yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] scept1c:
Hi everyone, I live in the UK and travel a lot throughout Europe and need to use GPS.

I currently own an HTC HD2 and have been thinking of a change to a Galaxy Nexus. My problem is that the Nexus uses AGPS and that would be fine in the UK but I cannot afford to pay huge roaming data charges in Europe.

I contacted Samsung support and was told that AGPS cannot operate without a data connection, is this true?

I also contacted CoPilot support and was told that it can in fact work without a data connection.

Who is right?

The HTC HD2 GPS works well with CoPilot without data connection, it's just necessary to update the ephemeris data about once a week, if the Nexus must have a data connection to work efficiently then it looks likely my next phone will be an HTC and NOT a Samsung.

Can anyone tell me if the Nexus AGPS will work properly with data turned off.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] RogerPodacter:
i havent tested myself but i believe that the GPS should work without any data connection, just like most other phones. this thread starter did have trouble with this test, but maybe it needs to be tested again to confirm. i wouldnt listen to what samsung support says as it likely was a low level phone support without the proper understanding of exactly what you were asking.

perhaps other people here can test?
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] AnalogXDA:
That's Google's wifi-assisted positioning. aGPS should be on and working regardless off whether the wifi option is used.

Of course, the key word there is "working." A number of users, myself included, are reporting mediocre or just plain bad GPS location with the GN.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ianwood:
A-GPS won't work without a data connection but you can turn A-GPS off and simply use unassisted GPS. It will take longer to get the first fix but otherwise you shouldn't notice any difference. As for CoPilot, I am not familiar with it but if it can work in offline mode on your HTC phone, it should be the same for the GN.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] scept1c:
Thanks Roger, I'm inclined to agree with you.

I don't have any experience with Android but my son has a Galaxy S onto which he has loaded ICS and he thinks that it works ok with AGPS and data turned off.

I may ask Android support for their opinion.

I don't have a full understanding of AGPS but it has occurred to me that it may only need a fix from local 3g transmitters and doesn't download actual chargeable data. I must check this out but would welcome any enlightenment from the experts. :o

---------- Post added at 08:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:45 PM ----------

Thanks AnalogXDA, the HD2 Google Maps version I have needs data to download the maps so it's not a viable option for me.

Thanks Ian, CoPilot has the European maps on my storage card and can work well without the need for data connection.

I use an app called Quick GPS which updates the data to speed sat locating. When I have a network connection I run the app to get the updates which are valid for about a week, maybe there's a similar app for Android and the GN.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] haydonxda:
OK, maybe you're mis-remembering or I'm mis-understanding. Since you used to work at Spirent you can probably clear that up... Here's my confusion.

There's almanac data and ephemeris data. Ephemeris data is more perishable and almanac data which has a longer shelf life.

GPS units don't need to wait 12+ minutes to get a fix. They can "cold start" and in well under a minute have a valid fix. This means that the ephemeris data is broadcast more frequently than once in a 12 minute period.

What would bother me about first post is that the GPS might only operate well in AGPS mode. The phone/GPS might not be checking to see if there's valid almanac and ephemeris data sitting around to leverage. In unassisted mode the GPS might require a cold start every time it's turned on. That would be a completely unnecessary reliance on AGPS when there's perfectly valid ephemeris and almanac data sitting around...

I also don't understand why the phone is using NTP servers to provide time to the GPS when the darned thing requires highly accurate time (set from GPS no less) to communicate on the cell network.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Valynor:
AFAIK this is not correct. A cold started GPS without aGPS data may need up to 12 minutes to get a fix (because the complete data set takes 12 minutes to receive, a fix is possible earlier though).

Usually it takes around 3-4 minutes, I have never experienced much less than that across multiple devices.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] BradleyUffner:
A GPS receiver can use stale ephemeris at the expense of accuracy. They are supposed to report a lower accuracy and confidence number based on the age of the data. A good receiver that can listen to multiple satellites simultaneously can update the almanac and ephemeris tables as it receives them, it doesn't need to wait for the entire transfer. The satellites send the data interleaved with each other so that by tuning to multiple sources the receiver can get the data faster. It really depends on the implementation of the receiver though, a lot is left up to the manufacturer.

