yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] gbgadgets:
Yes, just off then on, not a factory reset. I wasn't sure if that did anything or not, all I know is my gps is smooth again. I have the location settings set to high accuracy with scanning Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on, and the low power location estimation on. Only thing I am not using right now it's the places for smart settings.

In the gps status app that I downloaded, I did the calibration of the phone, and reset the agps data. However, after each of those things, I still had the issue until the wiping of cache and data from that qualcomm location app. So, I guess it could have been anything...all I know is it is working perfect now. I will repost/update if the problem starts again.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] Dickie-D:
Hmm. tried all those things, still no good.

It seems to be very random as to whether it works or not. i.e. yesterday it was working brilliantly after I "cleaned" the antennas, then later on that evening all went south again, and today barely gets a fix.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] dh3lix:
I got the feeling that this could relate to Izat Power Save Location detection. Could ppl with problems may turn it off - clean data/cache fro qualcom location app and go for a reboot afterwards ? just curious...
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] scottricketts:
I'll try this tonight on my way home.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] jambongo:
Not really sure where the issue is. It's pretty well documented that GPS satellite signals are generally weak by design. It's not supposed to work well on consumer grade units, especially indoors, that's what cell triangulation and wifi assisted location services on Android are for. If you want a true test of GPS it has to be done outdoors with a clear view of the sky.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] edzilla:
Please refrain from judging an issue you are not experiencing. Sometimes, I do not get a signal in a field, standing still for minutes at a time, with clear weather and a clear view of the sky.

I'm a long time, avid player of a game called ingress which is location based. I have owned and used multiple devices from multiple brands. GPS usage has never been this bad with any phone/tablet I've had.

What's more, sometimes it will work perfectly well, it depends on when you try it. Then signal will disappear for a while and never be useable again until I reboot. Several times.

This is the second G5 with which I've had this issue. All seems to work fine until it doesn't. And there's obviously several people with this issue.

---------- Post added at 04:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:21 PM ----------

I don't think this is the issue. I've had the issue with it enabled and disabled.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] jambongo:
The other possibility could be related to location services within Android itself. If you changed the hardware multiple times it might not be hardware. It is after all a phone that's less than a few month old, so they could just be still be ironing out bugs
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] deadpidge:
Fixed for me

Have been following this thread for a week or so now, as I have been experiencing GPS issues myself. Spent last weekend in a remote location without any network or wifi access to find my G5 had become a seriously overpowered MP3 player! This prompted action when I returned home. Carried out factory reset but restored my Google account on restart, GPS still unable to fix a location without data etc backup. So then tried factory reset without restoring my Google account and full GPS service has been restored. Google maps and Waze working fine, so now just got to find what from my backup is the culprit!! Watch this space!:)
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] gbgadgets:
Issue came back after being flawless for 3-4 days. Two 1.5 hour google maps car trips with no gps drops, a couple short bike rides, and now the occasional drop gps signal issue is back.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] edzilla:
Yes, I have the exact same symptoms : fine for a while, especially after a factory reset, then back to horrible.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] deadpidge:
Sad to report, a reboot caused total GPS failure once more, looks like replacement needed? :(
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] InflatedTitan:
My GPS is done for also. I can't get it connect to anything. Maps, waze, etc. Various GPS testing apps says the sensor and hardware are fine I think, but they can't find GPS.

It used to work "ok". Same problems as the others, dropping out every so often. Now I can't do anything. However my wife has the same ATT variant in pink and hers works just fine with no dropouts. (Both phones preordered and received day before launch, same software versions) [emoji27]

Hardware or software is the question

Edit: geocaching app seems to know my location. Not sure how accurately tho..
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] birdpcfireworks:
I've got a dead or dying GPS as well. Takes minutes to lock in the car no matter the orientation and constantly loses location to the point where I've started using the car's GPS instead. This is a Tmo G5, non rooted with nothing restored but my Google account.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] edzilla:
I have contacted LG on the issue, I will update if I get an answer.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] Dickie-D:
Spot on, that's exactly what I'm seeing.

