yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] ben7337:
Just wanted to post an update on my GS3 GPS issues, maybe it will give some people hope. I'm not sure what was previously wrong with my GPS.

First the GPS wouldn't work on any rom, even a stock flash.

Then I tried these GPS fixes, only GSIII Test 3 Alt worked, and it was finnicky at best. Some days no gps lock, some days instant, usually not more accurate than to 100ft though. Usually accurate to 200-600 feet, with accuracy flying around. Though GPS status and toolbox clearly showed it was locked on to plenty of satellites. (It needed at least 8-9 for a lock to even a few hundred feet)

These issues continued for the last few weeks. I had days where I needed gps and would use it to navigate. Even a 20-40 min trip would drop gps 1-5 times, and accuracy would become so bad but still be locked, that it would think i was on a different road.

Then yesterday I tried testing my GPS and it magically worked. Perfectly. in 3 seconds it can always get a lock. The lock is now never more than 200ft off, and usually starts around 140 and quickly drops down to between 9-22ft. It may fluctuate between 9 and 22ft, but it seems to hold there for at least a few minutes. I haven't tested it driving yet, but it seems promising. It gets just as accurate or more accurate than my pantech marauder now, and locks on to more satellites.

I still have no clue what fixed my GPS, but it has survived a reboot and constant turning the gps on and off without losing this ability to function properly and accurately find its location.

I don't know too much about how the hardware is set up inside this phone, but given that gps still worked, and that it is working now, I can only assume this is a software issue, possibly the agps state, but when gps never worked I tried resetting and redownloading it a lot to no avail. So not sure about that. Beginning to feel tempted to try a different custom rom and see if the gps still works, but afraid it will die again.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] bobd2754:
I've had gps problems since I flashed Liquidsmooth awhile ago. Changed to clean rom lite and loaded this patch. It would work on and off like the above poster said. Then when I was reading another thread I saw someone write to clear the google frameworks cache, unistall maps and then install a new app from the play store. I did that, now I get almost instant locks. I don't know if it's just a coincidence or not. But it works
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] ben7337:
When I go into google services framework which is what I assume you are talking about, I see my cache as 0.00B, it is empty. I tried clearing data, which killed the play store, rebooted, then had to clear play store cache, got it working, reinstalled maps, and still no go on any of the gps apps for getting a fix, 10-30 mins nets 1-2 satellites found at most.

As noted, other days gps locks perfectly, however even when perfectly locked, which is did for 2 days, it would lose signal 1-2 times on a 30-40 min drive, but only momentarily, nothing that actually caused me trouble.

Some people online say it is a phone gps and is meant to suck, but I've owned countless smartphones and none had this issue. The same gps hardware aside from maybe the antenna, is in the pantech marauder, and it gets signal great, indoors and outdoors, and holds it perfectly when driving accurate to 9-22ft at all times.

I can't imagine the hardware is the issue, but since going back to stock via odin doesn't fix it, I don't see how the software is logically the issue either. At this point, the only guess I can make is that there is a loose part in the phone that somehow gets knocked into place and works when that occurs, but most of the time doesn't as it can't make a connection. However I imagine a broken antenna wouldn't work at all, so I don't know.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] colklink14:
Maybe Mine Too??

Over the past few months I have been very frustrated with the GPS, on this device (S3 Verizon). So I read through this. I tried every combination, including back to stock (almost stock) and get the same results.

The first time I turn on GPS it locks in seconds and gets 17 out of 25 sats. If you turn it off, and come back to it, there is no GPS. More disconcerting the unit gets very warm on the back side about 1/3 up form the bottom. Would this be a tell tale sign of "it's broken?"

It is my opinion that this unit is not working correctly, and I need to exchange it.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] brandonrossl:
Download Cleanrom Lite, leankernel for JB, GPS alt 3 fix, and the newest RPM and Radios (they must match).

Boot to recovery

Wipe data, cache, system, dalvik.

Repeat wipes.

Flash rom, gps, kernel, radio, rpm.

On guided setup/restore don't auto-restore apps.

Report back.

If anything it might at least kill your phone form all the hard work and you'll get a replacement, a stress test of sorts.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] colklink14:
I was on syngy 169 with Lean, I am now on vbm2 almost stock (rooted), it seems as the GPS is on longer the sats slip away, and of course the warmth goes up

Installed clean rom (awesome fastest rom I have ever had on this phones) still does the same thing, gps on, works great, as the phone begins to warm up (on the backside) the sats begin to fall off

Called verizon, they are sending me a refurb
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] ben7337:
I wouldn't say it's a bad production run, or at least, it isn't just one. I bought a Sapphire black GS3 in November from my local verizon store in NJ. It exhibited these GPS issues. I no longer have it, sold it on eBay and hoping to buy a GS3 that is 100% functional, once the price for a used one drops a bit more.