Using NTP for the time in GPS calculations would result in horrible accuracy, on the order of miles in the best cases, and continents in the worst case. I can't see any GPS related algorithms relying on NTP for their time, it would be worthless. Most phones talk to the GPS via a virtual serial port and actually don't send any data to the GPS, they just listen (aGPS is an exception, as it has to push the almanac and ephemeris data to the GPS). The GPS is very tightly encapsulated being that serial port. I've never seen a phone that tries to push the time through the serial port to the gps, it must be using the ntp time for something else, maybe timestamping the agps data cache.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Fatila:
I'm sure most people here have used devices purpose built for GPS navigation before. Usually the device gets a position within 10-30 seconds, perhaps slightly more on odd occasions. Perhaps this fix is not completely accurate but it is accurate enough to usually be where you actually are.

GPS on Nexus should be less reliant on network connectivity, think this is more of a software issue.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] terencec:
takes me about 10 seconds to get a lock in my car outdoors... without A-GPS (ie: using just satellites)

Any GPS is better than my SGS Vibrant's GPS lol:D
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] BradleyUffner:
I'm not sure what kind of antenna the GN has, but most "pure" GPS receivers use a quad-helix antenna now that lets them listen to multiple satellites at the same time instead of walking through them. I doubt the GN has a helix antenna, since those are fairly large compared to the size of the phone (just look at a receiver like the 60csx from Garmin). If the phone can only hear one satellite at a time that may account for it's slow startup time.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Valynor:
It is not possible. GPS does NOT work that fast. You either had aGPS data or cached satellite data already on your device.

With those (and only with those) a fix is possible in seconds.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Fatila:
Yes this limitation would make some sense as compared to the purpose built big brothers. I think next time I head out and want to conserve data will calculate the route with wifi and then turn the data off, seems to be fine after it has done the calculations.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] zedmec:
GNex only has A-Gps

it had info cached
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Fatila:
Devices like the first few iphones *only* had a-gps (or whatever they called it) iirc, and no real gps at all. The GNex has both. Edit: First iphone has no gps at all but a later software update did a sort of a-gps for it, 3G did have real GPS it seems. None of these are really the a-gps we are talking about though.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] gogol:
I dont think there is a specific setting in GN to enable or disable agps.

Google location service is not agps. The wireless & cell tower trianggulation is not agps.

The gps works fine without those, without wireless, without mobile network.

You can try this easily, turn off wifi, turn off mobile network, remove simcard if you want to ... And enable gps only, and only gps. Then use stand alone navigation app like Sygic or CoPilot, it will work fine.

No, you cant test this using Google Maps Navigation, because it requires data connection.

If the gps needs a long time to get sat fix, this is caused by old almanac hemeris data that are stored, thus it needs some times to refresh it. Agps will speed this refresh much quicker by downloading from server.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] ianwood:
Yes, this is a GPS warm start using cached almanac and ephemeris. And because you typically start your car in the same spot where you shut it off, your GPS usually has a pretty easy time figuring out where you are pretty quickly during that warm start. Agree that cold start GPS is at least a minute or longer.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] drl1954:
Just went outside to test. Wifi off, data off (phone set to 2g), using Google maps with the maps cached. Took 5 minutes to get a GPS lock.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] chirea.mircea:
Jesus guys, it is NOT possible for a phone to only have A-GPS (assited GPS) and not the standard GPS. They all have a GPS received; assisted GPS simply adds the ability to download the almanac and ephemeris over a much faster data connection if you don't have one, they'll just receive them from the satellites;.

The reason why dedicated navigation devices are much more accurate and faster than mobile phones is because they have better receivers and much larger antennas. They have only one function, there is a lot more space and power available for the GPS hardware than in a phone.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] haydonxda:
OK, that's beginning to make some sense. Somehow they are achieving <1 minute cold start numbers.

The configuration files with ntp servers still confuses the heck out of me though. The phone has good times from the cell towers so why that's not being used is beyond me. It's not like the ntp servers are ever going to be available when the cell service isn't. (OK, well rarely if on wifi only but the RTC should be an acceptable backup.)