The assisted GPS/WiFi/Cell Towers get's me an approximate location which Google maps etc. can use to show roughly where I am but the GPS part itself just sits there saying it can see 11 or more satellites, but none of them get a fix for quite some time.

When it does finally get a fix (if at all) I've noticed that the signal strength is VERY low and it losses connection regularly. The accuracy I get (if it manages to finally get a fix) is anywhere between 30 and 250m, (averages at probably 40-50m which is hopeless for navigation (or for anything else that you would need GPS for to be honest :p )

Annoyingly (especially if you are trying to find out what is causing the problem) sometimes it seems to work fine, and burst into life for a while, so it does occasionally manage to get a good fix and I have seen accuracies of 9m !!! Woo ho... :) and just when you think it might be sorted it all goes to pot again :(

For comparison running the GPS Status app on my wife's phone (Galaxy S4) that gets a fix within seconds with an accuracy that quickly heads towards <10m also importantly it shows the green bars much taller, indicating a much stronger signal than I am seeing on the G5.

From the small investigations I have done, to me it has all the signatures of a hardware problem,

Intermittent

Gradually got worse

Turning phone off and on can help

New replacement phone works for a while then has same issue.

So I think it looks like a reception issue. (That might not be easy to fix)

As I said earlier I spoke to LG technical support here in the UK and pointed them at this thread.... (they had not heard of this issue at all) hopefully they are reading it, I am planning on calling them again.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] InflatedTitan:
20 satellites in view and none in use... Smdh
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] Dickie-D:
What App is that one?
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] InflatedTitan:
I've been trying various ones to test. The one in the screen shot is GPS test from play store.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] gbgadgets:
From my experience, I find that calibration under the display menu and/or using an app like gps status to calibrate along with phone reboot and sometimes wiping certain location app data and cache gets mine working fine. I keep all location settings on/high/scanning. When it is out...very frustrating, when it is working, I love the phone. It has been working pretty well for me lately.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] Killua96:
Guys, just found a fix (don't know if it's temporary, and i don't even know if this fixed the problem)

Just type in the dialer *#546368#*850# to enter in the hidden menu, if you have a NOT-International variant use the device code instead of 850, then go to "Field Test" and to "GPS Test" then run the GNSS, open the 3-dot menu and select "START GPS", let it work until the "Fix Count" change from 0.

Now stop the GPS going to the 3-dot menu, and open whatever gps app you use and see if something is changed.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] Dickie-D:
Interesting diagnostic apps. Thanks.

What that shows me is that my signal strength is very low, as hardly any of the bars go green, this would explain why GPS keeps dropping out.

Having said that, Having now run that It does seem to have made my GPS slightly faster to get a fix and the fix seems a little bit better however I have seen this before and given enough time it will revert back to its old behaviour. Hopefully not.

---------- Post added at 07:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:33 PM ----------

Restarted my phone and it still seems better, I'm now getting a fix that will often be below 10 metres (in fact I had it down to 4m which was unheard of before) I'm also managed to get a fix within 8 seconds on one occasion.

I would say however but it seems very obvious that the antennas are very weak and it's very rare to see a signal from a satellite go into the green, therefore trying to use it in a car may not work as well.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] CbIP:
I currently own an LG G2 and it also has GPS issues because of bad contact between the main board and antenna. I even made a custom antenna from a copper tape.

Actually one of the main reasons why I ordered a G5 is weak GPS in G2.