I say it isn't just from one production run though, because a friend of mine has a GS3 Pebble Blue from launch, and it exhibits the exact same problem. I mentioned my issue to him which was why i have a crappy phone now, and we tried turning gps on his phone, in the car, and it couldn't get a lock. It would do exactly what my phone did on bad days, sit there with 20-27 satellites in view and at best, connect to 1 satellite over maybe 5 mins, and drop it at will.

My friend did say that sometimes it does work for him though, so it is intermittent just like mine is. While I find this odd, I can't imagine it being software over tons or roms, including stock, if it was, it would be a much more reported issue. However if it's hardware, then it must be something loose that can still end up back in place temporarily from being knocked around or something.

Either way it's the first phone with a defective GPS I have ever had, hoping to never get that issue again.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Hypnosis4U2NV:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

My GPS was totally crap, barely able to get lock inside my home and it would lose GPS constantly in the car unless I placed the phone on the dash. Even then, it would lose lock too but less frequently and accuracy was horrible with constant rerouting.

This morning I turned the GPS inside my home and waited over 5 minutes for it to lock.. It never did.. On a whim, I remember reading about someone tightening screws in the back of the phone and getting it to work so I decided what the heck, why not try.. I found a couple of screws needed full turns to tighten and others between a quarter to a half a turn..

I started the GPS right up again and it found 15 - 18 satellites out of 22 in 2 seconds! Accuracy was within 15 feet! I never had GPS work this great on this phone ever, including with the patches in this thread and with the phone stock without the patch installed..

I have one of the first initially issued S3's, running CleanRom 6 and LeanKernel.. Although I don't think the ROM/kernel had anything to do with it, like I said, my GPs never performed this great.. I'll keep you updated after I test it out a bit but I would HIGHLY recommend you try tightening those screws in the back of the phone..

This is a cold 2 second lock inside my car without any GPS patches installed:

Sent from my Commodore 64..

READY.

load"*", 8,1
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] dividebyzero:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

How in the **** did that work. The only reason I even attempted this nonsense was that I had nothing left to lose and was frustrated enough to throw the phone through a window.

Holy ****. Thank you!

No phone I've ever owned got a lock as fast as my Verizon sgs3 after tightening some screws. The two at the bottom were so loose I'm surprised they didn't fall out!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] helobubba88:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

Even though I haven't had any GPS problems I tightened the screws anyway and went from 13 out of 17 satellites to 15 out of 19.

Thanks for the tip!

Sent from my SGSIII
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] craigh14:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

Great tip on the screws! Locked 23 of 25 in 3 seconds. The real test will be during Navigation.

Thanks!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] NZitney:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

Screws fixed it for me also. Every screw in the back was somewhat loose, and after tightening, I get locks almost instantly
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Hypnosis4U2NV:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

No problem.. Remember to hit that Thanks button!

Sent from my Commodore 64..

READY.

load"*", 8,1
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] loonie01:
OP should be changes to "Samsung has loose screws."
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] flamus:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

Lol. :D
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] jbdan:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

This really did make a difference on 2 sgs3's. I've never been able to get a lock inside my house. Wife either. We both get one now within 5 seconds. Amazing and thanks for the screw tighten advice
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Droid316:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

Never have had a problem getting a lock but if I ever do I'll know what to do to fix it.

[©Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 Verizon 4G LTE Powered by ZeroLemon 7000mah Extended Battery!!©]
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Mayze23:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

Thanks so much for the loose screws tip. Here is a 2 second lock in my bedroom.

I normally would have to wait 10 minutes.3 second later I had 18/20 satellites locked.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Hypnosis4U2NV:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

The amazing part about it, is the actual accuracy of the lock.. I used to be hundreds of feet off when and if it hit a lock.. To get accuracy of 15+/- feet in 2 seconds is incredible..

I tested this all day and I can say I never lost lock or position while using Navigation..

Sent from my Commodore 64..