The spec sheets for many GPS devices says otherwise. Their times for cold start are <1 minute. And I've seen it with devices like GPS mice, handheld receivers, etc.

I don't believe this is related to the antenna. Quad helix antennas are offered on higher end devices for better reception and noise values but most antennas are patch antennas. SMD ceramic chip antennas are used in the most space restricted devices such as phones.

The GPS chip/processor itself is responsible for how many satellites it simultaneously "views". There was a switchover many years ago to chips that could track multiple satellites at once. I think it started at eight and now manufacturers are claiming several dozen.

I don't think we're talking about there only being AGPS, but rather whether the phone has a GPS that can operate in stand alone mode that has reasonable fix times.

And it's not true that dedicated navigation devices have better receivers. The chip in GN is a SirfStar IV chip which is among the best available. If you look at the antenna specifications you'll see that even the tiny chip antennas used in phones don't make an appreciable difference for what we're talking about. Better antennas might be helpful in challenging environments.

Most of the performance difference comes down to soft/firmware.

Of course this assumes they didn't do something mind boggingly stupid like having an antenna external to the phone that you could bridge with your skin (iPhone4) or use a non-RF contact equivalent to a battery spring to connect the antenna (Samsung Galaxy S) or some fool didn't bury the antenna in a bad spot in the device (Asus Transformer Prime).

FYI: Here's a link to the product description page for the SirfStar IV used in the GN. Interestingly, it uses the host processor to calculate the fixes so it's not a standalone chip. Which also means future improvements can be easily made...

http://www.csr.com/products/25/sirfstariv-gsd4t

Also, a datasheet for the device, please check out the fix times! :)

http://www.semiconductorstore.com/pdf/newsite/SiRF/GSD4t_PB.pdf
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] terencec:
well from my experience with my Vibrant, of course the very first "fresh" fix was done via agps with wifii. so probably yes I have the North American GPS data cached already.

in other words, sorry I assumed this discussion was about all GPS locking, and not solely cold start gps locks
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Fatila:
Well last night I was out and wanted to use tracks to record my trip home, which should work without data. 25 minutes later trying to get a GPS lock on and getting nothing I gave up, all gps services were on but I had no data connection.

Surely this is not right? Wondering if I should investigate warranty return.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Valynor:
Depends on what "out" is referring to in your case. :)

Install https://market.android.com/details?id=com.chartcross.gpstest&feature=search_result and post some screenshots for further help.
[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] Fatila:
Well the app finds the gps lock on pretty quick, tried gps last night without data and the same result. It seems to be useless without it, which is a pity.
[HTC Aria General] n5kjb:
Hello All Aria/Liberty Users,

We are in a new year. Will our little phone be continued to be supported? I suspect that it will be because of all the users and the great support we have had in the past.

Yes - I would like to see Sense 3.5 or even 4.0. Is that first on my list? No - but a well functioning phone is. I do hope the GPS issue, slow lockups, can be resolved, but as we all know, there is a work-a-round for that.

I suggest that all that are having issues, do a search of your problem before listing, the responsible people here work hard to resolve problems and I see many duplicate issues queried - a little more searching may find your solution.

Just my thoughts.:):)
[HTC Aria General] dustinhayes93:
Hopefully support continues. Most peoples contracts are probably running up (mine is in a month). But hopefully this little phone wont be forgotten. And as similar it is to newer phones I say support will be there :D
[HTC Aria General] WinSuk:
I've still got a year left on my contract :-\

Getting into rom development :D Currently have ICS built from CM source running on my phone

Hope to post it once I get a few more things fixed :)
[HTC Aria General] dustinhayes93:
Nice job on the source ics. What all still needs fixing? I've got audio, wifi and Bluetooth working on my port. What is yours missing?
[HTC Aria General] WinSuk:
What's currently not working: Bluetooth, camera, gps, home button, headphones, 3d graphics, videos, browser... sdcard isn't auto mounting right now but it works if I manually mount it.