You may also check if the antenna is properly connected to the main board.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] Dickie-D:
Here are 2 screen shots taken a minute or so apart from the same location outside.. The first one is my wife's Galaxy S4 and shows much higher signal level than the G5 (just look at the green bars) and much better accuracy

It should be noted that my G5 was actually performing quite well having made the changes listed earlier. (long may that continue)

Galaxy S4

LG G5

This picture however is what I was previously getting outdoors... 247m accuracy :( (lets hope that doesn't happen again)
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] ryanpm40:
Oh jeeze 247?! Then should I not be concerned that my phone tends to have an accuracy around 30 ft, and takes forever to lock on indoors, if at all?
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] Dickie-D:
It wasn't always that bad. It was nominally 30-50m
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] ViolentXIII:
I have two LG g5 units... one is absolutely horrible, one iis barely tolerable with lots of patience. Locking Sat's sometimes takes a minute, and dropped satellites for no reason every 2 to 4 minutes. I had a g2, g3, g4 and now g5... The G5 has worse GPS then the g2 I owned... My G4 was exceptional. I an an avid ingress player and the game is virtually unplayable without lots of patience... I bought the g5 the day it came out with high hopes. I've contacted LG several times, Whom treat me like I'm an idiot. I'm very disappointed. I've been following this thread for about a week now. there is also a searchable YouTube video that shows the problem in real time. what are our options? keep hounding LG till their tech team fixes this issue?
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] Dickie-D:
OK, I'm now definitely convinced this is a hardware... connection issue.

I previously suggested tapping the phone onto your hand and said it would help with the signal... well after Killua96 posted up about the Diag. menu I was outside with an OK but not excellent GPS signal but the signal bars were all orange. I tapped the chin of the phone reasonably hard into the palm of my hand and immediately the bars all jumped up to show green and my accuracy came down to 3 meters.

I think CbIP is right, it's a loose connector. However I'm not willing to take my phone apart to fix it. (it will void the warranty :) )

Before tapping the phone - notice that it has a fix (not sure of the accuracy but I think it was about 12m) However the signal levels are all low.

After tapping the phone the signal level increased into the green and the accuracy went to 3-4m.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] BR7fan:
I haven't had any issues. I've put in 20 hours of use in the last two days.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] ryanpm40:
I've noticed that my GPS does a pretty good job at finding a location quickly and is always fine when I'm actually driving and using it, but I have noticed that when I open Google Maps, I can see my little dot slowly moving all over the place.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] edzilla:
I've requested another phone exchange at Amazon Germany.

I've received an email stating that the item may be unavailable for purchase from Amazon until they have investigated the problem.

We'll see what comes of it.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] ViolentXIII:
What is the device code... How do you find it?
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] Killua96:
850 for international variant, 830 for T-Mobile one ecc...
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] ryanpm40:
Verizon completely removes this menu, so if you're trying to access it on a VZ phone, it won't work.

Question to people: Is a green SNR something to be expected? My phone locks in quickly and works fine navigating, but I notice all my bars tend to be orange or yellow unless I keep the phone completely still for a good 10 seconds. (This is in the top floor of a brick building from the 17-1800s; does this seem good?)
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] Dickie-D:
I would try it outdoors with a clear view of the sky to be sure. Otherwise there is no way to compare like for like.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] Dickie-D:
I think I am going to send my phone back for repair/replacement as I can repeatably change the GPS accuracy and response of GPS by tapping/knocking the phone, this smacks of a connection problem inside the phone somewhere.

I have narrowed it down to the are around the cameras. All I need to do is tap with the tips of my fingers the areas either side of the camera while the GPS diagnostic app is open and see an instant jump or reduction in signal level from the satellites and positional accuracy, as far as I am concerned it's a loose connection.

The trouble is once you get a good fix, a subsequent knock or even maybe change in temperature of the phone can cause it to be lost again. THIS IS NOT A PERMANENT FIX.

I was going to try an get a video of me doing this so that LG can have a look (and for proof).

In the meantime anyone else care to have a go? I would like to know if this is just me (I somehow doubt it)
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] brettbee:
I came to post that I am increasingly sure this is a hardware issue on my Verizon G5 and then saw Dickie-D's post.

For me, squeezing the opposite sides just above the volume up key causes signal to rise and releasing causes it to fall.