READY.

load"*", 8,1
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] craigh14:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

Navigation worked perfect on two separate trips yesterday & today after tightening screws. I really hope this keeps up. Was very frustrated with the S3 but only for this AGPS issue.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] jasonl99:
My GPS has been terrible. I've tried patches, resetting AGPS, and nothing worked. I basically accepted that I had a phone with no GPS. When I read this, I thought you were posting an early April Fool's joke, but went ahead and tried it. I'll be damned, my phone's GPS works perfectly now, better than any phone I've ever owned. I can't thank you enough for this!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] s197:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

Seriously how do you guys all have screwdrivers small enough for those screws! Time to hit home Depot

Edit: Found a screw driver small enough (eyeglass repair kit). My GPS always locked but I noticed it becoming more inaccurate lately (if I'm driving on the road, it shows me on the sidewalk for instance). Tightened some screws and there is a noticeable difference in lock time and satellites found.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] jmagnu:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

This fixed my phone and also my wife's phone. Thank you so much.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] syintiphic:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

Man, I didn't realize this fix was working out well for a lot of people. I posted this fix a few months back in other GPS fix related forums once I noticed there were a few screws loose on my phone, but forgot about posting in this one. Thanks Hypnosis4U2NV for sharing in this forum too. Samsung is going to have to QC assembly of their phones.

Cheers.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Hypnosis4U2NV:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

No, thank you sir.. I was skeptical myself, but I finally said what the heck.. Definitely something to share for the masses and repeat posting for those with issues.. I'm finally happy with GPS on this device after practically writing it off as defective..

Sent from my Commodore 64..

READY.

load"*", 8,1
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] lblacklol:
So as far as the screws go, are we just talking about the various ones that you can see when you take the back cover off? (I see about 10). Or are we talking about screws not visible unless you take something else apart?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Hypnosis4U2NV:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

The visible ones when you take the battery cover off..

Sent from my Commodore 64..

READY.

load"*", 8,1
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] jasonl99:
Was happy as could be after getting this to work yesterday. Just went out for a run with my S3 on my arm, and about a mile into it, I went back to having no gps and sportstracklive just gave up even trying to track my run. Got home and couldn't lock outside even after restarting the phone. Loosened & retightened a few screws, and viola, it started working again.

Thoughts -

Being attached to my arm could have caused thermal expansion/contraction of the case?

The constant up-and-down bouncing around did something?

Water/moisture? I had it in a case with velcro, so it wouldn't have been that much.

At this point, I'm going to go buy a better mini screwdriver; the one I used is so cheap it strips (the screwdriver, not the screw) if I go even marginally too hard. I'm wondering if I just didn't tighten them down enough the first time. Will report back.

Anyone else who this worked for: did you use your S3 for exercsize?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] edthesped:
Worked like a champ for me.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Hypnosis4U2NV:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

Maybe consider some loctite.. I'm going to test it for a few days and see if I notice anything out of ordinary..

Sent from my Commodore 64..

READY.

load"*", 8,1
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] arkady2k:
GPS Was Fixed

I can not believe this worked... i tried everything software wise almost unrooted it, so i can return this phone to verizion for replacement. little screws did an amazing job. Can't believe it worked for so many people. I wonder if it will improve my call quality as well :)
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] buggerritt:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

View attachment 1817173

Meaning the screw tightening fix.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] IridiumDude:
Simply Amazing

I too have been struggling with the GPS issue since I pre-purchased the S3. I just now did the experiment (screw tightening), and this is definitely the fix. I went from rarely ever obtaining a lock (AGPS patch/not, stock/not) and this is the first thing that's worked. I locked 21/21 in less than 3 seconds.

Thank you VERY much!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] syintiphic:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

You're welcome. This is just mind blowing that so many people are resolving their GPS issues by what I classified as a simple fix when I posted it a few months ago. I honestly didn't think this would be the case as I thought everyone's phone would require different fixes, patches, etc. I'm glad it continues to be a good fix for many of you.

This is one of the reasons I love XDA because people can share their experiences and knowledge to help others.

Cheers.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] pnagster:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

Screwdriver fix was perfect! All I have to say is wow.. I have trying to figure this out for months. My cell phone calls are clearer.. And i get gps locks within seconds compared to not getting one at all. Thanks a bunch... This has relieved a lot of my frustrations with this phone.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Jaytronics:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

Add me to the list of eople whom have teied and succeeded with the screwdriver fix. The only time my device ever picked up sats within seconds was when I first received it and for up to three weeks. After that, it took any where from two to ten minuets on some days. But most of the time it refused to pick up any sats at all. Now, it takes anywhere from immediately to 5 seconds. And, it even gets picked up while I am at the center of my house. And it is not a small house.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Srambo217:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

I don't understand this. I've applied every compatible patch with Method 2 and my GPS lock still randomly flies all over the state of CA and takes FOREVER to even lock.

This was my last effort. Guess I'll be Odin-ing and filing a warranty claim ?

Edit: just read about this screw tightening fix, will try tomorrow and report back.