What is currently working: Wifi, phone radio(calling, SMS, 3g data) is fully working without any fiddling with it.. sound(apart from headphones), vibration, notification and button lights, orientation sensors, touchscreen and Google apps(with market downloads)... that's all I can think of right now. :P
[HTC Aria General] WinSuk:
For anyone interested, I fixed the sdcard and browser last night :)

Edit: And home button today
[HTC Aria General] benbailey84:
I am patiently waiting on a daily driver for ICS. I flashed one from another post in the dev section and it runs good with the hints and tricks he lists with it, The only issue i have with it is the apps to sd part. Most of my apps wont move like they would with cm7. And by the way i have another year left on my contract as well so dont feel bad dude.
[HTC Aria General] sudarski:
@ winSuk

I just wanna say thank you. Great job!
[Dell Streak 7] exebreez:
Dear Dell Streak Users,

my name is exebreez and im a normal user like you and possible you, too. I really fall in love with my device whats the Dell Streak 7.

BUT, i really hate that anyone could post here in the dev sections with topics like rooting etc.

So i took my self a monster energy and write this litte post to show every newbie where he can find what he/she deserves.

________________________________________________________________

Forum Searching | Posting | The Basics: (Make sure you've read them before starting a new thread)

Forum Rules

Forum Search

Google Forum Search

Advanced Forum Search

XDA Mantra

________________________________________________________________

Guides for Rooting, Restoring etc.:

Guide for Rooting Stock Honeycomb via CWM

Guide to Root via SuperOneClick

Restoring your Dell Streak via CWM

________________________________________________________________

Dell Streak 7 Roms:

StreakDroid v1.3 by DjSteve

ICS Port Updates by giveen

DS7Ubuntu v1.0 --- Text Based Ubuntu 11.04 running on Dell Streak 7 by jiwengang

Dell Streak 7 Honycomb 3.2|Official Rom

Froyo 2.2.2 modified by DjSteve with Root

HoneyStreak HD7 2.0 by DjSteve

Streak 7 Slimmed Rom by bogdi1988

_____________________________________________________________

Credits go to every developer here, every user who read this and DELL for the device.

If ive forgotten something, pm me.
[Dell Streak 7] giveen:
Can you change it from saying "ICS by giveen" to "ICS Port Updates by giveen"

I am not the main developer and won't take credit for it, in any shape or form.
[Dell Streak 7] exebreez:
Give me a second :D
[Atrix 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] isforever:
Hi guys, i am here to ask you some questions about my new Motorola Atrix! :D

First, i did something bad, i calibrated the atrix by Real Racing calibration, after that my Atrix started with problems when i'm playing because when i'm playing and the phone it's ok, the PJ in the game turn to the right side of the screen! for example when i'm playing NFS shift the car turn to the right side of the screen, well my question is, how can i fix it?, how can i recalibrate my screen?! thanks guys for your help!
[Kindle Fire General] clam5050:
I was trying to flash update.zip this morning and it didn't seem to like it to much. Now i'm stuck on the KF splash screen after several power cycles.

I'm unable to use shell commands [-exec '/system/bin/sh' failed: No such file or directory (2) -] and all ADB and fastboot commands hang [waiting for device]

Any ideas? I've tried everything I can think of at this point. I'm assuming it's a permissions issue, but i don't know how to fix with out using shell
[Kindle Fire General] b63:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1423099
[Kindle Fire General] Zombiepiratez:
Well, you probably need to change the bootmode. Look Here: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=20943815#post20943815

and if that doesn't work, try changing the boot mode to 5002 (Recovery)
[Kindle Fire General] clam5050:
Thank you for the help. It's very much appriciated. However, none of the suggestions have work
[Kindle Fire General] clam5050:
I can't change bootmode, I just get waiting for device no matter what command I use
[Kindle Fire General] b63:
drivers are hopefully ok ?

if yes then no more ideas - sorry - if you messed up your '/system/bin/sh' then you ared up to use a factory cable
[Motorola Droid and Milestone General] Bluestar0002:
Hey guys

im using CM 7.1.2 but also on stock Froyo, i cant use bluetooth. Im able to activate but cant find anything (Headset, Car or other Phones) and also no other device is able to find my milestone.

What can i do?