In fact, just pushing on the right edge in line midway between the cameras and power button is sufficient.

I'll try to shoot some video with another device tomorrow.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] Dickie-D:
Yep, I'm seeing the same as well (hadn't tried that), squeezing both sides just above the volume buttons shows a marked increase in signal to noise ratio, however a question I have is, is this due to better conductivity to the antennas where your fingers are pressing or is it just the pressure? (Think Apple grip of death)

I could try it with non conducting gloves as I'm not convinced my finger's conductivity is not playing into this.

My real concern here is this seems to be a real hardware design issue, that would require a complete redesign, not a quick fix/patch, but who knows?
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] ryanpm40:
Good point, it just seems weird to me because my g4 locks pretty quickly indoors. Outdoors looks pretty good to me! Would you agree?
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] Dickie-D:
Those levels look good to me, not sure about anyone else. However not having anything else to compare against I couldn't say for sure.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] brettbee:
My issue clearly has a hardware component.

Watch what happens when I squeeze my phone.

[YOUTUBE]Wb28Z-bd5dk[/YOUTUBE]

Published on Jun 6, 2016

Bought a month ago from a corporate Verizon store, the out of the box perfomance of my G5's GPS was poor compared to the S5 it replaced. Use over the last month has revealed frequent drop-outs and large jumps in position. Navigation with Google Maps is intolerable and playing the GPS-based game Ingress is frustrating.

Watch the signal change as I press on the right edge near the top of the phone with my thumb.

It seems like a hardware problem - perhaps even a design issue - is a major cause of my GPS problems. (A software issue may very well compound the problem, though.)

See: http://xdaforums.com/lg-g5...
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] ryanpm40:
Odd, I applied pressure to the side of my screen and the signal change got worse. Removing pressure brought my accuracy from 16 to 10 ft.

I can watch all my green bars turn to orange and yellow as soon as I hold the top of my phone. So maybe this is a hardware issue limited to some users. I'm on Verizon.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] brettbee:
I'm glad you have the opposite behavior! But I wonder if fairly modest pressure that affects the contacts between the board and the GPS antenna either way is a design problem. Hopefully the normal state of a good connection doesn't change over time for you.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] deadpidge:
Still got my G5, but it lives in its original box until LG collect it for repair next week. Obviously still following this thread, so booted it up, went into the garden, and tried your pressure test. Bingo! I achieved exactly the same results. Can't achieve any kind of fix without applying pressure to top right hand side.

Running unlocked H850. Looks like LG could have some thinking to do?
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] ryanpm40:
I spoke too soon- it seems to be quite random. Works great sometimes, other times not. It finds my location well enough outside, but indoors it never fixes at all. I'm sitting my G4 and G5 side-by-side on my desk, and the G4 found the location with accuracy 215 ft within 10-15 seconds. My G5 took a good minute or so, and my accuracy goes from 280-700ft. Your "squeeze" test didn't seem to affect me at all outdoors, but it absolutely does indoors- God, I just went to no fix with 700 ft accuracy to 15 ft accuracy within a couple of seconds.

I don't get how I have zero problems using my phone for navigation in the car, but when running a GPS test or looking at google maps (not navigation), I can see my dot slowly moving all over the place and my phone saying "Finding location..."

EDIT

Hmm. Try just holding the top of your phone instead of squeezing. It seems like my GPS range gets better just from the metal touching my skin- as if it's using me as an antenna. I'm wondering if this isn't a pressure issue at all.

---------- Post added at 11:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:44 PM ----------

Wait, your terrible accuracy is only like 25-30 feet? That doesn't seem abnormal at all to me. For me, the difference can be between 20 and 200 haha.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] brettbee:
Yes, the accuracy during that test was pretty good but that doesn't tell the whole story. This test only demonstrates the repeatability of changing SNR with modest pressure on the case.

It seems to me that a GPS that has locked on to several satellites can hold on to that lock at much lower SNR than it can acquire a lock in the first place.

