The GPS is disappointing, and has put me off buying a SGS II. The comments I've seen so far haven't really changed my opinion significantly. I feel like I got burned on the SGS, and I'm not going to let the same happen twice. To those who owned an SGS and now have a SGS II, you are brave to plunk down so much money.

2) I agree with the accuracy / stability debate vs lock speed. I found that the stability of the GPS accuracy never really became stable after the initial sat lock period. Sure I know that the environment has an effect, tall buildings, trees, clouds, etc. My biggest complaint was that when walking, the track would suddenly go all over the place, where presumably the GPS lost lock completely or sufficient satellites to make the accuracy meaningless. Is this still the case?

3) I have a HTC Magic, BB9700 and the SGS. All run Endomondo for tracking. As a test, I used the SGS and BB on the same walk, one in each pocket. The BB was far more accurate, and showed none of the 'overshooting' of a path I took, particularly at a crossroads, where I was traveling S, then turning E, and returning to the same point traveling N, and then turning W, but keeping to the LHS of the path at all times. The BB showed this accurately, the SGS had me overshoot the junction. The Magic is somewhere between the 2. This is on a country path, not the public road.

4) My BB can do about 4 hours of tracking with Endomondo, with push email enabled (on 4 accounts), WiFi enabled (but not necessarily in range), Facebook and Twitter, plus camera shots, and a fair amount of checking of the map during the walk. This will consume about 20-30% of the battery. The SGS, just chews the battery, even when using the GPS on it's own. 4 hours of tracking will equate to 40% battery usage. Is the GPS power consumption any better on the SGS II?

5) I use Mapdroyd when abroad, as there are no data charges involved. The SGS took a good 2 mins to lock and remain, relatively stable on the map. During the lock period it did jump several 100M away and then back. This was in a rural area, GPS only. The Magic, even in a relatively enclosed area, in the centre of a 4 sided building (open to the sky, obviously) locks and never varies in under 10 seconds. Again, GPS only. Anyone know if Mapdroyd is any better for the SGS II than the original?

Until then, I'm staying well away from a purchase.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] DJGibbon:
As well as my SGSII I've got an HTC Desire (it's on eBay at the moment). If I remember, I'll run tracks in the car tomorrow with both phones so we can compare like-for-like.

I must say, while I really want to believe Samsung have fixed the GPS, I have noticed a few times where the Google Maps blue circle is bigger than I'd seen previously. When using Google Navigation at the weekend, we lost GPSD signal a couple of times as well, although it did reconnect pretty quickly.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Intratech:
For those of you who don't even own the phone but just want to ***** why don't you just go buy another phone and stop polluting the thread with your rubbish? Nobody is forcing you to buy the phone ffs
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] pjfriend:
Ran a recording over a couple of miles of driving with My Tracks this morning and it was perfect.

Identified which side of a (narrow) road I was on and picked up all the changes where I was closer to the kerb in corners etc.

Mine is replacing an HTC Desire and so far it seems to lock on a little faster and be more stable and accurate.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Chilledbud:
Well this is my bike ride from this morning, and the tracking is spotless. It was in the top of my cycle bag on the way there, and in my gillet on the way back.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=215324268133694109022.0004a28794f2b1cd6bdd5

All the irregularities are real, it's going from a road onto a cycle path, on one map version it looks like I cycled in the sea, but that's the map not having the new quay. Even the little V parts of the map are just me taking a slightly different route due to other cyclists.

I'd say having used the GPS along side a iPhone 3GS for caching, the accuracy are very similar, the SII just pipping it.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] samnada:
I really want to believe too, but posts like this, and the percentage in the poll reporting they aren't getting 10m, stable accuracy is really making me pause. It's the inconsistency of my SGS that drives me nuts, and it seems like in the S2 samples we've seen so far there's evidence, at least on some devices, of a similar random loss of lock or accuracy.

Thanks for posting.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] samnada:
Does look very good.

Just curious, did you get wet there at the end? :)
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Chrisch-RT:
huh? push the satellit button ;)
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Chilledbud:
I had me in the sea originally too, that's why I noted it in the OP I made, but I clicked another satellite version and it was fine.

Google Maps seems to be a bit temperamental in showing the whole route, I have it sometimes but not the next. The complete one has a square near the sea.

edit:

I noticed Google seems to know when your heading back and break it down into two different red routes.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] samnada:
Ah, ok. Funny how the map view has you taking a dip. I figured you were cooling off after a ride, and was happy the S2 was water proof. ;)
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Phytrax:
Can some of you please report where your phone was positioned in your car along side of the GPS results.

I noticed with my Captivate that tracking was pretty good near the windshield but in my vent mount or in my lap, tracking was impossible. My Atrix does great in either case.

Thanks.
[Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] macnessie:
No problem found with the Galaxy S2 GPS

Guys, I have to say that I am very impressed with the new Galaxy S2. I did a test today whilst travelling on a train. Comparing it to my old Galaxy S, the S2 locked much more quickly and stayed locked for the whole journey. At one point Google maps showed me as crossing over another track at exactly the same time as the train actually crossed over the track (amazing!!) All of this whilst travelling at almost 100mph and it also had an accuracy of just over 30 ft (10 meters) as you'll see from the screenshot.