Greetz Blue
[Nook Color Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jlhatch:
My n2a rooted nook color won't boot. The circle just goes round and round the Android on his skateboard and it won't boot. Any ideas? :confused:
[Nook Color Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jsnake:
No idea but I had the same exact thing happen today. I just held the power button in until it powered off. I waited a few minutes and powered it back up. CM7 started with no problem.

Mine did this right after I tried to turn wifi on at home without first turning off airplane mode. For some reason that cause havoc. I got the round and round after rebooting. Everything works fine now. No idea why.
[Nook Color Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Android311:
i read that sometimes it can take up to 3-8 boot load trys for it to work, it might be normal, mine took awile for it to load as well, im running 7.0.3 what are you?
[Nook Color Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jlhatch:
I'll let you know what I'm running if I ever get it running again to see what I'm running. ;)
[Nook Color Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Android311:
Ok cool :p

Sent from my Nookcolor Cyanogenmod 7.0.3
[Nook Color Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] bobstro:
Did you call N2A for support? Isn't that the reason people pay all those extra bucks for those cards?

Easy enough (and cheaper) to roll your own using the directions found here, if you're interested.
[Nook Color Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jlhatch:
I rolled my own originally, and the wifi stopped. Couldn't figure it out, so I just bought a n2a card for easier usage. Apparently there are problems no matter which way I root.
[General Questions and Answers] jgordon00:
Wondering if anyone could provide me with some guidance on using APK Tool? I've successfully used it to decompile an app that I want to make some subtle graphic changes to. The main problem I have is how to recompile it so that it is signed and allowed to be installed on Android. I can't seem to find any clear instructions on recompiling.

Can anyone either help me with some clear directions on this or point me to a site that goes over this a bit deeper? I did a search already but couldn't find anything particularly helpful.
[Dell Streak 7] exebreez:
Dear Dell Streak Users,

my name is exxebreez and im a normal user like you and possible you, too. I really fall in love with my device whats the Dell Streak 7.

BUT, i really hate that anyone could post here in the dev sections with topics like rooting etc.

So i took my self a monster energy and write this litte post to show every newbie where he can find what he/she deserves.

________________________________________________________________

Forum Searching | Posting | The Basics: (Make sure you've read them before starting a new thread)

Forum Rules

Forum Search

Google Forum Search

Advanced Forum Search

XDA Mantra

________________________________________________________________

Guides for Rooting, Restoring etc.:

Guide for Rooting Stock Honeycomb via CWM

Guide to Root via SuperOneClick

Restoring your Dell Streak via CWM

________________________________________________________________

Dell Streak 7 Roms:

StreakDroid v1.3 by DjSteve

ICS Port by giveen

DS7Ubuntu v1.0 --- Text Based Ubuntu 11.04 running on Dell Streak 7 by jiwengang

Dell Streak 7 Honycomb 3.2|Official Rom

Froyo 2.2.2 modified by DjSteve with Root

HoneyStreak HD7 2.0 by DjSteve

Streak 7 Slimmed Rom by bogdi1988

_____________________________________________________________

Credits go to every developer here, every user who read this and DELL for the device.

If ive forgotten something, pm me.
[Dell Streak 7] exebreez:
-reserved-
[Dell Streak 7] mobilemedic:
can you possibly sticky this post?
[Kindle Fire Accessories] Nicholas8681:
I just want to recommend the Verteks stylus. It reminds me a bit of the Wacom stylus and it has a good overall weight and feel when drawing. Plus it is on sale on Amazon right now for around $5 +shipping. I must admit the Kindle Fire has excellent sensitivity and it has been a great sketching tool so far. (I'm using Sketchbook express at the moment)

Anyone else have experiences with a specific stylus or touchscreen comments?
[Kindle Fire Accessories] Twilla:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005O...ile?redirect=true&ref_=oh_o05_s00_i00_details

I've been using this, and I wouldn't recommend it at all. It was brilliant for a moment, but the tip seems to be wearing down or something after only a week. I'm glad I came across this, I'll give yours a try. I was going to try the roocase one next.
[Kindle Fire Accessories] imtoomuch:
Which Verteks stylus are you using - link?

I'm using the free ($3.99 for shipping) ZooGue stylus. So far I really like it.
[Kindle Fire Accessories] clipse94:
I use the Griffin stylus. I bought two for $10 each and love them.