And I think once a good lock is achieved and you've got good accuracy, it's going to stay pretty good until lock is fully lost on too many satellites. This test was also stationary. This is just a hunch but accuracy may degrade sooner/more with low SNR while in motion.

This test was also conducted with a clear view of the sky under moderate cloud cover.

Any further attenuation - being inside the car, closer to buildings, etc - further reduces SNR and possibly the number of satellites in view.

This also doesn't show the total loss of lock that happens periodically or the time it takes to (re)acquire lock in a more stressing but typical situation like being mounted in a car that's in motion. (I'm also not ruling out the possibility of a software issue that compounds the problems what appears to be related to the GPS antenna connection.)

And in Ingress, for example, when trying to position yourself accurately relative to a portal, I'd move 5-10 feet and my position in the app wouldn't move. Move another 5-10 feet, same. Move another 5-10 feet, the position jumps 25-50 feet.

---------- Post added at 10:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:03 AM ----------

This raises the question of how much pressure does it take?

Apparently as much as my Arkon universal car mount exerts through my Diztronic case.

When I mounted the phone with the grippers just above the volume control (very bottom heavy!) I see improved SNR. I'm not sure how stable this will be for more than the 4 minutes it took me to get to work but until my replacement comes, I guess that's what I'll be doing.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] ryanpm40:
Oh dang I didn't even consider that, I also use a grip mount and tend to grip it near the top. Curious if my navigation would cease to work without it.

Let me know how the replacement goes, I'm planning on doing the same after I'm positive from a factory reset, but it really does seem to be hardware. I'm just hoping I won't receive a phone with the same issue.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] brettbee:
My replacement phone should be here Monday.

I just had probably the best customer service experience of my life with the Verizon rep at the small business customer service call center.

She asked if I had done a factory reset but accepted my description of the changing signal levels with pressure across the top of the phone as proof this was a hardware issue. (LG acknowledged this on Facebook, too.) She found my Youtube video and added that to the case notes and said they've had similar complaints but this documentation would be helpful to their engineers especially if they have to go back to LG with this.

This was very gratifying!

Fingers crossed that the new phone will have good GPS signals!
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] scottricketts:
Please report back how the replacement goes.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] scottricketts:
I've solved my GPS problem: I don't plug in my phone while driving. For whatever reason my charger gets the phone warm and that kills my GPS. Stopped charging my phone, GPS is working like a champ.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] Dickie-D:
Getting warm probably expands the phone body, thereby changing the "dodgy" contact/connection that's causing all the issues.

I am more and more convinced this is a hardware fault.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] technocrat7:
I am having the same issues with GPS.

Pressure thing has no affect at all.

This started happening as soon as I unlocked and rooted my device. It was working perfectly before then.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] Lycidias:
Sometimes Navigaton with Google maps is very painful, Signal Drops and then after a few seconds it's back to 10 sattelites. Fix is very fast but gets lost sometimes.

And sometimes it's working very well watch 20+ sattelites. It seems like a Software Problem because sometimes i have no problems at all.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] technocrat7:
I restarted my device, and I don't notice the problem anymore. Definitely seems like a software issue.

And prior to my rooting and unlocking everything worked great, the device I own is one of the first ones made.

I have had 0 problems and I love this phone.
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] Dickie-D:
Says the opposite to me...
[LG G5 Questions & Answers] brettbee:
This doesn't have to be a software OR a hardware issue.

I've been careful to say that my issue had an obvious hardware component. The other Youtube video showing the total signal loss approximately every 4 minutes wasn't the same issue I demonstrated in my "pinch" Youtube video. And I'm not sure I *wasn't* having those drop outs, too.

Regardless, I got my replacement phone yesterday and it arrived with the latest software. GPS seems to work fine on this one - at least on par with what I was used to with my S5. I couldn't detect any signal changes cause by pinching across the top. I'll know more over the next several days as I use it more and as it goes through more charging both over night and while mounted in the car.