Galaxy SIII

My Podcast*-*http://bit.ly/WWSXbz

Twitter - http://bit.ly/VVAdb8
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] jbdan:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

Since this "screw-fix" is confirmed to fix a wonky gps in the sgs3 (mine included), does anyone in "the know" know what exactly is happening when these screws are seated fully? Is there contact being made in a gps antenna that wasn't there before? Idk just asking someone with the knowledge. OP do have any ideas?

Also with all the positive results from tightening screws I would think it be prudent to more publicize this fix, especially for people new to the GS3. Someone start new thread (one who found fix maybe?) and sticky the heck out of it? Or add to strummerJohn's sticky? Mods is it worthy yet?
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] syintiphic:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

Good suggestion. Maybe I'll start a new thread. I've posted the fix in various forums for people once I noticed that my GPS worked after tightening the screws and the response has been positive.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Hypnosis4U2NV:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

Link the thread you create here..

Sent from my Commodore 64..

READY.

load"*", 8,1
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] syintiphic:
Here is the link to the thread I started that describes the GPS fix by tightening the screws. Thanks all for your suggestion on starting a new thread. I didn't realize that this fix would work so well and gain so much traction.

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2201668

Cheers.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] jbdan:
Re: AGPS Patch Galaxy S III 3.1 & 2.2 | NEW SIII SPECIFIC BUILD | Tentative Support

Thanks for creating the thread I'm sure this will help even more folks in the future than it already has!
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] jknolls:
I'm skeptical about this so-called screwdriver fix. After trying this (there weren't any real loose screws on my gs3 anyway), I do get a lock faster than before but when I'm using google navigations in a real-world setting, my position still gets off-track with frequent re-routing in certain areas, just like before. I haven't been any actual improvement (faster lock seems to give an illusion of better performance).
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] dmudd:
Most people, including myself, have gotten more than just a faster lock with the screwdriver fix. After tightening the screws, the signal strength and stability is in a different class. It locks and stays locked with either a 10 feet or 13 feet error range. Never did that before for me.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Hypnosis4U2NV:
What's to be skeptical about? The GPS antenna appears to be attached with just mere pressure so a loose rear case will cause it to have poor contact and hence poor reception..

Sent from my Commodore 64..

READY.

load"*", 8,1
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] nucher:
The screwdriver fix works by creating a better contact between the GPS antenna and the GPS chip connector. The GPS Antenna is located in the back plastic plate that the battery door snaps onto. The GPS chip is on the motherboard of the phone. There is a hook shape piece of metal that connects the GPS chip to the GPS antenna. If the back plastic plate is even a little loose the connection becomes flaky between the GPS Antenna and GPS chip. I've attached a picture of the connector. This picture is from a Galaxy S2 but our phones are similar.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Hypnosis4U2NV:
Not that I disagree with you, but I see no such clip on the S3.. See my post:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=39570338

Sent from my Commodore 64..

READY.

load"*", 8,1
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] jknolls:
As I said, I have a faster lock within a 10-13 feet range and it definitely gives an illusion of a great fix. But the same places where I had trouble with (location would be 50-150 feet range with constant rerouting) before this 'fix', I still have the same issue as before. My wife's DINC2 works just fine, although it takes a little longer to get a lock.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] nucher:
It's the connector in the upper left hand corner that is circled (picture from your link). It is a little different than the GS2 but I was able to bend mine up (carefully), then re-attach the back plate. It helped with my GS3 GPS. I was trying to explain the concept to the non-believer than be technically accurate in my explanation.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Srambo217:
Screw trick worked. Oof.

Galaxy SIII

My Podcast*-*http://bit.ly/WWSXbz

Twitter - http://bit.ly/VVAdb8
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] neh4pres:
Via my Google Galaxy S3 running magic beans
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Samsung.Galaxy.S3:
So does that mean we need to re-tighten the screws over time. If so, what would that do to our phones in the long run. By this I mean will the screws get deeper and deeper as we tighten it over and over? Curious.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] loonie01:
Just have to tighten them once.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] Newbleeto:
LG Optimus 4X HD

I'm sorry to post about a different device here, but I'd just like to say this patch has done wonders for my device.

I've been having real trouble getting a fix, and with this it's gotten real fast, seems like a miracle. Just putting it out there in case anyone else needs help.

I'm running the latest CM10.1 nightly as of writing this post on LG Optimus 4X HD and am located in Portugal, if that matters.

Cheers
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] crypted:
Considered Nandroid and flash another ROM? Sounds very ROM-related.
[Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III] jayotero:
I'll check it out